Faced with such a dire situation, Kercius felt utterly agitated.
All he had originally wanted was to carve out a territory here and develop it slowly until he could stand on equal footing with Caria.
But now it was obvious the other side had no intention of giving him that chance.
Staring at the urgent battle report that had just arrived, Kercius furiously crumpled it into a ball and hurled it aside.
One of the knights, his face twisted with rage, slammed his fist against the long table and shouted through clenched teeth, "Damn it! Where did those cursed Carians even get the extra troops to attack us?"
His brows were tightly drawn, his heart full of resentment and confusion. The way things had developed had gone far beyond anyone's expectations.
If they had been given enough time, then with a few more generations of effort, they might have been able to fully assimilate those Carians into the people of Cuckoo.
But four years was far too short.
According to the latest battle report, nearly every village along the eastern and southern shores of Liurnia of the Lakes was now in turmoil, and the guards stationed there were no longer able to suppress it.
Kercius, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly rose to his feet. His eyes were hard and ruthless.
He swept a cold gaze over everyone present, then said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, we have no road left to retreat on."
"Those cowardly Sorcerers in the Academy are completely unreliable. Since the Carians are determined to put us to death, then there is no need for us to hesitate any longer."
"Besides, it is still too early to say who will win this war."
Kercius began pacing back and forth inside the spacious command tent, his voice booming like thunder.
"That ignorant princess actually dared to offend the Supreme Being. She will absolutely suffer severe punishment!"
"And behind us stands the great Messenger of the Gods as our strongest support!"
The suffocating tension in the tent finally eased a little.
The knights exchanged looks, each of them silently turning over the matter of Cuckoo's newly revealed mysterious ally.
They had all known that Cuckoo had a secret collaborator, but only now did they learn who it was.
The Supreme Being, the great god. Who else could it be but the Greater Will?
And its messenger could only be the Two Fingers.
"The Carian Royal Family does not have enough strength. We only need to hold the line. The Fingers needs us blades!"
Standing among the crowd, Kercius shouted with passion, trying to use his words to give the men around him the courage and resolve to keep fighting.
But just as he was about to continue his impassioned speech, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside, followed by a panicked report.
"Report!"
The abrupt cry instantly cut off Kercius's speech, and every eye in the tent turned toward the entrance.
"What is there to panic about?" Kercius demanded with a frown.
"The Carians. The Carians have broken in!!" The soldier delivering the report was pale as paper, his voice shaking uncontrollably.
"When did they attack? How many men did they bring? Where are they now?" Kercius blurted out a string of questions, his heart tightening.
"About half a quarter of an hour ago, one person appeared on the great bridge at the front gate. It is said. It is said it was the Dark Moon Knight, and he has already broken through our defenses and charged straight into the central camp!"
The soldier answered in a stammer.
Half a quarter of an hour? Just one man? He had cut his way all the way from the front gate to the central camp by himself?
A chill crawled up Kercius's spine, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
How was that even possible?
But the situation left him no time to think further. He raised a hand and put on his helmet.
"Go inform those lords at once. Tell them today's situation has changed. An unforeseen incident has occurred. Ask them to remain here a few more days before departing."
Kercius took a deep breath. After giving the order, he turned and strode out of the tent, preparing to face the enemy himself.
The knights looked at one another. They knew that several distinguished guests had arrived from Leyndell over the past few days. This was clearly an attempt to kill with a borrowed knife.
Meanwhile, Nolan did not take Cuckoo seriously at all.
Back then, these people really had caused him quite a bit of trouble, but times had changed. They had long since fallen behind the pace of his growth.
Nolan intended to wipe out this swarm of vermin as quickly as possible and erase them from this world.
The crisp clang of metal armor colliding rang in his ears as Nolan stood in the center of the camp.
His eyes were sharp as he stared at the surging tide of steel rushing toward him. In the blink of an eye, it had already surrounded him completely.
He was long used to battles between armies, but unlike before, this time he stood alone, with only the little ox and horse and the doll on his shoulder by his side.
Nolan glanced back and vaguely caught sight of Melina hiding in the shadows.
It had to be said, her skill at concealment was truly exceptional. Even now, in the middle of this chaos, no one had discovered her.
"So much killing. And now it's finally come to this," Nolan said with a trace of feeling. Grudges had to be settled, and that was why he had come.
He looked up and saw more than a dozen knights charging toward him on horseback. A dim blue light glowed in his hand.
The lead knight roared, "Spread out!" and the others immediately obeyed, quickly scattering.
They were all ordinary men. Who could face Sorceries head-on? Still, a few of the more experienced knights sensed something was wrong.
There was no Glintstone in sight, so how could this knight use Sorceries?
Before they had time to react, a heavy burst of sound suddenly tore through the air.
Thchthchthch!!
One sapphire-blue meteor after another shot from Nolan's hand and smashed violently into the Greatshields the knights had raised.
Sparks flew everywhere. Amid deafening impacts, those once-solid Greatshields were instantly blasted to pieces.
The knights struck by the meteors exploded into clouds of blood mist in the blink of an eye and vanished into the air.
The speed and horrifying power of that sudden meteor shower far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Terror rose at once in every heart. Never before had the knights witnessed anything so horrifying.
They stared wide-eyed, faces full of despair, at the meteors still falling from the sky, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
At that moment, the shadow of death covered them, making them feel a fear unlike anything they had ever known.
Greatshields were useless. This... this was no ordinary champion!
Nolan looked at the carnage he had made. Beneath the mask, his expression remained as cold as ever. Another frigid greatsword of magic condensed in his hand, and with a casual swing, the sword energy sliced several men clean in half.