Chapter 122 The Perfect Ambush...

Aiden quickly issued a series of instructions.

“Blazewind, take your people and withdraw completely behind the second line of defense. Use the fortifications to launch long-range attacks and provide auxiliary control. Without my order, no one is to engage in melee combat.”

Blazewind nodded solemnly.

“Silas, you have only one task.”

Aiden’s gaze shifted toward the narrowest section of the gourd-shaped entrance.

“Hold that position. Nail yourself there like a reef and absorb their main assault.”

Silas grinned.

“Luna, take the high ground inside the cave on the left. It has the best field of view. Your priority is fire suppression and key-target control. Focus on their healers and commanders.”

Luna nodded.

“And Garrett…”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed.

“Leave him to me.”

He paused for a moment before adding,

“This time, don’t hold back. I want Garrett to remember this valley for the rest of his life.”

The following day, at noon.

The scorching sun baked the Howling Wind Mountains, while dust filled the entrance of the Nameless Valley, mingling with an almost tangible aura of slaughter.

Garrett marched at the very front of the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s army.

He had changed into a set of heavy plate armor that shimmered with a dark-red metallic glow. In his hands was the massive, door-sized great axe he was famous for.

The aura of [Warcry] faintly swirled around his body, making him resemble a humanoid beast preparing to charge.

Behind him marched the First and Second Elite Regiments of the Dragon Sovereign Guild.

Every member was heavily equipped, battle-hardened, and brimming with killing intent.

Warriors formed the vanguard, while mages, hunters, priests, and other ranged and healing classes followed closely behind.

Their formation was tight.

Their momentum was overwhelming.

“Listen up!”

Garrett suddenly turned around, his voice booming like a thunderclap.

“Inside that valley are the bastards who stole our territory and killed our brothers!”

His eyes burned with fury.

“Today, there will be no tactics! No tricks!”

He raised his great axe.

“There’s only one word!”

“CHARGE!”

“Crush them!”

“Cut down every living thing you see!”

His gaze swept across the army.

“And whoever takes Reaper’s head will receive a personal reward of one hundred thousand gold coins from me!”

“ROAR!!!”

More than a hundred elites roared simultaneously.

The earth seemed to tremble beneath their feet.

They had been holding back their anger for too long.

What they needed now was a bloody victory.

A victory that would let them vent all the humiliation they had endured.

The army soon arrived at the gourd-shaped entrance of the valley.

As they advanced, the terrain gradually narrowed.

“Scout team!”

Garrett raised his hand.

“Move forward! Find and dismantle every trap! Sweep out their scouts!”

Several thieves and hunters equipped with [Trap Detection] and [True Sight] immediately stepped forward.

They moved cautiously, scanning the surrounding terrain.

But to their surprise, the dense network of traps and hidden sentries they had expected was nowhere to be found.

There were only a few crude tripwires and basic alarm traps.

The scouts dismantled them with ease.

Garrett’s lips curled into a disdainful sneer.

“Hmph.”

His final trace of caution disappeared.

“Just a bunch of rabble. They actually think they can stop us by relying on the terrain?”

He raised his great axe.

“All troops!”

“Listen up!”

“CHARGE!”

“Crush them!”

“KILL!!!”

The roar of more than a hundred elites shook the valley.

Like an iron torrent, the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s army surged into the narrow gourd-shaped entrance.

Garrett led from the very front, his great axe cleaving apart a crude wooden obstacle in his path.

He continued charging without slowing down.

Just as the majority of the army poured into the narrowest section of the passage—a stretch barely fifty meters long—

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A series of thunderous explosions suddenly erupted from both sides.

On the steep cliffs, dozens of enormous boulders that had been loosened beforehand and barely restrained by thick vines suddenly came crashing down.

The members of the Ember Guild hidden above severed the ropes holding them in place.

The boulders thundered toward the Dragon Sovereign army.

Although most of the charging warriors managed to block or evade them, the sudden attack still caused considerable chaos and a small number of casualties.

More importantly…

The already narrow passage became even more congested.

Fallen rocks blocked portions of the path, compressing the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s formation until the warriors were practically shoulder to shoulder.

“Cheap tricks!”

Garrett roared.

“Keep charging!”

He swung his great axe and cleaved a massive stone rolling toward him cleanly in two.

But the instant he stepped forward—

“Silas!!!”

A roar like muffled thunder exploded from the heart of the bottleneck.

A massive figure suddenly emerged from the chaos.

Silas.

Behind him stood the second crude breastwork hastily constructed by the Ember Guild.

But in front of him…

There was nothing.

No allies.

No reinforcements.

Only him.

Silas slammed his enormous tower shield into the ground.

THUD!

The earth trembled.

He stood directly in the middle of the passage, blocking the entire route forward.

Like a reef standing defiantly against an incoming tsunami.

None shall pass.

[Berserker Overlord]!

Activated at full power!

BOOM!

A pale-red mist of blood and vitality erupted from Silas’s body and shot into the sky.

An overwhelming pressure, infused with unyielding will and violent battle intent, crashed into the charging Dragon Sovereign vanguard like an invisible wall.

“STOP—RIGHT THERE!”

Silas roared.

The dark-red blood patterns covering his tower shield suddenly blazed with light.

His [Immovable] talent perfectly fused with the defensive properties of [Berserker Overlord].

He neither dodged nor retreated.

Instead, he planted his feet firmly into the ground and thrust his shield forward.

Garrett and several charging warriors collided with it head-on.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

A series of deafening impacts erupted.

Garrett’s pupils contracted.

An unimaginable force traveled through his great axe and into his arms.

His hands went numb.

His forward momentum was forcibly halted.

Several warriors behind him were knocked off balance by the tremendous recoil, nearly crashing into the people behind them.

“What?!”

Garrett’s expression changed dramatically.

“How is this possible?!”

This shield guardian’s defensive ability was several times more terrifying than the intelligence reports had suggested!

And Silas had stopped them alone.

Their charge had been forcibly contained.

Their tightly packed formation had become a liability.

Their front line couldn’t advance.

Their rear ranks couldn’t maneuver.

And then—

Luna appeared.

From a cave on the high ground overlooking the left side of the valley, a slender figure slowly emerged.

Luna took a deep breath.

Colorful light swirled within her purple eyes.

Beside her, the phantom images of a crimson [Great Luck] die and an emerald [Minor Good Luck] die slowly materialized.

The two dice rotated around each other.

Then merged.

An unprecedented force of fate and elemental power descended upon the battlefield.

Luna raised her staff.

Her [Stormbringer Cloak] fluttered despite the complete absence of wind.

Lightning-shaped patterns across its surface began to glow.

This was not [Frost Nova].

Nor was it [Enhanced Pyroblast].

Under Aiden’s guidance, Luna had recently begun fusing the powers of her two classes.

And now…

She finally unleashed the result.

[Destiny Thunderstorm]!

BOOM!

The sky suddenly darkened.

Not because storm clouds had gathered.

But because a twisted, iridescent thundercloud had condensed directly above the narrow bottleneck.

The next instant—

CRACK!

Countless bolts of lightning rained from the sky.

Crimson.

Ice-blue.

Silver-white.

Lightning of different colors and thicknesses poured down like a violent celestial storm.

But hidden within those bolts was something even more terrifying.

A strange, eerie fluctuation that seemed to distort probability itself.

The entire congested vanguard of the Dragon Sovereign Guild was engulfed.

-155!

-188!

-120!

[Lightning Damage]

Then the system notifications began appearing.

[Special Effect: Spell Interruption!]

[Special Effect: Attack Deflection!]

[Special Effect: Increased Probability of Item Failure!]

Chaos erupted.

Absolute chaos.

The warriors trapped behind Silas could not advance.

The mages attempting to cast spells had their incantations repeatedly interrupted.

Arrows released by hunters inexplicably veered away from their targets.

Even the simple act of drinking a potion became strangely difficult.

Worse still, the bizarre force contained within the lightning distorted their reactions.

Their movements became sluggish.

Their coordination fell apart.

Every action was half a beat slower.

And on a battlefield like this…

Half a beat was enough to decide life or death.

“Now.”

A calm voice suddenly sounded beside Garrett.

Garrett’s pupils contracted.

He instinctively turned his head.

A ghostly figure had somehow slipped through the chaotic front line and appeared beside him.

Aiden.

The effects of [Shadow Cloak] wrapped around his body, making him appear like a grim reaper emerging from the shadows.

“Garrett.”

Aiden’s voice contained not the slightest fluctuation.

“I’ll be taking your head.”

WHOOSH!

The blade in his hand transformed into a streak of dark-golden light.

It tore through the chaotic battlefield and shot straight toward Garrett’s exposed neck.

Dark-red patterns blazed across the blade.

[Armor-Piercing] activated!

Fast.

Too fast.

Garrett barely had enough time to react.

He violently twisted his head and raised the handle of his great axe to block.

CLANG!

Sparks exploded.

Aiden’s blade slammed into the axe handle and carved a deep gash into the metal.

The terrifying force behind the strike tore open the webbing between Garrett’s thumb and forefinger.

Blood immediately poured from the wound.

-345!

[Weakness Attack!]

[Armor-Piercing!]

A terrifying damage number floated above Garrett.

His health bar dropped sharply.

“Bastard!”

Shock and fury exploded across Garrett’s face.

He let out a furious roar.

The [Warcry] aura surrounding his body suddenly erupted with unprecedented intensity.

His killing intent surged.

His great axe began to tremble in his hands.

He was preparing to unleash a counterattack skill.