Edgar was the 1st Division Captain of the 1st Unit under Commander Ezra. As for Zas, he was the 2nd Division Captain who was also a part of the 1st Unit.
The two of them were known as the Inexorable Spears of the 1st Unit. And, together with Commander Ezra, it was said that not a single thing on the battlefield was capable of obstructing their charge.
Ezra sped up to the front of the center group along with Edgar and Zas.
…
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ Meanwhile, in front of the Night Lord’s Crypt…
“Wretched..! Where did the light come from?!” One of the skounae scowled.
“Enemies! We’re under attack!”
“Impossible! How did they get this close without us detecting them?! What are our scouts doing?!”
The majority of the hunter skounae were still trying to recover from the concussive-like effects brought about by the abrupt emergence of the bright light. However, those skounae with higher ranks managed to recollect themselves a bit faster. That being said, they had not completely shaken off the negative effects of the light.
“Don’t let your guard down! We will hold them back here! Prepare to engage-!” One of the Baron skounae screamed out orders; however…
Woosh!
The Baron skounae suddenly stopped talking mid-way through their sentence as their head was sent flying into the air!
This terrifying scene was the first thing some of the hunter skounae who had just recovered their sight witnessed. However, before they had time to process what had just happened, their heads also went flying before they even realized how they had just died.
“Enemies! Kill them! Kill-!” A skounae shouted before their body was cleanly cleaved in two by a magnificent glaive.
Ezra’s cold gaze swept past the skounae, and with every swing of his glaive, he claimed the life of one or more skounae.
“The lives of the innocents that you’ve destroyed—I will make sure their vengeful spirits can find peace in the afterlife,” Ezra said with a darkened expression as he charged through the crowd of skounae, brandishing his glaive.
The number of peaceful villages in Amaharpe and Rosentarus that were raided and destroyed by the skounae, only to be used as sacrifices to hasten the revival of the Night Lord was not small.
As a Commander of the War Brigade, Ezra knew that there was no such thing as rules when it came to war. However, he still strongly believed that there were lines that should never be crossed. And one of those lines was dragging the lives of countless innocent civilians, be it the elderly or children, into a conflict they had no hand in.
Edgar and Zas stayed close to Ezra as the three drove further into the depths of the sea of skounae. They had successfully opened up a path for the center allied forces.
…
At the moment, numerous intense clashes were breaking out all throughout the battlefield in front of the Night Lord’s Crypt.
The center allied forces used the opening created by Ezra and his Captains and rode their momentum to penetrate almost thirty percent of the way into the skounae forces.
The left and right wings were almost making decent progress and had already reached twenty percent of the way into their respective sides.
However, the momentum generated by their surprise assault started to diminish quickly.
The disoriented skounae had begun to get themselves together and it did not take long for them to fight back in full force.
Even though the skounae lost close to ten percent of their forces from the initial strike, they still held a clear advantage when it came to numbers.
Additionally, it was still day out, which meant that they could not display their full strength. Once the night approached, the overall strength of their forces would rise immensely and the allied forces would be thrown into a dangerous situation.
Of course, the skounae was aware of this point. That’s why despite their numerical advantage, they focused on purely defensive tactics. This made it deeply challenging for the allied forces to push through and gain some ground following their surprise strike.
As for Izroth and the 9th Division, they were currently close to the front of the center allied forces.
Woosh! Phhhtk!
Izroth effortlessly slashed through one of the hunter skounae who recklessly charged at him from the right side. In the same motion, he spun his body and launched a sharp kick at a skounae who tried to attack him from behind. Then, right as his kick landed on the skounae, Izroth swept his sword outward and cleanly severed the skounae’s head.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated a Hunter Skounae.〉
〈System Alert: Your Contribution Points has increased by 3! [Total: 6,878.54]〉
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated a Hunter Skounae.〉
〈System Alert: Your Contribution Points has increased by 3! [Total: 6,881.54]〉
‘Three contribution points for a hunter skounae. If I continue at this rate, I may be able to reach 10,000 contribution points during this attack.’
Izroth had already slain over one hundred hunter skounae. However, he was not having much luck when it came to running into higher-ranked skounae. So far, the only none hunter skounae he came across and defeated were two Baron skounae.
Though Izroth knew that the lack of higher ranked skounae on their path was the work of General Solomon and his core forces.
‘It’s about time I split off with the 9th Division.’
Although the contribution points were not bad, Izroth had not forgotten his true goal. In order to achieve that, he first needed to find a way into the Night Lord’s Crypt itself through the sea of skounae enemies.
“Niflheim, I’ll leave the front to you for a bit. Don’t push too far ahead from our current position.” Izroth stated.
Bang!
Niflheim crashed his shield into one of the hunter skounae close to him and sent them tumbling back.
“Got it. Leave it to me.” Niflheim responded without hesitation.
Niflheim had no idea what Izroth was up to, but he knew that now was not the time to casually ask questions.
Zeeeut!
In the blink of an eye, Izroth vanished and reappeared a few meters away next to one of the 9th Division members, Bellum.
At first, Bellum was surprised by the abrupt arrival of someone next to her; however, swiftly realized who it was that approached her.
“Captain? Did you need something-” Bellum started to inquire.
“Die, cursed humans!” A skounae yelled as they suddenly jumped out at Izroth and Bellum!
Woosh!
Without adverting his gaze, Izroth swept his Sword of the Storm horizontally at the skounae.
Phhhhtk!
The skounae’s body was divided into two parts before Izroth placed his sword into its sheath.
“I need your help with a small project,” Izroth said in a straightforward manner.
Small project? Bellum did not know what Izroth had planned, but, for some reason, she felt that whatever it was, it would not be as simple as a “small project”.
“What kind of project did you have in mind?” Bellum asked curiously.
…
Fifteen minutes later…
The battle at the Night Lord’s Crypt had come to somewhat of a deadlock.
The allied forces had long since lost their initial momentum and had to rely heavily on tactics and the power of their vanguards to gain even a single meter of ground against the skounae.
However, not every group suffered from this problem. Some of the independent units were able to skillfully move through the small open gaps in the skounaes formation. These gaps were not large enough for a War Brigade Unit, let alone an entire Legion to fit through. But, they were just big enough for a group the size of a Division to pass through.
That being said, there were no Divisions reckless enough to attempt such a feat. After all, once they were surrounded, it was all over. It was just that the independent groups were a special bunch filled with elite troops.
As for Izroth and the 9th Division, they decided to take another route to the entrance of the Night Lord’s Crypt.
Crrrrrck…
The earth a few meters in front of the Night Lord’s Crypt began to crack open before expanding into a hole that was two meters in diameter with a staircase leading up to the ground.
Tap.
Izroth was the first to step out of the hole. Not long after, the rest of the 9th Division also started to emerge from the hole one after the other.
