The Final Battle
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Kill!"
On the southern plains of the Aldor Kingdom, two armies were fiercely clashing, their battle cries shaking the heavens.
The royal army, led by Princess Catherine, faced off against the rebel forces commanded by Duke Giles.
On a high ridge, Catherine, fully armored and mounted on a white horse, bit her lip as she watched the unfolding chaos on the battlefield.
By her side were senior commanders of the royal army, including Ophina, Leicester, and Walker. However, two high-ranking commanders—Duke Dodge and Sir Klein—were absent, commanding the left and right flanks respectively.
Since the early morning, both armies had suffered casualties, seemingly evenly matched.
Duke Walker glanced at the princess, hesitating to speak.
Currently, his own troops from his territory were engaged in their second round of fighting, suffering heavy losses. Several members of his family had been severely injured during the battles, causing the duke great distress.
"Your Highness!" he finally said, determination in his voice. "Should we deploy 'that' now? To strike while the iron is hot…"
'That' referred to the kingdom's secret weapon—the Hellfire.
In the duke's eyes, the name "Hellfire" was truly fitting; it was a terrifying flame that could not be extinguished by water, seemingly sourced from the depths of hell itself.
However, even for Duke Walker, it was only this year that he learned of this fearsome weapon. After the city guards rebelled and occupied the Crystal Tower, he promptly took up arms to support the royal family. His loyalty was recognized by the crown, granting him entry into the kingdom's inner circle, where he learned of this long-hidden royal secret.
"Now is not the time!" Catherine firmly rejected the duke's suggestion.
Walker nodded slightly, choosing not to press the matter further. He understood the princess's concerns; while Hellfire was immensely powerful, its numbers were limited, primarily because the royal family could not produce it themselves. Its origins seemed tied to those mysterious elves.
Clearly, the princess was not ready to reveal this trump card.
The Hellfire had only just arrived and nearly missed the final battle.
"Your Highness! The Undead Army is on the move!"
The commanders stirred, pointing towards the battlefield ahead.
Behind the rebels, a uniquely equipped unit, marching in perfect formation, was slowly approaching the front lines.
Catherine squinted at the "Undead Army" and called out, "Leicester!"
"Yes!" Leicester replied promptly before quickly galloping down the slope.
…
About an hour later, the two armies, each bearing hopes of victory, collided in the center of the battlefield. One was the mysterious royal unit wielding strange devices, and the other was the rebel "Undead Army," which was perpetually limited to six thousand troops.
"That's the tactic Catherine is using against the Undead Army?"
The high-ranking rebels, including Giles, looked on in astonishment. The enemy troops facing the Undead Army seemed merely a lightly equipped force, lacking the metal armor typical of royal soldiers, relying instead on simple protection.
After observing for a while, Giles's aide, Samar, suddenly exclaimed, "Not good!"
He recalled the terrifying experience from the first assault on the Thorn Fortress.
"Lord Giles, it's the Hellfire! I suspect that's the Hellfire we encountered before!"
Giles was startled. He had heard Samar describe this dreadful weapon, which was almost like magic, impervious to water.
However, this weapon had only appeared once, and in subsequent battles, the "Restoration Army" had never encountered it again. Therefore, he deduced that the royal army must have a limited supply of Hellfire, and the prolonged stalemate at the plains led him to believe they were out of it. After years of this two-sided confrontation, it was a tremendous drain on national resources, and Catherine, being decisive, would not let such a powerful weapon go unused.
To his surprise, they encountered it during the final battle…
Yet, after the initial panic, Giles quickly regained his composure, a twisted smile forming on his face as he addressed his commanders, "Samar, let's make a wager…"
Samar looked puzzled. "What? Your Grace?"
"Let's bet on how much Hellfire Catherine has left!"
Giles's gaze now resembled that of a gambler.
Samar was taken aback. "You… you don't plan to withdraw the troops, do you? Even if they're only… we can't just throw it away!"
Giles waved his hand, interrupting Samar's words, his expression cold as he replied, "War is inherently a gamble! Besides, they were meant to be sacrificed in the plan."
The armies of both sides drew closer, eventually coming to a distance of about 10 meters from each other.
"Prepare!" With a loud shout from Commander Leicester, the kingdom's army came to a halt. The opposing "undead army" also slowed their pace, laying their spears flat in preparation for the impending assault.
"Fire!" Leicester ordered again, and a stunning scene unfolded on the battlefield—strange devices in the hands of the kingdom's soldiers unleashed streams of fire, resembling dragons, flying toward the undead army across the way.
In an instant, soldiers in the undead ranks were ignited, unable to suppress their cries of agony as they were burned alive. The formation of the soldiers at the back of the undead army immediately fell into chaos, frantically trying to escape the fiery assault.
Only the first row of undead soldiers, despite their painful screams, tightly gripped their weapons and charged forward, flames swirling around them like demons escaping from hell.
"Fire! The second row, continue firing!"
Leicester seemed surprised that anyone could still charge forward under such a terrifying attack.
The soldiers who had just fired stepped back, allowing the second row to move forward and unleash their weapons.
Fire dragons surged again, causing further disorder among the rebel ranks, as soldiers who barely managed to hold their positions were ignited, desperately trying to extinguish the flames by rolling on the ground.
The first row of undead soldiers, upon reaching the front of the kingdom's army, fell to the ground due to their bodies' physiological reactions, twitching as the flames consumed them, inflicting minimal casualties on their foes.
The kingdom's army continued to unleash fire until the undead soldiers across the way were either eliminated or fled in despair.
"The undead army has been defeated!"
"Long live Aldor!"
"Long live Catherine!"
Other troops engaged in battle witnessed this scene, shocked that the once invincible undead army had been annihilated in such a short time.
The morale of the kingdom's forces surged, fighting with increasing ferocity, while the morale of the rebels plummeted.
The battle seemed to be turning…
On the high slope, Catherine and her companions finally had a glimmer of smiles, as the scales of victory tipped in their favor.
"Your Highness! Now is the perfect opportunity!" Ophelia suggested. "Let's deploy the reserve troops to the battlefield and crush their center, separating and eliminating their flanks one by one!"
"Good!" Catherine agreed with her proposal and was about to issue the order.
"What is that army?" Duke Walker suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned to where he was pointing and saw a force in the rear of the rebels changing their equipment.
"N-no... the undead army!"
When they could see clearly, everyone was stunned! That force had donned equipment identical to the recently destroyed undead army, and a rough count revealed it exceeded ten thousand soldiers.
"How is that possible! Weren't they already annihilated?" someone exclaimed in disbelief.
"We made a grave mistake!"
Catherine snapped the reins in anger, gritting her teeth, "Who said the undead army only had six thousand? That was merely the impression Giles had given us all along."
She suddenly recalled how the "undead army" had reacted under the hellfire attack, with only the front-line soldiers charging bravely to their doom while others fled in fear.
Perhaps… the front line of that "undead army" was merely bait? Only a few soldiers were real.
Catherine decisively ordered, "Send word to Duke Dodge and Klein to regroup the left and right flanks and move toward the center!"
"Yes!" Two knights galloped off in opposite directions.
…
On a high carriage among the rebels, a man in a gray robe gazed at the kingdom's army.
His eyes shimmered with a strange light, the pupils appearing unfocused to others.
"Hehe!" He let out an inexplicable laugh before closing his eyes.
Moments later, the gray-robed man opened his eyes again and called down to Giles and the others below, "Your Highness, most of that fire-spitting army has switched to ordinary weapons! Only a few hundred are still wielding those devices!"
A winning bet! Giles slammed his fist down, and the generals around him let out sighs of relief.
"Catherine, oh Catherine, did you not realize that the initial undead army was merely a ruse? You certainly didn't anticipate that the undead army had expanded to over ten thousand before the final battle? I sacrificed quite a bit to get you to reveal your hand first, even though your trump card exceeded my expectations, hahaha!"
Giles laughed heartily. Although the appearance of hellfire had caused some disruption to his plans, it hadn't deviated significantly.
He turned to Scott beside him and said, "Thanks to the timely support from the Arcane Order!"
Scott nodded slightly, "I'll congratulate you on your victory in advance."
"Lord Giles, the false king's army is closing in on the center!"
The greedy wolf duke immediately wiped the smile from his face; now was not the time to laugh. He had only just escaped the crisis caused by hellfire, yet his center was indeed broken with over six thousand men scattered, creating a significant gap.
"Gather our forces! Hold back the false king's army until the undead army is fully equipped, and then deliver a fatal blow!"
The morale might have dipped due to the defeat of the fake undead army, but that was fine; once the real undead army charged in, it would all be restored.
Taking advantage of the kingdom's army being unsettled by the reappearance of the undead army, the rebels disengaged and began forming a large formation.
However, something unexpected happened to Giles.
"Your Highness, the Vibern family's army has recklessly charged at the enemy!"
"What? Immediately recall them!"
"Your Highness, it's bad news; the Vibern family's army has been defeated!"
"What? How long has it been since then?"
The army that had recklessly charged was now in utter rout, with a kingdom cavalry closely following behind and slashing indiscriminately.
The panicked soldiers instinctively ran toward their comrades who were regrouping, seeking protection.
"We can't let them disrupt our formation! Pass the order to kill any fleeing soldiers who dare to charge!"
Giles was furious, his beard bristling with anger!
But it was too late! If it were the enemy charging in, his troops could still organize a defense, but a mass of unorganized friendly soldiers retreating could only clear a path for them, resulting in further chaos among the rebels who were trying to regroup. The fear instilled by hellfire had caused their morale to plummet once again.
"Long live Aldor!"
With the Vibern army leading the charge, Leicester, spear in hand, shouted as he rushed into the chaos, followed by his fully armed knights.
"Vibern! I swear I will take your head!"
Watching the disorderly ranks, Giles roared.
In the distance, the kingdom's army, fully regrouped, was advancing to deliver a lethal strike.
TL: Should I say it's a big chapter, or that other chapters are shorter.
(End of the Chapter)
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