Amber Sword

When Viscount Finn was struck speechless, the Burei Infantry on the front of the river‑valley battlefield ran into trouble; they suddenly discovered that the Naga Guard and the Light Cavalry formed by the Officer Cadets of the Royal Knight Academy had abruptly appeared on their flank. The vanguards of the Finn Column and the Constantine Column, which had originally been blocking the path of these two forces, dissolved like thawing snow and simply vanished; only when Viscount von Doggen reacted did he realize this was a ruse.

It was an Illusion Technique.

The Finn Column and the Constantine Column were being firmly pinned down on Machenko Mountain and Vileco Mountain; the Soldiers under their command had no courage at all to cross the explosions and the sea of Fire. Yet Brand ordered the Naga Priest Group to use Spells to conjure an Illusion that the vanguards of the two columns had already arrived—using the moisture in the air to alter the refraction of Light and thereby create a hallucination. This was originally the specialty of Water Element Mages, and the Innate water‑affinity Naga Priests were the outstanding ones among them. More importantly, Brand was familiar with every single formation on the opposite side; Battle Banners and Knights’ Shield Emblems could be forged to look identical—and precisely because of this, Viscount von Doggen had charged headlong like a fool into this carefully prepared trap.

Now, under his orders, the infantry of the Burei Formation were advancing alone to launch an Attack against the Noble Private Soldiers under Count Oting, creating the only salient of the Northern Alliance, while the Naga Guard and the Light Cavalry formed by the Officer Cadets of the Royal Knight Academy were circling unhindered around behind them, forming an encirclement.

Viscount von Doggen could only hope that Viscount Finn and Baron Constantin would grow a conscience, suddenly appear, and block these two forces. But the explosions on Machenko Mountain and Vileco Mountain had already continued for nearly five minutes; the enemy archers were loosing those exploding arrows as if they cost nothing, saturating the two positions and forming a barrage to cut them off. He did not even dare hope that the Longbowmen on the other side would pause to rest after exhausting their stamina; one glance told him that the enemy had at least divided their archers into several groups, taking turns. And with the courage of those two wastes, they were unlikely to appear on the battlefield before the enemy finished shooting all their arrows.

Thus the outcome was already very hard to change.

Now it was the Light Infantry of the Burei Formation who were being attacked from front and rear. Originally, they still harbored the delusion of forcing their way through the Princess’s main position, but Brand’s appearance shattered all their hopes in an Instant. These Light Infantry wavered at once; though they were still resisting, having fallen into a heavy encirclement, it was only a matter of time before they collapsed.

The changes on the front line quickly reverberated across the entire battlefield. Count Vitojin finally realized he had been outplayed. Now he had either to continue committing follow‑up forces to rescue the Light Infantry of the Burei Formation—but who knew whether this was yet another trap—or simply abandon the Burei Formation and launch a fresh Attack.

Yet the generals at his side would not necessarily support his view; all the Commanders of the Northern Alliance on this battlefield shared the same origin as sons of nobles—if the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. For a moment his expression shifted unpredictably, and in his heart he cursed Finn and Constantin, those two wastes, yet he still had to make a decision as quickly as possible.

Because immediately behind the infantry of the Burei Formation marched the Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Infantry of the Field Formation; these Earth Dragon Heavy Cavalry, encased head to toe in armor like moving fortresses, were preparing to begin their Acceleration. This river‑valley was a vast incline; for Heavy Cavalry to Charge uphill from below was extremely taxing, and they had only one chance to smash the enemy.

"My Lord Count, make your decision!" Vitojin’s side was filled with his old subordinates, who certainly understood that their Lord was caught in a dilemma, and they spoke in unison: "Whatever decision you make, Lord, we will support you."

Vitojin gave a bitter smile. "The only way now is to find a way to free the Finn Column and the Constantine Column; as long as they can appear on the battlefield in time, there is still room to salvage everything."

The eyes of those around him lit up; this was indeed a way to resolve the situation. "Why not order the Flying Dragon Cavalry into the fight? For the moment, only they possess this kind of mobility. Only by harassing the enemy archers from the air can we rescue Viscount Finn and Baron Constantin."

If only it were that simple. Count Vitojin could not help but shake his head; yet he was somewhat helpless, for this was the only card left in his hand. Although the Northern Alliance was powerful, in this valley they could not fully deploy their strength; if they could not seize the enemy in a single effort, this battle would likely drag on for some time.