Chapter 526: Magical Attack
TL: Rui88
Accompanied by a massive explosion, a searing current of air suddenly spread out from mid-air. The rolling heatwave descended upon the soldiers in the rear half of the Crusader formation in the form of a visible shockwave.
A group of soldiers directly beneath the explosion, as if slapped by a giant hand, fell to the ground in unison, either chest-down or back-down.
“Ah! It hurts!”
“Mama!”
“Merciful Heavenly Father!”
Screams were endless. Among those who had fallen, some struggled on the ground, some could only squirm slightly, and others pushed themselves up to stand again, only to find their ears ringing, their heads spinning, and the entire world turning upside down before their eyes.
“So hot!”
“Hiss~ Hiss~!”
Many of those who had borne the brunt of the heatwave showed signs of burns.Although it seemed few had died, it had already had a terrible effect on the entire Crusader formation.
The tremendous blast stunned everyone on the battlefield. For a few seconds, both the afflicted Crusaders and the re-energised Eton army fell into a silent stillness, except for those on the ground struggling and crying out in pain.
The commander of the Eton army, Grand Duke Ettiot Cabre, who was fighting in person, now had armour and a helmet covered in marks left by swords and blades. Although the finest suit of armour in the entire army had protected him from the harm of sharp weapons, leaving him with no bleeding wounds, even the best armour could not completely defend against the attacks of blunt instruments.
The Grand Duke now felt pain all over his body; many parts of his body were surely black and blue. Every time he swung his greatsword, he cried out in pain, but to others, it was the roar of a warrior, full of momentum. The Eton soldiers were invigorated by it, while the Crusader soldiers were terrified.
Grand Duke Cabre, fighting hard, also heard the massive explosion. Knowing the spellcasters’ plan, he understood that their group magic had been unleashed. In the midst of the crowd, Grand Duke Cabre could not see the tragic state of the rear of the Crusader formation, but he could hear sounds of pain and fear coming from that direction.
It seemed the effect was quite good!
The Grand Duke of Eton could not help but look towards the rear of his own army. On a piece of higher ground a short distance away, more than a dozen people dressed in red robes stood neatly. They were a group of spellcasters. When the spell was cast, they all maintained the same posture, with their hands half-raised in the air, motionless as statues.
Grand Duke Cabre’s wife, Grand Duchess Helen, and his wife’s teacher, Lady Mariana, were among this group of spellcasters.
Helen’s breathing was a little ragged, her face was flushed red, and her chest heaved violently as if she had just undergone strenuous exercise. Large beads of sweat trickled down the strands of hair stuck to her cheeks.
Among the dozen or so spellcasters, all but Lady Mariana were like Helen. The male spellcasters even began to pant heavily, disregarding their decorum.
Helen lowered her raised hands and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face.
“Teacher, did we… succeed?”
“It appears so, yes.”
Lady Mariana, who had fiery red hair, looked at the Crusader formation in the distance, carefully observing the spell’s effect.
Her condition was much better than her fellow spellcasters; apart from a slight flush on her face, her overall state was no different from usual.
“Lady Redflame, congratulations.”
A male spellcaster congratulated her using the title from the Arcane Society.
“You have finally improved this spell to the point where it can be used in actual combat.”
Lady Redflame, Mariana, smiled faintly. “It is merely just barely usable. We still need to continue improving it. The number of casters, casting distance, casting time, target precision, power, area of effect… there should still be room for optimisation in these elements.”
The male spellcaster bowed to Mariana. “As always, you relentlessly pursue perfection.”
Mariana replied, “Only in this way can the path of magic continuously advance.”
She looked at Helen with a gratified expression and said, “Helen, you did very well. To be able to coordinate so well after only a few practice sessions.”
Praised by her teacher, Grand Duchess Helen laughed happily, as if she had returned to her childhood when she was still receiving magical instruction.
But a look of nervousness soon appeared on Helen’s face. She looked towards her husband, who was still on the battlefield leading the Eton soldiers, her eyes full of worry. “Teacher, when will Nathan and Sita come to support him? The Crusaders’ cavalry seems to have already been routed.”
Mariana gently stroked Helen’s back. “Defeating the cavalry must have been very draining. Only with sufficient rest can they perform at their best. Don’t worry, the time should be about right. They will come to support your husband soon.”
Receiving her teacher’s assurance, Helen felt much more at ease.
Mariana called out to the group in a clear voice, “Everyone, hurry up and recover. Let’s try to hit the Collins men one more time before they are completely routed.”
…
“What happened?”
The Crusader commanders, including Fedotov and Harper, were dumbfounded, staring in shock at the explosion that had just occurred above their soldiers’ heads.
Harper’s gaping mouth remained open for a long time. He tremblingly raised his right hand and pointed a finger at a small group of people behind the Eton lines. With astonishing intuition, he had correctly guessed the perpetrators of this disaster.
“It must… it must be them! General Fedotov, I can feel it. Those people lined up so neatly must be the wizards from Eton’s side.”
“They must be the ones harming our warriors with their evil magic.”
Fedotov looked in the direction Harper was pointing and instantly sensed the strangeness of those people. They were not using flags to issue commands, nor were they making any other movements. They just stood there stiffly, arms half-raised, as if performing some kind of ritual.
Harper’s feeling was probably correct; those were Eton’s wizards casting a spell.
“Detestable!”
Fedotov snapped his riding crop fiercely. If his cavalry were still here, he could immediately send them to outflank and wipe out that group of devilish incarnations in one fell swoop.
Who knew what evil magic they would cast next. Oh no, the one just now was already terrifying enough.
The Crusader formation had been thrown into chaos in an instant by the magical attack. The officers supervising the battle within the formation had exhausted their efforts and shouted themselves hoarse just to reorganise the soldiers.
It was fortunate that the Crusaders still had a significant numerical advantage over the Eton side, and that the soldiers in the front few ranks were unaffected by the explosion. Otherwise, a single counter-charge from the Eton forces could have made them collapse on the spot.
“The chain demon! The chain demon!”
Beside him, Harper suddenly screamed in terror, pointing at a troop approaching in the distance.
The true rout of the Crusader Army had finally begun.