Heimarian Odyssey

"By obeying the rules of the Sanctum, I can promise to not take action," Romm tried to persuade Kareda.

Casters have always been more mysterious and powerful than knights. Knights, with their muscle brains, did not understand intricate rules and the laws. So, they were better at winning with their own brute force.

Casters were different. Let's take the simplest example, the simple principle of leverage; using it, casters could use their own weak mana reserves to move a torrent of elements.

No matter how strong a knight was, it was generally impossible for them to stop a blow from a caster of the same level.

Their physical resistance might be very high, but in the face of the caster's elemental power, their hard bones and tough skin were not much better than a piece of thin paper.

Kareda did not speak, but his sullen face showed that he was not in a good mood.

He knew a little about the strength of Romm from before. Romm seemed like a high-rank Ritter. Kareda, as a Magister, would not be afraid of him at all.

But if he had touched the threshold of an Erdritter, things would be different. Erdritter was the rank beyond that of the Ritter.

But in many other planes, sapient creatures referred to them as grade-two lifeforms.

Yes, the Magister and Ritter were only grade-one lifeforms, but that alone allowed them to stand above all living beings.

To touch the threshold of the Erdritter was not as casual as Romm made it sound.

Grade-two lifeforms were extremely rare in the neighbouring countries. As a level-one Magister and low-rank alchemist, he had a wide range of friends. He knew of only one Edritter-level figure in the surrounding nations.

Grade-two lifeforms were already enough to cause waves among many nations and their millions of citizens.

Although he had only reached the threshold of a grade-two lifeform, Romm was also confident that he could block most of Kareda's attacks.

Although a Ritter could rely on impetus and fly for a short time, that could not even be called flying; it was more like gliding.

It was different for Erdritters. Grade-two lifeforms could break free from the gravity of most planes. Although knights seldom flew, as long as they were strong, they could fully support themselves in the air with massive amounts of impetus.

"Although you've touched the threshold of the Erdritter, you still can't stop me." Kareda boasted, still unconvinced.

Romm couldn't say anything to refute that. Yes, he had just touched the threshold of the Erdritter. With his comprehension of the impetus flight, coupled with his flying cloak, he could only hold off Kareda for some time.

Now, he could only be called a 'future Erdritter', as he was still a step away from becoming a grade-two lifeform. He couldn't block attacks from a Magister that overpowered Ritters.

"Rules of the Sanctum: Grade-one lifeforms or above are not allowed to use their powers in a wide capacity among ordinary lifeforms. Do you really want to violate it?" Romm continued, "Do you really not care about the punishments from the Sanctum?"

Under his grey cloak, Kareda looked back at Audis beneath the clouds. Although the thick dark cloud blocked his vision, his strong mental power was enough to allow him to scan the city below. "I'm already a poor old man." He sighed. He no longer had the tone of confrontation with Romm from before and sounded more like a rickety old man returning home.

"Shalor needs me to do something." Kareda had lived in Shalor for two hundred years, and had spent almost half of his life in this place, so he had deep feelings for the country.

"But what you can do is limited after all. With me present, most of your magic will be blocked," Romm said. He didn't say too much, as he could only block most of the magic, not all.

"Shalor no longer has any Ritters, so the condition is for the two Ritters of Faustian to not to take action." Kareda glanced at the two most prominent figures, that being De Sandro and the other elite from Lion.

Romm pondered for a long time and promised. "Deal!"

That being said, he grabbed the cloak next to him, draped it on his shoulders, and descended from the clouds.

After the new year, Locke, who would be turning 19, saw the most absurd phenomenon he had seen in his life. A knight in armor was flying down from the dark skies.

"What's that?" Locke muttered. Unfortunately, no one around him could answer him.

It wasn't just Locke who was surprised, everyone on the entire battlefield who saw Romm widened their jaws in shock. If they were already awed by the mysterious and unpredictable caster from before, this knight gave an even greater impact on them.

Casters were still very mysterious in the army, but it was different for impetus fighters. Every platoon jarl with a hundred-man unit would be awarded impetus, which allowed most soldiers to see impetus either from near or far.

At this moment, the appearance of Romm sparked the dreams of ordinary soldiers who wanted to practice impetus.

Not long after, the two elites in Faustian's army seemed to have been told something. Both of them stomped their feet onto the ground and after a loud noise, they left two large circular pits in the ground while their bodies flew upwards, disappearing from the battlefield.

At this moment, the battlefield fell into a brief calm.

Whether it was the Shalorian king or other nobles in Audis, even Kenzir, the leader of Faustian's army, could not understand the current situation. What kind of agreement did the figure concealed by the royal family reach with the caster of Shalor? The elites on the battlefield had all left by now.

Not long after, a secret impetus transmission was sent to the prince. After Romm informed Kenzir about the situation, the prince calmly called the herald.

"Pass on the order to attack the city!" The prince shouted loudly.

"Everyone, attack!"

"Attack!"

"Get the catapult ready!"

Commands came from the prince's central tent. At this time, the Faustian army was finally in front of Audis, baring its bloody fangs.

On the other side of the field, Marmen also received the prince's order and called for his herald. "Order the division jarl of 3rd Division to personally lead 1st, 2nd and 5th Companies to attack the west gate, and 3rd, 4th and 6th Companies to attack the north gate. Have the rest stand by for deployment at any time!

"4th Division, gather on the northwest side of the city, and prepare for the second round of offense.

"The catapult and the ballistae are to be pulled over, and cover 3rd Division!"

Although Marmen was not a Ritter, he was better than De Sandro at commanding soldiers. He considered every division and every detail. He was the epitome of a corps jarl.

The troops of Faustian outside the city had charged towards Audis, and the catapults and ballistae had been pushed within range. Ammunition and ballista bolts were loaded and launched into the air.

All the nobles on the wall saw it with their own eyes. The eyes of the Shalorian king were heavier now. It seemed that their guardian did not stop the offense of the Faustians.

The timid nobles all rushed down the wall. The catapults and ballistae wouldn't choose their targets and dealt damage in large swathes. The elites had yet to enjoy life to the fullest, so they didn't want to die just yet.

The king's attendant anxiously tugged at him, desperately calling him to leave this place and take refuge in a safe place. However, the Shalorian king did not take a single step. "Where are the magic cannons? Pull them out! Let's give these Faustian robbers a taste!" he shouted angrily.

Now that the battle was a foregone conclusion, there was nothing to consider. The elderly king was ready to give a painful lesson to these Faustian invaders at the last juncture of his life.

Like the king, Felippe, who stood in the crowd, did not run from the wall like most nobles, but stood in the crowd like a rock.

Most of Shalor's magic cannons were made by Felippe. Although they belonged to Shalor's military in name, those in the know were aware that the authority to use the magic cannon was in the hands of Felippe alone. What's more, he was even the minister of military affairs at this time, and his hold on the army was even stronger than the king's orders.

"Deploy the magicrystal cannons," Felippe said to the figure behind him, a caster supported by his family.

The black silhouette just stayed still, and the news spread as the figure flickered. Not long after, the thick barrels of the cannons protruded from the walls of Audis.

The barrels of the cannons were half a metre in diameter, its dark depths containing the stillness and silence of death.

At this time, the first wave of bombardment arrived. The cannons fired in the south and east of the city where Lion was stationed.

In between, a whole team of Shalor's heavily armored guards walked up to the walls and raised huge shields equal to their height, forming a great steel wall, covering most of the space above the wall.

In addition, the catapults and ballistae that belonged to Shalor were also on the walls. Shortly after the Faustian siege weapons fired, the Shalorians returned fire.

The caster unit that Shalor thought most highly of were not gone either. Dozens of people in various robes appeared on the walls. The elemental fluctuations as a result of the casters' spells was even comparable to Kareda's own.

One by one, the archers and pikemen also took up their weapons and aimed them at Faustian's striking troops, which were getting closer and closer.

On the city wall, the king watched as the stones and giant bolts soaring through the sky slowly enlarged. Now, all he had left was perseverance. As long as he was alive, Shalor would never die!