Chapter 104: Ambush

The strange tall stones within Ladoja Valley looked especially sinister under the hazy moonlight. The cold wind that blew within the valley was ominous and frightening. After Yang Ling killed Ymir there, people frequently heard waves of frightening howls riding the cold wind.

Some said that Ymir’s vengeful spirit was still lingering in the area, and some said that the mysterious Snake Demon Blood Staff had attracted a horde of wandering ghosts. Some even claimed that the Snake Demon Blood Staff had broken open the void and attracted the demons of Hell. More and more horror stories surrounding Ladoja Valley sprang out as the rumors spread.

At the start, hunters who made a living from hunting did not pay too much heed to the rumors, often disregarding the tall tales that they heard. But ever since a young lad who could fight tigers and leopards barehanded turned into a lunatic after staying in Ladoja Valley for a night on a bet, the people finally recognized that the rumors were not unwarranted.

Normally, many people came and went through Ladoja Valley. Now, it had become empty as the rumors spread. As time passed, Ladoja Valley felt even more sinister.

It was still about an hour until dawn. Steve had hurried over with five hundred personal guards. Along the way, seeing that the route was becoming increasingly deserted, even Steve could not help but whisper, much less his soldiers. He could not understand why Maryse would arrange to meet him in such a barren place.

Could it be that Maryse was prepared to offer her body to him tonight, so she had chosen the deserted location intentionally?

Steve shook his head after a moment’s imagination, tossing away this unrealistic thought. Over this period of time, Steve had not even touched Maryse’s dainty hands, much less engaged in a carnal relationship. There was no way that Maryse would offer her body to him.

Absentmindedly, Steve led the soldiers into the sinister Ladoja Valley, completely oblivious to the faint rings of water on the ground and the faint fragrance hanging in the air.

If an experienced Spellcaster from the Church was there, he would definitely have turned around and left. Those were not ordinary traces of water; they were a terrifying dark magic, a dark magic used to conceal armies!

The thicker the traces of water, the wider the radius of the rings, which meant that there were more troops hidden within them!

After walking to the deep regions of the valley in confusion, Steve finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar slender figure standing underneath a large tree. He instructed his soldiers to stop, then led a few personal guards as he walked quickly toward the tree.

“Miss Maryse! I’m sorry, I came late!”

Seeing Maryse alone, Steve knew that he had been too paranoid. He removed his pitch black mask as he spoke. Before he came there, he had heeded the advice of his tactician and put on the armor his family had made for him as a precaution.

“Oh, Steve? Why are you here?” Maryse was very shocked when she saw Steve, who was removing his mask as he walked toward her.

( NovelFull )    She had been confused by the figure walking towards her, as it didn’t look quite like Yang Ling. But she hadn’t thought too much about it, as she attributed it to him wearing armor. She only realized that something was wrong when the man took off his mask!

Not good! I fell for a trap!

Steve was completely oblivious that he was at Death’s door, and Maryse did not have to think too deeply to understand that she had once again been fooled by Yang Ling. She had been completely wrong. She had thought that she could take the opportunity to capture Yang Ling, but she did not expect herself to so foolishly act as his bait.

After clenching her teeth, Maryse came to a swift decision. She ordered the hidden troops to retreat immediately, then rushed past Steve like the wind. “Steve, we have all fallen into a trap! Retreat quickly if you do not wish to die!”

There’s a trap?

Steve was dazed when he saw Maryse quickly disappear into the darkness. He did not expect the beauty to leave him this quickly without saying a word despite his day of excited preparations.

Thinking back to how Maryse had brushed past him icily with that cold and unfeeling gaze in her eyes, he felt as though the sky had cracked into many pieces. Wronged, depressed, despairing… In that instant, his heart seemed to have been pierced by a knife and shaken violently, leaving his weak heart in countless pieces.

“Quick, protect the lord! Retreat!”

Steve was depressed, unable to come to his senses, but the tactician not far behind him reacted quickly. Even though he had not heard Maryse’s words of caution, he instinctively felt that something was off when he saw how speedily and mysteriously she had left.

Steve’s personal guards reacted quickly, but they were too late!

With an angry growl, a large group of Rossi soldiers suddenly charged out of the nearby forest with heavy crossbows in hand. In a mere instant, dozens of Banto soldiers in black heavy armor fell to the rain of arrows. At such close range, the black heavy armor that they were so proud of could not hold up against the terrifying heavy crossbows.

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“Raise shields and get into formation! Protect the lord!”

The Banto people quickly raised their shields and got into formation under the commands of their leader. They braced themselves against the Rossi’s rain of arrows, protecting Steve with all their might. Unfortunately, the concentrated rain of arrows frequently hit the soldiers, especially the Spellcasters who had followed the army here. They were heavily targeted, and their pathetic cries rang in the air.

“Sir, we fell for a trap, retreat, retreat quickly!”

Seeing the unfavorable situation, a few of Steve’s personal guards shouted as they urged him to retreat. The Rossi soldiers were ferocious. They might have set up a heavy ambush around the area. If Steve’s men did not retreat soon, they might be exterminated in the blink of an eye.

If the heavy crossbows of the Rossi soldiers had caused much trouble for the Banto people, then the subsequent attack from their cavalry would scatter their souls.

“Uraaa, Uraaa…”

With the low pitched sound of a horn, a team of heavily armored Rossi cavalry gave a war cry as they charged over a small hill. They accelerated with the downward slant of the hill, charging fiercely into the Banto formation like a sharp knife.

Caught off guard, the Banto formation slipped into chaos. No one had expected such a large group of Rossi reinforcements to have arrived, or for them to have brought so many warhorses and such advanced weaponry. Most importantly, no one could have known that all of this was due to Yang Ling interfering behind the scenes.

Some time ago, to comply with Renaya’s request, Yang Ling had paid the dwarf Rumi and a large group of steelsmiths to forge the best weapons and armor they could for many of the Rossi soldiers. He had also secretly purchased a group of warhorses from the troops and adventurers in town.

The Rossi Empire was situated in the north, and snow fell in much of its land all year round. The climate was harsh, their people full of grit. They had countless wide pastures in their vast land. They grew up on horses, and their riding skills were impeccable. They were regarded as the Country on Horseback.

Over the millenia, the Rossi people had built their nation and taken over much of the world with their cavalry, unparalleled. Their only rivals were the powerful Delar Empire in the west and the Banto Empire in the south, both of which were famous for their magical spells.

The Rossi people might not have been the most impressive when it came to the individual abilities of their troops, but the situation changed completely if you gave them a horse. The Rossi were the best horseback fighters in the entire Tailun Continent.

Even though the situation was dire, the Banto people fought back to the best of their ability under the command of their leader.

The few Spellcasters who were lucky enough to survive gathered around Steve, displaying their might under the cover of the infantry. Some joined hands and conjured a magical barrier to defend them against the long range attacks of the Rossi soldiers, and others used all the tricks up their sleeves to defend against the Rossi cavalry who were charging toward them.

Unlike the Rossi Empire in the north, the Banto Empire in the south didn’t breed warhorses due to their warm climate. Over the millennia, they had built their country on their massive numbers of Spellcasters and infantry troops. As long as they were in formation, the infantry and Spellcasters would complement each other. Their elite forces could even hold their own against a direct attack from the Rossi cavalry in the wilderness.

The five hundred soldiers Steve brought with him were all elites amongst the elites, and all of them were incredibly experienced. With the cooperation of their Spellcasters, they would not pale in comparison to even the elite Rossi cavalry. Unfortunately, after being caught off guard and losing a large portion of the Spellcasters accompanying their army, the battle abilities of the entire unit had been diminished a great deal.

The battle is lost!

With his personal guards falling around him, Steve had no choice but to engage in battle himself. He led the rest of his troops and fought back to the best of his abilities. His messenger had already gone back to gather reinforcements, and Ladoja Valley was not very far from the army barracks. The army back in the base would be able to arrive in about an hour after being notified.

Steve and his group were caught off guard, and they suffered heavy casualties in the blink of an eye. But with them bitterly resisting, the Rossi soldiers were unable to secure a full victory for the time being. After all, Steve had brought with him a full five hundred elites. As people said, even a starving camel was still larger than a horse.

In their heated combat, neither the manic Rossi soldiers nor the defending Banto soldiers noticed that there were a few dark figures hiding in the shrubs further away.

“Argus, where are Steve’s reinforcements now?” Yang Ling turned to ask the leader of his guards, seeing that Steve and his group wouldn’t be able to last for much longer.

According to his ploy, Yang Ling had notified the army back in Steve’s base immediately after Steve met with the ambush. This way, both the Banto and the Rossi would suffer heavy casualties, and through that, Yang Ling would be able to successfully seize control of Wissen Town. But seeing Steve’s heavy casualties, Yang Ling knew that the situation might be out of his calculations if Steve’s reinforcements did not arrive soon.

“Sir, Parrot has already successfully completed their mission and notified the army Steve left behind.” Argus paused, then continued, “According to our scouts, they will arrive in an hour!”

An hour might only be enough time for an average person to drink a cup of tea, but it was more than enough for the fully prepared Yang Ling! He had plenty of time to mobilize his army and completely eradicate Steve’s forces.

“Great, let’s go! Follow the plan. Instruct the warriors to change into the equipment of the Rossi Empire!”

“Yes, I understand!”

After shooting a cold look at Steve, who was struggling bitterly on the battlefield, Yang Ling retreated, moving rapidly toward Steve’s lightly defended base. Argus followed closely behind him, leading Yang Ling’s guards.