Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1296 - 1294: When Luck Meets Misfortune

After breaking through, the Red Maple Cavalry Group accidentally plunged into the depths of the Sika Kingdom’s defense lines, almost getting surrounded.

What followed was a mad charge that successfully disrupted the situation, but Mario, due to a moment of negligence, failed to keep up and lagged behind.

Surrounded by corpses and the flames rising around him, Mario sat on his horse, looking into the all-encompassing darkness filled with the sounds of battle and explosions, feeling somewhat apprehensive and unsure of which direction to take.

Looking back, he saw three subordinates and four horses left with him; these were the only remaining forces of his small team, while the others were either dead or missing.

Ah, this battle... even four men with three horses would be better... Now there’s an extra horse, but what’s the use?

Mario frustratedly reached for his head, only to find that he didn’t catch any hair, just his smooth helmet.

Ah!!!

The itch on his scalp tormented Mario to madness, making him want to throw off the helmet and roll on the ground to scratch. But after all, he was an officer, a small team leader, and couldn’t act impulsively like before.

Really gonna die...

Frustrated, Mario scratched the head of his horse, causing it to snort and shake its head in confusion.

While Mario was intensely scratching and thinking about which direction to proceed, a sudden noise appeared beside him.

"Who!"

Mario instantly drew his sword and looked, followed by his subordinates.

Then they saw a "corpse" stand up from among the pile of dead, raising its hands and approaching, saying, "Don’t attack, I’m with the Alliance!"

"Which unit are you from?" Mario asked seriously, not easily trusting the other party.

"I was previously with Newcastle. After the battle, I was transferred to a watchtower near Reef Rock Castle. A few days ago, the watchtower was attacked by the Sika forces, and I got injured. I recuperated at Reef Rock Castle, and after recovery, I was incorporated into the Fourth Allied Army Sixth Corps Glory Group Second Team. We were dispatched to support trapped units, but then we got ambushed by the Sika Knight’s cavalry and a Wizard, and everyone died; I’m the only one left," the "corpse" said.

Mario felt slightly less wary after hearing this, considering the story was not easy to fabricate. In a more even tone, he asked, "What’s your group’s leader’s name?"

"Tom Shuster," the other replied.

"That’s not right, I thought it was James Traphel?" Mario raised an eyebrow, speaking sternly, "Are you trying to deceive me?"

"No, no, no," the "corpse" shook its head quickly, looking wronged, "Sir, our leader is really Tom Shuster. I don’t even know James Traphel."

"Really? Well, what a coincidence; I don’t know him either," Mario said. He had just been testing, and now was fairly sure the "corpse" was not an enemy.

"Huh?" The "corpse" seemed a bit confused.

"Alright, no more nonsense," Mario said, appraising the corpse to discover that the other was about his age. He asked, "What’s your name?"

"I... I am Frank, Frank Dais," the "corpse" said.

"Very well, Frank," Mario spoke up, "Since everyone in your group died and you have no leader now, stick with me for now; I happen to have an extra horse."

"Yes, sir," Frank quickly responded, keenly aware that having more people increased the chance of survival in such a chaotic battlefield.

After climbing onto his horse, Frank seemed to remember something, shyly saying to Mario, "Sir... Aren’t you afraid of my bad luck? Wherever I go, trouble follows—from Newcastle to the Reef Rock Castle Outpost and then to the Glory Group. What if I drag you down...?"

"You?" Mario glanced at Frank with disdain, "Let me tell you, no matter how unlucky you are, I’m not afraid. I was a Private three days ago; then I fell, and suddenly became a Senior Centurion—can your bad luck beat my fortune?"

"This..."

"Enough, no more nonsense; we can’t afford to delay. Let’s focus on leaving here first; staying in one place for too long isn’t good," Mario said, gesturing ahead with his sword, asking for opinions, "Shall we explore this direction?"

"I think exploring that direction might be safer," Frank suggested, quietly pointing to the left.

"You’ve been there?" Mario asked.

"No, but I feel..." Frank started, but was cut off.

"What do you feel! I’m the officer here, listen to me, we’ll go this way," Mario insisted on his choice, spurring his horse forward with his three subordinates and Frank following.

The five-member team proceeded, walking a few hundred meters, bypassing a collapsed watchtower, with their path ahead clearing up.

Right in front of them lay an open area, where stood over a hundred sturdy, splendidly armored Magic Knights.

Mario’s eyes widened, recognizing them as the Magic Cavalry Battalion that had initially forced their Red Maple Cavalry Group to change direction and break out. It had taken considerable effort to shake them off, and now they had run into them again.

They couldn’t have dared to confront them as a whole group before, let alone now as a half-crippled team.

This...

Mario panted heavily, as the Magic Cavalry Battalion looked over, their eyes cold. It was then that Mario heard Frank, whom he’d picked up earlier, mutter, "I told you, we shouldn’t have gone this way."

"Shut up! Run!" Mario snapped, quickly turning his horse towards the left, spurring it to a gallop with his three subordinates and Frank hastily following.

The Magic Knight Battalion of the Sika Kingdom hesitated for a moment, pondering whether to swallow this easy "snack" of just five men, considering it might not be worth their action.

After a few seconds, the captain of the Magic Cavalry Battalion ordered an attack. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Yes!"

"Crack!"

The numerous Magic Knights spurred their horses into pursuit, rapidly closing the distance with Mario.

Meanwhile, ahead of Mario’s escape route, in a sunken area lay three full battalions of the Soma Alliance’s Magic Knights lying in ambush.

A figure in a gray robe flew over, landing directly in front of the Commander’s officer, uttering a few words.

"Hmm?" The officer uttered in confusion, "What, that target Magic Cavalry Battalion is on the move towards us? We haven’t even had time to set the decoy. Never mind, attack, intercept them!"

"Yes!"

"Shout!" The three battalions of Magic Knights leapt out from the hollow, activating the Magic Runes on their armor, charging forward rapidly.

At this time, Mario, still fleeing, saw the sudden illumination of Magic Rune lights ahead and couldn’t help but exclaim, "Damn it!"

...