I was a knight in the Middle Ages

Chapter 465: Druid Mutation, Alpha Attacks

&34;How could...how could it turn out like this...&34; The horrifying sight of the surging black water was reflected in the girl's amber pupils, and her muddy fingertips dug deeply into her palms.

Balmain's crystal staff slammed to the ground, and the moon-white halo rising from the emerald inlay collided violently with the black mist at the bottom of the pool.

A metal disc covered with runes was slowly rising from the mud, with asphalt-like mucus oozing out from the meshing points of the gears on its edge. Every drop of liquid that hit the water surface created a circle of blood-red ripples.

As the disc completely emerged, countless chains broke out of the ground, and in the iron cages tied at the end, translucent animal-shaped phantoms were madly crashing around.

"Cover your ears!" Balman suddenly protected Gulina behind him, and golden spells lit up on his fingertips.

The roar coming from the bottom of the pool seemed real, causing black liquid to ooze out of the cracks in the ground.

The eye sockets of those phantoms suddenly ignited with ghostly green fire, which turned into mist like vengeful spirits and rushed towards the two people. Wherever they passed, the rocks carbonized and peeled off at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The light bursting out from the top of the crystal staff temporarily drove back the evil spirit, but the cracks on the staff spread like a spider web.

Veins popped out on Balman's forehead as he recognized the ancient magic pattern on the disc - it was the long-lost Abyss Summoning Array that could imprison the soul between matter and nothingness.

"This is not an ordinary poison." The priest's voice became hoarse due to the consumption of spiritual power. "They used soul imprisonment to pollute the water source. After the druid drinks it, his spirit will be gradually devoured by these evil spirits, and he will eventually become a puppet without consciousness."

Balman thought of the red eyes of the chief when he lost control, and Captain Chloe's twisted smile when she transformed. It turned out that from the moment they drank the spring water, the souls of the tribesmen had been quietly eroded.

Gulina grabbed Balmain's robe with trembling hands. On her translucent wings, black veins were growing wildly along the gaps between the scales.

"Master Priest, what should we do?" Gulina cried, but she stopped abruptly when she saw the giant bone hand slowly rising from the bottom of the pool.

Balmain stared at the distorted reflection in the spring water, in which black lines vaguely appeared at the corners of his eyes.

He took a deep breath and injected the last bit of his spiritual power into the crystal staff. The emerald on the staff head emitted a blindingly bright light, temporarily suppressing the resentful spirits that kept pouring out.

"There is still hope." Balman placed his palm on Gulina's back and slowly injected healing spiritual power into her. "Call all uncontaminated druids and wizards. We must start the 'Earth Baptism' before midnight. Use the power of the origin of nature to purify the spiritual veins eroded by the abyss!"

The priest looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering, and the sound of war drums coming from afar was getting closer and closer.

Gulina endured the severe pain and flapped her wings to fly up. Just as she was about to execute the command, a black chain covered with barbs suddenly emerged from the bottom of the pool and wrapped around her ankle like a poisonous snake.

The girl let out a shrill scream, her translucent skin was left with bleeding scars, and the black veins on her wings suddenly expanded, almost swallowing up the entire white scales.

Balmain's crystal staff turned into a stream of light and slashed at the chain, but the staff exploded into countless pieces the moment it touched the black fog.

The moment the emerald core fell to the ground, the entire holy spring boiled violently, and a giant bony hand broke through the ground with hundreds of druid soul fires entangled between its knuckles.

The priest was blown away by the air wave, and his back hit the basalt heavily. The blood he coughed up dripped onto the ground and strangely condensed into black crystals.

"Go!" Balmain wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took out the ancestral oak amulet from his arms.

The moment the rune lit up, an ancient resonance came from deep in the earth. The roots of the tree broke out of the ground like a giant python and temporarily entangled the bony hand.

But Balman could clearly feel that the power of the abyss was frantically eroding the amulet's barrier.

Gulina endured the pain of alienation and injected the last of her spiritual power into the butterfly wings, drawing a fluorescent track for help in the night sky.

At this moment, chaotic footsteps were heard in the distance - it turned out that the polluted druid warriors followed the scent and surrounded the holy spring.

Their pupils were bloodshot, their nails grew into sharp claws, and inhuman growls came from their throats. Among them was Captain Chloe's distorted face.

"Master Priest!" Gulina suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the wrist bone of the bony hand.

Half of a glowing fusion stone was embedded there, with the faint blue light fighting fiercely against the black fog. It was obviously the product of the Knights' forced fusion of evil magic and druid relics.

Balmain was shocked: if this mutated fusion stone was not destroyed, the baptism of the earth would be out of the question.

Captain Chloe pounced first, and the strong wind brought by her sharp claws tore Balmain's robe.

The priest barely dodged to the side, but saw other warriors spit out black poisonous mist at the same time.

At the critical moment, Gulina rushed into the poisonous fog regardless of everything and used her body to block the fatal blow for Balmain, but Gulina was poisoned and fainted.

"No——!" Balmain's roar shook the dead leaves off the trees.

He suddenly tore open his clothes, revealing the druid totem on his chest. The ancient emblem burst into golden light.

At the junction of the power of the abyss and the holy spring spirit vein, a decisive battle that concerns the survival of the entire race has finally begun.

At the side of the holy spring filled with smoke, Balman knelt on one knee, with Gulina curled up in his arms. Her translucent wings had long been broken, and black veins covered her pale skin.

Balman's eyes widened with anger, and he roared at the chieftain who was leading the attack: "She is your biological daughter! How could you do such a cruel thing to your own flesh and blood?"

The patriarch's claws suddenly stopped three inches away from Balman's throat.

The blood-stained fingertips trembled slightly, and the light of reason in the scarlet pupils re-lit like a firefly: "Gulina... my daughter?"

He looked down at the unconscious girl, and memories came flooding back like a tide - the elf who laughed and picked flowers by the holy spring, and the child who always loved to weave vine wreaths for him.

"Wake up!" Balman cried, "You have all drunk the polluted holy spring water and been trapped by the evil soul imprisonment! We must..."

Before he finished speaking, a loud bang was heard, and the tribe's first line of defense collapsed under the impact of the Knights, with shouts and screams intertwined.

The barrier created by the druids and wizards was crumbling under the crazy attack of the evil spirits.

Balmain used up his last bit of strength to inject spiritual power into the holy spring.

On the water surface, the black mist and the holy light collided violently. The imprisoned vengeful spirit let out a shrill scream and gradually dissipated into the night sky.

The black lines on the tribesmen's bodies began to fade, but their faces were still as pale as paper, and it was obvious that the poison was still raging in their bodies.

The clan leader looked at his daughter, who had regained consciousness but was still unconscious, and his heart was filled with guilt and regret.

He clenched the bone blade in his hand and said hoarsely: "Balman, protect Gulina. I will stop the enemy!"

"Chief! The holy spring has been completely destroyed!" Balman grabbed the chief's arm, his eyes full of despair, "I can only suppress the poison temporarily, but I can't completely eliminate it! We must break through and find..."

"It's too late." The patriarch interrupted him and looked at the knights coming in like a tide in the distance, with a flash of determination in his eyes, "They won't give us a chance to breathe."

He took a deep breath, turned around and shouted to the remaining tribesmen: "Everyone listen up! I will lead the elite troops to cover the rear and escort the priests and the wounded to break through!"

Balmain was about to say something else, but was stopped by the patriarch's firm gaze.

"Go find the humans at Eagle's Beak Cliff," the chief pressed a badge with a druid totem into his hand, "and tell them... I was wrong."

After saying this, the patriarch raised his sword high and led his warriors to charge towards the ferocious knights, his figure gradually disappearing in the gunfire and smoke.

The dusky sky was cut by the blazing flames from the direction of the Druid Tribe. Mash's knuckles turned white from the force of holding the telescope.

The sound of fighting in the distance came with the smell of burning, and from time to time, panicked deer ran into dead branches in the forest. This abnormal chaos made the reconnaissance team leader break out in cold sweat on the back of his neck.

"Master Alpha, the Druid Tribe's defenses collapsed within two hours." Mashu knelt on one knee, her bronze wristband glowing coldly in the moonlight. "Their barrier stone should have been able to hold out for three days, but now..."

In the shadows, Alpha twirled his ruby-encrusted scepter, the candlelight casting eerie shadows on his angular face.

"The Hague Bandits's tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west is really clever." Alpha suddenly laughed, and his scarlet cloak swept across the long table piled with parchment rolls, "But they forgot that hungry wolves will never let go of the fat meat in their mouths. Mashu, pass on my order-"

Outside the command tent, the sound of the messenger's horn tore through the night sky.

Barras was wiping the gears of an unfinished chariot. He paused when he heard the order: "There are only four left without modification? Those new crossbow machines..."

"War won't wait for you to adjust!" Alpha's voice penetrated the tent, "Let Quinte's violent knights stand by on the left wing, and Baruch's catapults immediately calibrate the coordinates of the rear camp of the Hague Bandits!"

When the first flaming boulder streaked across the night sky, the rear guard of the Hague Bandits were still counting their spoils.

Flint covered in asphalt fell among the tents, instantly turning half of the camp into a sea of ​​fire.

The catapults made an earth-shaking roar, and flying gravel mixed with screams exploded in the night.

The crossbow phalanx advanced slowly like a steel behemoth, and the bronze crossbow arms glowed coldly in the moonlight.

Following the commander's order, twenty crossbow carts simultaneously emitted a teeth-grinding sound of string-twisting, and more than twenty crossbow arrows as thick as a child's arm shot out into the air.

The chain mail of the bandit knights in the front row was as thin as paper under the highly penetrating crossbow arrows, and three corpses were nailed together and fell to the ground with a bang.

The newly installed repeating crossbows on the chariots began to rain down arrows, and the infantry led by Da Gama formed a wedge formation, pushing the defeated bandit knights into a death trap.

In the darkness, the panicked bandits trampled on each other, and the screams and the sounds of metal colliding intertwined into a hellish melody.

"General! The left wing collapsed!" Mars's horse splashed a large amount of sparks when it rushed into the camp. He stumbled and rolled off the horse, with coagulated blood on his helmet. "The enemy's chariots are equipped with crossbows. Our cavalry can't do anything..."

"How can two thousand men not be able to stop them?!" Andilo slammed his fist on the marching table, causing the candlestick to shake violently.

"General, half of our knights have been transferred away by Captain Stanford, and we have less than a thousand people now." Mars explained fearfully.

When the vanguard general learned that half of the troops had been transferred away, his face turned pale instantly.

"I'll go and call back my knights. You stay here and wait for my support." He grabbed his sword and turned to leave, but bumped into the messenger who was fleeing in a panic at the door of the tent.

In the chaos, Mars looked at Andilo's receding back, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth hidden in the shadows.

He quietly reached for the poisoned dagger at his waist and glanced at his own soldiers who were ready to make a move at the edge of the camp.

When the war spread to the central army tent, no one noticed the ambition flashing in the eyes of the vanguard officer.

The night was like thick ink that stained the battlefield, and Quintiles' violent knights rushed out from the mountain passes on both sides like two poisoned scimitars.

Iron hooves crushed the moonlight all over the ground, the knights brandished their blood-soaked flails, and the sharp sound of the chain hammers breaking through the air startled the night owls in the forest.

The remaining 500 bandit knights fell into despair in an instant - some knelt on the ground and begged for mercy with their bloody battle axes raised high, some turned their horses' heads and stumbled into the darkness, and a few stood there in a daze, with the scarlet battle flag of the Knights Templar reflected in their pupils, and they looked lifeless like wooden stakes nailed to the ground.

"Da Gama, be careful to identify those who are pretending to surrender when cleaning up the battlefield." Alpha walked over the messy ground, and the crisp sound of his boots crushing armor fragments could be clearly heard.

Alpha turned to the dwarf blacksmith Baras and said, "Check the ballista. We'll show those idiots how powerful we are in a quarter of an hour."

The elf Evelyn's silver bow glowed coldly in the moonlight, and she jumped lightly to Alpha's side: "My lord, the scouts have reported that the main force of the Hague Bandits is coming out of the Druid Tribe, with at least 34 soldiers."

Before he finished speaking, a faint horn sound was heard in the distance, like the moan of death.

Alpha stroked the ruby ​​on the scepter with his fingertips, and a bloodthirsty light flashed in his eyes: "Do you see this canyon?"

Alpha pointed to the towering rocks on both sides, "The iron chariots built by the dwarves are enough to seal the pass, and Baruch's catapults can cover a range of 34 steps with each volley."

He suddenly laughed out loud, startling the bats roosting in the cracks of the rocks, "Even if they had an army of 34, they could only rush over like lambs lining up to die!"

Alpha had to admit that the Druid Tribe was indeed easier to defend than to defeat, but that was under normal circumstances. Now something must have happened to the Druids.

"Mashu, take your men to watch over the forests on both sides. If there is any accident, report it immediately." Alpha continued to give orders.

The shadow elves led by Mash blended silently into the night. They clung to the cliffs like ghosts, and their arrows were coated with a deadly poison that killed instantly upon contact with blood.

Deep in the canyon, Balas was directing the craftsmen to wrap oil-soaked hemp ropes around the arrowheads of the crossbow. In the light of the fire, the arrows of death that were about to tear the night sky apart glowed with a strange green glow.

Suddenly, Darwin pointed to the distance and exclaimed: "Sir! The survivors of the Druid tribe broke through the bandits' blockade!"

Dark green figures were seen surging on the mountain path, and deer antler headdresses were vaguely seen swaying in the night, mixed with the wails of the wounded and the hum of magic shields.

Alpha narrowed his eyes and slammed his staff on the ground: "Pass the order and allow them to go around the dense forest on the east side. If anyone approaches the main road--" His voice suddenly turned cold, "Da Gama, your shield guard knows what to do."

However, the defeated druids had obviously lost their minds, and they rushed towards the center of the canyon, waving their broken vine shields.

When the first warning arrow pierced the night sky, the leading druid elder raised a wooden staff engraved with runes and drove the vines to try to break through the defense line.

"Release!" Da Gama's roar and the sound of shields colliding exploded at the same time. One hundred fine steel shields formed a steel wall, and the shield guards inserted their spears diagonally into the ground, forming a death barrier like a chevaux de frise.

The druid who was rushing in the front collided with the tip of the spear, and his blood splattered on the shield, forming strange flowers.

Alpha watched all this coldly, the ruby ​​on the top of the scepter dancing in the firelight, just like his equally burning ambition.

"Priest Balmain, those humans don't care about our lives at all."