The delegation finally left the border of Dibiles and continued their journey overnight. Although it was inconvenient, it allowed the convoy to return to their homeland earlier.

"Hmph. That impolite little girl dared to take away my most important thing. You'll pay for it when we meet again!"

After receiving treatment from the white mage in the group, Sapele's external injuries gradually healed. His charred skin regained some of its shine compared to before. The only irreparable loss was his goat beard, torn off by the queen's ruthless hand. It would take several years to grow back to its original length.

"The grudge of losing my beard must be avenged!"

Sapele decided that when he returned to Inran, he would ask for permission from his country's emperor. He would personally lead a large army to break through Dibiles' border and reclaim their humiliation.

Fortunately, Dibiles was a reasonable country and did not detain the delegation. To return to their homeland, Sapele and the others only needed to pass through a neutral zone between the two countries. However, this journey required extra caution. Although nothing unexpected had happened on this road before, it didn't mean that it was now free of danger.

In this eventful autumn, it wouldn't be surprising if any country had eyes on their group. Perhaps Dibiles would change their mind and suddenly send pursuers. Perhaps other races intended to ambush them. Perhaps...

---There were others targeting the delegation!

After closing his eyes for a while in the carriage, Sapele suddenly noticed that something was off at the intersection two miles ahead.

The road was surrounded by high ground and rocks, and the distant area was perfect for an ambush. Furthermore, he had already felt a faint killing intent coming from ahead.

"There's an ambush! But ordinary bandits wouldn't dare to rob on the official road. Besides, the killing intent they emit is negligible, it shouldn't have caught my attention..."

The members of the delegation frowned as they listened.

They realized that if they could sense the killing intent from such a distance, there must be a considerable number of people hidden. Naturally, they didn't want any further complications at this moment. Moreover, they weren't the only group passing through this road. What if those people targeted another country's convoy and a misunderstanding led to an unnecessary battle?

They turned their heads and asked for the leader's opinion. Although they were far from being as perceptive as Sapele, they trusted him in this regard.

"Take a detour! We are not a knight order. We didn't come here to die in a foreign land. It is essential for all of us to return safely without any losses."

After the team reached a consensus, they changed direction and headed towards the side road. When they were one mile away from the ambush point, the leader, who was riding a black warhorse at the front of the convoy, suddenly raised his hand to signal the others to stop.

"Marquis, now even I can feel it. There is an ambush ahead, not just on the main road. The killing intent coming from the end of the small road is just as terrifying!"

"Could it be a deception set up by the other party? In that case, I want some of you to go and scout. Gather any intelligence and immediately come back to report."

The leader beckoned and assigned four men to go for reconnaissance. The four scouts went in pairs and carefully investigated the high ground on both sides of the road.

However, with the abundance of rocks on either side, the four scouts inevitably disappeared from Sapele and the leader's sight for a moment, but soon reappeared and continued their investigation. After reaching the highest point, the four of them made a safe gesture in unison to the convoy.

Relieved by the scouts' signal, Sapele motioned for the team to continue their journey. From his current position, he could only see the surface of things, unable to see the hidden truth. In reality, during the brief moment they disappeared, the four scouts had already reported to the afterworld.

What appeared in Sapele's sight next was the ambushing group, now dressed in different clothes. They swiftly and ruthlessly attacked their targets, each of them possessing the strength of a "Thousand Butchers," making them equal to the elite imperial guards.

As Inran's team reached the ambush area, Sapele finally sensed that something was wrong and raised her hand to alert the entire team:

"Defensive formation!"

Just as she spoke, hundreds of ambushers wearing black cloaks suddenly emerged from behind the high rocks on both sides. At first glance, there were at least five to six hundred of them. A smiling young girl at the front of the formation raised her index finger and commanded:

"Fire!"

All the ambushers took iron bows and crossbows from their belts, loaded arrows onto them, and simultaneously crouched down on one leg to shoot.

A dense rain of arrows poured down towards the envoy group.

The team below responded hastily, unleashing a defensive barrier.

The light blue ripple immediately formed into a circular shape, engulfing the entire area just in time to block the incoming arrows.

clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang!

The iron arrowheads repeatedly struck the surface of the barrier, creating a resounding symphony of metal clashing. However, no matter how many arrows were shot, the defense remained unyielding.

"Ah, can't penetrate it, huh? My apologies, I didn't think through this carefully enough. The methods employed by the Imperial envoy group are indeed quite troublesome..."

As the young girl spoke apologetically, she lifted a stone with the sole of her shoe and made it leap into the air with a flick of her arm.

swish~

In mid-air, the stone glided directly down the side wall of a distant mountain, heading straight for the top of the barrier below.

Once it hit, a faint, airy sound could be heard as the side of the mountain crumbled and split in half from the center.

The sound of the stone hitting the barrier was very weak, dissipating in an instant. Following closely behind were layer upon layer of undamaged ripples, all of which were being observed by the people protected within the barrier.

swish swish swish swish swish~

Then, just like the sound, the barrier shattered completely.