abnabooks Chapter 402 Rival Upgrades, Positional Warfare Against the Necromancer?
Chapter 402 Rival Upgrades, Positional Warfare Against the Necromancer?
Chapter 402 Rival Upgrades, Positional Warfare Against the Necromancer?
I originally thought that with Zhang Wu, who had connections, the disaster relief team wouldn't wander around aimlessly like headless flies.
However, reality gave Zhang Wu a harsh lesson.
Although Zhang Wu had explored the Forest of Nature many times during his apprenticeship, the changes in energy concentration during this period have fundamentally altered many of the forest's geographical environments.
This means that the map Zhang Wu originally obtained from the Flower Fairy is no longer reliable.
Based on his suggestion, the Disaster Squad should next find the Flower Fairy tribe and use Zhang Wu's face to update the map from these natives.
Then, by learning about the current situation of the Forest of Nature from them, we can target our efforts and clear out monsters more efficiently.
Along the wide road opened up by the Haicheng Military Academy, the four members of the Disaster Squad took out the reins of the skeletal warhorses sponsored by Ark and summoned their own skeletal warhorses.
With the creaking of bones, the Disaster Squad sped along the forest road, heading towards the Flower Fairy Clan's outpost.
Along the way, Liu Diewu and Zhang Wu explained various precautions for the Forest of Nature to Fangzhou and Guyueyuan.
Strictly speaking, this was Ark's first mission.
Despite having immense fighting power as their foundation, they still harbored a great deal of caution.
With Zhang Wu, a local expert, leading the team, and tireless skeletal warhorses providing transportation, the Disaster Squad marched at a very fast pace.
However, the once flat grassland soon disappeared abruptly, replaced by a very muddy swamp.
Fang Zhou, riding atop a skeletal warhorse, frowned slightly.
The vast swamp in front of him reminded him of the rotten swamp he had passed through when hunting in Cave 1.
The stench and dampness emanating from the swamp were nauseating.
Zhang Wu's expression wasn't good either. He turned to report to the captain: "Captain, based on my experience from last time, there's a hidden outpost of the Flower Fairy a few kilometers ahead."
But in my memory, this place was a forest filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. How did it turn into a swamp?
Fang Zhou opened the map provided by Haicheng Military Academy for reference, glanced at it briefly, and said, "This is probably the result of increased energy concentration and spatial anomalies."
On the way here, the military academy instructors repeatedly reminded us not to use our past experience to decide on the marching route.
It seems that Zhang Wu, your experience may not be entirely applicable here.
Zhang Wu nodded, then checked the direction again, and said, "Fortunately, the magnetic field here is still normal."
Following the instructions given by the military academy instructor, heading south should lead us to the Flower Fairy's outpost.
But that means we'll have to cross this swamp.
Liu Diewu waved her vine staff and said in a relaxed tone, "The swamp is also part of nature."
"It's alright, let's go!"
The four men then spurred their skeletal warhorses into the desolate swamp.
Fortunately, this place must have been cleaned up by the flower fairies or soldiers from the Haicheng Military Academy.
In addition, due to the effects of Willow Butterfly Dance's spell, although the environment was harsh, no low-level monsters such as swamp flies, swamp fishmen, or swamp mud monsters appeared.
Willow Butterfly's Nature Druid skills played a vital role in this swamp.
She used her staff to guide the surrounding plants, clearing a relatively clean path to make the procession smoother.
As they ventured deeper, the road became increasingly easier to traverse.
The surrounding sewage and mud are gone, replaced by gradually solidifying land.
However, Zhang Wu became increasingly suspicious and uncertain, and in the end, he couldn't help but run to find Fang Zhou.
"What, you can't even remember the way?"
For an experienced explorer like Zhang Wu, getting lost is something that should never happen.
If the other party makes such a basic mistake, then Fangzhou might have to send him packing.
Zhang Wu quickly shook his head, looking nervous: "That's not how it is, Captain."
In fact, we are gradually getting closer to the location of the last operation, but—”
He paused, as if searching for the right words to express his confusion, "Look at our feet."
To get Fangzhou's attention, Zhang Wu deliberately stomped his feet a few times.
Normally, when walking in a swamp, you sink into the soft mud with every step, splashing mud and water everywhere.
However, this time the situation was completely different; beneath their feet was solid ground, almost indistinguishable from the vast grasslands outside.
The only indication that this place was once a swamp is the tiny cracks scattered across the ground. These cracks, like wrinkles on the earth, prove that this land has experienced a long drought and has become extremely dry.
Fang Zhou shifted his gaze from Zhang Wu to the ground beneath his feet, his brows gradually furrowing.
"This place wasn't like this when you came here before?"
He initially thought it was just a natural phenomenon, but now it seems that things are not so simple.
Zhang Wu shook his head again, his expression becoming even more solemn: "From the moment I stepped into this swamp, I've felt something was wrong."
Common sense dictates that the deeper we go into the swamp, the muddier it becomes.
But this time, instead of becoming even muddier, it became so dry, which makes no sense at all.
Upon hearing this, Fangzhou's expression became even more serious.
If Zhang Wu's observation is accurate, then this is not just a simple change in terrain, but some force at work behind the scenes that has caused a large-scale change in terrain.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Wu didn't care about getting dirty anymore. He simply squatted down on the ground and started digging at the soil, even sticking his fingers into the tiny cracks.
"Captain, look," Zhang Wu said, pointing to a particularly noticeable crack, "there's a clear difference between the old and new ones here."
The new cracks have very sharp edges, while the old cracks have been weathered and become much rounder.
This suggests that the aridification of this land may have occurred recently.
Upon hearing this, Fangzhou also squatted down and carefully observed the ground.
Seeing the group stop, Liu Diewu curiously came over, wanting to see what Zhang Wu and Fang Zhou were discussing.
A few seconds later, she and Fang Zhou saw Zhang Wu raise his hand with a serious expression, palm up, and there was not a trace of dirty water in his palm, only wisps of visible heat rising slowly.
Liu Diewu frowned, her voice filled with doubt: "What's going on?"
Zhang Wu sighed, a hint of worry in his voice: "Do you know of any hot springs, volcanoes, or anything similar around here?"
Fang Zhou and Liu Diewu exchanged a glance and shook their heads: "Never heard of it."
The military academy's previous reconnaissance records in this area did not mention any similar geological activity.
Zhang Wu frowned, lost in thought. "Then perhaps we need to be even more vigilant."
Because we might encounter demons or monsters from the lava abyss next.
Upon hearing this, Liu Diewu's expression immediately turned quite unpleasant.
The world of the Mythical Era is filled with all sorts of chaotic and evil monsters, which are the great enemies of the humans of Earth and the lawful good faction such as the Flower Fairies.
However, compared to ordinary monsters, demons from the endless abyss are on average much stronger, so they pose a far greater threat to this world than gnolls and the like.
The demons of the lava abyss, in particular, are the most dangerous of them all.
These demons are extremely powerful on average, and their most distinctive feature is that they are covered in flames.
Whether it's attacks, magic, or various buildings, everything is closely related to fire.
So after a brief moment of thought, Zhang Wu came up with the idea of these guys.
Upon hearing this, Liu Diewu's expression immediately turned quite unpleasant, but Fang Zhou, on the contrary, suddenly became interested.
"A demon? I'm rather interested."
In fact, they were also one of our hunting targets.
Don't forget, we also have the "Soul Nemesis" skill, which requires killing demons to level up.
He looked intently at the members of the Disaster Squad, his tone firm: "If we really do encounter demons next, then at the crucial moment, you should know what choice we will make."
Gu Yueyuan, Liu Diewu, and Zhang Wu nodded vigorously.
Eradicating evil is the innate mission of all cadets at the Haicheng Military Academy, and it is also the fundamental purpose for which the academy invests a great deal of resources in training them.
Therefore, when Ark mentioned the challenges they were about to face, the members of the Disaster Squad naturally didn't need to say much; they all knew exactly what was going on.
They quickly packed their bags, prepared for battle, and were ready to continue their journey.
Just then, faint, cheerful songs drifted from not far away.
The song pierced the silence of the swamp, carrying an uplifting power.
At the same time, Liu Diewu, Zhang Wu, and others also discovered that behind a low, decaying tree, some blurry figures were fighting.
Because there were suspected signs of demons in the area, Liu Diewu and her companions immediately perked up and prepared to fight with all their might.
However, Fang Zhou's expression became extremely strange.
Through the reconnaissance vision of the skeletal bats flying high in the air, he could clearly see that the combatants were definitely students from the Haicheng Military Academy, and there was also a bard-like figure among them.
This surprised and intrigued him.
Ark quickly issued the order, and the Disaster Squad began to move rapidly in the direction from which the sound came.
As they drew closer, they were able to see the figures of both sides in the battle more and more clearly.
One of the teams consisted of cadets from the Haicheng Military Academy, led by a bard.
At this moment, he is playing the accordion, wandering around the battlefield while singing inspiring war songs.
Beams of light emanated from his instrument, enveloping his allies in front of and behind him.
The bard's signature skill, Music, is a continuous action that consumes very little mana.
As long as he continues singing, allies within a small area will receive a magical blessing.
Although the buff effect isn't particularly strong, its wide range and long duration greatly enhance the team's overall combat power.
As for their enemies, Ark was no stranger to them; they were about a hundred colorful swamp frogs.
There were more of these swamp frogs than the Ark had encountered in the rotten swamp of Cave 1, and some of them had reached the Black Iron level.
They are enormous, with bright spots covering their skin, making them look exceptionally ferocious.
The attacks were varied, ranging from close-range biting to long-range venom spraying, causing great trouble for the students of Haicheng Military Academy.
I have no idea how they offended them.
Besides the green-skinned ordinary warriors and hunters, there were also a dozen or so blue-skinned or purple-skinned squad leaders among these swamp frogs, as well as three red-skinned druids.
These red-skinned druids were often killed by concentrated fire in the first instance in previous battles due to the Ark's rapid response, thus failing to demonstrate their true strength.
However, with the cover of a large number of friendly forces, the three red-skinned druids were able to fully demonstrate their strength.
They can not only summon giant tadpoles and frogs to help them in battle, but also cast a basic healing spell to restore the health of injured companions.
In addition, they can cast a special spell that summons bark to cover their foremost companions, greatly enhancing their defense.
Therefore, although the average strength of the swamp frogs is relatively low, their combat power has been significantly enhanced under the command of these three red-skinned druids.
Although the 10-man squad from Haicheng Military Academy had a decent average strength, they seemed somewhat overwhelmed when facing a large number of swamp frogs supported by druids.
The battle gradually reached a stalemate, which became increasingly disadvantageous for the Haicheng Military Academy cadets.
After all, they are outnumbered.
Dozens of mangled swamp frog corpses lay on the ground, indicating that the battle had been going on for some time.
However, at that moment, they noticed the arrival of Fangzhou and the others.
Fang Zhou's appearance and image are almost universally known among the cadets of Haicheng Military Academy.
With such a powerful reinforcement arriving, they were naturally extremely excited.
The leading bard was overjoyed when he saw the ark.
He immediately put down his accordion and shouted, "Ark, we are the third-year Thunderfire Squad!"
I am Ye Yinzhu, the captain of the Thunderfire Squad. Please lend us a hand and help us get rid of these crazy swamp frogs!
"You get priority on these spoils."
As Ye Yinzhu spoke, she quickly explained to her teammates, "Hold on, everyone, we've got reinforcements! It's the renowned second-year No. 1 seed, Ark!"
Upon hearing Ye Yinzhu's words, the Thunderfire Squad members were immediately invigorated and their fighting spirit was rekindled.
Looking at Ark's twilight robes, which emitted a faint magical glow, and the subtle aura of enchantment emanating from him, and then looking down at their own tattered clothes, they suddenly felt an urge to throw them all away.
Having discovered the besieged Haicheng Military Academy cadets within his own capabilities, Fangzhou naturally wouldn't stand idly by.
He quickly assessed the battlefield situation and made a tactical hand gesture to the bard Ye Yinzhu, indicating a coordinated attack from both inside and outside.