Chapter 854: Ambush, Breaking Through the Ambush

The elder Dwarf "Iron Fist" was speechless; he raised his hand, but in the end, he did nothing, nor did he say anything.

The surrounding Dwarves had wanted to hear him say something, even if it were just the usual spiritual or verbal reassurance, but "Iron Fist's" silence, along with his face hidden beneath his hard helmet, left everyone disappointed.

Even "Long Tail," whose words were full of indignation, was the same; he muttered softly, picked up the Single-handed Axe that had been smashed onto the ground, and stood to one side in silence.

A suffocating atmosphere persisted in the lounge for quite a while, making even the most optimistic Dwarf afraid to speak, leaving them to silently pack their weapons and equipment, secretly hardening their resolve, preparing to vent their anger on the Human Knight who would arrive shortly.

After everyone was prepared, "Iron Fist" walked up to each person, patted the Dwarf in front of him on the helmet, tugged at the large Metal Armor Plates of their armor, and checked that everyone was ready.

He then spoke with difficulty, saying a word to every Dwarf he inspected.

"Be careful in a moment; your eyesight is poor, don't hit the wrong target with your Throwing Spear," "Iron Fist" joked half-heartedly.

The Dwarf before him squinted and twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a silent laugh.

"How is the leg you injured last time? Don't force yourself during the move to the ambush site; there is plenty of time, just walk over slowly," "Iron Fist" patted another Dwarf on the shoulder and said in a low voice.

This Dwarf smiled confidently, picked up the heavy Metal Single-handed Axe at his side, and tapped the Armor on his injured leg with the flat of the axe, making a clanging sound: "It's sturdy enough; I can go down into the Mine and dig for days and nights without any problems."

"Iron Fist" chuckled: "Trying to be tough."

With the appearance of smiles, the atmosphere seemed to improve; everyone seemed to deliberately forget the unpleasant yet realistic problem from just before, displaying the optimistic nature of the Dwarf Miners.

The third Dwarf was "Long Tail"; "Iron Fist" had to whisper to this Dwarf companion: "I will find a way."

"You always say that," "Long Tail" curled his lip and put on his helmet of his own accord.

"Iron Fist" helped his companion straighten his helmet and tucked "Long Tail's" black beard, which was exposed outside the helmet, back into the Armor: "I know, such days are nearing the limit of everyone's endurance. I will find a safe and reliable way to let everyone return home. I swear it, I swear by my family."

"You always say that," "Long Tail" rolled his eyes and mumbled indistinctly.

"Iron Fist" walked to the next companion, helped hang the weapon on the other's belt, and then chose a well-crafted Crystal Shield and handed it to the companion.

Before he could say a couple of words to boost morale, this Dwarf shouted: "Old fellow, remember what you said. Although we still have enough life left in us, who wants to waste decades or a century for nothing? We should have evacuated the Mine early on."

"What is the use of saying that now? Old friend."

"Iron Fist" explained: "Back then, regarding the question of staying or leaving, I asked everyone, and everyone said to wait for our Kingdom's army to fight back. Now you can't blame everything on me; that would bring shame upon my family. Rest assured, I already have a few ideas for everyone's future, though they aren't very mature yet."

Seeing "Iron Fist" say this, the Dwarf in front nodded and believed him, though it was unclear if he truly believed it, or if he only nodded because he didn't want to make his old friend lose face or authority in front of everyone.

After all, the fact that these abandoned Dwarf Miners had been able to stay united all these years without scattering was largely thanks to this person's constant efforts.

After checking and encouraging two more Dwarves, "Iron Fist," seeing that everyone was armed, gave a big wave of his hand and was the first to walk out of the lounge, heading quickly toward the ambush point.

The other Dwarves followed behind, each fully armed. Although these Miners were not professional Dwarf blacksmiths, they were all born with the ability to handle a bit of smelting and forging. Coupled with the high quality of the Metal Ore produced by the local Mine, these Miners were armed to the teeth, with every part of their bodies that could be protected by Metal Armor Plates being protected.

Not to mention the heavy Armor, these Dwarf Miners each possessed astonishing strength; the weight of this armor actually didn't count for much. One must know that many Dwarf Miners could even work in the Mine for long periods without eating or drinking, and could drag raw ore of the same volume as themselves to the surface alone.

As for the dormant large insects, cave creatures, and skeleton Monsters encountered while mining underground, the Dwarf Miners could handle them easily on their own.

The ambush point was chosen by the Dwarf "Iron Fist" at a location in the Forest near the side of the Valley.

The Dwarf anti-slip road that ran through the entire Forest happened to pass by a large tree that had died long ago, so the Dwarves called this place 【Shishu】.

This was a rare open area in the Mist-filled Forest. The tree, which had died who knows how long ago, occupied a significant area, and even though it had been dead for a long time, the remaining tree roots still hindered the possibility of other large trees spreading into the surrounding circle.

After all, the tree was dead, but it was unknown how much time it would take for the entire tree to rot and crumble.

Logically speaking, a dead tree would be very easy to attract insects to lay their larvae in, but because this Forest uniquely had no other living creatures besides the large trees, to this day, at least the Dwarves did not know how long it would take for this 【Shishu】 to rot into mud after its death.

In the tunnel ambush point beneath the 【Shishu】, the Dwarf "Iron Fist" read the content recorded on the latest Communication Bat that had flown in. Afterward, he sent the exhausted little bat into a storage recess on the wall nearby, then said to the two Dwarves around him: "The target is coming soon; how are the other tunnel exits in the vicinity?"

The two Dwarves who had just come from other places immediately said: "Ready, we can rush out of the tunnel entrance immediately upon hearing the sound of action."

"Rest assured, everyone wants to engage in battle with the opponent; they are all howling with excitement."

Hearing "Iron Fist's" dissatisfied grunt, this Dwarf immediately changed his tune: "Of course, we won't actually howl out loud; it's not like we haven't guarded the Forest before, we know we can't make noise during an ambush. Oh, you old fellow, this is a literary metaphor, understand? A metaphor!"

"Iron Fist" was between laughter and tears; he certainly knew it was just a metaphor. After all, coming from a great family, he was not like his companions who came from ordinary Miner families. But he was ultimately responsible for the safety and lives of dozens of Dwarves in the Mine and the settlement. Facing a difficult and powerful Human opponent, he could not carelessly treat the other party as an unintelligent mountain Monster or Magic Beast.

Crude traps and ambushes were very effective when dealing with Monsters, and barely worked against slightly smarter Magic Beasts, but when facing Humans who possessed the same intelligence or were even more quick-witted, any carelessness in action or crudeness in the plan would become a possibility for the opponent to see through the trap.

"Alright, alright, be quiet. Remember, after hearing my attack roar, I will rush out of the tunnel entrance first, then you two follow in turn. Aim at the Human who will definitely be on the road, use your Throwing Spears, and throw them hard at me!"

"Understood, understood!"

"No need for you to repeat it again, 'Iron Fist.' You aren't usually this careful, are you? What, has your beard turned white, and your courage turned into cowardly white along with it?"

"Iron Fist" did not respond, but instead waved his hand behind him in silence.

Seeing this action, the other two Dwarves immediately shut their mouths, and their breathing became lighter. At the same time, their left arms gripped the handles of their Crystal Shields tightly, while their right hands kept opening and closing, fiddling with the Heavy Throwing Spears in their hands.

The tunnel ambush entrance where "Iron Fist" was located was different from other nearby tunnel entrances; here, a simple mechanism similar to a periscope was additionally installed on the stone slab of the entrance, with two smooth, reflective natural crystals installed in place of reflective glass.

Due to the irregularity of the natural crystals and the lack of a reflective coating, one could only barely see a small piece of the road outside through these two crystals.

But this was enough.

As for surveillance and reconnaissance, the Dwarves had already done that elsewhere; here, it was enough just to confirm that the target had entered the ambush perimeter, and it didn't need to be very sophisticated. Moreover, the Dwarves forgotten here had no way to produce glass or silver plating.

In the blurry, narrow field of vision, "Iron Fist" saw a vague figure of a horse.

That was the target!

A little closer.

A little closer.

A... little... closer!

Now.

The elder Dwarf stood up abruptly, and at the same time, his right arm pushed open and overturned the stone slab cover of the tunnel entrance, while he roared: "Do it!"

He jumped out of the tunnel, and his Dwarf companions behind him also jumped out, one to the left and one to the right.

But before they could throw the Heavy Throwing Spears in their hands forward, a tall prairie horse charged over, moving at high speed!

Although "Iron Fist" was surprised by the speed of the target after mounting the horse, he still threw the Heavy Throwing Spear in his hand toward the target Human.

Woo—

A Heavy Throwing Spear utilizing a large amount of metal could not be thrown very far, but in close-range attacks, it was an excellent weapon for taking lives and piercing armor, especially compared to using armor-piercing weapons in melee combat. The longer attack range of the Heavy Throwing Spear allowed the user to have the possibility of attacking armored enemies without having to risk their lives in melee combat.

This was very important for those who were not professional combat personnel; it not only reduced potential losses during battle but also greatly reduced the training time and resources consumed by personnel.

Including the local Dwarves who were currently ambushing Jier, although they had stubbornly held their ground here for many years for some unknown reason, they were not professional Warriors after all; their primary job was being Miners. Mining consumed a great deal of the Dwarf Miners' energy and physical strength, even when they were sent to guard the incoming and outgoing Forest during their rest. But these Dwarves, who were no longer young, had long since lost the desire to train in martial arts.

The "Iron Fist" had decent skill with the throwing spear; as the one primarily responsible for managing the Dwarves, he could usually still find time to maintain his own Duanbing practice. If only the target he was dealing with right now wasn't Jier.

Clang—

A crisp sound of metal colliding rang out, yet it was the Human Knight, accelerating as he approached on horseback, who used only a Metal Spear to deflect this dangerous Heavy Throwing Spear.

"Ah?"

Before the elder Dwarf's surprise could even be fully expressed and the expression on his face could change, the Human Knight was already charging straight at him on his warhorse, the Metal Spear that had just knocked away the throwing spear thrusting directly toward "Iron Fist's" chest.

Don't ask if Jier's Metal Spear could pierce the front of the Dwarf's armor in one strike; just know that the force generated by being hit like this was far greater than the kick Jier had delivered with great strength earlier.

Even if the armor blocked the attack, the Dwarf beneath the armor would still be crushed to death inside it by the impact force.

Realizing his miserable fate in the next second, the elder Dwarf grunted, lowered his body, and in a split second, propped his large Crystal Shield against the ground at an angle.

"Ha!"

Jier shouted, not changing direction, and with a 'thud', he lowered his spear, scraping it against the front of the Dwarf's shield, creating a violent screech and sending crystal shards flying, then the spear pressed against the opponent, dragging him along the ground for half a meter.

Only then did he charge past.

The other two Dwarves who had followed "Iron Fist" out of the tunnel entrance were terrified; the tall, armored warhorse charged straight over, and these two had no chance to throw their Heavy Throwing Spears. Ignoring the battle, the two Dwarves simultaneously leaped and rolled to their left, avoiding the warhorse's collision and trampling.

The Dwarves lying in ambush elsewhere uncovered hidden stone slabs at nearly the same moment and rushed out of the tunnels; there were three Dwarves at a greater distance, while four Dwarves jumped out from the left and right sides of the road closer by.

But as soon as they emerged, they did not immediately see the target that should have been on the road; instead, on the side away from the road, that Human was riding his tall warhorse and had knocked down "Iron Fist" and the others.

These Dwarves had just wanted to throw their spears as previously instructed, but they were all concerned about their companions in the same direction, and in their hesitation, they found it difficult to launch an attack.

Don't look at how everyone boasted about how powerful they were; in reality, everyone knew exactly what their true abilities were. Their current position was at the perfect distance from "Iron Fist" and the Human Knight—the stage where the throwing spear had its greatest power.

But the timing for battle was so fleeting; with a moment of hesitation, the Human on horseback steered his warhorse, running further and further away in this area of 【Shishu】, circling around the dense and protruding tree roots beneath the trunks of 【Shishu】, and after a brief detour, arrived on the road on the other side of the large tree.

"'Iron Fist'!"

The two Dwarf companions who had climbed up from their roll immediately rushed to the elder Dwarf's side, lifted the Crystal Shield with its crystal mostly shattered, and then removed the Metal Helmet the elder Dwarf had been wearing.

The elder Dwarf's face beneath the helmet looked bad; although the massive force of the Knight's impact had been blocked, some of the shattered crystal fragments had leaked through the gaps in the helmet, leaving many small scratches on the old Dwarf's face.

That was a minor matter; at this moment, blood was continuously flowing from the old Dwarf's nose and mouth, while he kept his eyes tightly shut, having lost most of his consciousness.

"What do we do?"

One asked, while the other pulled a dirty piece of cloth from his waist, wiped the old Dwarf's blood-covered face indiscriminately, and leaned his ear close to the other's mouth and nose to test if there was still breathing.

After listening for a moment, the breathing was still there.

"Still breathing! He's still alive! Damn it, that damn Human Knight!"

Once he determined the old Dwarf was not in mortal danger, this Dwarf companion stopped worrying about the old Dwarf, snatched a Heavy Throwing Spear from the Leather Bag behind his waist, and began searching for that Human enemy.

But after looking around, he discovered that the man had already ridden his horse to the other side of 【Shishu】, at least twenty or thirty meters away from them.

"Forget it! Eat my spear!"

This Dwarf roared, startling Jier into turning his head to look at him.

This Dwarf took two running steps and, turning his body, threw the heavy and powerful throwing spear, but Jier only glanced at it and paid no further attention.

Just as Jier had expected, although the throwing spear had enough power, this distance exceeded the accurate range of the Heavy Throwing Spear. The powerful spear missed, flying past more than seven meters away from Jier, and slanted downward to pierce into the base of a large tree's trunk.

The object drilled directly into the tree trunk, leaving only a palm-sized portion of the spear's tail visible.

The other Dwarves caught up at this time; with no one in command, some of the more hot-tempered ones charged toward the Human Knight. Others, worried about the unconscious "Iron Fist," gathered around the old Dwarf, holding axes and shields to guard against Jier while turning their heads to look at the old Dwarf lying on the ground.

"So many Dwarves, hiss..."

Jier rubbed his teeth, pulled the Jiansheng, and let Tianxuecao run onto the forest road, then kicked the horse's belly hard, making the warhorse accelerate and run along the forest road, which was not wide but sufficient for a fierce charge.

And the Dwarves pursuing from behind were shaken off in just a few breaths.

However, this speed was only maintained for a short while; Jier had just rushed past the wide forest area that had looked like an ambush site, and the surrounding environment had returned to its previous appearance.

The road underfoot became twisted and winding; if he wasn't careful, the warhorse would rush off the road. There was no choice, so Jier had to jump off the horse, carry his spear, and jog, letting the warhorse follow him at a slow walk.

As for the Dwarves behind him, Jier estimated that even if they ran their short legs off, they wouldn't be able to catch up to him; as long as he maintained his current speed and there were no new ambushes ahead, it would be very difficult for them to catch him and keep him in this Forest.

"Ha, I must have knocked down their leader just now! Cunning Dwarves, they really did ambush me. But, haha, what were those guys thinking? To actually intercept me in such an obvious place, did they really think they had me in the bag?"

Jier mocked as he jogged.

But despite his words, his expression remained very serious, because even without observing carefully just now, he could see that these Dwarves were truly too troublesome; not only did each one wear thick and heavy Metal Armor, but they also jumped out of the tunnels holding Heavy Throwing Spears, and they were surrounding both sides of the road, just waiting for him to fall into the trap and give him a hard time.

Jier considered the power of the throwing spear he had just seen and couldn't help but shiver; if he hadn't felt that something was wrong and prepared to accelerate and break through the encirclement on horseback in advance, ten Dwarves throwing those spears together—ha, he probably would have lost his life several times over, right?

"This is really deadly. Don't these Dwarves avoid killing Humans who trespass? Why are they hitting so hard with me? Or are they inherently this brutal?"

Jier was somewhat worried about the Human companions trapped by the Dwarves, and also worried that if he chose this place as a safe area to settle the Refugee Team, would he have to kill all these brutal Dwarves to control this place?

"Trouble! What a pain."

Jier got a headache; it had only been a short while since he had managed to get rid of the nightmare of being haunted by vengeful spirits using expensive potions. If he were to start a massacre again, would these Dwarves follow and haunt him too?

"Can't a person even get a good night's sleep anymore!"