North Africa, the border region between Topsep and Adus.
The dazzling sun hung high in the sky, its scorching rays fiercely baking the earth. Beneath the intense sun was a dry and barren land, a vast expanse of pale yellow as far as the eye could see, with almost no signs of movement, except for the roaring steel beast spewing thick smoke as it rushed forward, and the eagles soaring high and circling in the sky.
Along the long railway track, the fully loaded desert arrow continued to move forward. It had been a day and a half since the desert arrow departed from Kankdar, and not long ago, it had crossed the border of the Topsep Kingdom and entered the territory of the Adus Kingdom.
Although it had crossed the border, the environment in which the desert arrow traveled did not change much. It was still an endless desert all around. Occasionally, it would stop briefly at stations in some towns to replenish coal and water. For most of the rest of the time, it was constantly on the move. Thus, the entire train journeyed deeper into the inland of North Africa.
At this moment, the desert arrow was traveling through a wasteland. On both sides of the railway ahead, two not-very-high Stone mountains could be seen, and beyond the Stone mountains was a deep canyon. A long iron bridge spanned the sides of the canyon, carrying the railway track to the opposite bank of the canyon.
On the two Stone mountains before the iron bridge, behind several large rocks on the mountaintop, several figures were currently lying prone on the ground, hidden behind the boulders.
They were all men, dressed in traditional North Wu robes and headscarves. The long headscarves not only covered their heads but also veiled their faces. Each of them carried a rifle on their back. Near the bridge, several people were guarding a bomb detonator typically found in mines. The detonator's wires extended down from the Stone mountain and onto the iron bridge.
Ambushed on the summit of the Stone mountain, this group of men stared intently at the railway in the direction of Topsep in the distance. Some were holding binoculars, looking towards the far end of the railway. At this moment, through the lenses, the man could see the heavy train spewing thick smoke and humming as it approached.
"Just as the intelligence said, the target is here on time! Everyone get ready! Detonate the bombs when the train reaches the bridge!"
Putting down his binoculars, the leader-like man sternly instructed his subordinates around him. Everyone around him began to stare intently into the distance, watching the thick black smoke column rapidly approaching them.
Accompanied by a humming sound that echoed in all directions, the desert arrow rapidly approached the distant Stone mountains and the iron bridge. The figures ambushed on the Stone mountains waited quietly, waiting for the moment the train would cross the canyon between the Stone mountains and get onto the iron bridge.
Suddenly at this moment, a cry of an eagle came from the sky. The eagle that had been circling in the sky suddenly swooped down directly towards the ambushed people on the Stone mountain. At this moment, among the group of ambushers, everyone's gaze was focused on the rapidly approaching train, completely unaware of the eagle flying swiftly above. In the sharp talons beneath the eagle, a small cylindrical object was clutched. From one end of the cylinder, several fuses extended, wrapped around the eagle's talons.
As it flew over the group of ambushers, a spark flashed on the eagle's talons, and then the black fuse was ignited. The eagle then dropped the explosives it was holding onto the crowd of ambushers below. When it was still two or three meters in the air above the crowd, the sizzling fuse finally burned out, and then a powerful explosion erupted.
"Boom!!"
On the desolate Stone mountain, a roar echoed. Following the dazzling expanding fire, the thick smoke from the explosion instantly obscured the entire mountaintop. The loud explosion instantly spread in all directions, and the passengers on the approaching train also heard the loud bang.
"What happened?"
In a dining car in the front section of the train, Gaspare, a knight guarding the special envoy group, who was in his early thirties and had been dining, suddenly stood up after hearing the sound. Two or three seconds later, one of his guards immediately ran through the connecting passage from the carriage ahead of Kankdar and reported to him.
"Your Excellency, there was a sudden unexplained explosion on the Stone mountain ahead!"
"Explosion?"
Listening to his subordinate's report, Gaspare was slightly startled. He immediately walked to the side of the carriage, pulled up the window with one hand, and poked his head out to look. Then he saw the thick smoke that had not yet dispersed above the distant Stone mountain.
Under the vision of a """Lamp""" Extraordinary, Gaspare could see several panicked figures rushing out of the thick smoke. On another Stone mountain, there was also a crowd of people in disarray. Gaspare could clearly see the rifles on the backs of this group of people.
Seeing that scene, Gaspare frowned, then immediately pulled his head back into the window, and then sternly ordered the subordinate who had reported the situation.
"Immediately notify the driver's cabin for an emergency stop! Everyone disembark and be on alert after stopping!"
"Yes!"
Returning the gaze to the Stone mountain, after the fierce explosion, the entire Stone mountain was enveloped in thick black smoke. From within the black smoke came waves of miserable screams. Many people fled in panic from the black smoke, many of them covered in blood, some even limping, covering their wounds and howling incessantly. Before they could attempt to bomb others, they first experienced the taste of being bombed themselves.
On another Stone mountain, the sudden explosion opposite also shook them. Those who had been ambushed stood up one after another, shouting across to inquire about the situation, unaware that their actions had already exposed them to other dangers.
Suddenly, with almost no warning, the chests and heads of those on the Stone mountain who were still able to stand suddenly burst with one brilliant splash of blood after another. With wide eyes, these ambushers felt the pain of their bodies being pierced. It wasn't until they fell to the ground that they heard a series of loud gunshots echoing in their ears.
In the distance from the Stone mountain, the desert arrow, which had come to an emergency stop, was parked on the railway track. On both sides of the large locomotive, guards wearing clerical-style military uniforms were lined up in several rows, holding their rifles and firing at the unidentified armed individuals several hundred meters away.
These dozen or so guards were at least Student Extraordinary. With the enhancement of Extraordinary power, they used efficient shooting skills to harvest lives in large numbers from a distance, completely routing the distant ambushers in the chaos. In front of the firing line, several figures were already rapidly approaching the distant Stone mountain. Close-quarters combat would commence within less than a minute after the long-range shooting.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several hours had passed. The scorching sun in the sky was now nearing the western horizon. The twilight glow sprinkled upon the barren land, shining on the surface of the train that was still stopped on the railway track.
A long time had passed since the confrontation that occurred around noon. In fact, calling it a battle wasn't entirely accurate, because the gap between the original ambushers and the Extraordinary guard team selected by the Church was too vast. They were completely routed with almost no ability to fight back.
After the guard team's raiders ascended the Stone mountain, the entire confrontation lasted less than a minute. The ambushers lost their ability to resist. Only their leader and deputy leader were Extraordinary, but they were merely Black Rank. Having first been hit by the inexplicable explosion, they were completely unable to resist the guard team's attack. Ultimately, after the guard team suffered zero casualties, they completely dealt with this group of ambushers, while the ambushers suffered over two-thirds casualties.
The confrontation ended quickly, but the aftermath was exceptionally time-consuming: capturing the remaining prisoners, treating and interrogating them, dismantling the bombs on the iron bridge, checking other areas for buried bombs or new ambush points, etc... This series of actions took half a day and was only initially completed by evening.
On the stopped train, in one of the compartments, Vanya was sitting properly in her seat, looking at Gaspare who was reporting with a respectful expression.
"Sister Vanya, the interrogation work is complete. Through separate interrogations of eight different prisoners, we have roughly clarified their identities. They are a bandit group called 'Black Scorpion', who usually rampage between the towns and traffic routes near the border of Topsep and Adus, robbing passing caravans and travelers, and extorting border residents. They are repeat offenders who have committed many crimes.
"Their leader is named Benzab, a'Silence' of Black Earth. It is said that he was previously part of a treasure-robbing society, but after the society disbanded, he went out on his own. Because he no longer wanted to risk going into tombs, he simply organized this bandit group and started robbing ordinary people directly. This Benzab is now dead."
Standing before Vanya, Gaspare reported seriously. According to the instructions of the Cardinal Council, Vanya was the highest person in charge of the special envoy group. Therefore, although Gaspare was a veteran Extraordinary who had been promoted to Senior Deacon many years ago, he still had to show respect to this little Sister who was only sixteen years old.
"They were just a group of bandits? So, this group of bandits wanted to rob us as if we were ordinary travelers?"
After listening to Gaspare's words, Vanya murmured, and Gaspare immediately responded.
"No, they knew we were the special envoy group of the saint church. Their ambush on us was premeditated. According to the confession of their surviving deputy leader, they decided to attack us after being hired with a large sum of money."
"Hired with a large sum?"
"Yes, according to them, this hiring reward was very generous. The deposit paid in advance alone was twice as high as the income from any of their previous operations. Although they knew the risk of attacking us, they were still moved by this unprecedented hiring reward and decided to accept the commission. Since they knew they couldn't engage us in direct combat, they came up with the idea of bombing the train.
"The Snake Tooth Abyss in front of our train is very deep, and there is only one Haff Iron Bridge for passage over it. So they buried a large amount of explosives on the iron bridge, intending to detonate the explosives when our train passed over it. The entire train would fall into the abyss after the explosion. If that really happened, even a Chalk Extraordinary would find it hard to survive.
"Fortunately, those guys didn't seem to be very good with explosives. So, at the critical moment, one piece of explosive that hadn't been installed on the train bridge inexplicably detonated right next to them. While this threw them into chaos, it also alerted us to the situation over there, allowing us to respond in time."
Gaspare continued to report to Vanya. After hearing Gaspare's words, a hint of worry couldn't help but appear on Vanya's face.
"Hired... Does this mean someone else wants to harm us? Do we know who it is?"
Vanya continued speaking with a hint of worry, and Gaspare paused slightly before continuing.
"According to the confession of the bandit group's deputy leader, their employer was very secretive and completely unwilling to reveal their identity during their interactions. However, their former leader, Benzab, was a observant person. From some details in the employer's words, actions, and appearance, he determined the employer's affiliation: He is a member of the Adus Revolutionary Army!"
"Adus Revolutionary Army..." Listening to Gaspare's words, Vanya was slightly startled. She had heard of the organization Adus Revolutionary Army. Before coming to North Wu, she had been hastily crammed with various basic knowledge about North Wu, especially concerning Adus.
This Adus Revolutionary Army is the most powerful force among all Adus rebel forces. It is the main force for overthrowing the Adus Kingdom government. It was this armed force that captured the Adus capital, Adis. It is the force with the strongest influence and appeal throughout Adus, and it is also Vanya's primary negotiation target for this trip.
Vanya's primary goal in going to Adis was to negotiate with the leader of the Adus Revolutionary Army. This ambush was actually masterminded by them... This news couldn't help but make Vanya freeze in place. After a long pause, she slowly spoke again.
"Their confession... Is it credible?"
"Credible. I was also very surprised after they confessed that the mastermind was the Revolutionary Army. Then I immediately used the stored items distributed to us for a tentative divination, and the divination was successful. The result of the divination clearly showed that the Adus Revolutionary Army is the mastermind behind this group of ambushers, and it was the Revolutionary Army who sent them to ambush us."
Gaspare said seriously. After he finished speaking, a hint of anger appeared in his eyes. He looked at the surprised Vanya and continued.
"Sister Vanya! The result of a divination that has clearly taken effect cannot be wrong. It is the Adus Revolutionary Army that wants us to die tragically in that dark abyss. They are a group of shameless and despicable otherworld! They deserve no sympathy at all! They deceived us. They are not worthy of Captain traveling all this way to enlighten them. The grace of the Holy Mother is not worth bestowing upon them! What should befall them is the flames of the Saint Child!
"Therefore, Sister Vanya, stop thinking about saving this group of despicable people. Let's just return at the next station! That group of otherworld wants Captain's life, and it will be even more dangerous after arriving in Adis! Those liars are not worthy of Captain's enlightenment. A saint war will punish them later!"
Gaspare said angrily to Vanya, while the white-robed Sister sitting in her seat looked at the scene before her with a stunned expression.
And at this moment, at the other end of the train, in another compartment, Dorothy was sitting there, frowning as she looked at her palm. On her palm lay a coin that had lost its luster, a """Lamp""" coin on its face.
This coin reflected the result of her divination just now. The subject of her divination was the same as Gaspare's: confirming whether the Revolutionary Army was the mastermind behind this attack.
And the result obtained from the divination was also consistent with Gaspare's.