Chapter 956: Ambush
Chapter 956: Ambush
The ‘Bride Escort Team’ of the Dragon Bright Empire entered the Yang Shao Capital and received a grand welcome from King Robben XIX.
Although the Yang Shao Empire was a famous ‘mercenary kingdom’ in the human world, its territory was not vast, and many countries border the Dragon Bright Empire. When Robben I founded the kingdom as a mercenary, he received strong support from the Dragon Bright Empire, so the Yang Shao Empire had always existed as a vassal state similar to the Dragon Bright Empire.
Compared with the founders and ancestors, the current Robben XIX was all-smiles with a big belly. There was no look of a mercenary at all; he was totally a king. Facing the arrival of the third prince of the Dragon Bright Empire, Robben XIX did not dare to neglect. He held a welcoming ceremony with the highest reception specifications.
Not only because of the status of the prince of His Highness, but also because ‘Arthur’ was the lord of the Golden Estate who controlled the magic game and aromatic millet wine, plus the title of 1 of the 3 major mechanical grand masters of human.
Such an important person was likely to be the king of the Dragon Bright Empire in the future, so a good relationship was absolutely necessary.
Chen Rui politely declined Robben XIX’s kindness to hold a grand banquet for him. He only made a short stay and left toward the Garden City.
Before leaving, Chen Rui gave Robben XIX a few bottles of the most excellent yellow dragon wine, plus a long-term aromatic millet wine supply list, which brought a smile to Robben XIX’s chubby face.
The team’s route was to go through the Garden City to the Clear Mirror City of Loya Empire, then to Starlight Empire through the teleportation portal of the Clear Mirror City, and finally from Starlight Empire to the Jade Forest Sea.
The carriage was equipped with the most sophisticated mutated warhorses of the Dragon Bright Empire with the best speed and endurance. They could see things clearly even at night, which was far from what civilian vehicles could compare to, so it could greatly save travel time.
After all, Chen Rui saved a lot of work because the magic game had the ‘assistance’ of the Holy Church. Therefore, he set off earlier than planned with plenty of time on hand. It wasn’t that he was in a hurry to go to the Blue Glory Empire to get engaged, but to go to the Jade Forest Sea and meet the 2 grand masters again. As for what Finoia said he wanted to give, he didn’t really take it to heart.
These 2 were his true friends in the human world. When he met them, he had only just reached the state of mechanics quasi-grandmaster. The 2 grand masters gave him selfless guidance and help. In the end, he succeeded in advancing to the grand master, thus defeating Saman and Ukleus in the life and death battle of the Demon Realm’s mechanic master contest. Now Chen Rui’s mechanic skills had faintly surpassed the 2 grand masters, and his combat power was far better than the 2, but no matter what his strength or mechanic skills were, friends were friends.
Friendship would not change because of high or low status.
The speeding carriage suddenly stopped. The pause was so sudden that even Chen Rui in the carriage space felt it. He immediately notified Zola and the others, then he kept the space. There were sounds of clamor and fighting from outside the carriage.
“Your Highness, please don’t leave the carriage!” The Saint powerhouse Bedell said solemnly, “We are attacked by an unknown force, and General Proyo is directing the battle.”
Chen Rui stuck his head out to take a glance and he already saw the entire situation.
This was a concave-shaped terrain with taller peaks on both sides. There were burning huge logs on the ground in front and behind. The air was filled with the scorching breath after the magic circle was activated, and the firelight reflected the nearby corpses. There were people and horses.
It seemed that the enemy was using the terrain to launch an attack, blocking the way the convoy. Judging from the power and layout of the magic circle, it was by no means ordinary bandits, but a preplanned ambush.
Under the command of Proyo, the knights restrained the horses, huddled into a circle, and protected the carriage in the middle.
In the darkness, there were countless piercing sounds and faintly flickering light. It should be feather arrows enchanted with magic.
The wand in Bedell’s hand shook slightly, and the arrows seemed to hit the intangible shield. They broke and fell. A strange machine sounded, and there was another sharp whistling sound breaking through the air.
“Huge crossbow!” Bedell’s facial expression had changed. Huge crossbow was a giant and complex ballista originally used to deal with giant demon beasts such as giant dragons. It was quite time-consuming to reload, but its momentum and destructive power were extremely terrifying.
Although powerful, it was a lifeless machine after all. Bedell had a way to deal with it if faced individually, but at present, his duty was to protect the carriage, which meant that he could only resist it forcefully on the spot.
It was just a split second from the time he heard the sound to the time he realized it. Bedell had no time to react. The wand lit up with dazzling light. The territory power surged out. There were several thick soils in the air that condensed into a shield, floating in front.
Almost the next second, there was the sound of the earth shield being pierced through, followed by a crackling sound. The ground trembled, and almost all the earth shields were shattered. Fortunately, there were only large cracks in the last 2 layers, barely resisting the ‘arrow.’ Many of the knights nearby were injured by the bursting impact.
“Damn, it’s the giant bolts cast with the strongest explosion magic circle!” Another Saint swordsman, Cardo, couldn’t help but scold, “Even in the army, the huge crossbow machine is a strictly prohibited ordnance. Where did these bastards get it?!”
Proyo immediately ordered the knights to dismount and put the horses behind them. They further narrowed the circle in standby mode.
Bedell forcibly activated the territory power just now to block the blow. He dared not to neglect and waved the wand again. The ground shook, and tall and hard thick walls rose in all directions, protecting the carriage like a city wall.
The sound of the machine and the sharp whistle sounded again. This time, there was more than 1 giant crossbow. The surrounding earth walls were pierced through several layers and collapsed under the explosive power, but the innermost layers were not damaged.
Bedell was proficient in earth element magic, and his ability to adapt was extremely fast. This kind of earth wall technique that condensed territory power was really the best way to defend against the giant crossbows.
After a round of unsuccessful shooting, the sound stopped temporarily. After all, reloading was the biggest weakness of this huge crossbow. However, ghostly figures began to appear behind the collapsed earth wall, rushing toward the carriage – After the shooting was unsuccessful, the enemy used melee combat.
The knights near the carriage were all the elites of the Dragon Scale Legion. They didn’t panic or move rashly, just waiting quietly for Captain Proyo’s order.
The phantoms were pretty close. Proyo gave an order, and the swordsmen in the front row swung their long swords in unison, slashing out at an angle: Straight, horizontal, then straight, then horizontal… Even the weakest swordsmen were of Master level. The fierce winds rushed out neatly like a giant net. Those phantoms turned into countless pieces before they got close to the body.
Chen Rui could see that these knights had a kind of power similar to magical tattoos on their bodies. When they were combined into a formation, the power could be several times greater.
These well-trained, battle-hardened elites knew when to advance and retreat as if they were 1 unit. Even in the face of the Saint powerhouse, they also had the strength to fight.
The formation of combined attacks was the best way of war for humans, and the Demon Realm was much weaker in this regard. Sometimes, they rely more on individual strength. Generally speaking, due to their lifespan and physical strength, demons were better than human powerhouses of the same level.
The elites of the Dragon Scale Legion in front of Chen Rui taught him a lesson. In the blink of an eye, they beheaded enemies that outnumbered them like a meat grinder.
Bedell around the carriage suddenly looked up and saw countless luminous spots in the night sky, and those luminous spots magnified a lot in an instant. They were actually burning meteorites.
“[Meteor Rain]!” Bedell exclaimed. [Meteor Rain] was a powerful fire magic. The lethality to fixed targets on the ground was extremely high. There were hundreds of these meteorites. Even at this distance, one could feel the terrifying fire element wave. It seemed that there was a powerful fire magician among the enemy.
Since the carriage couldn’t move now, Bedell could only resist it like resisting the giant crossbow before. He immediately raised his wand high, aimed it at the sky, and quickly chanted a spell.
At this moment, a warning sign suddenly appeared in his mind. A golden light lit up, flying toward him like a lightning bolt, but the whistling sound came after – Arrow!
This arrow condensed an incomparably strong territory power, and the timing was extremely accurate. It was when Bedell condensed his magic power to resist the [Meteor Rain] in the air, so he didn’t have time to make a second reaction.
The magician’s melee combat ability was almost equal to zero. If the arrow struck him, Bedell would be severely injured even if he didn’t die, then he would not be able to resist the [Meteor Rain] falling from the sky. The carriage and the people nearby would subsequently become melted meat sauce.
“Ding!” The arrow was blocked by a greatsword. It was another Saint powerhouse Cardo holding the sword.
Cardo no doubt lived up to Bedell’s expectations and took the arrow for him. Bedell’s magic power surged out, and the [Meteor Rain] in the sky quickly slowed down.
The golden light lit up, and this time the target was Cardo. It was 5 consecutive arrows in a line. The front arrow accurately shot into the back nock tail, which was equal to nearly 5 times the impact. Cardo parried his greatsword. He was pushed back for more than 10 meters.
Before he could recover, dozens of golden lights whistled toward Bedell who was resisting the meteor rain. Cardo had no time to rescue him. Bedell knew he had to make a choice, and his figure instantly appeared in the air. This teleportation made the [Meteor Rain] fall a little faster. Bedell quickly stabilized the magic power he resisted and shouted, “Take His Highness out of here!”
If they stayed still like this, they could only be passively beaten, so they must give up the carriage.
However, just as Bedell said it, the golden lights that missed the target actually turned an arc and tracked the mid-air Bedell as though they had eyes.
Bedell was shocked. At this critical moment, the golden light suddenly stopped, revealing the original shape inside – Arrows made of golden metal.
The next scene made everyone stunned. These dozens of gleaming arrows instantly turned into ash, and these faintly radiant ash quickly retreated, following the trajectory of the arrows when they came as if the scene was rewinded.
In the blink of an eye, the faint lights had flown backward and returned to the place where the arrow was fired, and a shrill cry sounded. The cry stopped abruptly, and there was no sound.
Bedell in the air could see it most clearly. It was a slender figure who tried to avoid the receding light several times, but he was unable to succeed. The moment the light returned to his body, he screamed and his body was turned to ashes.
Bedell only felt that the pressure from above had loosened. The hundreds of meteorites with flames turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, and they were blown away by the night wind in the sky.
What is this power? It is actually so powerful! That slender figure is obviously the powerhouse of peak stage Saint, but he actually turned into ash in an instant. Judging from the disperse, this power is not like magic but more like a poison!
Everything just now was naturally the masterpiece of Paglio sitting on the top of the carriage. He only needed to move his fingers to solve these lowly assassins.
Master Poison Dragon took a sip of wine and winked at the human as if to show off. – Ain’t I amazing? So what if you are powerful? You can only pretend to be a grandson…
Chen Rui had an indifferent expression, but Zola gave the poison dragon a glare before withdrawing it. Anyway, if I made a move, 10 Paglios would have to kneel as well. Why bother to compare with this fellow?
Only the slime looked downcast. Such a good opportunity to make credits was missed because of the greed to drink the last half bottle of wine.
“The enemy has retreated!” Bedell could clearly see that after the powerhouse that shot the arrow was killed, the ghostly black figures seemed to have received some order and quickly retreated, including the fire-element Saint magician who cast the [Meteor Rain].
Cardo stepped forward with Bedell who just landed and bowed to Paglio with awe in their eyes. Others might not know it yet, but as a powerful Saint, he and Bedell could both sense that it was the casual-looking man next to the Royal Highness Third Prince who took down the enemy.
With a wave of his hand, the peak stage Saint powerhouse was turned into ashes. The guardian of ‘Arthur’ has far surpassed the Saint-super powerhouse!
Seeing the enemy retreat, the knights raised their long swords in unison and cheered for victory.
Zola whispered in Chen Rui’s ear, “I felt the wave of water element teleportation. Those people should have used the one-time teleportation array to escape.”
Chen Rui nodded, revealing a thoughtful expression.
Proyo didn’t hear Zola’s voice. He just frowned and spoke up, “I keep feeling that there’s something wrong. I think the enemy is retreating a little too hastily…”
“General is overthinking it.” Bedell shook his head disapprovingly, “I can see very clearly that the leader of the enemy was killed by His Highness’ sir guardian, which caused their morale to drop, so they retreated.”
“It’s just a commander’s intuition; I hope I’m wrong.” Proyo nodded. When he was arranging the soldiers to clear the road, Paglio suddenly frowned and stood up.