Chapter 240: Ambush

The first pale light of dawn began to touch the skyline as an unmarked matte-black all-terrain transport rolled into the private motor court of Imperial Meridian Tower.

The vehicle was built like a mobile fortress, reinforced with high-density armor plates, runic shock absorbers, and thick run-flat tires designed for rugged wilderness.

Amber and Calista stood on the lower loading deck, watching as Evren and Zephyra finished loading their travel gear into the rear compartment.

"Remember what I said, Zephyra," Amber said with a teasing smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. "Keep him out of trouble in the mountains. If he starts fighting every high-level beast he sees, pull him back by his collar."

Zephyra adjusted the strap of her combat harness, a rare, faint smile touching her lips. "I will do my best, Vice-Chairman. Though stopping him from fighting might be harder than slaying the beasts."

Calista stepped forward, handing Evren a thermos of freshly brewed herbal tea along with a package of travel snacks. Her sapphire eyes were warm with care.

"I put the emergency satchel under the front passenger seat," Calista told him softly. "Take care of yourself on the road, Evren."

"We will," Evren replied with a warm smile, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her cheek before turning to Amber and catching her in a quick, affectionate embrace. "Look after District One while we’re away."

"The capital is in good hands," Amber promised, tapping the twin sabers at her waist with total confidence.

Evren climbed into the driver’s seat, and Zephyra slid into the passenger side. The armored engine roared to life with a deep, muffled rumble as Evren steered the massive vehicle out of the tower gates and into the quiet morning streets.

They cleared the southern military checkpoints within twenty minutes, showing only standard commercial transit credentials to avoid drawing attention. Once beyond the capital’s outer perimeter wall, the wide concrete highway began to climb steadily into the forested foothills.

The smooth pavement gradually gave way to cracked, weathered asphalt, lined on both sides by towering rows of dark pine trees. The morning fog drifted across the winding lanes, giving the wild mountain pass a desolate, quiet atmosphere.

Zephyra leaned back against her seat, watching the misty tree line blur past through the tinted glass. After a couple of hours of quiet driving, she turned her violet eyes toward Evren.

"Evren, can I ask you something?" Zephyra asked in her calm, melodic voice.

Evren glanced over at her, keeping one hand steady on the steering wheel. "Of course. What is it?"

"With your resources and your military clearance, we could have taken a high-speed military shuttle," Zephyra said, tilting her head slightly. "We could have flown over the southern mountains and landed in Oakhaven in less than two hours. Why choose a thirty-hour drive across rough terrain?"

Evren let out a soft chuckle, fixing his eyes on the empty road ahead.

"Every flight plan registered to my name or Apex is logged directly onto the High Council’s central tracking grid," Evren explained. "Grand Arbiter Kincaid gave me the keycard, but the rest of the Council has no idea I pulled Case File 4409-C from the archives."

He tapped the dashboard with his thumb. "Dr. Morrow was exiled for researching forbidden dimensional theories. If an imperial military shuttle suddenly lands in an exiled scholar’s front yard, Council intelligence will know about it within minutes."

Zephyra’s expression cleared with immediate understanding. "And if they realize you are looking into Morrow’s research, they will wonder why the hero of District One cares about a thirty-four-year-old case file."

"Exactly," Evren nodded. "Driving an unmarked civilian transport leaves zero radar footprint. We arrive as ordinary travelers, speak to Dr. Morrow in private, and leave without raising a single red flag."

"Silent infiltration," Zephyra murmured with an approving gleam in her eyes. "A smart approach."

By midday, the road climbed higher into the rocky crags of Black-Pine Ridge. The temperature dropped steadily, and the old road grew increasingly rough, littered with fallen rock and deep potholes.

Around the eleven-hour mark, Evren slowed the vehicle to a halt before a sharp mountain bend. A massive cargo trailer lay overturned across both lanes, completely blocking the pass.

"Look at the tree line," Zephyra whispered, her voice dropping into a whisper.

Sitting on the high rocks above the road were seven giant, ape-like beasts. They had thick grey fur and dark stone plates covering their shoulders and backs.

[MONSTER DETECTED: LEVEL 72 CRAG-SPINE GORILLAS x6 + LEVEL 75 MUTATED CRAG CHIEFTAIN x1]

[CLASSIFICATION: HIGH-RANK EARTH-AFFINITY MOUNTAIN PREDATORS]

The largest one sat at the top. It was nearly twelve feet tall with sharp volcanic rocks sticking out of its spine, watching the road below like a spider waiting for prey.

"This is an ambush," Evren said in a calm voice, observing with Kinetic Flow. "They pulled the trailer here on purpose. The two on the left are getting ready to throw boulders, while the leader is gathering earth mana to drop the cliff on us."

"If that rock wall comes down, the pass will be blocked for days," Zephyra noted, resting her hands on her weapons.

"We take them down before they drop the rocks," Evren told her, opening his door. "Watch the high flank."

The moment Evren stepped onto the road, the largest let out a loud roar. Two gorillas on the ridge lifted massive boulders over their heads and threw them straight at the truck.

Evren raised his hand toward the sky and activated his Gravity Domain, turning the gravity upside down above the road.

The falling boulders stopped in mid-air. With a quick wave of Evren’s hand, the rocks flew right back up, smashing into the cliff and knocking both throwing beasts down onto the road.

The two gorillas crashed hard onto the asphalt.

Before they could stand up, Zephyra moved. She turned into a streak of black mist, sliding across the wet road and popping up right behind them.

Her shadow whip snapped through the air. In one clean motion, the blade cut across both throats, dropping the beasts before they could make a sound.

A loud screech came from the other side of the road as three more gorillas jumped down from the rocks, aiming straight for Zephyra.

At the exact same time, the leader slammed both stone fists into the ground. A shockwave tore through the road, splitting the asphalt open right toward the truck’s front tires.

Evren moved instantly. He channeled golden Heavenly Lightning into his legs and blinked fifty feet into the air, clearing the cracking ground with ease.

From the air, Evren threw a spear of golden lightning straight down. The electric bolt struck the center beast in the chest, blasting it back while the shockwaves paralyzed the other two mid-jump.

The two shocked beasts fell clumsily to the ground, unable to move. Zephyra darted forward like a ghost, stabbing both through the heart with her shadow daggers.

Seeing its whole pack wiped out in seconds, the giant Chieftain went into a wild rage. It jumped down from the highest ledge, landing on the road sixty feet away with a bone-jarring thud.

Red mana wrapped around its body, making the stone plates on its chest and shoulders lock into a thick, solid wall.

"Someone’s angry," Zephyra said with an amused look.