Chapter 480 - 387: Thunderbolt Calamity and the Duke Arrives in Person
Chapter 480: Chapter 387: Thunderbolt Calamity and the Duke Arrives in Person
「A week later. The northeastern border of Black Stone Territory.」
A tense yet orderly atmosphere permeated the border camp.
The camp was a forest of banners.
A legion of one hundred Hill Giants was the most striking sight in the camp.
They were no longer the disorganized mob they once were. Now, divided into ten squads, they drilled the simplest offensive and defensive formations under Kado’s deafening commands.
The shadow of war had already enveloped this land.
Ever since the Necromancer Modi Caesar’s two Witch Demons arrived at the Black Water River, the situation had spun completely out of control.
The Pegasus Knights brought back the latest battle reports each day.
Four Demon legions from the Jade Swamp, each numbering over ten thousand, had arrayed themselves along the banks of the Black Water River.
Their opponents were not only the Eternal Giant Turtle of the Black Water River but also two Witch Demons and a White Bone Giant Beast stitched together from innumerable corpses.
To make matters worse, the Witch Demons had used the endless skeletons in the swampland to awaken a vast Skeleton Legion.
The living and the dead, Demons and the Undead, waged a meat-grinder of a war upon this cursed land.
"Sir."
Ed walked up the watchtower and handed him a waterskin.
"Bolin is back."
Raylo took the waterskin and had a drink. The cool, clean water soothed his tense nerves slightly.
"What’s the situation?"
"Same as before. About a hundred reckless Swamp Demons tried to slip past our flank, but Bolin and the Knights dealt with them easily."
Raylo nodded.
These scattered skirmishes weren’t much on their own, but like a relentless tide, they were a terrifying omen of the storm to come.
He descended the watchtower and returned to the main command tent.
Bolin was waiting inside. A faint scent of blood still clung to the Knight Captain, but he was in high spirits.
"Sir."
He rose to his feet the moment he saw Raylo.
"We’ve cleared out all the Demons that entered Black Stone Territory. There shouldn’t be any more crossing over for the time being."
"Good work,"
Raylo said, pointing to the map on the table.
"Walk me through what the scouts found one more time."
"Yes, sir."
Bolin walked over to the map, his expression turning grave.
"According to the latest report from the Pegasus Knights, the battle at the Black Water River has reached a fever pitch. More than forty thousand Demons from the Jade Swamp are mounting a frontal assault on the river’s defensive line."
His finger swept across the map.
"The front lines are a chaotic, interlocking mess. Thousands of Demons and skeletons fall every day, but by the next day, the Witch Demons have resurrected more skeletons, and even more Demons swarm out from the swamp."
...
「The fifth day of Raylo’s arrival at the border.」
Dusk fell silently.
The blood-red setting sun dyed the western sky a magnificent orange-red.
Wisps of cooking smoke rose from the camp as the soldiers, weary after a long day, looked forward to a hot dinner.
Nothing seemed different from the past few days.
Suddenly, Raylo’s heart lurched.
He snapped his head up, his gaze fixed on the east.
A terrifying, soul-shaking aura was rising silently from that direction, like an ancient behemoth slowly awakening and opening its eyes.
At almost the same moment, Moonlight, who had been sleeping soundly on a rock by the camp entrance, shot to its feet.
Coal Ball also froze, lifting its head in a daze. Its tiny body shivered uncontrollably as it scrambled to hide behind Moonlight.
Raylo strode out of his tent. Everyone in the camp could feel the oppressive aura.
The soldiers stirred uneasily, and the warhorses whinnied in agitation. Even the normally dauntless Hill Giants stopped their rush toward the food, staring uncertainly at the sky.
At some point, the eastern skyline had become shrouded by a bank of bizarre, dark clouds.
These were no ordinary storm clouds.
Within the clouds, billions of slender, blue serpents of electricity writhed madly, weaving and colliding with one another without making the slightest sound.
Silent thunder was far more terrifying than a deafening roar.
The sky was darkening at a visible rate.
No, it wasn’t just darkening—it was being utterly consumed by the silent thunderclouds.
Flashes of lightning illuminated the cloud bank, making it look like the strangest vision of Purgatory.
"Gods..."
A young Knight murmured, his face deathly pale as he stared up at the sky.
Raylo’s expression was graver than ever before.
’It’s here.’
The Nine-headed Demon Serpent Hydra.
That terrifying aura was proof: an avatar of the Catastrophe Level Demon had descended.
Just then, small black dots appeared in the western sky, speeding toward the camp.
They were the Pegasus Knights, returning from patrol.
The first Pegasus Knight all but tumbled from his mount. His Pegasus was trembling violently, clearly terrified.
"Sir!"
The Knight’s lips trembled, his words stumbling out incoherently.
"The east... the eastern sky... it’s sealed off by lightning! The entire sky is!"
The second and third Knights landed soon after, their reports largely the same.
Raylo’s gaze went past them, settling on the final figure racing in from the horizon.
He was the most experienced of the Pegasus Scouts, the one who had flown the farthest—the closest to the Black Water River battlefield.
The Knight landed in the center of the camp. He was in even worse shape than the others, his lips quivering uncontrollably.
He cried out in a hoarse voice.
"A serpent! A... a giant serpent!"
He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.
"Inside that sea of thunderclouds... I saw it... a serpent of unimaginable size. Its body... it’s at least a kilometer long! It swam out of the thunderclouds... and just one of its heads... it’s bigger than a hill!"