Loser System and Berserker Me - C.102: Horseman of the Apocalypse

“Long live the Pope!”

“May our Lord bless us!”

The troops stationed in the Eternal City cheered aloud when the Pope appeared on the city walls. With their morale at an unprecedented low after suffering consecutive defeats, having the Pope personally supervise the battle restored some confidence among the soldiers.

That being said, the situation was still horrible.

The Crusade claimed to have an army of 200,000, but many had deserted their posts out of fear after hearing about Shu Yichao’s feats. Right now, no one knew for sure how many soldiers they had left.

Furthermore, they had bunked up in many directions.

To put it positively, they were going on the defensive. To put it bluntly, they were planning to flee at the slightest sway of a blade of grass.

The only troops that Charlemagne could truly mobilize were the 100,000 soldiers stationed outside the city. Most of these 100,000 soldiers could be truly called warriors, but even so, their hearts were plagued with unease, their bodies trembled, and their eyes shifted in fear.

The Scourge of God was too terrifying!

Two weeks ago, they were still drinking themselves silly in their tents and clamoring about when the Crusade was setting off to plunder the wealthy Balkans and Asia. They were looking forward to ‘cleansing’ the people there—they had long heard about how the villagers there were prettier than their Italian women.

Who could have thought that Shu Yichao would knock on their doors in such a short time?

An army of 200,000 vanished just like that. Countless kings and nobles were slain.

My Lord! Is this the end of the world?!

The fact that they didn’t immediately crumble in the face of the blood twin-headed eagle flag was already a sign of their devotion.

“Another bunch of trash.” Charlemagne coldly eyed them. “But the Lord’s encouragement will soon draw out their inner courage.”

Clergymen soon brought holy meals and holy water out to bless the warriors, but of course, only the most elite soldiers had the right to enjoy them.

…

“Hm?” Shu Yichao looked at the map and noticed some movements from the Eternal City.

He took a closer look and noticed a few camps roaring with gusto, their morale higher than ever. Unlike moments ago, they didn’t look like they would crumble at a touch anymore.

“I see they are pretty roused up!” Shu Yichao was delighted.

He had noticed a problem in the last few battles.

His Metal Fortresses were fierce, but their movement speed was unbearably slow. Most of the Crusade soldiers fell apart shortly after the battle began, and they ran fast too. It was difficult for the Metal Fortresses to pursue them.

He had to rely on the Elite Horse Archers he had newly recruited in recent days to chase after escapees, but with only hundreds of them, there was no way he could catch all the escaping soldiers and commanders.

This irked him.

It was like watching money roll away from his pockets.

The good news was that he was now faced with an army with high morale, an army that wouldn’t easily fall apart. This worked excellent for him.

So, Shu Yichao drew his Jeweled Bow and aimed it at the army formation stationed outside the Eternal City.

“Brothers, charge with me!”

He led the terrifying Metal Fortresses on a charge toward the Crusade.

There was a chance that these people’s high morale was just for show and that they would scatter on the first charge, leading to yet another frustrating chase, Shu Yichao decided to take preemptive actions.

He split his army into three. A few Metal Fortresses would gather the attention of the enemies at the center, while the remaining ones would encircle the enemy at their flanks.

Thus, his army morphed into a gigantic but sharp scissors that snipped into the Crusade.

“Hah…” Charlemagne sneered at that sight. “What foolishness and arrogance. Looks like that’s all you amount to. I thought that yet another formidable conqueror had appeared.”

Cavalrymen were formidable troops, but they posed little threat once they slowed down.

Thus, they ought to avoid an army formation of well-trained, densely-packed footsoldiers. Otherwise, they would be doomed if they failed to charge their way out.

It just so happened that the Crusade had the power to slow the Metal Fortresses’ charge.

Charlemagne watched as the Metal Fortresses fiercely gouged into the Crusade. Seconds later, she widened her eyes in disbelief. “…”

It was like a fairy was scattering flowers—blood lotuses blossomed one after another!

Shu Yichao was like an ox with boundless strength. He carried the plows named Metal Fortresses and furiously tilled the fields of the Holy War. All that was left in his wake was chaos, blood, and mud.

“That’s impossible!” Charlemagne blurted out.

Heavy cavalrymen shouldn’t have such charging prowess. Something was very amiss!

Charlemagne tightened her grip on her scepter.

Against such heavy cavalrymen… will I lose this battle?

No, I won’t lose. There’s still the Holy Warriors. They can do it!

“Gahahaha!!!” Shu Yichao laughed excitedly as he and his Metal Fortresses wreaked havoc on the battlefield. “I was right—they are elites! Mobs that don’t try to escape the moment things look bad are more to my appetite!”

Just then, he noticed something amiss on the minimap. “Hm? What’s happening to the Metal Fortresses in the center?”

In the middle of the battlefield…

“For the Lord!”

“For our eternal liege!”

While the Metal Fortresses were stomping the Crusade soldiers, an army of Holy Warriors suddenly charged out with bestial cries. They wore reinforced armor, and they wielded pole arms that reflected a sharp glint.

They were like ferocious tigers crouching in the grass, pouncing out when their prey finally let their guard down. They charged against the slowed-down Metal Fortresses and clashed with them.

Duang!

Many among the first wave of Holy Warriors were sent flying amidst a blood mist. The Metal Fortresses remained unstoppable despite having slowed down.

However, the Holy Warriors were unfazed by the initial setback. They continued to charge at the Metal Fortresses relentlessly until the latter were forced to stop in their tracks.

Then, a brutal physical clash unfolded.

The Holy Warriors fully displayed their strength and savagery. They continued swinging their halberds even when their bodies had been impaled. They rammed against their enemies when their arms were sliced off. They crawled toward their enemies when their legs were sliced off.

The Metal Fortresses found themselves being dragged off their steeds and tripped to the ground before being smashed in the face by hammers.

Casualties slowly started to stack up for the Metal Fortresses.

The sheer brutality of this clash even cleared the heated heads of the surrounding Crusade troops. They kept their distance as they fearfully watched the clash between the metal monsters and the bloodthirsty beasts.

Grar!

When the final Metal Fortress was impaled through his eyes, the Holy Warriors raised their heads to the sky and let out furious howls.

“We won!”

“WE WON!!!”

“My Lord, we’re eternally grateful for your protection!”

The Crusade troops in the center let out deafening cheers. Quite a number of them hugged one another, cried, and even kneeled down to pray.

It really hadn’t been easy.

Those terrifying Metal Fortresses had been a nightmare for the past half a month.

They had been an indomitable force. It was as if they were impervious to all attacks; nothing could hurt them, and nothing could stop their charge. They rampaged freely on the battlefield, laying waste as they deemed fit.

No one knew how to deal with them.

The Holy Romain Empire’s heavy infantry, the mountainous nations’ resilient spearmen, England’s formidable archers, France’s indomitable knights, Milan’s elite footsoldiers…

All of those elite troops had been crushed!

Who could have thought that they would win today? They actually beat down over 200 Metal Fortresses in a direct confrontation on the battlefield!

“They aren’t gods.”

“They die when impaled in the head too!”

In contrast to the Crusade’s celebratory mood, Charlemagne felt like her heart was crushed.

“No! My Holy Warriors!” f𝐫eewe𝚋nove𝗹.𝗰o𝚖

The Crusade only knew that they had emerged victorious at the center, but Charlemagne could clearly see everything from the city walls.

Over half of her 2000 Holy Warriors had died in the midst of taking down those 200 Metal Fortresses. This was a defeat! Should the Holy Warriors be wiped out, the remaining troops would have no way of dealing with those terrifying metal monsters!

Charlemagne felt light-headed.

Meanwhile, Shu Yichao was up to his next move.

“Eh? How did all my troops in the center die? I thought things were going well… Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I have money anyway. Let’s buy another 500 Metal Fortresses!”

The world watched as Shu Yichao tapped his finger in midair, and smoke popped out. Hundreds of Metal Fortresses appeared, just like that.

The surroundings fell silent like a cicada in winter.

“Hrk hurk…”

A Crusade soldier witnessing the magical conjuring of the Metal Fortresses trembled as he let out weird noises. Seconds later, he tossed aside his weapon and ran for his life.

“NO!”

“The Scourge of God is really a Horseman of the Apocalypse!”

Those around him screamed and cried as they ran.

“It’s over!”

“We’re fighting against the Lord’s will! We’ll be going down to hell!”

The tens of thousands of soldiers in the Crusade succumbed to despair.

The Metal Fortresses charged once more, and the Holy Warriors tenaciously fought back yet again. This time, the Holy Warriors were easily overrun due to their accumulated exhaustion and the injuries they had sustained.

“I knew it.” Shu Yichao was rendered speechless when he saw the Crusade troops running in all directions. “No matter how high morale their morale is, they would suffer a mental breakdown in the middle of the battle. That’s such an annoying mechanic. Luckily, I have already covered the flanks, so they won’t be able to escape…

“But speaking of which…” He turned to the city walls. “Isn’t there a highlighted target there earlier? Why did it suddenly disappear? Did it escape?”

Shu Yichao glanced at the minimap—the highlighted target was indeed running. He thought about it and decided to just mark it for now. He would look for it after the battle concluded.

The most important thing now, of course, was to…

“ATTACK!”

The Crusade troops found themselves surrounded in front of the Eternal City. Someone was kind enough to open the city gates for them to flee, but it would still take a long time for tens of thousands of soldiers to enter via the city gates…

The Metal Fortresses first slaughtered everyone trapped outside the city before gushing into the Eternal City. It was almost as if they were the legendary flood that washed out the world.

When the Pope’s flag finally fell, Eternal City Rome was finally conquered!