MTLNOVEL Chapter 450: Chapter 450: The Epic Victory
On the right flank, Mathieu Bard and his undead knights clashed fiercely with Anthelm's large contingent of knights. Thousands of knights on both sides fell in the brutal confrontation, with the battle hanging in a precarious balance, where either side could emerge victorious or face sudden defeat.
The duel between Mathieu Bard and Anthelm ended with Mathieu Bard gaining the upper hand. The Grail Knight Anthelm was gravely wounded, a lance piercing his abdomen, forcing him to retreat. However, Bretonnia's knights, unlike the undead, greenskins, or chaos forces, had a longstanding tradition of structured command. When a commander fell or was incapacitated, the highest-ranking knight immediately took over command.
Thus, the leadership of the right flank swiftly passed from Anthelm to Kalad. This formidable Expedition Knight led a textbook countercharge that not only repelled Mathieu Bard and his Blood Knights but also left a gash on Mathieu Bard's breastplate.
Kalad, surprisingly, proved even stronger than Anthelm, a Grail Knight!
Reeling from the repulse, Mathieu Bard clutched his chest and shoulder, observing the iron mill grinding countless flesh and bone before him, and began plotting.
Raising this many undead knights from the pits of the Duke of Artois' crypt had been no easy task. Continuing to commit these precious forces into the bottomless pit of battle was something Mathieu Bard was unwilling to do. Even if they won, the Staff of Nagash might fall into Kemmler's hands, which was unacceptable to him.
At this moment, a thunderous roar echoed from afar. On the hillside at the edge of the battlefield, Duke Theodoric of Berleon led over two hundred knights charging downhill. The proud knights of the Duchy of Berleon raised their lances and charged into the fray, their hoofbeats shaking the earth.
"Damn it!" Mathieu Bard noticed Duke Theodoric's arrival. As he turned to look for reinforcements, he was stunned by what he saw in the distance.
Geul had been defeated. Even the Chaos Champion could not best Ryan. With Geul's undead army decimated, Ryan and his mixed forces were now on their way to support the battle.
"Traitor to Chaos! Disgrace to the undead! The alliance is over! Retreat! Retreat!" Mathieu Bard roared in fury. He immediately ordered a retreat, abandoning all infantry to stall the knights at any cost, and turned to flee.
In the central battlefield, the Bretonnian defenders were nearing total collapse. François had personally joined the fray, yet the peasant infantry and foot knights were suffering massive casualties in the brutal melee. The Barrow Guardians had penetrated deep into their lines, their heavy weapons and polearms cleaving through the fragile peasant infantry with ease, turning the center into a slaughterhouse. The peasant archers faced the onslaught of the undead, often meeting their end being torn apart by tomb ghouls or packs of dire wolves.
The lines continued to retreat until there was nowhere left to fall back. François drew his Unicorn Sword and entered the battle, only to find himself facing overwhelmingly superior numbers. The Holy Guardians of La-Maisonele Monastery had dwindled from five hundred to just thirty, but they still fought valiantly under the Lady's name. A bloodthirsty bat-wolf grabbed a foot knight, tearing him apart midair, and tossed the pieces towards the desperate peasant infantry, roaring in triumph.
As the fierce battle raged on, with thousands of undead and human soldiers falling, the situation became increasingly dire for Kemmler, who watched anxiously from his black carriage.
The old veterans of the Winford refugee regiment were nearing their limits. Originally nearly two thousand strong, their ranks had dwindled to six hundred. Just as they braced for a massacre by the bloodthirsty bat-wolf, a green blur descended from the sky.
It was Alaric the Brave, the Wood Elf hero! Riding a giant eagle, he swooped down, the eagle crashing into the bat-wolf's chest like a cannonball, while Alaric's spear pierced its heart.
With a flick of his spear, Alaric dislodged the dark red heart, crushing it disdainfully. From his perch atop the eagle, he nocked an arrow and shot it through the head of a Barrow Guardian captain before soaring back into the sky.
All tactics and strategies devolved into chaotic melee. The battlefield had become a mire of blood-soaked mud, littered with indistinguishable corpses. The ground was like a swamp nourished by blood. François' central forces were finally breaking under the strain. Under his orders, the remaining six thousand of the original ten thousand troops retreated towards the monastery—its walls were their final defense.
Kemmler, the undead archmage, was now teetering on the edge of madness. His magic was depleted, unable to resurrect his troops. Summoning Geul had drained his energy, and he had noticed the collapse of the left flank. Now, he had no choice but to gamble everything. If Mathieu Bard's undead knights could reinforce and strike the Bretonnian center's flank, there was still a chance for a decisive victory.
Just as Kemmler hoped, he heard the sound of hooves behind him. At first, he panicked but then sighed with relief as he recognized Mathieu Bard and his two thousand undead knights approaching.
"Finally," Kemmler muttered.
Yet, before his elation could take root, his smile faded. The undead knights did not join the fight but instead began to retreat rapidly. Mathieu Bard gave Kemmler a dismissive sneer from afar, gesturing a thumbs-down before leading his troops away.
"?"
"???"
"WTF?"
It took Kemmler a full minute to comprehend what had happened. His furious curses could not bring back Mathieu Bard and his undead knights.
"I've been betrayed!!!" Kemmler's enraged roar echoed across the sky.
Reinforcements from the left flank were drawing closer. First to reach Kemmler's position were a group of Dwarfs.
"Kill!"
"For Grungni! For Karak Eight Peaks!"
"For the Angrund Clan!"
Led by Bellegar, the Dwarfs advanced with their short but determined legs, slowly closing in on the central battlefield.
"For Athel Loren!"
"For the Lady! For Bretonnia!"
"For Ryan-Macado!"
Next, the humans and Wood Elves from the left flank, having caught their breath, charged forward, quickly outpacing the Dwarfs. Knights, their armor tattered and surcoats stained and torn, surged towards Kemmler's flank, with every knight capable of fighting rejoining the battle.
Ryan led the charge. The Lady of the Lake's chosen champion, seething with unending fury, brandished the Vengeance Goddess, its terrifying power making Kemmler shudder. The platinum flames consumed undead bodies, and the blade of the Vengeance Goddess sliced through all who dared to stand in his way, turning them into ash.
Kemmler desperately tried to muster a defense against Ryan and his allies. But the shout from behind startled him: "Undead filth, face me, Baldwin's heir, Theodoric of Berleon!"
Kemmler turned to see Theodoric and his two hundred knights had already broken through his lines. Theodoric's knights, unable to break the undead chaos champions' spear formations, were being pulled from their mounts and hacked to pieces, blood and entrails scattering the ground.
Yet Theodoric himself showed no fear. He roared out his vows of atonement, wielding his great axe as he charged. His warhorse pierced the undead ranks like a lance, and his axe glowed like a beacon, decapitating undead with every swing: "Face me, Kemmler!"
From above, the sky echoed with cries as the last of the hippogriffs and terrorgheists fell. The remaining thirty Pegasus Knights shouted their triumph and prepared for one final dive attack.
Kalad, leading the knights on the right flank, readied his troops for a powerful charge against Kemmler's forces.
François, with his central army's morale reinvigorated, climbed back onto his horse, eager to settle his old scores with Kemmler.
Kemmler's forces began to crumble. Facing imminent defeat, the undead archmage knew he had to repel Theodoric's assault!
"Curse of Years!" Kemmler, using the last of his strength, cast a necromantic spell, hoping to defeat Theodoric.
But Theodoric's great axe, a sacred relic from the first Duke of Berleon, Baldwin, glowed with the Lady of the Lake's blessing, dispelling Kemmler's magic. With a mighty swing, Theodoric smashed his axe down. Kemmler, alarmed, raised his Chaos Tomb Blade in defense but was knocked off his black carriage, crashing to the ground.
"Woo-hoo!" Theodoric roared in triumph, ecstatic with his accomplishment. He knew his Lady was watching over him. He gripped his axe, intending to deliver the final blow to Kemmler.
"Duke! Behind you!" A knight of Berleon shouted a warning.
Hearing the alert and sensing immense danger, Theodoric barely managed to turn and parry. A black giant axe struck him from behind, sending him flying from his horse with a scream.
Geul, his breastplate shattered and his power greatly diminished after Ryan's assault, appeared. The Chaos Champion had been re-summoned by Kemmler, though his strength was much reduced, sparing Theodoric from a fatal blow.
With a horrific wound on his chest and his armor in tatters, Theodoric was rescued by his knights and retreated from the battlefield.
Despite Kemmler summoning Geul again, it was too late. The defenders from three directions converged on him for one final assault. The undead forces quickly collapsed. In the blink of an eye, Ryan, François, and Kalad had reached the last of Kemmler's defenses, with only four thousand ancient tomb warriors remaining.
The situation was beyond salvage. Covered in dust and grime, Kemmler roared to Geul to hold the line with his remaining hundred or so undead Chaos champions while he attempted to escape under the cover of his undead minions.
As long as he could escape, there would be a chance to rise again!
He nearly succeeded!
In the midst of the chaotic melee, with the battlefield turned into a formless brawl, Raymond, the new captain of the halberdiers, struggled to locate his men. He could only push forward with a few of his subordinates.
During a brief lull in the fighting, he found himself alongside the Chalons Forest Rangers. Sergeant Bertrand, clad in green and wearing a tricorn hat, was fighting with a curved blade. Seeing Raymond, Bertrand shouted joyfully, "Raymond, lad, we meet again!"
With a swipe of his sword, Bertrand felled a zombie.
Raymond was about to respond when he spotted, through the chaos, a figure wearing a pointed wizard's hat and a black robe made of human skin, casting spells—an undead mage.
The young halberdier's mouth dropped open. Realizing who the mage likely was, he pointed frantically towards the undead sorcerer and shouted to Bertrand, "That's Kemmler!"
Three seconds later, Bertrand's face lit up with exhilaration. This was his moment to achieve greatness!
The sergeant and leader of the Chalons Forest Rangers reached for his quiver.
He felt a black arrow, his last one. The three black arrows were crafted from the heartstring of a wyvern he had slain, a deadly weapon.
Drawing his bow, nocking the arrow, and letting it fly, Bertrand executed the sequence flawlessly.
The black arrow soared from Bertrand's great bow, tracing a beautiful arc through the sky, heading straight for Kemmler.
At that moment, Kemmler was still chanting his spell, ordering Geul to cover his escape. He was about to teleport away!
Halfway through his incantation, Kemmler felt a sudden chill in his chest.
"Huh?"
His spell was interrupted. Staring in disbelief at the black arrow protruding from his chest, black blood trickled from his lips. "No, no… this cannot be… A mere mortal's arrow…"
"Ugh!" Kemmler staggered back, nearly collapsing to the ground. One hand clutched his chest, the other used his Chaos Tomb Blade to brace himself. He couldn't believe a mortal arrow had pierced his defenses, protected as he was by undead magic. "How could this be?!"
But as his power rapidly drained and his strength waned, Kemmler understood he had indeed been mortally wounded by a human. Desperate, he turned to his servant Geul for help: "Quick, get me to the black carriage! I must escape!"
However, Kemmler's fading power triggered a change in Geul. The undead Chaos champion, facing his master's plea, raised his black serrated axe.
"Splash!" Blood sprayed as Kemmler's head was severed.
"I remember now. You were never my master."
With Kemmler's demise, the battle drew to a close. The defenders, having triumphed against the overwhelming undead forces, began their final advance against the remaining pockets of resistance.
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