Volume 2, Chapter 56 – Ambush

“How is this possible? Could it be too dark, and you missed it?”

“Absolutely certain, Captain. There’s only rope on the stake—the ice wolf pup wasn’t tied up.”

“Tch.”

Should they retreat?

The answer Ander least wanted to hear surfaced in his mind. Having lost more than half his men, returning empty-handed now would undoubtedly land him before a military tribunal.

But if they didn’t deal with the ice wolf pup, they couldn’t slip into the tavern unnoticed. After a moment of deliberation, he gritted his teeth and hardened his resolve.

“Proceed as planned. If we’re discovered, prepare to assault immediately. Make it quick.”

“Yes, sir.”

His subordinates retreated to the back door. The rear wall was barely twice a man’s height, and with their trained strength, scaling it was effortless.

The expected barking of the ice wolf never came. Even after all the soldiers had climbed into the backyard, the courtyard remained eerily silent.

Too smooth.

That was Ander’s first thought.

Though he knew their targets were a group of girls with no combat experience, the absence of even the ice wolf pup’s barking was unnervingly convenient. It felt like a trap—some hidden ambush he wasn’t aware of.

But an ambush required foreknowledge of their arrival, and their operation had been kept strictly confidential. During their stay at Baron Wells’s estate, even the servants hadn’t known of their presence. How could the girls have discovered them?

Rеαԁ οո ΚαtReadіngCafе

Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Ander rubbed his chin. These girls, inexperienced in real combat, couldn’t possibly have such vigilance. Even if they had noticed the intrusion, their reactions would be limited to either screaming for help or cowering silently under their beds.

Forcing a cold smirk to ease his tension, Ander and his men crept along the wall, reaching the back kitchen door.

A strange odor hung in the air. Ander sniffed and glanced back at his men, silently questioning if they noticed it too. Their nods confirmed it.

After a moment, he identified the source—spilled alcohol and oil.

Why would these be spilled here?

Given that this was a tavern, alcohol and oil were common enough. Ander dismissed it and signaled his men to lift the wooden latch. They slipped inside, tiptoeing into the first floor.

The dark hall was neatly arranged with tables and chairs—everything seemed normal, except for the puddle underfoot. The overpowering stench of alcohol stung his nose. Without light (a necessity for stealth) and lacking a vampire’s night vision, he couldn’t identify the liquid.

He gestured, splitting his men into two teams: the stronger ones would capture the targets, while the others guarded the first floor to prevent escapes. Ander himself stayed behind, ready to handle any city guards drawn by the commotion.

Soon, eight men ascended the creaky wooden stairs. Just as the last stepped onto them, the silence shattered.

A torrent of liquid poured from above, drenching the eight soldiers.

“Ahhh! My eyes!”

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

Despite their training, the soldiers’ screams echoed through the hall. Though they held formation, Ander knew their plan was compromised.

Rеaԁ οn КаtRеаԁіոɡСαfе

“Damn it,” he spat. “Prepare for combat!”

As he barked the order, a flicker of light caught his eye at the stairway.

Fire.

Whoosh!

Like a slithering dragon, flames erupted from the top of the stairs, racing downward in an instant.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Water! We need water!”

Drenched in alcohol and oil, the eight fallen soldiers became human torches. Agony stripped them of discipline—they tumbled down the stairs, rolling on the ground to smother the flames. But the floor had been doused in distilled liquor. As they writhed, the fire spread, igniting the first floor and their comrades.

Chaos erupted in seconds.

Forcing calm, Ander shouted, “Number Eight, extinguish the flames!”

“Yes! □□□—『Flame Destruction』!”

The spell could only target one area at a time. As Number Eight worked frantically, a gust of wind whistled past Ander’s left ear.

An ambush.

Years of training saved him. He threw himself backward without hesitation.

Reаⅾ οո KatRеαdіոɡСafe

Whoosh—

Thud.

The first sound was a blade slicing air; the second, Ander’s back slamming into a table.

His instincts had spared his life.

But the assault wasn’t over. In the firelight, Ander saw his attackers—three women materializing from thin air. He blinked, stunned. They seemed to dissolve into visibility, as though they’d been part of the darkness itself.

His mind screamed danger. He rolled aside, hitting the floor as he scrambled for answers.

How did they appear?

Invisibility magic? But true invisibility required at least Level 40, and these women—all documented in intelligence reports—were below Level 10.

They must be the fallen.

The realization hit like missing a step on stairs. If the enemy had fallen allies, everything made sense—their foreknowledge of the ambush, their sudden appearance. Their invisibility breaking after one strike suggested limitations, as demonic powers rarely granted overwhelming advantages.

Clambering up, Ander dodged behind tables, trading blows with Camilla, Mary, and Sera. Normally, a Level 21 warrior like him wouldn’t fear three opponents under Level 10 (one of whom wasn’t even combat-trained). But with the fallen powers in play, caution was paramount.

He guessed they had not only an invisibility-granting fallen but also one like his Number 21, capable of environmental detection. Possibly others he didn’t know.

Worst-case scenario.

“Who are you people?”

Rеad оn КatRеаdіnɡCαfе

Camilla, her golden hair gleaming in the firelight, brandished a branch-like staff. With Yisi away investigating the Blazing Eyeworm, she was determined to protect the tavern.

Days earlier, Yisi had left her a magical warning lamp linked to a teleportation array. When Ander’s team first approached, the lamp’s rapid flashing had alerted Camilla. She’d roused Mary and the others, had Fran retrieve the ice wolf pup, and ordered the tavern doused in distilled liquor—a discovery from recent experiments.

The fallen girls (except Sera) hid in the basement while Shinku waited upstairs with a barrel of liquor and a torch. Knowing escape routes would be blocked, Camilla opted for a surprise attack over alerting the guards.

Burning the tavern was risky, but its stone structure would contain the flames if they ended the fight quickly. If not—well, if even this failed, conventional combat stood no chance.

Now, their first strike had thrown the enemy into disarray.

Ander ignored Camilla’s question, lunging with his sword. Time was his enemy—he couldn’t afford delays.

“Not so fast.”

Mary stepped between them, her new iron-plated oak shield (a gift from Yisi) deflecting Ander’s strike. The impact sent her stumbling back, but before Ander could finish her,

“□□□□—『Ice Wolf Strike』!”

A wolf-headed ice spear shot from Camilla’s staff, forcing Ander to twist aside or be impaled.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned at the stairs.

Shinku leaped from the second floor, dual short spears ablaze. Weaving through panicked, burning soldiers, she became an untouchable inferno. Within moments, three imperial soldiers fell.

The ambush had become a slaughter.