Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 246 - 239: Preparedness Prevents Peril

Chapter 246: Chapter 239: Preparedness Prevents Peril

"What does the message say?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but ask.

"Headquarters has succeeded, we are ordered to gather at the following location rapidly!" Luo’er said succinctly.

"We have succeeded? Wait, we haven’t even seen the Arya’s Blade yet!" Upon hearing this news, everyone was stunned.

"That’s what the message says." Luo’er said.

"It seems that the headquarters didn’t just arrange for us, they also invited others to help!" Cheng Ziang analyzed.

"I told you, what could only the five of us do with such a dangerous mission!" Hu Daoke said.

"Yue’er, the map!" Luo’er didn’t pay attention to the two of them, and spoke to Baiyue instead.

"Here!" Baiyue handed him the map.

Luo’er dismounted, spread the map out, and looked around. Baiyue knew what he was trying to do, so she got off her horse and came to his side, made some calculations in her mind, and then pointed out their location on the map.

"We are here!" Baiyue pointed at the map and said. This map was not of the whole continent, but of Saint Basaya, thus the resolution was higher than the full map, which facilitated locating their position.

"The location indicated on the message is here!" Luo’er pointed to a location on the map and said.

Baiyue put her thumb on the location where they were sitting, and then put her index finger on the place Luo’er was pointing at, calculated silently in her mind, and then solemnly told him, "The distance is roughly twenty-five kilometers!"

"Thank you!" Luo’er smiled and sincerely thanked her. It must be said that, in normal missions, Baiyue was indeed an important aid to him. Many times, as long as she was there to help, problems were quickly solved.

"It’s nothing." Receiving Luo’er’s compliment, Baiyue lowered her head, shyly shook her head.

"Twenty-five kilometers away, if we ride fast, we should arrive in about half an hour." Cheng Ziang came to him on his horse and said.

"These guys are quite impressive, they traveled more than twenty kilometers in a blink of an eye." Hu Daoke shook his head in appreciation.

"Shall we set off now?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"Hmm, let’s go now, to rendezvous with them!" Luo’er nodded and said.

"Who exactly are they?" As he handed the reins over to Luo’er, Hu Daoke queried.

"Unclear, we’ll find out when we get there!" Luo’er shook his head.

"What if we get attacked by mistake?" Hu Daoke asked worriedly.

"The message didn’t say how to meet up with them, they probably recognize us." Luo’er glanced at the paper, saying hesitantly.

"It’s simple, I’ll take the front, the rest of you watch our backs. Yue’er, you come cover me." Cheng Ziang decided.

Baiyue was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, and came over to his side on her horse.

"Will it be fine?" Tangmo couldn’t help but ask worryingly.

"It’s fine, as long as us three are vigilant enough, if something happens we can provide fire support and cover for their retreat." Luo’er comforted him.

After checking, the group continued to move forward on the road. The location marked on the message was off by the side of the road more than twenty kilometers away, so all they had to do was follow the road to find the location.

The roads in Saint Basaya were flat, so the five of them arrived at the location indicated on the message in less than half an hour. But where the exact place was, they had to look around for it; after all, the map could only serve as a reference for them.

There were still bloodstains and scattered bullet shells on the road, showing that there had just been a gun battle here. But what was confusing for everyone was that they couldn’t find a single body here.

Just as everyone was splitting up to look around, suddenly Hu Daoke pointed at the woods not far away and shouted, "Guys, there seems to be something over there!"

Luo’er looked in the direction instructed, and in the depths of the lush jungle, he vaguely saw a dazzling silver-white glow, which should be the glow radiating from some type of metal.

Cheng Ziang and Luo’er met each other’s gaze, then nodded to each other. Immediately afterwards, Cheng Ziang dismounted and, as he drew his katana, signaled to Baiyue to come to him.

He reacted quickly, still he needed protection from Baiyue. Should they walk into a trap, Baiyue could use her strong magic power to create a shield to deflect bullets fired from all directions. While Luo’er and Hu Daoke prepared to cover them with rifles.

Parting the bushes gently, what met their eyes stupefied them. Bodies were scattered all over the ground, among them were not only Light Cavalry and quite a few of them appeared to be adventurers. Presumably, those were the ones who had chased after the Light Cavalry.

It seemed that a formidable opponent had been hired from Otherworld by the headquarters. This opponent had not simply wiped out all of the Light Cavalry, but also the attackers.

Cheng Ziang examined the corpses of the Light Cavalry, and found that only a few of them had bullet holes in their armor. The rest were free of any visible damage, but there were large patches of blood seeping through the spaces between their armor. Evidently, this opponent was quite formidable, managing to bypass the sturdy armor and strike the vulnerable areas between the armor plates.

The situation was even worse for the attackers. Unlike the Light Cavalry, they did not wear any armor, making them easy targets. Some had their throats slit wide open, with their fresh blood staining the nearby tree trunks, and a heavy stench of blood pervaded the air.

Taking in the gruesome sight, Cheng Ziang frowned, clenching his hand around the hilt of his sword, an uneasy feeling creeping over him. Suddenly, Baiyue gave a pat on his shoulder, prompting him to look in the direction she was pointing at.

Following her direction, to his surprise, Cheng Ziang saw a Light Cavalry corpse leaning against a tree trunk, a long, rectangular wooden box firmly held in its hand. That had to be the Arya’s Blade they were desperately looking for.

Thinking that, Cheng Ziang gestured Baiyue to fall back a little, then slowly walked up to the corpse. While holding his sword, he gently pried away the hand of the corpse and slid his sword’s tip into the crevice of the wooden box.

The lid of the box opened, and an antique long sword wrapped in silk immediately appeared in front of him. The style of the sword was reminiscent of the broadswords of the medieval period on Earth, beautifully engraved with runes on the blade.

After hesitating for a moment, Cheng Ziang bent over and was about to reach for the long sword. Suddenly, a glint of cold light flashed from behind a tree. Instinctively, he bent over and the cold light whizzed past his head.

Immediately after, another streak of cold light came at him, this time from his lower left in an upward swing. Cheng Ziang once again dodged the cold light, then without hesitation, lunged his sword towards the figure emerging behind the tree, aiming at their ribs.

"Clang! "

His sword collided with the figure’s sword and a clear metallic sound rang out. The figure fended off Cheng Ziang’s strike with a swift swipe of his sword and jumped out from behind the tree.

This was a masked man, of strong build and towering height, standing over 1.90 meters tall. He sported a mane of long, golden hair, tied into a ponytail that had a knight-like charm. His adventurer’s outfit was tattered and his long sword was already drawn. What caught Cheng Ziang’s eye was the short sword at his waist.

The man, upon seeing Cheng Ziang managing to parry his two attacks and even launch counterattacks, had a gleam of amusement in his hawk-like eyes. He loosened the joints in his body and gestured towards Cheng Ziang, signaling him to continue the attack.

"Fallback, I’ll handle him!" Cheng Ziang gestured to the Baiyue standing behind to stand back, for he believed that it was a rare opportunity to duel with such skilled swordsman.

"What to do, boss, should we help?" Hu Daoke, who was standing behind, asked Luo’er.

"Let’s observe for the time being. This guy doesn’t seem like an enemy!" Luo’er said with a frown, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had seen this man somewhere before.

Cheng Ziang held up his blade, aligning it with his line of vision, and without any warning, he lunged at the towering man. Unruffled, the man deflected Cheng Ziang’s attack with a simple flick of his sword, then swung his sword diagonally in an attempt to cut off his arm if he failed to dodge it in time.

The man’s silver blade was thinner than Cheng Ziang’s broadsword, his main attack would have been thrusts. However, against Cheng Ziang’s assault, he opted for wide swings instead of thrusts, seemingly he was holding back.

Cheng Ziang attempted thrusts several times, but the man effortlessly dodged them, and attacked him back with equally non-lethal blows. This irked Cheng Ziang, as it felt like he was being belittled.

Cheng Ziang continually closed in on the man hoping to render his broad swings ineffective with close-quarters combat. Sensing his plan, the man warded off the blows while stepping backward, denying him of any such opportunity.

Growing desperate, Cheng Ziang parried his swings before retreating a step. Then without a second thought, he drew a throwing knife from his waist and hurled it towards the man. Caught off guard by his Shuriken attack, the man managed to tilt his head, barely dodging the knife aimed at his face.

The man, rather than angered, gave an approving nod at Cheng Ziang using the throwing knife against him. He then shook his wrist signaling that he was readying his assault and that Cheng Ziang should brace himself.

Cheng Ziang was alert, he readied his stance to meet his attack. The man’s swings which had been over-exaggerated till now, were turned into rapid thrusts, taking advantage of his thin and long sword.

Parrying the continuous strikes with his own sword, Cheng Ziang found it challenging. Each thrust was fast, accurate, and aimed at positions he could not afford to leave unguarded, with not a single extraneous move.

Under the relentless assault from the man, Cheng Ziang found himself on the backfoot, with no chance of a counterattack. Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, the man’s sword brushed against Cheng Ziang’s sword hilt, followed by a hard upswing that knocked Cheng Ziang’s sword out of his hand.

Immediately, he flicked his sword, blocking the falling sword, and with a swing, directed it towards a tree trunk. Cheng Ziang’s dropped sword was sent flying towards a tree trunk and embedded itself into it, quivering slightly.