Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 639 - 282, Crossing the Gray Mountain Range (Part 2)

On the mountain peak, the ashes of dozens of Vampire Beasts couldn't stop the knights' steps.

"Is this road always this unsafe?" Laine put away the Warhammer, looking at the ground full of ashes, secretly startled.

Francois was called the "Enemy of the Undead." At first, Laine thought it was due to a great victory he once won.

Now it seemed it wasn't that at all. "Enemy of the Undead" to Francois was not so much a title of honor, but rather the best description of his abilities. The dazzling radiance he emitted was a deadly weapon against Dark Creatures.

Including the Undead, including Chaos Creatures. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Initially, Laine once believed that with the Emperor's Guards dispatched by the Emperor, and the protection of his brother Angerong, he could underestimate the world's powerhouses.

In fact, this world was quite special. Whether it was the strength of the Emperor's Guard or Angerong, they were to some extent suppressed. Including when the Emperor himself was present, to avoid attracting the attention of the Evil God, he couldn't go all out.

And the strength Francois displayed was only slightly weaker than the Emperor's Guards.

The Knight Kingdom had only a handful of Holy Grail Knights with Francois's strength, estimated to be less than five. However, this still sounded the alarm for Laine; despite the world's low-level combat power being vastly different, at the very highest level of combat power, they might not differ much.

Take Akhan, for example. This Witch Demon King, who had roamed the world for thousands of years, managed to escape from the Emperor's hands. Although it was partly because the Emperor was unwilling to go all out, the fact that the Witch Demon King could cast a spell to escape in an instant still illustrated the problem.

Francois didn't know that many thoughts crossed Laine's mind. The Duke sheathed the Unicorn Sword, sighing: "As long as the Eternal Dragon Rock Castle deep in the Path of the Grey Lady is not eradicated, these black creatures will always appear on the mountain path. Not every traveler has our kind of strength, so this road is still too dangerous."

"Does Lord Casvan not have the ability to destroy Eternal Dragon Rock?" Julius asked his father.

"No." Francois shook his head. The Duke himself seemed unwilling to continue on this topic: "Let's hurry forward. Descending along this road, we can reach Ubeseric by tomorrow."

"Yes!"

......

At the same time, in Grenelle Town, Casvan also stood at the high point of the mountain road, gazing at the sprawling army below the high mountain. The Duke himself was full of ambition, and the news of his declaration of war on the Empire spread from the mountains to the coast, from the highlands to the estuaries. Hundreds of Ranger Knights gathered at his call, not many but sufficient.

The young Ranger Knights had great expectations for this war. They praised the Lake Fairy, and their enthusiasm for the expedition filled their young faces. Most knights opened their helmets, revealing their young faces. The colorful capes and various family crests seemed like a huge painting scroll, slowly rolling on the mountain path.

With the newly joined Ranger Knights, the number of knights had surged to over two thousand. Including Casvan's own army, the Duke was convinced that this fifteen-thousand-strong army would sweep away everything.

Casvan was nearly fifty years old. Although his age was still young for a Legendary Powerhouse, the Duke's heart had long aged. Years of arguments with his wife, the annual deficit within his territory, and the friction with the Empire had left him in great distress. Wrinkles had early on etched into the corners of his eyes, and the gray at his temples revealed his exhaustion.

After negotiations with the Empire broke down, Casvan finally gave up on entanglements with the Empire, deciding to resolve the differences by force.

Thunder rumbled on the horizon, clouds shrouded the sky, indicating that it might snow again.

"My Duke, judging by the weather, it might snow in the coming days," Count Karnel, the Duke's Deputy General, caught up on horseback. "Isn't it too hasty to advance at this time?"

"No, it's not hasty. We must move quickly," Casvan calmly shook his head, speaking his judgment. "In this war against the Empire, we're the attackers, and the Empire is on the defense. As long as we don't act, the Empire can rest and prepare, actively defending. The longer we wait, the more unfavorable it will be for us. We must cross the Gray Mountain Range before Carl Franz and his Imperial Army completely fortify several key positions and Hemgart's defense, or else the Empire's artillery and solid military formations will give us a hard time."

"Wise decision, my Duke." The Deputy General was convinced by the Duke's judgment.

"Quick, we must reach Ubeseric by the end of January!"

"Yes!"

"Also, during the march, I don't want to hear any news of plunder or killing our fellow humans. Our opponents this time are human comrades, not those detestable Green Skins and evil Chaos Creatures!"

"This is the Lady's teaching, and the knights understand."

The marching knights did not notice that deep within the clouds, a black dot was slowly moving across the sky.

It was a huge Griffin, possibly the largest Griffin in the history of the Old World, clad in shining armor, with the golden Griffin emblem of the Franz Friedrich Clan hanging on its chest.

The Human Empire's Emperor Carl Franz held the Warhammer Gail-Malaz, conducting reconnaissance in the sky. His mount "Death's Claw" broke through the clouds, soaring in the cold wind. The Emperor wore the "Silver Seal" armor left by Savior Ludwig, holding the symbol of the Human Emperor, Gail-Malaz, with the Rick Territory Prince-Elector's Holy Sword at his waist, weaving through the clouds.