Chapter 280 - Extinction II
Number of words: 5270 Update Time: 2012-12-24 17: 30: 12
Seeing the doubtful expression on Zero's face, Caelio chuckled. The instructor sat down on his own chair and pointed to the chair in front of his desk, indicating that Zero should sit. Kalio laughed, "Look, it's not always possible to recruit new recruits from the Doomhammer. After all, there aren't many new recruits with an average level above the third step. So in the course of a year, the training camps that you guys stayed in only open once or twice. But the rest of the time the damn bourgeoisie wouldn't let me have time, so I had to work as a dispatcher when I had time. "
If Valkyrie were here, he would surely be dissatisfied with what Carío had said. The responsibility that Asgard had given him was not just a simple task-height officer, but a first class strategist. The release of the headquarters was only a small part of his job. His main job was to plan and dispatch the entire Asgard. In the headquarters, he had extremely high authority.
Naturally, Zero did not know about this. Thus, he only nodded his head and asked, "Instructor, your injuries .."
"It's fine, Angie. Gulet is not qualified to kill me." In fact, I don't even need to enter the grooves to be able to recover from this minor injury. " He seemed to think of something, and waved his hand in chagrin, as if to clear the discussion between them. He said, "Back to the main topic, the reason why I had the cat call you up here was to give you a task to take advantage of."
The word "cheap" made Zero's nerves twitch slightly, with his understanding of Callio. The chief instructor's so-called cheapness was usually tied to the difficulty.
He punched a series of commands into the light button at the edge of the desk, and the window in the office automatically lowered the shade. A screen of light appeared on the wall behind him, displaying the map of the Jurian Mountains to the west. On this 5,000-kilometer map, a blue band of light extended from Asgard's starting point to the west, in the direction of the Frozen Plateau. On this band of light, there were red and green dots of light flickering.
"These two colors of light represent the alien species that we have discovered so far," he explained. "Green dots represent friendliness, and red dots represent hostility .."
There were a total of seven red and green dots on the blue band of light. While they were flashing, a green dot of light suddenly extinguished and turned gray.
"This is your mission." "Aaron clan, this is an alien race with the shape of a half-bird," said Callio, pointing at the gray dot of light. They retain the ability of birds to fly, possess intelligence equivalent to that of adults, and have started to use simple weapons. "
As he said that, a three-dimensional model of a half-human bird appeared on the screen. It had a human-like upright body, but its arms were like pterodactylus, connected to the side of the body by a membrane. Aaron's model held a spear and automatically made some thrusting movements. His movements were simple but very refined. It was an effective combat technique.
"This gray dot of light is the village of the subraces. The village was small, and there were about a hundred Aaron. In these friendly alien territories, we all have Life Monitor. Just a few days ago, the life monitor set up in the Aaron village showed that all life in the village had disappeared. It's not an invasion, but an extermination, with no signs of life. " "The headquarters issued a series of orders concerning this matter, including the investigation into the death of the Aaron clan, and the annihilation of the Aaron clan if an enemy invaded," he said as he smoked. This order was to be sent out in the morning, but I saw you coming back, so I'll let you carry it out. "This is a D1 level mission. If it wasn't for me, your team wouldn't even have the authority to accept this mission."
According to the difficulty of the task, the headquarters would classify the missions according to their difficulty. From lowest to highest were the E, D, C, B, A, and S grades. Each level is further divided into three levels by 1 to 3. Since Team Zero was only at E level, they naturally could not accept D-level quests. Therefore, they directly left the unpublished quests at zero. It could be said that Callio had already taken very good care of him.
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, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, and even became a little solemn.
The reason for the extinction of the Aaron Family wasn't simple. These adult orcs all had strength and agility equivalent to a human at the third stage of the human stage. 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 orcs wasn't difficult, but killing the entire Aaron Family wouldn't be easy.
Why had the headquarters issued this mission? Was it to find out that the Aaron clan was extinct because of disease? 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 Asgard would have to consider upgrading his supervision mode and strengthening his monitoring ability.
When he thought of this question, he naturally thought of what had happened at the Cossack military base. As soon as he and Valkyrie woke up, they reported to Ben that the command system had been used. 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. It was clear to him that the investigation could not be completed in a short period of time. The Chief Military Instructor was not a patient man, so he had given the job to Valkyrie.
He turned his head to look at the virtual sky outside his window. His state of mind was extremely complicated. Beneath the surface of the peace, he felt a strong sense of unease. Uneasiness was like an undercurrent, surging against the reefs of Asgard's peace.
Just as old man Kalio was about to fall ill and worrying about the safety of Asgard, Zero, who had always only wanted to make money, called Feng and the others to drive the off-road jeep, which was also rented. They followed the main highway that connected the north and the south until they finally reached the Asgard. They passed through the long and dark passage, and when the hydraulic gate opened, the walls that were used to conceal themselves were evenly divided. Thus, a world of ice and snow appeared before their eyes.
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 the tundra was rare. Occasionally, a few Finry Wolves would run past. 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 couldn't help but sigh. He had no choice but to enter and borrow a sniper rifle. He originally wanted to kill these demon wolves. After all, the Finry Wolf's fur 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!
Thus, under the sound of Feng's regret, the journey took a turn from the plains into the dense forest of 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. There were dozens, or even hundreds of unknown intelligent species living in this dense forest, as well as the land behind the dense forest. As for the expedition team sent by Asgard, the Golden Axe would only travel through the dense forest of frost and arrive at the Howling Canyon 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 mutants, known as fox wolves, have large, fluffy tails that allow them to glide through the air for short periods 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 distance, using it to defend against other mutated beasts' attacks.
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 village was in the dense forest, and without the electronic map, it was not easy to find the bird's village in a place like the sea of trees. The group of people also wandered around in the jungle, and finally found the place where the Aaron Family was located. It was obvious that the clearing had become the place where the Aaron Family had 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 taste of their primal love.
According to Asgard's records, Arlen society is now equivalent to the primitive age of mankind. 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 Family, but all the other intelligent species had a longer breeding cycle than the mutated beasts, which was closer to the breeding cycle 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 been three generations since the appearance of the Aaron Family, but their population had only grown from the first twenty generations to a hundred now. Even so, Aaron's race was considered to be one of the more populous races in Asgard's records.
The Land Cruiser stopped at the entrance of the Aaron Family village. Although it was called the entrance, it was merely a wooden tree. There were three skulls nailed to the wooden stick. Judging from its appearance, it was a human, a fox wolf, and a rare mutated beast, the 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 only possibility left was that he was an esper from the Elemental Domain. Using some of the abilities of the Elemental Region, he could indeed cause energy destruction at high temperatures 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. As a fifth step elemental domain user, regardless of what type of elemental destruction he was proficient in, he was still a terrifying opponent.
The few of them immediately went into battle mode. Zero's Browning pistol, Su's alloy heavy sword and Feng's Tang Dao were all in their hands. Only Ma Pei's hands were empty, but the blood vessels under his skin were working up, ready to transform into an armored rhinoceros at any moment.
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 favorite food of many mutated beasts, especially intelligent ones like the Aaron Family. Their flesh and blood were like supplements to other mutated beasts.
However, even if the whole village was visited by these beasts, it was impossible for them to not even see the shadow of the corpse. The beasts with low intelligence would not be able to do such a thing.
"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 was stabbed into the ground, and the tip of one of the spears had a piece of leather deeply stuck into it.
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 had attacked the Aaron Family 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 their way, they found some more bodies of Aaron Family. 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!