Chapter 863: The Night Ambush Force

After returning from the temporary headquarters, Senar summons his officers.

"You've probably already guessed. The coalition commander has asked for our help."

"The enemy will attempt a breakout tonight, but getting their main army out isn't their real objective."

"It's their leaders and other important figures who truly intend to escape."

"The main army's breakout is only a cover."

"According to high-level intelligence sources, they have two escape routes. One heads south into the Tranquil Sea defensive line."

"The other heads north into the Leo River area, where they intend to hide in the underground waterways for a time."

"Their overall commander is at the Glory Rank, with several Iron Rank leaders under it."

"Every enemy breaking out with them will be at the Battle Knight Rank or above. The coalition's other powerful professionals haven't arrived yet."

"Marshal Luke can only deal with the enemy leader on one of those routes. We need to help with the other."

"We've been assigned the southern ambush point. Peace Haven's Lord Iron Guards and Wind Raider Cavalry will be joining us."

"Get ready, everyone. We leave in two hours!"

At nine that night, Pabos and the others lie hidden in a stretch of grassland.

Marshal Luke has taken the coalition's professionals north.

There is no Glory Rank professional with Senar, but his force has ways to suppress a calamity creature of that rank.

The other ambushers include Pinas, commander of the Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards; Alesha, deputy commander of the Wind Raider Cavalry; Janet, commander of the Imperial Hunting Knights; and Garcia, commander of the church's Penitence Squad.

All of them are Iron Rank professionals, and the soldiers they bring are seasoned Battle Knights.

The ambush force has five Iron Knights in total. Its leader, Senar, already has one foot in the Glory Rank.

There are also forty-six Grand Knights and more than seven hundred elite Battle Knights.

A squad of spellcasters from the Abundant Continent is with them as well.

Finally, the entire Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards is waiting one kilometer away.

More than a year has passed since the Lord Iron Guards were assigned to regional commands.

The Third Combat Battalion has grown from a thousand men to a little over two thousand.

Of the thousand or so new recruits, half are not professionals.

They are only Third Battalion reservists, equipped with the old Iron Guard gear. Their longswords are their only extraordinary weapons.

They are still a long way from becoming full Lord Iron Guards. The background checks alone take a long time.

The Third Combat Battalion is stationed here to stop any large body of enemy troops that might genuinely break through tonight.

Thorough preparations make a breakout extremely difficult, but something could still go wrong.

Hidden in the grass, the ambushers suppress the extraordinary fluctuations within their bodies as much as possible.

Even the insects and snakes can no longer sense their auras and continue moving nearby.

A small lizard crawls up to Pabos's hiding place.

Flat on the ground, he watches it and blows softly, trying to shoo it away.

That only draws its attention. It crawls closer to his face.

The lizard cocks its head and studies him. Pabos thinks, Come any closer and I'll bite your head off.

The two stare at each other in a silent standoff.

He has no idea how much time passes before the lizard creeps a few steps closer. It looks ready to bite him.

Pabos is just preparing to bite back when the little lizard suddenly raises its head, looks around, and scurries away.

He thinks he might have let his aura leak out, but a muffled rumble soon rolls down from the north.

He knows that sound: explosions from Thunderclap Ballista fire!

They are more than ten kilometers from the edge of the main battlefield. He never expected to hear the blasts from here.

With those explosions, every ambush squad knows the enemy will soon arrive.

Pabos steadies his breathing and heartbeat, concealing his presence still further.

He also flexes his muscles so they will not be numb or stiff when he suddenly rises to fight.

More than half an hour later, a night falcon calls. Pabos, resting with his eyes closed, opens them.

It is the signal that the enemy is approaching.

He tightens his grip on the war spear beside him and waits for his prey.

A few minutes later, he catches the distinctive fishy smell of the Subterranean River Bandits. The enemy is close.

Soon comes the rustle of grass being pressed flat.

The air grows suddenly damper, and he can just make out the sound of flowing water.

This is how the professionals among the Subterranean River Bandits travel at speed. They spread a layer of water over the ground and skim along it as though skating.

Pabos silently counts the enemies and estimates when they will reach the center of the encirclement.

Once the first roar sounds, no further signal will be needed. They can attack at once.

He has already chosen a target among several enemies with Grand Knight auras, twenty meters away.

He digs his palm into the ground and launches himself forward, racing low on his hands and feet.

He reaches the enemy column before he has even straightened up.

His Heart-Piercing Lotus thrusts out, straight through the chest of a blue-haired water demon at the Grand Knight Rank.

The sharp spear penetrates the creature's protective water barrier and punches through its scales. The spell formula in the spearhead activates.

A dull blast follows. A metal jet tears a serving-bowl-sized hole through the creature.

The spearhead breaks off. Momentum carries the rest of the spear through the hole.

Pabos twists his wrist and sweeps the spear sideways, the dead water demon still impaled on it. Two Grand Knight Rank bandits nearby are knocked flying.

The shaft, which is not made of extraordinary materials, is already bent. He hurls the damaged spear ahead of him.

He drives forward as he draws his longsword, then chops straight at a naga guard.

The naga guard, also at the Grand Knight Rank, swats the bent spear aside and catches Pabos's longsword on two heavy blades.

With his immense natural strength, Pabos drives the Kingslayer Blade deep into both weapons.

It is a dangerous position. The naga guard also has a thick tail covered in spikes.

And it intends to use that tail to strike him.

Pabos is faster. He bears down with his longsword as the muscles in his left arm trigger his wrist crossbow. A sleeve dart of extraordinary alloy shoots toward the creature's face.

The naga reacts swiftly, jerking its head back to evade the dart.

But the dodge costs it a beat. Its tail does not strike in time.

It lowers its head again to find a black gun muzzle pointed at it.

The first shot breaks through its protective water armor.

The second shot tears apart its scales.

The third shot blows away half its head.

Pabos pulls back his sword and retreats a step, easily evading the late, feeble lash of its tail.

Then he surges forward again and passes the creature, cutting off its head with his longsword.

The whole exchange takes only a few seconds.

Pabos is moving so fast because his real target is the other blue-haired water demon behind the naga guard.

Before that water demon can react, the remaining two rounds from Death's Roar punch through its defenses.

He charges. His longsword drives through its chest!