"Ahhhh!"
A Knight was caught off guard, his entire faceplate corroded and collapsed by acid, metal and flesh smoking, charred, and collapsing together.
Yet he did not take a step back. Instead, he gritted his teeth and roared with a twisted voice:
"I’ll block the way! You all go!"
He raised his shield high, like a burning iron wall, standing at the only exit, using his scorched arm to firmly press the fire shield against the collapsing edge, blocking the rushing tide of Insect Corpses!
His whole body was smoking, his figure swaying in the firelight, yet remained unmoving, like a gatekeeper unmoved even by death.
The last few Knights dragged his body out of the tunnel, a thunderous explosion shaking the ground behind, the entire Insect Nest tunnel collapsing like a volcanic eruption, engulfing everything!
Scorching airwaves swept out, throwing them high into the air, landing heavily.
Behind them, a fiery underground collapse soared into the sky, like a monster’s heart being uprooted from its roots.
They did it.
And outside, the battlefield abruptly transformed.
The Insect Corpse Legion, which had advanced like a terrifying tide, completely collapsed in the instant of the explosion.
It was as if they were pierced through the central nervous system by a spiritual blade.
One by one, the monsters suddenly paused, convulsed, whimpered, their eyes lost their glimmer, but were filled with a frenzied murkiness.
The once stern military formation instantly disintegrated, those Insect Corpses that had once terrified the Knights, now crazily crashed, staggered, and rolled over, crushing themselves and their kindred into the mud.
Severed limbs, broken bodies, blood, and organs mixed together, forming a disgusting swamp of blood.
Amid the Insect Tide, screams, shrieks, chewing noises, and the sound of bone shattering merged into a symphony of Hell.
And at this moment, no one on the battlefield gave the order to attack.
Because everyone was witnessing this in shock.
Even the battle-hardened Frost Halberd Knights had never seen such madness, such horror.
Louis stood quietly on the platform, his gaze fixed on the battlefield.
But there was not a hint of wavering in his eyes, instead... a deeply hidden brightness emerged.
"It’s done."
His tone was calm, as if confirming a long-expected result.
"Everyone, retreat along the planned route."
He ordered the Banner Soldier beside him, "Pull back the encirclement, build the defensive line, no need for further attacks."
The flags waved, the orders followed like shadows. The Knight Orders on the front line swiftly and orderly withdrew from the battlefield, like a receding tide, without the slightest panic.
Yet, standing beside him, Duke Edmund was initially still not fully responsive.
He watched the Insect Tide slaughtering each other, frowning: "What’s happening? Why are they suddenly killing each other?"
Then his gaze flickered, recalling the deafening explosion just now.
The pieces of the puzzle instantly fit together, everything became clear.
Could it be... the Nest, was blown up?
And with the Nest blown up, the Insect Corpses lost control and went completely mad.
He turned his head to look at Louis, the young man’s appearance still unchanged by the dust of battle, his black hair turned gray by the fire, his expression steady, no joy, no pride, as if everything was as expected.
He did it? Really did it?!
"All with that ’Flame Cutting’? With just one strike? A small team of Archers and Knights?"
Edmund did not show the storm surging in his heart but his gaze lingered for a long time on the young man’s back.
He never underestimated Louis.
From the campaign at Qingfeng Ridge, he had felt this young man was extraordinary.
With courage and decisiveness, although there was luck, there was also situational wit and battlefield perception.
At that time, he already had the assessment in his heart: This is a good seed that can be nurtured, and may become a pillar of the Northern Territory in the future, which is why he married his daughter to him.
But the Duke did not expect, Louis’s brilliance is not in the future but in the present.
Louis’s calm and composure is not a facade.
His strategic calculation is not by chance.
The means to grasp the battle situation, the calm decision to sever the enemy’s command, far exceeded the potential category, rather—truly someone who can command.
"I see." He sighed softly, his expression complex.
For the first time in his heart, Duke Edmund truly let go of the condescension of the nobility elder.
Replacing it was a complex, serene respect.
The chaos after the Insect Tide lost control did not last long.
The Insect Corpses, losing the Nest’s command, like empty shells drained of souls, after a burst of frantic struggle, began to rapidly "self-digest."
Hundreds of thousands of Insect Corpses, in a very short time, were reduced to just a ground of bloody mud and broken armor.
When silence returned to the world, Louis finally gave a low order: "Clean up the battlefield, assess the casualties."
But when the assessment results were reported, Louis fell silent.
The Red Tide Knight Order, three Elite Knights perished, twelve Official Knights died in battle.
Although it was a very good loss ratio, he still felt somewhat sorrowful.
Among them, some were those who initially trekked across the Snowfield, crossing the Northern Territory with him, and some... were joking and laughing with him just last night.
The blood mist on the battlefield had not yet dissipated, and the flames still danced in the embers.
The Knights returned to the array with wounded bodies, their fire shields burnt through, their armor charred black, yet they stood straight as ever, the sorrow and pride visible on their faces.
They knew they had won, and also knew the cost of this victory.
And at this time, Edmund noticed one thing:
Louis did not show any joy.
He just stood there, slightly frowning, looking at the ruins of the Insect Nest for a long time without speaking.
As if to him, this victory was not perfect, and even... regrettable.
"Not satisfied with this?!" Edmund’s heart trembled slightly.
If it were someone else, after destroying the Nest and annihilating the Insect Tide, even the most composed would have breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced, yet he did not.
Not feigned calmness, but genuinely felt: there could be a better solution, there could be warriors saved.
This strictness makes him feel the younger generation is truly formidable.