Meanwhile, Onean, Erwin, and Francis had already arrived at the top of the mountain and were watching the battle unfold at the foot of the mountain.
"Your Highness, would you like me to lead my troops out of the city to assist our royal cavaliers? This is the perfect opportunity for us to attack the Skycourt Kingdom's forces from both front and back," Francis immediately suggested after assessing the state of the battle.
"That would be ideal," Onean replied with a nod.
Francis accepted the order and immediately departed. This was a brilliant opportunity to earn accolades in battle, and it certainly wasn't one that he was going to miss. Larwood was clearly thinking the exact same thing, and he was already driving the airship toward the mountain at full speed.
"Watching a regular army at work really is a pleasure. Those Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries are no match for them," Erwin said as he looked down at the ranks of the Skycourt Kingdom's forces, which had already been thrown into complete disarray.
"This is also a good opportunity to see the elite troops trained by Prince Lazaar in battle. Yesterday, we only saw them passively defending the city. Today, we'll get to see what they're like in full flight while actively pursuing the enemy," Onean said.
"It's a pity that the mountain path has been destroyed. It's probably not going to be so easy for our troops to charge out of the city now," Erwin said.
While the two of them were conversing with one another, the airship of the Four Winds mercenary legion finally arrived.
"I'm off to kill some Skycourt Kingdom vermin," Larwood called out at the two people on the mountain from the airship.
Erwin turned to Onean with a smile, only to find that she was looking into the distance with a thoughtful expression. He reached out to latch onto her slender hand, and the two of them rose up into the air together.
Meanwhile, the airship continued onward, flying directly toward the sky above the battlefield on the provincial road.
"All martial artists, make sure to keep your eyes peeled. Aim carefully before you fire your arrows so you don't harm any of our allied soldiers, do I make myself clear?" Larwood was already beginning to bark orders at the martial artists on the deck.
"Magicians, there's not much that needs to be said. All of the Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries at the foot of the mountain are there for the taking, so fire your spells to your hearts' content. Just make sure you don't hit any of the royal cavaliers." Erwin was also beginning to yell instructions at the magicians on the airship.
"Larwood, I think I've spotted your father," Chase suddenly said as he looked at the fierce battle taking place down below.
Kaiba cast his gaze toward the same direction that Chase was looking in, and he said, "I think I see him too."
Erwin also cast his gaze toward the same direction, and he spotted Duke Nandoon just in time to see him put an end to a Skycourt Kingdom mercenary's life with a single swift strike of his longsword, showing off exceptional technique and efficiency. He then turned to Larwood and jibed, "Your dad's still got some moves, Larwood. I feel like he's still a better warrior than you are, even at his age."
"Yeah, no matter how I look at it, your father seems to be a far more capable fighter than you are," Chase chimed in, more than happy to pile on the insults.
"What's going on? Is it Pick On Larwood Day?" Larwood chuckled. "How about I go down there and show you guys what I'm made of?"
"Why do I hear some fear in your voice?" Erwin asked with a provocative smile.
"I assure you you're just imagining things," Larwood chuckled, then turned toward the steering wheel as he yelled, "Lanyon, lower the airship a little. I'm going to take some men with me to join the battle."
At the moment, it was Lanyon who was piloting the airship. After the altercation in the morning, Christine had shut herself in her room. However, Lanyon had learned pretty much everything he needed to from watching Christine these past few days, so he was able to pilot the airship on his own.
Thus, the airship's altitude was lowered by a few dozen feet, allowing the martial artists onboard to jump down without injuring themselves.
"Follow me, everyone!" Larwood yelled as he picked up a Four Winds mercenary legion flag before hurling it with all his might, sending it plunging firmly into the soil down below. After that, he led the way by jumping down from the airship first, then immediately charged into the chaotic battle.
Meanwhile, Sherry was maintaining order on the deck in Larwood's absence. "Maintain your formation and jump down 50 at a time. Make sure the people before you have vacated the landing area before you jump. Don't push, everyone will get their turn."
"We should go as well. We can't just have Larwood stealing all the glory while we stand up here and watch," Kaiba said to Chase and Erwin, immediately following which Chase and Kaiba jumped down from the airship with excited expressions.
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"All magicians and archers, keep up the good work! Make sure to cover our martial artists," Erwin instructed the remaining people on the airship as he continued to watch the battle that was unfolding down below.
The formation of the Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries had completely fallen apart, and they were already struggling to deal with the Effer Kingdom's royal cavaliers. Thus, the sight of the airship hanging over their heads like an ill omen plunged their hearts even deeper into the pits of despair.
All types of spells were flying down from above before exploding in the areas where the Skycourt Kingdom's mercenaries were most densely gathered, and even though the spells weren't as powerful as the ones unleashed by Onean, they were still wreaking much havoc among the Skycourt Kingdom's ranks.
Even though the Skycourt Kingdom's mercenaries held a numbers advantage with over 20,000 men at their disposal, this advantage was completely nullified by the superior discipline and organization of the Effer Kingdom's royal cavaliers. To compound their woes even further, they were constantly being bombarded by spells from above, and the battle was already quickly turning into a completely one-sided affair.
Right at this moment, the hearts of the Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries sank even further. This was because they had just heard a string of loud war cries ringing out from the top of the mountain, clearly indicating that the soldiers in Xeto were also about to join the battle.
Only in this dire situation did the commanders of the Skycourt Kingdom's mercenary legions begin to regret giving in to their greed and arrogance. If they had immediately issued an order to retreat as soon as they spotted the 10,000 royal cavaliers from the Effer Kingdom, they would've been pursued for a while and suffered heavy losses, but they wouldn't have been completely wiped out at the foot of Xeto, as was quickly becoming a reality here.
Unfortunately, hindsight was always crystal clear.
"You said you wanted to see Prince Lazaar's troops in action, right? They're coming down from the city now," Erwin said as he turned to Onean.
Onean nodded in response as she looked down at the organized ranks of elite Burmen soldiers. From her vantage point high up in the airship, she was able to see very far into the distance, and she was eager to observe every single detail that she could.
Onean's spells had already destroyed the mountain path the day before, thereby making it extremely pitted and rugged, and very difficult to navigate. However, that didn't seem to be a problem at all for these elite Burmen soldiers. They were all extremely lithe and agile, and they were advancing in such a calm and steadfast fashion that one could easily be misled into thinking that they were marching over flat ground. In fact, the speed of their march hadn't been affected in the slightest.
These soldiers are constantly fighting under Prince Lazaar in the Terarody Mountain Ranges, so navigating this terrain is nothing to them, Onean had already anticipated this.
The Skycourt Kingdom's forces were already falling apart, and their morale had been completely crushed. All of them were looking up at the soldiers charging down the mountain with ashen complexions and despairing eyes.
In the face of advancing soldiers from Xeto, the formation at the rear end of the Skycourt Kingdom's forces began to crumble, while the mercenaries in the northeast were already beginning to flee the battlefield without any regard for the survival of their comrades.
"Take a look at the formation adopted by the Burmen soldiers. It's one that you've never seen before, right?" Onean said.
Erwin did as he was told, and he was quite taken aback by what he saw. The Burmen soldiers had split themselves up into groups of eight and were fighting as independent groups. Each group consisted of two shield-bearers, four spear-wielders, and two archers. The soldiers in the groups of eight were cooperating very effectively with one another, with the shield-bearers leading the way at the forefront, the spear-wielders guarding either side of the group, and the archers bringing up the rear. Upon making contact with enemy troops, the shield-bearers would immediately retreat to either side of the group, while the spear-wielders took their place at the front. Meanwhile, the archers would hide behind the shield-bearers and wait for opportunities to open fire on the enemy soldiers. Bows and arrows were generally weapons that were only applicable over long distances, yet they were being used in close-quarters combat here, and Erwin couldn't help but admire Prince Lazaar's imagination. Furthermore, judging from the peculiar black light that was glowing from the arrowheads, it was clear that they had been smeared with some type of poison. As soon as any of the Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries were struck by these arrows, they would immediately enter a deranged state and begin to hack and slash haphazardly at their own comrades.
"Even though the Burmen soldiers are engaging the enemy in close-quarters combat, I haven't seen even a single one of them suffer any injuries. It must be said that this style of fighting in groups of eight invented by Prince Lazaar is very impressive," Erwin remarked with an intrigued expression.
"That's not the extent of it. Haven't you noticed that all of the Burmen soldiers are extremely powerful martial artists, even Father's royal cavaliers can't compare with them when it comes to their proficiency as warriors," Onean said with slightly furrowed brows.
Erwin couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Meanwhile, the father-and-son duo of Duke Nandoon and Larwood were tearing into the enemy forces with relish on the battlefield down below.
"Father, did you come all the way here just to save me?" Larwood asked as he thrust his sword forward, then slashed it through the air in one swift motion, felling two Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries in the process.
"I was ordered by His Majesty to lead reinforcements to Xeto. My presence here has nothing to do with you," Duke Nandoon said with a serious expression as he swept his longsword through the air, slicing through the leg of a Skycourt Kingdom mercenary in the process.
"I knew you wouldn't care enough about me to come and save me," Larwood complained with a wry smile.
The two of them exchanged a glance, then continued in their slaughter of the Skycourt Kingdom's mercenaries.
With the royal cavaliers, the soldiers of Xeto, and the Four Winds mercenary legion working together, the battle to eradicate the Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries on the provincial road quickly began to approach a conclusion. The Skycourt Kingdom's forces didn't offer much resistance at all before they were completely and utterly defeated, and aside from the ones who managed to escape, of which there were over 1,000, the rest had all been decimated. Some of the Skycourt Kingdom mercenary legion commanders wanted to surrender, but Duke Nandoon refused to take prisoners and killed them all.
In the wake of that battle, the main forces of the Skycourt Kingdom's mercenary legions had been eradicated, and the war on the southern front drew to a conclusion.