Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 631 A Tentative Attack (Part 1)

Crusde Federation, Far Northeast Region, Outer Nabua (Group) Mountains, the area surrounding the former Military Fortress No. 02.

The intermittent gunfire finally subsided temporarily. Dark and Adaloni's "Icefield" mechanical chariot was now parked near a huge ancient tree that had grown during the reign of Charles XII of the Old Empire.

To one side are sheer cliffs, ahead lie the ruins of a village, and on the other side rise even higher mountains. The only way to reach Military Fort "02" is a dilapidated road rebuilt during the Viking era of the governor.

At this moment, just to be on the safe side, after taking on the mission to explore the pipeline area, Dark kept the radar on the "Icefield" mechanical vehicle turned on throughout the journey, in order to anticipate possible sudden attacks by superhumans.

Ahead lies a relatively tall building ruin, its exterior walls in disrepair, which is perfect for temporary repairs.

So, Darke led Adaloni to sit beneath the concrete building that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

"You mean, when you were traveling from here to Belogersk a couple of days ago, you sensed something amiss with the 'Khitan Lis Ring'? What exactly was it?" Dark asked, looking curiously at Adaloni, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

“You know, last time ‘Thunder Page’ guided Wright into the illusion, allowing him to meet the soul of Flame Lord and learn ‘Crimson Dragon Roar,’ I could feel the dragon bloodline within me slowly reviving. Actually, I was nearby when Wright secretly practiced ‘Crimson Dragon Roar,’ but I didn’t disturb him.” Adaloni pointed to the ordinal demon around his neck, which resembled a combination of a collar and a necklace, and continued:
"After that, the 'Khitan Lis Ring' seems to have evolved due to the increased concentration of dragon blood in my body. It no longer has the 'jade' shape at all, but has become a complete 'ring' shape. I was afraid that if I left it in Novayask it would be stolen, or that it would be robbed on the road, so I wore it around my neck."

“Three days ago when I passed by here, the ‘Khitan Lis Ring’ was burning up like crazy, as if a fireball made of lava was placed on my skin, constantly scalding it. But I didn’t feel any pain or burning; on the contrary, I felt an extremely comfortable warmth. I’m certain that there must be something here that was used by the dragons, or a sacred object that can stimulate my bloodline.”

"Could it be a monster?" Dark joked.

"After all, in this wasteland-dominated era, even the most sacred things, after being developed by ambitious humans or tainted by the blood of the Lost, will become dirtier and more despicable than monsters."

“Of course not.” Adaloni shook his head. “You should know that we dragons are naturally capable of distinguishing between demonic creatures, sacred objects, and objects of ancient gods. We are born with powerful magic. Even though our entire race was imprisoned and bound for thousands of years in the illusion created behind the Karlov Gate, our power was not diminished there because of the Creator’s ‘reason’.”

“If only the ‘Ruins of Bitter Depths’ were like the Dragon Realm. At least the 15th-ranked god, ‘Lord of Eternal Crimson,’ wouldn’t have had his ‘divinity’ completely eroded, turning him into a monster and dying a miserable death. You must know, He was our Crusad’s God of Fire. The fall of a god symbolizes the end of Crusad’s destiny.” Dark picked up the conversation, but a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes. He thought of his own fate, and the humans and lost souls who had once been by his side.

Most of them are dead, and some Dak can no longer remember their names, but if it weren't for the war, they might have had relatively happy lives.

After a brief moment of "self-isolation," Dark regained his composure and emotional stability. He looked up at Adaloni and continued the previous topic, "So, are you sure where it is?"

“I feel it should be just ahead, about five or six hundred meters away, but I don’t know the exact location. If I could restore all the bloodlines of the dragon race, I would definitely give you the most specific and detailed location.” Adaloni pointed to an area a little further ahead, behind a cluster of scattered dilapidated buildings, covered by dense, strange plants.

“We can rest here for about an hour before going back to check. Before we came out, Hoshino Shota told me that this is the limit of our sphere of influence. Two days ago, right here, the Federation Council's army and Nabusk's guard clashed, the largest clash since the standoff began.” Dark pointed to the road not far away, still stained with dark brown blood, and the nearby remains gnawed by wild beasts or “alien monsters,” and said:

"Nablius only ordered the Second Guard to come here to collect some equipment and remaining supplies. As for the fallen soldiers and officers, whether ours or those of the Federal Council, they were left to rot in the wilderness."

“After all, the reserves of ‘Federation 0’ and ‘Federation 1’ medicines here are running low. Nebrius doesn’t want these corpses to cause the spread of the ‘Heartless Virus’ and lead to the waste of resources in Belogersk. We… don’t need to worry about that. After all, I’m already half a Lost One, and you, it turns out, have a natural immunity to the ‘Heartless Virus’ when it comes to dragon blood.”

“Of course. Actually, I was quite scared at first.” Adaloni gave an embarrassed smile, but then he deliberately tensed his biceps and struck a pose that showed his strength. “Later, you told me that the ‘Heartless Virus’ originally came from the spores of the ‘Derived Nucleus Ancient Beast’ and was made through a series of strange experiments, so I wasn’t too worried.”

"Oh, why?" Darke fiddled with the broken stones in front of him, subconsciously piling them into different shapes, while making curious noises.

"Dragons are beings that transcend all other species, at least in terms of pure magic and physical strength. Compared to humans, we do lack intelligence and have difficulty reproducing, and we don't actually possess absolute control over the continent," Adaloni explained.

"However, we are blessed by the Creator and the gods, and are above all living beings. If the virus comes from the Creator and the 'Order Gods,' we may be affected. But if it comes from monsters... our blood is naturally effective against monsters."

Dark jokingly patted Adaloni's relatively strong biceps and teased:

"However, since you haven't fully recovered your dragon form, you must be wary of any possible surprise attacks. I heard that after the failed attack a few days ago, Shaneva hasn't completely given up on breaking through here. However, the terrain here isn't suitable for deploying a large number of combat personnel, so they plan to send in ability users to infiltrate."

"With your physique, no one can rival you in a contest of physical strength. But this muscular body is only a matter of one bullet. At worst, it'll be a rocket or a cannonball. The Federal Council has unlocked a lot of advanced technology left over from the old empire, so we should still be cautious." "However, Dark, on my way here, I rescued a soldier from the Federal Legion and asked him about Wright. Actually, as soon as I mentioned that young man with crocodile tentacles, they all knew who he was." Adaloni said proudly.

"He told me that Wright is still alive and that Shaneva has arranged a luxurious room for him. It seems that the Federal Council is trying to recruit or win him over, but he has never explicitly stated that he wants to stay in the Federation. Do you think Wright will break his agreement with us?"

“I’m certain he won’t. There’s something Wolfya told me: the power within Wright, originating from the Creator and the ‘Ancient Gods,’ its ‘core’ of inheritance ability was actually developed by the Khitanris. Originally, red magical energy could only be passed between gods, belonging to the ‘playthings of the upper classes.’ But after the Flame Lord of Khitanris accepted this power, he used his own fire power, combined with the bloodline of the dragon race, to forcibly transform it into something that could be passed on to those with ‘divinity,’” Dark explained.

"Only Khitanris can fully unravel the mysteries of the Red Magic Source, and only Khitanris can provide the answer on how to truly use this power to lead humanity to end the Wasteland Era. No matter how eloquent Shaneva's words are, how sincere she appears, or how high a position she offers, fundamentally, Wright will not be moved. Now I only fear that Shaneva might acquire some more mysterious and extraordinary power and imprison Wright."

"The soldier I rescued was actually a Khitan Ris, like Hoshino Shota, whose ancestors came from the Eastern Province. I think his name was... Anmi... Misaki, yes, Anmi Misaki. After learning of my dragon identity, he even intended to kneel down and bow respectfully to me, but I forcibly pulled him up." Adaloni's tone carried the confidence of a dragon as he said:
“My dragon identity makes it impossible for him to avoid any of my requests. After all, the real Khitan Ris people have received the favor of the dragons, and I saved him. He is willing to find a way to tell Wright about our situation. I think that once the war really gets heated and the situation becomes chaotic, it will be easy for us to break away from our respective camps.”

"Have you decided where to meet up?" Dark asked Adaloni, getting to the crucial question.

“Nebusk,” Yadaloni solemnly uttered the name of the city, saying:

"Dark Apocalypse told me that if Shaneva wins, the 'Dedication Group' will continue migrating westward, and Nebrius will either be killed in action or executed. In that case, Nebsk will not experience war, but will directly surrender to the Federation. If Nebrius wins, Shaneva will abandon the stronghold east of Khotov and retreat back to Novayask."

"In any case, Nabsk will not become a battlefield; it will be an excellent and suitable transit point. Dak, you seem a little distracted. You weren't swayed by Nabrius's promises of positions, were you?"

"Of course not. I can't serve a dying federation. I want to build my own organization, have my own army, and ultimately create a peaceful federation for humans and the lost in the wasteland." Dark looked up at the azure sky and said:

"Actually, I stayed in Belogersk and temporarily remained with the Nabrius camp. On the one hand, I wanted to accumulate more supplies so I could leave here and head to Nabsk and further east. On the other hand, I was waiting for you. I estimate that Shaneva's patience has reached its limit. In about two months, she will launch a general offensive and push the scale of this war to its maximum."

Suddenly, several bullets struck the sturdy armor of the "Icefield," producing a crisp knocking sound.

Seeing this, Dak and Adaloni quickly took cover inside the building ruins, in a slightly more concealed location.

"As expected, the Federation's ability users have arrived." Adaloni looked around warily, stroking the "Khitan Lis Ring" around his neck with one hand to gradually gather the power of fire and dragon within him, while releasing a barely perceptible amount of dragon power as a radar to detect the surrounding situation.

At the same time, Dark chanted the incantation for binding spirits, sensing the fluctuations of water in the air, trying to pinpoint the attacker's location.

A few seconds later, Dark and Adaloni simultaneously spotted what appeared to be a small squad of superhumans, at least four or five people, hidden in the abandoned buildings ahead.

"They seem to be a reconnaissance team of superhumans. They spotted our car and fired a few tentative shots. I suspect they have sniper rifles and are keeping us at bay; they'll shoot us the moment we show our faces," Dark analyzed, keeping his voice as low as possible.

"But our weapons are all in the car. Right now, we only have a replica 'Mad Bear' pistol on us. This thing can only be used for close combat, and it's hard to fight them at long range."

"Trying to use the terrain to conceal ourselves and then sneak back to the mech's location is unlikely to work. I can sense that the superhuman squad that came isn't a reconnaissance team, but rather a sabotage unit. They might be acting as Shaneva's 'dagger,' aiming to strike at our core and influence the entire situation." Adaloni placed a hand on Wright's shoulder and stated his opinion:

"They also seem to have detected our presence using their magical energy, and the levels of magical energy on both sides are not much different. Therefore, we cannot know their exact location, and they cannot know our exact location either."

“I think… Dark, you possess water-based magical energy and have a strong grasp of ice-based skills. Why don’t you create an ice wall in front of us to disrupt their magical energy reconnaissance, temporarily impairing their judgment, and then we can sneak back into the car?”

"What do you plan to do next?" Dark asked as he channeled his water-based magical energy, covering his palm with a layer of crystal-clear ice.

“I think the ‘Icefield’ tank is sturdy enough. Hoshino Shota said that even under the bombardment of the Heavenly Punishment Fire, he might survive. In that case…” A sinister smile crept across Adaloni’s lips.

"The closer we get to them, the better I can pinpoint their exact location. We'll just drive the mechs straight ahead, and once we're close enough, we'll just crash into them."

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