Lucius peeked out of from the sand that was covering him. Several dozen feet behind him, the rest of their task group were also hidden in the sand. It was the only surefire way to hide from the noses of beastmen.
Alternative ways of inhibiting their senses would also negatively affect Lucius and their three comrades from Eroa. If it didn't also risk affecting himself, Lucius would have simply done unleashed a vile concoction they carried that was made from a blend of rotten fruit and Swamp Rat meat.
He lay there under a pile of sand for several hours, unmoving and waiting for their prey. A group of wagons was scheduled to come through the small valley a little further from their position and the easiest path to it was through this flat area they hid themselves in.
When the wagons began to approach, Lucius took count of the visible personnel. There appeared to be about fifteen warriors. Each of the five wagons were being manned by people in plain clothes, but they did not seem to be true civilians, rather soldiers trying to hide what they were from onlookers.
The sight put a slight grin on his face. It seemed they were finally adapting to their attacks over the last few weeks. Supply groups were fewer and less frequent, but they brought with them larger groups of guards. This one in particular smelled like a trap, but in his mind, the best way to handle a trap was to trigger it under his own circumstances.
Soon, the caravan came within range. "[Tempestas: Lightning Charge]!"
Sand sprayed everwhere as the young man seemed to appear out of nowhere. The guards were mostly unable to react from the sudden movement. Those that did react, still weren't fast enough to track Lucius' speed.
"[Forsaken Arts: Sand Veil]!"
Using his Arts in concert with the massive amount of sand being spewed into the air by his spell, the sand became imbued with mana and began to attach itself to the caravan. From a distance, it looked like there was an isolated sand storm that had swallowed up the wagons and soldiers guarding it.
"Now!"
Kalliope's voice echoed across the battlefield and a series of arrows sailed through the air at the caravan. Several soldiers yelped as their arms and torsos turned into pincushions.
"[Flamma: Wall of Fire]!"
Marie cast a spell that formed a massive wall of flames in a partial arc behind the wagons, cutting off anyone's ability to escape without first confronting their ambushers.
"[Spear Arts: Whirlwind Strike]!"
Lucius and Kalliope locked eyes and gave each other a nod of acknowledgement as they also resumed the battle. There were a small number of Advance Rank fighters, at least four or five, in addition to the Master. With his own skills, and their impairment, they were still difficult, but doable to fight against them.
While they focused on the stronger ones, the covering team focused on their spells and arrows to take out the small fries. The onslaught from a distance made many of the enemy warriors tip wagons over to take cover behind.
One of the Advance fighters wielded two short swords in a dual-wielding fashion. It was a fighting style that Lucius had not confronted often, but of those well-versed in it, they could be a pain in the ass to deal with.
With that in mind, he chose that man first. He was about the same size as Lucius, so he did not have to worry about fighting overwhelming physical differences.
Lucius swung his weapon in a low strike, aiming for the man's leg. Metal clanged as his strike was deflected upwards. Instead of losing momentum, Lucius allowed the energy to carry his blade into the air.
The move surprised the warrior and his eyes briefly flicked up to follow the weapon. Expecting that to be the reaction, the black-haired teen planted a foot in the warrior's chest and sent him tumbling backwards.
As the man skid on his back a few feet, Lucius leapt into the air and came down with a two-handed strike. His hit was blocked by a pair of crossed swords.
"You... Won't... win this." The enemy growled. His arms were shaking from the awkward position he was in while blocking.
"[Tempestas: Lightning Field]"
The spell was normally a wide area attack, but he kept the magic contained to form a thin coating of lightning around his body as a pseudo-armor.
It did not block any physical attacks, but the results were still rather shocking. Metal was conductive, and so were people. Once the spell was activated, the warrior beneath him began to involuntarily spasm from being shocked by the spell.
It did not do enough damage to kill him outright, but it did loosen his grip enough to allow his assailant to break through the block and slice deep into his neck.
Lucius jumped back to avoid the arterial spray and glanced around. He saw Kalliope breathing heavily with the slumped body of another of the Advance Rankers laying at her feet. She had received help because he was also peppered with a few arrows.
"Next." She whispered before giving Lucius a slight grin.