"General..."

  The sudden sound of horseshoes reached Abel's ears, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.

  It was nighttime, so the binoculars in his hand were of no use. He furrowed his brow and lifted his head, straining to see as far as he could.

  A familiar figure appeared in his line of sight, only this figure had a hint of strangeness.

  Bancroft was no longer the spirited and proud man he once was. His face was deathly pale, his clothes were covered in ash, and even his sleeves had a darkened color to them.

  Able's face turned white in an instant, as white as General Bancroft.

  "Legion Commander? You……" Abel's voice trembled with a hint of fear, behind Bancroft were less than a thousand cavalrymen, where had the ten thousand iron knights of the Fourth Legion that once shook Caesar gone?

  "It's settled." The words were forced out of Bancroft's tightly closed lips.

  Although he had a premonition, Abel still felt a pang in his chest when it was confirmed.

  Those ten thousand iron cavalry were the backbone of the Fourth Legion...

  Whether it was Bancroft or he, they had spent countless thoughts and efforts on this cavalry of ten thousand people, and they were as lovely as their own children.

  For ten years of war, this troop has never let them down. No matter how powerful the enemy is, under their overwhelming and invincible impact, they will eventually become defeated. They are the biggest signboard of the Fourth Legion.

  However, today, this unit has already disappeared, and the number of people who can come back is less than one-tenth. Abel's heart was shocked, did the Black Flag Army really have such strong power?

  He looked up, but was taken aback. There was pain and confusion in Bancroft's eyes, even a hint of weakness.

  Abel's heart skipped a beat, and he called out in a low voice: "General, the Fourth Legion is gone, but it can be rebuilt. However, if you lose your confidence, then your path in life will come to an end."

  Bancroft's expression changed and he suddenly understood what his deputy was saying.

  Due to his harsh and severe personality, he had extremely poor relationships with people in the empire. If one day he lost the power in his hands, his ending would be miserable beyond measure.

  He took a deep breath and his grand ambitions seemed to reappear in his eyes.

  "I understand, Abel... thank you."

  "You're being polite." Abel said in a low voice: "Now, what should we do?"

  Although Ban Croft was newly defeated, he had seen the true strength of the Black Flag Army and was familiar with his own troops, so the actions of these 20,000 people were decided by him.

  "Go back..." was almost said without thinking.

  Able took a deep breath, and in that instant, he had already judged that the enemy must be incredibly powerful, otherwise Bancroft, who had just gained the allegiance of 20,000 Life Troopers, would not have chosen to leave.

  It is...

  Suddenly, their faces changed color at the same time.

  From afar, a rumbling sound seemed to be transmitted, faintly and vaguely, as if it were there but not quite, yet in what seemed like an instant, it became clear and audible.

  In the two pairs of eyes that gazed at each other, there was an unspeakable horror, and they both felt a chill run down their spines.

  "Red Ocean?" Abel said suddenly.

  Just by listening to the sound that was getting closer and closer, I knew that the approaching party was a cavalry unit. Their speed was unbelievably fast.

  Within the Great Han borders, in the city of Wulong, there happened to be a cavalry unit renowned for its speed throughout the land.

  The invincible red lion who once made great achievements in the Great Northern War - Red Ocean.

  At this moment, it must be them who have come.

  "Form ranks, heavy infantry holds the center..."

  At this critical juncture, Bancroft quickly regained his former prowess.

  However, unexpectedly, Abel, who had always been obedient, did not immediately execute the order, but instead showed a very ugly expression.

  Bankcroft's heart tightened and he asked: "What's wrong?"

  "The heavy infantry is behind, they haven't caught up yet." Abel replied gruffly.

  A pair of eyes snapped open to their widest, and Bancroft could hardly believe his ears. He stared at the face of his most trusted subordinate, filled with remorse, and suddenly understood the reason.

  Abercrombie, anxious to get into action as soon as possible, reluctantly allowed the 10,000 heavy infantry to advance slowly; he was a cautious man and did not want to make such a mistake today, but it seemed that fate had other plans.

  "They...," Bancroft pointed at the twenty thousand warriors and asked, "What equipment do they have?"

  "Light armor, long spear, sword and bow."

  "Form ranks." Bancroft's face had regained its calmness, and he gave the order in a steady voice.

  "But..."

  "We have no choice." Bancroft cut Abel off coldly.

  The Fourth Legion, seasoned by war and not unworthy of being Caesar's first legion, even in the dim moonlight of this dark night, quickly formed a defensive phalanx with its 20,000 troops.

  Bancroft gazed at Abel, who was silent with a pursed mouth, and thought to himself that although he had been careless for a moment, he still maintained a good distance between the teams during the march, allowing them to adapt quickly if needed; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to form up in such a short time.

  Looking at these solemn but fearless Caesarian warriors, Bancroft's heart was once again filled with fighting spirit. What about the red ocean? Let them fight to the death!

  The hoofbeats gradually approached, like a drumbeat thundering, shaking one's ears and making them want to go deaf.

  Bancroft and Abel eyed each other warily, their battle experience was unparalleled, and they could naturally hear the unusual sound.

  This is clearly the sound of Caesar's most proud heavy cavalry corps galloping forward.

  What left them astonished was that neither army could maintain such a swift speed.

  The Heavy Knights are known as the strongest in the world, precisely because of their terrifying defensive power. The weight of their armor is an extremely harsh requirement for both humans and horses.

  Because the threshold for forming a heavy cavalry corps is too high, even in the Kayser Empire, where the heavy cavalry originated, there are only tens of thousands of such brave warriors.

  "Fireworks..."

  A lone torch was thrown high into the sky, falling in front of the troops, countless torches piled up, forming a towering bonfire that illuminated the dark night sky.

  In the distance, what seemed like an instant, a dense blackness appeared.

  Under the bright flames, the steel on their bodies reflected a heart-pounding flash.

  The fully enclosed armor covered them tightly, like a giant beast wrapped in layers of steel plates, rushing towards them.

  "The Black Flag Army..."

  Almost subconsciously, Bancroft's eyes revealed despair, his face turned pale again, and his heart was filled with fear towards these devil-like soldiers.

  The black ocean did not stop for a moment, and the fire in front of them could not be a reason to block their way.

  The horse gallops and leaps high into the air.

  The knight gallops with his head held high and whistles loudly.

  A deafening explosion shook the air, leaving people's minds reeling in shock.

  The high flames seemed to be torn apart by the air, and suddenly burst into even more dazzling light. A strong gust of wind blew through, splitting the firelight into two pieces.

  The dark sky was suddenly illuminated with a golden red glow, sparks poured down from the horizon, as if those beautiful fireworks were flashing before everyone's eyes.

  Mars dissipated, and a knight emerged from the two thriving and scorching lights. He was the only one among all the enemies who did not wear a helmet.

  In everyone's eyes, time seemed to have stopped at this moment. The horse in mid-air appeared to be slowly falling down.

  "Step..."

  The horse fell heavily, as if it had trampled directly on people's hearts. All the Caesars felt a strange palpitation at the same time.

  "Boom..."

  A loud explosion, flames shooting into the sky, this heap of countless torches finally scattered in all directions. Countless subsequent black-clad knights seemed to have not seen the obstacles in front of them at all, and they charged straight through the flames.

  No sound, no shouting, no loud slogans, they maintained an unbelievable silence from start to finish. In their eyes, the one they followed was the brave warrior who would bring a storm of blood and rain to the world.

  There was a thread of genuine fear in the eyes of the Caesarians, their long spears still stood upright, but their momentum had dropped to freezing point at this moment.

  Before them was a group of heavy cavalry with the speed of light cavalry, what this represented, all old men who had fought on the battlefield were very clear.

  "Release arrow..."

  A loud roar came from the formation.

  Innumerable arrows poured down on the charging knights like rain.

  However, with the sound of clanging, among the advancing knights, there were few who fell down after being shot by arrows. The heavy turtle shell they wore was not lethal enough to cause fatal injuries from this kind of attack.

  Bancroft's heart sank lower and lower, like a man exhausted by drowning, sinking slowly down.

  With such momentum, he can already foresee what the final outcome of this battle will be.

  Five thousand cavalry, he faced only five thousand people. But it was these five thousand people who gave him endless fear and shock.

  In his decades of war experience, there was only one army that could rival him. However, that army was the one he would never be able to grasp.

  Although the upper limit of the number of troops has been only three thousand people since ancient times, it is enough to be mentioned together with any regular army corps of the empire.

  The name of that legion is called the Knights Templar, the strongest and most loyal army dedicated to His Holiness the Pope.

  But today, he is facing five thousand people...

  PS: Since last night, all authors from Zhejiang Province can log in to Qidian to vote, but they cannot log in to the author's exclusive area. It is said that there is a problem with Zhejiang Telecom.

  These two chapters were uploaded by someone else on my behalf. If they cannot be uploaded in the next few days, please forgive me. I will definitely make it up later.

  This is a natural disaster, not heaven's intention, please forgive.

  （）