CHAPTER 353: CHAPTER 151, RAINY NIGHT COUNTERATTACK_2

"Boom!" A white bolt of lightning roared from the clouds to the ground, and a few seconds later, the sound of thunder tearing through the earth echoed throughout the valley.

The peasant soldiers leaned on their long spears, standing in place; their eyes were filled with worry and fear. They were not professional soldiers, and many were even concerned about whether their family’s fields would be affected by the heavy rain.

Perhaps their morale was low, perhaps they were not skilled in combat, but they all knew this battle was fought for their lives, to protect their country.

The more elite soldiers formed a tight formation, wearing chain armor and surcoats, donning helmets. Most of them brandished longswords, with shields on their backs—long halberds were difficult to wield in the forest.

They were the more honorable Free People, whose lands were exempt from excessive taxation; their families enjoyed housing and food rations in towns or even castles, and they earned double wages. For this, they had to demonstrate sufficient combat prowess.

And then, there were the knights.

In the forest, the knights dismounted, choosing to fight on foot. They were clad in exquisite armor, wielding longswords and shields. They were well-trained, high-spirited, just like in those beautiful knightly tales and mythic epics. All Ranger Knights hoped to achieve great deeds in war, to win supreme glory.

The Kingdom Knights were different.

They had awakened from dreams, witnessed the harsh reality, transformed through blood and fire, yet they still stubbornly trod the path of the knight. They were the warriors of Brittania, the guardians of this country and its people, an elite forged by tens of brothers as close as kin, with blood and conviction.

On the eve of battle, they could feel that long-lost blood running hot within, and in this tense atmosphere, the flame in their hearts rekindled, as they felt the Lady’s call.

"Drip~ Drip Drip~" Raindrops, like pearls, fell onto the ground, and also onto the knights’ armor.

"Clang-Clang-Clang~" Amidst the rumbling thunder, a torrential downpour descended from the heavens; the rain did not fall to the ground as they wished but landed on various armors, making crisp sounds.

That wasn’t the sound of rain hitting the ground; it was the sound of rain striking metal.

"Ting-Ting-Ting~ Clang-Clang-Clang~"

Hair soaked, clothes wet, in the oppressive forest, a deep pressure transmitted to everyone’s heart—cold, irritation, fear, all weighing down.

The wind carried a stench, the faint horn-blows of the Beastmen sounded in the distance, shaking the army’s morale slightly.

Until Laine appeared.

The Holy Grail Knight, clad in silvery-gray full plate armor, walked to the front of the army formation, rain soaking his hair, streaming down his face. Yet, it couldn’t hide his face full of light and hope, nor conceal the Holy Grail Knight Badge glowing on his chest.

The waterfall of rain couldn’t obscure the eager gazes of soldiers and knights.

Laine put down the Warhammer, drew a 1.3-meter-long single-handed longsword from behind, and among the fanatical gazes of the soldiers and knights, he began to speak.

"Soldiers, my comrades, tell me, how do you feel?"

The army was in an uproar, many Ranger Knights shouted: "I’m not feeling too great, Lord Laine."

"Hahaha!" Laughter burst out from the formation.

"Yes! Yes, I also think it’s not great—the forest, the rain, the darkness, and those damned Beastmen." Laine laughed heartily, not minding the rain on his face: "But, my warriors, are you afraid? Have you cowered? Have you succumbed to the darkness?"

"No! No!" All knights and soldiers shouted loudly.

"Tell me, has this little rain extinguished the fire in your hearts?"

"No! No!"

"For our country, we advance to this point; to protect our people, we fight to this extent. Now, let us shout together, for victory! For the Lady! For Brittania!" Laine raised the Goddess of Revenge.

Even in the heavy rain, the white flame on the Goddess of Revenge showed no sign of diminishing; on the contrary, the pale blue light emitted purity in the dark rainy night, illuminating the depths of everyone’s hearts.

"For victory! For the Lady! For Brittania!" The soldiers shouted in unison. With a Holy Grail Knight with us, what fear do they have of those beasts?

"For victory! For the Lady! For Brittania!" The knights roared, striking their shields with their sharp swords; their courage couldn’t be extinguished by the rain, they were ready.

"Fight! Fight!" Under Laine’s command, Olivier and Hex became soaked to the bone, yet they were still in high spirits. The Ranger Knights gripped their longswords tightly, awaiting the moment to fight alongside their Baron!

"For the Lady!" Julius first drew his sword and shouted, his sister Surya also raised her longsword high above the sky: "For the Lady!"

The sounds of the Beastmen drew nearer, many could already see the wicked shadows flickering in the depths of darkness.

"Now, soldiers, wield your weapons, muster your courage. I, Holy Grail Knight Laine Macado, am with you. Let us fight side by side to eradicate evil! Everyone, focus on my radiance!" The Goddess of Revenge was raised among the formation, white flame, pale blue radiance; in the dark rainy night, all eyes were fixed on the sword.

Then Laine turned around, striding forward, charging into the darkness.

The army’s morale soared as Marquis Gabriel de Bastogne, the Red Dragon Duke’s third son, vigorously waved his longsword, shouting: "Follow the Holy Grail Knight! Follow the Holy Grail Knight! Charge! Charge!"

"Charge!"

Brittania’s army was boiling.

"For the Lady!"

A massive tide swept over the Beastman’s formation.

When the Beastman War Gang leader was still gathering his troops, preparing to charge, Brittania’s army already charged towards them. This unexpected scene left them stunned.

"Humans...attacking proactively...us?"

"For the Lady!!!" Laine led the charge at the forefront, decapitating the Beastman War Gang leader with a single stroke.

"For the Lady! For Brittania!" The knights followed Laine as they charged into the Beastman’s formation, swords sweeping, blood all around. The Beastmen were caught off guard; by the time they reacted, the knights had already broken through the first line of their formation; sharp swords harvested Beastman heads.

This was retribution from the knights.

Along a battle line spanning over a thousand meters, humans charged the Beastmen everywhere.

"Kill!" The peasants raised their long spears, piercing the Horned Beasts and Inferior Horned Beasts through and through. The Beastman formation began to falter; those behind tried to charge forward while those in front wanted to retreat, trampling over each other, countless casualties.

In the Beastman’s central army, the Beast King "Blood Horn" Maras and Screaming Great Shaman "Heart-Eater" Groz watched the scene in disbelief: "Surprise attack...discovered...humans...counterattacking!"

"Hold steady...I will...limit the humans!" Screaming Great Shaman’s bone staff waved, green energy surged, forming a massive swarm of locusts.

Swarming locusts appeared on the battlefield, clinging to the armor, devouring flesh. The knights felt the infestation inside their armor, while the peasants were immediately slaughtered by Beastmen.

"Damn it!"

Laine cleaved a Great Horned Beast in half with one blow. Seeing this, the Holy Grail Knight raised his Revenge Goddess sword, proclaiming: "May Lord Laine reign forever!" "Follow the Holy Grail Knight!" With his sword raised, white flame emitted from the blade, turning all the locusts into ash.

"Long live Lord Laine!" "Follow the Holy Grail Knight! Forward!" All the knights charged through the wall of the first row of Great Horned Beasts and Horned Beasts. The rest of the Inferior Horned Beasts and Chaos War Dogs were also caught off guard, pressed against each other, trampled, and countless perished.

The Beast King and the Screaming Great Shaman began to sense trouble, retreating slowly under the cover of Great Horned Beasts and the Giant Minotaur Battle Group.