Chapter 138: Prey in the Trap
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Everyone in the caravan woke up before dawn. Usually, the caravan would wait until daytime before departing. However, on this day, they appeared to be busy in the dark about something. What was even more peculiar was that the caravan did not leave until it was almost noon.
Other people were not uninformed, but those employed by the caravan knew very well what they were doing. The two dozen guards dug a hole in the middle of the camp ground, and buried a heavy chest in it. Then they did their best to return the patch of ground to normal. Then Christian used magic to move a large boulder to cover the place where the chest was buried as a marker.
The carriages left. The bugs resumed their business. If anyone else passed this area, they would not be able to tell there was a secret under the boulder.
There was a saying. In the beginning, there was no road. Roads were created because so many people chose the same path. Another saying says that there were roads, but the roads all disappeared because too many people had used them.
However, the two sayings were not referring to the same road. After the carriages left, another team appeared. This team was significantly smaller, consisting of only a dozen members. As they approached the campsite of the previous team, they left the road and headed straight for the boulder.
A thin mage jumped off of his horse and circled the boulder a few times. He whispered a spell and the boulder floated into the air and landed nearby.
"This is the place," the mage said.
"What were they doing?" The leader was a swordmaster around fifty. He frowned and stared at the spot, thinking. "Check their location again," he ordered.
"Yes, my lord." The mage whispered a few spells, and a ball of mist appeared in his hands. The ball slowly cleared up, and a long line of carriages appeared in the ball.
"My lord, we should dig here first and find out what they were hiding." Another mage walked up to the swordsmaster and said.
"I don’t want to disturb them. Wait until people from our leader arrives," the swordmaster said.
"My lord, they won’t discover us," the mage informed him. "They only have a junior magister. They cannot reach back this far with Eye of the Sky."
"He is right, my lord," another mage said.
"Alright," the swordsmaster agreed. "Go and dig this thing up."
Although this was a small team, everyone on the team was very obedient. As soon as the leader issued an order, a few swordsmen jumped off their horses and began digging.
After a few moments, a chest appeared. A mage walked into the hole slowly, and everyone jumped off their hoses. Everyone was curious what this chest contained.
The mage closed his eyes and probed the chest. When he found nothing to raise alarm, he reached over and opened the chest carefully. The others peered over the edge of the hole to catch a glimpse of what was in the chest.
As the mage opened the chest, he felt a sudden surge of chaotic element. His eyes widened and he screamed, "Run! It’s a magic array of chaos…"
A flash of white light appeared from the chest, and the subsequent explosion shook the entire forest. The explosion caused thick debris and threw those that stood too close to the chest through the air. The ground shook violently under the impact.
After a few moments, the world returned to a more peaceful state. The swordsman spat out a mouthful of blood and pushed himself up from the ground. Even though the explosion was unexpected, he was able to protect himself with his combat power. However, that was not enough. He was pushed away from the campsite and was wounded.
He glanced at the campsite and saw that the chest was gone and the site had become a small crater. All over the crater were broken limbs and a few bodies. The swordmaster was enraged by his companion’s pointless deaths. They thought the chest would hide a secret, but never imagined it would contain a trap.
Three other men pushed themselves off the ground, staring at their surroundings blankly. The explosion happened too fast for their brains to process what had just happened.
"It was a magic array of chaos," the swordmaster said with shaking voice. The magic array was actually a very useless form of magic array, but it could use up magic crystals very fast. Other kinds of magic array used power of the magic crystals slowly, and would not run out of power unless either the crystals were depleted or the array was destroyed. The magic array of chaos could use up a crystal’s power in an instant. Of course, it wasn’t the biggest flaw of this form of array. Elements were natural and balanced, but chaos array disrupts this balance. This was against the nature of elements. After the magic array was formed, the elements would try to return to their natural state. Judging by the power of this array, if they opened it after noontime, the explosion would be nothing but a gust of breeze.
The existence of this array meant that Anfey and his companions knew people were on their trail, and knew that whoever was following them would try to dig the chest up as soon as possible.
The swordmaster felt frustrated and defeated. He did not know where they had made the mistake of exposing themselves. This was too great a loss for the organization to let him off the hook easily.
"My lord!" One of the swordsman called, pointed to the body of a mage.
The swordmaster glanced at the body and found an arrow sticking out of the mage's throat, and the mage had his hands wrapped tightly around the shaft. Clearly what happened to him wasn’t the explosion but the arrow.
The swordmaster realized that there were enemies present. He drew his longsword. A flash of bright light spliced a bush fifty feet to his left. It was the proof that there was a magical wall there. Then, a figure coated in bright white combat power appeared and dashed in his direction.
The swordmaster waved his hand, and his three remaining men gathered around him. He estimated his opponent’s power, and felt slightly more reassured. He stared ahead coldly.
Suzanna was used to being the first to attack. However, this time she did not strike. She stopped in front of her opponent and stared at them with cold eyes. Every time she used her combat power, her gentleness disappeared. Instead, she would be as cold as her sword. This was an understandable change, not everyone was like this. People like Ernest could still smile after using his combat power, but Suzanna would turn into someone who did not know what smiling was.
Anfey and Black Eleven were much slower than Suzanna. They walked over and stood by her, observing their enemies.
"You’re Anfey?" The swordmaster smiled and asked. "You should reveal yourselves quicker. Thank you for giving me a chance."
He didn’t want to hide anymore. Anfey had planted a magic array of chaos, meaning he knew what their intentions were. He needed to capture the man alive to redeem himself. It was the only way he could make it out of this situation alive.
"There was never a chance for you," Anfey said slowly. "I didn’t kill you because I need you to answer some questions."
"Don’t ask me." The swordmaster said and waved his longsword. The light of his combat power suddenly became blinding. It was almost as bright as Suzanna’s, if not more. He was indeed a powerful man, and that was why he sought a battle first.
"You’re too hasty," Anfey said. "Are you not interested in us? How about we make a deal? We each ask one question. If you can work with us, then we can answer more questions. How about you go first?"
The swordmaster hesitated. Then he asked slowly, "Who are you? Where did you come from?" These two things were something his organization could never answer. No matter how much they researched, Anfey's past was a mystery to them. The first time he appeared in the world was with Saul, but the organization had no need for that part of his past. They needed to know where he came from, and where he learned his strange but powerful fighting skills.
"That's two questions."
"Who was your teacher before Saul?" Both Black Eleven and Suzanna turned and looked at Anfey. They were curious about it, as well.
"Archmage Yagor."
"You lie," the swordmaster said coldly. "He was an archmage. He wouldn’t teach you how to fight."
"I never said he taught me how to fight," Anfey said. "An old man in my village taught me those skills. Now, my turn. Who are you?"
"We’re from the Evil Mist," the swordmaster said. He already had it all planned out. If he could capture Anfey, then the secret would not get out. If Anfey killed him, the organization couldn’t punish a dead man, and so he was very honest. "How did you know we were following you?"
"Sorry. I only need an answer from you."