Chapter 118: Justice or Darkness
Many of the knights began to flee the scene with their men, and the men still gathered next to the Prophet's Legion were actually only a few hundred men, most of them wearing only underwear.
These hundreds of men were probably brainwashed particularly successfully, but they probably won't have much combat power without defensive equipment.
However, in any case, the Prophet Legion, which had been scattered by the fire in the camp, managed to regroup before engaging the Combine.
In fact, in this case, being able to control the chaos and complete the assembly in less than three minutes is already a very high level, and the three prophets have shown considerable adaptability.
It's just that the army of more than 2,000 people brought by more than 200 knights is now only a few hundred weak chickens in underwear.
The Prophet's own troops, led by one hundred and fifty Doom Inducers, each of them now carrying five or six female soldiers each.
Among them were two female warriors wearing chainmail shirts and armed with foreign two-handed sabers, presumably cronies of the Prophet's Legion, who had previously patrolled around the camp. There are about 300 such female soldiers.
There were also three or four women in leather armor, armed with long-handled knives or axes, with a somewhat frightened expression, probably new recruits who had not been to the battlefield before, and may have recently recruited the Prophet Legion. There were about 500 of these recruits.
If these 800 people are not as afraid of death as the female soldiers of Lady Bella, then their combat effectiveness is actually quite strong, and they all look like young and beautiful girls, which can easily arouse the protective desire of those knights' followers and followers.
- If it weren't for the fire and chaos this time, they would have been able to get those men to fight for them in a regular head-on confrontation.
And now, the knights who are willing to protect them don't have time to wear equipment, I'm afraid they can only be cannon fodder.
There seemed to be some people behind the more than 800 female soldiers, but they were tightly blocked and could not be seen.
However, counting those who are hidden and can't see clearly, the total number of the Prophet Legion is probably more than a thousand, plus six or seven hundred men in underwear, the direct result of this fire has at least halved the combat power of the Prophet Legion.
"Uh......h Woohoo......"
At this time, the combined army had already sounded the horn of rapid march, and the distance between the two troops was only 300 meters, which was the standard distance for engagement.
But the Legion of the Prophets still hadn't been able to complete their preparationsβthey hadn't had time to line up, they had just gathered men.
"Fast forward! Surround them! β
Baron Godric rushed directly with his troops, because the Prophet legions seemed to be barely gathered together, and there was no formation at all, he raised his sword and drove his horse to rush forward first.
Behind him, with the knights as the squad, the large army that had already lined up the battle formation and was ready to charge also rushed out.
This was a column advance, and the Coalition Army did not rush up in a chaotic manner, but kept the battle formation moving forward quickly.
Knights also do not accelerate their horses to the maximum, they will trot at the same speed as the infantry, after all, the commander's order is to surround the enemy.
Hundreds of horses marched in unison, while hoplites and archers galloped forward in line.
Each of these battle-hardened soldiers followed his own knight or captain to form more than a hundred small warbands, and the lines quickly dispersed and surrounded them.
At this time, the three prophets drove their horses in unison to the group of men wearing only underwear, and they didn't know what they said, but those men actually took the initiative to charge against the Combine Army!
This was indeed a surprise to everyone in the Combine!
Most of those men were not wearing armor, and many were even unshoeed......
There are a mess of weapons in their hands, but this kind of charge, in front of the Horn Summoning Rangers, will not be much different from a group of farmers armed with dung forks!
It's a suicidal charge!
Leon was at the forefront of the Coalition Army, and he saw the actions of the Three Prophets, and he also saw the madness on the faces of the hundreds of men in underwear.
These people are basically insane, probably similar to Lady Bella's state......
Whether it is deceived or out of faith, once a person becomes a fanatic, it is indeed terrible!
Especially stupid people, this kind of stupidity who has been completely brainwashed by heresy simply cannot be saved.
"Shoot them!"
Li Ang gave the order directly, and his thirty archers stood in the front row to spread their bows and arrows, and the infantry stopped and held shields beside them.
Ralph's rangers ran out, splitting into two columns and galloping left and right around the men's flanks.
Charles also stood in the front with some of the sentries and lined up in a firing line.
After two rounds of arrow rain, these men who were charging frantically fell in large swaths.
They don't have any armor on them, and missing arrows can have the greatest effect on them, so there is no need to fight them in close quarters, so as not to increase the damage.
These were obviously cannon fodder sent by the Prophets, and it seemed that their role was only to buy the last bit of time for the headquarters of the Three Prophets......
Because behind these crazy cannon fodder, the female soldiers of the Prophet Legion were already lined up in formation.
But their arrays and movements were strange, and they seemed to be performing some kind of mysterious ritual.
They seemed to be standing in some strange figure, which they might have seen if they looked down from the sky. It's just that the Combine people who are now a few hundred meters away can only see their movements as if they are praying.
Temporary prayer in this situation?
It's a real cramming......
Perhaps they could indeed have the power bestowed upon them by the dark god Ereda......
But the problem is, this kind of temporary prayer ...... Are their dark gods so efficient? Can the goddess Ereda be called up to work overtime at any time?
And, why don't you see those faceless monsters with skinless heads?
The lord suddenly felt a little uneasy.
"I'm Asterya...... Fight for justice, kid. β
Leon was observing the movements of the Prophet Legion when he suddenly heard another ethereal and mysterious voice that seemed to come from the sky.
This time, the voice was clearer, but only once.
Moreover, the sound was different from the first two times.
Leon frowned.
Every time you encounter this voice falling from the sky, something bad will always happen......
The first time was also a female voice, but it was gentler and allowed herself to be careful behind her, so she was assassinated by Risa Dilan.
The second time was a rough male voice, in the throne hall of Lion City, saying 'very good', but as soon as he returned to the territory, he encountered a big battle, and received the news of the death of Count Oden.
And this time, they all directly reported their names to 'fight for justice' - obviously, this unknown voice may be from the goddess of justice.
But the question is, what moths will appear this time?
Half of the six or seven hundred men in their underwear had already fallen.
The strange thing is that after they rushed to a distance of dozens of meters in front of the Combine Army, their pace slowed down. And all of them had no defense, but looked at the sky with a crazy face and raised their hands.
However, it doesn't look like it's surrendering, it's like it's ...... In prayer?
This is also too strange, a few more steps can rush into the Combine army formation, although they will certainly not pose any threat, but just standing under the rain of arrows, is this begging for death?
"Stop! Capture them! β
Godric ordered the army to stop, and after being blocked by these strange men, the Prophet Legion was already standing in a strange formation, and it was not appropriate to rush into battle, so it was safer to observe first.
And his sense of honor also prevents him from slaughtering men who seem to be bent on death.
"Lord Godric, I feel like we have to kill them...... These idiots are obviously very abnormal, and it is better to march quickly to disperse the women, the Prophet Legion is probably engaged in some evil ritual. β
Leon didn't understand what the men were doing, but it was certainly not a good thing, and he received a reminder from the goddess, so he quickly asked Godric to order the attack to continue.
"Leon, these people don't even have armor, there is no need to slaughter them again, tie them up, maybe you can redeem them? Just like you did with Morgan. Moreover, the Prophet Legion does not seem to have any intention of retreating, and since they do not retreat, it means that they have the confidence to deal with us, so it is better not to be impulsive. Besides, they have no food, they will definitely retreat, and it may be better for us to advance slowly. β
After Godric finished speaking to Leon, he gave an order to the Combine army behind him: "Stop advancing!" All the troops are in formation! β
Indeed, after these men charged, the Prophet's legion did not take the opportunity to retreat, but formed a strange formation, and it seemed that it had no intention of running away at all.
It's right to be cautious in this situation, Godric is a veteran of the game, and he's always been careful.
And judging from the skills of those doom inducers, and the state of those female soldiers who are not afraid of death at all, the battle damage may be very high in direct combat, and there is no need for the Combine to pursue a quick victory now.
Now it's better to form a formation and push slowly, or even avoid the confrontation and waste time - anyway, the Prophet Legion has no food, and they can't afford it.
"The Point Guard Is Here"
But looking at those crazy men in underwear, Li Ang always felt very uneasy - even if they were all fools who had been washed through their brains, but these men were at least intelligent creatures, why would they rush over to seek death in such a situation?
They can move forward slowly, or they can defend in formation, and they can also buy time for the Prophet Legion!
Why raise your hand to die?
Could it be that they were just trying to get closer to the ranks of the Combine?
Or rather......
Are they just here to die?
"No, that's not right...... Lord Godric, we must get these fools to death...... Ralph, shoot them and don't leave any of them! β
Naturally, Leon also understood that it would be more advantageous to wear down, and if the stalemate continued, it would definitely be more cost-effective to chase and kill when the Prophet Legion retreated, but he still ordered to shoot all the men in underwear who charged over.
"Leon, what's going on, why do you have to kill them?"
Godric could see Leon's nervousness, but still didn't understand.
"We have to make it clear that whoever follows heresy must die! In this way, the Prophet Legion will be completely cut off from support, otherwise there will be nobles who will come to provide them with food. Again...... It's a strange suicidal charge - it's more like an oath or a proof that they seem completely irreversible, and I always feel uneasy......"
The lord explained to Godric very seriously.
Godric looked at the men's crazy faces, hesitated for a few seconds, and nodded: "You have a point...... Bow out and shoot them! β
A large number of archers from White Hart Fort also joined the lineup to round up those underwear men.
Under the siege of more than 500 archers, all the men who charged at the Combine Army quickly fell to the ground.
But no one dodged, and no one surrendered.
Even a few men in underwear who were obviously carrying shields in their hands did not use shields to cover the arrows.
"These heresies are indeed strange......"
Godric frowned as well.
"Recruits go to mend knives, don't leave a single live mouth! Check to see what's wrong with them! β
Li Ang waved his hand and motioned for his recruits, who had never killed anyone, to do some work and get used to the atmosphere of the battlefield.
But just when dozens of recruits came out of the queue and made up their knives all the way, before they could check much, the abnormal situation happened directly......
Two men with several missing arrows pierced all over their bodies staggered to their feet from the pile of corpses!
The two men looked like they were badly injured, covered in blood, dangling under their feet, and seemed to be in danger of falling back at any moment.
But they didn't pay any attention to the recruits who were mending their swords nearby, but instead pulled out the arrows on their bodies, and then clasped the wounds on their bodies with both hands.
Then, they started tearing hard!
Rip their own skin!
Several recruits beside the two men were obviously shocked by this self-harming behavior, and they didn't dare to approach for a while.
"This! My lord, that Lady Bella had planned to do the same! Their power will become very great! Bigger than me! β
Klose said to Leon in surprise.
And Amy hurried to Leon with Godric's personal guards: "Lady Bella seems to have done the same...... But they were stopped by Klose! β
"Don't be stunned! Chop off their heads! β
Leon immediately shouted to the recruits, and he felt that this was probably what Lady Bella had said, 'gain strength by blood oath'?
Several recruits swarmed up and did smoothly cut the two men to the ground.
The Legion of the Prophets still stood there praying, but their voices grew louder and louder, and they could be heard singing in unison from a distance of several hundred meters......
ββ¦β¦ The kiss of the goddess will drive away death and give her warriors hope of life...... She looks at all injustice and evil...... If a warrior swears to justice with blood, strength and courage are upon him......"
Behind Leon, Sarah and Anson's faces changed dramatically at the same time.
Anson trembled and shouted, "My lord, this is the prayer of Astalia, the goddess of justice!" But the heretics worship the god of darkness, Ereda, and they use such prayers? β
As a good student who dropped out of seminary, Anson knew a lot about the gods of the Pander continent.
Although his entire family is a believer in the goddess of patronage, Damia, Anson, who wants to be an upright knight, also has great respect for the goddess of justice.
Sarah seems to have the same thoughts as Anson, but she is a little more frightened: "I once heard a bard say that heretics were originally priests of the Goddess of Justice, but after the Goddess of Justice left the continent, these priests were seduced by the Goddess of Darkness...... These three prophets were probably also priests of the goddess Astalia! β
Lord Lord frowned: "Astalia, the goddess of justice, left the continent?" β
But just now I heard that mysterious voice, which is calling herself Asterya!
Anson turned his head: "That's what the materials in the academy say...... It is said that the goddess of justice will return only when justice and justice regain domination over the earth...... But why do these heretics ......?"
Heretics have used the prayer of the goddess of justice...... In this way, the goddess of justice is afraid that it will be difficult to come back, and the lord feels that the dark god Eredar may have completely replaced her......
So, was the voice just now the goddess of justice, Astarya?
After saying these few words, the voice of the Prophet Legion became louder and louder, and the loud sound of prayer even enveloped the battlefield!
The uneasiness in Leon's heart grew stronger and stronger.
"Amy, you step back behind...... Don't go to war! I feel dangerous! β
The Lord felt that something terrible would happen, and the Prophet Legion could not be taken with common sense!
As soon as Amy was driven away, Leon saw an incredible scene - the corpses that had fallen to the ground and were being mended by the recruits actually stood up again!
Moreover, more and more people are standing up...... More and more!
It's just that everyone's first reaction after standing up is to let out a crazy howl, a howl that does not belong to human beings at all, and then desperately tear their own wounds!
The recruits raised their swords in a panic, but it didn't seem to have much effect, and these heretics were still desperately tearing their skin!
Some of the recruits' swords were touched by their arms in the midst of their violent tearing motions, and then the swords were easily knocked off, and some of them were even brought to the ground because they were holding the hilt of their swords, simply because he had stabbed them in the chest of a madman who was clawing at the skin of his chest.
Then, with a single stretch of his hands, the madman tore a large piece of skin and tore it directly onto his face, and then tore and stripped all the skin from his body from top to bottom as if he had taken off a straitjacket.
He took off a full human skin like this!
How terrible is it to do this?
Leon immediately remembered the cicada-like human skin he had seen in Lion City......
"All back! This is a fallen! β
Leon shouted loudly and rushed over with his team to meet the recruits.
He finally knew why these fools who had been brainwashed into fanatical believers were charging suicidally!
These people are indeed begging for death!
And the prayers of the Prophetic Legion seem to bring them back from the dead!
Or rather, it's not a resurrection, it's something else β these people are no longer human, and their crazy cries are more like some kind of beast.
Or, the devil.