Chapter 48: Changes

"So, what do you think about the ambush?" asked Ned, turning at Raimund, Ainz, Robert, Miko, and Riko. Right now, he was wondering if he misjudged in his assumption of the changes in the enemy behavior.

"That's not the same opponent we fought against," said Raimund, clenching his fists, "Damn, it's even not the same opponent we fought several days ago."

"He is right, nagas weren't so good at organizing ambushes. They are more front-line warriors than skillful ambushers. Nagas can't make such traps without a deep understanding of how ambushes work. We checked this area and didn't notice them, it's definitely not their style." said Ainz.

Robert, Raimund, Ned, and Riko nodded to his words when Miko raised his sword and started drawing something.

Instantly, all scouts turned at him, looking for his opinion.

Miko and Riko were mute and couldn't communicate, using an ordinary way. They used gestures or small drawings to share their thoughts.

So, his comrades weren't surprised and just waited till he finishes while new members were intrigued.

Several minutes later, Miko finished his drawing, and a familiar ugly face appeared before the group.

It didn't even take a minute for Nora and other water porters to recognize who was there.

"Goblin!" cried Nora.

Ned and other scouts nodded, agreeing with Miko, and turned at Nora.

"That's bad. If those nagas got at least one good goblin tactician, then no wonders those nagas improved so much," said Raimund, releasing a sigh, "Remember when we encountered a small group in the 'Chaos lands', led by such goblin. Their ambushes were indeed deadly, and we almost ended up dead because of them.

"We were lucky," added Robert.

"But what did goblins forget in this war?" asked Robert. "I doubt they would join such war and even delegate one of their strategists. Goblins were one race who learned about the fury of humans themselves. Anyway, it's just an assumption that came first to our mind." explained Ainz.

"Yes, it's most likely goblins," exclaimed Nora when she heard them. "They joined the war and attacked the 5th special with several thousand of their warriors. We were there when they attacked."

Scouts' expressions changed when they heard that.

"How many of them escaped and who was leading them?" asked Ned right away, giving no chances for Raimund and others to ask her.

"I am not sure on how many of them survived, several hundred after the battle and most likely around 150-200 in the following days when the 5th and the 6th specials started hunting on them. But, there was indeed a strategist in the enemy headquarters who escaped immediately when the 6th special appeared."

Scouts released a tired sigh when they heard her. Now, their assumption turned out to be real.

"Change of plans guys," said Ned almost immediately, "We won't hunt after enemy scouting groups, but will find a place close to the area we will breach from to hide and wait for our army attack. It's too dangerous right now and I don't want to lose anyone in those traps."

"Do you have any objections?" asked Ned, looking at scouts.

"What about our primary plan of actions?" asked Raimund.

"Same, we will just hide and wait for the right opportunity," said Ned, taking many objects from his space ring. "But, at first resupply your arrows and other materials."

Scouts nodded and quickly approached arrows.

A short time later, Ned's group has already left and moved out in a certain direction.

...

..

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At the same time as Ned and his group were making their preparations, a new face appeared among one of the army squads responsible for the incoming attack.

Right now all squad members, starting from ordinary soldiers and finishing with officers, were curiously looking at the white-haired beauty with a rapier in her hands. They knew who was that beauty. She was their newly appointed captain and the famous swordsman. Besides, rumors about her battlefield deeds contributed to making Astra one of the famous warriors of Freinos city.

Soldiers and officers expected Astra would make a speech at the platform for them, but the reality was different.

Astra just threw several glances at the knights before telling something to her adjutant while knights were charmed with just her appearance and couldn't move their glances from her.

Accustomed to such a reaction, Astra released an irritated sigh before finishing her small talk and leaving her tent.

Her new subordinates followed her with their glances, while Astra's adjutant climbed onto the platform and cleared his throat, attracting attention.

At first, it wasn't too effective, but when Astra disappeared from their sight, they once again moved their glances at the adjutant. They knew that man; he was the officer many of them respected.

So, there were no problems in attracting attention.

"I will be frank. You know we are the vanguard of the incoming 15 000-army behind us. We, the knights of the Roland family and mages of the Aus family, can't lose against those bastards from the Belkot family. They were lucky to show themselves in the previous battles, helping the vanguard." Supportive cheers resounded when knights heard him.

"So, we have to show ourselves, and it would be better if we earn some merits as a vanguard. I talked with the captain and she approved our plans. So, starting from today, our scouts and knights will hunt down any nagas and clear potential traps. You should realize what it means." Another wave of cheers resounded across the knights while their eyes ignited with battle spirit.

At the same time as her knights and mages were crying and cheering, Astra concentrated her attention on the maps in front of her, not paying any attention to the hooded man inside the tent.

Finishing the study of the maps, Astra raised her glance and finally moved it at him.

"What now?" asked the academy mentor in an irritated manner. But that man just ignored her irritation and sent a letter with a unique insignia on it.

A glance was enough for Astra to recognize that insignia. Instantly, her irritation doubled as she took the letter.

Taking the letter, her expression changed, becoming serious as she continued to read it.

"How confident are you they are behind this war, and when did you learn about it?" asked Astra, with raging flames in her eyes. Right now she was like a wounded beast which was just provoked with a grain of salt on her wound.

"Calm down, Astra. At first, tell me your answer to the 2nd part of the letter. I won't tell anything without your answer." said the man, trying not to piss her off further. But his approach helped little as Astra clenched her fists in fury.

"Fine! I will do what he asked. I will command myself and there won't be many casualties like it was in the previous time." said Astra, looking at him. The man pleasantly nodded to her words.

"Now, answer my questions," denied Astra, approaching the man. The man could only release a sigh before talking.

"We are not completely sure that it was them, but almost all our veterans who took part in the activities in the Griffon kingdom had the same strange, but familiar feeling regarding this war. It's just fitting too much to a certain hidden organization we spied on during that operation." The man wanted to say something more when Astra interrupted him.

"Enough with your guesses. Have you seen them?" asked Astra as she tightly clenched her rapier. The man could only sigh at her reaction. Such wounds were the most painful ones.

"No, we haven't. But, there are some clues we have already seen. So, now almost all veterans of our spy organization are gathering here. We want to revenge our fallen comrades in the same way as you want for your parents. This is the 1st time we catch such a clue since the days of our operation in Griffon kingdom. There are high chances that Syndicate is behind this war." It disappointed Astra when she heard him, but she quickly sobered up, calming her rage.

"Fine, what do you need from me to get as close to them as possible?" A confident smile appeared on the man's lips when he heard her.

"Don't worry. This time we are ready to meet such opponents. We will handle the chase ourselves. Just complete your part here, opening the path while we will finish the other part." A familiar rage once again got ignited in Astra's eyes when she heard him. But she didn't have time to talk.

"Astra, you still don't realize their battle capabilities. There are much stronger warriors among them than those who killed your parents." said the hooded man with a serious expression on his face. "If you really want to oppose them, you should at least become a Great knight. Right now, you are still too weak."

Astra clenched her fists as her rage intensified for several moments, but she quickly calmed down, releasing a sigh. She was the person who could embrace reality, and she knew herself that she just wasn't ready for that yet.

Watching after her reaction, the man nodded before moving towards the exit from the tent.

He stopped at the entrance before turning and looking at her.

"If we fail this mission and none of us returns, promise to leave this region and forget about your revenge." said the man, waiting for her answer for several moments only to hear the silence. The silence itself was the answer. He himself, the man who lost many close friends, understood this silence. So he could only nod, releasing a tired sigh.

"I see." said the man, continuing his way, and leaving the tent.

Following the man's back, Astra released her own tired and pained sigh.

"Sorry, uncle, I can't. I should return the blood debt."

...

..

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The time continued to pass, and six days later, many battles were happening at the center of the swamps. With each new day more and more squads arrived, wallowing swamps into more chaos. Right now, Astra's squad was storming into one fort and the surrounding defense structures.

The fort wasn't tall, just 3 meters in height, but it was made of sturdy stone. It was surrounded by swamps from both sides and was located right on the path, leading to the inner part of the center of the swamps. It blocked one of the potential routes armies could use to advance further.

With each moment, magic spells and energy techniques appeared on the battlefield while nagas appeared to strengthen their defenses.

"Advance, capture the foothold!" cried the officer. Hundreds of knights moved out after his command, approaching towards several breaches on the enemy's side.

But, nagas were ready for that. Instantly around 600 nagas moved out to intercept that group while their shamans continued to give blessing to them.

Strong physical bodies in combination with increased speed and other capabilities affected the battlefield, making humans fall back to their initial positions. Though they inflicted significant damage on those 600 nagas with the help of archers and mages, they also suffered casualties.

Moving her glance at the returning knights, Astra released a sigh before gripping her rapier and turning at her adjutant.

"Attack when I give a signal," said Astra before jumping in the enemy's direction. Instantly, gold battle energy covered her body and her rapier as she moved.

With each passing moment, Astra quickly increased her speed, becoming a vague shadow.

Only the strongest nagas could see her now. It was the effect of her unique battle energy that increased her body speed and reaction.

Indeed, Astra was like a deadly storm, which falls on the enemy.

With each step, a dead naga body was laying behind.

"Enemy attack!" cried the naga, falling dead with a wound on his head moments later.

"Formation!" cried another naga, forming his subordinates to meet the incoming storm only to end up dead himself and his people a short time later.

Such a scene continued several times with more dead bodies left behind Astra's advance.

Watching such a scene, her subordinates started cheering all over the front line. What if the scene of dying and retreating enemies could boost knights' morale? But none of them moved out to help, turning at their captains, waiting for the order. They were professionals and knew what was the discipline.

At the same time as their morale intensified, nagas were slowly losing their confidence and more new dead bodies were a good warning, making many of them waver.

No wonders, nagas' morale suffered a hit, and they fell back, forcing their shamans to make a move.

However, they were too slow and didn't even reach retreating forces when Astra jumped, using her battle energy, climbing on the wall where many shamans were.

"You return those idiots while I will take care of…" said shaman to his comrades without a chance to finish his speech. Only a shock in the eyes of the beheaded head stayed when Astra reached them.

A short time later, the onslaught started and their heads started flying, hitting nagas morale even further.

During the short period of half an hour, Astra destroyed the core of the enemy's defense line, weakened nagas forces, and opened a path.

At last, a scene of a destroyed stone tower with another shaman was the last hit not only for nagas but also for humans. First realized that they have lost this fort while 2nd could no longer stand and watch.

Taking the destruction of the tower as a signal, many captains turned at their people and said similar words.

"Attack!"

"Advance!"

"We can't let our commander take all the glory for herself!"

Several moments and over 2 000 knights and mages moved out, starting the 1st serious attack while nagas already knew that their fort won't hold this storm, not now when most of their shamans were dead. They could only fight to the death and return their honor in their last battle. These nagas lost their respective shamans, the noblest ones among them, and lost them when they had advantages over the enemy. Only death awaited them if they returned now.

No wonders, all nagas were infuriated and jumped in the enemy's direction, but unlike before there was almost no formation or organization among them, falling to their rage and desire for vengeance.