Ambush

Abel, distracted, emerged from the Blacksmith Shop and headed straight for Knight Marshall's study.

The reason he came here was that Abel wanted to check the map to see where he could safely dispose of the super explosive greatsword from the Horadric Cube.

This was how Abel defined that failed greatsword. Thinking about its power, which even refined steel couldn't withstand, this super explosive greatsword was truly a troublesome thing. If one wanted to take someone down with them, he believed that even a group of senior knights wouldn't be able to withstand its power. He wondered how long the Knight Commander's Battle Qi armor's defense could last against this explosive greatsword.

As Abel's mind wandered, he continuously searched the map. Finally, he spotted a place called Ansa Valley, a day's ride from the Castle. The map indicated a cliff there, which would be perfect for destroying this super explosive greatsword.

After resting for two days and fully recovering his Qi Veins, Abel informed the Knight Marshall that he needed to leave the Castle for some business. The Knight Marshall wasn't worried about Abel's safety, especially since he was equipped with the Hari Bow; as long as he didn't encounter Professionals of Intermediate level or higher, his life wouldn't be in danger.

Moreover, Abel, already a master blacksmith, had the right to manage his own time. And since there had been no intelligence about orc attacks in the past two days, all signs indicated that the current attack was coming to an end. Therefore, the Knight Marshall did not stop Abel but instead urged him to be careful.

This time, Abel took two warhorses. One warhorse was loaded with food for the horses, consisting of high-quality soybeans and oats, while he rode the other.

Just as Abel rode out of the Castle, in the direction of Ansa Valley, an ambush was unfolding in Nai Valley.

Knight Saloyan was a senior knight and a Baron. For many years, he had followed Viscount Dickens, the City Lord, and commanded an elite force of a thousand men. Despite his noble status, the lack of significant battles in recent years made it difficult to earn military merits. He was merely a Baron without any territory. Yearning for a fief and the continuation of his noble title, he was eager to participate in wars to gain enough merits.

However, Harvest City was located in the heartland of the human world, making it a very safe geographical location. Apart from some minor skirmishes, it had always been a place of peace.

A few days prior, Knight Saloyan received orders from City Lord Viscount Dickens to lead his elite force of a thousand men to Nai Valley to ambush the orcs. Upon receiving this order, Knight Saloyan was exceptionally excited. Such a large troop deployment, along with two senior knights and thirty knights accompanying him on this ambush, suggested that the enemy numbers should be very substantial.

Senior Knight Bernal and Senior Knight Hope were both from fallen noble families. By their generation, their family titles had been downgraded to the point where they could no longer be inherited. The glory of their ancestors' shields had dimmed. Although they possessed talent for knightly training, without titles, they could only serve as family knights to City Lord Viscount Dickens.

Although family knights received very high treatment, their positions were not hereditary. The two senior knights had been searching for an opportunity to restore the glory of their ancestors' shields.

When the three senior knights met, they all knew that an opportunity to earn military merits had arrived. Each of the thirty knights and one thousand elite soldiers had a fire burning within them. Their fighting spirit was high as they set out, and everyone looked forward to a battle with the orcs.

The large contingent had now been in Nai Valley for three days. Scouts had been dispatched to survey the area, and everything was ready, awaiting the appearance of the orcs.

Knight Saloyan sat on a rock, looking down at the map of Nai Valley. The valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides. Two of these sides were steep slopes, difficult to climb and covered in dense thorns, effectively making them dead ends. Knight Saloyan's troops were currently ambushed at the top of the last slope, which was very gentle.

"Report!" A scout jumped off his horse and saluted, reporting loudly.

Knight Saloyan turned to look at the scout, who was covered in sweat, and asked, "What did you find?"

"A small group of orcs appeared to the south and are advancing into the valley. They are expected to arrive in 20 minutes."

"Continue scouting," Knight Saloyan waved his hand, then turned to his deputy and ordered, "Have everyone use Scent-Masking Powder."

Scent-Masking Powder was a medicinal powder developed over years of warfare between humans and orcs to mask their own scent. Orcs had extremely keen senses of smell; human odors in the air were like beacons in the sea. Over countless years of war, humans had suffered heavy losses due to the orcs' sense of smell. After painful reflection, humans developed this Scent-Masking Powder, which became a standard strategic supply for the army.

The army began to move in an orderly fashion. No one spoke, silently sprinkling the Scent-Masking Powder on themselves, even on their warhorses.

"Report!" Another scout discovered a situation and reported, "A small group of orcs was found to the east, arriving in 25 minutes."

"Report! A small group of orcs was found to the north, arriving in 20 minutes."

Scouts kept returning with reports. A smile appeared on Knight Saloyan's face. It seemed their three-day wait hadn't been in vain. He glanced back at Senior Knight Bernal and Senior Knight Hope and said with a smile, "They're finally here. The City Lord's intelligence is truly accurate."

"Indeed, to be able to pinpoint the orcs' concentration point," Knight Bernal replied with a smile, his eyes filled with a craving for military merits.

At that moment, a small group of orcs appeared at the valley entrance. It was a troop of Wolf Riders. Upon reaching the valley mouth, one Wolf Rider scouted the valley, and after confirming it was safe, waved to the other Wolf Riders. The troop then entered the valley.

Atop the mountain slopes, everyone in the hidden army held their breath, fearing they might startle these Wolf Riders and jeopardize the ambush plan. This was all for military merits; every orc that entered the valley meant more merit.

Time slowly passed, and more orcs gradually entered the valley. Small groups entered the valley, and the orcs, believing themselves to be very safe, lit bonfires, began roasting meat, and talked loudly about their missions, sharing the joy of successful plunder. Some orcs took out stolen fine wine, enjoying it with the roasted meat. For a time, the valley became a sea of joy.

When the number of orcs in the valley reached over 160, no more orc groups were seen arriving. At this point, the orcs seemed to realize that the assembled numbers were complete and stopped their conversations. They noticed that fewer orcs had returned for the assembly than in previous years. Out of 500 orcs deployed to this region, historically, at least over 200 would return. This year, only 160 had returned, the lowest number in years.

A somber mood began to spread. Many orcs found that their friends and brothers had not returned. The valley, which had been lively moments ago, suddenly fell silent. However, orcs were, after all, a warlike race. The sadness lasted only a short while before the orcs began to organize themselves by their respective squads. The agreed-upon time was approaching, and the flying beasts that would take them home were coming.

Knight Saloyan observed the situation in the valley. According to the intelligence from the City Lord, this was the orcs' assembly point. Now it seemed they had gathered. He turned to his deputy and said, "Go inform the squadron at the valley entrance to seal it off."

"Yes, my lord." The deputy took out a piece of parchment, wrote down the order, stamped it with the squadron's official seal, sealed the envelope with encrypted wax, and then arranged for a messenger to deliver the order to the valley entrance.

About four minutes after the messenger had left, a flock of enormous flying birds appeared in the sky, numbering over twenty.

Upon seeing the flying birds in the sky, Knight Saloyan couldn't help but exclaim softly, "Sky-Scorching Sparrows? This is an orc return point?"

Then Knight Saloyan turned to his deputy and asked, "Can the order just given be recalled?"

The deputy smiled wryly and shook his head, "They should have already started acting by now."

"If we could capture these Sky-Scorching Sparrows, even just one, it would be an earth-shattering achievement," Knight Saloyan said, his eyes glinting greedily at the Sky-Scorching Sparrows in the sky. If he had known these strategic flying beasts of the Orc Empire would appear here, even if all the orcs below escaped, capturing just one Sky-Scorching Sparrow would have been an incredible feat.

Thank you to "Moon Whisperer" for the reward. The author's account cannot post replies due to account issues, so I express my gratitude here.