Under the protection of the crusaders' giant shield soldiers, the Noah Empire forces barely held off the rain of arrows.
Watching the crusaders draw closer to the town, Mana glanced at her troops.
"We must have killed thousands of crusaders by now. The crusaders are not invincible."
"The Knight Master's order: kill one crusader, and you'll receive five gold coins when you return!"
Mana knew that only substantial rewards could motivate the resistance soldiers to fight bravely.
One gold coin could buy twenty bags of refined rice in Anatolia.
Killing one crusader on the battlefield would earn five gold coins — a huge temptation for the resistance soldiers.
They could feast lavishly once back in Anatolia.
"Charge! Kill the crusaders!"
"Kill!"
The resistance had trained outside Anatolia's main city for a long time.
Though their raw strength was inferior, their coordination was excellent.
Meanwhile, the crusaders suffered from Canglan Kingdom's environment — the food and living conditions were far less luxurious than in the Noah Empire.
This also diminished the crusaders' combat effectiveness significantly.
Boom! Boom!
The resistance formed similar formations — giant shield soldiers charged at the front, with regular soldiers wielding weapons behind them.
Archmages, Witches, and other rare professions cast spells from the rear.
Spells of all kinds collided fiercely on the battlefield.
"Kill!"
The cries of battle echoed loudly even across the distance where resistance and crusader soldiers clashed fiercely.
Mana, an Eighth Level Paladin, did not go to the front lines herself.
Noah Empire's crusaders truly lived up to their reputation as the strongest.
Despite being ambushed, they could still unleash incredible power and fight the resistance to the death.
The battle was ferocious and brutal.
In the end, it took nearly two resistance soldiers to kill one Noah Empire crusader.
Seeing his forces dwindle, Nord finally noticed something was wrong.
"What's going on? Are there really so many soldiers in this town? At least sixty thousand have died, yet more keep coming!"
Nord frowned watching the bloody fighting outside the town.
Though the resistance lost sixty thousand soldiers, Nord's crusaders lost thirty thousand.
Of the fifty thousand crusaders Nord brought, only twenty thousand remained.
"This isn't right. The Canglan Kingdom knight is insane — he brought out the entire three hundred thousand resistance!"
"Does he not fear the Elf High Priestess among the crusaders casting her Nine-Ring Spell to wipe out his entire army?"
Nord finally understood the battlefield situation.
With more crusaders falling, the resistance kept pouring in relentlessly.
This was clearly the Canglan Kingdom knight laying an all-out trap with his entire force.
"My lord, we are surrounded by the resistance. The crusaders have scattered and cannot regroup quickly."
"We should retreat immediately and find the High Priestess. With her here, no matter how many resistance troops there are, they stand no chance."
Kreiss remained calm, standing beside Nord.
At the same time, she secretly admired the knight's boldness — daring to commit all three hundred thousand resistance troops at once.
If the ambush failed, or if the Elf High Priestess was among the crusaders, the knight would be doomed.
The logistics cost of deploying three hundred thousand troops was unimaginable.
Had the battle been mishandled, or had Nord taken Kreiss's advice to attack Anatolia's main city instead...
With its defenses left bare, even five thousand crusaders would have easily taken the city.
"Retreat? You want me to return alone to meet the High Priestess?"
"Do you think she won't punish me if I go back like this?"
Nord was desperate watching his crusaders fall.
The battle's tide turned swiftly as the resistance's numerical advantage grew, and the crusaders' resistance waned.
Fewer than ten thousand Noah Empire crusaders remained.
Nord drew his greatsword and charged into the fray.
"Kill!"
As a Ninth Level Paladin, Nord's strength far outclassed ordinary soldiers.
Each swing of his greatsword felled several resistance soldiers.
But no matter how strong, he was not a magician.
A Ninth Level Paladin was powerful in one-on-one combat, but could not fight multiple opponents at once like a Magician.
As Nord killed more enemies, his sword swings slowed and wounds appeared on his body.
Mana watched and prepared to personally confront Nord.
"Wait. Nord is a Ninth Level Paladin. If you go now, you'll become his victim!"
Lake Witch raised her staff, blocking Mana's path.
"But can we just let him slaughter our soldiers?" Mana said unhappily.
She had long served Canglan Kingdom and disliked seeing Nord kill her comrades.
"Think carefully. If you rush in and die, Nord will be unstoppable."
Lake Witch said no more.
Mana reluctantly nodded.
Their goal was to wear Nord down until he was exhausted and powerless, then deliver him to the Knight Master.
At that point, Noah Empire would have to pay dearly to get Nord back.
As Nord's strength waned, swinging his greatsword became increasingly difficult.
Lake Witch saw the moment had come and nodded at Mana.
"Attack!"
Seeing Lake Witch's signal, Mana charged onto the battlefield.
"Finally, someone worth fighting."
Nord's battle spirit flared as Mana approached.
Her weapon was also a greatsword, and fighting Nord immediately pressed her heavily.
"So strong! Truly a Ninth Level Paladin!" Mana thought.
Though the resistance had drained much of Nord's strength, she still found it difficult to face him head-on.
"Curse!"
Lake Witch, protected by giant shield soldiers, slowly approached the battle.
She chanted a spell, and a black magic circle appeared beneath Nord.
Instantly, Nord was cursed, his complexion paling.
His combat power sharply decreased.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。