Amber Sword

So, these young people who he personally informed put on quite a convincing act. The Black Blade Legion’s reconnaissance cavalry always seemed to ’suddenly’ encounter enemy scouts, and although the Southern Army’s scouts suffered every time, they managed to pinpoint the direction of the Princess’ entourage.

At least, it appeared that way, as they encountered ’more and more’ scouts from the Royal Knight Academy ahead, which matched the battlefield’s patterns, proving that they were moving in the right direction.

Brand was not wrong; following them was indeed the First Highland Infantry Battalion of the Black Blade Legion’s Finn Column, commanded by Baron Valen from Narlie. But the Baron had no idea he was walking into a trap, confidently believing he had the enemy tightly in his grasp.

In fact, Baron Valen was a cautious man, not one to seek undeserved glory. He understood that his task was to stall the Princess’ group, not encircle and destroy them. He never had such intentions; news from behind told him there might be several armies ahead, and his Highland Infantry Battalion was not their match.

However, for some reason, Baron Valen wasn’t aware that their opponent had once faced the White Lion Legion head-on and won. And behind him, Duke Xifah and Marquis Youxi might have known about the White Lion’s defeat to some extent but merely thought that the opponent broke out of the encirclement before the White Lion Legion could converge.

Just imagine, could just over two hundred Student Knights possibly rout the White Lion Legion? If Baron Valen knew the truth, he might have been more cautious, at least not stepping so easily into the ambush circle.

Unfortunately, war doesn’t have "ifs." The Baron was irritated by the enchanted wild boar herds that appeared unpredictably throughout the day— the red-backed wild boar is one of Silver Cliff Sea Cliff’s famous ’specialties.’ They weren’t yet a disaster, but after the Great Demon Tide, Ambeser’s Harbor Guard fought a hard battle against these rapidly multiplying creatures—Brand was once part of this ’pig-killing’ army, and now it’s Baron Valen’s turn.

The juvenile red-backed boar has a strength of up to level 20 Black Iron Upper in "Amber Sword," while the adult reaches level 25 Black Iron Peak. The most annoying thing is these creatures always charge as a family, legendary one-wave enthusiasts; Baron Valen’s army moved forward, unlike Brand who was foreknowledge, cautious and alert, hence countless enchanted wild pigs surrounded and watched, the scout casualties added up to half, with most being ’accidentally injured’ by pigs.

He was deeply troubled, wishing to quickly pass through this barbaric land. Although the surrounding forest was dense, the scouts reported the Princess’ group was still ahead, Baron Valen believed he maintained a safe distance, despite the accompanying wizard advising caution against enemy illusions, he dismissed the warning.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already entered Brand’s sight. Baron Valen ordered his troops to maintain their marching formation, entering a valley, while Brand stood behind a cluster of trees about a hundred meters away, surrounded by Officer Cadets from the Royal Knight Academy armed with longbows, but the opponents were unaware.

The Great Sea Demon Brigitte brought a group of Grey Fin Naga Priestesses; with the storm in Ambeser just passed, the air was filled with moisture, providing the perfect conditions for the water-loving Naga Priestesses to cast spells. A massive illusion covered the valley’s sky, not altering the terrain, but merely a blinding technique that made the surrounding trees appear denser to Baron Valen’s troops and masked some sounds.

The spell’s effects were simple, thus intensified on each soldier. Baron Valen’s reconnaissance cavalry circled on the flanks, thinking they hadn’t encountered the enemy, reported back after circling a dozen times. From Brand’s perspective, untrapped by the illusion, it seemed quite amusing.

Nonetheless, the application of magic on the battlefield deeply disturbed these young people; it was terrifying, like turning the enemy blind and deaf. They had read about many classic case studies of magic use in textbooks, but experiencing it firsthand was entirely different.