The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Unexpected Reinforcements

The battlefield had changed considerably since the first clash.

What had begun as an orderly exchange between two armies had gradually descended into a brutal struggle where formations were beginning to break apart and individual soldiers were being forced into fights for survival.

The D’Averon army was still holding.

Barely.

From a distant hill overlooking the battlefield, several figures watched the fighting in silence.

Nyxaria stood at the front, her gaze fixed on the battlefield below.

Beside her stood Valentine.

Behind them were three of the Ten Reapers—Zyra, Vanessa, and Hidan—while fifty elites waited several steps farther back.

Twenty of them belonged to the Harbingers.

The remaining thirty were Watchers.

Unlike the soldiers fighting below, none of them carried the appearance of ordinary troops.

Their Eclipse attire covered most of their bodies, with long robes falling around them and dark markings associated with their respective divisions. Their faces were partially concealed beneath their garments, leaving only their eyes visible.

The attire of the three Reapers was more distinct.

Their long robes carried the mark of the Reapers across their backs, while their faces were almost completely hidden beneath their hoods.

Nyxaria and Valentine were different.

As two of the Seven Crowns, their attire was more elaborate and carried an unmistakable presence that separated them from the Reapers and the elites behind them.

Yet neither of them spoke for several moments.

They simply watched.

Below, another D’Averon soldier fell.

Nyxaria’s eyes narrowed.

"Should we move in?"

Valentine remained silent for a moment.

"The situation has become worse earlier than I expected."

Her gaze followed the center of the battlefield.

The D’Averon forces were being pushed backward.

Their soldiers were still fighting desperately, but their numerical disadvantage was beginning to show. Every time one section managed to stabilize, another was forced to retreat.

"Yeah," Nyxaria said quietly. "If we delay any longer, their numbers will be reduced too much."

She looked toward the fifty elites.

"We’re moving."

The elites immediately straightened.

Nyxaria’s voice remained calm.

"Prepare to engage."

All fifty lowered their heads.

"Yes, Lady Nyxaria."

"If any of you fail to follow your orders, abandon your position without authorization, or unnecessarily endanger the mission..."

Her eyes moved across them.

"...you will receive your punishment when we return."

There was no hesitation.

"Understood."

The fifty answered together.

Nyxaria nodded.

"Good."

Valentine glanced toward her.

"You really don’t need to threaten them every time."

"They’re more motivated when I do."

Valentine gave a quiet laugh.

"You’re terrible."

Nyxaria ignored her.

Her eyes returned to the battlefield.

Below them, the D’Averon soldiers were still fighting.

And among them were Count D’Averon and his two sons.

The battlefield had become a completely different place.

The first exchange had been almost orderly.

Now there was no such thing.

Broken shields littered the ground.

Several banners had fallen into the mud.

Horses ran without riders, while wounded soldiers crawled away from the center of the fighting, desperately trying to reach their own lines.

The sound of steel striking steel echoed across the field.

One of the D’Averon High-Ranking Knights was locked in combat with one of Velmorne’s knights.

Their swords collided with enough force to send sparks flying.

The D’Averon knight stepped forward and swung horizontally.

His opponent blocked.

The impact forced both of them backward.

"You’ve gotten stronger," the enemy knight said.

The D’Averon knight wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"So have you."

Neither waited.

They charged at each other again.

Their blades crossed.

The two High-Ranking Knights fought with far greater speed and precision than the ordinary soldiers surrounding them, their movements becoming difficult for the weaker fighters nearby to follow.

Elsewhere, Adrian was engaged in another brutal exchange.

His sword blocked an incoming strike before he twisted his body and counterattacked.

The enemy knight barely avoided the blade.

Adrian immediately followed with another strike.

"Don’t let him through!"

One of the D’Averon soldiers shouted.

Several men moved to reinforce Adrian’s position.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Hans was fighting alongside the cavalry.

His horse had already been forced away from him after the first charge, leaving him to fight on foot.

He raised his sword and blocked an attack before driving his shoulder into the enemy soldier’s chest.

The man staggered.

Hans finished the exchange with a quick strike before turning toward the next opponent.

"Keep moving!"

His voice was nearly drowned out by the chaos.

"Don’t let them surround us!"

He looked toward the center.

The D’Averon line was slowly being pushed back.

This isn’t good.

Hans gritted his teeth.

They’re sending more men toward the center.

He had expected the enemy to have the advantage in numbers.

What he hadn’t expected was how quickly that advantage would begin affecting the battlefield.

At the center of the fighting, Count D’Averon was locked in combat with one of Velmorne’s High-Ranking Knights.

The enemy knight swung downward.

Count D’Averon raised his sword.

CLANG!

The force of the impact shook his arm.

He immediately stepped to the side and countered.

His blade passed close enough to the knight’s shoulder to tear through part of his armor.

The knight staggered backward.

Count D’Averon didn’t pursue recklessly.

He watched his opponent carefully.

He’s strong.

Another exchange.

Their swords collided again.

Four High-Ranking Knights under Velmorne, five under Randale.

His eyes briefly moved across the battlefield.

Two were already occupied with his own knights.

One was fighting Adrian.

Another was somewhere near the western flank.

And Randale’s remaining knights were beginning to pressure the D’Averon formation.

We don’t have enough people.

He blocked another attack.

Our soldiers are being worn down faster than theirs.

The thought irritated him.

He had known their numbers were inferior.

But seeing it happen in front of him was different.

Every soldier they lost represented another gap in the formation.

Every gap required another soldier to fill it.

And there simply weren’t enough men to keep doing that forever.

If the battle continues like this, we’ll eventually collapse.

Count D’Averon pushed his opponent back.

His sword flashed forward.

The enemy knight barely blocked.

Their blades slid against one another.

Count D’Averon stepped closer.

"You should have thought twice before coming here."

The knight smiled beneath his helmet.

"You’re the one who should be thinking about surrender."

Count D’Averon’s expression hardened.

"I’ll never surrender my territory to men like your lord."

The knight laughed.

"Then die defending it."

He attacked again.

Count D’Averon met the strike head-on.

Count D’Averon was still locked in combat with the High-Ranking Knight before him when something completely unexpected happened.

At first, it was only a strange movement at the edge of his vision.

Then another.

Then several more.

Figures dressed entirely in black suddenly emerged from among the battlefield, appearing as though they had been hiding within the chaos itself. Their long robes moved with the wind, their faces almost completely concealed beneath their Eclipse attire, and the strange markings on their clothing were unlike anything Count D’Averon had seen among the armies gathered on the field.

His opponent also noticed them.

Both men stopped for the briefest moment.

"W-What the..."

Count D’Averon’s eyes widened.

For a moment, he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

They hadn’t been there before.

There was no formation approaching from the rear, no banner announcing their arrival, and no sound of marching troops that could have warned anyone of their presence.

They had simply appeared.

The High-Ranking Knight immediately raised his sword.

"Enemies!"

The shout spread through the nearby soldiers.

Several knights turned toward the newcomers, while soldiers instinctively tightened their grips around their weapons.

"Who are they?!"

"Where did they come from?!"

"Are they reinforcements?!"

"Don’t let them get through!"

The battlefield shifted almost immediately.

The soldiers closest to the newcomers began moving toward them, believing that they were some kind of hidden force sent by the D’Averon family.

Then one of the black-clad figures stepped forward.

It was a young woman.

Her deep violet hair flowed from beneath her hood, and her eyes remained completely calm despite the dozens of soldiers surrounding her.

She slowly raised one hand.

Dark energy began gathering around her palm.

The soldiers closest to her hesitated.

"What is she doing?"

"Magic?"

"No... that’s not ordinary magic."

The air around the woman began to distort.

A strange violet radiance gathered in her hand, growing denser and brighter until the energy suddenly took shape.

A sword appeared.

It wasn’t forged from steel.

It was formed entirely from condensed Eclipse Power.

The moment the weapon manifested, the surrounding soldiers instinctively stepped backward.

The woman tightened her grip.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Then she swung.

A massive violet arc erupted from the blade.

It tore across the battlefield with overwhelming force, cutting through the line of soldiers in front of her before they could even react.

Several men were struck simultaneously.

Armor split.

Bodies were thrown apart.

The ground itself was carved by the force of the attack.

The soldiers who witnessed it froze.

One man stared at the destruction with his mouth hanging open.

"W-What..."

Another stumbled backward.

"That wasn’t a sword strike..."

Someone else screamed.

"GET BACK!"

But it was already too late.

The woman’s violet blade remained in her hand as she slowly lowered it.

Then she turned the sword slightly.

It was a signal.

The black-clad figures behind her moved.

"Attack."

The Eclipse forces surged forward.

The battlefield erupted once again.

"What is happening?!"

Count Velmorne stared toward the sudden chaos in disbelief.

The expression of confidence that had remained on his face throughout the battle disappeared almost instantly.

"Who are those people?!"

One of his commanders hurried toward him.

"They appeared without warning, my lord!"

"Appeared?!"

Velmorne’s voice rose.

"Do you expect me to believe an entire group of soldiers simply appeared in the middle of the battlefield?!"

The commander swallowed.

"We don’t know who they are."

Velmorne looked toward the black-clad figures cutting through his soldiers.

"Could they be D’Averon’s private soldiers?"

"No, my lord."

"Then what are they?"

The commander hesitated.

"...Assassins?"

Velmorne’s expression darkened.

"Assassins don’t fight like that."

Another violet flash crossed the battlefield.

More of his soldiers were thrown aside.

Velmorne’s face tightened.

"What the hell are they?"

Count D’Averon was equally stunned.

He had fought countless battles throughout his life.

He had witnessed powerful knights.

He had seen mages destroy entire formations.

He had even encountered individuals whose strength exceeded what ordinary soldiers could comprehend.

But that attack...

He couldn’t explain it.

What kind of power was that?

The woman had created a sword from nothing.

Not only that, but the amount of energy contained within it had been enormous.

And she had released it with a single swing.

Who are these people?

The Eclipse forces continued advancing.

Their movements were organized despite the chaos surrounding them.

They didn’t behave like ordinary mercenaries.

They didn’t scream.

They didn’t panic.

They simply moved forward, cutting through the enemy formations with frightening efficiency.

The enemy soldiers who had been advancing only moments ago were now beginning to retreat.

"My lord!"

Count D’Averon turned.

Captain Rodan approached him, still holding his sword.

"The enemy’s advance has slowed considerably."

"I can see that."

Rodan looked toward the newcomers.

"But... do you know them?"

Count D’Averon shook his head.

"No."

"You requested reinforcements, my lord."

"I know."

Rodan looked confused.

"But I thought we hadn’t received any."

"We didn’t."

The captain stared at the battlefield.

"Then who are they?"

Before Count D’Averon could answer, two figures approached from among the black-clad soldiers.

One was a young woman with long dark hair, while the other walked beside her with an equally calm demeanor.

Their faces were partially concealed by their distinctive Eclipse attire.

They stopped several steps away from Count D’Averon.

The dark-haired woman inclined her head slightly.

"Count D’Averon."

The Count immediately raised his sword slightly.

"Who are you?"

The woman didn’t seem bothered by his suspicion.

"Don’t mind us. We were simply passing by."

Count D’Averon’s expression twitched.

"Passing by?"

He looked toward the battlefield behind them.

One of the enemy soldiers was thrown several meters through the air.

Another violet flash tore through a formation.

Then he looked back at her.

"You’re passing by?"

The woman smiled.

"Something like that."

Count D’Averon stared at her.

How can someone this young possess that kind of strength?

She couldn’t be much older than his youngest son.

Yet the pressure he felt from her was unlike anything he expected from someone her age.

Rodan seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"My lord..."

He lowered his voice.

"These people..."

The woman looked toward him.

"We are the Eclipse Order."

Count D’Averon’s eyes widened slightly.

"The Eclipse?"

He had heard that name before.

Not recently.

But enough times that the memory immediately returned.

"The organization that appeared during the corrupted creature incidents..."

Rodan’s expression suddenly changed.

"Wait."

He looked at the black-clad soldiers fighting across the battlefield.

"Could it be them?"

Count D’Averon remained silent.

Then he remembered.

"Last time..."

His eyes narrowed.

"They saved us as well."

Rodan looked stunned.

"So these people are..."

"Yes."

Count D’Averon slowly lowered his sword.

"The Eclipse Order."

The woman smiled faintly.

Valentine, standing beside Nyxaria, looked toward the battlefield.

"Seems like we don’t need to worry about them."

She watched the Eclipse forces advancing.

"Even with those numbers, they’ll be fine as long as they aren’t overwhelmed."

Nyxaria nodded.

"Exactly."

The Count and the surrounding knights remained confused.

They had expected reinforcements.

Instead, an unknown organization had appeared in the middle of their battlefield and was now pushing back an army several times its size.

And they had no idea how many more of them were hidden nearby.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the situation had become even more chaotic.

A woman with violet hair moved through the enemy formation.

Her weapon was no longer a sword.

A massive scythe had appeared in her hands.

She swung it once.

The enormous blade passed through several soldiers.

The force of the strike sent bodies crashing into the ground as the soldiers around her froze in terror.

"What is that woman?!"

"She’s cutting through them like they’re nothing!"

"Fall back!"

The woman didn’t answer.

She simply continued walking.

Every movement was controlled.

Every swing of the scythe created another opening.

The enemy soldiers tried surrounding her, but none of them could approach without immediately being forced backward.

Several knights watched from a distance.

"Impossible..."

"This can’t be happening."

"How are these people this strong?"

The battlefield had become a nightmare for Velmorne’s forces.

But the most intense fight was taking place elsewhere.

Hidan stood in front of a High-Ranking Knight.

The knight’s sword came crashing down with tremendous force.

Hidan raised his own weapon and caught the blow.

CLANG!

The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly.

The knight’s eyes widened.

He stopped that?

He pushed harder.

His muscles tightened as he poured aura into his sword.

Yet Hidan remained standing.

The young man’s expression hadn’t even changed.

The knight’s face became increasingly unsettled.

"Impossible..."

He pulled his sword back.

"How can you withstand my strength?"

Hidan tilted his head slightly.

The knight’s breathing became heavier.

Even with aura, he doesn’t seem to be struggling.

Hidan looked at the man’s sword.

Then he looked back at him.

"Is that everything you’ve got?"

The knight’s expression darkened.

"Don’t underestimate me!"

He suddenly released a burst of aura.

His sword flashed with a reddish glow as he swung with everything he had.

The force of the attack tore through the air.

Hidan simply moved.

The blade passed beside him.

The knight’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

Hidan stepped forward.

His sword immediately came toward the knight’s chest.

The knight barely managed to block.

CLANG!

The impact forced him several steps backward.

He stared at Hidan in disbelief.

He’s faster than me?

Hidan didn’t give him time to recover.

He attacked again.

The knight blocked.

Again.

And again.

Each strike forced him farther backward.

His arms began trembling.

"Impossible..."

Hidan’s expression remained completely calm.

The knight gritted his teeth.

Then his eyes shifted toward the battlefield.

His expression changed when he saw another group of Eclipse soldiers cutting through his army.

"Hey!"

He shouted toward the nearby soldiers.

"What are you doing?!"

His voice became furious.

"Kill those people!"

He pointed toward the Eclipse forces.

"Don’t let them slaughter our troops!"

But Hidan’s sword was already coming toward him again.

The knight barely raised his weapon in time.

CLANG!

His eyes widened.

He had forgotten one important thing.

He was still fighting someone who had yet to show his full strength.

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