Iul didn’t panic when he heard the newcomers.
Instead, it was as if he’d just eaten a Snickers; he suddenly got energized.
In an instant, he was like a different person.
It was as if the trembling little wretch from a moment ago wasn’t him.
If Aqina hadn’t been the one to save him with her own hands, she would have suspected that this kid had been possessed by an otherworldly demon.
Iul looked at Aqina and the other girl.
“Give me five minutes, I’ll set a trap.” As he spoke, he pulled out his small personal leather pouch and dumped out a few items.
A few sharpened awls, a small bundle of metal wire so thin it was almost invisible.
A few small caltrops, and a packet of powder.
“I’ve been secretly saving these up,” he said.
“These sharp awls are coated with paralytic herb juice.
Don’t look down on these caltrops just because they’re small and inconspicuous; as soon as you step on one, it’ll instantly pierce through your shoe sole.
This metal wire is even better; not only can it trip people and beasts, but if the target struggles hard, they’ll get injured too.
This medicinal powder is an even greater treasure; it’s a mixture of itch-weed and chili pepper.” Tatiana was dumbfounded.
“You kid…
you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve.” Aqina, however, smiled.
She hadn’t saved him in vain!
They were just in need of such talent.
Tatiana could fight, she herself could tank, but neither of them was good at winning by wit.
They were completely reckless.
One relied on her Pyro Vision to just charge in, and the other relied on the fact that she couldn’t be killed to just rush in blindly.
If they had this kid Iul, it would be like adding an environmental advantage.
“Prove it,” Aqina said.
“We made quite a commotion with the Lawachurl earlier, so people from outside are sure to come.
I estimate they’ll be here soon.
What can you do?” Iul stood up, enduring the pain in his leg.
“Give me five minutes, and help me get some ice spikes.
Size doesn’t matter, as long as they’re sharp.” Tatiana looked at Aqina, and Aqina nodded.
The two of them gathered what was needed as requested.
Iul began his setup using those treasures of his.
He scattered the small caltrops at the entrance of the passage and covered them with a thin layer of snow as camouflage.
Behind the caltrops, he strung up several metal wires, positioned perfectly to catch ankles and knees.
Then he had Aqina and Tatiana stick the ice spikes diagonally into the sides, with the tips pointing outward, forming a makeshift barricade.
He did a little extra work.
He used thin thread to tie several visibly loose ice blocks, connecting the other end of the thread to a trigger mechanism.
“Done,” Iul said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead caused by the pain in his leg.
“Let’s hide in that ice recess over there and wait to watch the show.” The three of them hid, and within a few minutes, footsteps could be heard.
A group of four people, all dressed like veteran soldiers.
“I heard movement over here earlier, along with explosions.
It must be that famous short-tempered girl from the new recruit regiment; no one else could make such a big commotion.” “Hehe, maybe they’re both badly hurt; we can just pick up the scraps.” “Be careful.
I heard Tatiana has allied with that Snow Ghost.
The Snow Ghost is really eerie; she can’t be killed.” They walked very slowly, clearly on high alert.
Unfortunately, the sneakiness of a trap lies in the fact that the more vigilant you are, the easier it is to fall for it.
The veteran walking at the very front suddenly felt pain in his foot.
He looked down and saw his boot had been pierced, with fresh blood seeping out.
“Careful!
There’s a trap!” He shouted out loud.
The second person was caught off guard and tripped, his ankle tangled in the metal wire.
The third person tried to help him up, but ended up stepping on a caltrop himself, falling victim to it as well.
He hopped on one foot, screaming.
In the chaos, someone stepped on the trigger mechanism.
The thin thread snapped, and the ice blocks came crashing down on their heads.
“Dodge!” Unfortunately, it was too late.
The whole process took less than ten minutes, and three of the four-man squad were down.
Only one, who reacted faster, had avoided the traps and was now trapped in the middle of the passage.
With injured companions both in front and behind, he didn’t dare to move.
“Nice,” Tatiana praised in a low voice.
Aqina nodded as well.
Iul, however, frowned; he had his own little agenda.
“It’s not enough.
These are just minor injuries; they’ll recover quickly.
They have four people, we only have three, and I’m a cripple myself.” He pointed to his leg.
“Then what should we do?” Tatiana asked.
Iul looked at Aqina, his eyes flickering slightly.
“How do you intend to deal with them?” Aqina understood his meaning instantly.
Following Tatiana’s previous methods, they usually just took the nameplates and left, without killing anyone unless the other side fought to the death.
She herself only did so when forced, and only fought to the death when she really couldn’t win.
Iul had reminded her.
These four people were a squad, clearly there to pick up scraps.
If they let them go, what would follow would only be the other side bringing more people and exacting crazy revenge.
“Your opinion?” Aqina asked in return.
Iul lowered his voice and spoke quickly, revealing the detailed intelligence he knew.
“I’ve seen these people before; they’re the Blood Wolf Squad, a rather famous group among the veterans.
They strike hard and are vengeful.
If we let them go, they will definitely come back to cause trouble.
Killing them all won’t work either; their squad has eight people in total.
The other four must be nearby.
If we kill them, they’ll be locked in a life-or-death feud with us, which is also trouble.” He paused, his voice dropping lower.
“How about we leave them all severely injured, so they lose their mobility?
We take their nameplates, use their equipment as bait, and set an even bigger trap.
When the others come to save them, we catch them all in one fell swoop.” As he spoke, Iul made a throat-slitting gesture.
Tatiana gasped upon hearing this and gave a thumbs up.
“You kid are something else, you’re really sinister.” Iul gave a wry smile.
“I just want to survive.
In Snezhnaya, if you aren’t ruthless, you can’t survive.” Aqina looked at Iul.
After a long while, she smiled.
“Let’s do as you say.” The three of them walked out.
The four in the passage saw them, and their expressions changed drastically.
“It’s a trap!” “It’s the Snow Ghost, along with that woman Tatiana, and a brat.” Aqina ignored the cursing; she drew her tetanus blade, held it in her hand, and walked straight over.
Tatiana followed behind, using her elemental power, with flames dancing in her hands.
Iul sat where he was.
In his hand, he held a crossbow captured from the veterans, already cocked.
The arrow was coated with the paralytic herb juice, and he aimed at the veteran trapped in the passage.
“Hand over your nameplates, break one of your own arms and one of your own legs, and maybe we can let you leave,” Aqina said with a smile.
“Or, you can all stay here forever.” “In your dreams!” the lead veteran shouted angrily.
“We are the Blood Wolf Squad!” His words came to an abrupt halt.
Aqina had already rushed over.
Tatiana’s flames completely sealed off all escape routes.
The military crossbow in Iul’s hand fired, hitting the veteran who could still move, with an arrow piercing his thigh.
Three minutes later.
All four veterans were lying on the ground, each with arms and legs twisted unnaturally, groaning in pain.
Aqina searched them and found a total of nine nameplates; including their own, it was a bountiful harvest.
The loot included dry rations, medicine, and some useful tools.
“Thanks,” Aqina said to Iul.
Iul shook his head.
“It should be me thanking you.
Without you, I would have frozen to death and perished long ago.” Tatiana watched as he limped around setting up new traps.
Using some of the tools and equipment captured this time, he set up a more complex chain trap at the exit outside.
“What did you used to do, kid?” Tatiana couldn’t help but ask.
Iul answered while busy working: “I used to hang out on the streets, fighting people for territory, playing little tricks, and backstabbing people was a common occurrence.” He paused for a few seconds.
“Later, I offended someone, couldn’t get money, and for the sake of my younger siblings at home, I joined the army.” His voice lowered, filled with a bit of frustration.
“Turns out, I didn’t expect the army to be the same.
I thought it would be…” Aqina patted him on the shoulder.
“Follow us from now on,” she said.
“You have brains, and Tatiana and I can tank and fight.
We can live very well.
When we have money in the future, we’ll send it to your younger siblings.” Iul looked up.
He looked at Aqina, then at Tatiana.
He nodded heavily.
“Okay.” Tatiana smiled too, and vigorously ruffled Iul’s hair, like petting a puppy.
Even though the hair was dirty and matted, she didn’t mind.
“Alright, Dog-headed Strategist, are the traps set?
If so, let’s pull back and find another place to wait for the fish to take the bait.” “Almost done,” Iul said, speeding up his movements.
“By the way, can you not call me Dog-headed Strategist?
It doesn’t sound very imposing.” “Then what should I call you?” Tatiana raised an eyebrow.
“Sinister brat?” “Let’s stick with Dog-headed Strategist,” Iul said, resigning himself to his fate.
Aqina laughed and pointed at Iul.
“Our Dog-headed Strategist has really shown his stuff, don’t you think, Lighter?” Tatiana threw a snowball directly at Aqina.
“Screw you, you big cockroach.” Aqina slipped away first.