- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 181
The battle continued to spread, and time slowly passed. The first day quickly came to an end, followed by the second and third days.
Orcs kept charging relentlessly, and the magic crystal cannons fired continuously, consuming magic cores at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, the area beneath Autumn Leaf Territory had practically turned into a purgatory.
The bodies of countless orcs were scattered everywhere.
With the constant battles, even the human knights couldn’t keep up with the cleanup efforts.
The corpses piled up, forming small hills.
Streams of blood began to converge and spread across the ground. If one looked closely, they would notice that the liquid flowing through these streams was dark red.
It was blood.
The deaths of numerous orcs and human knights had turned the ground into a river of blood.
The scent of blood continued to saturate the air, and an ominous aura began to spread, affecting even the formal knights.
By the third day, however, at the ramparts…
“Buzz!”
A ripple spread through the air, and the next moment, a pillar of light shot up from the ground, covering everything around it. The ominous aura that had been clinging to the figures in the area gradually faded, and the blood-red tint in their eyes slowly returned to normal.
A new wave of reinforcements arrived.
The losses at each defensive point were quickly replenished.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Phew!”
“These bastards are really insane!”
“How many waves is this now?”
Brian let out a curse as he exhaled a long breath. After two full days and nights of fighting, even as an Earth Knight, he could feel his exhaustion mounting. The other knights were in even worse shape.
At the ramparts, many knights had collapsed to the ground.
Even the Great Knights could barely support themselves using their lances.
As for the Earth Knights, including Brian himself, the others weren’t in much better shape.
Isabelle, once looking so graceful, now appeared unrecognizable, her appearance caked with grime. One of the other Earth Knights had lost an arm, and his pale face, marked by dirt and blood, barely showed any color.
Thor and the others were also catching their breath.
Behind Thor, Steve stood propped up by his lance, Raine covered in blood, and Pelos had already collapsed. During the last orc charge, Pelos had nearly been killed, and only thanks to Thor’s timely intervention was he saved.
But though Pelos was alive, his injuries were severe. Even after taking an advanced life potion, he had fallen into a coma.
Out of the twenty formal knights Thor had brought with him, only seven remained.
Five were dead, and eight had sustained heavy injuries.
Even the seven still standing were badly wounded, lying down as well.
They could only rest briefly, as reinforcements from the central area had given them a moment of respite. But it was only temporary.
They had at most an hour before they would have to get back to their posts.
Thor could feel his hand shaking as he gripped his lance.
This wasn’t out of fear.
Nor was it from excitement.
It was simply from killing so much that his hand had begun to cramp.
As a Great Knight, for his hand to cramp meant he had slain a tremendous number of enemies.
In fact, even he had lost count of how many orcs he had killed, let alone just the second-tier orcs.
“Seven hours left.”
Thor murmured softly to himself as he recalled the intel he had received. He couldn’t help but glance toward the front.
He also felt a slight relief in his heart.
At this rate, even he wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
The thirty low-tier life potions he had brought were nearly gone—less than five remained.
There was no way they could last a few more days. Without the support from the central area, they probably wouldn’t even have made it through the day.
“Get some rest!”
“We still have a little time!”
Brian’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, before collapsing onto the rampart, leaning against the stone wall with his eyes closed.
Hearing his words, the others followed suit, not daring to waste any time.
Thor, Steve, and Raine were no exception.
But just as they were about to rest…
Something was tossed toward them.
Thor instinctively reached out and caught it, realizing it was a strange magical potion.
He remembered that Isabelle and the others had been using similar potions over the past few days.
“What’s this?”
Thor instinctively looked at Isabelle.
“For you,” Isabelle said, explaining as she nodded. “It can quickly restore life force, better than the regular life potions.”
“Thanks!”
Thor hesitated for a moment before offering his gratitude. He didn’t refuse the gesture.
In the past few days, he had saved her, and she had returned the favor. A bond had formed between them.
“What are you thanking me for? From now on, Joz, I’ll have to rely on you more!”
Isabelle smiled and shook her head.
Thor chuckled but said nothing more. He opened the potion and drank it.
The strange potion entered his mouth, and in an instant, a surge of life force poured out, filling his body. It quickly spread to his limbs and organs, revitalizing his nearly exhausted life seed.
Though the life potions had helped sustain him, most of them were low-tier, and their effects had been insufficient to fully replenish him. Over the past few days, even his life seed had been pushed to the brink of depletion.
It wasn’t until he had begun to rest that signs of recovery had started to appear.
But even so, full recovery would have been impossible without a few weeks of rest.
Now, however, the magical potion had rapidly restored the depleted life seed.
A faint cold energy spread from the seed as the life force continued to grow.
Outside, an aura of cold began to spread from Thor’s body. Frost began to form around him, and the temperature dropped sharply.
“What’s this?”
Joz looked on in surprise, his gaze shifting toward Thor.
“Huh?”
Isabelle also let out a soft exclamation.
When she felt the change in Thor’s aura, a smile appeared on her face.
“Did he break through?”
Isabelle whispered softly, a light chuckle escaping her lips before she turned away to meditate.
“Break through?”
Upon hearing Isabelle’s words, Joz’s eyes widened.
Beside him, Aisha looked just as surprised.
“Joz, do you think Thor is going to break through to an Earth Knight?”
Aisha mumbled, confusion in her voice.
“Probably not.”
Joz, initially startled, soon felt the change in Thor’s aura and shook his head.
“Phew!”
Aisha sighed in relief, her hand clutching her chest. “Thank goodness, you scared me for a second!”
“Even if he didn’t, Lord Thor’s strength is still much greater than most Earth Knights.”
Joz glanced at his sister, his tone dry as he replied.
“This!”
Aisha froze in place, her face going stiff at Joz’s words.
Joz shook his head, glancing at Thor one more time before stepping aside to recover.
Seeing the two leave, Aisha gritted her teeth, before turning and walking off as well.
In the open space, only Thor, Steve, Raine, and the remaining formal knights were left.
At this moment, everyone instinctively started to step back.
The cold aura emanating from Thor was so overwhelming that even the Great Knights were struggling to bear it.
Among them, only Raine was able to withstand the pressure.
However, in order to avoid disturbing Thor, Raine also retreated.
Time slowly passed.
The white frost continued to spread, covering the entire area, and the cold aura around Thor grew increasingly intense.
It wasn’t just frost anymore.
Gradually, the white frost began to transform into solid ice.
“So cold!”
“What is this?”
“It’s him!”
“What a terrifying aura… Is this the power of an alien life force?”
Murmurs filled the air as everyone noticed Thor’s condition. Their eyes flashed with shock and awe.
Even though they had witnessed Thor’s strength in the past, this moment still left them reeling.
Of course, in addition to the shock, they had no choice but to continue stepping back.
As time passed and more people took notice, Thor’s icy aura suddenly retracted.
His eyes slowly opened.
“Huff!”
A deep exhale escaped him, and the mist in the air began to turn into frost, falling to the ground.
“Late-stage Great Knight!”
Thor whispered softly, a hint of joy appearing in his expression.
He hadn’t expected that with the continued strain over these past few days, combined with the magic potion, he would break through from mid-stage Great Knight to late-stage Great Knight in one go.
At this rate, he would have a chance to reach Earth Knight within a year.
Though he had already attained strength comparable to that of an Earth Knight, there was a difference between power and rank.
Achieving the rank of Earth Knight would be a significant milestone.
In the kingdom, Earth Knights were considered highly important figures.
“Thank you!”
Thor stood up, casting his gaze toward Isabelle in the distance as he spoke softly.
“No need to thank me, you’ve helped us as well.”
Isabelle shook her head with a gentle smile.
Thor nodded slightly, not saying anything more.
But just as he was about to sit back down and meditate, he suddenly seemed to sense something. His gaze instantly shifted to the distant horizon.
As soon as Thor looked that way, Isabelle’s eyes followed his.
“Has it started?”
“Huff!”
Isabelle exhaled deeply, her face showing a hint of anticipation.
With their reaction, Brian and the Earth Knight from the Joz family also felt the change.
“What’s going on? It feels like something is drawing power from the surroundings over there.”
Brian’s voice, tinged with confusion, broke the silence. His face grew serious.
At that moment, it wasn’t just the people here who noticed. In fact, Earth Knights at various defensive points across Autumn Leaf Territory had sensed the same thing.
At the very center of Autumn Leaf Territory, several key figures had already sensed something unusual a quarter-hour ago.
“It’s begun!”
The Duke of Kalenina, still stained with blood, ignored the signs of injury as he floated in mid-air. His gaze turned toward the distance, speaking in a low voice.
Beside him stood Duke Leppor.
Leppor’s eyes were fixed on the horizon, his expression grave.
“I hope it goes smoothly.”
“If the divine awakening is truly happening, the entire Northern Province could become a wasteland.”
A raspy voice joined in, its owner wearing a worried look.
He dared not criticize the actions of the ancestors, but the concern was evident.
This was the Divine Awakening.
If things went wrong, they could face enormous trouble.
Once it was triggered, the Tulip Royal Family would collapse, and he had no doubt that their king would have them sent to meet the Goddess of Life.
“There shouldn’t be any major problems.”
“This time, it’s only the lower-tier Wolf God Anubis.”
The Duke of Kalenina spoke calmly, though there was a hint of tension in his voice. He wasn’t overly worried, but he was cautious.
He knew that there were at least ten Holy Domain Knights gathered in Autumn Leaf Territory alone.
Not to mention that even if a lower-tier god were to descend, or even a mid-tier god, as long as they didn’t fully manifest, the forces present would be enough to deal with it.
“Let’s hope so.”
The old man nodded and fell silent.
Duke Leppor did the same.
Meanwhile, far more than fifty miles away from Autumn Leaf Territory…
A massive altar had appeared, though no one knew exactly when.
The altar sprawled across the land, surrounded by iron chains that bound it to the earth.
Bright red blood flowed continuously, and the air was thick with a pervasive bloodlust that filled the entire sky.
“Great Anubis, I am your most loyal servant.”
“Your radiance is as bright as the sun, your power vast as the oceans. I offer the blood of countless lives to awaken you from your slumber.”
(The End of this Chapter)