Chapter 1785: Ambush
As the time for return approached, more and more knights gathered, and the tension between them grew. Some held old grudges, while others had competing relationships, and the situation was on the verge of exploding.
Soon, two knights who had clashed in the wilderness earlier pointed fingers at each other, engaging in harsh verbal disputes. After a round of meaningless trash talk, they chose to duel.
Even though each had several teammates, duels between knights were sacred. If it was a one-on-one fight, bystanders were not allowed to interfere. Thus, their teammates stepped aside, letting the two of them fight it out.
With the first duel underway, a second soon followed. Within moments, several small battlefields appeared outside the city. However, their strength was not yet at its peak. The combat between these knights was limited to clashes of swords and blades, not yet reaching the level of shattering mountains and splitting rocks. In other words, they fought with considerable restraint.
Just then, a knight with heavily scarred armor, riding a giant lizard-like monster, arrived. Several bulging bags hung from his mount, clearly indicating he had reaped a substantial harvest. Crucially, he was alone.
The ambushing knights’ eyes sharpened. As he passed by, someone finally couldn’t resist. He suddenly attacked, and at the same time, his companions joined in. Instantly, it became a siege of one against six.
“Despicable!” the knight besieged by six roared in anger. The giant lizard beneath him opened its maw and spat out a bolt of lightning. He himself grabbed a long halberd and charged into the fray.
Although this knight’s strength was considerable, he was ultimately no match for the combined might of six opponents. With a final, frustrated roar, he was defeated.
The sniper did not take his life, nor did he kill his mount. He merely took his spoils of war. These could not be counted as his own achievements, but by preventing his opponent from gaining points, he had effectively eliminated them.
With the commencement of this first ambush, other ambushing parties also took action. It wasn’t just lone individuals who were attacked; even teams were targeted. Chaos erupted outside the city.
The most spectacular among these events was the aerial combat. Since many knights rode flying beasts, once the return time arrived, it would be difficult to stop knights on flying mounts from forcing their way through. Therefore, for aerial knights, this was the optimal moment to shoot down their opponents.
Dozens of knights engaged in aerial dogfights in the sky. There were pairs locked in combat, as well as several individuals pursuing one, and even team battles. Various fireballs, magics, and breaths spewed from the flying beasts, intermingling with the knights’ sword winds and arrows.
Spectators looked up, watching the tense and stimulating aerial battles. These were magnificent scenes absolutely impossible to witness normally, with streaks of light frequently cutting across the sky, or falling to the ground and causing massive explosions. Occasionally, a knight would be hit, plummeting to the ground with their mount.
The aerial combat was spectacular, but the only drawback was its lack of clarity. They flew too high and too fast. Spectators in the Inner City could only see numerous black shadows chasing each other in the sky. Many disappeared after a while, and it was impossible to tell who was allied with whom.
Unlike the throngs outside who could only watch the commotion, those who entered the venue could watch the knights’ aerial battles through projection screens, experiencing them from a first-person perspective. This was even more stimulating, allowing viewers to witness high-speed maneuvers, dives through clouds, and tail chases.
The intensity of these cinematic shots and the grandeur of the scenes were unlike anything I had seen in movies from my previous life. The brutality of the combat also far surpassed anything seen on the ground.
Just then, on a corner of the projection screen, I spotted a familiar figure. Lorna floated up and said, “Isn’t that Albrisque? It looks like the Knight Captain is with him.”
Indeed, a ferocious green dragon flew in from the distance, accompanied by a knight in Steam Armor riding a smaller strange bird. Following behind them were three knights riding Pterosaurs.
This was the knight team from Cando City. I recognized three of them, besides Albrisque and the Knight Captain, there was also the knight who rode a Tyrannosaurus when we entered the city. Their Pterosaurs were likely borrowed from the city lord’s Pterosaur cavalry squadron.
“Who are they?” Weis and Margaret were not paying close attention to these people, not knowing their relationship to us.
“The one riding the dragon has a bit of a personal grudge with us, but now is not the time for revenge,” I said coldly. He was not the primary enemy to be dealt with right now.
I recalled that there should have been at least eight or nine knights from Cando City when they first participated in the competition. Now, only five remained. If they hadn’t dispersed, they must have been eliminated in these two rounds. After all, they were not particularly strong knights; strictly speaking, only Albrisque was exceptionally powerful.
The situation was the same now. Seeing this team of five knights, with the strongest mount being only one dragon, a small team stepped forward to intercept them.
This knight team consisted of seven riders. Two of them were riding dragons, while among the remaining five, one rode a giant Quetzalcoatlus. The other four knights, although also riding Pterosaurs, appeared to be subspecies based on their build and color.
The battle was imminent. The Cando City knights clearly sensed the ambush and immediately dispersed to meet the attackers. The three knights in the rear pulled their Pterosaurs into the sky to seize the high ground.
The two enemy dragons simultaneously unleashed their dragon breaths. One was a high-temperature fireball infused with chaotic energy, while the other was a blue lightning.
Albrisque’s Forest Dragon also spewed a corrosive acidic dragon breath, which collided with the scorching fireball. The dragon breath was instantly ignited by the fireball, causing a massive explosion in mid-air.
The Knight Captain raised his ancestral sword and directly blocked the incoming blue lightning. After absorbing the lightning, his sword was imbued with a layer of green electrical energy that flickered continuously.
The Pterosaur Knights of Cando City reacted quickly. Their Pterosaurs were faster than dragons, and they soon secured the high ground. With a flick of their wrists, the three Pterosaurs hurled oil-jar-like objects into the sea of fire created by the recent explosion.
The enemy knights, who had just attempted to bypass the firestorm from the dragon breath confrontation, saw several flaming pottery jars thrown from the sea of fire. Then, with a “boom!”, the pottery jars exploded.
The pottery jars’ explosions produced intense light and ear-splitting sounds, startling and causing the enemy knights’ Pterosaurs to fly into a panic. The jars also scattered shrapnel.
Military bombs. I had attempted to replicate them to make grenades. Now, these pottery jar bombs were mixed with more ingredients, including materials that produced intense light and sonic booms.
They had clearly considered how to deal with aerial combat. This first wave of bombardment was highly effective. The team ambushing them suffered a significant loss in the first engagement. Not only were the Pterosaurs’ formations disrupted, but even the two large dragons were hit by considerable shrapnel.
Seeing this, Albrisque immediately rode his dragon towards an opponent, intending to take him down before he could react.
