Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 115 - 111: Ambush Battle

Chapter 115: Chapter 111: Ambush Battle

Not long after, Cheng Ziang came back on horseback. He looked serious as he approached Luo’er and said, "There’s a battle happening up ahead. It seems like the rebels are attacking one of the Kingdom’s caravans."

"How do you know which side is the rebel and which side is the Kingdom’s army?" Hu Daoke chimed in from behind.

Cheng Ziang shot him a glance, then explained, "It’s obvious, the Kingdom’s army is mostly made up of nobles, and most nobles use magic. The commoners don’t have a chance to learn magic, so they can only use weapons from Earth."

"What’s the situation like?" Luo’er asked anxiously.

"Not good, it seems the Kingdom’s caravan fell into an ambush. The rebel forces greatly outnumber them so they are presently in a dire state." Cheng Ziang answered.

"Should we join the fun?" Hu Daoke suggested with interest. Instead of standing around idle, they might as well join in and perhaps even profit from the chaos.

"Little Ke, this isn’t a game. It’s dangerous!" Tangmo came up behind him and chided him.

"Oh!" Upon hearing Tangmo’s rebuke, Hu Daoke immediately shut his mouth, looking obedient like a child.

"Little Ke is right," Luo’er pondered aloud, "We should go observe the situation, we might even find clues about the Odelanqi army. Even if we don’t, we can evaluate the combat effectiveness and overall strength of the Masya rebels."

"That’s what I meant!" Seeing Luo’er agreeing with him, Hu Daoke was overjoyed and readily nodded in agreement.

"Are we really going?" Tangmo asked with some worry.

"It’s fine, we’ll just observe from afar," Luo’er reassured.

"If we’re really going, let’s get a move on. I’ll lead the way!" Cheng Ziang said as he grabbed his reins.

"How far is the battle location?" Luo’er asked behind him.

"Approximately one and a half kilometers!" Cheng Ziang replied without turning his head.

"Alright," Luo’er nodded, and then said, "We’ll ride within five hundred meters, then dismount and walk. The horses and equipment will be gathered together, Ziang, you guard our stuff."

"What?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but turn around, looking at him with dissatisfaction.

"Luo’er told you to watch our stuff, you’re such a loser, you shouldn’t go see the battle!" Hu Daoke teased with glee from the side.

Luo’er gently tapped Hu Daoke, then said, "No more complaints, they have guns while you have a knife, you won’t beat them!"

"Hmph!" Cheng Ziang made a small noise of discontent, murmuring to himself, "Whether I can beat them is still unknown!"

Luo’er didn’t pay any more attention to his complaints, while Hu Daoke on the side was theatrically cleaning his light machine gun.

"What are you doing?" Luo’er asked.

"Cleaning my gun," Hu Daoke replied, "Last-minute sharpening, better late than never!"

"You..." Luo’er was amused by his statement. This fellow was always upbeat no matter the situation, even during tense times, he could lighten the mood.

Still, it must be said, even though Hu Daoke usually acted carefree and loved gossip, when in combat, he was a very reliable and trustworthy comrade.

When they reached the designated five hundred meter mark, the sound of gunfire and explosions had already become very prominent. The group dismounted and handed the reins over to Cheng Ziang. He had a sour face all the way there, and reluctantly took their reins, gathering the horses together. Although he couldn’t make a fire, he didn’t feel cold, squatting alone on a large, cold stone, sulking.

Luo’er let out a sigh, now wasn’t the time to deal with him, he could only let him deflate on his own. He took Hu Daoke and the two girls and headed towards the intense battle zone.

They passed through a dried-up forest, and the group quietly made their way to a hillside about two hundred meters away, starting to observe the ambush battle.

The battling parties were the kingdom army and the rebel civilians. It was clear that this was a classic ambush, an army convoy being attacked from all sides at the foot of a mountain, their path forward and retreat blocked off by large rocks.

The rebel attackers were mostly using bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles from Earth, but Luo’er also heard the deep rumble of a machine gun. The ambushed convoy was protected by a company of kingdom knights clad in heavy armor, holding shields. Bullets hitting their armor merely created a cascade of white light before being deflected.

Luo’er knew that this was the white glow emitted by the defense runes inscribed on the armor when hit. These suits of armor protected the knights, so despite the concentrated fire from the rebels, only less than five knights had fallen, of those only one was incapacitated, the rest were merely injured.

Ancient world magic severely reduced the power of Earth weapons, rendering them more akin to fire sticks. Luo’er finally understood why the people of this Otherworld were not willing to fully adopt the military reformations of Earth. Clearly, even if Earth’s military equipment was permitted to be used in this Otherworld, their effectiveness would be fifty-fifty at best.

While Earth nations possessed devastating weaponry like nuclear bombs, the otherworld had equally terrifying large-scale magic like the Forbidden Curses. A full-on encounter would be disastrous for the ordinary soldiers involved.

The rebel’s intense attacks resulted mostly in the death of the convoy’s horses and the irrelevant servant slaves; there was scant loss among the knights. The same defense runes inscribed on the carriages rendered even machine-gun bullets impotent, stagnating the overall battle situation.

The knights provided cover for the relatively scarce mages in the convoy, who retaliated with individual blast attacks on the ambushing rebels, causing intense magical disruptions in the air. Against a rebel force many times larger than themselves, this was their only means of attack.

Hiding on the ground, Tangmo used a telescope borrowed from Baiyue and made a surprised sound.

"What’s wrong?" Luo’er thought she had spotted something and quickly asked.

"The defense runes on the carriage," Tangmo nodded approvingly, "These are the rune styles that can truly defend against bullets. What were those that we saw in the Academy competition!"

"Sister Mumou, you are so amazing!" Hu Daoke flattered at her side.

"Hmhm," Tangmo laughed rather smugly, then continued, "This is a tier three defense rune. Forget bullets, even a bazooka might not be able to blast through!"

"Tier three?" Luo’er was surprised. From what he knew, you don’t get defense runes just because you want them. The higher the tier of the rune, the more geometrically complex the engraving. Thus, the inscription masters of the Otherworld were highly sought after, especially those who could engrave tier four or even tier five defense runes.

If an engraver was able to carve a mixed magic-physical tier four or five defense rune, they would unquestionably be a national treasure. Such people were usually carefully maintained within the royal court where they were given every comfort.

What Earthlings could never imagine was exactly how powerful a military that could make effective, rational use of magic from the Otherworld could be. This is why they were caught unprepared during the second Otherworld war, leaving them with a psychological shadow that still exists today.

"Yes," TangMo nodded, lifted the telescope, and continued, "Almost all the carriages have tier three runes on them. Wait, one of the carriages has a tier four No, this pattern is..."

Suddenly, TangMo’s eyes went wide. "A mixed defense rune!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Luo’er stared, hesitated, and then realized the gravity of the situation. As previously mentioned, not just any ordinary person could possess a mixed defense rune. If this convoy is just an ordinary kingdom army convoy, there is absolutely no chance of it having a tier four mixed defense rune.

Clearly, this convoy was far from simple. It was very likely a high-ranking individual from Masya’s convoy, hence the presence of tier three defense runes on everything, with even the indication of a luxury of a tier four mixed defense rune.

Watching this seemingly lopsided battle, Luo’er suddenly had a bold idea. If it was as he suspected, this was no ordinary convoy. The people inside are either royalty or nobles. If they saved these people, could they use this favor to infiltrate the upper echelons of Masya and gather information on the movements of the Odelanqi army?

Luo’er knew that although the rebels outnumbered the kingdom’s forces, it was clear that they couldn’t hold back these people. Unless the rebels had sufficient backup to wear out the kingdom army to death, it was inevitable that this convoy would break free. If they didn’t intervene soon, they would miss the opportunity to gain their favor.

However, those observing from a distance tend to have a clear view of the situation. The knights in the heat of the battle did not think so, especially when the rebels started using rocket launchers, they were even more rattled. If someone came to their aid, it would certainly be a godsend, undoubtedly gaining their immense favor.

With these thoughts, Luo’er subconsciously nodded. Seeing his expression, Hu Daoke couldn’t help asking, "Luo’er, what are you thinking?"

"I’m thinking, should we help them?" Luo’er turned and looked at him, his words a surprise.

"Are you nuts? They have dozens of rifles plus rocket launchers and there are only four of us. How can we fight that?" Hu Daoke was shocked by his idea.

Luo’er idea was to ambush the rear of the rebel force, using the suppressive power of a machine gun to instill a sense of fear in the rebels.

Most of the rebels are equipped with bolt-action weapons, with very few automatic weapons, and only that single rocket launcher earlier. Most of them have never seen the true terror of Earth weaponry. If a machine gun suddenly started firing fervently behind them, undoubtedly, it would scare the rebels out of their minds.

His plan utilized three gunners spread out, attacking simultaneously so the rebels would become confused about the direction of attack. The superior firing rate of automatic weaponry would quickly suppress the rebels, forcing them to abandon the battlefield.