Pincer Attack

"Clear the sentry post, then bring the main force over—be quiet, don't alert the target at the last minute."

After giving the order, Ye Wei'an climbed up the sentry's arrow tower.

Under his gaze, the entire secret stronghold of the Santalin Society was finally revealed.

This is a small village nestled against a steep cliff, surrounded by a fence made of rough logs, more than a meter high.

This place was clearly not built as a fortress for long-term defense; it served more as a transit point for supplies and a hub for intelligence. Scattered throughout the village were several wooden houses and spacious warehouses.

At this moment, about twenty Zantalin thugs had gathered in the open space in the center of the camp. They were arguing about something around several fully loaded wagons, spitting as they spoke.

The remaining dozen or so people were scattered throughout the camp: some were feeding the horses in the stables, some were busy in the kitchen, and two apprentices in gray robes were flipping through scrolls at the door of the wooden hut.

"My plan is to flank from both sides." Ye Weian whispered to his arriving subordinates, assigning tasks: "Volodya, you take your men and push to the right flank outside the fence. You are responsible for the frontal assault. Once you see the fire, launch the attack immediately."

"Understood, sir," Volodya nodded, then asked with some doubt, "But what exactly was the fire?"

"You'll find out when the time comes." Ye Wei'an didn't explain, but looked at the next person, "Kane, take your men to the wooded area on the left flank of the camp. Once you see the fire, launch a surprise attack and block their retreat up the mountain."

"Understood, sir." Kane didn't ask any further questions.

"Finally, it's Clayb's turn." Yevian looked at the scout leader beside him. "You take your roamers and help them clear the traps, then go back to the vicinity of the camp entrance and use your crossbows to deal with those two spellcasting apprentices. Attack after the fire starts."

With all the orders issued, everyone began to act.

A few minutes later, the soldiers and knights were all in position.

Meanwhile, Clayb's roaming scout team had already dispersed into the bushes.

Based on the information provided by the prisoners, they carefully used thin lines and sticks to fasten several heavy animal traps buried along the soldiers' route, removed several tripwires and rope loops, and marked the pits.

"Trap cleared, boss."

Soon, Clayb peeked half his head out of the shadows and gave Ye Weian a "safe" gesture.

Next, they cocked their crossbows and moved as close to the camp as possible. The crossbows locked onto the two unsuspecting magic apprentices in front of the cabin, waiting for Ye Weian's command.

For the first wave of attacks, Ye Wei'an will definitely use large-scale destructive spells.

However, the campsite in front of us is quite large, so it's definitely impossible to cast a spell directly at the center of the camp from such a distance.

Fortunately, he had been studying the harp surgeon's great-grandmother's notes these past few days and learned a new super magic technique from them:

"Enhancement of Spells"

This super magic ability doubles his casting range.

After capturing the Gray Raven, he never used any more super magic techniques, which resulted in all 3 points of his daily curse fire magic accumulating.

At this moment, the magical power of the cursed fire in his body reached more than 30 points. The abundant magical power of the cursed fire caused the blue and white light in his eyes to shine out uncontrollably, making him look like two flashlights at night.

Now, he can finally unleash this power.

As Ye Weian chanted the incantation, the magical fire within his body instantly surged, transforming into a super-magical power that distorted reality!

"[Level 1 Spell: Spell Amplification - Grease]!"

"[Level 1 Spell - Instant Cast - Increased Cast Range - Grease]!"

The next moment, without warning, a large amount of thick, pungent black grease gushed out from the central open space of the Zantalin camp.

With the combined effect of the two spells, the more than twenty bandits who had been arguing together were instantly thrown to the ground.

This extremely large layer of oil made them feel like landlubbers who had fallen onto ice, struggling desperately but only able to slide into a sticky mess.

"That's 'Greasy Spell'! It's an enemy attack!" The spellcasters in the camp were the first to realize what was happening.

"Scatter! Scatter!" they urged hastily.

It's a pity it's too late.

Ye Wei'an felt the raging cursed fire magic power within his body and gathered it at his fingertips:

"[Spell Enhancement - Cursed Flame]!"

A cluster of blue-white flames instantly appeared in the center of the grease-covered area.

boom--!

The cursed fire ignited the grease, and blue-white flames instantly shot into the sky, turning the center of the camp where the twenty-odd bandits were located into a terrifying human furnace.

The screams, accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of grease bursting, instantly shattered the midday tranquility.

[Defeat a Lv.1 warrior and gain 100 experience points.]

[Defeat a Lv.1 Wanderer and gain 100 experience points.]

[Defeat a Lv. Bandit and gain 50 experience points.]

……

The system notifications kept ringing incessantly.

"kill!"

Seeing the dazzling flames, everyone realized that the signal the adults had mentioned had arrived.

"Everyone, for Lord Ye Weian, charge with me!" Volodya's clear voice rang out.

The young knight drew his greatsword and charged ahead, leading his soldiers through the camp's wooden fence.

This was his first battle as a commander, and he had to prove his abilities.

"First team, advance with shields! Maintain formation!"

At the same time, Kane led his soldiers out from the left side of the camp and charged into the chaotic camp.

Right in front of the camp, the vagrants who had been lying in ambush pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Bang!"

Several sharp glints flashed precisely.

Before the two magic apprentices could even cast a spell or tear open the scroll, they were riddled with crossbow bolts and collapsed on the steps like puppets with broken strings.

The wanderers, abandoning their crossbows and wielding short swords, also stormed into the camp.

The melee has officially begun.

The panicked Zantalin mob didn't even have time to react before several of them were instantly cut down.

Outside the camp, Ye Weian, under the close protection of Ai Lian, also entered the camp gate.

The Zantaring rioters in this area have all been killed.

Eileen was still a little nervous, but she gripped her short sword tightly and stayed by Ye Weian's side without leaving him for a moment.

Ye Wei'an selected an arrow tower on the edge of the camp—the Zantalin mobs on it were distracted by the explosion in the camp and were subsequently stabbed in the back by the scout group of wanderers, all of whom were killed.

Ye Wei'an climbed directly up the undefended arrow tower.

The terrain here is excellent; even without using the "Spell Amplification" ability, he can bring most of the camp under his spell coverage.

"Guard this place, Ellen," Ye Wei'an whispered, then began to observe the battlefield.

At this moment, the [Companion System] on the system interface is flashing wildly.

As the sounds of swords piercing flesh echoed one after another, the experience bars of the soldiers, who were originally "Lv.1 militiamen" and "Lv.1 warriors," were jumping at a visible speed.

Kane's left-wing front was unexpectedly fierce.

This force consisted mostly of his old subordinates and soldiers close to them; in terms of strength, it was relatively weaker than Volodya's forces.

However, since most of them were Ye Wei'an's guards in the past, they were the first to pledge allegiance to Ye Wei'an and had an almost fanatical trust in him.

Seeing the lord's miraculous fire attack, this group of people unleashed astonishing fighting power. Under Kane's command, they charged into the enemy's defenses like mad tigers, wielding their spears, and their comrades-in-arms also fought with unparalleled bravery.

In contrast, the right wing led by Volodya was more "professional" and restrained.

Most of the soldiers there were veterans of Firefall Territory, with extremely high tactical skills, and their advance was very steady.

However, these veteran soldiers clearly did not trust Ye Wei'an's command, so their charge was not particularly fierce. They preferred to fight steadily while ensuring their own safety, and were less efficient at killing new recruits on the left flank.

The Zantalin mob were initially terrified by the sudden inferno and attack, and many died under the soldiers' swords.

But after the initial chaos, they finally revealed the true strength of a veteran criminal organization.

"Everyone, hold your ground! Wait for the boss to come and provide backup!"

"Overturn the carriage and use it as cover!"

"Someone go and bring out the new strong acid!"

As one by one, the minor leaders stepped forward to take command, the surviving members of the Zantalin Society quickly organized themselves.

They skillfully used the overturned trucks and fence wreckage to build a second line of defense, hiding behind them to parry the soldiers' attacks. Several shrewd thugs began to fight back with crossbows; some even braved the thick smoke and flames to rush into the nearby wooden house and carry out a box.

"Whoosh—!"

A bottle of pale green potion streaked through the air and struck the shield of Volodya's front line, instantly exploding into a persistent cloud of acidic poison mist, forcing the right-wing attack to abruptly halt.