55: Chapter 51: Under Attack 55: Chapter 51: Under Attack Early the next morning, everyone gathered their belongings and got ready to set off.
In the second half of the night, Tangmo failed to resist the urge to sleep and fell into a deep slumber without knowing when.
Fortunately, Luo’er woke up early, took over her work and kept watch for her for a few extra hours.
As a result, Luo’er didn’t get enough sleep.
While he was active, he could stay awake, but when they got back in the cart to continue on their way, the constant rocking kept inducing his urge to sleep.
Eventually, he could no longer resist, leaning against Tangmo and falling asleep.
When he woke up, it was already noon, and the cart had stopped in an open area for rest.
After a simple lunch, they set off again.
The driver was familiar with the road to Holy Heart City, even though there were several forks in the road, he didn’t hesitate and stayed on the route to Holy Heart City.
After a week on the road, the cart was getting further and further from Yazhi City, and the terrain was getting flatter and flatter.
The topography of the northern part of the Otherworld continent is generally higher in the east and lower in the west.
The Masaya Kingdom in the east is characterized by hilly and mountainous terrain, with greater undulation the further east one goes.
The west, Odelanqi, is mostly made up of plains, with open and flat landscapes, abundant rivers.
The Northern Domain Mountain Range in the north blocks the cold air from the Arctic, thus nurturing Odelanqi, the breadbasket of the continent.
After learning agricultural planting techniques from Earth, the food produced by Odelanqi occupies more than a third of the entire continent.
The increase in food production inevitably led to a population boom.
According to conservative estimates on Earth, the population of Odelanqi has already exceeded 100 million in the thirty years of interaction between the two realms, a rarity among feudal countries.
Odelanqi and Masya are separated by the Roen River, which originates from the Northern Domain Mountain Range.
The Yazhi City, where the Otherworld Gate is located, is right in the middle of the Roen River, at the junction of three countries.
From here, you can reach Holy Heart City, the capital of Odelanqi, by carriage along the official road in just two and a half weeks going northwest.
The closer they got to the inland of Odelanqi, the more people they encountered.
Although most were simple peasants, occasionally, they could see a group of knights clad in armor passing by.
After the cart passed through a village, Baiyue started to feel restless, occasionally opening the curtain to check around.
When the carriage reached a forest, the restless Baiyue could no longer contain herself.
She stood up with her gun in her arms, squeezed to the other side of Luo’er, and nestled against him like a docile bird, ignoring Tangmo’s displeased gaze.
When Luo’er thought she was trying to compete with Tangmo out of jealousy, her next sentence made his hair stand on end.
“We’re being followed, and there’s an ambush ahead.” Baiyue said gently in his ear in a voice everyone could hear while snuggling up to him.
“Are you sure?” Luo’er grabbed the rifle next to him and looked at her seriously.
“They’ve been following us since the village, probably planning to attack us in the forest.” Cheng Ziang suddenly joined the conversation from across the cart.
Luo’er looked at him and then at Baiyue before finally ordering, “Everyone, check your weapons and prepare to fight.”
At his command, everyone began to check their own weapons and ammunition.
Hu Daoke had his light machine gun mounted on a board ready to fire at any time.
“Can you determine how many of them there are?” Luo’er slightly lifted the curtain to look outside, then asked Cheng Ziang.
“Not sure, but at least two people are following us.” Cheng Ziang said, his gaze sweeping outside where he could see shadows flashing in the bushes from time to time.
“Who could be following us?” The serious expressions on everyone’s faces started to unsettle Tangmo.
“That’s not what we should be concerned about right now, should we stop?” Luo’er said, looking at Baiyue and Cheng Ziang.
Cheng Ziang pondered for a moment, looked at Baiyue, who understood and nodded slightly, then they both turned to look at Luo’er.
“I see.” Luo’er nodded, turned around and ordered the driver to stop the cart.
Although he didn’t know what had happened, the driver obediently stopped the cart, looking back at them uneasily.
Cheng Ziang and Baiyue looked outside, their gazes sweeping across the thick bushes on both sides of the road.
It was noon, and a cloud covered the sun’s rays, making the originally quiet forest somewhat gloomy.
The rustling sound of insects and friction in the bushes of the forest echoed from time to time, and no one knew what dangers were lurking in the forest at this moment.
“They’re closing in.” Although he couldn’t see these people, Cheng Ziang’s innate vigilance alerted him that something dangerous was approaching.
“If it’s an Otherworld adventure team, their equipment probably won’t be very strong, but if they have Earth firearms, it will be a different story.” Luo’er analyzed, expressing his concerns.
“What should we do, Luo’er?” Tangmo anxiously gripped her magic wand, looking towards Luo’er.
Luo’er patted her shoulder, signaling her not to worry, and began to analyze the purpose and origins of their opponents.
Clearly, he needed to determine whether these people were ordinary bandits or assassins specifically targeting them.
If they were just highwaymen, their gear shouldn’t be too good, and their own superior firepower could easily drive them off.
But if they were targeted, things could get serious.
Before they entered through the Otherworld Gate, headquarters and the CIA had already clashed numerous times in Australia.
If this was a targeted attack, he could boldly predict that these people most likely received directions from the CIA, as they were the only ones able to so precisely know the schedule of the advance team.
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Moreover, if the opponents outnumbered and outgunned them, they could squash their mission in its infancy, leading to their untimely death before achieving anything.
At present, the team was still under Luo’er’s command, and according to his conservative mindset, retreating to Yazhi City was the best option.
Alternatively, they could find other routes to avoid these lurking enemies.
Among these options, Luo’er was leaning towards retreating to Yazhi City.
After all, this was their first mission, and he did not want any losses at the very beginning.
He could not accept any casualties.
After some thought, Luo’er made up his mind.
They will turn back to Yazhi City, and if followed, draw the enemies out of the forest and eliminate them.
“My current thought is to turn back.
Does anyone have any opinions?” Luo’er solicited the others’ thoughts.
“We’ve come all this way, do we have to go back?” Hu Daoke looked at Luo’er and said, “Why don’t we just get off and kill them all?”
“No,” Luo’er declined, “The enemy is hidden while we are exposed, we don’t have an absolute advantage against them and there’s bound to be casualties.
Therefore, my plan is to retreat, forcing them to attack.
If they don’t show up, we return to Yazhi City or find another way forward.”
“So we’re going back?” Tangmo asked.
“Yes,” Luo’er nodded, “Moumou, be ready to use your shielding spell at any moment.
If they attack as we’re retreating, you must block the first wave immediately.”
“I understand!” Tangmo gripped the magic wand and solemnly nodded.
After the instructions, Luo’er began to communicate with the coachman.
Even though he was not sure what Luo’er and the team were planning, he had been hired by them.
He’d go wherever they asked.
Once the instructions were given, the carriage turned around and started to retrace its steps.
Cheng Ziang distinctly felt unease beginning to radiate from the forest.
He looked at Baiyue to find her watching the road with furrowed brows, loading her gun.
The carriage had hardly retreated twenty meters when Luo’er suddenly noticed a flash from behind the carriage, followed by a flaming object hurtling towards them.
Having experienced plenty of battles in the virtual battlefield, he quickly identified the object and cried out in alarm.
Accompanying Luo’er’s frenzied warning was Tangmo’s spell.
She quickly stood up and faced the back, aiming her magic wand at the incoming missile and began chanting quietly.
After less than a second, everyone felt the flow of magic around them, followed by the appearance of a transparent barrier behind the carriage.
The missile heavily struck the transparent barrier, the dazzling jet of molten metal was blocked by the invisible shield, forcing it to splash in all directions, resulting in a dazzling splash of metallic sparks before the shield.
To ensure the reliability of her shield, Tangmo used a third-level shielding spell right off the bat.
Such a spell would take at least two seconds to cast if Luo’er were to do it, but for Tangmo, she needed less than a second.
The loud explosion strongly spooked the horses drawing the carriage, which started to bolt forward out of control.
The moment the streams of molten metal disappeared, Baiyue suddenly stood up, shoving Tangmo out of the way and crouching on the carriage.
She aimed her gun toward the location from where the missile was launched, adjusting her aim on the jolting carriage.
“Bang!” As soon as she had a rough idea of the location, Baiyue pulled the trigger.
The bullet whizzed out of the sniper rifle.
The sharp-eyed Cheng Ziang could clearly see the disturbance in the nearby shrubbery, obviously Baiyue’s bullet struck something.
After she fired her shot, the opponents began to return fire.
Two gunshots echoed from the forest.
The galloping horses suddenly collapsed, sending the carriage hurtling to one side of the road due to the massive inertia.