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At this moment, there was a thousand-strong "Iron Wall" regiment, two thousand local troops, and a thousand "Iron Cross" commandos facing off against two thousand Minos warriors who had formed the "Minos Labyrinth Formation." The fortress shield formation had already been broken, and the two thousand local troops had no sufficient combat power. Even the elite members of the "Iron Cross" could not match the heavy axes of the Minos warriors and their ironclad bodies trained in the new version of the Golden Bell Shield. Moreover, with the "Labyrinth Formation" constructed using the Eight Trigram Formation, all the warriors moved freely, making it impossible for the enemy to lock onto them. Instead, it seemed as if each human was being besieged by several Minos warriors, causing the casualties among the human forces to skyrocket. First, the local troops were slaughtered in large numbers, followed by the "Iron Cross" warriors falling one after another, and the pace was accelerating. Some tried to escape but found themselves surrounded by orcs and giant pillars, unable to find a way out.

Commander Tie Bato stood behind the formation, outside the range of the "Labyrinth Formation," watching his comrades being encircled and killed. He hurriedly sought help from General Xilin and the "Red Scorpion" forces, only to discover that they were nowhere to be found. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the two thousand "Red Scorpion" troops and Xilin's three thousand local troops had already crossed the Red River and were heading towards Fontainebleau with their ships.

Tie Bato then understood that Naiomi had planned to use him to hold back the orc main force while launching a surprise attack on the empty castle. Even if the Minos warriors withdrew from battle and returned to the castle, they could not outrun the humans advancing both by land and water. Besides, these orcs showed no intention of stopping.

Tie Bato knew he could not hesitate any longer and turned to give orders to the hundred people behind him who had remained motionless, still wrapped in cloaks.

"Engage in battle immediately and eliminate the orcs."

The hundred people simultaneously threw off their cloaks, revealing silver armor. The emblem on their chests was not the "Iron Cross" badge but an interlocking sword and crown, a symbol recognized by anyone in the human world as belonging to the Sword Knights, one of the seven knight regiments of the Radiant Temple. It turned out that the Radiant Temple was unwilling to abandon this trade route and had secretly sent these two hundred elite knights disguised within the "Iron Cross" ranks. However, their original intent was not to fight the orcs but to deal with their own kind—humans.

All the Sword Knights raised their left hands together, and a flash of white light revealed magnificent white horses beside each of them, with small wing-like white feathers on their hooves—fifth-level magical beasts known as Wind Steeds. The knights mounted their horses, drew their weapons, and charged toward the battlefield.

Tie Bato watched enviously from behind. The seven knight regiments of the Radiant Temple did not have identical structures; for example, the most prestigious Holy Grail Knights had only twelve positions and could never be fully staffed. Other knight regiments had different responsibilities, and these Sword Knights were specialized in offensive operations, each possessing the strength of a Sword Hero, led by a Sword Grandmaster. Humans had far fewer warriors compared to orcs, and these hundred Sword Heroes represented all the military might the Radiant Temple had in the nearby countries. They could defeat thousands of knights in direct combat. Joining the Sword Knights had once been Tie Bato's dream, but due to insufficient talent, he could never fulfill it.

The Sword Knights did not rush directly into the battlefield; they were wary of the strange totem-like formations resembling a labyrinth. So, they circled around the battlefield, continuously attacking the Minos warriors with holy arrows, sword auras, and wind blades from their Wind Steeds. Although the Minos warriors had incredible defenses, they could not ignore these attacks and constantly used the totem poles to dodge, creating openings for the outer "Iron Cross" members to escape and regroup behind Tie Bato.

If the Sword Knights had circled the battlefield a few more times, they might have broken the Minos warriors' encirclement. However, we were prepared for such a scenario. Although we did not know about the arrival of the Sword Knights, we had prepared forces to counter the "Red Scorpion." When the Sword Knights summoned their mounts, a ripple appeared in the space behind our lines, and a hundred Magic Armor Knights advanced to meet them, confronting their sworn enemies halfway through the Sword Knights' charge.

The Sword Knights were elites stationed near the Duchy of Langton, while these Magic Armor Knights were newly trained recruits. Although orc golden warriors could handle human Sword Heroes, they were inferior in experience and mindset. Moreover, the uniform presence of Wind Steeds provided a significant advantage.

In a direct confrontation, the Sword Knights should have had the upper hand, giving these inexperienced newcomers a painful lesson. However, the situation was quite the opposite, as the Sword Knights were utterly defeated. Leading the Magic Armor Knights was the lioness knight Catherine, wielding the divine sword "Covenant."

Despite being at the same level as the opposing commander, the triple-amplified "Emperor Martial Overlord Art" was not something humans could match. With just three moves, Catherine did not even need to activate the inscriptions on her divine sword to slay her opponent. She then charged through the Sword Knights' ranks, leaving none alive, followed by the Magic Armor Knights who finished off the scattered Sword Knights, claiming the Wind Steeds as spoils.

Without their only reinforcement, the "Iron Cross" could not escape their fate of annihilation. The mercenaries who managed to escape the Minos warriors' encirclement were ultimately slain by Catherine. Those inside the formation who did not surrender met their deaths, and Commander Tie Bato, who wanted to die in battle, was knocked unconscious by the approaching Blood Hoof Chieftain and became a captive.

As the "Iron Cross" became history, the "Red Scorpion" and Xilin's local troops approached the Green City Fortress.

"This... This was built by werewolves? Not even the Death Corridor's Three Cities and Four Fortresses reach this level."

"My lord, this is not something we need to consider. Our goal is to seize this city. The stronger it is, the greater our benefits will be in the future. As you can see, there are only a few half-orcs guarding the city walls. Once we capture the downstream dock, my Crimson Scorpions can use the city's buildings for cover and advance into the fortress by land."

"But, Commander Naiomi, what about those terrifying magic cannons..."