Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 142 - 46 The Chain Stratagem

Chapter 142: Chapter 46 The Chain Stratagem

Two Power Armor Knights staggered backward, their damaged vision filled with cracks.

Eleanor seized the opportunity to thrust forward, with the second squad of Knights following suit, covering the retreat of the two with damaged helmets.

The two Knights on the left, whose attack had been parried, also moved into position to complete an encirclement.

"I’m coming too!" A roar came from behind Eleanor, and Sigrdrifa, wielding two Battle Axes, charged out, executing a Tornado Slash at the Knights in front of her.

Tornado Slash, nicknamed the battlefield meat grinder, was a move no Knight was foolish enough to take head-on, so they immediately started retreating.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

A sniper rifle bullet, fired from a distance, hit one of the Knights whose helmet was damaged. The bullet penetrated the center of the shattered military-grade glass and was stopped by the exoskeletal lining inside. The force of the impact nearly caused the Knight to succumb to dizziness.

The next second, Sigrdrifa, halting her Tornado Slash, aimed at him and executed a leaping chop.

Her leap forward was short, her feet barely leaving the ground as her Axe came crashing down on the opponent’s head, splitting the Power Armor Helmet open and nearly cleaving the head inside in two.

After replaying Aske and the Black Knight’s battle, the girls realized that Power Armor Knights were not invincible and made it clear that "the most effective way to deal with Power Armor is to focus fire on the same part repeatedly."

And this unfortunate Power Armor Knight happened to be the first victim of the new Tactics.

After dispatching the Knight, the two girls did not pursue their advantage; instead, they turned and ran.

The Knights, ready to retaliate and outflank the enemy, were taken aback by the enemy’s retreat instead of advancing, causing surprise and confusion.

"Don’t rush in, beware of traps!" Alfred, grinding his teeth in anger, did not lose his judgement, and with a big wave of his hand, he ordered, "First squad advances tentatively, second squad provides cover, third squad watches the rear to guard against encirclement! All Knight Followers disperse to scout, and signal immediately if there is any situation!"

Thus, the Knights proceeded cautiously forward, while the Followers dispersed, staying within a circle about 20 meters away from the team, searching nervously through piles of debris, wall dead angles, and covers.

Suddenly, a cry from the Followers came from the right. The Knight closest to the sound rushed over, only to see that in the dim alley, one of their own Followers lay in a pool of blood, throat slit open.

"It’s a throat cut." Joel examined the body and the cause of death, "And it was from behind. The killer’s technique is swift, leaving a neat wound without ragged skin, and the depth is just right."

"So what?" Alfred retorted. "What does the wound depth mean? I could just cut off heads with my sword."

"It’s different," Joel said. "Those with greater strength tend to opt for a clean beheading, but this often causes their weapon to nick. If it’s not a beheading, just a throat cut, then too soft a strike won’t kill, and too hard will get the weapon stuck in the neck bone. This killer’s method is just the most economical."

"So it’s a real assassin, huh?" Alfred sneered, and laid out new Tactics, "All Knight Followers, from now on, move in pairs and keep watch for sneak attacks!"

The team advanced a little further when screams, roars, and the sound of gunfire erupted from the left rear.

By the time the Knights rushed to the scene, they found two Followers, one on the ground, the other sitting against a wall, both dead.

"So it’s multiple assassins working together?" Alfred pondered.

"No, if it was more than one person, there wouldn’t be any gunfire." Joel picked up the rifle dropped on the ground, noting a deep cut from a sharp weapon.

"The assassin first took out the Follower in the alley before being spotted by the Follower outside. The outside Follower roared and aimed his gun at the murderer."

"However, it didn’t hit; otherwise, there would be extra bloodstains on the ground. Somehow the assassin evaded the shot and rushed towards the gunman, smashing the rifle with the first slash and plunging the second into the gunman’s chest, piercing his heart."

"The two bodies were more than 8 meters apart," Alfred frowned and said, "With no cover around, how did the assassin manage to cross that distance unscathed? Or was the gunman’s shooting just terribly bad?"

"I don’t know," Joel shook his head and said, "Anyway, let’s pull back all the Knight Followers. Continuing like this, we’re just getting picked off by the enemy one by one. Don’t forget that there’s still a sniper out there."

Alfred nodded and then instructed the scattered Knight Followers to regroup through his communicator.

As a result, the Knight Followers, who had been searching around, left their positions in the buildings and returned to the central Knight Team on the street.

Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire erupted, and the Knight Followers who had returned first fell down like wheat, throwing the entire scene of Crusader warriors into panic.

"Don’t regroup! Roll, find cover!" Joel, finally realizing the trap, roared with all his might, regretful to nearly bite his teeth off.

He had completely understood now: there had been a sniper all along, silent from the start, merely waiting for the moment of maximum kill rate.

Previously, when Followers were spread out searching the area, due to the varied elevations and complex environs of their positions, any shot fired by the enemy would allow the remaining men to easily find cover nearby.

So, the enemy had deliberately sent out the assassin to roam and pick off any isolated Knight Followers, leading the Crusaders to believe that their spread-out search tactic had been specifically targeted.

To minimize futile losses of strength, the Crusaders would naturally order the Knight Followers to regroup.

And once the Followers gradually stepped out from the alleys, walls, and building cover, back into the open...

...that would be the moment for the sniper to calmly and quickly pick off these targets.

Damn it! It’s a trap within a trap! Joel was gritting his teeth thinking this when he heard Alfred, hidden behind the Knights, also roar angrily:

"Where’s the gunman? Pinpoint the direction!"

A Knight immediately responded: "I saw the muzzle flash, at the top of a six-story building at the 11 o’clock direction, 400 meters away!"

"A Knight Team! Go take out that sniper!" Alfred shouted.

"Hold on!" Joel’s heart skipped a beat. Could the chain trap have only two steps?

"What if they have set up a trap there?!" he bellowed urgently.

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" retorted Alfred, "Just sit here and get shot?"

Joel was momentarily speechless.

He wanted to say that maybe the enemy had limited ammunition and couldn’t shoot endlessly.

But saying something like "hold on a little longer, comrades" when everyone was getting shot would be extremely provoking collective hate.

Besides, he couldn’t assure that the sniper wasn’t shooting comfortably next to a pile of bullet boxes.

While Joel was hesitating, a team of Crusader Knights was already swiftly approaching the building.

The thunderous gunshots from the rooftop seemed to calmly declare the gunman’s location to them.

It also felt like some kind of silent contempt.