Chapter 133: It’s All Tactics
“You are cunning.” Illyas giggled, her eyes curving into crescents.
“No,” Anse corrected, his face serious. “This is tactics, not morality.”
“Alright,” Illyas said, seeing his seriousness, and didn’t dwell on it. “Shall we set up an ambush?”
“Meaningless,” Anse shook his head slightly. “With so many of us, we’d need lanterns even to enter the forest, and we’d be spotted easily. We can just watch from the side; they won’t give up.”
“Are you so sure?” Illyas tucked away a strand of hair to avoid hitting Anse’s face.
“Human nature is greedy. The Amn people paid such a high price, how could they give up so easily?” Anse judged them by himself; if he couldn’t let go, how could the Amn people?
Anything that could take down a black dragon was certainly not simple and couldn’t be wasted for nothing.
“Then I’ll have the soldiers wait at the forest edge for the opportune moment. But if the Amn people win easily, we might not get a chance,” Illyas sighed softly.
“How many people did you bring this time?”
“The Knights and over a hundred and fifty guards, about two hundred in total.”
“That’s about right, we have to try.”
If he gave up now, Anse feared he wouldn’t be able to sleep for days.
Since they were mortal enemies, if he couldn’t get the dragon, he’d kill people. He was not leaving empty-handed today.
Several birds circled in the sky above the forest, and some even boldly approached the flying carpet.
Anse raised his hand and shot a Ray of Frost at one, bringing it down. A combat notification appeared, and a sneer crossed his lips.
“Amn’s magic pets?” Illyas seemed unsurprised; it was a common reconnaissance method for armies.
“Yes.”
Anse immediately notified Finn to have the Greyhawk hunt the birds, forbidding any flying creatures from approaching this airspace.
Doing this wouldn’t stop the Amn people from finding the black dragon, but it would at least disrupt their information channels.
More than half an hour later, the guards and the Knights gradually assembled at the forest edge.
The Federation’s guard was commanded by Quentin, and they were considered elites, mainly because they all lived on the forest edge and were very familiar with the Toothed Forest.
However, upon hearing that they were about to face the Amn Army and a black dragon, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Anse and Illyas flew above the treetops, quietly observing the movements of the Amn Army.
After the Amn Army arrived at the Southern End of the Forest, they charged into the forest without hesitation, their lights winding, heading straight for the black dragon deep in the northern jungle.
Confirming that the enemy would not be attacking Dulag, Illyas gave the order. The Knights dismounted and prepared themselves, entering the forest along with the guards.
Seen from high above, the two groups, one from the south and one from the east, were like two glowing serpents, crossing the jungle, their meeting point being the black dragon.
A hint of dawn appeared in the sky, improving visibility, and the forest became much easier to navigate.
At this moment, the black dragon finally stopped moving, lying in the dirt and retching uncontrollably, rolling back and forth in pain. Trees snapped and tilted in swathes, and its roars startled countless animals into fleeing in all directions.
Anse secretly marveled that Abel’s black dragon, with its supreme status and arrogance, probably never expected to suffer such a calamity upon entering Faerun.
Undoubtedly, dragons were extremely powerful magical creatures; compared to them, humans were like ants, yet humans always treated dragons as prey.
They charged forward to slay dragons, unafraid of death.
Dragons were greedy; were humans any different?
The black dragon thrashed for a while before finally calming down, lying motionless on the ground.
Anse told Illyas to retreat, then quietly descended, his mind locked onto the black dragon.
【 Young Black Dragon, Huge Dragon, Challenge Rating 12】
‘Not yet adult, but close.’
Young dragons leave their parents to establish their own lairs and treasuries, and this is when they are most greedy.
It was a shame they didn’t understand the survival logic of Faerun; by coming here so recklessly to seek revenge, they were instead tricked by humans.
Seeing its disheveled state, Anse pondered for a moment, took out a Healing Potion, and threw it forcefully at the black dragon.
The Healing Potion shattered against the black dragon’s back with a ‘splat,’ and the potion flowed down its scale armor, emitting a faint magical glow.
【 You threw a Healing Potion at Visagazur, the black dragon. Visagazur was splashed by the Healing Potion, restoring 8 Hit Points. Current Hit Points: 81/175】
‘It’s quite injured, but not enough to ground it, is it? Perhaps the poison has status effects like Exhaustion, Paralysis, or Poisoning,’ Anse speculated.
At that moment, the black dragon opened its eyes and stared straight at Anse, its gaze unreadable.
Anse was startled and flapped his wings to ascend. Seeing that the black dragon made no further movement, he stopped.
He rummaged through his belongings; he only had one Greater Healing Potion left. He had confiscated it from that Slave Ship Captain and had been reluctant to use it.
After pondering for a few seconds, he decisively descended again, threw the Greater Healing Potion down, and then flew high into the sky.
The black dragon flicked its long tail, nimbly caught the potion, and swallowed it.
【 Visagazur was splashed by the Greater Healing Potion, restoring 16 Hit Points. Current Hit Points: 97/175】
‘Go on and kill them!’
Anse knew that the Amn people had come prepared. If they succeeded easily, his chances would be slim.
Two Healing Potions might add some variables, but any more wouldn’t do; he also feared the dragon would get up and flee.
Illyas leaned closer, her expression strange: “Is this also tactics?”
“Of course, the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Anse said matter-of-factly.
Alliances were legitimate tactics, definitely not sinister.
The sky gradually brightened.
Quentin led his troops to a halt two kilometers east of the black dragon, hiding behind trees, no longer advancing.
The Amn people clearly discovered them and changed their course eastward, blocking their path and completely surrounding the black dragon, forming a circular attack formation.
Quentin, being cunning, didn’t engage the enemy directly and retreated several hundred meters, maintaining a cautious distance.
Above, Anse and Illyas hovered separately, overlooking the scene below.
Commander Moor looked up at the sky, his gaze passing through the gaps in the treetops and landing on Anse and Illyas. He frowned.
“Moor, Dulag is too arrogant, just staring at us like this. Let’s drive them away first?” a Light Armor warrior carrying a row of javelins ran over, his tone aggressive.
The commander squinted, his triangular eyes reduced to mere slits. “The potion’s effect will last at most six hours, we must take down the black dragon quickly. Don’t mind them, they won’t dare to attack.”
Then, he patted the warrior’s shoulder, a smile forced onto his face. “Derik, I’ll be counting on your squad for this. If we take down the black dragon, you’ll get the first merit, and I’ll report it truthfully!”
“Haha, you don’t need to tell me,” Derik grinned exuberantly, revealing a pair of sharp, white canine teeth.
He left Moor, drew his Greatsword, and swung it forward. “All soldiers, listen to my command, shrink the encirclement, Musket team prepare—”
Moor’s expression soured, but he raised no objection and immediately sent his men to relay the order.
The forest muffled sound, and the encirclement was too large for shouting to be effective.
Soon, the soldiers began to advance cautiously. Through the gaps in the trees, the black dragon’s body was gradually exposed to the sight of the front-line soldiers.
Its monstrous face, like a fiendish skull, and its grotesquely shaped scales made many’s legs tremble, their weapons becoming unsteady, their steps faltering.
The officers did not scold or hurry them, for even they felt their hearts pounding, unable to control themselves.
It wasn’t that the soldiers lacked mental fortitude; this was the black dragon’s “terrifying majesty,” a formidable magical power that directly affected the soul.
As the distance closed to a hundred meters, the fallen and broken trees and the pockmarked ground made the road more difficult to traverse, but visibility also greatly improved.
The colossal black dragon lay sprawled on the ground, its torso alone nearly ten meters long, its tail even more exaggerated. Its vomit was everywhere, emitting a foul stench.
The soldiers, after a few breaths, felt nauseous and dizzy, quickly covering their mouths and noses with their clothes.
Derik leaped over a fallen log, drew a Javelin, and leaned back significantly, his neck muscles, as thick as a tree trunk, bulging. He was like a drawn longbow.
“Whoosh—”
The javelin shot out like lightning, a blur in the air, and with a ‘thud,’ it embedded itself in the black dragon’s neck, the entire head disappearing into its flesh. Dark blood flowed continuously down the shaft.
The black dragon remained motionless, as if dead.
In the air, Anse’s gaze narrowed, unsure: ‘Is it faking?’
