Solution

The sun gradually sank, painting the horizon a brilliant orange-red. The moon quietly peeked out, and golden and silver light began alternating. A dozen or so carriages traveled along the bumpy road through the woods.

As the convoy proceeded in orderly fashion, a flag suddenly rose from the carriage at the front and began swaying from side to side. It was the signal to slow down and stop, disembark for dinner, and let the horses rest and feed. All the carriages slowly came to a halt, and the people in the convoy began whispering among themselves.

The guards spread out to keep watch, while some of them rotated shifts and entered the carriages to rest. The others gathered firewood and leaves from the surroundings and began lighting a fire. Under the guards' direction, the carriages found an open area and were dragged into a circle, forming a defensive position. The guards even felled some of the surrounding trees to ensure a clear view. Within a few minutes, flames were blazing in the center, while several torches were erected in the open space outside the carriages for illumination and security.

The soldiers stood guard around the perimeter of the convoy, while the others began taking food and water from the carriages. The entire camp soon grew lively.

At this moment, using the carriages to block their view, the baron, Os, and Green quietly gathered together. The three of them were already fully armed. Green wore Old Green's metal armor, carried a longbow on his back, held a longsword in his hand, and had a quiver full of arrows at his right side. The baron and Os were dressed much the same as Green, both looking fully equipped for battle.

"I've been watching their movements. They've stayed at the rear of the convoy and haven't changed formation. They must think they've got us in the bag, so they didn't make any special preparations." Green directly revealed their position.

"Good. Then we'll proceed according to Green's plan." The baron and Os nodded as well, indicating that they could begin.

Under the baron's arrangements, more food and water—even some relatively precious delicacies—were brought out from the carriages. The others at the scene couldn't help drooling when they saw the food. Under normal circumstances, such food could still be found in the castle, but this was a time of flight, making these things incomparably precious. Even the baron couldn't enjoy them regularly.

The fragrant aroma soon spread through the air, and the people tailing the convoy also caught the scent.

"Damn, these people really know how to enjoy themselves. They've fled their territory, yet they're still living in luxury." White spoke with an indignant look. "Captain, I can't take it anymore. Let's attack directly!"

It wasn't only the young White who was barely holding on; even their captain was struggling. Their five-man pursuit squad couldn't carry too many supplies. All they had with them were dry rations meant to fill their stomachs. They couldn't be called tasty—only especially disgusting. Having gone so long without normal food, the sudden fragrant aroma made saliva unconsciously pool in everyone's mouths.

"That's right, Captain Karl. It smells incredible. According to the intelligence, the people on the other side definitely can't beat us anyway. As long as we're a little careful and sneak closer for a surprise attack, it'll be fine." The squad's other two members, who had remained silent until now, couldn't help speaking up as well.

Seeing that all his subordinates agreed to launch the ambush early, and even the usually most composed Dis had food in his eyes, squad commander Karl gritted his teeth as he felt the hunger in his stomach.

"We'll launch the ambush early. Shorten the distance as much as possible, and don't expose yourselves."

After Karl issued his order, light shone in the other four men's eyes. In their view, the entire convoy was already theirs.

The squad slowly approached the defensive position formed by the convoy. On the other side, the three men—Baron Green and Os—had already left the convoy and infiltrated the forest. Under the Chip's detection, the five men's concealment was utterly useless.

Looking at the five men who couldn't withstand the temptation and were preparing to launch their ambush early, Green smiled. The enemy had indeed taken the bait. A human's first instinct was survival, and food was naturally one of the most crucial parts of it. Pursuing in a squad formation, they definitely couldn't carry much food.

"They've taken the bait. Let's hurry and circle around behind them." Green and the other two began quietly going around.

"Captain, we've reached the closest distance. We can launch the ambush." The five pursuers quickly reached the edge of the convoy's defensive position. Any farther forward, and they would reach the guards.

Just as the pursuers were preparing to launch their ambush—

"There are enemies! Defend immediately!" Some guard suddenly shouted. Everyone at the scene fell into chaos before swiftly gathering together. The guards instantly entered combat mode and quickly retreated to surround the carriages.

"Damn it, how were we discovered?" Captain Karl swept his eyes around and found that his people had all hidden perfectly. There was no possibility that they had exposed themselves.

"We can only force our way through now. Everyone, charge!" An ambush had turned into a frontal engagement, and the difference between the two was enormous.

For the sake of pursuit, none of the five members of the pursuit squad wore armor. They had only a thin layer of leather armor. In a frontal battle, they might easily crush the guards, but the guards possessed bows and could still injure them. With the addition of those shields, they could cause even more trouble. The entire squad might suffer casualties. Death was unlikely, but the risk of injury had risen sharply.

The five members of the pursuit squad rapidly charged out of the jungle. Relying on the immense explosive power granted by their Breathing Method, they closed in on the guards like cheetahs.

If these had been ordinary guards, seeing five Knight Level powerhouses charging at them, coupled with the oppressive force released by their Life Seeds, the more timid among them might have fled on the spot.

As captain, Karl quickly noticed something wrong. The opposing guards were far too calm, as if they had known from the beginning that his side would launch an ambush. In particular, after the squad charged out of the jungle, the other side's expressions—which had initially been tense—actually relaxed ever so slightly.

We've taken the bait. Karl's heart trembled, and he forcibly stopped his steps.

"Retreat! It's a trap!"

The moment Karl finished speaking, he prepared to turn and flee. Although the other four didn't know why, they still obeyed Karl's order, immediately stopping and preparing to leave.

"Fire!" The instant Karl's voice fell, another voice rang out from between the carriages.

The carriage windows, which had originally been closed, were suddenly pulled open. Arrows shot rapidly from them, streaking straight toward the five men. They were the guards who had rotated shifts. In Green's plan, these men would carry out the most important part.

Despair appeared on the faces of the five ambushers. They were at the critical moment of turning around, caught between old strength spent and new strength not yet gathered. They were completely unable to mount an effective resistance.

"Chik, chik, chik!"

One arrow after another pierced the five people who had come to pursue them. However, because night had fallen, even with torches providing illumination, the guards' accuracy was not very high. Only three of the five were struck. Two had their hands pierced, while another had his thigh pierced. The two whose hands were hit had acted decisively. Seeing the arrows about to strike their bodies, they thrust out their arms to block them. Otherwise, the arrows would have pierced their bodies.

Captain Karl had not been hit. As the first to notice that something was wrong, he had more time to adjust and was able to assume a dodging stance.

Karl acted decisively. He charged straight toward the man whose thigh had been pierced, grabbed him, and hoisted him over his shoulder before running toward the jungle.

The other three also sprinted toward the jungle. The guards held bows, which lacked the ability to fire repeatedly. Before entering the forest, the four fleeing men encountered no obstacles. They looked back and saw that the guards were holding bows, then relaxed with relief. Turning forward again, they ran with all their might.

Looking at the forest close before them, joy at surviving a calamity appeared in the four men's eyes. Once they entered the jungle and regrouped, they would sooner or later wipe out this convoy. Just as the five men were viciously thinking about how to torment the people from the convoy—

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Five arrows tore through the air. The four people still running were pierced without suspense. Even the man being carried on someone's shoulder took an arrow to the buttocks.

These arrows were completely different from the guards' arrows. Not only were they incredibly fast, every one of them had been aimed at the target's chest. The members of the pursuit squad had focused all their attention on the guards behind them and had never imagined that there would also be an ambush in front.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud!"

"Argh!"

Four consecutive bodies hit the ground, accompanied by a scream.

Each of the four people lying on the ground had an arrow sticking from his chest, with half the shaft buried in his body. At this moment, Green and the other two slowly emerged from the jungle.

The four who had been struck and knocked down immediately pulled the arrows from their chests. They took out some unknown medicinal powder from their clothes and poured it directly over their wounds. The severe bleeding quickly stopped, but judging by the bright-red scabs, the wounds would probably split open again as soon as they moved.

Captain Karl covered his wound with one hand and looked toward Green and the other two. As Knight Level fighters, their vitality was already extraordinarily tenacious. Injuries of this degree would not pose a fatal threat.

"How did you discover us?" Karl asked Green and the other two in an incredulous tone.

"We discovered you the moment you arrived. So, what do you think? Did you enjoy the performance we prepared for you?" Green looked at the five wounded men and spoke with a smile.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect our concealment skills to be so poor. We were discovered the moment we arrived." When Green heard this, he thought, Your concealment was excellent. Unfortunately, I'm a cheater.

After hearing Green's words, Karl lowered his head and fell silent.

"But do you really think this is enough to bring down Knight Level fighters?" Karl, who had still been covering his wound, suddenly raised his head and exploded into motion, charging toward the three men before him. His speed increased by several notches, making him even faster than when he had approached the convoy.

In Karl's view, as long as he dealt with the three men before him, the others were no concern. Even while injured, he could completely handle them.

The other three also charged toward Green and the others at the same time as Karl erupted into motion.

Watching Karl and the others rapidly approach, Green and the other two did not move at all. They merely watched the scene before them with smiles on their faces.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump."

The four men who had still been charging suddenly felt their limbs go weak and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

"Poison? Impossible! How could a Knight Level body be poisoned?" Incredulity filled Karl's eyes. A Knight's body was extremely powerful, and the Life Seed's rejection was exceptionally strong, rendering poisons nearly useless. Moreover, Knight Level bodies possessed tremendous resistance. Even if poisoned, they could not lose their ability to move in such a short time.

"How does it feel? Not pleasant, is it? This is a mixed toxin I specially formulated. Even Knight Level fighters can't withstand it. Although it can't kill you, it can temporarily deprive a Knight Level fighter of the ability to move." Green looked at the enemies lying on the ground and kindly explained.

Green had created this poison back in the castle. He had asked Butler Basel to collect poisons, then gathered poisonous mushrooms, venomous snakes' venom, and poisonous plants in the forest. With the Chip's help, he calculated the proportions and created the mixed toxin. Its toxicity was extremely potent, with a powerful neuromuscular paralysis effect. Once it entered the bloodstream, even a Knight Level fighter would collapse and be unable to rise for some time.

After Green finished speaking, Karl also lowered his head. Of course, he was unwilling to do so—the poison simply prevented him from lifting it.

The guards quickly surrounded them and bound the five men to trees with iron chains. The one who had been shot in the buttocks was not bound, however, but hung up instead. Green glanced at his wound and even felt a chill run through him.

"Now that was unlucky."

Green's arrow had struck the man in the buttocks. When the person carrying him fell, the arrow in his buttocks hit the ground first, driving it even deeper. In the end, it pierced through his entire lower body and emerged from the man's groin—from the place where his testicles were. After enduring such immense pain, it was no wonder he had screamed once and then gone completely still.

After Os interrogated the five captives for a while, they obtained definite information.

As for refusing to answer stubbornly, the five men's mouths were not that hard. After hearing Green mention such tortures as flaying, being cut to pieces, and being hacked in half at the waist, their attitudes began wavering. When Green brought up castration, their answers came astonishingly quickly.

The five men now only begged for a quick death and hoped they would not be tortured.

The five members of the squad were named Karl, White, Dis, Hank, and Terris. They belonged to Saladin's First Legion's elite reconnaissance squad.

First of all, this squad had indeed been sent to pursue the fleeing nobles. However, Saladin had sent more than just this one squad. More than a dozen squads in total were pursuing them along different routes. In addition, there were other squads made up of ordinary soldiers behind them. These ordinary soldiers were mainly responsible for transporting the wealth back. They did not participate in battles and were merely marching normally.

It was unclear which side had worse luck. Most squads were led by one or two Knights alongside three or four Knight Apprentices. Only the squad pursuing Green consisted of five Knight Level fighters.

What should they do with these five men?

If the grass was not pulled out by the roots, it would grow again when the spring breeze blew. The baron immediately ordered his men to cut off the five men's heads. After confirming their deaths, they dug a pit on the spot and buried them. Interestingly, White—the man whose lower body had suffered severe injuries—had actually shown a look of relief in his eyes earlier. But considering that, once he woke up, he had done nothing but wail while staring at his lower body, death might truly have been a release for him. After all, during the last few hours of his life, the arrow in White's body had never been pulled out. Every breath and movement caused unimaginable pain.

After dealing with the pursuers, the baron comforted everyone at the scene and immediately set out again. Under these circumstances, nobody was in the mood to rest. They only wanted to keep moving and escape the danger.