Chapter 128

"Luo Ge, is the hideout I asked you to prepare ready? Return to the 1872nd Abyssal Plane immediately and find Morax alone.

He has full authority to handle matters there; do not let anyone else know about the situation here. I need to sleep now. This group of idiots failed their mission, and the Pantheon will not make a move in the near future."

"As you command, Great Duke. Your will is my direction. However, how should I explain this to the higher-ups? You know Lady Weilna is not easily fooled; she will not be willing to relinquish her authority."

"Just say I am here, intending to secure greater benefits in the upcoming Divine War. Once she finishes her business there, it would be best if she came here to assist me!"

"As you command, I will deliver your message."

"Kara Wa, arrange for the Dragon Beasts to keep a close watch on the surroundings. The other dragons will come with me to sleep. Unless there is a major disturbance nearby or the Pantheon makes a move, we will hide here from those demons."

…………

The blood moon was stained a murky orange-yellow by sulfurous mist, yet the Bailong Sect camp deep in the Molten Throat Canyon was brightly lit.

Illumination runes powered by magic crystals hovered between the tents, lighting the camp as if it were broad daylight, completely ignoring the low growls of demons in the surrounding darkness. They were clearly extremely confident in their defensive arrangements.

At the edge of the cliff, several figures stood as still as stone statues, overlooking the unsuspecting commotion below.

Gru Tie-Shield unslung his heavy rune warhammer from his shoulder, the hammerhead emitting a dull vibration as it touched the ground. His short, thick eyebrows were tightly knit as his gaze swept over the ornate tent in the center of the camp, embroidered with gold thread and dragon scale patterns:

"Mr. Fednan, there are at least three hundred people down there, and they bear the crest of the 'Golden Radiance Temple.' If we attack head-on, we will have to pay at least half our strength to slaughter our way through.

Furthermore, the stigma of slaughtering those in our own camp, even indirectly, would have the vultures of the Lawful Good chasing and pecking at us for decades."

A cold arc curled at the corner of Fednan's mouth. He wore only gray-green travel gear that blended into the night, making him almost impossible to distinguish, but the thin sword at his waist occasionally caught the moonlight, flashing a line of cold, ghostly blue light.

"My dear Gru," his voice was like the wind above the canyon, "who said we need to do it ourselves? Among the adventurers in the camp, those young people thirsting for fame and 'justice'—aren't their hot blood and long swords the best tools for clearing the way?"

He tilted his head slightly to look at the orc draped in a starlight robe beside him: "Master Xiage, are you worried about those two Legendary Rank hard nuts?"

Xiage Yingyu's tusks gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the moonlight. At the tip of the bone-wood staff in his hand, a murky crystal slowly rotated, reflecting the flow of energy in the camp below.

"Yes," the orc mage's voice was low and cautious.

"The Legendary Warrior 'Blood Axe' Barlem, and the Legendary Thief 'Shadow' Liana. The former can tear an Earth Dragon apart with his bare hands, and the latter is said to have stolen a dragon egg from a Shadow Dragon's treasury. Dealing with them is a bit difficult."

Fednan nodded slightly, though his gaze was cast toward the shadows at the edge of the camp further away. "Therefore, we will only let them 'discover' the existence of the Bailong Sect and 'happen' to see some evidence of the existence of the Ember Brothers.

When the conflict erupts and chaos rises..." his fingers silently traced the hilt of his sword at his waist, "that is when it will be time for us to enter."

His gaze swept over his companions: "Master Xiage, your Wide-Area Silent Barrier can cover the east side of the camp, cutting off their magical requests for reinforcements.

Gru, when Barlem charges, I need your Mountain Barrier to take the first hit head-on. And I," his thin sword slid slightly out of its sheath by half an inch, "will ensure that 'Shadow' Liana remains forever trapped in her own shadow."

Finally, he looked at the slender figure that had almost merged with the shadows of the cliff: "Lady Tali?"

The half-elf assassin did not speak, merely lifting her right hand gently. Between her fingers, three pitch-black daggers as thin as cicada wings were slowly rotating like living creatures. The blades caught a sliver of moonlight, reflecting the unguarded back of a guard's neck beside a campfire below. Her action itself was the answer.

Fednan smiled. "Then, the plan is: use the adventurers' blood to ignite the chaos, use their corpses to pave the way, and then..."

He looked toward the largest tent in the center of the camp below, from which the echoes of Dragon Tongue chanting faintly drifted, "at the moment the Bailong Sect least expects it, pluck the fruit they are guarding."

The wind on the cliff suddenly became biting, rolling the commotion and laughter from the camp below high into the air, yet it could not disperse the killing intent condensed in these shadows, precise as the gears of a clock.

The hunters were in position, while the prey were still raising their glasses by the campfire.

Gru took one last look below and hoisted his warhammer back onto his shoulder: "Action before dawn?"

"No," Fednan turned, his figure beginning to merge into the darkness behind him, "wait for the moment the first ray of morning light pierces the sulfurous mist. That is when their night watchmen are most exhausted, and the righteous adventurers... should also 'accidentally' patrol to the entrance of the canyon."

The figures on the cliff disappeared silently one by one, as if they had never existed. Only on the rock where Lady Tali had stood remained three bottomless, dagger-shaped fissures, slowly seeping with night dew.

…………

The moment the first ray of pale morning light sliced through the sulfur-colored mist, the adventurers' offensive began.

There were no horns, no war cries, only the buzzing of bowstrings vibrating through the dawn.

Over a hundred enchanted arrows rose simultaneously from behind the craggy rocks on both sides of the canyon, dragging pale cyan trails through the air before crashing like a rainstorm into the sleeping tent area of the Bailong Sect camp. This was the morning greeting sent by the rangers of the "Morning Wind Mercenary Group."

The moment the arrow rain fell, the camp was like a poked anthill. At least twenty tents were ignited or torn apart, and many bleary-eyed Bailong Sect guards were pinned to the ground before they could even touch their weapons.

Several Dragon-Blood Hounds raised at the edge of the camp let out shrill howls and broke their chains to pounce on the attackers, only to be flipped over by pre-arranged tripwires and traps.

The chaos lasted less than three minutes. The gold-patterned tent in the center of the camp burst open, and a bald giant with a bare chest covered in dark red dragon scale tattoos, the Legendary Warrior "Blood Axe" Barlem, smashed through the tent fabric and rushed out.

He didn't even hold a weapon in his hand, simply grabbing a burning tent pillar and swinging it horizontally as if it were straw, shattering three enchanted arrows aimed at him in mid-air.

Barlem's roar drowned out all the commotion: "Non-dragon-born vermin! Form up! Let these scumbags know what real fire is!" The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from his rage.

The adventurers emerged from their hiding places. Their composition was chaotic yet orderly. Dwarf shield guards from the "Steel Oath" mercenary group carried tower shields to form a defensive line, with exorcism holy words against demons carved on the shields.

Warriors from the "Sword of Dawn" Adventurer Guild were shrouded in pale golden radiance, their sword tips pointing directly at the figures in black cloaks and hoods in the camp!

The ranged professionals among the free adventurers and mercenary groups focused more on the glittering dragon scale treasure chests and magical items in the camp, their eyes flashing with a mixture of greed and "justice."

Some adventurers began to take the opportunity to rush toward the supply tents at the edge of the camp, brawling with the Bailong Sect members trying to defend the property.

Barlem roared, trying to organize a counterattack, but was temporarily held back by a dozen fearless berserker adventurers who knew how high the bounty on a Legendary Warrior was.

Just as Barlem punched through the third adventurer's breastplate and prepared to tear the defensive line apart completely, the shadow took effect.

Liana never appeared, but the command nodes in the adventurer team began to fall silently one by one. A priest who was chanting a group healing spell suddenly clutched her throat, black blood seeping through her fingers; there had been an unnatural fluctuation in her shadow for a split second.

Next were two ranger captains coordinating the encirclement; they stood back-to-back, only to be simultaneously pierced through the ankles by pitch-black short blades thrust from the ground, and were subsequently dragged into the shadows beneath their feet, which had suddenly become as viscous as ink.

The adventurers' offensive visibly slowed. The vanguard lost support, and the flanks began to waver.

Barlem took the opportunity to let out a deafening war cry, his dragon scale tattoos erupting with scorching red light, and with one punch, he sent the dwarf blocking his way flying several meters, shield and all, finally carving out a path to the adventurer command core.

Gru on the cliff squeezed his knuckles until they turned white: "Barlem is about to crush the center army. Those lads can't stop him."

The crystal at the tip of Xiage's staff rotated faster: "Liana has already dealt with seven commanders... her movement trajectory in the shadows is more mysterious than I expected."

Lady Tali remained silent, but her gaze locked onto a patch of shadow on the east side of the camp that appeared empty, where a paladin had just been "swallowed." Her three black blades stopped rotating at her fingertips.

Fednan gently pressed down on the warhammer Gru was preparing to lift: "Wait a little longer. Let Barlem go deeper, let Liana... harvest a few more 'righteous partners.'

When morale is on the verge of collapse, when the adventurers' greed is completely replaced by fear," his gaze was as cold as an abyss, "that will be the best time for the 'reinforcements' to make their entrance."

Below, the sounds of slaughter, roars, screams, and the crackling of burning flames in the canyon blended into a bloody symphony. The morning light finally fully illuminated the Molten Throat Canyon, as well as the blood-covered ground and the gradually imbalanced battle situation.

…………

"Marshal! Urgent report from the Molten Throat Canyon front!" Ye Kemu knelt on one knee, his armor still stained with the dew from before dawn and the grime mixed with gunpowder smoke.

"The Bailong Sect camp has engaged our adventurer troops, but—" his Adam's apple rolled, his voice dropping, "the battle situation... is deviating from expectations."

He unfolded the scribbled parchment in his hand, on which a simple canyon terrain and arrow markings were sketched in charcoal.

"The Bailong Sect's resistance strength far exceeds estimates. Not only did they not fall into chaos due to the surprise attack, but they also quickly organized a counterattack under the command of 'Blood Axe' Barlem.

The adventurers' vanguard has already lost thirty percent, and the Dawn Sword mercenary group on the left flank has been rendered nearly paralyzed by a shadow assassin who has never appeared, with at least seven commanders having their throats slit silently within ten minutes of engagement."

Ye Kemu looked up, his eyes reflecting the faint firelight and black smoke rising from the direction of the canyon in the distance.

"Currently, the adventurers are still barely maintaining the battle line by relying on their numerical advantage, but morale is rapidly disintegrating. If no external force intervenes... my judgment is that within half a standard hour at most, their battle line will completely collapse."

He paused, adding the most critical sentence: "And the Bailong Sect's core combat power, including that Legendary Warrior and at least two High-Level Dragon Tongue Mages, has yet to truly exert their full strength. They seem to be... waiting for something."

"Heh... these old things calculating in the shadows certainly have a good plan."

Giske lifted his eyes from the tactical map, his mouth curling into a cold arc. "Expecting me to send troops to fill this pit? Let them keep their abacus beads warm and continue dreaming."

He stood up, his armor emitting a dull friction sound, and walked to the edge of the tent to lift a corner, looking at the faint smoke and dust rising toward the canyon.

"Every one of my soldiers must be used on the blade that can tear open the demon's city walls."

He let go, the tent curtain falling, isolating the slaughter in the distance. "As for the Bailong Sect... since they are chess pieces the Great Duke personally 'invited' onto the chessboard, how could I ruin the Great Duke's 'reputation'?"

He turned back, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "Pass the order: in the direction of Molten Throat Canyon, all our scouts are to retreat three miles. Without my wolf-head token, not even a bat delivering a letter is allowed to fly over there."

"They want to wait for reinforcements?"

Giske sat back in his iron chair, his knuckles tapping a slow rhythm on the armrest, "Then let them wait well. Wait until the blood in the canyon soaks through the sand and stone, wait until those old foxes can't sit still themselves and reveal the claws hidden under their robes."

"—At that time, we will see, on this battlefield... who is the hunter, and who is the sacrifice."