Chapter 68: 68. Ambush in a Trap

The next day, Odessa chose a location in District Five. It was quieter than District Seven, with fewer people roaming the streets and even fewer hunters around. Less attention. This was intentional—they were luring their watchers into a trap.

“Girl time!” Odessa yelled from the car as she pulled up to Yuki’s apartment. “Where’s Owen?”

“He’s in the beast space. We don’t want to spook whoever’s following us.” Yuki climbed in as she spoke. Only a handful of people within the story dungeon knew of Owen’s new form, so everyone else in the real world—Vonn, Rogers, Eckstein—still believed the dragon was in its baby form. Vulnerable. They had no idea it had evolved into their worst nightmare.

Alfred drove through the city, tinted windows obscuring them as Yuki’s mind calculated the possibilities of the coming ambush.

He parked directly in front of the restaurant they had chosen for the operation and stepped out first, scanning rooftops, street corners, and surrounding buildings. When he spotted the suspicious figures lurking nearby, he was satisfied. All according to plan. He opened the door for the ladies and led them inside.

The atmosphere was calm. For a moment, Yuki was almost lost in the beauty of the place—the marble floors, the music, the smell of food—but she quickly snapped back to focus.

Then it began.

Before they could even reach their reserved table, the fire alarm started ringing. People broke into a panic and rushed toward the exit.

“And so it begins, my ladies.” Alfred reached into his inventory space and pulled out his great shield.

They walked at a measured pace behind the stampeding crowd, Alfred leading with Yuki and Odessa close behind.

As they stepped out of the restaurant, they saw him.

Vonn, standing across the street with Rogers beside him.

Eight men—presumably hunters—spread out behind them.

The street was already clearing as Vonn adjusted the sword strapped at his waist.

“Let’s not make this unpleasant, Yuki!” he called out. “Come quietly, and I’ll forgive all your mistakes so far.”

Yuki didn’t respond to what might have been a provocation or an honest request. With Vonn’s arrogance, he probably believed she would just cower and run back to him, apologizing. That was the kind of power he had once had over her.

Not anymore.

She crossed her hands to her waist where the katana blades would have been and reached for them through her inventory, drawing the two distinct katanas from the spatial rift in one smooth motion.

Odessa didn’t hesitate either. Her mana surged outward as she summoned her tamed beast. The Azure Sky Dragon soared into existence above them in a burst of wind.

Alfred, already gripping his great shield, stomped it against the ground with a heavy metallic clang.

Three against ten.

Rogers exhaled.

“I was hoping we could be civilized about this.” He stepped forward. “This doesn’t concern you, Miss Wayne. I have no business with you.”

“Yuki’s business is my business!” Odessa glanced at Yuki with a soft smile before turning back to Rogers. “So fuck off!”

Rogers rubbed his face and sighed, then gestured at the mercenaries behind him to advance.

The street exploded into motion.

Yuki met the first three mercenaries head-on, wasting no movement.

The first came straight at her, his blade arcing down toward her skull.

Her left hand moved. Her katana met his sword.

CLANG!

The strike was cleanly parried by her normal katana, redirected just enough to throw the attacker off balance.

The other two lunged from her flanks.

Yuki pivoted instantly.

Her right hand tightened around Verida’s katana as she spun, delivering a single sweeping slash that cut across both men in one fluid arc.

For a heartbeat, they remained standing.

Then blood sprayed across the pavement.

Their weapons slipped from numb fingers as dark veins rapidly spread from the wounds. The poison worked fast.

Both mercenaries collapsed almost simultaneously, convulsing on the ground.

On the other side of the street, Odessa rose into the air atop the Azure Sky Dragon. Water condensed instantly at its mouth, compressing into a razor-thin stream that tore through concrete.

The blast carved a trench across the pavement, forcing the mercenaries to scatter. Those too slow were shredded by cuts across their bodies from the sheer force.

Alfred stood firm, his defense impenetrable.

Two mercenaries charged him from opposite sides.

Their weapons slammed into his great shield with explosive force, sending shockwaves rippling through the pavement. Alfred didn’t move an inch.

He waited.

Measured.

Then he saw his opening.

With a brutal precision, he drove the bottom edge of his shield forward and down, smashing it into one mercenary’s knees. Bone crunched. The man’s leg collapsed grotesquely beneath him as he screamed and dropped.

The second mercenary faltered—just for a second—his focus breaking at the sight of his partner’s shattered limb.

That hesitation was fatal.

Alfred activated a shield bash skill.

His mana flared, propelling him forward suddenly.

The blow detonated against the man’s torso and launched him backward like a ragdoll. He skidded violently across broken asphalt before crashing into a parked car right next to Rogers and Vonn.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Rogers lifted his hands and a green light pulsed outward.

The mercenaries who had been cut saw their wounds seal. Those with broken bones felt them realign. Bruises faded. Strength returned.

But that wasn’t all. Those healed by him felt something more than just restored vitality—their stats had doubled. Rogers’s “healing” was also a buff.

“What the hell? He’s a healer?!” Odessa shouted from atop her Azure Sky Dragon. “Aren’t the bad guys supposed to have shadowy abilities or poison?!”

She was right to be surprised. This new development meant that as long as Rogers stood, this would be a battle of attrition.

Vonn lunged forward toward Yuki.

“Out of the way, fool!” He shoved the mercenary in front of her aside and brought his sword down.

Yuki parried but was pushed back. Vonn was significantly stronger than the others.

They clashed again, and the force propelled Yuki through a window, shattering the glass as she crashed inside.

“Does this remind you of old times?!” Vonn taunted, hinting back to the days he’d domestically abused her.

Above in the air, Odessa tried to break through to Rogers, but the buffed mercenaries intercepted her, forcing the dragon to defend instead of advance as they attempted to drag it down.

Alfred tried to push through, but was met with greater force than he’d expected. He rammed the mercenaries, but they stood firm, unmoving, grasping at his shield.

“It’s finally coming to an end.” Vonn took a wide smile.

The fight had shifted in momentum. The pressure was mounting.

But deep within the beast space, Owen felt it. Watched it. He had wanted Yuki to face Vonn herself, but he hadn’t anticipated Rogers as a healer and buffer.

“That’s enough.”

His voice echoed into Yuki’s mind.

Space distorted between Yuki and Vonn. The air split open as turbulent mana surged through the rift.

A blackened figure emerged from the torn space—a long reptilian body, wings that unfurled to their full breadth, black shining scales with golden accents, and eyes that burned with a golden gaze that made Vonn’s legs tremble.

Wind spiraled outward as the massive presence emerged from the beast space.

Owen, in his juvenile dragon form.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep