Chapter 694 — Chance and Inevitability
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
The red button was struck hard. After the briefest delay, the whole train shuddered, every mechanical device gave out a low roar, and the humming of every mana unit grew loud and shrill.
The armor plates beneath both sides of the Iron Throne were pushed open by the mechanical structures, revealing seams through which a dim red light welled up. The heat from the overloading power spine distorted the air around the train. Reserve water for emergency cooling was injected into the channels between the power spine and the machinery, and great blasts of hot vapor rushed out over the rails, while the vast body of the Iron Throne-Zero accelerated once more amid the steam, hurtling toward the border of the Eastern Marches...
The wind had risen. The damp cold air caught up the swallowtail pennant in the lead knight's hand, and though a breeze shield or breath ward held off the surrounding chill, the ceaseless howl of wind past the ear was enough to set anyone's nerves on edge.
An Luo glanced up at the sky, then at the Palemel Heights now in sight, and in silence led the column onward.
A very faint sound came from atop her helmet, accompanied by a kind of gentle "tapping."
An Luo reached out and watched a single drop of water bloom on the surface of her gauntlet. Her face and her eyes darkened in an instant.
"It's raining, General."
The adjutant at her side spoke in a low voice.
"I see it..."
An Luo said dully, as more and more raindrops joined into threads of rain, growing dense before her eyes.
The gods, it seemed, were about to side with the Cecilians.
But Anluo only raised her longsword expressionlessly and swept it forward: "Advance!"
The rain would slow the knight order's advance. Even though they were the empire's elite, even though the extraordinary could largely ignore the effects of weather, that "sluggishness" still existed—the only difference lay in its degree.
The First Knight Order of the Winterwolf Legion advanced silently through the rain. Every officer and soldier faithfully carried out the orders from their commander. The griffin riders circling overhead lowered their altitude, doing their utmost to provide effective vision and early warning for the ground troops. But as the rain grew heavier and the surrounding light dimmed, lightning began to brew within the thick clouds above. The griffin riders' altitude dropped again and again, until at last they were circling almost directly above the knights' heads.
The trek continued for some time, and just when Anluo had begun to suspect that those Cecilians did not exist at all, she suddenly heard a shrill, piercing cry from the griffins in the sky.
Far off on the high ground, a light flashed.
"Defend!"
Anluo shouted the warning at the first instant, and almost simultaneously every knight drew his longsword and held it upright before him. Magic surged, and ring after ring of pale white halos spread outward, forming in an instant a shield that shrouded the entire column. A moment later, some weapon difficult for the naked eye to catch fell upon that shield.
With a thunderous roar, the Cecilians' weapon produced a powerful explosion. Some of the knights stirred slightly, but that solid shield stood firm and unmoved.
Anluo gripped her longsword tightly, her protective aura surging as she prepared to channel a legion-level spell to counter the enemy. But the relentless bombardment described in the intelligence reports never came.
"Maintain defensive posture! Continue the advance!"
Swords in hand, the knight order continued its silent advance under the commander's orders, and a moment later, that attack accompanied by explosions and shrieking came once again.
This time, Anluo and her soldiers did not waver in the slightest. The young wolf general even felt a surge of joy.
She had wagered correctly!
The knight order's pace gradually began to quicken, and after the third attack, no further movement came from the Cecilian position.