Chapter 3811: Hidden Weapon (Part 2) ’My old army had no Silverwing’s Bastion and would have been decimated by a single Death Fountain as powerful as the one we’ve endured today.’ ’Why are you wasting such a powerful spell on foot soldiers?’ Gyrwin Isaar, Human Representative of Jiera, asked the First Vampire via a mind link. ’You should protect your fellow Awakened. Without us, there can be no victory!’ ’Save your mana to cast another Bastion instead of wasting it to whine!’ Vladion replied while the emerald cannonballs ravaged his body. ’Without our troops, there can be no victory either, and those people don’t have the means of an old hag like you to protect themselves!’ His armor’s Blood Barrier had been shattered into pieces by the first salvo and its enchanted Davross by the second. The First Vampire would have died as well, his head blown out and his heart pulverized, if not for Dawn’s prism. Vladion focused all his mana and attention on protecting the white cube, knowing that as long as it remained intact, he would regenerate any wound. ’Vladion has a point.’ Raagu Drerian, Human Representative of Garlen, chimed in. ’If he helps us, he can only ensure the survival of seven people. If he helps the soldiers, we still have a chance of victory.’ ’How can you put victory above your own survival?’ Gyrwin grunted as she poured more mana into Silverwing’s Bastion. ’Are you insane?’ Raagu glared at her Jieran counterpart. ’If we can’t defeat Ruugat now, then what do you think will happen once he becomes even stronger? Jiera will capitulate, and sooner or later this monstrosity will come to Garlen. ’Victory and survival are the same thing. Run away, if you want, but it will only buy you a few years at most.’ Raagu conjured a dozen Warping Arrays from her tunic that she arranged into a single uninterrupted line. When the next barrage of Spirit bullets arrived, she activated the arrays and Warped the emerald missiles hundreds of kilometers away. So far away from their caster and intended targets, the projectiles were akin to soldiers stranded on a deserted island. They wandered aimlessly until their mana lost cohesion and they faded away. Gyrwin and the other five Awakened in the seven-man unit used the respite to fix the cracks in the Bastion, looking at Raagu in admiration. ’I’ve never seen a dimensional array used like that.’ ’I’d be surprised otherwise.’ Raagu drew a deep breath of Invigoration as she readied the magical formations to intercept another salvo. ’Warping arrays are supposed to last a few seconds and have someone stabilizing them on the other side. ’I’m no dimensional mage and I wouldn’t be able to do this if not for the cover of the Bastion and Ruugat’s spell having no finesse.’ ’Somebody do something!’ Syrah, the Hati Queen, begged. ’We are getting slaughtered!’ She used the collective magical power of 100 Wargs to conjure the sturdiest earth, ice, and wind walls she could, but Mana Storm shredded them. The Wargs formed a living shelter, surrounding the other members of the Fallen Races with their bodies, but it was barely enough. The orcs blessed the Wargs on the outermost layer with their crystals while the Balors covered them in the protective aura of the earth element. The Wargs then passed their wounds on to those forming the innermost layer, whom the Traughen healed to the best of their abilities. Whenever a Warg felt death nearing, they would take upon themselves all the injuries suffered by the rest of the pack, relieving them from the burden and prolonging their lives. The synergy between the different Fallen Races limited the casualties to a minimum, but they were still dying. All it took was one lucky bullet to kill those inside the living shelter, and the formation would crumble. ’She’s right.’ Lith cursed. ’I don’t think even the Engine can take this for long.’ He had consumed the third Bastion, yet even with the power flowing from the geyser, the magical barrier was broken in multiple points, and so was the tower. Lith’s black scales were visible from under the collapsed armor, and the tower failed to keep up with Ruugat’s relentless onslaught. ’Agreed.’ Aalejah said. ’If we don’t play our trump card now, we’re all dead!’ The elf and Vladion gave the signal, setting the strongest weapon of the allied forces on the warpath. A cavalry of Dread Knights galloped out of a series of Warping Arrays conjured by the mages of the Kingdom and the Empire. The undead had been kept at a safe distance from the fight and in a vast plain where they had been running since before the attack began. The longer a Dread Knight galloped, the stronger his steed’s bloodline ability, Windwalker, would become. The cavalry had gained speed nonstop for a few minutes, reaching the limits of the kinetic energy the Dread Knights could control. On top of that, each spear, armor, and piece covering the undead steeds had been enchanted by the elves with their best spells. It was the perfect weapon, combining a momentum superior to that of charging Divine Beast with the destructive power of tier five spells focused on a surface as small as the tip of a blade. The Dread Knights moved so fast and their reflexes were so keen after galloping for that long that they could see Mana Storm’s incoming projectiles as if they moved in slow motion. The undead cavalry dodged the emerald missiles with ease, collecting one last prize on the way to their target. The Orcs filled the undead with power, and the Balors shielded them with the power of the earth element. There was no point in infusing the Dread Knights with the golden lightning. If given early, it would have faded long before they joined the battle. If given at the last minute, the sudden surge of power would have made the undead lose control over their steeds and crash. On top of that, no one had ever tried such a strategy before. There was no telling if the Dread Knight’s top speed, combined with the elven spells, was already more than even an undead body could handle. The priority was to ensure the survival of the Dread Knights so that they could charge again. "I see you, little pests!" Ruugat’s detection arrays marked the newcomers as a dangerous threat, and he focused his attention on them. He kept spinning on his midriff, but now the emerald bullets curved in mid-air and dived to intercept the cavalry. ’Finally!’ Lith stored the remaining energy of the Bastion back into the Cannon Vault and charged Double Edge with a Silverwing’s Annihilation. The Eyes of Menadion calculated the best trajectory for the sword based on the reading of the Ears, following the flow of mana and Ruugat’s rotation speed both. Lith also used the Hands to collect more world energy and boost his strike while the Mouth worked non-stop to refill the empty slots in the Cannon Vault. The first swing of Double Edge cut through the emerald veil shielding the lost city. The second swing intercepted the right arm and severed it at the elbow. Without an arm, Ruugat lost his protective barrier, and the mana intended for Mana Storm gushed out of his stump like blood.