Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3023: Ambush

Somewhere on the Frontline...

After a long string of victories, the Earth Faction’s regiment had grown accustomed to winning. Four settlements had been liberated, two Scourge nests destroyed, and every campaign had ended with the enemy driven back in defeat. Confidence spread naturally through the ranks, and with every success, the soldiers became increasingly convinced they understood how the Scourge fought.

Unfortunately...

The Scourge had been watching them just as carefully.

The bait it prepared was almost impossible to ignore.

The destination was Silvermist Haven, an ancient wood elf watch-post hidden deep within a vast mountainous forest. Towering silverwood trees stretched across mist-covered valleys, concealing isolated wood elf villages that had remained untouched by the outside world for centuries.

According to the intelligence report, the settlement urgently needed reinforcement before it was completely overrun by the Scourge.

The Earth Fleet answered the call without delay.

After establishing orbit, transport vessels deployed the regiment onto the planet’s surface, and the army advanced swiftly through the dense forest, pushing toward the isolated outpost beneath layers of drifting mist.

Thrax led thousand of Magus—humans and insectoids alike—carefully through the forest, slowly opening a path as they searched for the hidden settlement. Their goal was to make contact with the survivors without alerting the enemy, so every advance was measured and silent.

Yet only minutes into the search, Thrax began to sense that something was wrong.

Then, without warning, the trap was sprung.

The forest floor erupted beneath their feet as hidden vents burst open simultaneously, vomiting thick black miasma hundreds of meters into the air.

Within moments, towering walls of corruption sealed the path behind the advancing regiment, while the surrounding mountains trembled violently before splitting apart. Entire hillsides collapsed as enormous underground caverns were exposed, releasing endless tides of infected that had remained buried beneath the forest all along.

Before the soldiers could fully react, frantic reports flooded the command network.

"Enemy fleet detected!"

"Multiple unidentified warships emerging from beyond the moon!"

"They’re moving to cut off our orbital retreat!"

The realization struck everyone at once.

This had never been a rescue mission.

It had been an ambush from the very beginning.

"AMBUSH! FALL BACK!"

Thrax’s voice thundered across every communication channel before the first wave of infected even reached the regiment. That instant of recognition—barely half a heartbeat—saved countless lives.

There was no hesitation, no attempt to salvage the mission or reclaim the initiative. He understood the battlefield the moment it revealed itself and immediately gave the only order that still mattered.

"All units, withdraw back to the ship! Move!"

The regiment responded with remarkable discipline.

Soar into the sky, Roland, the Three Cosmos Marquess of the Red Dawn, personally led the breakout while his flagship and escort fleet maintained control of the skies above.

Crimson radiance erupted from his blade as he launched himself directly toward the descending wood elf warships that had emerged from the clouds. Once proud vessels of the forest kingdom, they were now grotesque masses of flesh and living wood, their hulls covered in pulsating corruption as countless parasite tendrils wrapped around branches that had long since ceased to be alive.

They descended like predators closing upon trapped prey.

Tens of Grand Magus-realm infected wood elves stood upon their decks, commanding hundreds of space-crawling Scourge that swarmed through the air like a living tide.

Roland met them head-on. Every swing of his blade split the heavens apart, crimson arcs flashing across the battlefield as dozens of corrupted enemies vanished with each strike. Flesh, corruption, and miasma alike were reduced to ash beneath the overwhelming force of a Three Cosmos powerhouse, carving a blazing corridor through the enemy fleet.

Below, the forest had become no less deadly.

Thousands of infected spirit beast burst from the mist-covered woods, their bodies grotesquely swollen by corruption as they charged with terrifying speed toward the retreating soldiers. Ancient trees splintered beneath their weight, and the ground trembled beneath the stampede as the regiment raced desperately toward the waiting transports.

Then the earth itself shook.

From the depths of the mist emerged a colossal spirit beast unlike anything the soldiers had yet faced. It resembled an ancient mountain turtle, its shell stretching hundreds of meters across and covered in forests of jagged crystal corrupted into black spines. Once revered as a guardian of the woodland, it now lumbered forward beneath the absolute control of the Scourge, every step shaking the battlefield as it advanced toward the retreating fleet, intending to crush both ships and soldiers alike.

Before it could take another step, a lone figure appeared before it.

Typhon.

The Three Cosmos Qilin hybrid planted himself firmly in the beast’s path, his aura erupting across the battlefield as he faced the colossal monster alone.

Thousands of soldiers surged toward the transports through the mist-covered forest.

At the rear of the retreat, two small squads silently turned to face the advancing horde.

The rearguard fought beneath a dark misty forest.

Emery’s light avatar slammed both palms onto the corrupted earth.

The Elysian Roots answered immediately.

Massive emerald roots burst violently through the forest floor, shattering rock and corrupted soil alike before twisting together into towering walls of living wood. Thick thorn-covered vines spread outward in every direction, weaving an enormous barricade that sealed the narrow mountain pass and slowed the advancing horde.

It did not stop them.

Only delayed them.

The creatures charging toward the barricade had once been the sacred guardians of the wood elves’ ancient groves—majestic stags crowned with crystal antlers, enormous spirit panthers, horned forest guardians, and countless other divine beasts that had protected these mountains for millennia.

Now they were unrecognizable.

Their hides bulged with pulsing violet veins. Flesh hung in ragged strips from broken bodies that refused to die, while empty eyes burned with nothing except the Scourge’s endless hunger. They came in a mindless tide, trampling over their own fallen without slowing, shrieking as they crashed into the living wall.

The barricade held.

For only a few seconds.

Massive claws and corrupted jaws tore into the Elysian Roots with terrifying speed, ripping apart centuries of natural power as though they were nothing more than ordinary vines.

"Move back!" Emery shouted, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "Keep moving! Don’t let yourselves become separated from the main force!"

Behind him, nearly one hundred Magus followed.

The combined of two rear-guard squads were battered and bloodied, but none of them faltered. They continued fighting with unwavering discipline, retreating one step at a time while holding the line against the relentless pursuit.

Before Emery had even finished speaking, Morgana made her move.

Crimson-gold flames erupted around her, unfolding into the shape of an enormous blooming lotus. As its petals spread open, they exploded outward in every direction, releasing a devastating wave of primordial fire that swept across the eastern flank. Hundreds of corrupted beasts vanished beneath the inferno, leaving behind a blazing corridor carved straight through the encircling horde.

"Go!" Morgana shouted. "Now!"

The remaining Magus sprinted through the opening without hesitation.

Then...

...the sky changed.

Three brilliant streaks of light pierced the corrupted canopy, descending toward the battlefield with overwhelming pressure.

Every soldier who sensed those auras instinctively slowed.

Wood elves grand magus

Three of them, all infected.