Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover-Chapter 245: [] Divide, Encircle, Annihilation Complete

Like meteors streaking through the sky.

Like warriors bathed in blood and fire.

The knights who heralded the apocalypse drew closer. Their warhorses stomped fiercely, trampling over shields propped up by human hands. The impact was as deafening as a battering ram striking a fortress gate. The bloodstained hooves shattered wooden shields with ease, just as Celtic longswords effortlessly severed limbs from bodies. Wherever the crimson sword light flashed, shoulders, limbs, or heads were cleaved from torsos. Necks were pierced into bloody ruin, and entrails spilled onto the ground.

The shield wall, seemingly impenetrable, crumbled the moment it met the knights. The agonized screams of their dying comrades shook the spirits of the soldiers of the United Roman Empire. As they beheld the knights charging towards them—eyes glowing with an ominous red—they could not stop their hands and feet from trembling.

These were not mere mortal soldiers. They came wreathed in death, cloaked in mountains of corpses and oceans of blood. They carried the will of Mors, the god of death, seeking to reap the lives of the living!

The moment they realized this, the reapers arrived on horseback, sending them to the underworld in the most direct way possible.

The brutal clash ended in an instant. To an outsider, it seemed as though the white-haired general had merely led his troops through a single charge, shattering the shielded formation before riding away, leaving behind only corpses.

The crushing defeat of the patrol enraged the centurion. His fury made his hair stand on end as he bellowed curses. Abandoning the slow-moving infantry, he ordered his cavalry to charge with him, pursuing the distant figures of their enemies.

Meanwhile, having broken through the shield formation, Sakatsuki found the path ahead unobstructed. He tilted his head slightly, scanning his knights with a dark expression.

Even though he had done his best to shield them with the aura of bloodshed, two of his cavalrymen had still fallen, their lives taken by the patrol soldiers.

He had mentally prepared himself for casualties, yet as someone who always sought perfection, he still found it difficult to accept.

Of course, as long as the war continued, such feelings would inevitably grow numb.

With this thought, the young man cast his gaze forward, spotting the enemy officer who was rushing toward them with a small unit, his face flushed red with anger.

"An opponent this foolish is hardly a challenge. Let's hold him back for a moment."

At his command, the knights drew their reserve javelins. No need for precise aiming—just a simple toss by instinct. Dozens of spears rained down like a storm.

"Watch out—!"

The pursuing soldiers had anticipated this attack. Though startled, they quickly halted and raised their defenses.

Apart from a few unlucky ones who were struck and fell from their horses, the majority managed to evade the assault. However, their pace inevitably slowed, and the centurion, though cursing furiously, could do nothing about it.

At that moment, it wasn't just the pursuers—enemy reinforcements from the main army had also emerged from their camp, flooding into the forest path in a bid to capture this "scouting party."

"It's time."

Sakatsuki remained alert to his surroundings. When a sharp bird cry rang out from the forest, he pulled the reins, raising his bronze sword high.

A scarlet aura of bloodlust erupted into the sky, a striking signal visible to all.

Before the enemy could react, battle cries erupted from both sides of the forest. Under the leadership of their commanders, two armies struck like daggers into the heart of the pursuing force, scattering their formation into utter chaos.

"It's an ambush! Retreat! Fall back immediately!"

The enemy officer leading the chase finally realized the danger, shouting orders in desperation—but it was too late.

The number of ambushers hidden in the hills far exceeded expectations. It was as if they were not a mere ambush force, but the enemy's main army instead. More terrifyingly, they had a clear strategy—immediately targeting any soldier who appeared to be in command, overwhelming them and cutting them down amidst the confusion.

Without their leaders, the soldiers became nothing more than scattered sand, unable to mount any effective defense. Meanwhile, the Roman forces were fully prepared.

First came a barrage of javelins. Then, the young soldiers wielding swords charged forward, striking amid the chaos. By the time the enemy recovered, the young soldiers had already retreated to the second line, allowing the stronger, more seasoned troops to take their place, delivering crushing blows. Meanwhile, the young soldiers and mercenaries positioned behind them cleaned up the battlefield, using arrows and stones to eliminate the most dangerous opponents before they could retaliate.

Even those who managed to escape regrouping efforts were quickly isolated by well-trained squads and picked off one by one.

The forest echoed with dying screams. Blood splattered onto the leaves, greedily absorbed by the earth.

What should have been an evenly matched battle had turned into a complete massacre.

First, they feigned weakness, striking swiftly at the enemy's core, destroying their gates and setting their camp ablaze. Then, they used intelligence as bait, forcing the United Roman Empire to send forces in pursuit. Finally, they took advantage of the terrain, reversing the situation by ambushing the enemy, cutting them off, encircling them, and wiping them out in a single decisive strike.

The outcome was sealed.

As the commanders led their troops forward, they couldn't help but cast respectful glances at their governor—the white-haired, crimson-eyed young man.

During their wait for orders, they had discussed battle strategies. If they had been in charge with the same troop numbers, their best option would have been a direct assault, breaking through enemy fortifications while their camp was still incomplete. They would have turned the siege into a chaotic battlefield, relying on sheer force to achieve victory.

"Strength brings miracles." That was their philosophy—overpower the enemy first and leave the rest to fate.

Striking before the enemy could react would have given them a high chance of winning.

But such an approach would have cost them many soldiers. It would never have led to a scenario like this, where the enemy was utterly helpless, and the entire forest had become their hunting ground.

All of this was the result of their new governor's precise planning.

Having already secured the loyalty of his commanders, Sakatsuki, as soon as his hidden forces launched their attack, led his light cavalry into a sudden reversal charge, heading straight for the enemy officer who had been chasing them mere seconds ago.

By now, the battle had begun in earnest. Whether prey or hunter, wounded or dead, the battlefield reeked of blood and resentment—energies that Sakatsuki's spirit foundation greedily absorbed.

"Wh-what in the world...?"

The enemy officer gaped in shock at the returning cavalry. He saw the eerie blood-red armor materializing on their bodies, the weapons in their hands growing sharper and more menacing.

This was no mere scouting party—this was an army of blood-drenched executioners!

The aura of slaughter swept forth. The warhorses began to falter in fear. The soldiers wavered in terror. The officer clutched his short sword tightly, opening his mouth as if to speak—yet no words came.

Retreat? The battlefield behind him was already ablaze, and countless enemies were eyeing his neck, eager to claim the glory of his demise.

Fight? His troops had rushed here unprepared, some without even donning their armor. How could they possibly contend with these blood-soaked knights?

But he did not have to ponder for long.

Sakatsuki's sword flashed, and the officer's head was severed.

The crimson-clad cavalry charged forth like demons from hell, shattering the remaining enemy riders. Like wolves among sheep, they cut down everything in their path, further crushing any remaining will to resist.

The Roman forces regrouped. Leaving behind a detachment to guard the captives, the rest surged toward the now-defenseless enemy camp, seizing control and extinguishing any last vestiges of resistance from the United Roman Empire.

A battle of two thousand against two thousand ended in total victory for Sakatsuki's forces.

***

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