Amber Sword-Chapter 533: Scene 15: Lumberyard Battle (Part 2)_2

Capítulo 533: Scene 15: Lumberyard Battle (Part 2)_2 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Compared to warriors and swordsmen, the wizards protected in the crowd seemed even more incredible. According to usual practice, they were certainly the first targets for those secret attacks—anyone understood the importance of a wizard on the battlefield. However, for these wizards who at most held the status of Official Wizard, and most were still apprentices, their ability to defend themselves was not proportional to the value they exhibited on the battlefield, as if they too understood they were among the favorite targets of Scouts.

Another target was the army commander, but they were often not as easy to handle as low-level spellcasters.

Therefore, these mercenary wizards had become accustomed to being attacked; raids, sneak attacks, and secret arrows were commonplace, especially in jungle battles. Almost everyone had experienced injuries and had also seen many comrades die from such attacks right in front of them. Some had even personally hovered on the edges of life and death. However, compared to the eerie encounters of today, those incidences were nothing. It was as if the scouts of the cave dwellers had disappeared, and as the sunlight after noon filtered through the gaps in the foliage, casting onto the silent woods, these wizards wondered if this was some sort of company-funded tour or another activity?

But of course, it was not, as they had seen the bodies of those cave dwellers earlier.

All of this could only be attributed to the miraculous young lord. Rumors said he was a high-order summoner who perhaps surpassed the boundary between gold and silver. For wizards, ever since this mysterious art was passed from the Silver People to mortals, respecting the strong had become a deeply ingrained habit—especially since he had under him Char. The mercenary wizards privately referred to the two gold-ranked wizards as the “two men council” because, in the traditions of the craftsman wizards, wizard councils symbolize authority and leadership strength. Thus, Brand’s prestige unknowingly established itself among these spellcasters.

But as Brand watched the mercenaries habitually spread out into small squads across the grasslands within the forest, wielding longswords, war hammers, longbows, shields, and magic wands, a sense of accomplishment was far from his heart. Though the achievements brought by the Wind Spirit Spiders were astounding, they were not without cost. He silently calculated the spell consumption: since entering the forest, nearly an hour had passed, and maintaining the Holy Sword Card and a single attack charge had consumed 13 points of Earth Element. He checked his element reserves; out of the 32 slots in his Earth Element Pool, only 7 remained.

Brand frowned and immediately sent someone to call over the guide.

The ragged man approached him, looking up to see the young lord’s unpleasant expression, fearing he had done something wrong to upset him. Nervously, he asked, “Lord, is there something you need?”

“How much longer?” Brand asked, somewhat agitated. In five minutes, he would have to relinquish the next maintenance payment to let the Holy Sword Card return to his card pool, as he needed to reserve the cost for re-summoning the card; the real battle would unfold at night or perhaps early dawn.

Relieved, the guide answered, “Almost there, Lord. As soon as we bypass this section of the forest, we will see it. The log mill is built in the valley, I—” Before he finished, a soft cry came from ahead—a predetermined signal. Brand looked up and saw the mercenaries in front halting and squatting down. He then saw the warriors at the edge of the forest turning back to look in his direction and signaling to him.

Brand recognized the signal—enemy detected.

Yet, the Wind Spirit Spiders had not reacted or produced an experience prompt, suggesting that the number of enemies might be substantial, and the Dragon Cavalry System could not guarantee a one-hit kill. Hence, as per his secondary order, they lay in wait. Slightly startled, Brand dismounted and walked in that direction. Seeing their lord dismount, Yuta, Fern, and Crenxia followed suit, then Hu Que, Qian, and Romantic. As for the last, the merchant lady showed no hint of caution, rather a curiosity filled with meticulous caution.

The forest thinned out as Brand reached the edge.

“Lord!” The mercenary, noticing Brand approaching, promptly greeted him respectfully, receiving a nod from their former squad leader, Crenxia.

Brand remained silent. Ahead, the forest sloped downward. At the foot of the slope lay the valley mentioned by the guide, where Fir City’s log mill was built by the riverside. Initially an open space with some wooden huts and a larger sawmill, it now clearly took a different shape. The cave dwellers had transformed it into a fortress, using stones and wood along the riverbank to build walls and towers. Behind the walls were visible earthen burrows, suggesting over two hundred cave dwellers resided there.

“So many, quite tricky,” the red-haired maid corps leader commented from behind, frowning at the prospect of a forced assault as she glanced at Brand.

But Brand watched the cave dwellers patrolling along the riverbank, each patrol led by a dark red-skinned cave dweller. Those were Mulu; a reckless attack might make them retreat into the fortress, wasting the advantage of a surprise attack. He turned to Antitina and Hu Que and asked, “What’s your thoughts?”

“Use our mercenary old methods,” Hu Que replied.

“Old methods?”

Brand looked up.(To be continued, to find out what happens next, visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)