Two hours earlier.
Ryan and Baron Barnes's army had already crossed the Carmelan River. After marching more than halfway, Ryan once again ordered the troops to halt and rest.
Barnes was somewhat displeased, but still complied.
Immediately after, Ryan dispatched over a hundred knights. As scouts returned one after another, the army continued advancing slowly.
After about an hour and a half, Ryan's scouts finally brought back a report.
"My lord, on the western edge of Icepeak Forest, we've spotted a large number of soldiers. They bear the banners of thunder and mountains—forces from Count Weiss's domain."
"My lord, Viscount Miles and Viscount Dragon's armies have already clashed. Viscount Miles's forces are at a disadvantage."
…
Upon hearing this, Ryan immediately understood Viscount Miles's intentions.
"So, this viscount has aligned himself with that count. Even the wealth of Lingdu County is something he's willing to give up."
"He intends to use Count Weiss to suppress Viscount Dragon. It seems the county governor knows that once he dies, his heir will not be a match for Dragon."
"With the Empire abandoning Northwind Province, Lingdu City could soon change hands."
"He has no other choice. Throwing in with Count Weiss is the only way to preserve the Miles family's legacy—by leveraging the count's prestige and military strength."
Ryan chuckled.
"In that case, our opportunity has arrived as well."
Half an hour later, Ryan appeared at the edge of the battlefield. He looked at the gentle slopes on both sides of the valley—no more than hills. In Icepeak Forest, only that towering snow-covered mountain deserved the title of "peak."
"To fight a battle in a place like this… they actually gave up the advantage of higher ground just to create room for a proper cavalry charge?"
That valley was the only treeless area in the forest, which was precisely why the two viscounts had chosen it as the battlefield. If they had fought within the woods, cavalry would have lost all effectiveness.
And both armies relied heavily on the destructive force of their cavalry charges.
Ryan led his troops to carefully navigate up the high ground. Under the sunlight, he could see the battlefield below—thousands of soldiers locked in brutal combat. Count Weiss's troops were there too, with seventy or eighty towering armored figures among them.
"Are those… soldiers created by extraordinary means?"
Ryan watched as those ironclad giants swung their massive axes like barbarians, cleaving down enemies before them—even Baron Enzo, the silver-armored knight, was being forced back by their blows.
In less than half an hour, nearly half of Viscount Dragon's army had collapsed. The rest hadn't even realized what was happening.
"Force trumps all. Count Weiss truly is ambitious."
Ryan raised the powerful Python-Sinew Bone Bow in his hand—crafted from the remains of the frost serpent with help from Mage Luna.
Thanks to the enhancement of two knight breathing techniques, Ryan's physical strength was now on par with that of a silver-ranked knight. He drew the bowstring with ease, and the arrow whistled down toward one of the "barbarians" dozens of meters below.
As the creature fell, Ryan noted with some relief that its life force was not as monstrous as he'd feared.
Then his gaze shifted—and locked onto Baron Enzo's blood-covered face.
"Lord Barnes, would you dare charge with me?"
Ryan spoke without turning to look at Baron Barnes beside him.
Barnes glanced at the slope in front of them—thirty to forty degrees steep—and swallowed hard before shaking his head violently.
"In that case…"
Ryan drew his knight's longsword and raised it high. Under the sunlight, his shadow stretched down onto the battlefield—drawing the attention of many below.
"Soldiers! Show them whose banner will fly over this land!"
"Ryan!!!"
"Ryan!!!"
"Ryan!!!"
The roar of over a thousand soldiers shook the battlefield. Soldiers from both sides turned in alarm—then they saw, on the side slope, the charging banner shaped like a rhino's horn, flapping wildly in the wind.
Then, like a flood, Ryan's forces descended the hill.
As this godsend of a force stormed the battlefield, both Dragon's and Miles's soldiers were terrified. After all the bloodshed already, neither side had the strength to resist this new, fresh army.
"Charge!"
Ryan didn't know how many cavalrymen had fallen during the downhill charge, nor how many foot soldiers could keep up. But he plunged forward fearlessly.
At the bottom of the slope, his massive warhorse reached one of the "barbarians." From above, Ryan swung his sword and cleanly beheaded the enemy.
These creatures were indeed strong—but their sluggish movements were a fatal weakness.
"In the name of the Stag, grant our weapons sharpness!"
Ryan shouted. His blood surged, and the surface of his knight's sword began to shimmer with flowing battle aura. He swung it down in one sweeping arc.
In the next moment, the barbarian's massive axe was cleaved in two—and so was his iron-encased head.
"Kill them all!"
Knights surged forward behind Ryan. Their lances glowed with the power of the Knight Combat Art: Spear of the Heroic Spirit, piercing through the towering enemies in front of them.
This Sanctuary-level knight technique showed its full destructive power. Over a hundred cavalry charged with unstoppable momentum, breaking through the heart of the battlefield—then began mercilessly reaping the lives of soldiers on both sides.
Did Ryan fear being surrounded by both viscounts' forces? Of course he did.
But in the chaos of this battlefield, neither side could properly transmit orders. Even after Ryan's arrival, many of Miles's soldiers were still locked in combat with Dragon's troops.
"Kill!"
Ryan yanked the reins. His horse, in pain, reared up—avoiding a sweeping axe—then stomped down, knocking the barbarian over. Ryan bent low in the saddle and decapitated the fallen foe.
From the slope behind, Baron Barnes—seeing that the tide had clearly shifted—ordered his troops to charge as well. He hadn't forgotten that he and Ryan had agreed to divide spoils according to merit.
Ryan gradually slowed his movements, panting slightly as he stood at the center of the valley. Looking at the field littered with corpses, his first instinct was to vomit—but his surging blood and excitement suppressed the nausea.
Ahead, his top commanders were already leading the charge against the remnants of Viscount Miles's forces. With just over a thousand soldiers, they pursued and cut down enemies several times their number.
They shouted Ryan's name as a banner of glory, and cried out for the promised houses, land, and tax exemption, driving thousands of routed soldiers into a panicked retreat.
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