Dark Undercurrents
Three irregularly shaped, curved arrows shot out from the dense jungle. Two of them circled around to the left and right flanks of the camp ahead, while the thickest arrow in the center went straight for the camp gate.
"Whoosh!"
Once the distance between the two sides had closed to a certain extent, the arc-shaped arrow launched the first long-range attack.
"Boom!"
Under the onslaught of five or six hundred Dragon Breath, the fragile wooden door instantly turned to ashes, and the unfortunate souls behind the gate were also reduced to mincemeat. Not only that, even the guards and patrol members on the wall closer to the gate suffered the same fate, some losing arms or legs, with only a few extremely alert and lucky ones surviving unscathed.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
A minute or two after the gate was destroyed, the garrison finally realized what had happened and immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.
In fact, even if the guards near the camp gate hadn't issued a warning, everyone inside the camp already knew they were under attack. There was no way around it; the sound of five or six hundred Dragon Breath exploding was simply too loud. Even a group of deaf people inside the camp could hear it clearly, let alone two or three thousand dragons with their acute hearing!
As a result, everyone in the camp rushed towards the camp gate.
Due to the sudden movement of troops, the once impregnable defenses instantly became riddled with holes. With such a golden opportunity before them, how could Igneel and his men miss it? Thus, the remaining two arched arrows seized the chance to penetrate from the enemy's flanks and head straight for the West Camp District where the prisoners were located.
"There's an emergency at the rear!"
Before the defenders could deal with the problems on both flanks and the front, an alarm sounded from the rear.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
At the very moment the warning siren began to echo through the air, a sharp, piercing whistling sound shot out from the sky behind the camp. Immediately afterward, a deluge of energy beams descended from the heavens, turning the rear of the camp into a sea of fire. Before the defenders could react, a massive horde of dragons roared down from the sky, launching a sudden and deadly attack on the troops on the ground.
With the absence of the highest commander, the garrison's command system was paralyzed. Coupled with the enemy's pincer attack, widespread panic ensued, and thus the first uprising in this other world quietly began.
"Help! I don't want to die!"
"The enemy is coming! Run!"
"Get out of my way! Don't block my path!"
Cries, wails, curses, and pleas for help mingled together, turning the once quiet military camp into a chaotic marketplace. The fighting, the fleeing, and the looting made the scene even more chaotic and noisy.
How could these disorganized and undisciplined rabble possibly stop the elite troops under the young master's command? As a result, the two assaulting units successfully rescued the prisoners and withdrew from the battlefield smoothly.
"Brother Igneel, quickly send a signal to them! (Diphiya)"
"Good!"
"Call out"
"Bang!"
An orange-yellow fireball rose into the air at an extremely high speed, then exploded in the sky, forming an orange-yellow chrysanthemum.
"Um?"
Sordil, who had been closely monitoring the battlefield, noticed the signal flare the instant it exploded. After carefully verifying its launch location, the young master instantly confirmed that his primary combat objective had been achieved. However, the sight of a warplane capable of annihilating the Western Continent's manpower prevented him from issuing a retreat order. Therefore, the battle did not cease as planned but continued.
Perhaps spurred by the deaths, or perhaps the garrison's command system finally came to its senses, the defenders began fleeing into the jungle in front of the camp, or directly towards another camp on the Western Continent located in the Godeswet Mountain. Perhaps coincidentally, the number of those heading into the jungle was equal to the number heading towards the other camp.
After ordering his soldiers to pursue for a distance, Sordil ordered a retreat. Besides being influenced by the principle of "never pursuing a cornered enemy" from his previous life, the ease with which the battle went was also one of the reasons why the young master withdrew his troops.
After escaping their pursuers, the panic on the faces of the defeated soldiers from the Western Continent gradually dissipated, and their lost sense of order and seriousness returned to them.
If Sordil were to pursue the defeated soldiers from the Western Continent who fled to another camp, he would find that after returning, these soldiers had transformed into an elite force, turning the new camp into a truly impregnable fortress. However, if the young master were to pursue the group that fled into the jungle, he would see the three men, including Goodpes, who had just left, appear at the front of the column, leading these 'defeated soldiers' at breakneck speed towards the Central Camp.
"Goodpes, is that person reliable?"
"Whether that person is reliable or not is no longer important, because we have more than just him as a means of dealing with this situation!"
"I don't know why, but I always feel uneasy, as if this plan might cause something bad."
Upon hearing his old friend's words, Goodpes suddenly slowed down. After staring at his friend for several seconds, he caught up with and overtook him at an even faster pace.
"Delsd, the die is cast, and there's no time for us to decide!"
He waved his hand, catching a lingering sound of his old friend in the wind. Delsd sighed, then pushed his speed to the limit, chasing after his friend who was now just a blur.
Central Ishgar, Mysterious Cave
"Whoosh!"
The lithe, dark figure had just landed when a familiar, hoarse voice came from in front of him.
"How's the investigation going?"
"Reporting to my master, I have ascertained that the reason our friends in the west insisted on carrying out this plan is because our Old Friend broke into their home, emptied it of all their possessions, and burned it down!"
"Heh! Ruthless! Decisive! No wonder you're Old Friend! No wonder our friend on the west side was willing to risk his life for him; I would have fought to the death too. By the way, is there any progress on the other matter I asked you to investigate?"
"Reporting to my master, that matter happened too long ago, and most of the people involved were close confidants of Old Friend, so I have not been able to find out any useful information so far."
"Hmm... I knew this would be the result! However, this is our first collaboration with our new ally, so you'll still have to work harder and do your best to verify."
"Understood!"
Seeing that the matter he had instructed had been completed, and the lithe, dark figure remained kneeling on the ground, not rising, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Is there anything else?"
"Master, I shouldn't be so nosy, but I still want to remind you that those friends in the west are far too dangerous. If possible..."
The agile shadowy figure's words seemed to touch a raw nerve in the hoarse voice, instantly igniting his fury.
"Shut up! I know what I should and shouldn't do, I don't need you to remind me!"
"Master, I just..."
"Call out"
Before he could finish speaking, he was struck by a black, disc-shaped object that flew out from deep within the cave and crashed into the cave wall.
"Puff!"
After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the agile figure slid down the cave wall like a puddle of mud, while the disc-shaped object flew back into the depths of the cave.
"I know you're doing this for my own good, and I'm only sparing your life because it's your first offense. But remember this: you're just a knife in my hand. Just behave yourself, and that's none of your business!"
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, forced himself to get up, and then the lithe figure knelt down respectfully again.
"Your subordinate will remember your teachings, Master!"
"That matter needs to be investigated as soon as possible; our new ally is getting impatient!"
"Understood!"
"Alright, you can leave now!"
"Yes!"
"Oh, and remember to treat your wound. Don't let it die out there. I still have a lot of things for you to do!"
"Understood, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave!"