The Card Adepts all looked deeply worried, their faces grim. The Snowwave Bats' ambush had dealt them a devastating blow, and the mysterious expert they had just encountered had cast an even darker, impenetrable shadow over their hearts.
They had not gone far when the leading Card Adept suddenly grew alert. Without waiting for his command, the others, like birds startled by the twang of a bowstring, immediately readied themselves for battle.
"Ansa, it's me!"
A booming voice rang out from afar. In the blink of an eye, a dark-faced, burly man built like an iron tower appeared before them, accompanied by about thirty Card Adepts.
Once Ansa recognized the newcomer, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Mota, what are you doing here?"
"Boss was afraid something might happen to you, so he sent me with some men to meet you," Mota said casually. Then he noticed Ansa's disheveled state and froze. "Don't tell me something actually happened?"
Ansa smiled bitterly. "You guessed it. We ran into a swarm of Snowwave Bats and lost a few brothers. When your luck's rotten, even cold water gets stuck between your teeth. Damn it, there was actually an expert aboard that Snow Shuttle!"
"An expert?" Mota narrowed his eyes. "What kind of expert?" Ansa was clever and decisive, and Boss favored him greatly. Entrusting this first ambush to him showed just how much faith Boss had in his abilities.
Ansa was not known for his combat prowess, but anyone capable of leading a squad could hardly be weak in a fight.
Mota and Ansa got along quite well. Ansa also knew that Mota had little interest in the group's internal power struggles, so there was no conflict of interest between them.
Ansa recounted everything that had just happened in detail. The more he