Chapter 379: The Final Battle of Green Leaf Castle

Green Leaf Castle is far taller and sturdier than the nameless castle.

However, under the suppression of the Black Knights, Yellow Knights, Grey Knights, and the remnants of the Grey Knights, it still took Hiddleston half a day to demolish one side of the castle walls.

After that, it was a mad rush as the knights from the four orders poured inside.

Levis, Trick, Eunas, and Liszt—four elite Earth Knights who relied on potions—formed an ultra-luxury team. They steamrolled through, and within less than an hour, the battle for Green Leaf Castle was over. This time, with the elite knights from the four orders, the casualties were even lower.

Only five knights from the Black Knights were killed, with ten seriously injured.

Across three battles, the Black Knights had lost fourteen knights, with twenty-nine severely wounded, leaving ninety-nine combat-capable knights remaining.

Apart from the battle achievements and the spoils that Liszt had already claimed, there wasn’t much loot to privately divide—just a few gold coins.

Most of the supplies had been moved, especially the valuable items, taken by the knights' families. They had fled to Iron Hoof City, where the Marquis of the Bull had long prepared for the assassination of the Sapphire Dragon and the subsequent retaliation from the Grand Duke.

That night.

The four knight orders regrouped, their purses filled with gold coins, and met with the Count.

"Well done, everyone," the Count said, hosting a feast for the four order leaders. Though no alcohol was served, they enjoyed a hearty meal.

Eunas, looking guilty, said, "I apologize, my lord, I have disappointed you!"

"Your performance was indeed disappointing, Eunas," the Count replied. "Sky Knight Snide is only an average-level sky knight, and his followers are far inferior to you. Without Liszt's support, your losses would have been far greater, and that was just on flat ground during a charge!"

Eunas knelt on one knee, remaining silent.

The Count waved his hand. "You'll have to bear the responsibility for this failure, but you still have a chance to make up for it. Merge the Grey Knights into the Black Knights and serve as Liszt's deputy."

Eunas didn’t complain. "Yes, my lord!"

Liszt didn’t mind either.

He didn’t mind Eunas taking a share; after all, he was the order’s commander. All the credit would go through him to be distributed among the knights. In the knightly system, a grand lord was only responsible for his vassals and direct knights. The knights led by a vassal, whether a small order or a squad, would have all their battle merits counted under the vassal. Once the grand lord distributed the rewards to the vassal, the vassal would then decide how to share the rewards with his knights.

Now, Eunas' rewards would be determined by Liszt.

"My lord Count, with Viscount Eunas' assistance, the Black Knights can take on more tasks." Liszt declared loudly, with his own calculations in mind.

The more merits the Black Knights earned, the higher the chance Liszt had of being granted the title of viscount.

Once granted the title of viscount, everything would be easier. He could draw funds from Flower Town to reward his knights. Even if he had to take on some debt in the short term, it didn’t matter. The most crucial result was securing Black Horse Island.

The Count understood Liszt's thoughts.

He nodded. "Hiddleston will be of great use, and the Black Knights will naturally need to take on more tasks... Very well, let's plan the assault on Parsley Castle. After a day of rest, we begin the siege! We must finish the purging of Niu Mao City before anyone else!"

…

Suppressing with arrows.

Hiddleston unleashed his rock grenades and rock spikes skills.

The entire day was spent repeating this routine. Lee William rode his warhorse, patrolling below the castle. If Snide dared to show himself, Lee William would charge without hesitation to intercept him and engage in a fierce battle.

Once Hiddleston’s magic power was depleted, the knights would retreat.

Once Hiddleston had recovered, the knight corps charged forward again, continuing their barrage of arrows.

After repeated assaults, the knights of Parsley Castle could only watch helplessly as Hiddleston dismantled the castle, bombarding it from windows and other openings. Each rock grenade created cracks in the walls, and it was only a matter of time—within no more than two days—before an entire wall would collapse, leaving Parsley Castle exposed.

As expected, by the next morning, Snide, the Earl of Parsley Castle, could no longer endure it.

Seizing the opportunity when the Coral Island knight corps retreated to rest, Snide quickly led his knights in a charge. Unfortunately for him, his every move was anticipated, with telescopes monitoring every action in Parsley Castle. There was no escaping the watchful eyes.

"The moment of decisive battle has arrived!"

Sea Sword Saint Lee William raised his long sword, on which a yellow and a green gem shone brilliantly: "Charge!"

The knights of Parsley Castle launched their charge, and so did the knights of Coral Island. Parsley Castle had around 300 knights, while Coral Island mustered about 500. The disparity in strength was evident. Snide was an ordinary tier sky knight, while Lee William was a sword saint tier sky knight.

The battle’s outcome was sealed the moment Hiddleston entered the fight.

As the southwest wind blew, dust storms engulfed the battlefield. Two rapid cavalry streams approached each other swiftly. The tremor of hooves made the earth shake for miles around, causing all beasts and birds to flee in terror. Only the synchronized war cries of the charging knights echoed across the field.

"Charge!"

"Full attack!"

Mounted on his Black Dragon, Liszt charged alongside Hiddleston. Facing such a massive force, he felt the insignificance of the individual, realizing that it was the knight corps, united as one, that formed the true war machine. Various mana intertwined, concentrating the spirit and energy of everyone.

This surge of mana enhanced each knight’s strength by at least 20%, amplifying their explosive power.

Gripping his knight lance, his body rising and falling with the Black Dragon's gallop, Liszt suddenly recalled three lines from the "Song of the Great Wind."

"When the winds rise and the clouds soar, I return home victorious. But where are the brave warriors to protect our lands?"

As the lances were about to meet, he quickly focused his mind and issued an order: "Hiddleston, Rock Spikes Barrage!"

Though Hiddleston's magic wasn’t fully restored, unleashing a few Rock Spikes Barrages was still manageable. Rock spikes shot up like bamboo shoots, immediately breaking the formation of the knights facing the Black Knights.

The concentrated mana fell into disarray.

The enemy knights lost their momentum, and their charge wavered. Led by Liszt and Eunas, with the massive Hiddleston in tow, the Black Knights tore through the enemy’s defenses like three razor-sharp blades, slicing them open.

Pfft!

The knight’s lance pierced through an Earth Knight.

The two cavalry streams collided instantly, blood and flesh flying everywhere, with mana and horses dancing together. Broken lances were quickly swapped out; if there wasn’t time, shields were raised or swords drawn. Within just a few breaths, the Black Knights, with Hiddleston's assistance, had pierced through the enemy formation.

Turning their horses around, the concentrated mana remained undisturbed as they immediately began a second charge.

At that moment, a clap of thunder sounded from the sky.

It caused Liszt to lose focus for a brief moment. Looking up, he saw a greenish light and a light purple glow collide in the sky above.

Thunder roared, and heavy rain poured down.

Lee William and Snide clashed high above at 100 meters, their overwhelming mana altering the weather itself.