In one swift and smooth motion, the Centurion gripped the handle of his battle axe and swung to his side.


    Woosh! Ding!


    The silver streak struck against the de of the Centurion''s battle axe as he managed to block it sessfully with little effort.


    The Centurion narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the object he had just defended the carriage against. It turned out to be a thin silver arrow!


    But, not long after he blocked that first arrow, a wave of arrows appeared in the air above the contingent.


    "We''re under attack! Protect the carriage! Prepare to send the signal to the main force!" The Centurion roared.


    At the same time, the wave of arrows rained down in a stream, targeted at the elite troops and the carriage.


    The Centurion and Guard Commanders brandished their weapons and knocked away the approaching arrows, ensuring that they did not reach the carriage under their protection.


    The elite troops quickly got into a defensive formation around the carriage and prepared for a follow-up assault they knew was inevitable.


    This rain of arrows continued for five seconds nonstop before finallying to a halt.


    By the time it finished, some of the elite troops had been hit a few times. However, there were no major casualties among them. At worse, a few had their movements somewhat impaired by being struck in the foot or leg.


    A few seconds after the rain of arrows stopped, the contingent was in a solid battle formation as they patiently awaited their next set of orders.


    "Y-" Just as the Centurion was about to give out his orders, he suddenly went on high alert as he swung outward with his battle axe at a terrifying speed in front of his warhorse.


    BANG!


    The sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard as the Centurion''s battle axe collided with something in mid-air.


    "Who are you? Do you know what it means to attack a Tempest contingent?" The Centurion said in a cold voice as his gaze shifted from the marvelous azure de to the person who appeared before him.


    "Does it matter?" A carefree voice sounded in response. The owner of this voice was, of course, Izroth.


    After Izroth exchanged blows with the Centurion, the 9th Division emerged from behind the nearby trees and bushes from both sides of the forest path.


    "Enemy troops!" One of the Guard Commanders shouted.


    "Impossible! How did they go undiscovered by the main force?!" One of the elite troops eximed.


    As the 9th Division yers advanced toward battle, the charge was led by none other than Niflheim.


    Following close behind Niflheim were Bellum and Champion.


    Since Izroth returned in time, Niflheim and Menerva were able to return to their original strategy.


    Izroth would deal with the Centurion leading the group, and Niflheim would join Assault Group A to handle the mages. As for Love Mist, she was moved to Assault Group C to rece Hollow Crane, who left to deliver Izroth''s message to Commander Aurie.


    As for how the 9th Division was able to make it to this ce to set up for an ambush in time, it had to do with precise timing.


    In truth, Izroth and the 9th Division departed from near the Gale''s Eye not long after the main forces under cia''smand left the outpost. Because of this, they had a fifteen-minute headstart on the separate contingent. But it was not really fifteen minutes.


    If they departed too soon, there was a good chance that cia''s forces would spot them. At that point, their only choice would be to retreat with everything they had. However, if they had left toote, the contingent led by the Centurion would have spotted them and sent a signal off to the main forces before they even had a chance to act.


    Therefore, the 9th Division had to time their movement perfectly to avoid the main forces while also leaving themselves with enough time to set up an ambush.


    ''Oh? He managed to react in time?''


    Due to his heavy-ted equipment and burly physique, Izroth guessed that the Centurion would be rather slow to respond. However, it seemed that even while being donned in a full set of heavy armor, his speed could not be underestimated.


    NPC Name: Centurion of the 10th Tempest Legion, Aloysius(Epic)


    NPC Level: 62


    NPC HP: ??? (100%)


    "Hmph!" Aloysius'' arm muscles swelled as he drove his battle axe forward with great strength, causing Izroth to fly back a few meters.


    Izroth used the momentum of the push to flip backward andnd on the ground safely a couple of meters away from Aloysius.


    "I am Centurion Aloysius of the 10th Tempest Legion under the First File cia! Who dares attack our contingent?! Identify yourselves at once!" Aloysiusmanded as he pointed his battle axe toward Izroth as his killing intent swept over the surroundings.


    "Identify ourselves? If you have the ability to find out, then you''re wee to do so. Other than that, from here on out, the only conversation will take ce with our des." Izroth replied with a carefree expression as he pointed his Sword of the Storm at Aloysius.


    "Presumptuous!" Aloysius roared as he raised his arm wielding the battle axe into the air.


    Rmmmmble!


    The ground began to tremble as a red light epassed Aloysius'' battle axe. Then, in the blink of an eye, the red light morphed into a giant battle axe roughly ten meters in size. This was a battle axe Aloysius conjured using his mana and weapon intent.


    "Grand Felling Execution!" Aloysius shouted as his fighting spirit soared to new heights.


    Simultaneously, the giant axe made from his mana and weapon intent rapidly descended—it was on a direct collision course for Izroth!


    ...BOOOM!


    The giant axe caused a miniature earthquake to ur as the area in front of Aloysius was ttened by his attack.


    Swoosh!


    The aura around Aloysius'' battle axe vanished as he swept his weapon outward to clear up the cloud of dust kicked up by his attack.


    However, what the Centurion saw caused a slight frown to form on his face. There were no signs of the person he targeted.


    Without warning, heavy force pressed down on Aloysius, causing the legs of his warhorse to buckle under the pressure.


    Neeeeigh!


    The warhorse cried out as it tried its best to endure the sudden weight increase; however, it ultimately copsed. But, just before it did so, Aloysius leaped off the warhorse''s back andnded safely on the ground. Though when hended, Aloysius still felt as though his body had be heavier and sluggish.


    Zeeeeut!


    Izroth emerged behind Aloysius and shed down at his back with his sword as an overbearing aura descended along with it.


    -8,052


    Izroth''s Sword of the Storm managed to leave a deep mark on Aloysius'' armor and even inflicted some damage; however, Aloysius'' defenses were higher than he expected.


    ''I knew that my damage would be cut down when facing a full heavy ted opponent, but for it to be by this much...''


    Just moments ago, Izroth used the inscription contained within his Sword of the Storm, Concealed Heavy Wounds, to double Aloysius'' total mass. This action was to force the Centurion off of the warhorse.


    After that, Izroth executed his Primed Instantaneous Movement and instantly followed up with his First Baneful Sword: Destruction. But, the damage from his attack was reduced by more than 50%—and that was the result of a rtively clean hit.


    However, since his Sword of the Storm was able to cut through the heavy-ted armor without much effort, Izroth believed that Aloysius himself possessed an umon hardened physique that acted as a second naturalyer of armor.


    ''I doubt he''s revealed his true hand yet, so I can''t let my guard down. That being said, they''re holding up quite well.''


    Izroth nced over at the ongoing battle between his 9th Division and the remaining elite troops.


    So far, it seemed that their side held the clear upper hand. This was mostly thanks to Niflheim leading the charge and Bellum effectively disrupting the flow of battle for the enemies.


    But, despite having an upper hand, they appeared to have gained no ground toward the actual carriage itself, which was their main target.


    However, this was not entirely their fault. Rather than being overly aggressive, the elite troops focused on defense. This made it increasingly difficult for the 9th Division to make a quick break toward the carriage without risking being attacked from behind.