"Even a knight shows such resolve! You are a disgrace to your noble houses!"
Robson probably never imagined that the first to answer his call would be Viscount Leo.
The Frankish nobles could be greedy, they could be witless, but they certainly didn't lack reckless courage.
Of course, there were exceptions...
Watching Viscount Leo's figure ride off, kicking up a cloud of dust, everyone finally snapped to their senses.
It wasn't that they didn't grasp the gravity of the situation; things had just happened so suddenly that most of them hadn't processed it yet.
"Sir Robson's noble cause!"
"For the King! For the Lord of Dawn!"
At that moment, the goodwill Robson had fostered among the nobles began to pay off.
If one had to pick the most popular person in Sunset Fortress at that moment, it would have to be Robson.
Robson was already renowned throughout the fortress for his heroism, and his later actions in West City had won over the West City Nobles.
His recent act of risking his own life to save others on the battlefield was particularly unforgettable.
Over a hundred nobles from Sunset Fortress galloped across the wilderness, raising their Knight's Spears and charging headlong toward the Beastman formation.
Hearing the war cries behind him, the weight in Robson's heart finally lifted.
Now that his comrades had caught up, Robson secretly began to pull on his reins.
'Can't run too fast,' he thought. 'It would be a shame to become cannon fodder.'
'As for my earlier bravery?'
'That was just an act to fool the others. Tricking them is one thing, but if I start tricking myself, I'll get myself killed.'
With so many people charging at once, all eyes were fixed on the enemy. No one had the leisure to notice one knight's mount gradually falling to the rear.
Upon reaching the edge of the battle, Robson quietly put away his Knight's Spear, took out his Elf Bow, and went back to his old trade: skirting the perimeter of the fight.
These Gray Dwarves of the Extraordinary Cavalry were mostly second or third-tier, so naturally, they were no match for Robson.
Imbuing his arrows with aura, he pierced their armor with ease...
While Robson continued to "contribute" from the sidelines, the duel between the two Gold-tier Extraordinaries at the heart of the battle was reaching its conclusion.
The golden giant viciously slammed the Count—who was covered in bloody wounds, a final wisp of killing intent clinging to him—onto the ground.
The golden giant stomped down hard on the Count's body.
High-tier battles were often swift. The tales of Extraordinaries fighting for days on end were either about true legends who had reached a saintly realm or were just stories passed down by Minstrels.
As the heir to the Gray Dwarf race, General Dor had been cultivated with the full support of his people and had long since reached the eighth tier. His Divine Skill was one of the Gray Dwarves' core techniques.
In their prime, the Gray Dwarves could even rival the Dwarves of the Eastern Mountain Range. When the Gray Dwarves first rose to power, the ancestors of the Deriman Family were probably still tilling a field somewhere.
Faced with such a powerful race, even an Earl Clan like the Deriman Family was helpless.
Dor was about to stomp again and completely extinguish the human's life force, but he saw Count Offman, gasping for breath, grab his ankle.
"Bastard! What do you think you're doing?"
An unpleasant memory flashed through Dor's mind. When these human nobles realized they couldn't win, they tended to resort to dishonorable tactics.
Dor scrambled to break free from Count Offman's grasp but was a step too late. A tremendous roar erupted, and Dor was sent flying several meters.
Count Offman's body was thrown into the air. When it landed, there was a bowl-sized hole in his chest. His body twitched a few times, then fell still, all life gone.
Robson didn't know what the others were thinking, but he froze in place for a moment.
In the end, Count Offman had died on the battlefield as a Frankish noble should.
This was always a suicide mission, a battle whose outcome was never in doubt.
"Avenge the Earl!"
"Avenge the Earl!"
Count Offman's death was like a stone cast into a calm lake, sending ripples of fury through the crowd. Every Frank present raised their sword, their hearts filled with righteous indignation.
Everyone had understood what Count Offman's fate would be, but the sight of a Count fearlessly embracing death still shook every Frank to their core, sending hot blood coursing through their veins.
It was as if the warrior blood in their veins had been awakened. With bloodshot eyes, they raised their spears and swords and launched a second charge against the Gray Dwarves Knight Order.
As the commander of Sunset Fortress, Count Offman had, at one time or another, shown kindness to most of them. Through long years of war, the Franks had developed a unique loyalty to their commanders.
Furthermore, it was entirely thanks to Count Offman that they didn't have to defend Sunset Fortress to the last man.
Hundreds of Frankish Nobles and members of the Sunset Knight Order charged recklessly, weaving through the ranks of the Gray Dwarves Knight Order.
Although the Gray Dwarves Knight Order numbered over a thousand, their quality was lacking; their average rank was only second-tier Bronze.
The Sunset Knight Order wasn't much better, of course, but they had the advantage of their noble lords, a good number of whom were at the Silver tier.
Dor was still lying on the ground. Count Offman's self-detonation had been too sudden, and in his current state, he couldn't possibly endure another major fight.
"Isn't that phoenix dealt with yet?" Dor demanded of the Gray Dwarf Mage beside him.
"My lord, we're still extracting his life force. It shouldn't be much longer..." the Gray Dwarf Mage replied, wiping sweat from his brow.
He said it without any real confidence. Normally, a human-beast fusion took a tremendous toll on both parties. Logically, Earl Leo shouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
"How long is 'much longer'?" General Dor's face was as black as the bottom of a wok.
Although the Beastman Grassland teemed with life, magical resources were extremely scarce. Very few creatures could become Extraordinary; their numbers were propped up purely by their massive population.
This was also why the Beastman Empire was repelled by the Frank Kingdom every time they marched south. Though the Beastman Empire always seemed to have the upper hand, their Extraordinary forces were, at best, at a 70-30 advantage over the Frank Kingdom's—and the gap was often even smaller.
This Gray Dwarves Knight Order was one of Dor's most valuable assets. Every scream he heard from a fallen Gray Dwarf knight was like a dagger to his heart.
And yet these humans fought as if they were possessed. Some even followed Count Offman's example, taking a few enemies with them before they died.
"Damn that Kase! Doesn't he always boast that his Wolf Cavalry is as swift as the wind? Where are they?" Dor snarled.
He didn't know that Prince Kase's Wolf Cavalry had also suffered devastating losses inside Sunset Fortress. He assumed Kase was deliberately using him as a vanguard to wear down the human nobles.
Given the relationship between the Gray Dwarves and the Beast Race, it was something Kase was perfectly capable of. Tripping each other up was just part of the game.
He had been so eager for this campaign because he thought this human force was an easy meal. He wanted to get his hands on the phoenix Earl Leo possessed, which would increase his leverage on the Western Front.
Of course, a part of his calculation was that Kase would see the bigger picture and come to his aid; after all, the Prince had always cultivated such an image.
When it came down to it, Dor felt he'd been played.
"We're not waiting any longer! Tell the wolf riders in the rear to cover our retreat! Order my warriors to withdraw from the battlefield!" Dor commanded.
If he let these human nobles continue to wear down his forces, he probably wouldn't be able to hold his position on the Western Front.
And then, no matter how great the spoils, none of them would have anything to do with General Dor.
Kase certainly wouldn't treat him well just for his meritorious service.
In the Beastman Empire, great service was not always rewarded, but it was always grueling.
"But... what about the phoenix?" the Gray Dwarf Mage asked hesitantly.
Dor raised his greatsword. He might not be able to handle a high-intensity battle right now, but an immobilized magical beast? He could still deal with that easily enough.