Chapter 401: Chapter 403: Anthony’s Fearless Journey (Part 1)

ps: My writing was blocked today, I was feeling groggy and struggled to write, so please bear with it~ Woo woo woo, I’m crying.

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“Captain Anthony, there are more traces of the Nagas ahead. Do we need to call for reinforcements, or should we just follow them?”

A young human warrior, his face solemn, reported to Anthony, who was an advanced commander, while admiring the heroic figure clad in Dwarf Armor before him, with unmistakable admiration in his eyes.

In just two years, this young commander in front of him had risen like a comet and gradually became a dazzling new star of the King’s Blade.

Even many distinguished members of the Holy Light Bloodline had to look up to him within the King’s Blade, and he became the object of admiration for him and countless new recruits.

The Fearless–Anthony–was a well-recognized title within the King’s Blade, and his bravery had been acknowledged by many.

Anthony looked at the young warrior’s admiring gaze with a calm expression. He had seen such looks countless times before, and at the beginning, they would have thrilled him.

But now, his heart, tempered by the battles, had become as still as an ancient well.

The naive young man who had once eagerly longed to become a warrior in Dawn City had now become a high-ranking commander leading 300 people.

Turning his head slightly towards the direction the young warrior had pointed to, the dim light did not trouble him. After he had received the Fearless Holy Sword and inherited the Heart of Fearlessness,

whether in snowy mountains or foggy lakes, nothing could hinder him anymore.

“Instruct the messenger squad to send out the message, and leave marks behind us to ease the main force’s arrival.”

Anthony narrowed his eyes slightly, “We’ve been tracking the Naga for a month now. Since His Majesty took over Twilight City, these powerful evil creatures have constantly been on our mission list.

But the fact that no one has captured even a single Naga for such a long time says a lot.

The Nagas’ senses are extremely sharp, and their combat skills are extraordinary.

Tell everyone to be very careful!”

The Naga were too cunning, leaving no traces within Twilight City, and those who dealt with them didn’t know the location of their tribe.

Thus, the military order to locate the Naga had been issued a month ago but had not progressed.

The order, personally given by Lide, left the entire King’s Blade without any result, undeniably causing all warriors to feel dishonored.

In previous attempts, Anthony had led teams that found traces of the Naga, but they were too alert and realized they were being tracked, ending up with nothing.

Now that he had received news of the Naga again, Anthony undoubtedly felt stifled internally.

This time, no matter what, they had to capture a living Naga and force the location of their tribe out of them!

Military orders were absolute.

Following Anthony’s command, this three-hundred-strong legion immediately began to mobilize.

Several bats silently took wing to report back, and the troops in the rear started leaving covert, yet easily discoverable marks for the keen-eyed.

This was a low shrub forest, the space rocks above glimmering with faint light, incomparable to the complete darkness on the surface.

However, surprisingly, right after Anthony had given his orders, the camouflaged soldiers stood up with a peculiar set of crystal stone eyeglasses strapped around their heads, looking quite unusual.

“All be careful, don’t let the Sunshine Glasses hit any hard objects!”

Several squad leaders quietly reminded some of the more carefree warriors.

This was the latest secret weapon developed by Dawn City, allowing them in dim environments to have a vision almost like daylight. Damaging the Sunshine Glasses might not significantly affect their combat ability, but it would completely negate their ability to search and track.

300 people were divided into three groups of a hundred each, advancing in a triangle formation, each group distanced a hundred blades apart. This allowed them to cover a wide search area while also being able to support each other in times of danger.

Captain Anthony led the way, his sharp gaze akin to that of an eagle, constantly watching over everything around them.

The Underworld was fraught with dangers: poisonous snakes, spiders, and even venomous vines, man-eating trees, ubiquitous pits, and mud pits teeming with deadly bacteria…

The threats here were ten times greater than those on the surface.

After about ten minutes, two scouts quietly returned to report.

“Captain Anthony, there’s a Gray Dwarf Tribe half a day’s journey ahead. Should we head there?”

“Gray Dwarf?”

Captain Anthony frowned, aware that although Gray Dwarves were physically similar to Dwarves, being their close kin, they were different.

The key difference lay in the Gray Dwarves’ gray eyes, but their temperament was the polar opposite of the peace-loving Dwarves. These malevolent beings preferred enslaving weaker creatures to mine ores for them and enjoyed crafting equipment using dark and sinister methods.

Pushing slaves into steel furnaces, quenching blades with infants’ blood, or forging weapons with living beings…such malevolent practices were all too common.

“No need to bother, our only target is the Naga. Let the Twilight Knights handle these Gray Dwarves, His Eminence’s priests would be more than eager to conquer this tribe.”

Captain Anthony did not want unnecessary complications. Compared to capturing a Gray Dwarf Tribe, the Naga were clearly a bigger attraction, as this was a direct order from Lide.

“Yes, sir.”

Sshh~ Sshh~

Moving through the shrubs unavoidably caused friction, and the slight sounds seemed especially sinister in the dimly lit surroundings.

The entire team moved silently apart from the friction noise, displaying remarkable discipline.

Half a day later, just behind a bush ahead, two non-human figures suddenly appeared, causing Captain Anthony’s face to harden as he silently drew his longsword.

“Captain Anthony, there’s something ahead!”

Captain Anthony’s expression softened upon hearing the voice. He stepped forward, and the faces of the two figures emerged.

These were two slightly thin Kobolds, wearing light leather vests.

Kobolds were valuable in various legions for their keen sense of smell, useful for tracking down or locating enemies.

“What have you found?”

“Blood traces. We picked up the scent of fresh blood in the bushes, and it’s heavily laced with the essence of Naga. It’s possible this group of Naga was out hunting or had an encounter with someone; it appears some of them got injured…”

The Kobolds spoke with a hint of excitement. Catching the Naga would be a significant accomplishment. Plus, with so many military forces from Dawn City failing to capture them and them possibly succeeding, it would be a glorious feat.

The Naga were injured?

A wave of joy crossed Captain Anthony’s face as he almost ordered a full advance. However, he suddenly paused as if remembering something, and his brows furrowed deeply.

Could this affair really be that simple?

Having hunted these malevolent beings in this region where the Naga were frequently active for a month, he had never encountered such clear tracks left by them.

These malevolent beings were not only formidable in combat but also far more intelligent than ordinary beings. Such a glaring weakness was certainly not something they would leave behind.

With a sudden wave of his hand:

“Everyone, halt.”

Huh? The reporting Kobold was stunned. Shouldn’t they be advancing quickly since their target was right ahead? Why stop?

A young warrior who had been following beside Captain Anthony spoke thoughtfully, “Captain Anthony, do you suspect there’s something wrong here?”

Captain Anthony nodded, “Do you think the cunning Naga would show such an obvious flaw, especially knowing that we are hunting them?”

Over the past month, the army of Dawn City had centered on Twilight City and was spreading furiously in all directions, conquering or annihilating many tribes of the Dark Race.

Particularly, the Nagas, personally ordered by Lide, had become the primary target of all the armies’ aggressive hunts, causing the Nagas to be extremely vigilant. Many times their traces had been discovered, only to have them escape.

But now, everything was proceeding too smoothly, which made Anthony feel something was amiss.

“Aimon, tell me exactly how you discovered these Naga traces?”

Upon hearing the question, a young warrior named Aimon next to him spoke, “Yes, sir. Five Sunshine Hours ago, I heard from a few captured dwarves that traces of Nagas had been seen in this thicket. Then I brought people here to verify the traces were from Nagas, and immediately reported back to you…”

“You heard about the Naga traces from captured dwarves? Not from the intelligence department?”

Anthony frowned, his unease growing instantly, “Why didn’t you tell me from the start?”

“Sir, you were busy organizing the army and I didn’t get a chance to report to you in detail. Besides, our intelligence agents also provided us with the same information later.”

Aimon hurriedly explained.

After hearing this, Anthony’s expression eased slightly, but he still felt something was off. Dwarves, although clever, were too physically weak; their individual strength was only comparable to that of the Cave Dwellers.

If the Nagas wanted to deceive them, it would be all too easy.

There was definitely a problem here, Anthony immediately issued a command.

“Retreat from this thicket immediately, have the Magic Language Bats provide support, deploy the Air Force for search.”

Hearing this order, everyone was taken aback, but seeing Anthony’s solemn expression, they immediately responded; as the commander of this army, Anthony’s authority was supremely high, and there was no question of disobedience.

But just as Aimon and a few messengers were preparing to carry out the orders, suddenly a distant scream came.

“Ah!!!”

At that moment, Anthony’s hair stood on end as he sharply turned towards the direction of the scream.

“The right flank of the army is under attack, send out the signal, everyone get ready for battle!”

Aimon’s face turned pale; he immediately put a strange military whistle in his mouth, and moments later a shrill sound traveled several kilometers.

Hearing the whistle, the warriors immediately went on alert, swords drawn, crossbows cocked.

But the situation plunged into chaos no one could have predicted. Just two or three breaths after that scream sounded, constant screams came in from both flanks.

Confronted with the sudden attack, Anthony did not panic and decisively gave another order.

“Let the troops on both flanks gather to the center, form up around me!”

In such a scenario, blindly charging in any direction could suffer severe repercussions. Consolidating strength and then breaking through was the optimal response.

After issuing the second command, the people from both flanks quickly closed in.

“What happened?”

“Lord Anthony, Naga, a lot of Naga, they used magic to disguise themselves, we are surrounded by these Nagas!!”

“Surrounded??” Anthony’s expression turned graver, “Can you determine the approximate strength of the enemy?”

“Not sure, they’re hidden too well; we can’t make out their figures.”

“Aimon, has the distress signal been sent?”

“It has been sent.”

“Good, immediately assemble the formation, archers hold the center, I’ll lead the charge, spellcasters get ready to cast, we’ll break through from the right flank.”

Anthony issued another command; retreating the same way was clearly too risky, as he couldn’t determine how many enemy forces were in ambush.

Instead, it would be better to break out from a flank, managing a breakthrough could mean a chance at life.

Orders were swiftly obeyed, the troops quickly formed up and charged towards the flank.

On the way, Anthony briefly counted the number of people gathered, which was just over 200. This meant that in just over a minute, a third of the warriors had been killed.

This weighed heavily on Anthony’s heart.

The number of Naga exceeded his expectations. If they didn’t handle this situation correctly, these warriors, including himself, might not make it back alive.

But as the commander, Anthony still maintained his usual extraordinary calm.

The intent to kill began to gather in his eyes, his fighting spirit soared.

No matter how many Naga were ambushed, since they dared to come, he dared to kill!

The Cross Longsword in his hand, engraved with blooming irises, sensed Anthony’s fighting spirit. The patterns on it flowed slowly like water, filled with an indescribable mystery.

The Fearless Holy Sword, only a fearless warrior could unleash its greatest power.

Soon, after Anthony ordered a breakthrough, the first collision began.

The air on the right flank was filled with a nauseating stench of blood that hit their noses even before they arrived.

Fear, like a venomous snake, tried to devour the heart of every warrior.

But Anthony, fearless as always, charged forward.

Crack~

After crossing a short bush, like ghosts, dozens of four-armed Naga wielding longswords suddenly appeared.

Their long snake-like bodies, cold gaze, and the dark red spines on their back spelled the terror of their race.

Neither side exchanged any unnecessary words.

“Kill!”

A single word, and blood suddenly flew.

Anthony, holding his sword vertically in front of his chest, rushed directly towards the Naga charging at the front.

The four-armed Naga was terrifyingly frightening, their four longswords swinging in unison. It was daunting enough to make even five men sweat in fear facing them.

But Anthony was without fear, his sharp gaze like a hawk hunting a lamb.

His body, like a spring compressed to the limit, suddenly burst forth with terrifying power in two steps forward, and Anthony could already see the fierce expression on the Naga’s face.

The strength of his arms transferred to the Fearless Holy Sword, and with a flash of cold light.

Anthony’s Longsword cleaved downward, the Naga swung their swords to block,

But, their weapons were not in the same league.

The four longswords were severed as easily as tofu, crack~ The Naga’s face showed a hint of panic, but he was too late to react.

One sword split the Nine Layers of Heaven.

The body split in two.

Blood sprayed several sword-lengths high.

A splashy trail of fresh blood appeared on Anthony’s face.

“For Dawn!”

After slaying a four-armed Naga, Anthony roared aloud.

“Kill!”

The blood clearly boosted the morale. Following Anthony’s roar, the warriors also charged and screamed at the Naga.

A bloody clash unknown to anyone else unfolded in the depths of the obscure bushes.