Chapter 434: Nothing Is More Frightening Than The Unknown [Part 1]

"Raise the shields!" Duran ordered.

A moment later, a blue dome of light rose and covered their entire army.

The attack earlier had taken them by surprise, so he immediately ordered everyone to go on full defense to prevent more people from dying.

Little did he know that this precaution was nothing in front of Otto’s special ability. The Horizon Archer’s attack could bypass all kinds of defenses, including magical shields and barriers.

The only downside was that his attacks would be fifty percent of their full might. Still, that was more than enough to make Duran understand that even behind a shield, they were not safe from his attacks!

As if to make this point glaringly obvious, Otto targeted the flagbearer holding the Black Tortoise General’s banner.

Duran only heard a muffled grunt from his flagbearer before the latter collapsed on the ground, his chest pierced by a crossbow bolt the size of a spear.

The moment the flagbearer fell, panic and anxiety spread among his soldiers.

"Defensive formation!" Duran roared.

He didn’t know whether the spear-like ammunition had shield-breaking properties or not. However, he had to make sure that his people remained calm during this important time.

Suddenly, a screech from the sky reached their ears.

Dominic and his men, who were with the Frontera Viscounty’s private army, immediately raised their heads.

This screech couldn’t be any more familiar to them.

And just as they expected, Zephira appeared. Flying behind her were the Gryphons of the Gryphon Battalion.

Cheers spread across the Britannian Army, thinking the Gryphons had returned to assist them.

But Duran didn’t rejoice like his men and kept an eye on the Gryphons’ formation.

They had been captured by the enemy, so they might’ve been ordered to attack them.

But after watching for a while, he and the rest of the soldiers felt no malice or hostility coming from the Gryphons.

They simply circled the army, as if looking for someone or something.

Through their connection, the Gryphons could pinpoint the location of their riders.

When Zephira locked her gaze on Dominic, a look of relief appeared on her face. She and her subordinates then circled the logistics team once before flying eastward.

Dominic and his men didn’t even think twice as they urged their horses to run after their partners.

These movements caused a commotion at the rear of the army, but no one else broke the formation.

The Black Tortoise General watched Dominic and his men leave, but he made no move to stop them.

After all, if the Gryphons could be freed from their captors, this would be great news to their kingdom.

Dominic and his men would no longer have to worry about their King’s wrath and, at worst, they would still be punished, but it would be lighter.

"Flying monsters!" one of Dominic’s commanders shouted as they pointed toward the sky.

High up in the sky, thousands of meters above the ground, the Pteranodons of the Aslan Tribe, led by the Pteranodon Tyrant ridden by Brent, flew over the Britannian Army.

They were too high up for arrows to reach. Even spells dispersed long before they could reach that height.

The only saving grace was that they were protected by a shield. So, even if these monsters did something, they would all be safe... or at least that was what the Black Tortoise General believed.

Up in the sky, Brent raised his hand.

"Fire in the hole!" Brent shouted.

Daedalus told Leone to tell his men to say this when they dropped the barrels from the sky.

Naturally, Leone had no idea what the grimoire meant. However, he thought that it might be useful as some kind of code during battle.

As soon as the order spread, hundreds of barrels fell from the sky, crashing against the Britannian Army’s magic-powered shields.

And just as everyone expected, the barrels shattered upon impact. Duran had expected some kind of explosion to come from the barrels, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, a strange purple mist started to envelop the dome of the shield that protected them.

The mist spread across the surface of the blue dome, slowly covering it in a thick layer of mist.

More barrels soon followed. And with every impact, more of the strange substance was released.

Soon, the entire magical barrier was covered in a dense, pale fog.

One of the commanders shouted in alarm. "What is this? Poison?!"

He wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Almost everyone did.

Using poison during a war was not unheard of. In fact, poisoning the wells and food of the enemies was a tactic used by every kingdom during wartime.

They were similar to scorched earth tactics, making sure that the invaders wouldn’t be able to obtain any resources from the lands that they were going to conquer.

However, this was different.

If that mist was really poison, then their entire army was doomed!

In that sense, the Britannian Army was lucky.

Leone didn’t dare to use poison against them, fearing that his father and his subordinates would be affected by it.

So, he chose the next best thing... a substance that directly targeted those with magical powers!

"Ugh..." One of the mages maintaining the shield suddenly felt dizzy, nearly collapsing to the ground.

His face was pale, and his breathing became heavier.

"Are you alright?" the soldier beside him asked.

"I’m not alright," the mage replied. "I feel dizzy, and my knees feel weak."

He tried to cast a spell to reinforce his body and strengthen himself.

However, nothing happened.

The mage’s eyes widened. "My mana..."

Duran’s expression changed. He noticed that the mages maintaining the barrier were collapsing one by one.

Even the sorcerer who stood near him was already on his knees, holding his head as if he was in pain.

"What’s wrong?" Duran asked. "Are you hurt?"

"I...I don’t know, General," the sorcerer replied. "I feel nauseous, and I’m showing symptoms of mana deprivation. Yet, I can still feel my mana. It’s just... for some reason, I can’t control it. It is unstable and is making me feel like throwing up."

Suddenly, one of the mages started to puke, which soon set off a chain reaction. Some puked, some fainted, while some collapsed, unable to muster any strength.

Clearly, whatever that purple mist was composed of had seriously affected the magical users of the entire Britannian Army, leaving them vulnerable to Otto’s deadly attacks.