Chapter 212 : Chapter 212
Chapter 212. Broken Through, Retreat into the Secret Realms
The shouts of the Kroll Legions shook the heavens.
The fall of the first Legend was like the opening of a breach, allowing them to glimpse the dawn of victory.
Blood soaked the ground beneath the city walls. Every step slipped beneath their feet, as though each foot had to be pulled out of a pool of blood.
Kadiya’s Legends formed a circular formation back-to-back. The glow of their Dou Qi and mana had already dimmed like dying candles.
They knew they could not hold on much longer.
The arrival of these twenty Legends had ultimately only slowed the speed of the fall. It could not stop the iron hooves of an organized Gold Legion.
Inside the castle walls, “Kadiya’s soldiers looked at the horrific scene beyond the walls…” , their hands trembling around their weapons.
Even Legends were falling. How long could ordinary soldiers like them hold out?
The setting sun sank in the west, dyeing the battlefield an eerie orange-red.
The Third Great Pass of the Northern Frontier swayed on the verge of collapse amid the blood-red light. Kadiya’s final force of resistance was being crushed, bit by bit, beneath the Gold Legion.
BOOM…
A muffled explosion erupted above the Fortress. The magical protective barrier was like glass struck by a heavy hammer, first splitting open with a web of fine cracks.
Then, with a CRACK, a gap half a meter wide appeared.
The energy ripples of the protective barrier shook violently, and the blue light that had been circulating across it instantly dimmed.
“It broke! The protective barrier broke!”
Deafening cheers erupted from the Kroll Legions.
As if a chain reaction had been triggered, the Runes around the gap rapidly went dark. More cracks spread across the protective barrier, and one breach after another expanded like festering wounds.
The hum of collapsing energy grew louder and louder, like countless cicadas shrieking beside their ears.
Finally, with a flash of blinding white light, the entire magical protective barrier completely collapsed, turning into motes of light that vanished into the smoke-filled air.
“Break through!”
Xilan’s furious roar pierced through the battlefield.
The Dou Qi around him surged violently. Like a bolt of golden lightning, he charged first toward the breach in the Fortress.
Behind him, all the Legendary Combatants of the Kroll Kingdom followed closely. The Sky Knight Order swept low over the city walls, forming a pincer attack with the charge on the ground.
“Stop them!”
Kadiya’s Legends roared and rushed forward to meet them.
The remaining twenty-six Legends exhausted the last of their strength, condensing their Dou Qi into shields in an attempt to block the breach.
But without the protection of the barrier, they were exposed beneath the diving attacks of the Sky Knight Order. The defensive line they had barely formed was torn open in an instant.
CLANG…
Xilan’s longsword collided with the battle axe of one of Kadiya’s Legends. The immense force drove the other man back again and again, tearing open the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.
Borrowing the force, Xilan spun around. His blade drew up a golden arc and cleaved straight toward the man’s neck. That was the third Kadiya Legend to fall.
The slaughter atop the castle walls instantly entered a fever pitch. Golden and red Dou Qi intertwined and collided, and every clash was accompanied by the crisp sound of snapping bones and sprays of blood.
Kroll’s Legends had waited in reserve and preserved their strength. Now, they were like fierce tigers descending the mountain. Kadiya’s Legends, however, were already exhausted lamps running out of oil, supported only by a surge of blood and courage. They quickly fell into a disadvantage.
In the sky, the fire-oil bombs thrown by the Sky Knight Order exploded inside the castle. Houses burst into raging flames, and thick smoke billowed upward.
On the ground, the Gold Legion surged through the breach over the corpses of their comrades and began a bloody melee with Kadiya’s soldiers.
The muffled sound of long spears piercing chests, the sharp crack of longswords splitting skulls, the wails of the dying… together, they formed a bloody symphony.
One Kadiya Legend was attacked from both sides by two Kroll Legends, and his left arm was severed outright. With a furious roar, he detonated the last of his Dou Qi and perished together with one of them. The flying flesh and blood splashed across Xilan’s face.
Xilan wiped his face, his eyes showing not the slightest ripple. With a sweep of his longsword, he pierced the heart of another Kadiya Legend.
“Who else?”
He roared at the chaotic battlefield. Golden Dou Qi soared into the sky like a beacon on the battlefield, guiding the offensive of the Kroll Legions.
The Kadiya soldiers inside the Fortress completely collapsed.
Even Legends were falling at a visible speed. Their resistance became futile and desperate.
Some threw down their weapons and knelt to beg for mercy. Others charged madly into the enemy formation and were quickly hacked apart by chaotic blades.
When the last Kadiya Legend was beheaded by Xilan with a single sword strike, the resistance within the Fortress completely ceased.
Xilan stood atop a pile of corpses, his longsword planted against the ground. Breathing heavily, he looked around. The city walls, both above and below, had long since been soaked in blood. Kadiya’s banner had fallen into the flames and been burned into blackened strips of cloth.
The Third Great Pass had fallen.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Kadiya Royal Capital, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
This was only the beginning. Before long, Kroll’s iron hooves would trample across all of Kadiya.
Amid the shattered walls and ruins of the Fortress, Xilan’s voice carried the hoarseness of smoke and clearly reached the ears of several Legion Commanders.
He sheathed his longsword. Beads of blood rolled down the grooves of his armor and spread into tiny ripples in the bloody ground beneath his feet.
“Gather the captives and resources and send them back to the Royal Capital in batches. Not a single thing can be missing. Do you understand what that means?”
“Yes,” the Legion Commanders answered in unison, then turned and began deploying soldiers.
Some directed the clearing of the battlefield, and the sound of iron chains dragging corpses echoed through the empty streets and alleys.
Some led squads from house to house, searching each residence and driving weeping civilians and trembling nobles into the plaza for concentration.
Others pried open the iron doors of warehouses. Inside, grain, ore, and weapons were piled up like mountains, enough to sustain the Legion’s consumption.
The fall of the Third Great Pass of the Northern Frontier was like tearing away Kadiya’s final spine.
With the natural barrier lost, the iron hooves of the Kroll Legions could advance south without obstruction. The Royal Territory was already close at hand.
When the news reached the palace in the Kadiya Royal Capital, Feir IV was standing before a map, his fingertip still resting on the position of the Northern Frontier.
The Communication Crystal fell to the ground. The moment its blue light faded, all color drained from his face as well.
“How could it be… so fast…”
He muttered to himself, as though he had not heard the Messenger Knight repeat the report.
Those twenty Legends, that defensive line built up with resources, had not even held for three days.
Was the history of three hundred years ago going to repeat itself in his hands?
The hall was deathly silent. Only the wind outside the window swept up fallen leaves, producing a desolate sound.
Feir IV slowly sat down. The coldness of the throne seeped through his dragon robe and chilled his fingertips until they went numb.
After a long time, he sighed heavily. That sigh held endless exhaustion and unwillingness.
“Pass down my decree.” His voice was hoarse, as though it had been scraped by sandpaper. “Have the Royal Family members return to the Royal Capital with the Divine Artifact. There is no need to go.”
The Inner Attendant froze, then bowed and withdrew.
The Divine Artifact was Kadiya’s final hidden card. Unless the kingdom stood at the point of destruction, it would never be used lightly. His Majesty’s summoning it back now clearly meant that he had already prepared for the worst.
“And one more thing.” Feir IV stopped him, a ruthless glint flashing through his eyes. “Order every region to send all men and women between fifteen and twenty-five years old, all blacksmiths, physicians, Rune Masters… everyone who can be called ‘talent,’ into the Secret Realms.”
He paused, then added, “For those willing to leave, give them resettlement money. For those unwilling… bind them and take them in anyway. Tell them this is not a negotiation. It is an order.”
The Messenger Knight’s heart trembled, and he lowered his head in acknowledgment.
He knew what this order meant. The Royal Capital was about to become an abandoned piece, and those sent into the Secret Realms would be Kadiya’s final sparks.
The order quickly spread throughout Kadiya.
At city gates and in the plazas of villages and towns, soldiers forcibly drove weeping young people onto prison wagons and dragged struggling craftsmen into carriages.
Some clung to doorframes and refused to let go, only to be brutally knocked unconscious by soldiers with the hilts of their blades. Some cried that they had to go home to find their children, but they were chained to the walls of the wagons.
“We will not leave! If we must die, we will die in our homeland! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why? Why?”
An old blacksmith roared, only to be kicked to the ground by a soldier. His toolbox was roughly thrown into the wagon, and the hammers and chisels inside rolled out, striking the stone slabs with a clear ring.
“This is His Majesty’s order.”
The soldier shouted sternly and dragged him up.
“Staying alive is more important than anything!”
But to many people, leaving the familiar land and scraping out an existence in an unknown Secret Realm was no different from death.
Cries, curses, and the rolling of wheels intertwined, spreading along the road toward the Secret Realm Entrance like a desperate elegy.
In the palace of the Royal Capital, Feir IV stood on the terrace and looked toward the southern horizon.
There, the cooking smoke of the Kroll Legions was rising, drawing closer and closer.
He knew that before long, the flames of war would burn all the way here.
“Father, we should withdraw as well.”
The Prince’s voice trembled. Behind him, the Attendants had already prepared the carriage.
Feir IV shook his head and turned to look toward the tallest tower deep within the Royal Palace. That place was the final Secret Realm Entrance in the Royal Capital, and it was also where he intended to make his last stand.
“You leave,” he said. “I am Kadiya’s king. I will die in the Royal Capital.”