He couldn't help but smugly glance at the two furious members of House Miles in the distance.
"Miles… how could you have known? All these years you've enjoyed the tributes from House Kendra, and that has long brewed their resentment. Especially after the orc invasion from the south, Kendra had already decided to abandon you."
Then, his gaze shifted toward the knights less than two hundred meters away. His eyes gleamed with madness.
"Slaughter the knights of House Miles! For the next ten years, they will have no forces of knights left. Today marks the rise of House Dragon!"
He knew well the immense cost and time required to train even a trainee knight, let alone a full knight. This cavalry unit was the greatest asset of House Miles. If it could be destroyed, Miles would be finished.
As the thousands charged toward him, even the knights who had taken Fury Elixir began to waver. But at that moment, Grey appeared at the front of the formation. Swinging his great axe to fell an enemy, he roared:
"You have no time—end this war if you want to live!"
The effects of the elixir would only last half an hour. Once it wore off, the knights' blood and flesh would collapse in weakness—even a slave could kill them.
Inspired by Grey, and seeing him and the barbarians charge into the enemy ranks, the knights finally cast off hesitation. They leapt from their horses, using the elixir's strength to launch a savage offensive.
The doubled strength made them unstoppable. At the front, the Silver-ranked knights who tried to block Grey suffered terribly—even combined, they could not stop this monster.
"Hold them back!"
Viscount Dragon roared, sending all his personal guard knights to the front. If they could stall the attackers until Kendra's army arrived, victory would be his.
But he had still underestimated the power of a Golden-ranked barbarian, and the ferocity of hundreds of knights burning with the Fury Elixir. Behind them, thousands of soldiers threatened their very lives—this was a battle with no retreat.
Abandoning all defense, the knights launched a frenzied attack. The louder the shouts from the pursuing slave soldiers, the more ferocious their assault became.
In one minute, thirty to forty knights fell at their feet. In three minutes, over a hundred knights collapsed, half of them dead. In five minutes, Grey had already slain two Silver-ranked knights, his massive axe tearing through all of Viscount Dragon's defenses.
His bloodthirsty eyes locked directly onto Viscount Dragon like a beast about to pounce. Dragon's heart skipped a beat; his face changed dramatically.
"Stop him!!"
The viscount bellowed. Though terrified of the Golden barbarian's might, the surrounding knights still charged forth with death-defying courage—only to be butchered by the great axe.
Flesh and blood flew. None could slow Grey's advance. He charged straight at Viscount Dragon.
Terrified, the viscount retreated, shoving his few remaining men forward like human shields.
"Stop him!!"
Grey halted momentarily, noticing four men and women ahead who were clearly not knights.
Then he saw the strange runes in their eyes and felt the air twist with heat and gales.
"Warlocks?"
Unlike mages, warlocks channeled spells through their bloodlines. Grey's gaze turned even more feral.
With a bestial roar and a surge of internal energy, he charged.
The four warlocks unleashed their powers at once. Their magic needed no lengthy incantations—their bloodlines fueled instant activation.
"Blood-Withering Curse!"
One warlock's face twisted in pain as his skin went pale. Grey's aura weakened visibly in response.
"Wrath of the Earth!"
Walls of earth rose before Grey—he smashed through them one after another.
Seeing their spells fail to stop him, the warlocks' faces darkened.
"Hurry up!"
One hurled seeds, and barbed vines erupted, ensnaring Grey's limbs. Blood flowed from the wounds, and pain clouded his reason.
Muscles swelling, Grey let out a deafening roar and swung his axe.
The three warlocks had clearly been buying time for the final one—a woman who now swallowed a vial of emerald green potion.
Her aura turned cold and divine.
"Rending Curse!"
Nine sigils flew through the air like arrows, hitting Grey one after another. Each strike made him stumble, as his organs and muscles began to rot under the spell.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Such a curse would have instantly killed even a Golden knight, but their opponent was no ordinary man—he was a barbarian created through special means by Count Vis.
Despite the curses, Grey reached the warlocks, his deteriorated strength still overwhelming for those lacking even a knight's physique.
"DIE!!"
As Grey roared, the sky suddenly flashed with golden brilliance.
Hundreds of meters away, Viscount Miles rose once more into the sky. His aged eyes were fixed coldly on Viscount Dragon. Incantations flowed from his lips as a ten-meter golden sword formed in the air above Dragon.
"Grand Spell: Celestial Blade!"
A spell famed among high mages—a comeback technique, powerful and devastating. It now descended under Miles's control.
Magical light also glimmered around Viscount Dragon. He had spent a fortune on magical defenses, expecting such a situation.
But just as the Celestial Blade prepared to fall, Grey threw his great axe.
With tremendous force, it struck Dragon, shattering his blood flow and disrupting the magical shield.
"You'll die before I do."
Miles's chilling voice echoed from above.
The Celestial Blade crashed down—a golden light illuminating the battlefield as the ground trembled with a deafening roar.
"Viscount!!"
Knights screamed in horror, rushing toward the impact site. But as the light faded, none of them saw their lord open his eyes from the crater of blood in which he lay.
The Dragoon family's silver knight, ignoring the lingering magical aftermath in the air, charged into the massive crater. Kneeling on the ground, he trembled as he gently picked up the light body of Viscount Dragoon. His quivering hand reached toward the viscount's nostrils.
"No, no!"
This silver knight was terrified—something he hadn't felt even in the face of the golden barbarian. But now, despair gripped him.
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