Axel

Chapter 258: The First Battlefield Duel

Added 2025-02-11 14:08:01 +0000 UTC

Interlaken has completed its labyrinth transformation, requiring 1,800 new residents! During this time, no one may leave the area.

Charlot immediately felt the transformation of the small town into a labyrinth, the fastest such transformation since he mastered Agmirlas’s Labyrinth. However, it was only now that Charlot realized that the three instances of infusing the power of the Evil God Agmirlas also counted toward the labyrinth transformations.

Silver Dove Castle and Machubi Fortress Labyrinth had each undergone three transformations, Mostar Castle had two, and Cappadocia had one. Combined with the three consumed by the infusion of the Evil God Agmirlas’s power, there had already been twelve transformations in total.

With the first transformation, the small town of Interlaken gained pathways to Machubi, Silver Dove Castle, Mostar Castle, and Cappadocia.

Charlot decided to reserve three instances for emergencies; he wasn’t ready yet to unlock a passage to the true Agmirlas Labyrinth!

After completing the labyrinth transformation of Interlaken, Charlot directed his orc warriors to rebuild the small town. The last battle had left the town in ruins, with many residents killed or fleeing, leaving it nearly deserted.

Charlot easily restored Interlaken. For convenience, he ordered the demolition of all the old, low houses in the town. With the orcs' immense strength, they divided the town into five districts and redesigned all the residential areas.

Charlot, in his past life as a math teacher rather than an architect, found it challenging to create original housing designs. However, drawing inspiration from others was not difficult for him. His meager salary as a teacher meant he couldn’t afford a mansion, but he had watched plenty of videos about luxury homes, including some by the likes of Uncle Ai...

Wait, that wasn’t about mansions.

There were others, like the videos from Uncle Ai or luxury-focused commentators. Drawing on those, Charlot’s redesign made the small town of Interlaken look far more refined.

Naturally, a warehouse was indispensable.

While Charlot was busy with these chaotic efforts, the Black Phoenix Dynasty sent three knightly orders to attack Interlaken.

Charlot’s West Wind Knight Order, though it consisted only of elite troops—just over a thousand human soldiers and another thousand or so orc labyrinth defenders—exceeded 3,000 in number when combined.

To put things in perspective, most ordinary knightly orders comprised only a few hundred members. Unless one belonged to a super noble or the royal knight orders, the scale of the West Wind Knight Order was unprecedented. While Charlot’s potential for “rapid troop expansion” was undeniable, his force had already surpassed the norm for knightly orders.

The commander of the Black Phoenix Dynasty dared not underestimate such a strategic force. He dispatched three knightly orders, each consisting of several hundred ordinary knights, totaling around 1,000 men. Their main goal was to pin Charlot’s West Wind Knight Order at Interlaken, preventing its involvement in the main battlefield.

Unaware of the enemy’s strategic objectives, Charlot mistakenly believed these three knightly orders were the vanguard, with reinforcements en route. Far from a keyboard strategist, Charlot couldn’t decipher the enemy’s intentions at all.

To avoid a protracted battle, Charlot launched an all-out attack before the three knightly orders could establish themselves.

The leaders of these orders were all barons. They initially thought this would be an easy fight. Unfamiliar with Charlot’s reputation, they still regarded the West Wind Knight Order as a militia-turned-knightly order. Though puzzled by its sheer size, they dismissed its combat effectiveness.

Any commander with basic military knowledge would assume that conscripted peasants wouldn’t form an effective fighting force. The larger the number, the greater the strain on logistics, with no corresponding increase in combat power.

This assumption wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t account for the fact that the West Wind Knight Order had undergone several battles, significantly enhancing their capabilities. Additionally, Charlot’s 1,000 orc warriors—culled from various orc tribes—were individually formidable.

When Charlot led the West Wind Knight Order out of Interlaken, the leaders of the three knightly orders hesitated, treating Charlot as an inexperienced amateur. They were confident of victory.

Eventually, the Black Phoenix Dynasty’s Baron Regretbird took the lead, riding out with his knights. He called out, “Commander of the West Wind Knight Order, come out for a duel!”

Charlot had never engaged in a battlefield duel before, only a few personal combats in the chaos of war. Excited, he pulled out his Blue Rattlesnake pistol and fired a shot at Baron Regretbird.

He didn’t even use an anti-magic armor-piercing round, opting instead for a blood energy bullet.

The Blue Rattlesnake, a high-tier vampiric pistol, could produce blood energy bullets with a power level up to Tier 15. Charlot, lacking sufficient strength, could only compress a Tier 9 bullet. Still, he hadn’t expected that one shot would blow off Baron Regretbird’s head, killing him instantly.

After the single shot, Charlot felt a twinge of uncertainty. “Did the duel even start?”

Baron Regretbird likely never expected his opponent to wield a high-tier transcendent weapon. His corpse fell to the ground, while the Blue Rattlesnake’s energy magazine gained over 300 blood energy bullets—a “gift” from the baron, condensed from the entirety of his life essence. However, the bullets’ power limit depended on the transcendent tier of the compressor. Given the baron’s quick death, his tier was clearly unimpressive.

Charlot casually holstered the Blue Rattlesnake into his Blood Vortex holster on his left thigh. Switching to his Berserker Blade, he led a charge that routed Baron Regretbird’s knights and pressed onward toward the remaining two knightly orders.

The Black Phoenix Dynasty’s Baron Dimcrow and Baron Rainbowcrane were stunned by Regretbird’s swift demise. Hastily rallying their knights to retaliate, they faced chaos as the fleeing remnants of Regretbird’s forces disrupted their formations. Even Charlot, a military novice, shook his head at their poor response and ordered the West Wind Knight Order to attack.

Before the main clash, the formations of Baron Dimcrow and Baron Rainbowcrane’s forces were scattered. Both barons attempted to leverage their martial prowess to turn the tide, but each was surrounded by three bear warriors—two mid-tier transcendents and one low-tier. Within minutes, both barons were captured alive, and their knightly orders were utterly destroyed.

Concerned that the routed forces might regroup under the Black Phoenix Dynasty, Charlot worked hard to recruit deserters. While many still escaped, around 400 to 500 captives were secured after the battlefield was cleared.

Charlot promptly confined these prisoners in the “warehouse” and transferred them directly to Machubi.