The Red Hand

Chapter 377 – The Massacre Begins.

"C-Charge!" The horrifying sight of the sky going dark had a negative effect on the Demon Army's morale, but somehow they managed to hold together long enough for Melifious' order to advance to sound. Many were terrified but nevertheless, they moved forward, the cavalry leading the charge as thousands of horses and beasts barreled toward the Dumetor Army.

"For the Princess! For the Demon King!" The soldiers let out a battle cry as they readied their spears, hoping to run down the seemingly vulnerable foot soldiers before them. The Dumetorian forces were dwarfed by the massive cavalry charge coming before them, making it look like an absolute slaughter was about to occur. However, the Ninja did not run, panic, or even flinch as the cavalry onslaught approached. Rather, they stood perfectly still, waiting for orders, ready to do as their Lord wished.

*CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP*

*CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP* *CLOP*

Thousands upon thousands of hoofs and feet clacked and clattered across the open field, nothing in their path as they approached Akagi and her forces. Ordinarily, such a position would spell doom for those in the way, as unprotected infantry would be easily ran down and annihilated, and as Ariel and the other members of leadership watched from afar, they prayed for a miracle. They prayed that Akagi's forces would be crushed beneath the feet of thousands of beats. However, this world was now devoid of such miracles, and with one single word, Akagi extinguished what little hope of victory remained in Ariel's heart.

"Die." Akagi smirked, and a moment later, black spikes shot out from the ground in front of the charging cavalry, skewing both beat and rider in one sift stroke.

*SLICE* *SPIKE* *NEIGH* *SPLAT* *SCREAM*

Despite what one might expect, this attack was not the work of Akagi's direct influence. Rather, the Ninja had carefully prepared for a frontal attack by these beats, and a few given dedicated anti-cavalry roles. As the wave of attackers approached a small group of Ninja placed their hands on the ground and channeled dark power from the tips of their fingers into the earth below. This power quickly spread out underground like a spider's web and created the perfect weapon to stop what seemed like an unstoppable charge as it burst through the surface like a sea of spikes.

Screams echoed throughout the Simoea plains, and blood slashed everywhere. In an instant, thousands of men and mounts died, their bodies strewn high into the air as blood ran across the battlefield like a river. Those who were not instantly killed by the attacks quickly found themselves on the receiving end of subsequent spikes, and in a matter of moments, every single member of the charging force was either dead or dying.

It was a truly horrific sight to behold, one that left Ariel and the other watching Elector-Kings sick to their stomach. Mounts, some of which weighed close to one ton, had been run through like small game, men could be heard screaming in agony as their body was penetrated by dozens of shadow spikes, and copious amounts of red blood flowed from their bodies, glinting in the red light of the now blotted out Sun. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare, and witnessing some of their best and most elite units so utterly annihilated without having even reached the enemy lines caused panic as other men began to flee the battlefield in a blind panic.

“I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!” (Soldier A)

“WE SHOULD”VE NEVER FOUGHT A DEMON LORD!” (Soldier B)

“MOMMY!” (Soldier C)

“STOP! DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK TO THE ENEMY!” Ariel called out to the routing men, however it was no use. While many remained, likely motionless out of terror

{This... What have we...} (Ariel)

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Halifax POV>

{Well, I suppose that's one way to open a battle...} (Halifax)

*CLANG*

"Are you sure you have time to be looking away from your opponent?" Penelope said after shooting an arrow at Halifax, which was easily deflected. "I'd keep your eyes firmly on me and not what you're new Master and her minions are doing." She said as she shot another arrow that was deflected. “Unless you think I'm so beneath you that I'm not worthy of your full attention?”

{As I know all too well ignoring the Penelope does not make the Penelope go away!} (Arcus)

{Quiet you.} (Penelope)

"Correction, Akagi isn't my Master." Halifax sighed as she tried not to take the Demi-God's words seriously. "She's my friend. I serve nobody. I am not wielded by anyone, and I'm my own person."

{I control my own fate, that was my promise to myself... My promise to Sherry.} (Halifax)

"I don't care what you call your relationship with the monster is." Penelope said as she drew back her bow even further, forming a large, blue, flaming arrow. "You're a traitor, Halifax, and I'll be bringing you and her to justice right here..." She fired the arrow, which exploded upon impact with Halifax's blade in a shower of blue fire that engulfed her entirely. "And right now."

{There will be no hesitation, no quarter, nothing. I'll bring you down and bring your broken blade to Lady Reflia. I have no choice.} (Penelope)

"Was the dramatic pause really need?" Arcus asked. “Or was that you just being vain again?”

"Hush, I need to focus on the battle at hand. Keep the commentary focused on helping me win" Penelope said as she kept an eye on Halifax's position by sensing her energy.

"What? But didn't your direct hit kill her?!?" Arcus asked sarcastically.

"Even though I know that you're being an ass, I still find myself insulted by the notion that I'd be harmed by such an impotent blast." Halifax swung her blade, pushing away the fire, and dust kicked up by Penelope's attack. “Its going to take a hell of a lot more than that to even put a scratch on me.”

"Your inability to die always has been your strong suit!" Arcus said with a laugh.

"I try." Halifax smirked, appreciating Arcus' witty words. "But seriously, Penelope. Do you really think you can beat me on your own?" She asked as she readied her blade, holding it at her side. "You should know that it takes a lot to keep me down, and while I know you're strong..." Halifax flashed forward in an instant, baring down on Penelope, who blocked her sword with Arcus' body.

*BANG*

The sudden collision sent a shock wave out from the impact, cracking the ground and causing electricity to crackle around the two of them as their weapons collided.

"Do you really think you're strong enough to beat me?" Halifax said as she pressed her attack, swinging her blade in a rhythmic pattern that was blocked and deflected by Arcus' body as Penelope moved it to block.

"Strong enough? Maybe, maybe not." Penelope answered as she shoved Halifax away. "But I don't think I need to be stronger than you to win..." She smirked as she gripped Arcus on both ends of the bow's shaft, pulling him apart as he morphed and twisted into gauntlets that around her hands. "And I'm definitely more prepared for this fight than you think!" She roared as she punched Halifax, who barely managed to block her attack with her blade.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Penelope unleashed a furry of punches, each of which sent shock waves out from the point of impact, rattling Halifax's entire body upon each hit.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"Since when can Arcus transform like that?!?" Halifax asked as she continued to block and deflect Penelope's punches.

{Did that bastard get an upgrade?!?} (Halifax)

"Oh, I can do a lot of things. My repertoire of skills includes archery, cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and being used to smash people in the face and knock their teeth out! Among other things!" Arcus laughed as the Demi-God continued her attacks. “I'm even working on my stand up career!”

"Remind me to dump you in some mud after we finish this." Penelope grumbled about his babysitting

{Am I wrong though?} (Arcus)

{...} (Penelope)

"While I'll admit that Arcus' little ability is unexpected and will make this a bit hard, I wouldn't go warming up for that victory speech just yet!" Halifax scoffed as she counter-attacked, locking Penelope in place with her blade as she pinned her down by smashing against the gauntlets. "I'd say that you're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren't you? I here thought I was the one who was always too focused on the future!" She shot back an insult that Penelope had flung her way in the past.

"Fine! Then go ahead and prove me wrong, traitor!" Penelope roared as she sent an electrical pulse through her gauntlets, causing a minor explosion that pushed the two away, followed by the Demi-God unleashing a barrage of arrows from the tips of her fingers that screamed toward Halifax at lightning speed.@@novelbin@@

{He can attack at range even while transformed?!?} (Halifax)

With the high number of arrows, Halifax activated her precognition, dancing between each attack as she made her way across the battlefield toward Penelope. But rather than look worried, the Demi-God cracked a smile as the Divine approached her.

"Good, now its time to exploit that little weakness of yours." Penelope cocked a smirk as she deftly avoided Halifax's incoming blade, slamming her fist into the Divine Blade's face and sending her flying across the battlefield.

{What?!?} (Halifax)

"Are you surprised?" Penelope said as she threw more arrows toward Halifax, who deflected and blocked them all.

"How?" Halifax growled as she rolled out of the way of more arrows, deflecting few as well as send some back toward the Demi-God. "You didn't move at all in my future sight! How did you do that?" She'd been watching to see what action Penelope would take in the future with her ability, but the Demi-God seemed not to move at all. It was eerily similar to how Akagi'd defeated her, but she could tell that this was something different.

{Penelope's not able to pull that out calculation bullshit like Akagi can, and she's definitely not on the kind of power level where she'd move faster than I could react, so why didn't I see any reaction? Why did my precog not work?} (Halifax)

"Did you really think I'd go into battle with you without some kind of countermeasure to your most irritating ability?" Penelope said as she pointed to a small node on the back of her gauntlets. "I'm no fool. Fighting you when you can literally see everything I'm going to do is an exercise in futility, and I'm painfully aware that you have more physical and magical power than I do so attempting to out power you is also equally stupid." She flicked her wrists to shake off a bit of the pain from Halifax's prior blows. Penelope was by no means a slouch in combat, but compared to Halifax the difference was night and day. One was a being made specifically for battle, and the other was a woman trained to fight. There could be no comparing the two in terms of combat ability and both understood that. “So I borrowed something from Hilare to cloak me from that stupid ability of yours. I figure that at least this way I'll have a chance rather than be doing the equivalent of attempting to swim up a water fall.”

{Not good. If she can block my ability to see her future, that's going to irritating. I guess that means I'll have to solely rely on my forms, experience, and reaction time to win this. I've definitely got the upper hand in all three of those things, but there's no telling what else she's got up her sleeve. I may end up even needing to go all out if it comes to it.} (Halifax)

"Are you worried?" Penelope asked as she clanged her fists together, creating electrical sparks that cracked around her. "Without your little ability, I'd say that you're a lot less threatening."

{About 25% less to be exact.} (Arcus)

"If you think that not being able to see the future means that I'm helpless..." Halifax said as she activated Astéri, causing her hair to change to red and her entire body to form an outline of fire around it. "Then you have no idea what I'm capable of, Penelope."