Chapter 259: Radiant Captain’s Formation
The sun fell behind the horizon, and dusk was eventually eclipsed by the starry night.
Max, Seraphina and her Holy Knight, Lancelot, and Angelo were staring at the new southern border that could not be seen through the dense demonic mana.
They wore solemn expressions.
When their reliable sun had descended, they felt tense.
They were readying themselves to fight against them.
Max began casting his Radiant Knights since then.
Now that his Summon Radiant Knights had reached the Advanced level, coupled with the Ring of Knight Authority, he had a maximum capacity of sixty-one active Radiant Knights.
At the same time, despite his Captain Appointment skill reaching Advanced and allowing him to appoint another Radiant Knight as a Captain, the Captain Command Capacity had increased as well.
Each Radiant Knight Captain could command up to twenty Radiant Knights.
However, Max had decided to limit each Captain to commanding only ten Radiant Knights. He treated each group as a specialized battlefield squad, while the remaining Radiant Knights remained under his direct command.
With four Radiant Knight Captains, forty Radiant Knights were assigned to their respective squads.
That left seventeen Radiant Knights under Max’s direct command, bringing the total to sixty-one active Radiant Knights, including the four Captains.
In this war, he did not plan to fight individually.
He was planning to fight as a Radiant Commander.
It was why he did not appoint another Captain simply to create another squad.
Furthermore, he could not discern another Radiant Knight fit to become a Captain.
The four Radiant Knight Captains were more than capable.
Each of them had their own formation.
The four Radiant Knight Captains were summoned first, followed by the forty Radiant Knights assigned to their squads.
Finally, the remaining seventeen Radiant Knights under Max’s direct command appeared.
Soon enough, the four Radiant Knight Captains stood beside Max, awaiting his orders, while the other Radiant Knights stood ready, waiting to witness the appearance of the demons they were about to face.
Eventually, a sea of demons ran out from the demon territory.
Their strength was comparable to C-rank now.
There were at least more than ten thousand demons coming out from every side of the demon territory, and their momentum was unstoppable.
Jeremiah informed Max that if their momentum remained, they would be facing a hundred thousand demons within an hour.
Or even more!
It was clear that the Demon Lords were going all out.
They could not stop an S-rank from killing the Greater Demon responsible for carrying the flag, but a sea of demons could.
It was like trying to stop an elephant with hundreds of thousands of ants.
The Demon Lords’ strategy was formidable.
Max admired their determination.
He chuckled.
This is only possible because they have the advantage in numbers.
Come to think of it, a Demon Lord’s citizens surpass even the Empire?
It appears that for the Kingdom of Endless War, the Empire’s territory is not even half of their vassal’s territory.
Truly, terrifying.
Max had never heard of the Empire adventuring toward the Ashen Expanse—he did not even know what lay beyond the Empire, much less the name "Ashen Expanse."
In this new life, he was planning to venture toward the Ashen Expanse, but now...
He was having second thoughts.
He shook his head and clenched his fists.
It had already been decided that he would venture upon the Ashen Expanse.
He could not afford to go back now.
At the same time, the former Emperor had already sworn to him that he would join the Demon Hunters Guild if he won the war.
A week had passed since they faced their first loss, yet they did not hear a complaint from the Imperial Family or even the Church.
It showed how much they trusted him.
He could not disappoint them now.
Watching the sea of demons running toward the Demon Hunters and perceiving how the Authority of Salvation was facing its nemesis, a Demonic Authority, preventing the demonic mana saturation from being consumed, Max knew that whoever came out stronger tonight would decide the conclusion of the remaining duration of the war.
Without hesitation, he issued orders out loud.
"Hector, lead your Knights to protect Seraphina and the other supports.
Damien, go all out with your Radiant Knights. But always be careful and do not allow yourself to become careless."
Damien’s squad was effectively a mobile reconnaissance network.
Damien’s Shared Vision, Area Survey, and especially the Radiant Battlefield Mapping skill became particularly valuable in his formation.
Compared to Hector’s formation, his unit did not maintain a rigid formation, but rather operated in a distributed formation.
The Pathfinders moved ahead and around the main group.
The Marksmen occupied elevated or concealed positions.
The Skirmishers operated around the formation’s flanks.
The Duelist served as an interception unit.
The Vanguard provided emergency frontline protection.
In other words, a mobile reconnaissance network.
"Sebastian, find a spot where the Demon Hunters’ formation is the weakest and target the peak Greater Demon, the toughest one, and aim to kill it as quickly as you can."
Sebastian’s formation had a protected magical core.
The Defender created the primary defensive anchor.
The Vanguards protected the sides and prevented close-combat demons from reaching the Arcanists.
The Barrier Mage provided additional magical protection.
The Enchanter enhanced the offensive casters.
The Cleric remained behind the formation.
And the strongest Arcanist, together with Sebastian, stood at the center, concentrating their magic attacks on a single target.
His formation was particularly suited to elite enemies, fortified positions, and large targets.
"Jeremiah. Find a place likewise that has a weaker defense. Continue to observe and adapt."
Jeremiah bowed deeply.
Jeremiah’s formation was the most balanced of the other formations.
It did not specialize in one particular type of combat.
Instead, Jeremiah’s formation was designed to respond to changing battlefield conditions.
"Set out now. Always remember to keep a hundred and fifty meters around me."
Watching his Radiant Knight Captains proceed with his orders, bringing the other Radiant Knights with them, the remaining Radiant Knights waited for Max’s order.
The seventeen Radiant Knights directly under Max consisted of Fiora and the other Radiant Knights from the main thirteen, excluding the four Radiant Captains.
Fiora stood beside Max.
She deserved the position for being the strongest Radiant Knight.
The other Duelist stood behind her.
Max’s position was almost empty of troops in the surroundings, as the Demon Hunters and the Imperial Army respected Max’s desire to have his own area to protect and engage with the demons.
It was not surprising that Max became the cynosure of all eyes.
Even to the demons.
Especially when Max was facing groups of peak Greater Demons walking toward him.