Setting an Ambush

Zobol Forest lay shrouded in a vast expanse of white mist beneath the morning light, as though it were nestled within a sea of clouds. Black, who was recuperating in the forest, suddenly felt a surge of unease, much like when he had faced that little fox Sordil several days ago. Black shook his head fiercely, driving the absurd thought from his mind. This was not Moens Canyon; that idiotic human had no idea where they were. So even if they tortured him relentlessly, he would never expose them. And it was even more impossible for them to follow his trail here—after all, Lord Black's invisibility spell was invincible.

Having thought it through, Black relaxed and continued resting to recover from his injuries. Yet for some reason, the birds that usually chirped endlessly in the forest were completely silent today. Not only the birds, but even the beasts that normally foraged everywhere had vanished. The surroundings were so quiet that it felt as though he were the only one there, and it left Black feeling irritated.

At the outskirts of Zobol Forest, Sordil finished carving the final Magic Array pattern. The interconnected patterns gave off a transparent glow, while the air hummed with vibrations. The Magic Array activated in an instant, and a semicircular barrier of light enveloped the entire Zobol Forest. Even the mist inside the forest was trapped beneath the barrier, unable to spread outward. This was the countermeasure Sordil had devised for this war after learning from the failure at Moens Canyon. This time, he would not let a single dragon escape.

"Young Master Sordil truly considered everything. With this, not a single one of those bastards can get out. This time, we have to teach them a bloody lesson and make sure they never dare look down on Fostadu again." Just as Sordil finished setting up the Space Magic Array, Lindel stepped forward with praise. The smugness on Sordil's face deepened, but at that moment, Murellia raised a different opinion.

"But if Koreita's dragons realize there's no hope of escape, won't they fight back even more fiercely? Who knows how many of our companions will be injured then?"

"This is war. How could there be no casualties in war? Once the battle is over, we can just take good care of our injured companions, can't we?" Lindel shot back at Murellia's objection.

Murellia wanted to argue, but she did not know how to begin. All she could do was glare furiously at Lindel. Lindel felt uncomfortable under her stare, so he simply turned his head and ignored her, his eyes fixed on the depths of Zobol Forest. However, Murellia's reminder made Sordil recall something Zhuge the Villager had said in the Three Kingdoms in his previous life: when besieging a city, leave one side open. Sordil immediately decided to open up a passage through the forest, one wide enough for only a single dragon to pass through. This would not only effectively prevent them from escaping, but also reduce casualties on his own side.

With that thought, Sordil strode up to Murellia and gave her a huge bear hug. Murellia instantly blushed and fainted, while Lindel was so shocked that his jaw nearly hit the ground as he stared dumbfoundedly at the two of them embracing. Ignoring the two whose minds had already gone offline, Sordil rushed to the western side of the forest to open the passage. He then summoned Woodsman and Wattster, ordering them to set up an ambush near the passage and eliminate any dragons that successfully escaped. He himself went to the other sides to create decoys, driving the dragons toward the passage. Once all the preparations were complete, the curtain on the great battle slowly rose.

After carefully searching the jungle and confirming that there were no suspicious humans nearby, Moritz descended from the sky. He was beginning to doubt whether Leader's operation had truly been the right decision. Was it really worth going to war with Fostadu's dragon clan over a few insignificant humans? And even if they did go to war, could their side really win? Ever since the news Black brought back when he escaped a few days ago, those doubts had grown wildly like weeds. Then, not long ago, clan members had discovered suspicious humans entering and leaving Zobol Forest. Moritz suspected that Fostadu's dragons were about to attack, which was why he had volunteered to patrol the forest.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Suddenly, Moritz heard an eerie sound of wind coming from not far ahead, like the sound of wings beating when he flew through the sky. Moritz instantly thought of something terrifying. Just as he was about to shout a warning to his companions in the jungle, a bright blue beam of light shot straight toward his face. At the same time, the sound of beating wings rapidly drew closer. Moritz knew he might be facing the greatest crisis of his life, so he could only deal with the immediate danger first and worry about everything else later.

Bang!

Although Moritz used his breath attack to cancel out part of the assault, some of the energy still struck his body. In an instant, his entire body was paralyzed. At that moment, the other ambusher finally arrived before him. The opponent showed no mercy just because he could not move. As the ambusher bit down on Moritz's right arm, he extended both hands and tore at his wings. Moritz struggled desperately to dodge, but he was still a fraction too slow. Agonizing pain tore through his mind.

Riiip!

Roar!

Moritz threw back his head and let out a pained roar. Looking at his body, now missing his right arm and right wing, he knew he was no match for the person before him—let alone with other dragons nearby. Once he realized that escape was hopeless, Moritz only hoped to buy his companions enough time to flee, while making his enemy pay the proper price for injuring him. What Moritz did not know was that identical attacks were taking place in every corner of Zobol Forest. His companions were facing the same predicament as he was.

Black stared at the dragons before him, his heart filled with bitterness. His feeling had come true after all. But this time, he had failed to escape as smoothly as he had before. He touched the spatial barrier before him and looked at Sordil outside the forest, directing the humans as they reinforced the formation. Black felt that his greatest mistake had been setting his sights on that fellow. That guy was a crafty fox and a vicious, sinister snake. The moment he discovered someone intended to deal with him, he would unleash the most ruthless retaliation upon his enemy—just like he was doing to Black now.

However, Black did not back down, because his pride would never allow him to become a deserter. Lord Black would show him that he was not some cowardly dragon afraid of death. But not every dragon was as willing to face death as Moritz and Black. After the attack, some dragons lucky enough to survive began searching everywhere for a way out. Finally, someone shouted that they could escape through the west, and the battered remnants immediately fled toward that side. But they did not know that what they had chosen was not a path to survival, but a gate leading to death.