Chapter 96: Chapter 96 - Ambush

BOOM

An explosion erupted in the far right corner of the field, reverberating through the air with a thunderous roar, loud enough for everyone in the assassination group to hear.

As the sound reached their ears, their bodies reacted instinctively, becoming more defensive as they turned toward the source of the blast.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to the explosion, then shifted upwards, witnessing a grotesque rain of blood, body parts, organs, and armor pieces falling upon them. These were the remnants of those unfortunate enough to have been caught in the trap.

Quickly, they shielded their faces from the scorching blood and dismembered limbs. Almost everyone did—except for Alexforge Nile. When the body parts were about to fall on him, he too nearly closed his eyes and let his guard down.

Observing his team members doing the same, he realized they were about to be ambushed. He screamed at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to warn his comrades.

"EVERYONE, DON'T LET YOUR GUARDS DOWN, IT'S AN AMBUS-!"

Neither Nile nor his team members could clearly hear or take precautions before small, though stationary, machine guns began to materialize in various damp areas.

It was like the mini machine guns had a life of their own as the moment they had materialized, they automatically activated themselves and quickly looked for their targets on their own.

As the machine guns locked onto their targets and prepared to fire, the assassins became aware of their situation and took defensive positions.

Ordinarily, they wouldn't need to be so defensive, as their high level made them nearly impervious to conventional bullets.

But these were not ordinary bullets—no, these were mana bullets, specifically engineered to kill mana soldiers and inflict severe damage even on those at higher levels.

At the front side of the damp area, a trio of warriors also took defensive positions upon hearing their leader's warning. However, they refrained from using defensive spells that would offer substantial protection.

Why?

Because their armor was top-tier, designed to withstand small-caliber mana bullets with minimal injury. Even if the bullets about to be fired were medium-caliber mana bullets, they weren't overly concerned. So they had confidence that even if the bullets were to hit them head on they will still come out as the victor but in this particular case they were wrong... very wrong.

Let me give you a small briefing of why that is the case for them.

Because she was warning her team members she herself didn't notice it nor did she cast any defensive spells around her that may protect her from the imminent death she was about to receive.

Without any defensive spells, she was instantly cut into pieces, right in front of her many comrades eyes.

They wanted to morn her but they couldn't as they realized the grave situation they have found themselves in.

The sight of her shredded body and organs filled them with dread, but her death was not in vain. Niles and almost everyone learned their lesson as they quickly cast their defensive spells.

'Cast Defensive Mother' A guy in a team said.

'Cast Otherworldly Dome' A guy casted a spell that would protect him and his comrades too.

'Cast Mother Earth's Hug' A women cast her most powerful and defensive spell she could muster.

'Cast Iron Wall' A big guy tall enough to rival giants cast his signature defensive spell.

'Cast Wall of Protection' A group of three cast the same spell that put them in a better defensive state.

Everywhere, shields made from water, transparent gray dome-like structures, sudden defensive walls made of dirt and bricks sprouting up from the ground, huge impenetrable looking iron walls falling from the sky, and shields created from various different lights appeared surrounding many people in its beautiful display as the bullets began firing, unable to penetrate all of them completely.

Not everyone was lucky. As some didn't have time to cast any defensive spell that could protect them, others cast spells that had too low defensive powers, and some had their spell times end too fast. All shared the same fate — being shredded to pieces.

But not all were merely defending as some, like Niles, cast offensive spells, destroying the mini machine guns targeting him and some of his comrades. But amidst the chaos, they failed to notice two small holes suddenly opening besides them and releasing a gas that slowly filled every corner of the damp area, surrounding them slowly and slowly until it covered them all completely.

Alexforge Nile's, who was always vigilant for traps, detected a faint smell but didn't immediately realize its significance so he started looking here and there for its true meaning.

But when they finally destroyed all the mini machine guns with their fallen comrades help, they let their guard down.

In that moment, Nile's realized what it was and shouted at his team.

"IT'S A TRAP! EVERYBODY, USE SPELLS!"