Capítulo 232: [FGO]: 232
Ryou always believed that only an army that has faced bloodshed can be called a good army. When this new-style army was still in its infancy, the internal turmoil in Lugunica presented a perfect opportunity. Lords armed themselves and defied royal decrees, while bandits roamed the wilderness and mountains, threatening the safety of nearby villages. Ryou made a resolute decision to throw this fledgling army—barely a year old—into the tasks of quelling rebellions and eradicating bandits. Initially, due to a lack of advanced weapons, limited training time, and the inexperience of the recruits, the newly formed force suffered heavy casualties. However, after a year of trials by fire and steel, the army emerged reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, with a completely transformed appearance.
By this time, Ryou began gradually equipping the troops with various advanced gear: enchanted crossbows, armor made from earth-dragon hide, and more. After a decade of rigorous refinement, the army exceeded Ryou's expectations in every aspect—equipment, training, combat experience, and morale. Just as Ryou was seeking a worthy opponent, the Vollachia Empire brought itself to his doorstep. This time, the Vollachia Empire had learned from its past mistakes. Instead of launching a direct assault on the Sky Garden of Semiramis, they took a detour, attacking Lugunica through the desert regions of the Kararagi Federation to the west.
The merchants of the Kararagi Federation, true to their reputation, were willing to sell anything. Whatever deal the Vollachia Empire struck with them convinced the Federation to allow the Vollachia Empire's troops passage through their territory. But even if they had, they likely would have agreed under the Vollachia Empire's financial pressure.
The Empire mobilized a formidable force of 200,000 troops, including a massive mage corps of 20,000, led by the twelve most powerful court magicians, each rivaling the strength of Roswaal. Together, these mages posed a threat even to the resurrected Reinhard. If this mage corps were to fall, the Vollachia Empire's entire magical system would regress dramatically, underscoring their determination to destroy Lugunica this time.
As the Vollachia Empire's army approached the border between the Kararagi Federation and Lugunica, tension mounted. The border was a vast desert with a long and narrow front, making it difficult for Lugunica to defend. To test his newly forged army's combat capability, Ryou chose to confront the Vollachia Empire head-on at the border.
It was 9 a.m. Atop a black warhorse, Ryou gazed calmly into the desert, lost in thought. Beside him, Anastasia sat quietly on a magical warhorse made of ice crystals. Suddenly, both Ryou and Anastasia narrowed their eyes simultaneously—the enemy had arrived. The sound of heavy hoofbeats echoed as a cavalry unit clad entirely in silver armor—both knights and horses—came into view. Their banner, white with gold trim and emblazoned with a luxurious crown, fluttered in the wind. It was the Empire Elite Knights.
After a decade, the Vollachia Empire had rebuilt its once-legendary heavy cavalry unit, renowned across the continent. The Empire Elite Knights, eager to wash away the shame of their predecessors, charged forward, thirsting for enemy blood.
"Raise lances! Accelerate! Charge!"
Without hesitation, the Empire Knights launched a full-scale assault against Lugunica's military formation. Each knight, along with man, horse, and gear, weighed over 500 kilograms; only warhorses with beastly lineage could carry such loads. The impact of a single knight rivaled that of a small car crash, and there were 10,000 such knights in total. Dust rose as the ground trembled, resembling an armored tank brigade advancing.
Facing this iron torrent, even Lugunica's battle-hardened troops felt a chill. Without their prior experience in blood and fire, their morale might have collapsed at the sight alone. Still, many soldiers turned pale as they faced this fearsome foe. Ryou remained unfazed, knowing this army had only faced rebels and bandits before—foes incomparable in might and momentum to the Vollachia Empire's elite. But this was an opportunity: after this battle, the army would achieve sublimation, forging its soul in the blood of a powerful enemy. Ryou was certain of it.
For warhorses traveling at speeds of 100 km/h, the 2 km distance vanished in a flash.
"Prepare!"
Ryou's command echoed. The soldiers, clad in black armor, swiftly spread out into a crescent formation—a configuration typically used by larger armies to encircle smaller ones. However, with both forces numbering 10,000, this setup seemed fragile, as if a single charge could shatter it. The Empire Knights, seeing Ryou's unconventional arrangement, smirked beneath their helmets.
As they readied to teach Ryou a harsh lesson, the soldiers under his command took up peculiar positions: the first row lay prone, the second row crouched, and the third row stood upright.
"Is this some kind of circus act?" thought the Empire Knights, nearly laughing out loud. At that moment, Ryou's icy voice pierced the air: "Aim... Fire!"
The soldiers raised their enchanted crossbows, aiming at the onrushing knights, and pulled the triggers without hesitation. A chorus of string twangs filled the air, resembling the enraged buzzing of a disturbed beehive. Silver streaks filled the sky as arrows hurtled toward the armored cavalry.
In a fraction of a second, the clash between the knights and the arrows determined the outcome of the confrontation. In the end, the Vollachia Empire's most dazzling, powerful, and illustrious Empire Knight Corps, with over a century of glorious history, suffered a crushing defeat! In mere moments, the once invincible Empire Knight Corps was reduced to chaos by a storm of crossbow bolts, leaving men and horses tumbling. One knight at the forefront valiantly swung his sword, seemingly attempting to carve a path through the rain of arrows. However, the arrows snapped his sword, severed his arm, and riddled his body until he was a lifeless husk. The arrows that pierced him continued onward, targeting the knight behind him.
Obstructed by his fallen comrade, the knight behind did not notice death creeping closer. He continued urging his steed onward, his mind filled with thoughts of gaining more glory. Suddenly, dozens of black "threads" pierced his comrade's body, spraying a fine mist of blood before continuing through him as well. For an instant, he froze, as if someone had hit a pause button on his life. Then, with a splatter of blood, he fell heavily from his horse. In cavalry charges, falling from one's mount has only one outcome—being trampled into a bloody pulp by the horses behind. As the knight's head was crushed, his consciousness faded, and his final thought was: "Sorry, Belmina, I won't be able to return home to marry you..."
Soon, darkness claimed him.
This was just one small scene in the larger tragedy of the Empire Knight Corps. Countless knights were pierced by unending waves of crossbow bolts, fell from their mounts, and were trampled into unrecognizable remains. For the Empire Knight Corps, a mere 1,000-meter charge seemed like an insurmountable chasm. Before long, a thin layer of blood mist hung over the battlefield, and the pungent scent of blood spread with the wind, drawing countless scavengers. Ten minutes later, not a single Empire Knight reached Ryou. The closest one was still over 300 meters away. Of the 10,000 knights, fewer than 500 managed to escape the rain of bolts and retreat. The remaining 9,500 perished during the charge.
Thus, the Vollachia Empire's pride—the famed, battle-hardened Empire Knight Corps—was annihilated, likely for good this time. Faced with Ryou's revolutionary approach to warfare, heavy cavalry, a resource-draining relic, seemed destined to be phased out of history. One could argue that Ryou single-handedly altered the course of this world's warfare.
Amidst the astonishing victory, Ryou remained remarkably composed. No one had more confidence in the army he meticulously built than he did. The repeating crossbows alone were enchanted to enhance range, power, speed, and penetration, with each costing a staggering 1,000 holy gold coins. The crossbows featured cylindrical magazines holding 50 bolts and, thanks to ingenious design, could fire all 50 bolts in a single minute—essentially a medieval equivalent of a modern automatic rifle. Even medieval firearms had rendered heavy cavalry obsolete, so Ryou's modernized, semi-automatic magical crossbows made the task laughably easy.
Beyond the costly crossbows, the soldiers were outfitted head-to-toe with state-of-the-art gear: boots enhancing movement speed, armor made from Earth Dragon leather resistant to piercing and magical damage, and helmets that improved vision and countered mind-control spells. Each set of equipment costs over 3,000 holy gold coins. Though this figure might seem low, converting holy coins to modern currency (1 holy coin = 10,000 units) revealed that equipping a single soldier cost over 30 million! This didn't even account for training, salaries, and death compensations, which amounted to astronomical sums. Only under Ryou's leadership, with the economic boom that had multiplied Lugunica's wealth tenfold, could such a terrifying army be constructed.
Having bathed this elite force in the blood of their enemies, Ryou bestowed upon them a new name—Death's Wing. This fearsome army would soon spread blood and chaos across the world. When news of the Empire Knight Corps' annihilation reached the Vollachia Empire's command, the newly appointed Grand Marshal was so enraged that he snapped his riding crop in half. Although furious, beneath his anger lay deep-seated fear. In just a decade, this once-weak nation, vulnerable after losing its Divine Dragon, had grown strong enough to threaten the Vollachia Empire itself. Lugunica had to be destroyed!
Blinded by rage and fear, the Grand Marshal rashly ordered a retaliatory attack, deploying a mage corps without waiting for reinforcements. Suddenly, the skies above Death's Wing were filled with meteors, storms, and thunderbolts as magic rained down. Unfazed by the overwhelming magic, Ryou calmly called out, "Ana." Before he finished speaking, Anastasia raised her hand, pointing at the magical tempest above. With a deafening roar, countless black ice pillars erupted from the ground, piercing the sky and colliding with the magical storm.
What happened next stunned everyone. The black ice pillars shattered the mage corps' spells and crashed toward their location. The magic unleashed by 20,000 mages couldn't match the single spell of a youthful girl. As the black ice pillars closed in, panic consumed the mage corps. Some retaliated with attack spells, others raised defensive barriers, and still others fled through hastily opened portals. It was utter chaos, like a desperate scramble by individuals using whatever means they could muster.
This moment laid bare the flaws of the hastily assembled mage corps. Though 20,000 strong, they couldn't coordinate effectively. Their combat power paled in comparison to the Mage Corps of a decade ago, which had only 5,000 members. While the twelve leading court mages tried to unite the scattered mages under a cohesive strategy, Anastasia's spell was already bearing down with unstoppable force.
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