The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"What exactly is that you're eating?"

Doug covered his nose and kept waving his hands, trying to dispel the stench.

Noam did not answer, but dragged his increasingly massive body to the high platform and asked, "Is everything arranged?"

"That's right, now it's up to you guys. As long as you can stop them here, everything will be fine."

Doug looked at the army in front of him. Although the whole formation looked crooked and crooked upon closer inspection, there was nothing wrong with the arrangement of the troops. It was very much in line with the battlefield experience passed down by the Lars family.

"I've promised you a lot of benefits, so don't let me down!"

Seeing Noam's distracted look, Doug angrily slammed his hand on the railing.

Noam finally came to his senses and said, "Don't worry."

In the distance, the battle between the two sides had already begun. Hammond led his cavalry, taking the lead under the cover of muskets, and almost quickly broke through Doug's vanguard. These vanguard troops were unable to form an encirclement formation, let alone suppress the Grey Collar army with their numerical advantage.

"Artillery ready!"

Darcy skillfully directed the artillery from behind. In the days leading up to the decisive battle, they had practiced numerous times, and the gunners had almost memorized the standard movements.

After calculating the distance, Darcy ordered, "Release!"

With a command, the magic cannon roared, and a huge orange-red fireball shot out from the alchemical cannon barrel, landing precisely within the range of Dogg's army's position.

Fireballs landed in a staggered pattern, and the explosions pounded the earth like drumbeats, shaking the surroundings and sending dust flying. These drumbeats played incessantly, and Doug's army's old cannons, with only a few pieces left, were completely unable to retaliate.

However, some professionals from Doug's army soon stepped forward and began casting spells. But rather than destroying the constantly roaring cannons, these professionals were more concerned with the cavalry led by Hammond.

Although Doug's side had more Lars Knights, the equipment gap between the two sides was too large. Not to mention that Hammond's musket firepower was not on the same level as the opponent's, the quality of his enchanted armor was far superior.

Even if Hammond does nothing, just by activating his Field Force and using his enchanted armor, he can knock the opponent away.

The Lars Knights, with the help of the spellcasters behind them, barely managed to suppress Hammond, preventing him from piercing straight into the heart of Dogg's army like a sharp dagger.

But it was clear that Doug's army also knew that this was only a temporary measure and that they could not hold out for long. The enemy was advancing with both infantry and artillery, and the cavalry was just an appetizer.

Seeing the enemy's overwhelming artillery fire from the rear, and then looking at his own outdated cannons, Doug said in exasperation, "Where are you all? It's time to call your demon race into the battle!"

Fortunately, Doug sold most of these cannons to the Kingdom of Anjou, which recouped a significant portion of his losses. He was able to pay his soldiers well before the war began, preventing the army from collapsing at the first sign of trouble.

You have to understand that the elite troops are all at the front to stop the Gray Collar army. In the rear, most of them are militia temporarily recruited who don't even know how to use a musket. Moreover, their fighting strength decreases as they go further back. Once the front is lost, the battlefield behind will almost certainly collapse.

"No hurries?"

Noam took another bite of the black meat and said, "See, here it comes."

Doug finally couldn't help but cover his nose and look into the distance. Sure enough, the demon soldiers had begun to move, seemingly trying to cut into the battlefield from the flank and cut off the gray-white vanguard and the rear army.

But on the other side of the battlefield, the Third Army had been waiting with White for a long time. Almost at the same moment the demon forces moved out, the Third Army's proud Lars Knights also set out.

These Lars Knights had long harbored resentment, after all, Hammond had stolen the limelight. As the unit that retained the most Lars Knights, many improvements to the professional unit were proposed by the First Army, which had been holding back the Lars Knights of the Third Army for a long time.

"Brothers, charge with me! Let's show these demons what a true Knight Lars is!"

A leading knight raised his Melting Spear high and led the rest of the Lars knights in a charge.

The Third Army's Lars Knights, like a mobile fortress, crashed head-on into the demon army on the flank and began to fight.

White looked at the cavalry with some envy. That position should have been his, but his current status no longer allowed him to do such a dangerous thing. He could only watch the battle between the Third Army and the demons from a distance on the watchtower. As Laurie had instructed, the demons might be the biggest variable in this war, and they had to be kept a close eye on them.

This is also the best opportunity for the Third Army to make a name for itself. As long as they can defeat the demons, the Third Army can personally restore the glory of the Knights of Lars.

The demons were quickly stopped by the Third Army. The Third Army preferred close-quarters combat to artillery-based tactics like those used by Laurie, and the demons were soon suppressed.

But White quickly realized something was wrong. These demons were all like desperate criminals, fearless of death, and they fought to the very end without retreating.

Keep in mind that if a unit has suffered over 30% casualties and hasn't collapsed, it can already be considered an elite force. Even when White was defending Winterhold, the casualties didn't reach the level of the demons.

This is no longer a matter of battle losses; these demons are literally fighting to the death. But rather than having any fighting spirit, it's more accurate to say that these demons are a group of walking corpses, completely devoid of their own consciousness.

White's first thought was some kind of potion that turned people into living dead who could only fight, but that was just a legend, and such a thing couldn't possibly exist in reality. It was more likely to be something like a stimulant.

However, none of that matters now. The demon army has been pushed back, and these matters can be studied later.

At this moment, a knight beside White, seeing that the battle had begun to turn in one direction, said with emotion, "General, after this war is over, I would like to ask for leave to return to Gray and White Collar. My fiancée has been waiting for me, and my family is urging me to get married."

White nodded, patted the knight next to him on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, after the battle is over and the credits are tallied, I'll grant you leave so you can have a big, healthy son before you come back."

On the other side, Noam frowned. He hadn't expected that even after the demon soldiers had received Mass and eaten Holy Communion, they still couldn't defeat the enemy's main force in a direct confrontation.

It seems the opponent is stronger than I imagined, but it doesn't matter. Any power is futile before the Demon God and the Demon King.

After finishing the last bite of the black meat, Noam jumped off the platform. Doug didn't think anything was wrong; he only knew that the demons were finally getting serious. But Doug didn't know what the demons' so-called killing move was.

For some reason, Doug felt uneasy watching Noam slowly walk into the ranks of soldiers.

Just when the front lines were about to collapse and were about to be completely routed, the demons seemed to be inspired by something and began to become even more frenzied.

As Noam walked halfway through the army formation, his body suddenly began to swell, with dark flesh writhing inside him as if a strange force was growing wildly beneath his skin.

With a agonizing, tearing groan, the black flesh suddenly broke free of its restraints like a wild beast and began to swell rapidly. Noam's skin began to bulge, veins bulging, as if countless reptiles were crawling inside him.

In a short while, the flesh grew larger and larger, the ribs were twisted out of shape, the skin could no longer withstand the pressure, and countless cracks appeared on the surface, with blood flowing out like a stream.

With a chilling explosion, Noam's body could no longer withstand the force, and black flesh burst forth. Shattered bones and flesh scattered through the air, filling the air with a bloody mist.

Doug's army was already in a panic because of this unexpected change, and they were fleeing in all directions, with their rear in chaos.

Doug himself was so frightened by the scene before him that he fell to the ground, especially after he saw the monster born from the flesh and blood of Noam.

It was a huge, mountain-like lump of flesh standing on four hooves, covered with tentacles that looked like whips, and several large mouths randomly distributed throughout the lump.

Before Doug could react, the giant mouths spoke in unison: "We are Noam, the supreme commander under the Demon King, here to announce your deaths!"

These words, along with the mournful cries of the soldiers around Noam, echoed throughout the entire battlefield.