Chapter 196: Third Day
Chapter 196: Third Day
Chapter 196: Third Day
Bard and Audun rode with their armies, targeting the unsuspecting enemies. But, the collective movement of 60.000 human beings made a lot of noise. Someone had to notice. Some of the soldiers in the rear turned around one by one after hearing the incoming army.
"Enemi-" Just as one of them tried to warn his fellow soldiers, an arrow killed him. Then the one next to him, and the next one anduntil at least 30 people died. Anyone that turned their head, found themselves lying on the ground next. Bard made sure to leave some for Audun, who reached the enemies first. His halberd in his hand, infused with QI, Audun started decimating the enemies. Each swing of his weapon claimed dozens of lives. The soldiers conscripted into his army shouted as they followed their leader's charge.
Bard didn't like to be the one losing in the kill count, so he started charging his weapon as well. His bow shone in a blue-ish aura that intensified more and more. Just as he was about to release the arrow, the aura mixed with it. Like lightning, the arrow killed anyone it made contact with. As soon as it hit the ground, it created a big explosion claiming even more lives. The two armies that planned to use a pincer attack on Hayato ended up being the victim to one themselves.
"Retreat!" As the armies held no chance at coming out on top, they chose to retreat and cut their losses. Some of the leaders used flags as a way to communicate, and the soldiers of the first army started marching backward. The other two armies escaped to the side as they bore with Bard and Audun's attacks on their rear.
"Where do you think you're going?" Two figures appeared in front of the escaping armies. One for each army. The soldiers at the very front didn't stop as they tried to kill the two figures. However, a flying slash claimed the lives of a whole row of soldiers. More and more people started dying at the hands of the two figures, Ed and Gobuta.
"Is THIS all you have, Blood sect?" As he continued his massacre, Ed flew up and looked towards the area where the commanders of the Blood sect army would be at. He provoked them more and more as their soldiers were mercilessly killed as they escaped.
The three central armies continued to retreat until no one pursued them anymore. Noticing this, the armies on the side broke off their engagement against Leonard and Dean and retreated as well. The coalition army felt proud at their accomplishment and shouted in victory. It was still an hour or so before sunset, but the soldiers felt like an eternity.
Although they were the winners in this first day, they lost many soldiers as well. Many other soldiers remained behind in the battlefield, looking for the bodies of their comrades. Those found were stored in a spatial ring to preserve their bodies.
By night, provisions were passed around for the soldiers to eat. It was much better than normal provisions, but it wasn't the best. The injured soldiers were transported and classed according to their injury. Suika, Merry, Alicia, and some others proficient at using Healing magic spread around to do some healing. Those with the most severe injuries were healed by Suika's Hatsu.
People cleaned themselves up from blood, and the higher-ups met at Arthur's tent.
"The enemies lost around 150-200k soldiers. It's a big number considering our disadvantage. We'll continue to press them this way." Arthur gave a general review of the first day. He chose not to disclose how many soldiers they lost and focused on the enemy losses.
After finishing with Arthur, Ed and the others left the place and headed towards their own tents. But, before Ed could leave, he was stopped by Emilia and the others.
"What's wrong with you today? It's not how you usually act." Emilia asked him and he could see the worry in the eyes of his comrades. They referred to the way he provoked Blood sect in a weird way during their retreat.
"It's just to raise morale, don't worry." Ed dismissed their worries and left, leaving them confused about his attitude.
The second day started, and they could see that Blood sect improved their armies. More and more Heavenly Establishment soldiers filled their ranks. Hayato and the others couldn't score as many kills as they did yesterday and lost more. But, they didn't lose morale as Ed and Hayato managed to kill many of the leading figures in the enemy lines. Ed continued on provoking Blood sect while killing the soldiers.
By night, the soldiers were healed again by Suika and the others, and they couldn't feel more grateful. Another meeting was held in Arthur's tent, but this time no one asked Ed about his actions.
People went to sleep and some watched out for surprise attacks. However, unbeknownst to any of them, a small force arrived near Avalon. Their leader was Immortal Establishment level 2, and most of his followers were at Heavenly Establishment. They smiled as they rode, targeting the gates of Avalon city.
The third day of the war started and the Blood army cheered loud. Ed looked towards them and squinted his eyes, as he could feel many strong people at the front of the army. The commanders of Blood sect had shown themselves. Still, Ed didn't think the supreme commander was present, as he couldn't feel as big of an aura as what should be his. The strongest he could feel was Immortal Establishment level 4 standing in front of the central army.
"The Blood sect army knew they couldn't keep losing to us, so they sent their strongest!" Hayato organized the army and did a little pep-talk.
"However, no matter who they send, we will decimate them all!" The two armies rode towards each other, and the Blood sect army seemed more bloodthirsty than usual. Before the two leaders could clash, Ed appeared between them and engaged the enemy. Hayato seemed reluctant for an instant, but rode away, leaving the enemy to Ed.
"So you're the little sh*t that's been playing around the army?" The man noticed Ed's appearance and some of his veins bulged out.
"No. I'm the one who will murder everyone in your army."