Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 527 - 96: The End (Part 2) - 8

The Hurd cavalry let out bizarre howls, wielding sabers and raising long spears as they charged the flank of the "two-legged ones."

Winters, both anxious and enraged, used a flagpole as a long spear, thrusting at the barbarian riders charging from the right, "Those in my way shall die!"

One of the barbarians was directly unseated and thrown flying off his horseback with force. Winters’ palm split open, and his arm went numb from the vibration.

Winters continued to jab fiercely into the horse’s ribs, speeding on toward the great camp.

On the slope less than one kilometer long, the Paratu soldiers ran at varying speeds, eventually stretching out into a line.

The barbarians attacked from the flanks, scattering the Paratu soldiers almost instantly.

Paratu soldiers, lacking formation, were like scattered sand, utterly unable to withstand the charge.

Paratu People fighting for themselves were being cut down and stabbed to death one after another, their screams of agony and cries for help filling the air.

Ish from Ganshui Town was separated from the others, now left all alone.

On a nearby slope about ten meters away, a savage barbarian, with a single stroke, cleaved the entire left shoulder from a Paratu Person.

Ish couldn’t recognize the person who was being slaughtered; he ran downhill for his life, praying desperately not to be noticed by his pursuer.

But the barbarian had noticed him, and, with a strange cry, charged towards him, the shiny saber raised high.

Desperately waving his side sword, Ish closed his eyes as he crossed paths with the barbarian.

Nothing happened; the barbarian leapt over Ish with a bizarre laugh, circling around before charging at him again.

He was toying with him!

Shame, anger, despair… Ish glared fiercely, gripping his side sword and pointing it straight at the barbarian.

"Come on!!" Ish cried out, cursing, "I’m going to fight you to the death!"

The barbarian stopped laughing, shifted the saber all the way behind his back, and charged at the lonely Ish at full speed.

The hot breath from the warhorse, the barbarian’s helmet plume, the arc of the blade… all were advancing closer and closer in Ish’s vision.

Ish didn’t dodge. Holding his sword straight at the barbarian’s warhorse, he screamed until he was hoarse, "Lord! Forgive me! Protect my soul from falling into..."

The moment the warhorse reached Ish, the barbarian suddenly vanished.

The warhorse narrowly grazed past Ish and ran off without a trace.

Ish looked around and saw that the barbarian had been impaled by a military banner, skewered through from the right rib to the left.

A silver-gray steed broke through the night, followed by a few shadowy figures.

Seeing just this warhorse was enough for Ish to be overwhelmed with tears, "Centurion!"

Ish pulled the military banner out from the barbarian’s corpse and ran, handing it to the Centurion.

"Follow me!" Winters took the banner and continued to race up the slope.

Ish dried his tears and followed behind Winters’ silhouette heading up the slope.

Winters dashed to the edge of the main camp like a bolt of lightning. But when he turned around, he found that all his people were gone.

The strength of his speed had left everyone far behind.

He immediately turned back and fought his way down the slope.

Wherever there were cries for help, he went, and the number of people following him grew.

He wasn’t skilled in cavalry combat, the military banner wasn’t a familiar weapon, and the tear in his palm was so painful he could hardly grip his weapon.

After a dozen mounted encounters, he had relied solely on his height, his long arms, sturdy armor, and the speed of the steed to overpower his opponents.

He heard Ish shouting behind him, "My Lord! Wait for us!"

Winters reined in his horse, leaning on the neck of the steed, gasping for breath.

He was at his limit, both physically and mentally.

"The stitches in my belly must’ve torn," he thought. "The blood has already soaked into my trousers."

Xial, Ish, and other warriors caught up, "Where to now?"

Winters vaguely heard someone shouting from his right side.

They were shouting, "Centurion Montaigne! Save us!"

Winters pointed the military banner toward the direction of the shouts, "Go there!"

A lightly armed barbarian with a spear was circling two Paratu soldiers who were back to back.

He was too tired; his reactions had slowed. As he knocked the opponent off his horse, he too was unseated.

Winters felt like he glided through the air for a brief moment before crashing hard onto the ground.

His sturdy breastplate was dented from the massive impact.

His warriors shielded him. Xial pleaded with a sobbing voice, "Let’s go! Let’s cross the river! Go!"

Winters had burnt out, leaving only a few remaining embers.

He looked at the faces around him. Tears slid down his cheeks, falling onto the blood-drenched wasteland.

He seemed to cast off all burdens, saying softly, "Okay, let’s cross the river, we’re going home."

The warriors clumsily helped him to his feet.

"The bridge!" Anglu, trembling all over, shouted in terror, "The bridge!"

Anglu hugged Winters, wailing, "Centurion! They’ve burnt the bridge!"

The lad from Dusack, who had been enduring hardships all his life, cried as he never had before, with utter despair and sorrow.

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Looking in the direction of the sound, everyone on the scene was almost collapsing to the ground.

Below the hill, above the Styx, the bridge had turned into a sea of flames.

There were several explosions; wooden fragments were tossed into the air, and several splashes rose from the Styx.

The Paratu People who had not yet crossed the river gathered on the riverbank, wailing heartbreakingly.

So that was it… Winters understood, he understood everything.

The last embers began to burn; Winters slapped Anglu hard across the face, scolding loudly, "What are you crying for!"

Anglu jolted, stopping his cries, softly sobbing.

As if chilled to the bone, Winters couldn’t stop shaking. He started to laugh, his laughter piercing and intermittent, and while laughing, he said, "Fuck it all."