Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 120 Enemies spotted!

"Th-they're coming this way!"

"What?"

"They're charging straight at us!"

In the next instant, Colin lifted his head, his eyes widening in shock. Justin's group wasn't running—they were sprinting toward them.

As confusion spread among Victor's forces, Justin's voice rang out from the hill, his words chilling.

"Kill them all! Don't leave a single one alive!"

"...!"

The killing intent in Justin's shout sent a wave of fear through Colin's body.

The sound of Nathan's whistle pierced the air.

His summoned Pegasus unfurled its wings and soared into the sky, the majestic sight only adding to the eerie atmosphere. But what followed was far more terrifying—an onslaught of arrows rained down.

Thud!

"Gah!"

One of Victor's pioneers, still gazing up at the Pegasus, was hit by an arrow. His body convulsed before collapsing to the ground. The person next to him turned pale, the sight of their fallen comrade freezing them in place.

"This is insane...!"

"A-attack! Fight back!"

But despite their leader's frantic orders, Victor's forces were in disarray. And by then, Justin's group had already closed in, their mages and archers within striking range.

Justin, standing with his mages, stopped, calmly issuing commands. "Black Missile."

"Energy Bolt!"

Boom! Boom!

"Aagh!"

Justin fired first, his spell striking down one of the pioneers instantly. Another fell to the combined attacks of his mages. Before the melee had even begun, three enemies had already fallen.

Now, Derek and the other front-liners charged in, bloodlust in their eyes.

At the front of the charge, cutting down pioneers left and right, was Derek. His overwhelming presence shattered the morale of their enemies, and soon the opposing group began to scatter in all directions.

"Aaaah! Noooo!"

"Don't run! Fight them!"

"Shut up! You fight them by yourself!"

It seemed the leader's orders no longer reached his subordinates. Instead, his own pioneers hurled curses back at him. As the leader stood there, stunned, Derek closed in.

"Hey, there," Derek greeted, a menacing grin on his face.

"You bastard!" the leader spat, raising his black shield just in time.

BOOM!

"Aaaargh!"

The leader managed to block Derek's thunderous hammer with his shield, which seemed to be a dungeon reward, as it didn't break. But the damage was far worse—the sheer force of the impact shattered both of his arms.

"Spare me...!" he begged, but before he could finish, Rachel's flail struck him down. His pleas silenced.

The only ones left now were the pioneers who had lost all will to fight. Normally, Justin's group might have let them go, but not this time.

"Chase them! Kill every last one of them!"

"Nooo! Stay away!"

Three Kingdoms

are separated by several hundred years. Both eras were full of warlords and renowned generals, but there's one key difference."

"Difference?"

"In

Three Kingdoms

, you don't see the same kind of battles where someone like Xiang Yu single-handedly overcomes impossible odds. Even though there were many famous generals, none of them pulled off what he did. Do you know why?"

"Because Xiang Yu was just that great?"

"That's part of it. But many historians now believe it's because the training of soldiers changed."

In Xiang Yu's time, it wasn't uncommon for an army's morale to collapse the moment one man started cutting down soldiers in the frontlines. Soldiers would flee in fear, and the entire army would break apart.

But in the era of the

Three Kingdoms

, that changed. Soldiers were trained to hold their ground no matter what, to keep fighting mechanically, even when a powerful enemy appeared. That's why, even if a great general performed incredible feats, they'd eventually get exhausted and surrounded.

"In

Records of the Grand Historian

, when an army lost, it often disintegrated entirely. But in

Three Kingdoms

, even after a defeat, the soldiers would regroup and fight again, no matter how heroic the opponent."

As time went on, the era of heroes—where one man could turn the tide of battle—faded away. Generals who had once relied on their own strength to win battles were forced to change tactics.

"That's fascinating," Zachary said. "But why bring it up now?"

"Think about it. Are these pioneers like the disciplined soldiers from

Three Kingdoms

? Or are they more like the easily broken troops from Xiang Yu's era?"

"Ah!"

"It's simple. Show them the reality of death right in front of their eyes, and they'll lose the will to fight. Once they realize they could die at any moment, they won't be able to fight properly."

That fear didn't even need to come from a direct attack. If they came across a field full of freshly killed bodies—bodies that outnumbered them—it would be enough to make them hesitate.

They'd look at Justin's group and think, 'If they killed all these people, we don't stand a chance.'

"That's when the game is over," Justin concluded. "Any smart leader will realize the situation and retreat. Even if they do decide to fight, they'll be too scared to fight at their full strength."

And with only two or three targets, they could use everything at their disposal to make an example of them. His Cursed Lightning, Nathans Pegasu's, and Rachel's shield would hold out for at least three battles.

By the time they were done, the field would be littered with bodies, creating the perfect atmosphere of fear.

"Anyone who sees the aftermath won't know whether we picked them off one by one or wiped them out all at once."

Justin snapped back to the present, looking around. The pioneers had gathered most of the bodies.

"Good work. Now spread them out, leave a trail of bloodstains—"

"Lord Justin! Enemies spotted!"

Justin lifted his head at the shout. Sure enough, a group of pioneers had appeared on the nearby hill. It looked like they hadn't seen Justin's group until they were nearly upon them.

They wore smug smiles at first, but as soon as they saw the pile of corpses and bloodstains, their faces turned deathly pale.

Justin smirked, raising his staff.

"Attack! Leave no survivors!"