Chapter 120: Outplayed, Fair and Square
At first, Chaz believed Cher had no chance of escaping.
The dragon was dead, the Dark Hunters had been exterminated, and even if she fled aboard a shuttle with her companions, he had already dispatched several advance squads to intercept her. It would take at least ten hours to leave the mining territory, and long before then, his clan’s special squad would have crushed every obstacle in its path and turned around to cut off her escape.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
Then fate intervened.
"Sir Chaz Avaron, we have an urgent report from the front lines."
After an hour of leading several hundred elite Enhancers across the mine territory, Chaz was struck by a piece of news that turned certainty into alarm.
A large monster tide was approaching.
At first, he failed to grasp the report’s true significance, but the moment he recalled the enormous ring of monsters that had surrounded the mine hours earlier, his expression stiffened.
When he had last examined the battlefield, the horde had still been several hours away. Their numbers had been unsettling, but amid everything that followed, the dragon, the battle, and Cher’s escape, he had pushed them to the back of his mind.
Now they had returned to his attention.
As he read the latest report, his heart sank. The monsters were no longer staying stagnant. They were charging toward the mine from every direction, and they were far closer than they should have been.
’How...?’
Only one explanation came to mind: the dragon.
It had never gathered the monsters. It had been restraining them. Its overwhelming presence had kept countless monsters at bay, preventing them from advancing. Now that it was dead, nothing remained to hold them back.
"Change of plans."
Chaz’ voice remained calm despite the urgency.
"Split into teams of ten. Each team will secure a garrison post. Delay the tide for as long as possible."
He immediately issued another order.
"Send messengers to the forces we left behind. Tell them to prepare every defensive line and hold their positions until reinforcements arrive."
At this point, secrecy no longer mattered.
From the moment news of the dragon had reached him, Chaz had sealed the entire operation beneath the highest level of confidentiality. No one outside the mine knew a dragon had ever appeared here.
Now there was no reason to hide it.
Even so, not even a monster tide was enough to make him abandon his pursuit.
’Well played.’
’But if you think this is enough to make me stop chasing you, you’ve underestimated me.’
Grinding his teeth, Chaz waited as a sleek black shuttle descended before him. It was a specially designed vessel belonging to the Avaron Clan, equipped with one of the fastest engines in the entire Elfine Kingdom; the Black Falcon.
The moment he boarded it, he pulled up the tactical display.
"...This is worse than I imagined."
Hundreds of thousands of monsters were pouring toward the mine from every direction.
Fortunately, they were little more than a mindless swarm. There was no order, no formation, and no leader directing them. Every monster simply rushed forward, competing to reach the mine first. Their disorder reduced the tide’s destructive potential, but it did nothing to lessen the danger posed by such overwhelming numbers.
Then his gaze shifted to the icon marking his daughter’s shuttle.
"Just wait."
"Papa is coming."
His next command was immediate.
"Tell the special squad to disengage and allow Leopard’s squad to take over the interception."
A heartbeat later, he issued another order.
"Broadcast a distress signal across every communication channel. Mobilise every nearby force and have them reinforce the mine immediately."
At this point, the arrival of the other clans’ special squads was more than welcome. As for the dragon, its body had already been cursed.
’I know that, but no one else does.’
He had no intention of sharing that knowledge. Let the clans fight over the dragon’s corpse and claim whatever fate had prepared for them.
Chaz settled into his shuttle, which moved far faster than Cher’s, and silently observed the sudden turn of events while continuing the pursuit.
The arrival of his clan’s special squad alongside Leopard’s forces changed the battlefield. They were strong enough to land directly at the rear of the monster tide and attack while advancing towards the mine.
His advance units had managed to contain the first waves of the monster tide, and once the reinforcements joined the fight, the defenders gradually regained control.
Yet just as he was halfway to intercepting Cher, an urgent report arrived, freezing the blood in his veins.
For a long moment, he couldn’t process what he had just heard. He waited until more reports came in, watched the tactical map update piece by piece, and only accepted the truth once every detail confirmed the same unrealistic conclusion.
’Impossible...’
Chaz remained seated in silence for several minutes, staring at the map. He went through all the decisions he made, all the events he witnessed since learning about Cher’s presence.
He went through what he did to the dragon and the Dark Hunters to catch his daughter. He could tell he did everything right, didn’t slack, didn’t underestimate anything, didn’t overlook any tiny detail.
And yet, for a reason, it felt like his moves were already over-read before he was going to make any move.
The realisation felt bitter, but he had to admit it regardless. After long minutes of silence and struggle, he finally issued a weary sigh.
’I have to admit...’
’This time, you truly outplayed me fair and square.’
’You have grown up.’
His gaze lingered on the marker representing his daughter’s shuttle before he sighed once more.
"Turn around."
"We’re returning to reinforce the defences and stop the tide."
His command carried the weight of an imperial decree. The crew obeyed without hesitation, turning the shuttle back toward the mine while Chaz remained fixated on the tactical display.
’Don’t think you’ve escaped me.’
’I’ll find another way. I swear I’ll bring you back to my side and free you from that curse.’
His fists slowly tightened as he realised he had just lost the easiest opportunity fate had ever offered him to fulfil humanity’s long-awaited dream.