Twelve days later.

The snow is falling.

A vehicle that does not rely on wheels or legs, but is suspended at a low altitude and is parked on the side of the road. As mentioned earlier, the quality of this road is really not worth mentioning. Under this heavy snowfall, the traffic conditions in this ghost place are very harsh, and it is almost impossible to pass through any vehicles except for the anti-gravity type.

This is a very rare reconnaissance vehicle - the vehicle is covered with light and thin armor, and the armor is painted in camouflage suitable for snow. It's lightweight, it's fast, and it's almost silent even at the fastest speeds. In addition to this, it differs from its counterparts in that it can only carry a very limited number of people, usually no more than four. Because the space in the car is crammed with all kinds of different reconnaissance instruments.

"This is it. "The people in the car rolled over and got out. "That's where contact was finally lost!" he said, looking at the thick layer of snow in front of him. "It doesn't seem like there's a landslide or anything like that. However, the instrument showed that there were no living creatures nearby. ”

Anyone can easily tell that this neighborhood does not look like a geological disaster. In fact, not to mention that there is obviously no place here, even if a professional team is dispatched, it will be difficult to eliminate a geological disaster in ten days.

"Apparently no...... It's more like ......" and his companion found some traces on the side. There was a large stone there, and there were potholes on the stone that were clearly not naturally formed. He found some fragments of ceramics in it.

"It's ...... Bullets?"

This hollow or solid ceramic ball is the most standard bullet for general-purpose rifles. Or to put it another way, although a universal rifle can fire any small object, it is actually possible to use this standard ceramic bullet to exert its maximum power. So as long as the conditions allow, the soldiers will use this bullet.

"Apparently!"

Two scouts descended into the snow, looking for more traces. Of course, as everyone could have guessed, they soon found more evidence that there was a fierce battle taking place in this place. Among them was a body under a cliff that had not been buried.

It didn't take much effort for them to identify him from the corpse's clothes and some bits and pieces on him. This is a soldier belonging to the regular army Warlock Legion. They came here to find out why this army suddenly lost contact.

The corpse was already frozen solid, and the purple-black blood on his chest was firmly stuck to his clothes, frozen into a hard carapace. But even then, the two scouts could tell that it was a horrific attack that killed the soldier - his entire chest collapsed. This attack did not cause skin injuries, but it did not help him in any way, not to mention the broken bones mercilessly piercing the internal organs and other injuries, it is estimated that at least half of the liquid in his body was forcibly squeezed by the external force and squirted out of his mouth.

"Soldiers of the Raid Party, if you die here......"

"An ambush?night attack?" said the one who had finished examining the body. "No, it can't be. It was already a little too far from the road, which meant there was no reason for him to come here...... Was he killed while attacking or fleeing?"

"It can't be a night attack. The other looked around. "Even the most stupid commander would not choose to camp in such a place. Because there are no camping conditions at all...... Even if it was already dark, I would rather risk walking a little more at night to find a more suitable spot in front. Not to mention," he added. "It's not far from the Snow Ridge Institute, and they're in the car. ”

"So, an ambush battle?" someone speculated. "The raiding party was recklessly ambushed and annihilated. They should choose an army that is familiar with the local situation. Isn't there a nearest legion over there?"

"Against the Dark Alliance brothers, they will not dispatch ordinary legions. This is already the most recent warlock unit...... As far as I know, as soon as the warning of the rebellion came from the Snow Ridge Institute, they moved their troops as close as they could. You know, it's not a common thing these days, so the higher-ups, despite their immediate response, actually gave the rebels days to prepare. ”

In this kind of battle, the top of the camp will never dispatch the army of ordinary people, only warlocks. Because—as everyone can think of—among the soldiers of the common people, there are often sympathizers and even supporters of the Brotherhood of the Dark Alliance. This sentiment is pervasive and extremely difficult to eliminate. Therefore, these legions are extremely reluctant to suppress these rats who dare to rise up and resist. In fact, if these ordinary troops are dispatched, there is a high probability that the two sides will reach a consensus, so that the battle between them will only exist on the surface. Eventually, the situation will arise: although the army reports that it has "successfully eliminated the rebellion", in reality these rebels can complete their destruction in peace, and then leave unscathed and go to other areas, using the experience and prestige they have gained this time to cause more and more damage.

So the right thing to do is to invest in the Warlock Legion.

"Besides, it is impossible to say that an ambush will wipe out the crusade completely!unless the ambush is also a warlock!" was firmly refuted. It is true that ambush warfare is a classic and effective tactic, and it is often possible to defeat the strong with the weak. However, no matter what kind of tactics there are, they can't reverse the disparity in combat power between the two sides.

"From what we've got, the rats are no more than a few hundred people in the chaos. He said. "The crusade force is nearly a hundred. ”

Countless examples have shown that in battles between magicians and ordinary people, the comparison of numbers between the two sides is meaningless. With enough time and room to maneuver, it's not an outrageous thing for a warlock to deal with a legion. The Warlocks of the Fourth Law are even believed to be able to confront a legion head-on. Note that this refers to a head-on confrontation against a regular army that is well equipped and trained. In the actual battle, the rabble of the Brotherhood of the Dark Alliance obviously cannot calculate combat power in the mode of "regular army", and the tactical coordination of multiple warlocks cannot simply calculate combat power in the way of "one plus one".

Because of this, warlocks can often easily annihilate—not defeat—thousands of rebels in the mass of a few dozen.

"If it's a regular legion," the previous one was unconvinced. "If a suitable ambush location is chosen, and the first round of raids can cause enough casualties, it is possible to defeat the raiding detachment. ”

"But that's the regular legion, the rebels, right?"

"And what do you think is going on?"

"I'd rather believe it's an avalanche...... Or maybe it's simply infighting among the warlocks. But to say that the Brotherhood of the Dark Alliance did it, that would never be possible. ”

The discussion continued, and the work on the hands of several scouts did not stop. Although the snow was much hidden, more traces of the battle were recovered with the help of specialized equipment - including more bullets and blasts, a supposedly malfunctioning exoskeleton armor, and a casually dug grave.

The dead warlocks were piled up in a pit, covered with a thin layer of dirt and rubble. Although they had been dead for many days, the expressions on their faces still showed how frightened and unbelievable they were before they died. All of their equipment has been taken away.

"It should be...... The Brotherhood won, right?" Looking at the corpse, looking at the obvious evidence, the leader had pulled out his communication device, ready to report back to what he had seen here.

"Impossible!" the other didn't want to believe anyway. "How could the Brotherhood win? It was an accident, and it must have been an accident. Twenty years ago, there was a similar natural disaster here that wiped out a patrol force......

"But, it's not outrageous, is it? I think there are such references in the book......" The one who spoke had turned on the communicator. A slight humming sound alerts them that they are connected to a specific communication frequency network.

"That's a legend from hundreds of years ago! If you send this kind of false information back, the people from above will have to scold you with blood. The other hurriedly pressed the communicator's input switch. In this way, what they say does not enter the communication network.

The argument between the two men was interrupted. Because someone inside the network is talking emotionally. They knew it was another reconnaissance team, and they were heading to the Snow Ridge Research Institute.

“…… Captain, you heard it right, it's all empty. Everyone, all the prisoners, guards, managers, engineers left...... Yes, not dead, but gone! because they took something with them...... Be...... It's not a hasty departure, it's a clean retreat...... Yes, I found a metal ingot...... Yes, as I said, it should be anti-magic metal. ”

"Is Team 1 here?" said the voice of the boss over the telecomm. "Did you find anything over there?"

"We've found ......" Before his companion could stop him, the lead one had already spoken. "The corpses of the warlocks...... A big pit...... Right...... The raiding party must have been wiped out on the way. The vehicle fell into the hands of the rebels, allowing them to evacuate calmly. ”

They didn't know where the communication network was, and who was next to their stern and assertive boss who had kept him silent for so long.

"First Squad," there was silence for so long that one wondered if the mute boss had finally spoken. "Restore the surroundings to their original appearance. Everyone, note that your mission is over, all of you return, and do not take any evidence with you. Note that this operation is classified as a first-class secrecy and is strictly forbidden to be leaked!"

Several people did as ordered. It wasn't until they sat back in the car and were ready to leave that no one felt uncomfortable with such a long silence.

"Ahem...... That one...... Did the Brotherhood win? They've made an anti-magic metal ......."

"It's useless to win. The one who had always insisted that the Brotherhood could not win, said. "That's why they ran away, didn't they? Besides, I guess the papers about this rebellion have been sent to the consuls' desks, every consul. ”

No one argued. But everyone understands that although there is a strict order, this matter cannot be hidden for too long. It will be like a spring thunder awakening a lurking bug, stimulating the Dark Alliance Brotherhood everywhere. Maybe it's a worthless, or even rookie pecking fight. But it heralded the time when a few dozen warlocks could crush a rebellion of tens of thousands.

Perhaps they unknowingly, they witnessed the end of an era.