‘We will not allow the worst-case scenario to happen.

The Artemis Church could not be allowed to take the city without incurring serious losses. If Kansas fell with the gate present, their enemies would get their hands on a direct path to the capital, Dresden.

‘So long as we can destroy the church… !’

On the other hand, if they managed to destroy the teleportation gate, their victory would come around sooner or later. Even if Kansas was occupied today, it was isolated, surrounded by a sea of Hebrion reinforcements. Without a teleportation gate, the Artemis Church would run out of supplies and be limited to the troops already stationed within the city. Recapturing it could prove difficult, but it was possible.

Therefore, the Knights of Kansas only had one goal. They had to destroy the church. The entire Empire depended on it.

“Fire!”

*Boom*

Aura colliding. Screaming. Hooves wrenching armor. The sounds of war followed the Knights of Kansas wherever they went.

Time and time again the Knights of Kansas broke through the Artemis Church’s defenses. Long gone was their hesitation to engage in battle. They had ditched their roguish tactics and began charging down open boulevard.

The Artemis Church had discovered their plans, so the knights were left with only one valid strategy.

Argeria raised his spear and shouted. “Break through!”

The mounted party blitzed down the once beautiful marketplace. As they gained momentum, the clacking of hooves thundered throughout the trashed stands. The wind ripping past their ears was, in all honesty, terrifying; but nothing could compare to the terror of battle. As they grew closer to the church, so too did the density of their opponent’s forces.

‘We already expected this.’

Even if it meant losing men, breaking through as quickly as possible was the only valid tactic. If they placed forces ahead to intercept them, then they were certainly gathering enough strength to defend the teleportation gate.

Now it was only a matter of time. *Boom*

Every time they broke through the enemy’s line of defense, Argeria gave the same signal to his troops. The knights at the front would slow down and allow the rear to eclipse them, giving them their turn on the front lines. In doing so, the front line always remained at their peak, and could exert their entire strength when breaking through enemy lines.

*Cut*

Argeria had not reserved himself to the role of commander. He joined the front lines, launching his aura towards enemies before they could even approach him. Any Bishop-Class knight was capable of engaging in mid-range combat, displaying combat prowess equivalent to Third-Circle magicians.

“Be careful, Lord Crowe!” *Booom*

Argeria launched his aura forward, ambushing some of the Church’s forces who were hiding behind a nearby building. The Artemis Church was powerless to stop the oncoming cavalry. It was clear that the swordsman stationed in Kansas had not grown soft due to being kept safe by their excellent ranged defense.

Faced with an unexpected counterattack, Artemis’s power was dispersed, so their response was inevitably insufficient. It was impossible to stop them with hastily prepared defenses.

“I see the church over there!”

A knight shouted in glee. Just as he said, the Artemis church began to appear in the distance. However, Argeria’s expression was grim. His communication channel, which had been delivering news of despair until now, had gone silent.

What that meant was obvious.

Kansas had been annihilated. They were the only remaining Imperial soldiers in this city. The clatter of horses’ hooves was loud. The air of the burning city was suffocating.

“Since our troops have been wiped out, there is little chance that we can survive here even if we succeed.”

Argeria turned his head towards the side, trying to find the source of the voice. It was Lord Crowe, an old war veteran who Argeria had looked up to when he arrived in Kansas.

Argeria turned his head again and opened his mouth, looking forward. “Do you regret it?”

“Regret what?”

“Joining me. Following the commands of a rookie on a reckless operation.”

“Young rookie… well, I cannot deny it.”

Lord Crowe grinned. “But I don’t regret it.”

Lord Crowe’s spear briefly brushed past Argeria’s side, a small wisp of aura on its tip. Within an instant, the aura expanded into a large hemisphere, creating a shield to the side of Argeria. It was an admirable demonstration of precise aura. The young commander was briefly confused, but ultimately got his answer when an enemy attack arrived a moment later and collided with Crowe’s aura.

*Smash*

There was a tremendous shock wave.

Lord Crowe took out a spare spear from his dimensional pocket and threw it in the direction the attack had come from. The spear penetrated the enemy’s chest with an accurate hit.

“If this operation fails, Dresden will be exposed to the enemy and its people will suffer.” Lord Crowe took out another spear from his dimensional pocket as if nothing had happened. “Whether you are a rookie or not, I understood the meaning of the operation and decided to follow you to the end. So put your thoughts aside and focus on the situation in front of your eyes, commander.”

Determination. He was determined to follow the will of Argeria.

It was not just Lord Crowe. Besides the Knights of Kansas, there were several powerful individuals who were not only stronger than Argeria, but far more experienced.

But all of them followed Argeria’s lead without much disagreement. It was Argeria who presented the operation with a calm attitude while everyone was panicked by the Church’s surprise attack.

He was the only one who remained calm in the embarrassing situation, and everyone followed him because they understood the importance of the mission’s success.

‘If it were two years ago, I would have been flustered.’

He still remembered the day.

The Great Mother Worm. He was an incompetent commander who was unable to do anything but despair infront of a strong enemy.

And he admired him because he was so desperate that day. The only person who stepped forward and saved him at that moment.

An ideal commander, who calmly led everyone despite his personal experiences, remaining resolute even in desperate circumstances.

‘Did I catch up with you, Desir?’ “We’ve arrived!”

Argeria awoke from his reverie. As he looked around, he saw a vacant lot boasting a vast area.

Statues of the Goddess adorned the clearing, but what caught the eye was the immaculate church in the center.

All members of the mounted party increased their speed, raising their aura in unison.

There was an air of awkwardness coming from them as they galloped towards the church. Someone had strode out of the church to greet them.

A Holy Paladin, clad in pure white. Light flowed through the church’s tinted glass and reflected on his armor, resulting in a radiant holy glow emanating from their opponent, with a similar feeling coming from his aura.

‘We must not let our guard down just because there is only one enemy.’

The Church of Artemis would have figured out how strong the mounted party was by now. The fact that only one person stood before them was testament to the confidence they must hold in his strength.

‘But there’s only one enemy. We’ve reached this far, but we can’t back down… !’

No matter how powerful the enemy was in front of them, they could not back down. It was a life-threatening operation in the first place. There was no option for them to retreat.

Of course, it was a judgment made because they thought it was possible to prevail.

Their opponent, no matter how powerful, could not be any stronger than a King-Class knight. The combined strength Knights of Kansas were likely just shy of being equivalent to a King-Class, but they were accompanied by Lord Crowe and a few others. Not to mention they had the advantage of already being at a full charge. Even if he was King-Class, and the fight took a while, they were confident in their ability to defeat him.

*Crackle*

Aura rose like a flame from Argeria’s weapon. He poured all of his energy into this charge, only thinking about knocking down the enemy that stood in front of him.

Others also thought the same. The distance between the white knight and the mounted party quickly shortened, and as soon as the distance became zero, they poured out all of their aura towards the knight in pure white.

And blood splashed across the ground.

Argeria groaned. At some point he found himself lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. His memory was clear up until the moment he attacked with his sword, but he was not sure what had happened afterwards, as though time itself had skipped forward. He rolled his eyes to the side, seeing Lord Crowe collapsed beside him.

‘What… What’s going on?’

At that moment, Argeria opened his eyes wide as if he could not believe it. Crowe’s head did not have a body.

Argeria spewed blood and struggled to turn around.

It was just hell. There was blood everywhere.

Dozens of dismembered bodies of horses and humans were scattered everywhere. It was impossible to identify which arm belonged to which torso, which torso belonged to which head.

Everyone was dead. Every single one of them. *Step*

Looking in the direction of the footsteps, the knight in pure white was approaching him. The knight in pure white had not a speck of damage on him.

He could not understand it. The situation was beyond all comprehension. They were slaughtered effortlessly, and their enemy was left completely unwounded.

Most worryingly of all, he had no idea how it happened. *Step*

*Step*

*Step*

The footsteps grew louder and louder. He could not just sit still and die.

Argeria tried to pull himself up.

But he could not move. No matter how hard he pushed, he could not put forth enough strength to stand. Only then did Argeria, who looked at his body, realize that nothing existed where his legs were supposed to be.

The sound of footsteps stopped for a moment. The knight in pure white stopped before his eyes.

Argeria and the white knight’s gaze met. And the sword held aloft by the pure white knight slowly raised.

“It can’t end like this… !” *Cut*