Chapter 11 - Ambush

And then, all hell broke loose.

Ango could hear the ruckus of the guards trying to get out of their tents but before many of them could even come out

*BOOOM BOOM BOOM

Many explosions went off at the same time. Ango's ears were ringing and all he could see around him was carnage. Guts and body parts were raining down and screams of the guards could be heard. His heart was threatening to jump out of his chest. He could see the horses exploding as some of the bombs were aimed at them, cutting the group's means of escape.

'fuck Fuck FUck FUUCK'

He was running for his life amidst the explosions, some of them were near him but their power seemed to be concentrated on a smaller scale so he wasn't blasted into pieces even though he was less than 10 meters apart from them.

A splash suddenly hit him in the face and Ango was thrown head first down. He screamed; he couldn't see anything.

'AGHHHHHHH'

He panicked and clawed at his eyes, he thought that he had become blind but after clawing at himself, he could see again and in his hands, he found pieces of what could only be described as guts.

He threw the mangled and minced pieces of flesh away in panic and ran on all fours toward the carriage, forgetting to even get up. He could see lady Talia outside of the carriage yelling at the guards beside her with green light emanating from her person. A wooden wall seemed to have been erected beside her, sheltering them from the enemies.

'Ooooof I'm safe… for now' Ango thought while breathing heavily. It was a short run but the most dangerous run of his life.

Green auras could also be seen around the guards and their wounds were healing at a visible rate. They were anxious but not in panic. They were royal guards and they were veterans; powerful and experienced. They were just taken by surprise.

Suddenly low-pitched yells and screams could be heard from the forest, and something was thrown beside the group. Ango noticed some details about the figure after he got closer to the body besides the group. It seemed that lady Talia had used her magic to kill and throw one of the enemies here, probably using the trees.

'Short build, hairy face and bronze skin. This isn't a beast it's a fucking dwarf!!! What are they doing here'

"DAMNED DWARVES THEY'VE LAID AN AMBUSH"

Hatred and disgust could be seen on the guards' faces.

'How did they get here? The only way they could have come here without getting slaughtered by elves is if they came here using the great forest, but that madness!!! How did they survive' Ango thought after he found out the assailants were dwarves. He was quite knowledgeable about dwarves since the city was near the border.

Ango believed the others had reached the same conclusion. Dwarves were a rare sight in the elven territory, they were killed on sight since they had been at war since a long time ago

"GUARDS, use the forest to your advantage, activate your armor, KILL THEM ALL" lady Talia yelled.

"KILL THE FUCKING MOLES" the guards yelled in response.

The trees hummed and their branches started moving, blocking the enemies' advance due to lady Talia's power.

There were only about ten of the guards left but they readied themselves quickly. one held a bow, some held swords, spears and unusual weapons and one was unarmed.

'He is probably a mage like lady Talia'

And then it began. An elf jumped on the roof of the carriage and used his bow to shoot at the enemies. Ango couldn't see the enemies or the effects of the shots because of the wooden wall but he could see the arrows glowing with immense energy.

He could see the roots of some of the trees moving and slithering forward like snakes. He could see an elf clad in a gigantic wooden armor charging into the forest, holding a heavy sword, alongside another elf using a thorny whip.

There was also a duo jumping on the trees with claw-like hands made out of wood, that they could control, heading toward the enemy and another due using spears.

Two sword and shield-wielding elves with full armor were guarding lady Talia with resolute expressions, not that much could be discerned by looking at their helmets.

Lady Talia herself was seemingly focusing on a task and had her closed but she seemed to be straining herself.

'They all seem strong, and they have an advantage in the forest' Ango liked to think that he was calmly analyzing the situation but the truth was the only reason he had not pissed himself was because he had relieved himself sometime earlier.

The archer and the mage were providing support, one on the carriage and another in the forest, while the others charged at the enemies.

"Damn it, these trees are too big to animate, such a waste of mana. I can only use the branches to help"

Ango could not see anything after they went into the forest but he could hear some yelling and hear the sound of wood breaking. Neither the dwarves' nor the elves' magics produced much sound so the guards and lady Talia didn't know what was going on, there was no dramatic battle just pure unadulterated anxiety.

"The battle isn't going well, 3 are already down, they have brought a large quantity of metal" the archer let the others know. While the elves used wood and natural energy, the dwarves' magic allowed them to control and augment metal. They were a force to be reckoned with in their own territory but since they couldn't always transport a large amount of metal to the battlefields outside of their borders they could not fight at their full strength but this time they were prepared.

'Shit, they are losing?! fuck...'

'So that's how they survived the great forest. They probably didn't venture deep into the forest and just moved along the peripheries

Even though they were fighting in the forest, the elves couldn't do much. Elves mostly used guerilla warfare tactics to whittle down their enemies using the environment but here they were ambushed by a prepared squad of dwarves.

The muffled sounds coming from the forest, the sound of the two guards' heavy breathing, his own beating heart and arrows piercing the air, were the only thing Ango could hear, while occasionally the archer reported what was happening.

Less than a minute had passed but every second seemed like an eternity for Ango. Nobody cared about his existence, no one had tried to kill him and no one had tried to protect him or talk to him.

'Being insignificant can be a good thing sometimes huh' that was the one comforting thought in Ango's mind.

It was at this moment

"THEY ARE ALL DEAD RU-" the archer started yelling but before he could finish-

*BOOOOOOOOOOM

A massive explosion suddenly went off beside them, the wooden wall was blasted into pieces and the four were violently thrown back. the carriage had turned into splinter and dust and the pieces were burning, Ango was farther away and was only hit by the shockwave so he wasn't wounded but he felt like a mashed potato and was groaning on the ground. The two guards were heavily wounded but alive and were trying to get up; Parts of their armors were broken, revealing their burned skin beneath.

Lady Talia seemed mortally wounded and was spitting blood. Her clothes were torn and scorched, and some of her hair was also burned away but she was healing fast. She was healing her full power to heal herself and just needed a bit of time. Time which seemed the enemy didn't want to give her.