Imperial Throne

Chapter 110: Engagement

Shadow was the name of the team Ion had established over half a year ago, specifically tasked with intelligence gathering.

The inspiration for the name was said to come from the Tyrella Kingdom’s royal intelligence and reconnaissance division, the “Shadow Guards”—according to Ion, his intention in naming this intelligence division was for it to be as pervasive as shadows, capable of obtaining any information regardless of the situation.

However, for now, Shadow’s intelligence-gathering capabilities were only effective within the White Mountain Territory.

Because once outside of the White Mountain Territory, this group of intelligence agents was no different from blind and deaf men.

After receiving Sien’s request for reinforcements, Yam had immediately deployed Shadow first. And since these intelligence agents had received direct training from Ion in reconnaissance and intelligence collection techniques, and were now operating on their home ground, it was hardly impressive that they were able to quickly find their target.

Of course, the most crucial point was that Yam suspected this group to be quite confident, to the extent that they had almost made no effort to conceal their tracks or presence. Naturally, they were discovered by Shadow, who excelled at gathering intelligence on the battlefield, and tracked straight to their location.

...

At this moment, over a dozen individuals in mismatched attire were either lying down or sitting nearby, resting.

Some had their eyes closed, recuperating.

Some were silently eating.

From their habits and behavior, there was no doubt this group was a band of mercenaries: their weapons were placed in the most accessible positions nearby; whether resting or eating, their eyes remained constantly alert; and although they appeared to be scattered, in reality, they were positioned in a way that allowed complete visual coverage of the surrounding area, eliminating any chance of someone approaching unnoticed.

“Boss, do we really need to be this cautious?”

A chubby man suddenly asked.

He wasn’t burly—just genuinely overweight, appearing to weigh close to two hundred pounds.

And the person he addressed wasn’t the eldest among the group, but rather a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties.

This young man was the youngest in the mercenary group, yet exuded the strongest presence.

Though he sat casually in the center of the group, he radiated a charisma that drew attention: confident and flamboyant.

“The opponent is the legendary Red Eagle Sword. A little caution never hurts,” the young man said with a yawn, then continued, “Anyway, the employer only asked us to stir up trouble for them as much as possible, not to kill anyone. So let’s not go inviting trouble for ourselves.”

“Sigh, this mission is really boring,” another middle-aged man sighed. “It’s not satisfying. Fighting like this feels so restrained.”

“Hahaha.” Another middle-aged man laughed and scolded, “Quit pretending. You think you're Avis? That Bloodline Knight wasn’t defeated by us—we barely contributed.”

The fat man, whose name was suddenly brought up, smiled sheepishly.

“Hey!” the middle-aged man snapped. “If not for my Wind Pressure Burst preventing that knight from unleashing his Flame Spit, there would’ve been a mess afterward. Don’t underestimate my ability—it’s at least stronger than your Water Vapor Diffusion.”

The man being addressed didn’t argue, merely responded with a few good-natured laughs, which in turn agitated the other even more, insisting on a contest to see whose ability was stronger.

“Boss, give a fair opinion. Isn’t my Wind Pressure Burst stronger than his Water Vapor Diffusion?”

The young man looked speechlessly at the two members more than ten years his senior and said helplessly, “You two are old enough to be my uncles. How can you still be this childish? Bloodline abilities aren’t absolutely stronger or weaker. Some may seem weak, but in the right circumstances, they can be crucial. You two should know that.”

“Boss, I wasn’t trying to compete. He’s the one being petty,” the middle-aged man with Water Vapor Diffusion quickly clarified.

“Yaster’s Water Vapor Diffusion can effectively lower temperatures and rapidly condense large amounts of moisture. That’s actually beneficial for my Condensation to Ice,” Avis suddenly said. “Just like those two knights whose abilities complement each other—Flame Spit and Fire Control combined can produce tremendous combat effects. The three of our abilities working together can unleash even stronger combat results. I wouldn’t be so effective without your help.”

“Hear that!” the middle-aged man with Wind Pressure Burst said to his companion Yaster.

The other middle-aged man said nothing, but suddenly gave Avis a big thumbs-up.

“Boss, what’s the next step?”

“According to the employer’s instructions, we’ll stir up a few more incidents, then retreat towards the Western Wind Territory,” the young man said. “But the usual rule still applies—commoners can be killed, but those three knights must not be killed. Otherwise, if Red Eagle Sword and Blazing Bow both show up, we’ll be in serious trouble. …It’s said that the Red Eagle Sword is nearing Third Tier strength, so this is probably our last chance to cause trouble here. After this, the White Mountain Territory will be a much more dangerous place.”

“Hey, Boss, since we’re not coming back, how about we kill them during the final escape?”

“Why are you so bloodthirsty?”

“What do you know? None of those Bloodline Nobles are any good!”

Seeing their companion’s face suddenly twist with anger, the other three also fell silent.

They knew each other fairly well, so they knew that this particular companion had once had a fiancée. However, because she was too beautiful, she was humiliated by the son of a local lord. Afterwards, his fiancée chose to take her own life. One of the main reasons he desired strength so desperately was to one day exact revenge. As such, he held no goodwill whatsoever towards any of the Bloodline Nobles or the Bloodline Knights who served them.

But with only his own power, it was impossible for him to kill a Bloodline User.

That was why he was so desperate to advance to Second-Tier Bloodline User.

And now, he was only one dose of Bloodline Potion away from becoming a Second-Tier Bloodline User.

"Someone like you, who doesn't hesitate to slaughter ordinary soldiers, has no right to say ‘none of the Bloodline Nobles are any good.’"

The sudden voice startled the mercenaries.

These well-trained mercenaries immediately grabbed their weapons and assumed a defensive formation.

The four Bloodline Users in the mercenary group also rose at once, their vigilant gazes scanning the shadows among the trees, trying to locate where the enemy was hiding.

"Over here!" one mercenary suddenly shouted.

He had seen a flicker of a shadow beneath the trees, followed closely by a silhouette.

Without hesitation, he retreated, along with several other mercenaries who were also ordinary individuals.

"Over here too!"

Soon, a second shout rang out.

"And here!"

"I'm over here!"

"There's another one on this side!"

But these alert cries were not the end—they were merely the beginning. Sounds began echoing one after another all around them.

The four Bloodline Users standing in the center of the formation began to look grim.

Their opponents made no effort to conceal their aura, and they could immediately tell that the eight people surrounding them were all Bloodline Users!

Five of them were unfamiliar in identity and strength, but the other three were unmistakable.

Sien, the commander of Wester Fort, named in honor of Baron Ster, a First-Tier Bloodline User with the [Rock Turtle] bloodline, currently still possessing only First-Tier strength.

Borm, a First-Tier Bloodline User with the [Fire-Tailed Rat] bloodline, whom they had deliberately spared in the previous battle and was thus only lightly injured.

And—

The Lord of the White Mountain Territory, husband to Baroness Lily Bole, protector of Fisher Village, patriarch of the Soderbell Family, the [Red Eagle Sword], Yam Soderbell.

"How could there be so many Bloodline Users in the White Mountain Territory? This doesn’t match the intel!"

"[Red Eagle Sword]?" The young man looked grimly at Yam, who appeared to be about his age, and said in a deep voice, "Why did you get here so quickly? We only launched the attack the day before yesterday, and you’re here today? And you even found us? How is that possible!"

"Because the moment you launched the attack, Commander Sien sent me a War Reinforcement Request Letter. I left immediately yesterday afternoon," Yam replied solemnly. "To catch you, I haven’t rested for two days."

Of course, Yam would never be foolish enough to mention the existence of Shadow. Otherwise, future intelligence gathering and territorial reconnaissance would become extremely difficult.

Naturally, it also helped that this group of mercenaries clearly hadn’t expected Yam to arrive so quickly, so they had left nearly all their traces unhidden along the way.

"Besides, didn’t you deliberately leave a trail for us to find you?" Yam chuckled again. "You probably thought Commander Sien would be too afraid to report it and would try to deal with it himself, right? …Well now, you’ve baited out a Demon Shark. Surprised?"

"Break out!"

The young man made a decisive move and immediately turned and charged northeast: "Plan Three!"

Yam frowned.

He hadn’t expected the enemy to respond so forcefully.

He had originally thought they were trying to bribe Sien, and had intentionally used a baiting strategy to lure him into a negotiation. But seeing their determined resistance now, Yam knew his guess had been wrong—they clearly had a different purpose than negotiating smuggling routes.

"Everyone except the main culprit is expendable!"

Yam gave his command without hesitation.

He didn’t care how many backup plans the enemy had. After all, he had seven Bloodline Users on his side. Though they were only First-Tier Bloodline Users, their coordinated battle capability far surpassed that level. Moreover, all of them were veterans forged on real death battlefields. Their experience and willpower were likely stronger than even his own, so Yam had nothing to worry about.

Sure enough.

Once Yam issued the strategy to fight without restraint, the Bloodline Knights closest to the breakout direction moved at once.

First, a [Fireball] was swiftly conjured and hurled at the mercenaries.

But just as the [Fireball] was mid-air, a powerful gust of wind suddenly exploded from within it, forcibly breaking it apart into countless flaming fragments, which scattered and rained down from the sky.

In the very next second—

As the [Fireball] was dispersed, the scattered flames suddenly halted midair, then collapsed into countless small fireballs the size of pebbles, which bombarded the mercenaries like a storm.

The air instantly filled with moisture.

A thick mist quickly spread, as if a marshland had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

As soon as the fireballs entered the mist, a piercing "ssss" noise echoed, followed by a surge of white fog that rapidly filled the area. The surroundings became blurry and indistinct: heavy water vapor began to obscure the figures of the mercenaries and blocked the view of the Bloodline Knights of the White Mountain Territory.

But since Yam had issued an order unconcerned with life or death—

The Bloodline Knights had no reason to hold back.

As soon as the water vapor obscured the field of vision, countless greenish-blue blade-like air currents materialized, instantly charging into the mist-covered area.

Screams erupted immediately!

But in the next second, several [Ice Spikes] also shot out at high speed from within the mist, hurtling toward several Bloodline Knights.