Chapter 491
Chapter 491 - 471: Before the Raid
1,357 words
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7 min read
"Really? The mechanisms below have been sealed off from above?"
Meow’s response was within their expectation.
Normally, tombs... underground mazes, if they were of higher quality, would have two paths. One for their own people, used by maze owners, maintainers, and suppliers.
The other path would be for invaders and outsiders, with traps as standard equipment. This path would usually be wide and open, but if outsiders followed it, they would be met with a series of deadly traps and dead ends.
Obviously, the relatively safe path was in the hands of the creators here, the Beast God believers.
It’s actually quite unbelievable that they haven’t noticed Lu Ping’an and his team above them yet.
If they weren’t so distracted by what’s happening, there might have been a major chaos.
"Are the Beast God believers, Red Sand Thieves, and Evil Bones still fighting?"
This was expected, as Catherine had confirmed that religious fanatics were quite hard to communicate with...
"You’re already intruding on the deity’s resurrection ceremony, isn’t it reasonable to become a sacrifice?"
Deities often had many enemies, especially a War God like the Beast God. They feared that their master wouldn’t have fully recovered when the enemies from the past came for them.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the Beast God believers, outsiders entering the invasion path were sacrifices caught in the urn, waiting to be slowly digested... If it weren’t for some accidents, they would probably have already succeeded.
Unsurprisingly, the Beast God believers, who had the initiative here, shut off the upper passage of the invasion route, leaving no way back for the two groups.
"There are three key points: the mechanism room, the underground God’s tomb room, and the storage room..."
Catherine’s information was of great help.
Meow has found the location of the mechanism room, which serves as the main hub for controlling the entire underground maze. There, two fierce-looking Beast God believers were guarding.
Meow didn’t dare to enter alone, nor did he dare to look further... The opponents were Beastification Men, high-level Beastification Soldiers mentioned by Catherine. Their senses should be extremely sharp.
"If necessary, we can launch a surprise attack with our team and take control of the mechanism room."
Lu Ping’an knew that their biggest advantage now was not the combat power of the Knight Corps but rather the information and initiative. If they had to attack, the first surprise attack must achieve the most important results.
Once they have the mechanism room, they can completely control the initiative on the battlefield... If that’s still not enough, there should be a direct route upward.
"After seizing control, we can move forward or retreat."
It was a critical location, but not the most crucial one.
"Underground God’s tomb room... It is the most crowded area. There are many Beast God believers outside, and a group of Red Sand Thieves is trying to attack it. I don’t dare to enter, meow."
This seemed to be bad news. Has the resurrection ceremony of the Beast God believers already begun?
"No, meow. I found the person Catherine mentioned outside... She looks unwell, constantly resting, meow."
So, was there a mistake? An issue with the ceremony? This seemed to be good news.
After some thought, Lu Ping’an hesitated, wondering if it was the situation Catherine had mentioned before.
"Is it possible to contact my mother? She has taught me since childhood not to be enslaved by faith. She isn’t so obsessed. We can seek her help."
At this point, Catherine stepped forward and asked to write a letter to be delivered to her mother.
Lu Ping’an considered and agreed to her request but also put forth his own demand.
"You can’t write about our situation. You can only say that you’ve regained your memory and imply that what’s being resurrected isn’t a deity but a disaster... We’ll see her response before we make further contact."
As for the last key area, the storage room, the information feedback suggested it could be abandoned as it was occupied by the Evil Bone thieves.
"Is there food inside?"
"Yes, but not much, only some dehydrated grains and easy-to-store alcohol (to avoid spoilage), meow. There are guards both inside and outside, and people coming and going frequently."
Meow’s response was expected.
However, from this information, it was clear that the primary advantage was in the hands of Beast God believers. With their luck in finding the warehouse, the Evil Bone thieves had one less worry and were slightly better off.
The most unfortunate ones should be the Red Sand Thieves.
"Meow, it’s so tragic. There are only six or seven of them, all half-human and half-beast, but they seem to be very strong."
They had the fewest people, the most sophisticated equipment, and were top-notch in logistics... but their small number was their biggest disadvantage, especially when facing "malicious transformations" that dealt AoE damage without any reason.
"Meow, I saw someone use a machine gun as a club! It’s hilarious, their fingers are so thick that they can’t even fit into the trigger."
Could that work? Lu Ping’an imagined it and it seemed plausible. Transformation led to not only an increase in physical strength and potential hazards in intelligence but also changed body sizes, turning many pieces of equipment, armaments, and tactics into jokes.
The most direct example was a three-person squad’s covering fire... a super-large individual leading in front, the remaining people should focus on avoiding friendly fire, provided they could still use their weapons normally.
"Shall we eliminate them first?" Xia Qin was eager to try, and the others were also somewhat expectant.
Attacking the weakest may be one aspect, but the real key was that they already had a "Truth-level" item in their possession.
"... Let’s wait a bit, there’s no rush."
At this time, Lu Ping’an didn’t make up his mind, as Meow had given a piece of advice.
"In Huaqi, Exotic Realm exploration has never stopped, only the Eastern Country has been dutifully following the rules... Well, looking back, the Eastern Country hasn’t been so honest either. All these arrangements have been laid down for decades, and they have been pushing in all aspects."
The "Otherworldly Adventure" system in Huaqi is vastly different from that in the Eastern Country, where strict admission and official-backed explorers dominate.
"Huaqi is famous for this. Their company and legal person systems are like a business... As long as you can afford it, there’s no limit to the number of people you can hire."
Sometimes, systems are not very important, but they can become the crux of the problem.
Huaqi explorers use a self-sufficient company system, which means they have employers and bosses. Naturally, there would be a big boss and a core within the team.
How could the mastermind who managed to start this business in just a few years or even a decade be weak?
"It’s very likely that more than half the combat power of that team lies within their core, and the others are merely assistants."
"If you have the ability, wouldn’t you go solo to make money? If there are two or three cores, the situation would be even worse."
This answer seemed too realistic.
"So, should we target them first?"
The advantage of a surprise attack was only available once, and Lu Ping’an needed to think carefully.
However, at that moment, Catherine’s mother’s reply arrived.
There was good news and bad news. The good news was that she also recognized the situation and advised her daughter to leave quickly. The bad news was...
"She was attacked by another Rule-Level item? She is now in a very bad state and unable to preside over the ceremony?"
In Lu Ping’an’s view, this was actually two pieces of good news, as the Beast God Priest being in poor condition meant that the so-called Beast God wouldn’t emerge... probably.
— End of Chapter 491 —