Way of the Knights

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"Ahhh!"

"Stay strong! Don't fall back! We must defend our home!"

"Go away you vile beasts!"

"Kill!"

In the southern part of the Final Haven Kingdom, the battle against the beast horde was on full throttle.

With the Golden Knights taking the stage, the rest of the defenders knew that the brutal melee against the horde was inevitable so they braced themselves. And just as they expected, even with the interception of the Golden Knights, the sheer number of the beast horde was too much for them and some manage to evade their defense. 

Of course, the Golden Knights knew that such thing will happen but it doesn't mean that they have no control over it. 

Those that manage to go past their defenses are either weaker beast or injured ones, the types that the rest of the defenders have no problem of eliminating. As for the real troublesome foes, they were in the far back of the horde and the Golden Knights were observing them ever since the beginning. 

On the battlefield, familiar faces could be seen duking it out with the beasts. 

Bradley Vermillion, the current clan head of the Vermillion Sky Clan as well members of the clan. Father of Ellen. He continuously brandished his twin swords as he reaped the lives of the beasts. 

Leon Anderson, clan head of the Marching Warlords Clan. Father of Mark. Wielding a shield and a mace, he walked with pride and arrogance to the battlefield, beating the stray beasts to a pulpy mess.

Ian Gregory, Headmaster of the Heavenly Cloud Institute. Randy Gregory, Vice Headmaster of the Heavenly Cloud Institute. Paul's Father and older brother respectively. The father and son brandished their axes as they cut down the stray beasts and provide assistance to those who needed it. In fact, the students of the Genius Class were also present, however they weren't allowed to charge in blindly.

Gil Fiore, clan head of Western Star Clan. Father of Anne. Previously, he stood as one of the Captains of the Ranger Units. But now that the brutal melee began, they knew that they couldn't send volleys of arrows recklessly so instead, he watched the battlefield below with discerning eyes and will intercept attacks to provide assistance to those who needed it.

Jackson, who's the current Chief Director of the Lair Hunters, was also here. Maddock and his domesticated beasts were also providing assistance. Korra of the Ritual Waters also joined the defense.

And of course, the Alchemists of the Sacred Leaf Tavern were also present. They were stationed in the backlines as they treated the injured with their medical skills. 

Luis stood by the Prince's side as they control the tempo of the battlefield. So far, results had been encouraging. The casualties were still on the low-side, while the beast horde is down to roughly 600,000 in numbers. With the constant aid of the Sacred Leaf Tavern, the injured were nursed back to health and was given a choice if they would like to retire from the fight or not. 

In this large scale battle, the tavern continuously proved their worth over and over again that it caused Balmung to smile wryly. Nevertheless, he was immensely gratified to know that they were on the kingdom's side. 

"Hmm!" 

Luis and Balmung suddenly felt a spiking energy behind them. Both of them sharply turned their heads towards the skies with trepidation in their hearts. Just as when they thought that there was a breach, a sparkle of orange lightning distracted them.

The orange lightning precisely landed in front of them. Once the sparks disappeared, Mark's silhouette materialized before their very eyes.

Before they could even say anything, they felt another spike of energy. This time it belonged to three individuals who rode on the back of a huge falcon made out of pure wind. Once the falcon flew on top of them, it disappeared causing the three people riding it to fall. Anne and Ellen landed gracefully while Paul caused the walls to shake due to his landing. 

"Ellen Vermillion/Anne Fiore/Mark Anderson/Paul Gregory. Reporting for duty!"

Balmung and Luis' face brightened up as they arrived. Just from a glance, they could tell how formidable these kids had gotten. 

"It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back." Balmung said emotionally, "Where the other two?"

Before any of them could answer, a loud neighing startled the forces. Next, they saw a golden flash of light that stopped at the skies. 

A stunning lady, riding a majestic Pegasus rose her golden spear up in the skies. A beam of light descended , covering the defenders with a warm and comforting light. Soon after, the defenders could feel their stamina recovering in a slow but noticeable manner, the shallow wounds that they have were recovering at a visible pace.

Old Lee who was reaping down the ranks of the beast, went into a screeching halt as he felt this light. His head turned sharply at the southern wall with an incredulous expression on his face.

"This is…Lightshield Incandescence! Has the King returned?" His vision instantly homed in to the figure sitting on a back of a Pegasus, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Princess!? She's back!"

"Lightshield Incandescence." Leona muttered, "Your Majesty, if only you could see your precious daughter right now."

Back at the walls, after casting the enormous beam of light. The Pegasus flew down and landed in front of the gawking Prince. For a brief moment there, Balmung thought that their father had returned. Never in his wildest imaginations that Luna will be able to cast that technique without even the King teaching her how to do so.

"You girl…" Balmung said as the corners of his mouth twitched erratically. Just from her gaze alone, he knew that he couldn't stop her from participating in this battle. She made a grand entrance for that matter anyway?

"Excuse me, Princess." Luis interjected from the side. "Have you seen my boy?"

"He said he's going to check the other sides to see if they needed reinforcements." Luna replied helplessly, "I wanted to come with him but he said to have faith in him and that he's more than enough to act as a reinforcement to them." 

Upon hearing this, Luis couldn't help but to smile wryly. 'That brat!' He inwardly thought. Nevertheless, he had faith in his son, he knew that he will be responsible on his own. Besides, they are at war, he couldn't afford to be distracted for this long.

"I wanted to spare you guys from this war, knowing that you just came out from a difficult training." Balmung said, "But you wouldn't hustle your rears towards here if you wanted to rest, which means you wanted to participate."

He received no replies from them, but their gazes alone was enough to express their answers. 

"Fine." Balmung helplessly sighed, "Pay attention to your safety. You people will become the next pillar of the kingdom, I can't have you dying in this battle. Go!"

The team nodded. They turned around and faced the incoming horde of beasts. 

Paul's eyes shone. He roused his energy and suddenly his majestic presence became known to the whole battlefield. Ian and Randy, who was battling below sharply turned towards his location and saw him. 

"Brat." Ian muttered under his breath.

A second later, Paul's throat vibrated. His face twisted and his mouth flew open.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

A long, awe-inspiring and hair-raising roar came out from his mouth. His voice echoed throughout the vast plains of the battlefield. Everyone present could hear his terrifying roar that carried an unbridled provocation. 

A silhouette of a enormous Snake-tailed Black Tortoise emerged behind him and roared with him. The defenders who heard this roar felt their spirits roused and saw a thick, blue layered shield shrouding them. This shield is a blessing from Paul himself, a life-saving triple layered shield for everyone present in the battlefield. 

Just this alone proved that being acknowledge by a Spirit Entity is an immense benefit.

As for the beast who heard this roar, they felt a deep existential fear from his voice. Paul roar carried a tinge of a Divine Beast's aura which carried an immense suppressive pressure on their psyches.

"HAHAHA! SEE THAT LITTLE TURD? MY BRO! THAT'S MY LITTLE BRO!" Randy roared on top of his lungs, only to be elbowed by Ian beside him. Despite that, Ian couldn't contain that foolish and prideful smile from his face.

Next to him, Ellen smiled and roused her spirit. 

A sonorous cry escaped from her lips. Instantly, another aura of a Divine Beast made it's debut on the battlefield. The momentum of the Vermillion Bird, King of Thousand Birds, rolled over and refused to allow other flying beast to take flight in it's presence.

Seeing the flying beast falling from the skies while shivering in terror, the defenders were awed once more. Bradley and the members of the Vermillion Sky Clan were shaking in glee. The source of their worship, the Vermillion Bird. Even if what they experienced was just a remnant of it's Divine Aura, it was enough for them to gladly stake their lives on the line with pride. 

Just like that, the momentum of two Divine Beast was enough to tip the balance of this war.