Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 447 Vanguard Deployment, Orstein's Heroic Spirit

The Knights of Vengeance currently have 48 half-griffin knights, which, according to the griffon knight organization, is exactly two and a half griffon knight orders.

These top-tier imperial troops are monster cavalry, possessing greater combat power and fewer soldiers. They require only a small number of personnel, yet their size and weight far exceed those of most knightly orders.

Even a powerful force like the Flame Sun Knights, with a 60-man knightly band, is no match for the half-griffin knight band.

They arrived at the battlefield and, in coordination with the Chosen Knights' combat prowess, launched a charge. Su Li was quite at ease, as almost no monster could withstand their charge.

Besides the Sun Riders of Vengeance, the territory also has a large number of other top-tier warbands.

Marshal Erstein then reported, "In addition, Your Lordship, the Black Forest Guard knights and high-ranking personal attendants under your command have all arrived."

"The Black Forest Guard Knights are all at least elite level, and the knight captains among them possess champion-level or even god-chosen-level strength."

"There are still more than 400 high-ranking personal attendants stationed in the territory. After receiving the order, they assembled immediately and have arrived here to stand by."

"Finally, there are our provincial legions and the knightly orders of various churches, with the provincial legions having 1000 men and the Knights of Eternal Light having 1000 men."

"The Sun Crown Knights have 800 members, and the Light Arrow Knights have 400 members."

The Knights of the Church really put in a lot of effort!

They assembled a knightly order of 2200 men in one fell swoop, and unlike the provincial legions which had inconsistent combat strength, their main force consisted primarily of elite-level warriors!

While Su Li was still feeling emotional, Marshal Erstein reported excitedly, "Moreover, none of the churches stood idly by. When we faced a powerful enemy, they all chose to lend a helping hand and stood firmly behind us. The Church of the Goddess of Justice, the Church of the Goddess of Healing, the Church of the Goddess of Dawn, and even the Church of Tal, all sent us powerful teams of monks through their bishops, totaling more than 100 monks."

Upon hearing this, Su Li was quite excited!
These people chose to lend a helping hand at this critical moment not only because of the friendship they had built up over time, but more importantly because of their unparalleled confidence in Su Li and the Black Forest Territory! They believed that with Su Li's abilities and the Black Forest Territory's formidable fighting power, no matter how arduous the process, the result would surely be a resounding victory!
The so-called authorities are confused, but bystanders know clearly.

With their unwavering support, Su Li's confidence increased significantly!

Su Li then took a deep breath and asked Orstein, "How are our dwarven allies? Have they arrived with a large number of war machines?"

Erstein nodded heavily and said, "This is Lord Nature. We have mobilized all the war wagons here, a total of 8 war wagons, and they have all been arranged in firing positions."

"More importantly, our two Warhammer squads are transporting a large number of dwarven engineers, runesmiths, and plenty of gunpowder and bombs here overnight. Instead of carrying cumbersome siege equipment, they are carrying large quantities of carefully prepared dwarven explosive barrels, fuses, and explosives and trap components engraved with runes that counter the undead. They are laying 'surprises' with great intensity and efficiency along the key points of the dry riverbed and abandoned villages."

Su Li was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had really made the right decision to buy the War Hammer squad. He hadn't expected that these War Hammer squads would play such a significant role in this battle.

They worked tirelessly day and night, constantly traveling back and forth, and being air force personnel, they were extremely fast and able to transport large quantities of supplies to the front lines.

The dwarves' gunpowder and a large number of dwarven warriors were transported by them, and their pre-arranged battlefields could inflict terrible casualties on the undead legion.

Su Li quickly did the calculations and asked, "There are about 4100 people in total. Is this all the troops we can mobilize for this battle?"

Orstein replied excitedly, "That's not all. There's also a dwarven expedition team operating in the vicinity, three patrol guards and outpost guards from the territory, as well as some adventurers. In total, there are more than 300 people. Add to that the free militia we've drawn from the dwarven engineers and blacksmith masters, and our vanguard for this battle can number around 4500! Although the number isn't large, their combat strength is outstanding!"

"We are confident of victory!"

Su Li nodded and said, "Very good. This force of 4500 men is now under your command. You must teach this monster legion a lesson here. The more smoothly you fight here, the more enemies you defeat, and the more attention you attract from the enemy, the greater the probability of making progress with Steward Hilder."

Erstein immediately brought his heels together, straightened his body, and pounded his chest heavily with his fist, promising, "In the name of the Goddess of the Sun, I will definitely take the lead and charge into battle to blunt the enemy's advance!"

Su Li raised his head, his gaze passing over the distorted forest above Raven's Head, and looking towards the location of the Black Pine Forest, where Hilder was also meticulously preparing to trap them like turtles in a jar.

The more exciting the fight here, the easier it is for that old fox Jasper to lower his guard and become careless, thus luring him out of the darkness.

Old Jasper's attempt to feint was nothing short of showing off his limited skills in front of Su Li, and he was simply walking into a trap!
Su Li then withdrew his gaze, no longer dwelling on distant matters, and looked at Orstein, asking, "My Marshal, how do you plan to fight this battle? Ambush this monster legion?"

Orstein raised the blazing Chosen-class warhammer in his hand, his voice as cold and hard as iron, and replied resolutely: "No! Quite the opposite, we will ignite the flames of war, illuminate the battlefield! Let the hymns of the Sun Goddess resound even louder. Let those skeletons know that the Black Forest Territory has been waiting here for a long time!"

The marshal's voice echoed in the makeshift command post, carrying a resolute and unwavering iron will.

His thick fingers jabbed sharply at the military map spread on the simple wooden table, the fingertips landing heavily on the narrow throat of the dry riverbed.

"Look here! My lord!" His voice rose with fervor. "This damned dry riverbed is the tomb passage chosen by old Jasper! Steep mountains on both sides, dense forests with intertwined roots, the undead army can't spread out at all! They can only squeeze into this narrow death tunnel like sardines! Ambush? No! That's for wandering rabble! To deal with this overwhelming horde of corpses, we must build an impregnable steel dam, and then... use holy light, with sharp blades, with the 'earth fire' of our dwarven brothers, to crush them into dust!"

He abruptly raised his head, his molten lava-like gaze sweeping over the generals standing solemnly in the command post, finally settling on Su Li with an almost fanatical confidence:

"So what if they know we're here, my lord! You're right, the curse of this crescent moon night is their death warrant! Their target is the heart of Blackwood Territory, the unawakened dead! Take a detour? It's too late! This Raven Ridge is their only path to destruction! They have no choice but to bite the bullet and step into the anvil we've carefully prepared for them!"

"Let them see clearly!" Erstein's voice boomed like a war drum. "See clearly our fluttering Bauhinia banner! See clearly the holy emblem of the Sun Goddess! See clearly the gleaming warhammers of our dwarven brothers! See clearly the wings spread by the half-griffin knights of the Vengeful Sun! See clearly the burning fury in the eyes of every Blackforest warrior! Let them charge in despair, and be crushed in fear! This is how to break the enemy's momentum, this is how to break through enemy lines!"

This declaration, brimming with iron will and masculine spirit, flowed like a scalding current into everyone's chest. Looking at the chosen marshal before him, his hair and beard bristling, roaring like a lion, Su Li felt the surge of pride suppressed within him by days of scheming and the looming threat of a powerful enemy instantly ignite and explode!
"Good! What a powerful roar! What a decisive strike!" Su Li slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. A powerful aura of leadership mixed with divine power spread out, causing the air in the entire command post to tremble!
He strode up to Orstein and slammed his hand heavily on the man's shoulder, which was covered in heavy plate armor, producing a dull metallic clang.

“Orstein! My Marshal!” Su Li’s voice was resolute, filled with absolute trust and admiration. “As you say! Light the beacon fires! Illuminate Raven Ridge! Let the hymns resound through the heavens! Let our enemies, under the dazzling light of order, see clearly their impending doom!”

"These 4500 of the most elite warriors in the northern border of the Empire, this iron torrent of knights, dwarves, and monks, are entrusted to you! With your fierce roar, smash their bones and burn their rotting flesh in this tunnel of death! Let old Jasper's vanguard never return!"

"If we win this battle, you will be credited with the greatest merit!"

As Su Li's command and impassioned praise spread across the battlefield, the entire Raven Ridge instantly sprang into action!

Huge bonfires, which had been prepared beforehand, were doused with oil and lit! The raging flames shot into the sky, and the orange-red firelight illuminated the jagged rocks, twisted dead trees, and dried-up riverbeds, dispelling the darkness and clearly exposing the Black Forest Territory's ranks to the approaching undead!
From the direction of the Knights, the loud and pure hymns suddenly rose a notch, with hundreds of battle priests and knights chanting in unison, converging into a sacred field of light that unfolded above the battlefield like a tangible light curtain. It collided fiercely with the increasingly heavy deathly haze in the air, producing a sizzling and burning sound, purifying every inch of space!
The dwarven craftsmen roared, and the clanging and hammering as they laid traps became more urgent and powerful. They were preparing the last batch of "surprises" before the arrival of the undead.

The half-griffin riders of the Vengeful Sun calmed their restless mounts, inspecting their armor and weapons, the cold metal reflecting a chilling glint in the firelight. They needed no concealment; their very existence was a declaration: the sky belongs to order!
Orstein stood tall, like a mountain atop the highest point of the position. His blazing, chosen warhammer slammed heavily into the ground with a dull thud. His gaze, sharp as torches, pierced the flickering firelight and deepening twilight, fixed on the direction from which the increasingly clear, chilling darkness and nauseating stench of decay emanated from the dry riverbed. He knew the torrent of the dead was not far off. He also knew they had no escape.

Ravenhill, this long-silent and perilous place, will tonight transform into the maw of a colossal beast that devours the dead. And Orstein is the roaring lion guarding its throat, dominating this clash of steel and death!
"Come on, you bone fragments!" The marshal's low growl echoed in the night wind. "Let me see if your bones are harder, or if my hammer is harder!"

Not long after, a Pegasus rider swiftly landed on the hillside behind Orstein, excitedly dismounted, and reported loudly:

"Scouts report that signs of large-scale undead activity have been discovered upstream of the dry riverbed, about thirty miles from our pre-arranged battlefield! There are heavy wheel tracks on the ground, and the air is filled with strong negative energy and... the echoing of decaying bells! The number... is enormous! They are moving along the riverbed towards us! Not fast, but unusually determined! They are expected to arrive after midnight!"

Everyone's hearts were in their throats. The night of the two crescent moons had arrived!

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere grew as tense as a taut bowstring.

The night is getting deeper and deeper.

In the direction of the dry riverbed, in the utter silence of darkness, a sound came from afar, piercing through the wind and hymns, clearly reaching the ears of every soldier on high alert.

Squeak... squeak... squeak...

That was the sickening scraping sound of a rotten wooden wheel grinding against sand and gravel.

When…when…when…

It was a deep, hoarse bell tolling, as if carrying endless sorrow. Each time it rang, it made one's heart sink involuntarily.

coming!

Then came countless chaotic, dragging footsteps. Thud...crack...the sounds of bones grinding and rotting flesh being dragged converged into a chilling tide of death, slowly surging in.

Beyond the edge of the firelight and divine radiance, at the edge of vision, darkness began to creep.

First to appear were several shadowy, stiff figures. They wore tattered clothes, some even consisting of only strips of cloth, exposing their ashen bones or rotting flesh. Eerie green flames flickered in their eye sockets as they moved forward with faltering yet unwavering steps. They were the vanguard of the undead, lowly skeletons and zombies.

Behind them, darkness churned like viscous ink. More figures emerged, densely packed and endless. Rotting soldiers' armor, tattered civilian clothes, even the desecrated skeletons of beasts… the dead in all their forms were bound together by invisible chains, forming a silent and terrifying torrent.

In the center of this slowly moving horde of zombies, an even larger and more chilling outline gradually came into view.

It was a massive, twisted hearse. The body was constructed from rotting, blackened logs and countless tangled, fused corpses, as if dragged directly from the depths of hell. The enormous wheels, covered in rusted iron, groaned piercingly with each turn. Around the vehicle hung countless rusty bells and…skulls, which collided with each other as the vehicle moved, producing a fragmented and eerie accompaniment. On the roof, a huge death knell, also pieced together from skeletons, was rhythmically struck by a blurry figure in a tattered robe.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The tolling of the bells was like a death knell; with each ring, the movement of the horde of corpses seemed to quicken, and the aura of death enveloping the battlefield intensified.

Ahead of the hearse, a tall figure riding a decaying warhorse, dressed in tattered noble attire, stood out conspicuously. It carried no weapon, only a tattered banner bearing some kind of distorted family crest. Head held high, the soul fire in its eye sockets burning fiercely yet coldly, silently scanning the Black Forest territory's defenses ahead. An envoy! It was scouting, proclaiming, clearing the way for its master!
“The messenger…” Su Li’s gaze was fixed on the corpse demon riding a rotting warhorse on the dry riverbed. Beneath its tattered noble attire were withered, gray skin, two cold, eerie blue flames flickering in its eye sockets, and the tattered flag with its twisted family crest in its hand was like an ominous talisman summoning the dead.

“It’s marking the target… it’s guiding what’s behind it,” he said in a deep voice, his voice devoid of fear, only filled with a chilling killing intent as he faced something blasphemous.

Marshal Orstein stood beside Su Li, his molten lava gaze fixed on the corpse demon. The Chosen Warhammer in his hand emitted a deep hum, as if thirsting for the souls of the dead. "Hmph, playing tricks! But... the scale is indeed impressive." Even the battle-hardened Chosen Marshal couldn't help but feel a shadow cast over his heart as he faced this slowly pressing tide of death.

That wasn't just a bunch of scattered skeleton zombies!

The first thing that catches the eye is a series of tomb guards, arranged like a distorted honor guard. They are clad in ancient armor, rusted yet still revealing exquisite craftsmanship, and wield heavy tomb halberds or two-handed greatswords. Their movements are stiff, yet imbued with a discipline ingrained in their very bones, a discipline belonging to ancient warriors. Wisps of black negative energy seep out like mist from the gaps in their decaying armor, and with each step they take, the parched riverbed seems to freeze a little. They are few in number, perhaps a few dozen, but they are the hardest, most silent reef in the entire vanguard.

Closely following them was a surging legion of zombies like a black tide. These were no ordinary walking corpses; many still bore fragments of tattered uniforms belonging to soldiers from different provinces of the empire, wielding rusted swords, broken spears, or even resorting to tearing and clawing with their decaying limbs. Their numbers were immense, densely packed, almost filling the width of the riverbed as far as the eye could see. Even at this distance, the stench of decay, mingled with the purifying aura of divine light, still wafted faintly, making one want to vomit. Their eyes held no cold order of tomb guardians, only a primal hunger for the flesh and blood of the living, forcibly awakened, emanating low, unconscious growls from their throats.

In the gaps between and above these infantrymen, even more bizarre figures leaped and glided. Those were swarms of bloodthirsty bats and graveyard bats! These bats, twisted and resurrected by necromancy, were as large as hounds, their wing membranes tattered, their fangs gleaming eerily. They were not living creatures, but flying carrion driven by negative energy, emitting piercing shrieks as they hovered low, ready to swoop down and tear through the defenses with their claws and fangs, spreading a deadly plague.

Even more chilling are the bloodthirsty ghouls mingling among the zombie hordes, towering even larger and moving with extraordinary speed! Once powerful warriors or monsters, they are now twisted into terrifying creatures with tattered fleshy wings and sharp claws. They sometimes run on all fours, sometimes leap and glide briefly, their eyes burning with a ferocious bloodlust. Each roar is like a shattered gong, jarring to the eardrums. They are the vanguard of the undead, the sharpest blades, specifically designed to tear through fortified defenses.

At the center of this death legion, a mixture of order and madness, stood a massive corpse wagon, a mobile altar of desecration. Its body, twisted and fused from countless corpses and decaying wood, was adorned with rusted bells and dried skulls. On its roof, a colossal skeletal bell was rhythmically tolled by a hunched figure shrouded in a tattered robe (a spirit-binding monk).

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The tolling of the bells was no longer a monotonous lament, but a war drum imbued with a blasphemous magic! Each toll was like an invisible whip lashing the undead army. The soul fire in the murky sockets of the zombie legion suddenly intensified, their pace quickened, and their roars became even more frenzied; the tomb guardians' decaying joints creaked, their grips on halberds and greatswords tightened; the bloodthirsty ghouls roared even more violently to the sky, their fleshy wings flapping uneasily; the bat swarms in the air shrieked and began to circle faster, like black whirlwinds of death!
The tolling of the bells formed a visible, decaying halo of death, slowly spreading from the hearse. Where the halo passed, a thin layer of black frost formed on the ground, and the holy light in the air seemed suppressed, dimming slightly. This halo not only amplified the ferocity of the undead but also continuously eroded the courage and vitality of the living. Even the Black Forest warriors closest to the hymn felt a chilling cold and an inexplicable weariness creeping over them, despite the protection of the hymn.

"Damn blasphemers!" Orstein roared, clearly feeling the suppression of his troops' morale by the tolling bells and the aura. This was no ragtag army; it was a well-organized, clearly structured, and coordinated undead force! Its elite status was in no way inferior to the elite legions of the vampire counts of the old world!

"Marshal! They've made it into the first 'surprise' for the dwarf brothers!" an officer in charge of contacting the dwarfs' demolition site shouted excitedly.

A fierce glint flashed in Erstein's eyes: "Set it on fire! Let these bone fragments taste the agony of being burned alive!"

The command was transmitted instantly via the magical communication stone.

Boom! Boom boom boom——!!!
Hundreds of meters ahead of the dry riverbed, a series of deafening explosions tore through the night sky without warning! Dazzling orange-red flames shot into the sky, mixed with rubble, mud, and the shattered limbs of the dead!

The dwarves' carefully laid explosive barrels and rune traps, inscribed with runes that countered the undead, were detonated simultaneously! The violent shockwave and scorching flames instantly engulfed the first few rows of zombies! Holy runic power surged in the explosion, inflicting additional holy damage on the undead. Dozens of low-level undead were instantly blasted into burning fragments, and several nearby tomb guardians were also thrown to the ground, their decaying armor ripped open to reveal burning bones within.

However, this powerful explosion, which was enough to severely damage a mortal army, seemed to have a limited impact on this undead vanguard!
The flames of the explosion had not yet completely dissipated, and amidst the billowing smoke, more silent figures, stepping over the remains of their comrades, ignored the burning flames and continued their advance! Those tomb guardians who had been knocked down staggered to their feet, even with half their bodies blown apart, dragging their mangled remains and raising their weapons forward! The swarms of bats in the air were only momentarily thrown into disarray by the shockwave, before quickly regrouping and swooping down again at the call of the bells! The Bloodthirsty Heavenly Demons roared with excitement, braving the aftershocks of the explosion, accelerating towards the Black Forest Territory's position! The bells of the corpse-carrying wagons did not cease; instead, they became even more rapid and piercing, and the aura of death spread faster and thicker!
The dwarves' "earthfire" was merely a fleeting ripple in the endless tide of death.

"Prepare for engagement—!" Orstein's roar echoed throughout the front lines. "Black Pine Forest Beast Butcher! Shields up! Halberdiers forward! Keep the Purifying Prayer going! Vengeful Sun! Keep your eyes glued to those damned bats and ghouls in the sky!"

The steel barrier was forged in flames and holy light, and the icy torrent of death, carrying blasphemous bells and halos, crashed down unstoppably!

The bloody battle of Raven Ridge erupted amidst the silent charge of the undead and the roars of the living!

(End of this chapter)