Traces

As Xu Chan's expedition moved through, it wasn't as if they hadn't encountered indigenous settlements before. However, the danger level of this uncharted territory was clearly several notches higher than outside. How could a settlement still exist here? It immediately occurred to him that this was definitely no ordinary settlement. He asked, "Have the people in the camp spotted us?" "They have. In fact, their people took the initiative to contact us." Xu Chan said in a deep voice, "Give me the specifics." The scout explained. Through their brief contact just now, they had learned that this was indeed no simple native gathering. Its inhabitants hailed from diverse backgrounds. One of the main factions consisted of fugitives wanted by the former imperial house, alongside several deserters from the Great Shun garrison, while the rest were genuine natives of the region. These people claimed to know the surrounding terrain intimately. They were willing to provide what the expedition needed or render other assistance, but in return, they also required certain tools and supplies the squad carried. Xu Chan considered it briefly and said decisively, "Whatever they want, if we can spare it, we give it to them." His instincts told him these people weren't as straightforward as they claimed. But as long as they didn't show hostility, there was no need to pry—even if there might be Great Shun fugitives among them. After all, these people had lived here for a long time. With their guidance, operating in this region would become vastly easier, and they might genuinely find a way to shake off the enemies trailing behind them. In short, securing the relic was the sole priority; nothing else mattered. Still, whether for the other side or his own squad, any transaction was predicated on possessing sufficient martial power. Without force to guarantee it, a deal was nothing more than packaging oneself up as a gift for others. At that moment, on another front, the Thunder Twins returned to their staging ground carrying Blood Diamond. Unlike when they had left, however, the surrounding trees appeared to have been leveled. A large detachment of Consortium personnel seemed to be searching and inspecting something. Seeing the siblings return, the nearby security personnel snapped to attention one after another. Ignoring the others present, Svea addressed a young man seated nearby: "Mr. Heros, why didn't you appear as agreed?" Hearing her question, the young man slowly rose from the ground. He stood over three meters tall, with thick black hair like tangled seaweed. His facial features were sharply chiseled, beneath dense eyebrows set a pair of exceptionally piercing eyes, and his visage possessed an axe-hewn, resolute cast, while his entire body was built of musculature carved like solid stone. Though towering far above ordinary men, his proportions were so flawless that one couldn't help but perceive him as a more perfectly evolved human being. When he spoke, his magnetic voice naturally inspired favor: "My apologies, madam. We encountered an enemy just now, which prevented us from reaching you in time." "An enemy?" "Yes," Heros said. "It lies right beneath your feet." Svea looked down, only now jolting in shock. Sprawled across the ground was a colossal creature—and they were currently standing right atop its body! However, the entity seemed devoid of perceptible thickness or distinct contours, sprawling flat across nearly the entire clearing. Coupled with the utter absence of any vital signs, she hadn't noticed it at first glance. Sigvard bounced on his feet a couple of times and realized the texture was indeed different from regular earth. Yet given the bizarre anomalies native to the Melded Lands, he hadn't thought much of it. Now, he couldn't help exclaiming, "What is this thing?" Heros said, "I do not know either. We ran into it on the way. It attempted to engulf all of us. There are no records of it in our database, so I suspect it is a new species. Breaking free of its embrace delayed us here for a short time—though that was not the primary reason." He added with grave seriousness, "Rather, I sensed someone watching us from a distance. Someone who poses a threat to us." "Who?" "I don't know," Heros said. "I only know he is exceedingly dangerous. But should he appear again, I will track him down." "Is it someone from the Linakes Federation?" Svea looked up. "Wilhelm?" Heros shook his head. "Not the Blue Blood." Then he emphasized, "Not him." Svea and Sigvard exchanged glances. If even Heros felt threatened, yet it wasn't Wilhelm—who was rumored to arrive soon—who could it be? Meanwhile, as they were talking, roughly a dozen kilometers away, Qi Qianyang walked up to a treehouse woven from vines. As he drew near, the branches parted outward on their own. Out stepped a man in his thirties with hair parted neatly down the middle. Seeing him, the man immediately asked, "Instructor Qi, you're back. How are things?" Qi Qianyang said, "That Heros has sharp senses. I was nearly spotted just now. Truly worthy of someone ranked near the very top of the world." "So what?" the man replied. "Could he really be a match for you, Instructor Qi?" Qi Qianyang rubbed his chin. "Hard to say. At our level, until you've traded blows, nobody knows for sure." The man said with conviction, "That's only because you haven't gone all out, Instructor Qi." Qi Qianyang chuckled without denying it. "It's not time yet," he said. "Let them search first. Once they locate the item, I'll step in and collect it." Beneath the former Consortium camp, Chen Chuan drew the Xuejun Saber and made a single slash, sealing the fissure before him in an instant. He had cultivated here throughout the night. There was plenty of underground space, saving him the trouble of excavating his own. Stepping out, he checked the condition of his second self and found its strength had grown even closer to his current true self. In yesterday's battle, he had completely relied on his own strength to slay his opponent in a single exchange, providing an immense boost to his second self. He still didn't know the man's name; searching the corpse had turned up no identification. Judging purely by his prowess, however, he had clearly been no lightweight—most likely a renowned fighter. Fighters like that would surely appear in greater numbers moving forward. Sheathing Xuejun, he rose from the ground and walked up from the subterranean chamber, with the newly awakened Chaoming trailing behind. Pushing open the warped metal doors, he stepped outside. The area had been reduced to a charred wasteland. Drifting plumes of black ash settled from above, blanketing the ground in a thick layer. Yang Yuncheng appeared to have risen long ago. He walked over from not far off. Prior to nightfall yesterday, he had cleared out all the perimeter outposts. Now he asked, "Supervisor Chen, are you ready to head out?" Chen Chuan nodded. "Ready to depart. The road ahead is rough, though, so I'll have to ask you to look after the three horses we brought, Old Yang." Yang Yuncheng said, "Leave it to me. I'll make sure they're well looked after." Chen Chuan glanced up at the sky. "Airships might fly over today to verify the situation. You and the others had best keep your distance and stay hidden." Yang Yuncheng gave an affirmative nod. Holding his saber, Chen Chuan walked to one side. Parked there was a "Rakshasa" two-wheeled motor vehicle manufactured by Fenghai Company, which he had discovered yesterday near one of the outposts. It had likely been used by patrolmen to commute between the main camp and the sentry stations. Under normal circumstances, using such a conveyance to venture deep into the Melded Lands was virtually impossible; with no telling what horrors one might encounter along the path, traveling at high speeds left no time to react. To him, however, it was perfect. He had realized by now that as long as his spiritual power was sufficiently formidable, there was no need for excessive caution against many threats. Simply projecting his spirit outward while traveling was enough to intimidate the vast majority of creatures. Granted, some might perceive it as a provocation, but so long as he moved fast enough, he could generally bypass them without trouble. Of course, doing so put a considerable strain on spiritual power, but with his second self and the relic capable of restoring spiritual and physical energy, he had little need to worry about such costs. The two-wheeled vehicle was sufficiently large. He secured his gear onto the metal racks on either side, slung the Xuejun Saber diagonally across his back, and swung his leg over the seat. Facing Yang Yuncheng, he said, "Old Yang, I'm off. Take care." Yang Yuncheng replied solemnly, "Supervisor Chen, may your mission go smoothly!" He then took several paces back. Chen Chuan nodded. Donning his protective face mask and smoothing down the red scarf wrapped around his neck, he gave Yang Yuncheng another nod before starting the engine. With a roaring rumble, the two-wheeler shot forward, trailing a plume of smoke and dust behind it. High in the sky, Chaoming let out a shrill cry and followed close behind. Yang Yuncheng walked forward a few steps, watching him depart, raising his hand in salute until Chen Chuan's silhouette vanished deep into the dense forest. Once clear of the camp, Chen Chuan glanced down at the residual traces on the ground. These had clearly been left by a large contingent traveling toward the uncharted territory. This worked to his advantage. Tracking these signs, combined with using his spiritual power to blaze the trail ahead, allowed him to travel at remarkable speed—incomparable to the previous two days. He also noticed that many formidable creatures that should have infested the route had been cleared away. Along the road, he even spotted an unidentified creature as massive as a hillock lying on its side. Most of its bulk had already been stripped to bone, swarming with dense masses of crawling insects; it would likely not be long before the skeleton vanished entirely. After traveling for half a day, he discovered a sizable abandoned camp. Judging by the campfire pits, at least a hundred people had stayed here. He pulled over, dismounted, and examined the layout of the area and several discarded metal cans. He was certain this had been left by the Consortium's people, yet they had clearly made no effort to conceal their tracks. Gazing forward, he considered that if he kept following this trail from camp to camp, he might locate other sites where they had bivouacked. Continuing the pursuit this way, he might catch up with the group in no time. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a spot within the camp was suddenly agitated by his spiritual presence. A tarpaulin covering was violently thrust aside, and with a loud droning buzz, a dense swarm of creatures burst forth, surging en masse toward him.