Chapter 12. Attack Before Dawn

"Ring, ring!"

"Ring, ring!"

"Bang!"

"Uhh, I've always hated waking up this early...", Lucy muttered after flinging the alarm clock to the ground over 10 meters away from the suspended hammock.

After stretching for a few minutes, Lucy got out of the hammock and settled on a thick branch, where she began to have breakfast.

'Maybe I shouldn't have taken it out on the alarm clock. It wasn't at fault for this situation. Plus, it cost me 100 points... Yeah, those bastards are to blame. They're the reason I couldn't sleep for even four hours. Heh, I'll get a chance to pay them back right away. I'll make sure they have a more unpleasant morning than I did...'

.....

About half an hour after having breakfast, Lucy found herself about 200 meters away from the humans' camp, preparing the necessary things for an attack. Initially, she hadn't wanted to attempt wiping them all out, as the people in the camp hadn't personally wronged her, but after learning from the hostage she had interrogated about their intentions, Lucy couldn't allow things to unfold as they wished. She couldn't stand by and watch as they destroyed the lives of innocent people. Yes, they were all wretches. What honest person could participate in such a thing?

After purchasing 100 explosive papers and a potion from the Ninja Shop that could completely mask her scent, preventing her from being detected by the hunting dogs the guards used to patrol the area, Lucy activated the Nekohoshime skill at its maximum capacity, simultaneously employing all the passive abilities it provided, her eyes resembling the still-darkening sky.

'Even though I'll need to be highly focused to analyze all the additional information these passive ocular abilities provide, I think it'll be a real advantage during the battle to always be aware of everything happening around me, to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Considering I haven't really used my ocular abilities much during fights, mostly using them before the battle to analyze opponents and the surrounding environment, in this case, when the number of opponents will be so large and their skills are completely unknown to me, any extra information will be necessary...' Lucy thought, trying to acclimate to the mental strain caused by the overwhelming amount of information.

After about a minute, Lucy felt prepared and, employing the Steps of Light and Bending of Light skills simultaneously, she circled the camp at a distance of 100 meters among the still-patrolling humans, trying to see if she could infiltrate unnoticed.

'It's possible they might have noticed that one of them is missing; otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been so active all night', Lucy thought as she climbed a tree near the camp and consumed two potions to regenerate her mana and stamina.

'From what I've seen, even though I got within a distance of less than 2 meters from those patrolling the area, they didn't notice anything, and the dogs accompanying them were in the same situation. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can enter the camp as easily, since when I got to a distance of about 20 meters from where the tents are placed, I noticed a few suspicious-looking mana signs in the air. Even if I'm not sure if it's some kind of spell or device meant to detect intruders, I can't risk losing the advantage provided by the element of surprise. So, it's best to eliminate all those patrolling the area and then try to lure as many as possible to a location where I can set up a few traps beforehand.'

After buying another 200 meters of steel wire, Lucy quickly began to hang it from the trees, then placed explosive papers in areas where those who wouldn't die after the trap was activated would try to retreat, creating a true death zone from which no one would escape unscathed once they entered it.

'I think it looks pretty good. If everything goes according to plan, I should be able to eliminate around 10 people. Anyway, I should start since it will start getting brighter in about half an hour.'

It took Lucy less than 5 minutes to eliminate the 6 people patrolling the surroundings, each accompanied by a hunting dog. She used poisonous smoke bombs to make them lose consciousness and then, using her black steel kunai, quietly sent them to their eternal rest. The only time she faced difficulty was when she tried to attack the last one, who was at level 36, as he was more resilient and didn't lose consciousness when inhaling the smoke. However, Lucy managed to avoid complications by hitting him in the head with a wind-infused shuriken, killing him before he had a chance to make any noise.

'The first stage of the plan was almost perfectly executed. Now let's see how many will take the bait and fall into the trap I've set...' Lucy thought as she headed toward the location where hundreds of meters of steel wire awaited her touch to transform into a deadly weapon, dragging the body of the man she had just killed behind her.

......

"Help! Help! Someone, save me! Get him off me!"

"Huh, a woman? Don't tell me those scoundrels caught a liongirl and now they've decided to have some fun? I made it clear how much the marquis would pay us for each individual. With that money, they could hire dozens of whores..." said the leader of the group, who had just come out of the tent to his two subordinates sitting around a fire in the middle of the camp.

"Boss, I think after making them patrol all night, they deserve to have a few pleasant moments too. Besides, if she's a spy from the lionkins' village, it's too risky to leave her alive. She might have a way to send information as soon as we take our eyes off her..." responded the older mercenary, sipping from a cup containing a black drink.

"I'll be the one to decide that! Orders are orders! David, wake your team up and head immediately to where the screams were heard!" the leader instructed the other man by the fire.

"Just a second, boss!" intervened the older man, who had been lost in thought for a few seconds. "Doesn't it seem a little odd? Why isn't any dog barking? Aside from the screaming we heard, it's complete silence. Plus, one of the ones who patrolled the area last night has disappeared without a trace. Although it's possible he was attacked by a wild beast and we couldn't find any clues due to the darkness, we can't rule out the possibility that our camp's location has been discovered by enemies, be they lionkins or some other species."

"Yes, you're right! Furthermore, according to the three who arrived last, they found evidence that the missing team was massacred and their bodies were incinerated. Hmm, I think you and your team should go along with them to make sure there's no magic trap. With your abilities, I'm sure you'll notice immediately if something's wrong."

After receiving these orders, the two men immediately woke up all members of their teams, and in less than two minutes, they sprinted toward the area from which the scream had been heard.

"Rob, what's your opinion? Do you think it's a trap? And if so, are our teams capable of handling the attackers?" David asked the older man who was leading the way.

"To be honest, I think it's very likely. Seeing that none of those sent to patrol the area have returned, it's most probable they've been eliminated. Now, using this method, they're trying to lure a few of us to reduce our numbers. Anyway, they probably expected a team of 5-6 people to come, as the boss intended to send, not 12 like we are now, so I don't think we'll be at a disadvantage."

"We're lucky you decided to come with us, old man. Few can analyze the situation as well as you..."

But David didn't have the chance to heap more praises on his older companion, as a scene appeared in front of them that they hadn't anticipated anymore, with the actors being a young girl struggling and a man trying to hold her down.

"Seems like you've overthought this, old man Rob. Looks like the scoundrel found such beauty and wanted to keep her all for himself..."

Rob was truly taken aback by what they found. Having the Thief class and being level 55, he could confidently say he could smell a trap before anyone else.

'Could I have been mistaken?' he thought as their group continued to approach the two who were still in conflict.

"Hey, buddy? If you can't handle this alone, why didn't you call for help?" David asked the half-naked man with his back to them.

"Huh, now that you've found your future wife, you've forgotten about your comrades?" he continued to taunt, seeing he got no response, as he continued to approach.

'Something's not right,' Rob thought, stopping and looking around. 'Though I don't detect anyone around and haven't noticed any trace of magic that would indicate a trap placed here, the situation seems very strange. Huh, what's that? I think I noticed a glimmer...'

"Listen to me, we need to..."

But Rob, who finally noticed a segment of steel wire, didn't have time to warn his comrades anymore, as Lucy, who had been struggling until then, covered with the body she had been carrying, immediately pulled one end of the steel wire, activating the Wind Blessing skill, turning the whole area in front of her into a true massacre.

"Ahhhh!!"

"Aahhhh!!"

"Boom!!!"

"Boom!!!"

"Aaahhhh!!"

Rob, who managed to escape at the last moment due to his Shadow Transportation skill, stared in horror at the bodies of his comrades, either sliced to pieces by the initial attack or caught in explosions when they tried to retreat.

"That bitch! I won't let her get away with this!"

Determined to take Lucy's life, Rob used the Shadow Transportation skill again, and after appearing behind Lucy, he stabbed her directly in the throat with a knife without any hesitation. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see a single drop of blood, as the catgirl in front of him transformed into hundreds of vines that immediately bound him tightly, lifting him a meter above the ground.

"Skills like these are useless against me," Lucy told him after appearing instantly a meter in front of him.

'I need to escape! I have no chance of defeating her alone!' Rob thought in complete terror, planning to use Shadow Transportation to move as far away as possible. But could Lucy let him go so easily? Of course not! So as soon as she saw the changes in the mana flow inside the bound man, she thrust her wind-infused kunai directly into his head.

[You have defeated a level 29 Swordsman. You gained 1925 experience points and 1925 points for the Ninja Shop.]

[You have defeated a level 31 Wind Archer. You gained 2170 experience points and 2170 points for the Ninja Shop.]

...

...

[You have defeated a level 55 Thief. You gained 4280 experience points and 4280 points for the Ninja Shop.]

[Your level has increased. Your level is now 18.]

'It seems like many took the bait...', Lucy thought as she looked at the corpses that had almost stained the entire area with their blood.

Sometimes, uncertainty becomes the greatest hindrance to progress, as it necessitates the consumption of more resources in the quest for accurate answers. Thus, by instilling doubt among the individuals in the camp regarding the presence of a potential trap versus the authenticity of the situation, Lucy managed to prompt the deployment of a larger group to assess the circumstances. This is precisely why Lucy employed such an obvious bait. Additionally, the fact that her adversaries remained oblivious to the truth until the last moment facilitated her ability to catch them off guard.

'It seems that my plans to eliminate all opponents always work perfectly. I probably should have chosen this method from the beginning...' Lucy thought as she headed towards the camp engulfed in agitation.