The fisherman druid is in another world

Chapter 808

The enormous loss of personnel at the exploration site, both in its nature and in its impact, is comparable to, or even worse than, the sinking of the volcanic island.

After all, if we understand the project in stages, although there were huge losses in personnel in the previous stage, the profits were still worth looking forward to.

Subsequent events proved that the Sky Raven Remains and the Heavenly Blessing Experience were quite valuable. From a long-term perspective, those who invested heavily and failed in the early stages basically made back their investment and profits during the second phase.

Those who suffered the most were the retail investors who thought they were smart and made a bold decision, or who were too cowardly to follow suit, or who only had themselves and no follow-up support.

Now, it seems we're about to enter the third phase.

The deep excavation downwards from the exploration point is comparable to the dividing line between the molten earth base and the dimensional god realm.

Although it has been confirmed that the exploration site, even when dug deeper, is still within the realm of God.

However, it is a dimensional deepening comparable to the surface world and the inner world, a world within a world.

Because of the high cost of cross-border exploration, exploration points are established to find weak points in dimensional space, then infrastructure is built, and continuous optimization methods are used to obtain technologies that can open stable channels at a high cost-performance ratio.

This step was already largely in progress, so we gathered several times the usual number of people to build a bridgehead in a deeper dimension.

However, judging from the fact that the advance team and rescue team have been trapped and wiped out one after another, the advance team's previous belief that they had found something was very likely a trap set by the enemy.

Show the enemy weakness, lure them in deep, then trap them and beat them.

Against this backdrop, the reputation of the second-phase project, which was originally able to proceed only through project inertia and certain theoretical support, has been reversed.

There are benefits to continuing this effort, but they are not significant.

While you can still gain experience in the Dimensional God Kingdom, its mechanics have changed, leading to increased costs.

Moreover, this benefit has at least two drawbacks.

Firstly, it targets a small group of people, and it is only worthwhile for high-level extraordinary individuals. Not to mention elites, even those who have crossed the threshold of master are not very profitable.

Leaving aside the costs of traveling there and there, and the various dangers, the key issue is that it's slow to progress and consumes a lot of combat supplies.

This can easily lead to a series of fierce battles; before one wave is even over, the next one has already begun.

This is easily destroyed.

Secondly, it is not easy to translate into tangible benefits.

It doesn't even take long enough for it to be digested and become beneficial.

A lack of understanding of the power of laws can be considered a deficiency in talent.

The legendary proof cannot be solved; it's a matter of ability and luck.

Many people have died because of these two bottlenecks, and the problems remain unresolved.

Now there's another method that requires special handling: suppressing the excessive experience gained for clearing levels.

This also involves costs and expenses.

Therefore, while such extraordinary experience is rare and once it's gone, it's not a benefit that adventurers would be happy to receive, considering all factors.

In this context, it would be fine if there were no serious casualties.

With reputable and powerful organizations like the Ibelin Shaman Society willing to take the lead and be the organizers, other forces or individuals might take a risk and, if they discover a new profit opportunity, be able to take the lead and cause a wave of losses.

But now that the losses are so severe, the situation has reversed. Although these people haven't said it aloud, their meaning is clear: "No new benefits have been seen, and the road ahead is fraught with danger. Who will step forward and bravely become a pioneer for everyone's well-being?"

Therefore, the project suddenly found itself in a dilemma.

Moreover, the losses from the exploration site incident were devastating, and that's not all.

The massive glacier is cracking open and is rapidly transforming into an oceanic iceberg landscape.

With the shifting of the iceberg and the surge of the raging waves, the coordinates become invalid due to the misalignment, making it difficult for even a rescue team that can be immediately organized to carry out its operations.

The most experienced person regarding the Deep Dive world is the legendary superhuman Leta, who went back to the rear to recuperate first.

The experienced leader, who had led the advance team deep into the Otherworld, was overrun.

At the next level, rescue teams were also hastily dispatched when they were being formed, and then disappeared without a trace.

At most, those who remain are just spectators and don't grasp the essence at all.

Not to mention the scoundrels like the fake Numas driven by Black Robo.

Faced with this situation, Black Robb showed no embarrassment and stated directly, "Saving people is impossible now, let's try to protect ourselves first."

This idea naturally gained a rapid response, and Black Rob was even implicitly recognized as the temporary leader because he was the initiator.

Of course, in this situation, being a team leader is not easy; often, one needs to be at the forefront and enjoy the fruits of others' labor later.

This didn't bother Black Robb; the experienced man was very relaxed, issuing orders in an orderly and reasonable manner.

So the remaining four people at the exploration camp packed up the most important and valuable items and then evacuated in the stormship.

At this point, there's no time to calculate the time; the priority is to escape the immediate danger first, and deal with the rest later.

The storm boat is a ground effect vehicle that does not come into direct contact with the icy seawater, which looks problematic, and hovers on the sea surface at high speed.

The stormboat, which could hardly be described as cutting through the waves, encountered an intensified thunderstorm before reaching land.

Ultimately, thanks to the combined efforts of the four, the situation was resolved without major incident. The losses were minimal, although some combat supplies were used up and the storm boat was damaged, but the most critical power system remained intact.

Once ashore, Black Rob immediately suggested resting on the spot.

The other three actually preferred to go to the relay base.

But Black Rob convinced the three of them with two reasons.

First of all, the dimensional kingdom's counterattack this time is clearly not lacking in depth or breadth.

It not only harmed the advance team and rescue team of the deep dive, but also fractured the large glacier and rendered the exploration site useless.

Therefore, it is highly probable that corresponding actions will be taken at relay stations and even landing points.

Furthermore, even if we predict the dimensional kingdom's mechanism according to its inherent laws, the Storm will inevitably suffer another round of attacks before reaching the relay station.

It's risky to venture into a relay station in such poor condition when the situation is unclear.

The key point is that the four people went to the relay station to obtain better protection, rather than to deliver messages or strengthen the relay station's ability to resist the new round of elimination operations by the dimensional gods.

The advance team and rescue team are suspected to have been completely wiped out, and the most urgent message has been sent through special means.

As for detailed information on the specifics of the emergency, headquarters is not in a particularly urgent position to provide that information.

With the abilities of the four individuals and the equipment they carried, they couldn't offer any significant improvement in the relay station's defensive capabilities.

In the end, all that's left is to better protect yourself. As long as you're alive, you can always make a comeback. So, try to take as few risks as possible, do more reliable things, rest where you are, and seek survival in hiding.

The three of them were originally arrogant and didn't listen to what others were saying, but Black Rob's analysis did make sense. They hadn't thought things through before and had been unconsciously swayed by their habitual thinking, which is why they thought it would be safer to escape to another camp.

Little did they know that, given the current situation, having a large group of people might actually attract more attention and lead to more strange occurrences. It would be more prudent to remain hidden and recover.

Thus, the three quickly constructed an ice cellar shelter capable of sealing off and concealing an individual's breath. This was a combination of techniques adopted by adventurers for individual or small-group self-rescue, which was widely used after Black Rob, piloting Estes, successfully waited for the advance team's rescue using the Ice Spirit Coffin Breathing Technique.

After setting everything up, the four spent some time trying to repair the stormship, and then, timing it perfectly, entered the ice cellar shelter half an hour early to rest and recuperate.

I slept for almost ten hours straight.

They woke up the next day, having spent the night peacefully and recovered to a better state. All four of them felt that their decision to leave camp after landing yesterday, instead of rushing on their way, was the right one.

When they arrived at the relay station by storm boat and saw that it had been completely captured and reduced to ruins, they felt even more strongly that yesterday's decision was not only correct but also wise.

Faced with a new round of choices, the other three all looked to Black Rob, who had established a certain level of authority.

Black Robb then said, "There's not much point in us rushing to the landing point now."

If the area is under attack, the addition of the four of us won't change anything.

If that place has already been destroyed, even if the four of us go there, it will be impossible for us to return to the Molten Earth Base from there.

If the situation there has been stabilized by the rescue forces dispatched by headquarters, it simply means leaving this war zone sooner.

Since that's the case, why not gather some remaining supplies here, and then, using a reverse approach—thinking outside the box—let's create an icebox shelter in these ruins. Then, leave directional signs and short phrases on the surface that the rescue team can easily understand.

In this way, even without external help, relying solely on ourselves will simply allow us to reach the landing point in a better state and at a more opportune time.

This time, persuasion was much easier, and the four of them quickly got to work.

There were no survivor remains at the relay station; they seemed to have all been eaten by the monsters.

They collected quite a few artifacts, combat resources, and even usable personal belongings.

Then it's simple: do your work when you need to, and sleep when you need to.

Another night without dreams.

By the morning of the third day, the negative effects of the exploration site incident, such as poor physical condition, mental state, and even physical exertion, had been largely eliminated.

The four, full of energy, steered the stormship toward the landing point.

Due to the long distance, they encountered two rounds of interception.

One was a thunderstorm, and the other was a rather unusual thunderstorm combined with a strange creature possessing considerable flight capabilities.

The first level was relatively easy, but the next level was fraught with danger.

However, the Stormship was quite capable, maintaining a consistently high speed, which allowed it to break through the encirclement and shake off the Flying Stranger despite everyone being injured and in a sorry state.

As they approached the landing point, Black Robb noted that the landing point was unusual, and the supernatural beings were likely stationed there. Given that the four of them were not in good condition, it was best to play it safe.

The other three looked down on Black Rob's cowardly attitude of prioritizing safety, but since being cowardly had results and obvious benefits, it wasn't a bad thing to be cowardly, especially since the situation was extremely bad and the adventure team seemed to be suffering a crushing defeat.

So it was another long nap of more than ten hours.

Thankfully, we didn't forget to gather supplies during the emergency at the exploration point, and we replenished some at the relay station. Otherwise, with this stop-and-go approach, we would have run out of food long ago and be starving. And if we panicked, we would most likely have run into misfortune.

On the fourth day, around noon, Black Robb and his companions arrived at the landing point.

The landing point was severely damaged. The landmark ice pillar that Digaff had built was completely destroyed, and all the ground facilities were gone, leaving only a huge black crater half-buried in snow.

If I had come a day or two later, I probably wouldn't have been able to recognize this pit.

The worst happened: no reinforcements arrived, and they were unable to return.

"Let's endure a few days of hunger. Right now, anything we do besides hold onto hope and remain patient is wrong and will only increase our self-destruction."

The fewer resources we have, the more impatient we become, and the more prone we are to making mistakes.

Okay, the three of them admit that the "Black Robb" theory is correct. So let's begin: save as much as possible, stay optimistic, and wait for reinforcements.

These three might lack confidence, but Black Rob knew that no matter how bad things got, the Night God Society would find a way to continue pushing the project forward.

Therefore, backup will definitely come.

But whether the four of them will be allowed to leave the dimensional kingdom alive is hard to say.

Looking at this project from another angle, the time is almost right for Yagami to officially get involved. It's not perfect, but even without crayfish, the land still needs to be cultivated.

Anticipating that Night God might make a big move, Black Robb's side is also making preparations in full swing.

What he was waiting for was for the Night Gods to launch a large-scale attack, leaving their stronghold vulnerable, so that he could take the opportunity to attack the Divine Kingdom and use this opportunity to besiege the stronghold and attack its reinforcements.
And so, Black Rob began to deploy his forces to lower levels.

Not only was it the periphery of the 'Abyss Domain', which was discovered by Lemve, the legendary superhuman who once pursued the Night God Society, but it was also a secret military location.

Even the headquarters of the Ibelin Shamanic Society in the underground world, as well as its two other largest branches, began to receive combat power and resources.

These hidden outposts were all secretly laid out and built up little by little over a long period of time.

Their role is not only to launch a wave of attacks from beyond the Mongols after the operation is initiated, but also to demonstrate their connection with the Warship Kingdom and continuously supply resources and combat power.

War is all about logistics. Once Black Robb decides to take action, even if he can't achieve victory in one battle, he will definitely inflict heavy losses on the Night God Society, making their path to godhood increasingly less likely.

Speaking of this, we have to mention the legendary superhuman Leta who went back to recuperate.

Black Rob had considered this before: given Leta's troublesome illness, whether the Night God Society treated him with lavish gifts or cold indifference, it would make it easier for him to adjust his strategy towards the Night God Society.

Therefore, the spies he had painstakingly infiltrated among the underground tribes over such a long period of time were also mobilized, and a temporary frontline intelligence agency was specially established to organize the spies and make more efficient use of their identities and abilities to keep a close eye on Leta.

The Night God Society's choice can be described as both callous and righteous.

At first, they were indifferent, but they said nice things, raising extremely rare resources and discussing treatment methods.

Black Rob doesn't know if Leta herself believes this explanation, but from Black Rob's perspective as a god, Night God probably has a way to save Leta, but the sacrifice would be too great.

It's like a tree seedling that has just become a sapling and has to extract some of its essence to support others, which is definitely very harmful to the sapling itself.

Hearing this explanation now, Black Robb realized it was all just an excuse.

But soon after, bad news came from the Dimensional Kingdom: the frontline team was almost completely wiped out, and all the base stations were destroyed.

Not counting those frontline personnel who might not be dead yet and could be rescued, Leta became the only remaining superhuman specializing in conquering the barriers of the inner world.

Just for the sake of this uniqueness, the Night God Society can't let Leta die.

So, following the same script, the latest explanation given to Leta was that there was no super medicine or miraculous method available, but there was a unique solution: God was willing to use his own blood to temporarily grant Leta divine attributes, thereby expelling the ailments (evil divine power) that were harming Leta's body.

Using magic to defeat magic is actually the most feasible option to counter this kind of complex evil power that is suspected to be mixed with dark divine power.

The fact that it's dragged on until now is just another confirmation of the saying: you can't rely on anyone unless you're useful.

This is exactly the situation that Black Robb would like to see.

This shows that Yagami is inherently cold-blooded, and that the decapitation strategy was not wrong.

It's confirmed that Yagami went all out to save Leta, seizing the opportunity while she was still vulnerable.

Therefore, the decision has been made, the arrow is nocked, and the only option is to fire!

(End of this chapter)