Chapter 744.2: Trump Card
Chapter 744.2: Trump Card
Jiang Xuezhou froze. She had only mentioned it casually and hadn't even decided when she wanted to return. She hadn't expected the blockhead to agree so readily, much less immediately ask when they would leave.
"... Then... how about tomorrow?" The words slipped out before she had any time to prepare herself. Only after speaking did she suddenly realize what she had just said.
Her cheeks gradually grew warm and red.
What she didn't realize, however, was that someone else hadn't thought nearly that far ahead. As far as Night Ten was concerned, an NPC had simply popped up with a quest marker over her head.
"No problem!"Looking at Jiang Xuezhou, whose face had suddenly turned as red as an apple, Night Ten couldn't help wearing a puzzled expression.
She's been spacing out a lot lately. She isn't coming down with a fever or something... is she?
...
Thousands of kilometers away, on the front line, the blazing flames were hot enough to melt the snow blanketing Blood Peak.
The thunderous roar of artillery shook the heavens, followed by the crackling of gunfire and the furious roars of mutants.
Determined to erase the shame of their previous defeat, Alpha Mobile Task Force had formulated a far more comprehensive battle plan based on the intelligence gathered during the last engagement, launching an even fiercer offensive than before.
This time, it wasn't merely two 100-man companies being thrown into the battle. It was 10 full companies, bringing around 1,000 soldiers in total.
Intense firefights erupted inside the mountain tunnels. Under the cover of drone strike formations, squad after squad advanced methodically into the cavernous abyss. Men continuously disappeared into the caves, yet not a single one ever emerged.
Watching Alpha Mobile Task Force's ferocious assault, General Modlin, standing halfway up Broken Blade Peak, couldn't help showing a trace of surprise.
Even the adjutant beside him wore an expression of disbelief. "... Did these guys take drugs or something?" he muttered while staring toward the battlefield.
In the span of just three days, those lifeless soldiers had become completely different people. Although he couldn't see what was happening inside the caves, their sheer momentum alone was enough for him to sense the change.
"You might actually be right," General Modlin replied, lowering the binoculars in his hand with a frown.
The coalition headquarters had publicly released information regarding the Alpha Protozoan. Judging by those standards, probably only members of their elite troops and a handful of awakeners possessing exceptional physical strength within the 310,000-man Army of Glory could resist the crimson mist's corruption.
The previous battle had already demonstrated that physical prowess was not Alpha Mobile Task Force's strength.
Since they hadn't changed their equipment, the only explanation he could think of was that they had either taken some kind of immune-enhancing drug or installed bionic implants capable of resisting infection.
There was another detail that had also caught his attention. He only saw wave after wave of soldiers entering the tunnels. None ever came back out.
Either they had fought to their last breath and died inside, or they had somehow acquired the ability to continuously recover during combat.
At that thought, General Modlin's eyes lit up with interest, and he found himself looking forward to seeing how the battle would unfold.
General Modlin wasn't the only spectator.
Spring Water Commander of the Storm Corps and Sideline Slacking of the Death Corps were also standing halfway up Broken Blade Peak, watching the nearby battlefield.
"Holy crap... they're one hell of a bunch." Sideline Slacking couldn't help sighing in amazement.
Setting aside the mindless clones, that was the first time he had encountered people in the game who were just as fearless of death as players.
"They really are..." Spring Water Commander nodded in agreement, keeping his binoculars fixed on the fighting.
In a sense, the Torch Church had finally met an opponent worthy of them.
Although the Academy generally treated the bluecoats fairly well, he still couldn't resist commenting inwardly that when it came to abandoning one's humanity, hardly anyone could compete with those people.
Within just three days, 1,000 biological prosthetics had been implanted.
A third of Alpha Mobile Task Force had effectively "changed classes" on the spot, transforming from mechanized soldiers into biomechanical warriors.
To be fair, Little Feather was pretty cute once they got used to it, and changing their skin once in a while didn't seem like a big deal.
But that was only because players could respawn.
If they couldn't resurrect, or if resurrection didn't remove the biological prosthetics afterward, even in a game, he would probably think twice before letting himself grow a tentacle.
While the commanders of the coalition observed the battle, the Beast King likewise overlooked the battlefield from Blood Peak. Even his usually expressionless face showed unmistakable surprise.
"What... is that?" He muttered repeatedly, his eyes filled with disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was seeing through the mutants' eyes, nor could he understand it.
He had personally witnessed an Alpha Mobile Task Force soldier being pierced straight through the chest by a spike hurled by a Mutant Human before being violently flung away. The soldier's hot blood had even splattered everywhere.
The burning sensation was far too real to be some illusion simulated by holographic technology.
For a human, such a wound should have been unquestionably fatal. Yet just after the Mutant Human wiped the blood from its spike, it watched the unconscious soldier suddenly convulse.
The soldier rolled onto his side, picked up his rifle, and sprayed wildly at it.
Caught completely off guard, several electromagnetically accelerated rounds blasted through the mutant's chest and brain.
In an instant, the Beast King lost all perception through that mutant's senses, his awareness abruptly returning to his own body.
The brutal slaughter continued unabated. Those soldiers wearing gas masks had evidently found a way to counter the poisonous mist!
Not only that. Their regenerative abilities had also become dramatically stronger, as though they had evolved into an entirely different species overnight.
"Haha... Hahahahaha!" The astonishment in his eyes gradually transformed into fanatical excitement. Overlooking the battlefield below, he suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Interesting... This is absolutely fascinating!"
Before becoming infected by the Mutant Slime Mold, they had voluntarily inoculated themselves with benign sub-entities to gain immunity?
Perhaps those old fossils weren't as rigid as he had thought after all! They knew how to adapt.
As expected, battling opponents capable of thinking for themselves was far more enjoyable. Fighting the Wislanders earned him nothing but biomass and he learned nothing from them.
Looking down at the Alpha Mobile Task Force soldiers assembled at the foot of the mountain, the Beast King spoke softly, "... I want to understand the secret behind those people. Can I trouble you to devour them?"
The words weren't transmitted by sound. It was communication directly between consciousnesses.
After waiting for several minutes, the deep, bell-like voice slowly echoed through his sea of consciousness. "I think... you had better not let that one get close to me."
The Beast King paused slightly, his brows knitting together. "You can't eat it?"
The Great Lord of Plague deep within the mountain slowly replied, "Normally, we evolve to consume other organisms. Devouring other Hives is merely an accidental byproduct of evolution. But that one is different. Its evolutionary logic is the complete opposite of ours. It exists solely to devour other Slime Mold, while coexisting harmoniously with the humans who raised it.
"Just like those green-skinned creatures who can tolerate my scent and even worship me... you can think of it this way. It is the 'mutant' among our kind."
After a brief pause, it continued, "I can sense from that disgusting breathing that it has already consumed at least two others of our kind... I've already raised so many adorable children. I don't intend to become the next one."
Those believers were its children and it had never encountered anything so fascinating. Instead of fearing the twisted forms it bestowed upon them, they embraced them with cheers and love.
The one called the Beast King had told it whatever it felt was called faith. They regarded it as the mother who had given them life, even as a god.
It loved being called the Great Lord of Plague and loved the followers who chanted its name even more. It cherished them more dearly than its own sub-entities. That was why it fed them with its own flesh and blood.
From among them, it selected the most devout believer to become the Prophet, cultivating that individual into a breeding bed for spores and granting them even more potent evolutions.
In a sense, they were its sub-entities. At least, part of them was.
It held great expectations for them. It hoped they would continue expanding their numbers until they conquered the entire planet, then carry their faith in it to even more distant worlds.
One day, those chanting its name would return to its mother, Gaia!
They would return in its place and perhaps they could even deliver a message to Her.
The Beast King pondered for a moment before speaking. "But if you managed to devour it... wouldn't you also obtain its ability to devour other Mutant Slime Mold?"
He thought of the forests of the Baiyue Province where the Na Fruit originated. That was also where its weakness lay.
If they could consume the Hive in those forests, their Kingdom of Heaven would no longer possess any weakness.
The Great Lord of Plague remained silent for a while before slowly replying, "That's true, but... its main body doesn't seem to be here. Everything we've encountered so far has only been its sub-entities. My sub-entiries can digest them, but that's merely physical digestion. If I were to consume them personally, I'm afraid I wouldn’t be able to."
"I see. Understood." The Beast King nodded thoughtfully.
That was indeed a problem. Still, science could solve such issues. For example, processing the samples before feeding them to it.
Of course, that would have to wait until after they captured Clearspring City.
"Forget about that for now. My children are calling for my help. You heard them too, didn't you? Their cries." Seeing the Beast King apparently lost in thought, the Great Lord of Plague's voice carried a hint of urgency.
The battle on Blood Peak was becoming increasingly unfavorable for its children.
Not just its children, but itself as well. It had a premonition that if those carrying the other Hive’s sub-entities reached its nest, something very bad would happen.
The Beast King slowly nodded before turning toward the gray skies to the southeast. Where the Ocean Edge Province lay. Standing atop Blood Peak, he could even see the gray mist spreading across that distant land.
Hidden within it was their prosperous kingdom.
He admitted that those sub-units residing within human bodies had caught him by surprise. But if those people believed they could defeat him with one or two unexpected tricks, then they were gravely underestimating him!
Long before those old relics had even noticed this land, they had already set foot upon this desolate and chaotic wilderness. They had spent more than a decade cultivating it.
Planting seeds, helping them take root, watching them bloom, and finally harvesting abundant fruit. Every inch of land from Ten Peaks Mountain to the Guardian Manor Plains belonged to him! His Kingdom of Heaven had descended upon this place long ago!
Those people had merely built a few houses and captured a handful of mountains, yet they already believed the land belonged to them.
To him, it had always been his territory. He would make sure they remembered that lesson.
"There is no need to worry." The Beast King casually waved a hand.
The crimson mist surrounding the mountain peak flickered for an instant before being gradually replaced by an ever-rising grayish-green fog.
"It's time for the fog to roll in."