by Chen Ran
Naturally, Zero had no reason to refuse.
"Go ahead and finish it beautifully. Then, treat me to a meal! " Callio smiled.
Zero nodded and said goodbye. After he left, Callio's smile gradually disappeared, and even became a bit solemn.
The reason behind the Aaron race's extinction was not simple. These adult orcs all had strength and agility equivalent to a human at the third stage of the human realm. In addition to the simple and practical spear piercing technique, it was not a pleasant experience for him to be surrounded by it. Killing one or two Avians was not difficult, but killing the entire Aaron race was not easy at all.
The reason why the headquarters issued this mission, was because they wanted to find out the cause of the Aaron race's extinction? Was it a conflict of species? Or was it intentional? If it was the first two, then it would be alright. But if it was the latter, then the Asgard would have to consider upgrading his monitoring methods and strengthening his monitoring abilities.
When he thought of this question, Callio naturally thought of what had happened at the Cossack Army Base. When he and Valkyrie woke up, the first thing they did was to report the use of the Command Promulgation System. This matter was naturally highly valued, and the two of them were requested to investigate the matter in secret. But to this day, the two of them still did not have a clue.
The mastermind was skilled and skilled, so there were no clues to be found. Callio was very clear that this investigation cannot be completed within a short period of time. Chief Instructor was not a patient person, so Callio had long given this task to Valkyrie to handle.
He turned his head to look at the virtual sky outside his window. His state of mind was extremely complicated. Beneath the peaceful surface, Callio felt an intense unease. The uneasiness was like an undercurrent rushing towards the reef where the Asgard was at peace.
Just as the old man was getting sick and worried about the safety of the Asgard, Zero, who usually only wanted to earn money, had Feng and a few others drive the off-road jeep that was also rented by the Asgard. They followed the main road that connected the north and south until they left the Asgard. After passing through the long and dark passage, when the hydraulic gate opened, the mountain walls that were used to conceal themselves were split evenly between the two sides. Thus, a world of ice and snow appeared in front of them.
The front fender of the SUV had been removed, and a snowplow had been installed for the snow. The snowplow is an external part of the car, shaped like a rectangular steel groove. There was a thin slit in front of the steel trough, and a powerful suction device was installed in that slit. It would create a huge suction force in the space in front of them. Just like that, the snowdrift in front of the car was pulled into the steel trough. It was then ground into powder by the rolling of thousands of steel wheels. Finally, it was ejected from the holes on both sides of the snowplow.
The car sped at a constant speed of forty kilometers per hour as thick white smoke sprayed from each end of the vehicle, gradually entering the snow-covered western wilderness. The speed of the SUV wasn't too fast, but in an environment where snowdrifts piled up to a height of three meters, this speed was quite rare. The weather wasn't bad today. There was no wind or snow. The sky which was covered in ice crystals reflected a magnificent luster.
The color was very magical, but it was a pity that it was very difficult for people to appreciate it now. Living was not easy, and it was hard to have the mood to see the scenery.
Following the directions given by the electronic map, the car drove past the military base in Cossack City. It was as if the land had been plowed all over again, revealing the bare ground. Even the wind and snow could not bury the land completely. From afar, nearly half of the buildings on the surface of the base were in ruins. From the other side, it was easy to see the intensity of the battle. However, they were not even a month apart, yet they gave off a feeling of being far away.
Continuing to the west, was the endless tundra. There was a bulge in the middle of it, and it turned into an old tree that had been frozen into a pillar of frost. Life on tundra was a rare sight. Occasionally, a few Finry's wolf would rush over. These Demon Wolves were extremely alert. When the car was still at least 300 meters away from them, they had already discovered these uninvited guests. Their green and golden eyes glanced at the SUV for a moment before they let go of their hooves. They dashed forward as fast as they could, quickly out of the line of sight of Ling Yun and the others.
Seeing this scene, Feng could not help but sigh, and could only place his sniper rifle that he borrowed from Su Yun. He originally wanted to kill these demon wolves. After all, the fur of the Finry's wolf was very popular with the nobles. The fur could be made into fur coats, or made into fur collars to be adorned on the coats to give off an aristocratic aura. If a complete piece of fur was converted into merit points, it would at least be worth 300 points!
As a result, under Feng's regretful voice, the journey went from a flat land to a forest filled with ice and frost. The dense forest made up of coniferous trees covered an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers, which formed a natural barrier that separated human civilization from the outside. Dozens, or even hundreds of unknown foreign intelligent life s were resting in this dense forest, as well as on the land behind the dense forest. And the expedition army sent by the Asgard, the Golden Axe only travelled through the dense forest of frost until they reached the Howling Canyon, which was three hundred kilometers behind.
Frost dense forest, these coniferous tree members are much taller than the same tall and straight. They usually need to be held by ten people, up to three hundred meters tall. Some were even nearly five hundred meters tall. The tree was covered with needle-like leaves that had a thick, fleshy skin that stored the tree's energy without losing it too quickly. When winter came, the needles and needles became food for the life in the forest.
There is plenty of moisture in the plump needles, as well as plant fibers that feed off hunger. Although every conifer tree is covered with frost, its thick skin insulates the cold from the snow and preserves the rich nutrients in the leaves.
When the Land Cruiser drove into the forest, it gave birth to a feeling of a giant nation. The tall trees were like pillars that propped up the heaven and earth, giving rise to a strange world in the eyes of these few people. Although it was winter, there were traces of life in the forest. The most common was a strange creature with the size of a fox, but with the appearance of a wolf.
These mutated organism who were known as the Fox Wolves had two large fluffy tails, which allowed them to glide in the air for a short period of time. Fox wolves eat needles and leaves. After eating these foods, a special organ in their body digests some of the food and turns it into a poisonous gas. When needed, the fox wolves would act like skunk and release poisonous gas. The poisonous gas they released would not spread with the wind, but would spread to a certain area and not dissipate, using it to defend against the attacks of other metamorph.
Other than the fox wolves, there were also a few other beasts active. They chased in front of huge trees, plundered food, or even killed to fight for their territory. But no matter what they were doing, once they heard the sound of an SUV's engine, they would scatter and flee in all directions. It made Ling Chen and the others only have time to look at that bizarre figure.
The Aaron race's village was in the dense forest, it was as if there was no electronic map to indicate them. It was not easy to find the village of the half bird man in a place that looked like a sea of trees. The few of them also wandered around the forest before finally finding the location of the Aaron race village. It was obvious that a clearing had been felled, and became the place where the Aaron race built their village. Looking from afar, there were a bunch of thatched huts on the empty ground. It was a very simple and crude method of construction, and the materials in the houses were also taken from the local materials. The village of the bird people gave the few of them a t
aste of their primal love.
According to the records of the Asgard, the current society of the Aaron race was equivalent to the Primitive Era of Humans. They were a matriarchal society, and the matriarchs occupied the leading position in the village. The male Aaron was responsible for hunting, construction, and all other heavy work. According to the records, not only the Aaron race, but the other intelligent species all had a longer reproductive cycle than the metamorph, which was closer to that of the humans of the old era.
But even after many years of growth, the offspring still die at a very high rate. If not for this, humans might not have been able to defend the entire circle of civilizations that occupied the coastline. It had already been three generations since the first generation of Aaron race appeared, but their race had only grown from the initial twenty odd to now, with only a population of a hundred. But even so, the Aaron race was considered to be one of the more populous races among the foreign races that had a record in the Asgard.
The jeep stopped at the entrance of Aaron race's village. Although it was called the entrance, it was only marked by the presence of a wooden toon. There were three skulls nailed to the wooden stick. From its appearance, it looked like humans, fox wolves, and a relatively rare metamorph, Giant Tusk Bear. Obviously, this oak tree was both a village sign and a warning. However, from the current situation, this warning did not have much effect.
Half the huts in the village were burned to ashes, leaving only charred traces. On the open space in the village, there were even some scorched spots left by the fire. The fire must have been very fierce, and the temperature was very high. It actually roasted the ground until it was like glass. Seeing this scene, the four of them frowned. In order for a natural flame to reach the high temperature that would turn the ground into glass, it required a sealed environment to keep it warm. The village was ventilated on all four sides, and the air flow was very obvious. It was obvious that such an environment could not meet the high temperatures.
The remaining possibility, then, would be the actions of the practitioners of the Meteor Realm. Using some of the abilities in the Meta-Su Domain, it was indeed possible to cause destruction to the energy at a high temperature in an empty environment. To be able to crystallize the high-temperature energy on the ground, that was at least the strength of a rank 5. A Element Domain Capable of the fifth step would be a terrifying opponent no matter what kind of elementalist he was proficient in.
Therefore, the few of them immediately entered into battle mode. The zero Browning's pistol, Su's alloy heavy sword and Feng's Tang Dao were all in their hands. Only Ma Pei had his hands up in the air, but the blood vessels under his skin had started to constrict, allowing him to undergo the Armored Rhinoceros transformation anytime.
The village was very quiet, so quiet that it was eerie. The strange thing was that there were no corpses. The few of them searched the village a few times but still couldn't find any Aaron's body. The valuable object he discovered had only turned into a black carbon life sensor. Judging from the traces of damage, it too had been damaged by the heat attack.
It was not normal for there to be no corpses, although there were very few scavengers like the Corpse Wolves in the Frost Forest. But it was winter, and the body could stay fresh for a long time. Fresh meat was the love of many metamorph, especially Aaron race, who had this kind of body. Their flesh and blood were like supplements to other metamorph.
However, even if they were to be visited by these wild beasts, it was impossible for the entire village to not even see the shadow of a corpse.
"Keep looking." Zero said and gave this simple order.
However, this time around, the four of them had flipped through almost every corner of the village without leaving any traces behind. However, regardless of whether they were willing to accept it or not, there was nothing suspicious in the village apart from the signs of destruction. It wasn't until the four of them had expanded their range to within five hundred meters of the village that they discovered some traces of fighting in the east.
This was a forest five hundred meters away from the village. The corpses of the Asian people could occasionally be seen on the huge trees nearby. The ground and a few tree trunks were charred, and there were even a few charred corpses among them. In front of a giant tree, ten simple and crude wooden spears were inserted diagonally. The exceptionally sharp tip of the spear stabbed into the ground, and under the tip of one of the war lance s was a piece of leather that was deeply stuck in there.
The leather was dark red, with uneven edges and lacerations. It could be surmised that the Aaron people at that time had attacked the man who had destroyed their village by throwing guns in a swarm. It was a pity that so many spears only tore off a single piece of the other party's robe. Zero removed the scrap of leather from under the gun and found a metal coil between the layers. This was a defensive layer. Not only did the metal coil have the function of blocking attacks, but it also had the effect of cushion because of its elasticity.
These alloy coils were quite expensive to use as a defensive jacket, or at least not for anyone. It was obvious that the one who attacked the Aaron race had some background.
With this as the starting point, the traces of the battle continued for another thousand meters into the dense forest to the southeast. On this journey, the few of them found some more Aaron race corpses. Some of their bodies were badly burned, while others had already been eaten by wild beasts. However, there were less than half of these corpses. At least thirty or so of them were missing. At the edge of the battlefield, there were some irregular marks extending down the slope. It looked like the killer had dragged the corpse down that way.
As a result, the few of them followed the tracks and walked forward. The terrain gradually lowered, forming a small slope. There was a vertical wall ten meters below the slope, and underneath it, there was a trench that was a hundred meters long and a dozen meters wide. This ditch was like a scar on the ground, and on the other side of the ditch, a dark cave appeared. The same drag marks that had appeared from the upper slope also appeared in the gully and extended into the cave on the other side.
The cave entrance was pitch black, as if a giant beast was waiting for its prey to come knocking on its door with its mouth wide open!
Chapter 281 - Flame Devil (I)
(Happy Christmas, everyone.) Cold weather, suitable to stay with your girlfriend to warm up, hehe.)
From within the cave, a bone-chilling cold wind blew out along with the smell of rotting flesh. Even though he was standing by the entrance of the cave, the smell was so thick that God only knew how much rotten meat was needed to produce such a smell. For some reason, this made Zero think of thirty bodies that were missing.
They were at the edge of the cave, and said in a solemn voice, "Ma Pei's abilities are not suitable to be used in this kind of complicated and narrow environment. Leave him outside the cave as a warning."
With regards to this arrangement, Ma Pei had no objection. His main ability was to transform into a Armored Rhinoceros, which was most suitable for charging into an open space. Especially considering that there might be a fifth stage Fire Elemental Su in the cave, if Ma Pei rashly went in, he might be roasted into meat. After listening to Zero's explanation, he nodded his head, agreeing to the arrangement.
He gave a meaningful look to Feng and Su, who understood what he meant, and the three of them rushed towards the dark cave entrance. During this mission, they had never considered entering a burrow like environment, so they had not equipped any related equipment. For example, tactical helmet, oxygen bottles and searchlights. Fortunately, the catacombs were different from the underground bases. The underground bases were pitch black without any light source, but there were luminescent fungi in the catacombs. These little things emitted a faint light which adorned the dark caves.
The cave was narrow and wide, and when they first entered, it was only enough for two people to walk side by side. But the deeper they we
nt, the wider the road became, and the more fungi they emitted. They grow on the walls of the mountain, beside the stalagmites or directly on the ground. If not for the smell of decay in the air, the cave occupied by the glowing fungi would be like a sea of light.
Zero couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of creation. In this day and age when the entire world was undergoing crazy evolution, there was still such an ancient fungus existing and maintaining its original genetic pattern. While the three of them were immersed in this strange sea of light, the corpse of a half-bird man suddenly appeared in front of their eyes. The body was half lying beside a stalagmite. The flesh on the left side of the body had disappeared, revealing the bones still stained with flesh. Beneath the corpse, dark green blood stained the ground with spots of color. There were also remnants of intestines and internal organs that were different from humans.
"What a picky eater, casually throwing away half of the food. How uncultured." Feng muttered to himself at the side, and at the same time took out the Tang Dao s to stir the corpses.
The Tang Dao pointed at the shoulder bone of the corpse and with a little external force, the originally unbalanced body immediately fell onto the ground, exposing half of its back. The man's back was pitch black, and the bones beneath his skin were charred. Apparently, the Aaron man had been burned to death by the heat, and most of his bones, nerves, and organs had been burned.
Looking at this broken body, whether it was the Element Domain Capable that was eating the corpse or the wild beast that had the power of fire, Zero could not find a suitable target. He shook his head and gestured for them to move on, and the three of them headed deeper into the crypt.
Gradually, more and more fulcrum appeared in the cave, showing a complicated scene. Fortunately, the three of them had sonar grenades on them. The sound waves emitted by these special grenades could map out the complicated terrain within a thousand meters, which would allow them to distinguish the direction they were heading in. However, what Zero relied on was still the bloodstains, chunks of flesh, and broken corpses that he left behind along the way.