Closer, even closer!
The Knights gripped their Knight Swords tensely.
This wasn't due to the war; battle-hardened, they no longer froze in fear at the sight of blood, the enemy's ferocious faces, or the glint of axes. What made them tense was the ambush itself. This defiant, unchivalrous act stirred the numb hearts of many Knights. Trampling on rights and customs, these actions that negated the past, were inherently thrilling, causing adrenaline to surge.
And this was exactly what they were doing now.
This kind of pleasure, akin to a secret affair, was far more exhilarating than physical gratification.
The Knights' breathing was somewhat ragged, especially since the one leading their ambush was their invincible King, the God of War who had just completed the great feat of slaying a dragon, Her Majesty Artoria Pendragon!
She stood closest to the edge of the dense forest, stroking her tall warhorse. Her height, less than seven feet (1.65 meters), though petite, was full of power. Her hand, resting on her longsword, seemed to be perpetually ready for victory and war.
She was the King!
She raised her hand, her gauntlet making a clanking sound. As if a signal, the synchronized sounds of Knights mounting their horses rang out.
The pirates in the vanguard had, of course, heard this sound. In fact, three thousand men making such a coordinated sound was impossible to conceal. However, they didn't know what the sound was, so the Gaul contingent suddenly halted, drawing their weapons with uncertainty and looking at the nearby dense forest, as if some man-eating monster lurked within.
When the ground vibrated slightly, the experienced mid-level leaders of the Gaul, their faces drastically changed, shouted, "Knights!! Beware of attack!!!!"
Alas, it was too late!
Even more unfortunately, they were completely unprepared. No shields, no chevaux de frise, no long spears—nothing. All they had were short-handled battle-axes!
These were meaningless against the impact of charging horses!
The Knights, brandishing their longswords, charged out of the dense forest. Leading them was a woman with golden hair tied in a bun, clearly a person of wealth and status, wearing a luxurious fur cape.
Riding her black warhorse, she was like a phantom in the forest. In an instant, she arrived before the Gaul. The first unlucky soul was directly knocked flying. The immense impact not only created a shocking indentation in his chest but also caused him to vomit blood and his internal organs as he was sent airborne. Tracing a graceful arc in the air, he continued to spit blood until he became silent.
At this moment, Artoria only needed to gently lower her Sword and keep her horse parallel. A Gaul's head, as she passed him, rolled like a ball from his neck, spun twice on the ground, and landed in the mud.
Only then did blood spurt from the headless body.
Before the third Gaul could react, he was impaled by the longsword. Then, with a slight tilt of the Sword, his body fell limply to the ground. Using the momentum of her horse to pull out her longsword, Artoria casually sent another head flying into the sky.
In just three seconds, four men were dispatched by Artoria, instantly boosting morale.
Fierce as tigers, vicious as wolves, the Knights charged into the Gaul's formation like a pack of wolves and tigers. The already chaotic Gaul formation became even more disorganized.
Beru was a Gaul captain. Among the numerous Gaul tribesmen, he was merely a centurion, but the brave Gaul blood in him was not diluted. Seeing the female Knight charging towards him, he was truly filled with rage and courage. On one hand, her martial arts were too exquisite, killing his men like chickens. On the other hand, he intended to take advantage of her being a woman, believing her strength to be inferior to a man's!
There wasn't much distance between them, merely fifteen meters. With a roar, he held his furious short-axe and covered the fifteen meters in a single stride, arriving above Artoria's head.
With the combined force of gravity and his body, he brought the axe down.
However, Artoria, with one hand, slashed down a charging Gaul with her Sword, while her other hand rose to block his axe.
A surge of wild joy filled Beru. He knew that with the power of this axe, anything would be cut clean through, even if the opponent had gauntlets!
With a loud clang!!!, Beru suddenly found his hand numb, even the fingers gripping the axe had loosened.
"No good!" Beru suddenly tried to pull back, but a longsword flashed from Artoria's waist and pierced his throat.
"After running twenty kilometers at high speed, how much strength do you have left, besides a chest full of greed?" Looking coldly at this seemingly leader-like fellow, Artoria's lips curled into a cold, disdainful smile as she pulled out her longsword, twirled it, and cut down a stubbornly resisting Gaul beside her.
"Kill!" The Sword of Victory truly lived up to its name; after killing so many people, not a single drop of blood stained it. Ordinary steel longswords were now either full of nicks or covered in rapidly congealing blood clots, appearing a dark brown.
Artoria, raising her longsword high, shouted loudly. The already high spirits of the Knights immediately surged by another three points.
The vanguard and rearguard noticed the chaos in the central army. The disorganized Gaul, either wanting to annihilate this group of Knights or rescue their comrades, converged towards the center despite their different objectives. The scattered Gaul, previously in a single line, began to gather in the middle.
"Stubborn!" Artoria roared, squeezing her horse's belly. The black steed neighed, rearing up, then after a snort, its front hooves trampled on the chests of two Gaul. The two Gaul deflated like balloons, lying motionless on the ground, clearly beyond saving.
"Knights of the Round Table! Charge with me!" Artoria raised her longsword. The golden longsword, under the shining sun, emitted a golden glow, summoning all the Knights of the Round Table like a signal flag.
The Knights of the Round Table, unleashing their power in an instant, finally distinguished themselves from ordinary Knights. At the King's call, they simultaneously cut down three to four enemies around them, then, relying on their superb horsemanship, carved a bloody path and rushed to Artoria's side, forming a large cluster.
"Charge!!" Artoria shouted. Immediately, a Knight of the Round Table next to her pulled out an ox horn from his saddle and blew it, the long, resonant charge horn echoing across the entire battlefield.