Behead

The fire wall was being torn apart by the magic, and the grease was burning out, gradually extinguishing.

Knight Daliger stood at the bow of the boat, first looked at the two Shimmerstone dragons battling to death in the lake behind him, and then turned to look at the wizard who couldn't stop retching.

'This idiot panicked and used too much magic!'

He frowned, but on second thought, if the wizard was proficient in close combat, he wouldn't have thought of replacing him.

Ignoring the wizard behind him and seeing the charred bodies on the beach and those impaled by the massive crossbow, he quickly estimated that out of the eighty-strong assault team, less than half remained. He decisively pulled out his longsword.

"Budgie, attack!"

The remaining Budgie soldiers got up, formed a small square formation, held up their shields, and pressed their shoulders against each other. They stepped forward on the remaining fire. The moment they stepped on the hard ground, a howl came from the sky.

Thunk.

The soldier at the front fell screaming with an arrow in his eye, and that annoying sound of the crossbow's string echoed again.

'Did these Calia people construct fortifications?' Daliger immediately realized that the opponents weren't wiped out but were hiding and continuously shooting from the dark. Their side had residual fire illumination, instantly turning them into live targets.

"Charge! Don't get entangled with these few remnants!" The knight rushed to the front, swung his sword to deflect the arrows, and then, with a pull and a kick, rushed the soldiers holding the vertical shields forward.

The two knights charged to the front, stepping over the shattered breast-wall and crushing the crossbow fragments. On closer inspection, there was only one broken body of a swordsman left on the ground.

Thunderous sound but little rain.

Daliger cursed under his breath, stepped over the trench and up the slope, where the manor was enveloped in a cloud of fire. The intense shouts and screams of battle entered his ears.

The main force had stormed the city walls, and as long as they broke in from the back, the Calians would surely falter on all fronts!

He was just thinking about this when an arrow suddenly shot out from the pine forest to his right. The soldier next to him fell to the ground rolling while covering his face.

"They still haven't fled!?" The knight opened his eyes wide, the few remaining soldiers were damnably pulling at them from the side. As he was hesitating, a red light burst open in the night sky.

That was the signal from the team leader, Mathews, questioning why they hadn't acted yet.

"First squad, with me, let's take care of these annoying pests! Torey, you lead the others to carve a path through and must set fire to the Calia warehouse!"

He made the decision instantly. The assault team was not here to play hide-and-seek with a few remnants - they had to break in, burn the warehouse, massacre the wounded, and completely shatter the psychological defences of the Calian people!

"They have split their forces." Daon leaned against a tree, using the light from the flame pots, he saw over thirty Budgie soldiers split into two groups. The knight who threw the javelin led three men rushing towards the forest, while the bigger group, under the direction of another knight, was charging towards the manor. Their knapsacks were bulging, and even without asking, he knew what was in them.

"Let's split up too, Captain, you guys

The woman soldier was startled, she who had originally planned to fight to the death on the lakeside had been dragged over here, and blurted out, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Daon nodded heavily.

There was no room for dilly-dallying on the battlefield. Karen picked up her bow and went straight ahead, after a few steps she turned back and lightly patted Daon.

"Take care."

"Don't die." The taciturn man holding the fire-pots squeezed out a few words as well.

"I will bring your ashes back to the village."

"Screw you." Daon pretended to kick, and Ano quickly dodged.

The sound of armor collision grew fainter as they disappeared from sight. They didn't need to worry; the baiting time was long enough by now. As long as Knight Aryan wasn't an idiot, he would send reinforcements even if his forces were severely depleted. All they had to do was desperately defend the granary.

Daon looked at the figure entering the forest. The miscellaneous soldiers were not a big deal, but the two Budgie knights' charge could perhaps break into the manor, and he did not dare to bet on it.

"So, what should I do..."

His hand gripping the hilt turned slightly pale, Daon's eyes narrowed, he threw a fire-pot, which darted out like an arrow off the string.

"Cut him down!"

Why is there only one?

Across the narrow path, Daliger instantly realized that this group of remnants was not giving up. With just a few men, they dared to split into two teams, so he simply pulled out the short spear from behind him.

"Seeking death!"

The descendent fire-pot in the sky was shattered mid-air, the scattered flames ignited the leaves, brightening the woods. In the light, a blurred figure was swiftly skimming between the tree trunks, his wrist turned, and he was surprisingly holding another fire-pot.

Straight on!

Daon, rushing into about ten meters, suddenly threw it. Because of the close distance, the fire directly exploded on the shield of the soldier in front and the spreading flames forced the other two soldiers to dodge hastily.

The shield blocked the fire, and the soldier wasn't set ablaze. He instinctively stepped back, then felt someone stepping on his shield. Looking up, he saw a figure jumping over his head, holding the curved sword with a reverse grip and stabbing down.

Thump.

The hound's fangs pierced through the round helmet, running straight from the top of the head to the chest. He shook his wrist, pulled out the sword, straightened his body and fell backward, casually kicking the body away. Then---

The entire chest of the body in front of him exploded, and a cold light swept past Daon, splashing him with blood.

Second shot.

He muttered in his heart and fell on the ground. With a single palm, he exerted force on his waist and abdomen, and the whole person did several backward somersaults to dodge. However, the strong wind and falling leaves hit his face, and another javelin stabbed into the ground, scraping his back.

Third shot.

The backward somersault abruptly stopped. Daon crouched on the ground. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a cold light slashing from the side. It turned out that one of the soldiers had been waiting there all this time. However, Daon did not panic, he sidestepped to meet him at the same time, taking a handful of mud and throwing it.

Clang!

The straight sword collided with the curved knife, but the thrown mud smeared the soldier's face. He suddenly couldn't see anything, just felt someone get under his arm and violently lift him up. The entire person felt like he was flying up, and hit something hard.

Daon quickly got up, turned back and saw the two soldiers who had collided into each other. His throw wasn't a fluke. The two soldiers just happened to block the knight's line of fire. The latter was holding a javelin, unsure whether to throw it or not.

Even if this body isn't up to it, my experience and vision still are!

In the moment of his opponent's hesitation, Daon darted out explosively. His cape burned with sparks, just like a fiery arrow chasing. Extending his curved sword, leveraging the momentum of the charge, he suddenly stabbed forward.

Thump!

The blade pierced through the neck of the first soldier, through the throat, directly poking at the nose of the slightly shorter soldier, then piercing through his face, the sword tip protruding from the back of his head. The residual pain nerves caused the two to spasm non-stop. In the meantime, Daon continued moving forward with the two bodies.

Shhh...

Flesh and pieces of armor danced in the air. Daliger eventually threw it out, and his powerful force actually penetrated the two armored bodies straight into the dark forest.

With such speed, such power, he slightly narrowed his eyes until a blood-soaked figure emerged from the blood mist.

Still alive!

Daon was silent, his breastplate had been torn open, if he hadn't sidestepped in time, his entire chest would've been gone for sure. Luckily, this guy charged into the woods. If it had been in the open, even a mountain demon would've been easily taken out.

Time seemed to slow down, and the distance between the two was less than five meters. Seeing the other party gripping the great sword, he decisively stimulated the battle ashes within the sword.

Hound's Sword Technique!

Without thinking, this peculiar power allowed him to launch a combination of attacks.

His curved sword swept from bottom to top, sparks flying off the hard armor. The knight's armor was not just for show, and he was not an unthinking NPC either. He took a half step back to dodge this calculated sweep. His heel hadn't even touched the ground when he stepped forward again, his great sword slashing down heavily.

Boom!

The ground was cut open into a shallow pit, but Daon had already rolled backward to dodge. The beauty of these battle ashes lay here; it could compensate the reaction gap to the maximum extent possible.

As the soil burst, Daon, just getting up, immediately initiated the second stage. He vanished on the spot.

"A Hound Knight?" Daliger had this thought in an instant. As an ally of the Calia royal family, encountering a Hound Knight here wasn't strange. He twisted his wrist, and the great sword swept up.

"No, just a little devil who knows how to use battle ashes!"

Clang!

The diagonal slash clashed with the great sword, and the curved sword, spinning, flew into the sky. The knight looked sideways at the flying teenager and smirked wickedly.

"Think I haven't seen these battle ashes before? Go to hell..."

The words got stuck in his throat because the leaping teenager was holding a magic wand high above his head. The emblem of the Calia royal family bloomed, and a sword blade composed purely of magic power appeared. He held the wand with both hands, as if holding the hilt of a sword, and used all his strength to hack downward.

Ichimonji · Fast Sword!

Both the spirit and the power were concentrated into one line, and its speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness were undoubtedly showcased.

Thump.

A blossom of blood unfurled. The knight cried out in pain as the light blade cut from the shoulder armor into the chest. Yet he did not die. Instead, he dropped his sword and stretched out his hand, clutching Daon's throat.

Is the strength of Fast Sword dependent on magic power?

Daon ignored the large hand confronting him, lifted his right palm, and just as he gripped the falling Hound's long tooth, he twisted his wrist and made a horizontal slash with the blade.

Whoosh---

A streak of cold light skimmed the knight's neck. The big hand that was gripping Daon's throat instantly lost power. The nearly two-meter tall warrior knelt on the ground, and a head rolled far away.

The fresh blood that gushed from the broken neck turned Daon into a blood man. Expressionless, he removed his hand from his throat, turned his head to a wizard petrified at the edge of the forest, his mouth corners tilted upward, revealing a gentle smile.

"Apologies, I'm a dual practitioner of martial and magical arts."