Chapter Eleven: Ambush

Poznan was not peaceful at the moment. Although that fool Ebson’s slanderous accusations when he left had cost him a lot of popular support and allowed that guy Komer to gain a firm foothold in Poznan, his reputation still held weight in the Kingdom of Nicosia, and there were many nobles in Poznan who favored him. He had never stopped maintaining contact with them. If he could succeed in killing Komer in one fell swoop, Komer’s hard-earned influence network would collapse instantly. A lone man without any family backing was just that—losing him meant losing everything.

Yet, launching a deep incursion into Poznan to attack Komer carried significant risks. Komer was still in Poznan, and it was easy to imagine that the men surrounding him must be extremely vigilant. The fact that they could penetrate Marko and return successfully showed just how powerful they were.

Zerin hesitated. The idea that popped into his mind tempted him like a fragrant poppy. Capture the thief and his leader—this was an eternal truth. Once Komer was dealt with, not only Poznan but also Homer and the entire Caucasus would fall into chaos. Hoffman and Kakiya, those weaklings, were nothing compared to him. He could effortlessly take over everything Komer had. Who could resist such temptation? And now, with Komer still in Poznan, it was the perfect opportunity. The unstable situation and the relatively unfamiliar environment provided excellent cover for a surprise attack. Once that guy returned to the Caucasus, finding such an opportunity again would be next to impossible.

Zerin felt his mouth tighten painfully, unaware even of the sweat beading on his forehead. He only felt his undershirt becoming sticky—sweat soaking through it, an uncomfortable sensation.

While capturing the thief and his leader sounded ideal, the king wasn’t so easy to catch. Moreover, failure would bring extremely serious consequences. He thought he already knew something about Komer—a calm, wise man filled with ambition. His plan to kill him would undoubtedly force Komer to declare war on Galle at all costs. Was Galle prepared for that?

Zerin sighed. He knew it would be difficult for Galle to face Homer’s pressure alone, and while Silesia might be a bit better, those half-orc and barbarian armies were as tough as rocks. His own troops had already witnessed their ferocity. Once this battle truly began, it might turn into a fight to the death, with no possibility of the current stalemate continuing. If they gave up this opportunity, Galle would fall into an awkward situation—the enemy would further expand its power after capturing Poznan, and Galle in the west might become the next Poznan. Zerin was certain of this. Greed knows no bounds; no one would give up everything they could gain when in a clear advantage. It seemed almost impossible for any normal person to do so. In fact, taking such measures was also to avoid greater disasters that Galle might face in the future. Realizing this, Zerin suddenly felt much lighter, as if his mind became sharper too. Perhaps he didn’t need Galle’s help—those magicians and magic knights from Bohemia might be able to help him solve this problem, and if anything really went wrong, he would still have room to maneuver.

Mahagumi showed a puzzled expression. The situation in Poznan was relatively calm, though there were always some discordant voices. But for a newly conquered territory, this was quite normal—so normal that it even worried Mahagumi, fearing some unexpected events might occur. The news he had received seemed to confirm this. Those who appeared in Poznan were clearly from the west, but they didn’t seem like Galleans nor Cypriots. Their sneaky behavior made Mahagumi curious about them. The strong warrior aura they exuded was hard to hide, even though they tried their best to conceal it. There were also a few others staying on the other side of the city. Although they didn’t seem to be connected to those others, Mahagumi still linked them together. This vague sense gave Mahagumi an intuition of impending danger. He wasn’t sure yet what these two groups were doing in Poznan, but he didn’t want to make any mistakes. As he considered whether to take action against these unknown newcomers, those opponents had already begun making quiet preparations.

“Selinger, it seems the information from the Posen people isn’t very accurate. We’ve already received two updates from them indicating changes in the situation. If this continues, we’ll eventually be detected by our opponent.” The middle-aged man with thick black brows glanced at his companion, who was still on guard outside the window, and said worriedly, “Our opponent is very cautious, and their movements are elusive. I wonder if they’ve already become suspicious.”

“I don’t think so. The situation in Posen isn’t fully stable yet, so it’s expected that our opponent will be careful. What worries me is whether our current forces are sufficient to achieve our goal.” The man called Selinger carefully wiped his shiny knight’s sword with a velvet cloth. He raised the blade slightly and shook it, causing strange blurred ripples in the air above and below it. A beam of light flashed along the spine of the sword and shot out toward the tip.

“Are you worried about Leclerc’s Homer Knights? It seems they’re not very close to that guy. Leclerc seems to maintain only a casual relationship with him.” The man with thick brows frowned. “I’ve observed their movements carefully. The Homer Knights hardly have any contact with him.”

“No, Zilomba. I’m not referring to Leclerc. I’m talking about those guys who are always by his side.” Selinger shook his head. “That guy who exudes a cold aura, those two magicians, and that woman with an abnormally plump figure.”

“Hmm. That guy with the cold aura must be someone with strength beyond just combat energy projection. His name is apparently Sorenberg, a knight of unknown origin. Those two magicians are likely Rebrí and Mihajović—one is a fallen mage who defected from the Church of Light, and the other is a puppet mage. Neither is easy to deal with. As for that woman, I thought she was his mistress, but I never expected him to carry such a large spear with him. It looks more like a dragon spear. Could he really think she could become a dragon knight?”

“Just these few guys are already quite troublesome. They seem to be with our target at all times. To eliminate the target, we have to take them into account. Fortunately, there should have been a Dark Knight as well, but for some reason, he’s disappeared now.” Selinger sighed.

“Selinger, there’s no time to lose. I think we can’t wait any longer, nor can we rely entirely on the information provided by the Poznanians—they simply can’t keep track of the target’s movements. That guy seems to prefer sleeping inside the lord’s mansion. I’ve approached the mansion several times, but I sense that there’s a quite powerful dark barrier there. That guy is truly a highly skilled dark mage.” Zilomba took a deep breath. “It’s time to take action.”
“Is the target’s morning outing always at the same time?” Selinger seemed to be making a decision as well.
“Well, it’s relatively fixed. The back garden is still some distance away from the center of the lord’s mansion. Of course, to knights and mages, that distance seems short, but if we can concentrate all our strength to deliver a fatal blow, the chances of success are quite high.” Zilomba carefully analyzed the odds of success.
Standing up, he paced back and forth in the room. The knight’s sword in Selinger’s hand seemed to tremble slightly with his mood, the blade making a faint ringing sound, enough to show that this knight’s combat prowess had reached a masterful level.
“Well, it seems we must take this risk. Duke Zelin has high hopes for us. The Crown Prince sent us here with orders to fully obey Duke Zelin’s commands. I never expected it to be such a task.” Selinger seemed resigned. “I’m really worried this might damage the reputation of our Bohemian Magic Knights Order.”
“A knight’s duty is to obey. Since the Crown Prince has given his instructions, even if our methods are somewhat improper, since the enemy are remnants of darkness, we have no guilt to bear.” Zilomba also seemed reluctant.
“Yes, light or darkness doesn’t really matter to us. Bohemia isn’t interested in that, but the task must be completed.” Selinger snorted heavily. “Since we’ve made up our minds, let’s not hesitate anymore. Inform them—ask the mages from the Magic Guild to cooperate with us. Their task is to block any possible reinforcements and keep those strong Homerians outside until we complete our mission. After that, send a signal, and everyone should withdraw along the planned routes.”
“Hmm, we may need to discuss the details. We need to ensure a one-shot kill.” Zilomba nodded as well.