Chapter 439: Lion Legion, Phantom Charge

At this moment, the entire troop unified their vital energy, channeling battle aura from the network connecting the knights into the body of Ule, who spearheaded the charge.

The whip-blade at his waist had already fully extended and transformed from its sword state into a long, fluid lash, wrapped in materialized battle aura, which he lashed out violently toward the enemies ahead and all around.

"Shing!"

The sharp, piercing sound of matter being sliced at extreme velocity echoed as the materialized blade of aura snaked through the air, sweeping in a fan shape across the surrounding Frost Helmets and the Frost Scorpions erupting from beneath the snow.

With the dual activation of Inner Potential: Wild Heart and Inner Potential: Path of Glory, the aura-blade strike—fueled by the collective energy of every knight—was amplified to a staggering degree. In this single blow, half of the surrounding Frost Helmets were cleaved in two from the midsection, their mangled corpses falling limply into the snow.

Yet, the Frost Helmets retaliated without hesitation against the force led by the Lionheart King.

These Frost Helmets were not identical in strength; though they appeared uniform in form and equipment, their power levels were clearly stratified.

Those bisected by the strike were the weakest of their kind, while others, caught off guard and struck only at the edges, suffered shattered crystal armor but remained far from incapacitated.

"Clang!"

The most powerful among them drew their massive swords of solid ice from their backs, bracing against the gale-force aura blade with a surge of frigid energy, standing firm after being pushed back only a few steps.

The ice blades that had been circling the Frost Helmets were now unleashed in a torrent toward the knights, who continued to charge fearlessly along the Path of Glory. The blizzard accelerated these projectiles, coating them in additional ice elements to reinforce their lethality.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The charging knights shifted formation on the fly; lacking warhorses, they had become remarkably agile, capable of altering the troop's configuration at will.

The interconnected battle aura shifted to one side, converging upon several knights who drew shields from their backs, their Inner Potentials flaring.

"Ding!"

These shield-bearers were all specialists in defensive Inner Potential; their task was to intercept the tempest of ice blades.

Group knight combat is a form entirely distinct from individual dueling. Within the military formation, the unique Inner Potential that every knight possesses is stripped of its individuality, subsumed into the collective.

Each knight is assigned a position based on their specific talent, deploying their power at the precise moment required. In a sense, this loss of "personality" allows the essence of their Inner Potential to be pushed to its absolute limit.

After all, mediocrity is the norm; those who can carve their names into history through individual strength and unique talents are one in a hundred. Yet, knights integrated into a formation can, like these shield-bearers, borrow the vastly amplified battle aura flowing through their interconnected network.

A phantom wall of aura manifested before the troop. The combined defensive potentials of several knights formed a sturdy barrier, intercepting every incoming ice blade. Despite the immense force and staggering number of projectiles, they could not shake this iron wall: the Knight Group Tactic: Golden City, Iron Wall.

The erection of this wall meant the entire troop had to come to a halt. The Frost Helmets, whose ranks had been broken by the Lionheart Knights' first wave, used the ice-blade storm as cover, raising their massive ice blades and charging toward the legion.

With every heavy footfall, jagged ice spikes erupted from the snow, surging toward the knights' shield wall.

These spikes seemed to lack destructive power, failing to leave a mark or even cause a ripple on the barrier that had withstood the ice blades.

But upon impact, the spikes did not bounce off; instead, they adhered to the barrier, rapidly spreading to the surrounding area and carving out paths of frost that allowed the Frost Helmet cluster to advance at high speed. Suddenly, the distance between the enemy and the Lionheart Legion shrank rapidly.

"Ready, fire!"

The Northland Duke’s command was issued without delay. Most of the knights crouched, clearing a line of sight for their comrades armed with high-precision magitech crossbows. The knights whose Inner Potentials favored ranged combat unleashed their fire without hesitation.

Battle aura coiled around the bolts, which were accelerated by both magitech mechanisms and the knights' own energy. They tore through the air, leaving white trails before slamming deep into the ice-clad armor of their targets.

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

The battle aura and alchemical fuel packed within the bolts detonated after a brief delay upon impact. Whether through the effects of Inner Potential or simple compressed energy, chaotic explosions erupted within the advancing Frost Helmet ranks, toppling the frontline "meat shields."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, bang!"

It was not only the Lionheart Legion firing; the defenders on the city walls did not miss this golden opportunity. Piercing the shadow veil created by the Lady of Night, invisible attacks rained down alongside the knights' bolts, hammering the Frost Helmet ranks.

Shattered ice crystals flew everywhere, turning the snowfield into a chaotic mess. The air was thick with dense, swirling snowflakes and ice shards; were it not for the knights' extraordinary heightened senses, they would have been unable to perceive anything on the battlefield.

These attacks caused significant disruption to the Frost Helmet formation, slowing their charge and throwing their ranks into disarray. But by now, the most powerful Frost Helmets had pushed through the barrage, reaching the front of the Lionheart Knights' aura barrier, their massive ice blades raised high.

These elite warriors, making up about a fifth of the total, each possessed the strength of a Great Knight. The previous attacks had barely affected them, and the chaos of the ranks had largely bypassed these formidable entities.

The power gathered upon their raised ice swords had reached a dangerous threshold. It was hard to say whether the Lionheart Knights, still primarily composed of formal-rank knights, could withstand such a blow without suffering heavy casualties.

But if a legion's strength were judged solely by the average rank of its individual knights, there would be no need for them to form a legion at all. Knights integrated into a unit unleash power far greater than the sum of their parts.

"Squads, close quarters!"

"Boom!"

At Duke Leon’s calm command, the aura barrier that had been blocking the descending ice swords suddenly exploded, violently projecting the impact outward toward the Frost Helmets. The very earth shuddered.

The timing and force of this sudden burst were completely beyond the Frost Helmets' expectations. Their footing and posture faltered, the trajectory of their descending blades skewed, and their speed lagged for a fraction of a second...

That infinitesimal deviation granted the Lionheart Legion absolute dominance. The troop suddenly dispersed, the interconnected aura network splitting and miniaturizing into squad-sized units.

"Boom!"

The great swords crashed down, the massive ice blades shattering and tearing through the ground, freezing and cleaving everything in their path. But this wide-area attack, intended to crush the Lionheart Knights, missed its mark as the formation scattered.

At the same time, as these Great Knight-level Frost Helmets attempted to raise their swords again, they found themselves surrounded by squads of Lionheart Knights.

"Boom!"

Frigid energy erupted from the bodies of the Frost Helmets, sweeping toward the knights who had blocked their path. This extreme ice-elemental shockwave was potent; anything it touched, whether aura or physical matter, was instantly frozen.

The formal-rank knights could not take the hit head-on; they retreated, stepping back to dissipate the force while using their own aura to resist the deep freeze. Meanwhile, the Frost Helmets either swung their great swords or charged physically at the knights surrounding them.

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

Frost Helmets collided with heavy metal armor; great swords met large shields. The knights parried each attack in their own way, but without exception, they were sent reeling by the superior strength of the Frost Helmets. Had it not been for the lingering blessing of the Path of Glory, they would have suffered broken bones.

"Die..."

A word in a long-dead tongue emerged from the mouth of one Frost Helmet as it ruthlessly brought its sword down upon a knight it had just knocked to the ground.

"Shing!"

Yet, before the ice blade could touch the knight, a heavy longsword swept from behind the Frost Helmet, shattering its upper body along with the ice sword it held, sending fragments flying.

A mostly intact helmet fell from the shattered corpse. It realized, in its final moments, that most of the surrounding Frost Helmets had been slaughtered during the brief time they were surrounded by these knights. The culprit was the one who had just shattered it from behind: a Legend...

To ordinary Lionheart Knights, these Frost Helmets were formidable, but to the Legendary Knight Duke Leon Leonardo, they were merely targets for a single, fully charged strike. The knights' squad-based containment had created the perfect opening.

"Clang! Bang!"

The whip-blade coiled around a Frost Helmet's legs. With a burst of strength during a tug-of-war, the serrated edge shredded the leg armor. The Frost Helmet stumbled, and Ule’s violent stomp crushed its solid ice skull.

"Duke, there is a beast composed primarily of ice elements approaching from the snowfield over there. We should be entering its attack range soon—it’s here!"

Ule’s urgent warning rang out. In the distance, the earth shook and the snow layer shattered as a massive form broke through the wind. A body as large as a small hill, wreathed in a tornado of frigid air, charged toward the Lionheart Legion.

Its appearance was obscured by the blizzard, but the jagged, hideous ice spikes covering its body, the angular, thick hide, and the massive, mountain-like hump on its back confirmed its form: a gargantuan ice-elemental snapping turtle.

"Wooooo!"

The gale howled as the giant turtle opened its cavernous maw, swallowing the surrounding blizzard into its belly. An increasingly dense and massive power gathered within its body, ready to be unleashed. Its head, adjusting its aim to follow the movement of the Lionheart Legion, made it perfectly clear who the target was.

A legendary creature, you say? Adjust your positions,

ensure its strike misses Winter City, and then, await my command.

Grand Duke Leon narrowed his eyes, his focus locked upon the colossal beast in the distance. He could sense its power—legendary in rank, and as a behemoth, its raw destructive potential was even greater; yet, such a formidable foe could not unsettle his calm and steady resolve.

The ranks shifted with practiced speed, angling the beast’s gaze away from the ramparts of Winter City, before settling into a hushed, expectant silence, waiting for the Duke’s word.

A low hum vibrated through the air.

The beast’s gathered energy reached its zenith; its maw gaped wide, and a thick, ice-blue beam of light erupted, hurtling toward the Lion Knight Legion. The destructive force contained within was beyond anything beneath the legendary tier could endure; even the previous barrier of battle-aura would have been shattered without hesitation, leaving the knights behind to be pulverized into jagged shards of ice.

Charge!

Yet, faced with this terrifying onslaught, the Duke’s command was wild and unwavering. Under his order, the entire legion surged forward, racing headlong into the freezing torrent.

Black banners snapped and fluttered in the void. The power of the relic, the Phantom Knight Standard, enveloped all one hundred knights, transmuting their physical forms into an intangible state beyond the reach of the material world.

Within the icy blue deluge, the Lion Knight Legion ignored all obstacles, driving upstream against the current, accelerating with impossible, mounting speed toward the frost-beast. The Phantom Knight Legion, charge!