Ambush

*I have heard people say it is always darkest just before dawn. Let my dawn begin today!*

Elias didn't know who exactly was the original author of this quote, or even it's context, but he felt that it was extremely fitting to his current situation. For the past few weeks, he first thought it was a hallucination, then lived with fear bordering paranoia. This feeling subsided enough for him to start thinking rationally, but it wasn't enough. He needed to take action, and the best action right now was to remove the sword of Damocles hanging over his head. If his suspicion was right, then when he leaves for the mountain, someone should follow him.

Since those two were trying to kill him without any witnesses, doing it in the forest was a bad idea since the chance to meet a fellow worker was relatively high. Generally tribes do not look good on traitors, so if you get caught, the best outcome would be an exile. And an exile is akin to a death sentence. You might hold on for some time, but long-term survival was out of the question.

Those points combined, made the mountain a best place to do the deed, with no eyewitnesses everyone would think he fell down the cliff and died, it was not like forensic investigation techniques existed in this place.

Elias steeled himself, and stepped past the southern gate. It was equal to announcing that he goes to the mountain, and this announcement did not go unnoticed.

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Inside one of the mudwall huts, a roughly twenty year old man sat. He was dressed poorly, and had his head shaved. The dwelling itself did not have anything aside from a table, two stools, two beds and an old stove. This young man was eating when the door of the hut was slammed open.

"Brother! He finally left through the southern gate!"

The youth inside the hut nodded, and pulled out two wooden clubs from under the bed.

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Elias was walking fast towards the mountain. His back and forehead were covered with sweat, more from stress rather than physical exertion. He had determination in his heart, but even with a system he still was an ordinary mortal.

Mountain was slowly growing closer in his vision, but he felt like it was pressing on his shoulders instead. He was going to set up an ambush and kill living people after all. He technically did this before, but when he was attacked at the lake, the system was in charge of his body, so it didn't really feel like he was the one to do it. He did not plan it, or have intent to do it, the system acted this way to save him.

Now however, he was the one to carry out every single step of the plan. The idea itself was rather revolting to Elias, but on the other hand, if he did not do so, he was likely to die himself.

Elias felt like he was walking forever now, but somewhere at the back of his mind he knew that barely an hour passed. And since he already made this far, there was no turning back.

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While Elias was fighting his morality, there were two young men walking the same road behind him. One had his head shaved, while the other one had relatively long hair.

"Remember to target his legs first. He won't be able to run away with broken legs." - Bald youth said.

"Why can't we just hit his head and be done with it, brother?"

"Because he survived the twenty meter fall last time! Don't be an idiot, it is Feron's role. We need to be sure. Gaden does not forgive twice."

"I understand, brother."

"Don't worry, the chief has promised me a good reward, we may even have the chance to join the warriors."

Those two were slowly catching up with Elias.

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Elias has finally reached the rocky areas at the base of the mountain. He was looking for a particular place close to the cliff he was shoved off last time. The place featured a steep mountain path that snaked by the mountain side. The feature of that path was the fact that while you could see pretty much everything if you looked down, you couldn't see much if you were the one who had to look up. Elias wanted to use the high ground advantage to douse his pursuers with paralytic liquid. He was banking on the fact that such a thing would most likely infuriate those people first, so they would run towards him, not paying any mind to what they've been splashed with. As long as he keeps some distance, liquid will have the precious time to take effect. By then, two half paralysed men won't be a threat anymore.

This rocky path was the only reliable way to the upper parts of the mountain base around here. There were others, but you had to go an extra couple of kilometers to reach the closest one, and while it was technically possible to scale the mountain in any place, it was generally not a safe decision. The cliffs were too treacherous for that. That's why Elias was sure that the pursuers would take exactly this path.

As soon as he started to walk uphill, he spotted a rocky formation protruding slightly. This was the place he was thinking about, since it was positioned right over a turn of the mountain path, exactly in the place where the speed of whoever is coming up is lowest. Unfortunately, he had no time to prepare a proper trap, so he had to do it this way. Elias did not waste any more time and quickly made his way to the rocky formation. He did not know how much time he had exactly, so upon his arrival, he instantly sat down and began executing breathing exercises, so that he would be in peak condition when it finally boils down to an open confrontation.

He did not have to wait for long, as less than an hour later he heard the characteristic crackle of rocks under the feet, and two hushed voices.

*I was right! They really came after me! Well, don't blame me then.*

Elias looked down and saw two men, one of them bald and a bit taller than the other, while the second one looked pretty ordinary. They were quickly walking up the mountain path, and soon they would pass under the protruding rock. Most importantly, both of them had wooden clubs hanging on their waists! The clubs were not big, but they still were armed!

*Thank god I did not settle for some stupid "jump-out-of-bushes" type of an ambush.*

*System, can you help me to time the moment? Take their speed into account to determine the moment to drop the jars.*

Ideally, Elias would be happy if the jars just hit their heads and knock them out, but people here were considerably more sturdy than humans on Earth in general, so he did not have much hope of such a thing being enough. After all, he survived a 20 meter fall himself. As far as he knew, heights more than 15 meters were generally considered lethal. Of course, he was lucky enough to have a system and there was that herb with strong medicinal properties, but just sheer kinetic energy should have broken his body, and yet, he was still relatively fine. And that was considering that the gravity here is the same as on Earth. However, he had no knowledge about that. But if it was, then his fall speed should be equal to around seventy kilometers per hour. This meant that the impact force of a fall like this will easily surpass a hundred thousand newtons. Four thousand was enough to break a femur which is generally considered a sturdiest bone in the human body.

Elias mentally prepared himself. The timer in his vision was approaching zero, so he extended his hands forward, each with a jar full of paralytic liquid. He made a couple of deep breaths and focused on the timer, but his anxiety made his mind wander and doubt himself.

*Couldn't I just craft a bow or something? It would be a lot safer and reliable...*

As soon as the timer has reached zero, Elias let go of the jars. With a smug expression he watched them fall down. The jars were on collision course with the heads of his pursuers.

"DIDN'T EXPECT THAT YOU FUCKERS?!"

Both of the men suddenly stopped and cranked their necks up in the direction of Elias's voice. What greeted them was a pair of quickly enlarging shadows approaching their faces.

Crack!

Jars broke splashing greenish medicinal liquid all over his opponents. The pungent smell quickly permeated the area, but it did not faze Elias in the slightest. On the contrary, it excited him, because it meant that the proverbial trap has been sprung.

"AAAAAAGH! You think it's funny? Let's see how you laugh when I break all your bones!"

Elias looked at two with a smile, the way he hit them with the liquid made sure some had gotten inside their bodies. Just a minute later they would be dead, and he wouldn't even need to endanger himself by getting into a fight!

However at this moment, Elias noticed something. While the ordinary looking guy was clearly showing signs that paralysis has taken effect, the bald guy has bolted up the mountain path with a high speed! Something wasn't right!