City of Sin

Book 5, 62

Massacre

To Richard, losing eleven drones for the death of an enemy saint was perfectly fine. Saints were near the top of the pyramid even in Norland, and in this plane with only two legendary beings they were all the more important. Taking one out for the equivalent of a few days of work from the broodmother was a great exchange.

Richard barely had the time to pity the fate of the first saint before a second one attracted his attention. However, this one’s luck wasn’t any better; he was faced with Tiramisu the moment he revealed himself. With War Construct, Mana Armament, and his own boundless strength, the two-headed ogre almost crushed him with a single strike.

As someone who specialised in brute force himself, this saint barely managed to block Tiramisu’s full-force attack. However, there was no time to feel pride or happiness at the fact; three blades pierced right into his back as he was occupied, causing him to roar in pain as his life force faded away. The teamplay between Phaser, Waterflower, and Zangru was evidently still weak; even just one of them would have been able to reap this enemy’s life.

Once they were a decent way into the fortress, Richard had his rune knights split up into squads of ten, each led by a shadowspear of their own. The 110 mounted fighters bored through the enemies while the remaining shadowspears protected the rear, clearing out large swathes of enemies and leaving only bloodied corpses in their wake. Richard himself continued to protect the flank.

His goal was the inner front wall of the city. Once he reached that vantage point, he would have divided the local forces into two parts; the camp on the bridge itself and the others outside. Senma would then mobilise her own soldiers, pincering into the trapped army. A total nine of the city’s fifteen ballistae were on that wall as well, which meant acquiring it greatly reduced the ranged damage these locals could deal.

“They’re heading for the Unpassable Wall, stop them!” someone screamed in the darkness.

The Unpassable Wall was the towering wall that had first stopped Gaton’s charge. Numerous corpses of both Norlanders and the locals were buried at the foot of this large wall, and it had been fortified numerous times over the years. It was a sort of spiritual support for the locals, and sundering it would destroy morale.

Of course, Richard just wanted to succeed where Gaton had failed. He advanced silently, sending out hundreds of mental orders every minute as his troop turned into one giant body that ripped through the streets to its target. His blessing of wisdom was being used to its utmost, even his second mind being put in charge of commanding some of the soldiers. Waterflower, Phaser and Zangru were constantly being pointed out the locations of the enemy saints.

A bird’s eye view would show that the formation was constantly shifting according to the terrain, each knight dismembering enemies in one minute before switching to support someone else the next. The changes grew faster and faster as the charge picked up pace, the efficiency of the murders growing with every passing minute.

To Richard, this was a way to show his subordinates and followers just how determined he was. He himself moved alongside the main charge, cutting down anyone that dared approach in no more than a single strike. He looked extremely inconspicuous at first, but as his own kill count increased the enemies realised just how powerful he was.

Yet another soldier dashed towards Richard, but despite his ordinary-looking armour he caught Richard’s eye. Immediately growing conscious of the coming engagement, he turned a little solemn as a lightning-quick slash struck out at the enemy. Although it wasn’t strong enough to cause instant death, it would strip this soldier of any strength to battle.

*Clang!* One of Richard’s brows rose up as his attack was deflected for the first time, his eyes starting to glow dimly to analyse this newcomer. This ordinary-looking soldier was a saint!

Yet, the saint’s shock was far greater than Richard’s. Although he was only using a regular sword, this one strike had forced his blade back almost into his breastplate. The slash seemed quite relaxed, but it was unbelievably fast and powerful.

His brow immediately started leaking cold sweat. Only standing before Richard would one realise just how much power lay behind those simple thrusts. He now understood why so many veterans had fallen to this unarmoured dagger-wielder; every movement was extremely intoxicating and irregular, forcing those who relied on their instincts into a dead end.

For the first time since the charge began, Richard halted his footsteps. This one slash would have been strong enough to kill a skaven in the Land of Dusk, and any saint without a boost to their power like the innate strength of the Daxdians or the runes of the Norlanders would end up dying as well. However, this enemy was neither; while the Resting Orchid Plane had totemic warriors, that didn’t pose much of a threat at all.

This was no ordinary enemy, even for a saint, but Richard did not plan to waste any time. Light glowed from his eyes as Carnage’s sword form was attached to its dagger body, crimson light overflowing from the blade as it moved forward in a slash. The menacing sword seemed extremely slow and lazy, but it left afterimages behind as it moved forward. One would be forgiven for thinking it was just an illusion.

One would also be dead. The saint raised his sword to try and parry once more, but even though his blade made it in front of his chest it was of no use. A clear crack rang out as Carnage broke the sword in two, thrusting into the man’s breastplate and out from his back. A loud explosion rang out as the man’s back exploded into a bloody mist, torn organs and broken bones flying out from a gaping hole in the back.

Richard withdrew his blade, face pale from the exertion. This attack had only attained such power because all four Lifesbane runes had powered it, the tenfold increase in his strength making way for unimaginable destructive power, but he still couldn’t brush off the sheer energy drain.

Although the saint had been killed in an instant, he still tutted in annoyance. His blade had made a small incision in the front and blasted a hole in the back, but Beye would be able to turn the insides of this enemy to mush without the tiniest of blood leaks. His skills were still far too crude.

While Richard was disappointed in himself, everyone around him was completely dumbstruck. The locals were stricken by terror, and even his own followers shivered at his sheer might. Many of them were thinking of one single question; would they have been able to deflect this blade?

After panting for a while, Richard continued to lead his followers towards the Unpassable Wall. He no longer concealed his strength, moving from enemy to enemy as he killed all comers in a single slash. Sometimes he even rushed into the middle of a group, becoming a whirlwind of steel that sent limbs flying out in all directions.

With most of these people witnessing the absolute destructive power of Lifesbane for the first time, the battlefield seemed to grind to a halt.