Am I the only one in this team who is not Ultraman?

"No need, you can prioritize the evacuation of residents. I can get there myself."

To make things easier if necessary, I casually brought a high-performance off-road motorcycle from headquarters when I went home in my dream. He planned to first investigate the anomalies of the volcano, because there was definitely something wrong beneath this volcano.

An uneasy feeling grew and spread in my heart. He subconsciously covered his chest and watched as the volcanic ash from the eruption darkened the sky.

Beneath the volcano, the abnormally flowing magma caused a long-dormant heart to slowly begin to beat again; in the ocean, in the deep trench, a pair of eyes slowly opened.

Chapter 101 Lagras and Gulangon

"According to our analysis, the abnormal flow of magma is the main cause of the volcanic eruption. The underground magma of Mount Kirimon seems to be attracted by something and flows towards the middle and lower parts."

After completing the investigation, I successfully reunited with everyone and reported my findings. Leo didn't know much about this kind of scientific stuff, so he just listened.

Also present were ESCG's regional manager and the manager of the local geological observation center, the latter of whom was under particular pressure and was sweating profusely.

"In other words, the cause is below the center of the volcano. So, is there any way to temporarily stop the volcanic eruption? If it erupts again, things will be very difficult."

Leo wasn't in a hurry to assign blame. The most urgent task was to solve the volcanic eruption problem. The first thing was to stop the abnormal flow of lava. If the Fire Demon Beast was the culprit, then this lava was definitely accumulating power for it.

"We can use the underground Pipa tank. Although it's an unmanned reconnaissance machine, it's equipped with a freezing beam and a drilling beam. We can cut off the flow of magma in these areas and then redirect the magma to distribute the pressure."

The success rate of such a plan is unknown. Captain Stringman glanced at Leo, who gave a knowing gesture and sent my dream's plan to the scientific research department.

Soon, Tango and Dr. Otomo responded, believing that Imu's plan was feasible, but since it was uncertain what was causing the abnormal magma flow, it was only a temporary solution.

"I've also brought over the underground Pipa tanks in advance, three in total. They should arrive in about ten minutes." Leo had considered the possibility of conducting underground reconnaissance when he received the communication from the command center, so he made preparations in advance.

The vice-captain is really reliable! Everyone couldn't help but give Leo a thumbs up. Leo always proved that his advance preparations were not just unfounded worries.

"How is the evacuation of the people going?" Captain Gento was very concerned about this matter, so he asked Yamagami Yutaka, the SKIP manager in the area.

"It's still ongoing. The third batch has already started to be evacuated, but this is the peak tourist season, and there are many tourists. It is estimated that it will take at least ten hours to evacuate them."

It wasn't that Skip's evacuation speed wasn't fast enough; it was simply that the ESCG arrived too quickly. It only took them a little over twenty minutes from the eruption to their arrival at the scene. In such a short time, Skip had already evacuated tens of thousands of people, which can be described as very efficient.

"Restricted permits will be lifted, allowing vehicles with a capacity of five or more passengers to use the six newly confirmed feasible roads: 12, 13, 23, 24, 27, and 28. Evacuation will be the top priority. Planning should be completed as soon as possible, and helicopters should be dispatched to be ready to maintain smooth traffic flow at any time."

The evacuation work should be completed as quickly as possible. Since it is an evacuation, no one should be unreasonable at this time. Before arriving at the scene to investigate, Leo did not dare to directly say that private vehicles are allowed to pass.

"Why didn't the earthquake observation center detect the problem earlier this time?" Leo glanced at the head of the local observation center.

The Geological Observation Center and the Earthquake Observation Center are merged, and their main responsibility is to monitor underground conditions. Any abnormalities must be reported to ensure that personnel can be evacuated and casualties reduced before the monster appears. However, they were completely unaware of and did not report this volcanic eruption beforehand.

"The person in charge last night was drinking with a group of people during work hours. Because they were drunk, we didn't notice." The person in charge wiped away cold sweat, fearing that Leo would just shoot him on the spot. There was no doubt that ESCG was the only defense force with that kind of authority.

Because of the special nature of the ESCG's functions, they have the same authority as the Special Investigation Division in terms of dealing with people. That is, if anyone obstructs them from carrying out their mission, they can be prosecuted for treason, no matter who it is. It's just that writing a report afterward is more cumbersome.

"All five of them were drunk?" Leo remembered that these kinds of jobs were usually done in groups of five to prevent negligence. The person in charge nodded, "They were still drunk when I arrived with my team."

Leo and Captain Stringman couldn't help but cover their faces. What kind of mess was this? Drinking together during work hours, and all five of them were drunk. These people were really...

"Let's hold them accountable after this is over."

Given TPC's style of doing things, these five people will definitely be held accountable. The death penalty is impossible, because death would be too lenient on them. They will probably be sent to Monster Island to do hard labor, dealing with relatively dangerous monsters and engaging in heavy physical work. At the same time, a large-scale investigation and rectification will be inevitable.

After all, this one oversight caused huge losses and hundreds of casualties. Leo felt that sending these guys to fight Gadi in boxing would be too lenient.

Having dealt with these matters for the time being, Leo sent the others off to do what they were supposed to do. The ESCG members watched as Leo rubbed his temples, looking dejected. Daigo couldn't help but comfort him, "Vice-Captain, let's look on the bright side. At least no monsters have appeared, right?"

"You don't understand, Daigo. I'm worried precisely because no monsters have appeared." Leo took a sip of his cola. Recently, influenced by Emperor, he's also started to enjoy this stuff.

"why?"

"Based on data analysis over the past ten years, 90% of these abnormal climate disasters are caused by monsters. The monsters that can cause these volcanic eruptions are definitely not simple creatures."

"Isn't there still a 10% chance it's not a monster?" I asked instinctively.

“The remaining ten percent is the work of aliens.” Captain Stringman took a sip of tea.

Now no one could say anything. Unlike Leo, they didn't have specialized experience in analyzing data files, but according to Leo, this matter might be quite tricky.

In reality, everyone felt uneasy. If an enemy actually appeared, it wouldn't matter. But the problem was that the enemy might not come and was still accumulating strength, while they would be unable to take the initiative in order to evacuate the people.

Soon, Leo contacted TPC headquarters again. After he and Gento gave a brief report on the situation, Director Sawai was speechless. It sounded absurd that the staff's drinking had caused them to miss the most precious evacuation time and fail to notice the abnormality in time.

"What's the plan?"

"The Victory Team quickly transported the underground Pipa tank over. We plan to first contain the volcano's eruption, and then investigate the underground situation before developing a further plan."

"This is no small matter. I will go to the scene in person to calm the public's emotions."

"The director himself? No, the risk is too great."

Leo and Captain Stringman both disagreed, especially Leo, who knew that the enemy this time was the Fire Demon Beast, which was not an enemy that could be easily dealt with.

"The situation is urgent this time, so it's better for me to go there in person. Don't worry about my safety. The director of TPC is not someone who just hides in the command room. Besides, I'm already on the plane."

No wonder Leo and Gento both felt this background was off; Director Sawai was probably afraid they wouldn't agree, and Director Yoshioka probably didn't know either.

Leo inquired with Renlong and learned that the seal on the Fire Demon Beast had not yet been broken, and the situation on the Water Demon Beast's side was also uncertain. However, the GUTS team quickly transported three underground Pipah Tanks over, and Gamu and Horii from the GUTS team were responsible for inspecting them.

"Vice Captain Leo, the items have been delivered, including the things you previously commissioned the manufacturing department to make."

"Thank you for your help, Captain Kijima. Please rest for now and wait for an opportunity."

To prevent further volcanic eruptions and damage, Leo and his team planned to conduct underground exploration and magma freezing. However, while they were still preparing, bad news came from Fujimiya.

"Vice Captain, the volcano is about to erupt again. This eruption isn't particularly strong, but... there are monsters reacting; the enemy has emerged from the volcano!"

"Is it here?" Leo looked towards the volcano. He had already sensed the arrival of the enemy, but it was not the Fire Demon Beast, because Ren had just said that the seal of the Fire Demon Beast would not be broken for at least a few hours.

"This is Noriyuki of the GUTS team. Vice-Captain Leo has spotted a monster in the waters off Chiba coast!"

"What?" Leo didn't react. Could it be that the one that has been revived is really the Fire Demon Beast, and the Water Demon Beast has also been revived along with it? Oh well, let's get started!

"Leave the monster in the sea to me and Armor King Joe, the rest of you take care of the monster that appears in the volcano!"

King Joe's combat power was undeniable; Leo was more than capable of facing a single monster alone. Everyone immediately sprang into action. Leo sat in King Joe's cockpit and quickly received the relevant footage.

The monster that appeared in the crater was a four-legged beast with a fiery red core on its back and horn-like organs on its back. Its cry was very similar to that of Golza, and its neck and feet were covered with densely packed small holes, just like those of other monsters such as Golza and Golza.

The monster that appeared in the sea was bipedal, with a head similar to a hammerhead shark, and its cry sounded like that of a Melba. It also had small holes. According to Renlong, this was the result of being corrupted by dark forces.

"So it wasn't a Demon Lord Beast after all..."

Leo breathed a sigh of relief. If the Demon Beast had appeared now, the casualties would have been unpredictable.

"The numbers have been confirmed: the lava monster Gulangon and the frozen monster Lagras. Both are monsters recorded in documents from some ancient ruins in Wumen Mountain. According to the records in the ruins, they must not be allowed to meet, otherwise something terrible will happen."

“These two monsters are also related.” Leo was prepared to wipe out Lagras on the shore without leaving a trace. “Roger, begin the operation.”

Since it's called the Frozen Monster, its attack method must be similar to its name. Sure enough, when it saw Armory King Joe flying over and not yet standing still after landing, Lagras opened its mouth and spat out a blue beam of light.

Leo urgently disintegrated King Joe to avoid the attack, but the blue beam struck the mountainside behind him, freezing half of the mountainside completely before it exploded.

King Joe's defenses are naturally not afraid of ordinary attacks, but this freezing beam could potentially threaten the internal systems and the pilot, so it needs to be avoided as much as possible.

"This guy is really smart; he even knew to launch a surprise attack when King Joe hadn't landed properly."

Leo rubbed his hands together, piloted King Joe towards Lagras, and fired the King Joe Destruction Beam the instant it opened its mouth, hitting its mouth and preventing Lagras from releasing the beam.

Immediately afterwards, King Joe charged in front of Lagras, raised his hand to knock it back, and then shortened the barrel of his right cannon, aiming it at Lagras's chest and firing a simple Max cannon shot. This was a method that Leo had come up with to quickly end the battle.

However, Lagras's defenses were stronger than Leo had anticipated; the shot hadn't killed it outright, whereas Golza would have been down long ago.

Even without charging, the Max Cannon could still severely injure Lagras. Leo didn't charge it up because Lagras's beam speed was faster than King Joe's charging time, so he couldn't risk becoming a target.

Seeing Lagras kneeling on the ground, unable to stand up, Leo launched a missile to block its attack methods. Then, the Max cannon charged up and blasted it into pieces. He then quickly began to clear away the fragments to prevent Sphia from taking advantage of the situation.

Meanwhile, the battle on the volcano was nearing its end. Grangon was not difficult for the GUTS and ESCG to deal with. They used EXJ's Beta Machine to fire the Super Freeze Beam to freeze Grangon, and then used the Texas Beam to blow it up.

Monsters like Lagras and Grangon would have caused a lot of casualties in the past. After all, although they sounded the same, they were much more powerful than Golza and Melba. However, the Earth Defense Force is now very experienced in dealing with monsters.

Although it's unknown what will happen when Lagras and Gulangon get together, they're practically dead, reduced to ashes, and the battle lasted less than a minute.

However, the problem remained unresolved, a fact Leo was well aware of. Even after eliminating Lagras and Grangon, Leo still felt uneasy, and the report from my dream confirmed his suspicions.

"Captain, Vice-Captain, the abnormal flow of magma hasn't stopped yet. It shouldn't be due to the influence of Gulangon. It probably just lives here, and the abnormal flow of magma has awakened it as well."

"Lagrass may be the natural enemy of Gulangon, but unfortunately this is the first time these two monsters have actually appeared, so we cannot conduct further research."

There was nothing that could be done about it. Since archaeological documents had previously stated that terrible things would happen if the ancient Langon and Lagrass got together, Leo certainly wouldn't let them meet.

"Prepare to send the underground Pipa tank underground."

Leo drove the King Bridge toward the base. The next task was to investigate the cause of the volcanic eruption and change the lava flow path. The appearance of Grangon and Lagras was just a side story.

This is just the beginning. The enemies we'll face next are probably many times stronger than these two.

Chapter 102 Is this the kind of strength Golza should have?

With preparations complete, the Underground Pipa Tank is about to enter service. For safety reasons, the Underground Pipa Tank was modified into an intelligent driving model from the beginning of its development, but it is not that intelligent and requires the assistance of the AI ​​system developed by my dream.

Actually, the initial plan was to make a manned version, because it's more convenient to collect many valuable samples manually. But there's no way around it. On Earth, at the rate that a Golza spawns every three or five minutes, who dares to say that the underground Pipa Tank won't encounter a few while it's working?

"The underground Pipa tank is ready, where's the vice-captain?"

Daigo looked around and, unusually, didn't see Leo at this time. They knew their vice-captain's personality all too well; he always charged ahead and protected others behind him.

"The vice-captain went to see Director Sawai and insisted that the director evacuate as soon as possible, because it is too dangerous here."

I see. That makes sense. Director Sawai's identity is too special. As one of the important figures who unite the entire Earth, countless aliens have been eyeing his life all these years.

Therefore, Leo personally accompanied Director Sawai; as a bodyguard, there was probably no one on Earth more reliable than him.

"You've entrusted the reconstruction of S City to Staff Officer Fukami. Are you planning to train him?" Leo accompanied Director Sawai through the temporary resettlement area. There weren't many people left there, and what they were talking about wasn't exactly a secret.

"I'm getting old after all. I've been in this position for more than ten years, and it's time to hand it over to a younger person with more courage and ability."

"As for Staff Officer Fukami, he is certainly capable enough, but I think he lacks courage. His prestige and influence are not as strong as yours."

Leo and Director Sawai chatted casually, almost like old friends. In fact, Leo's popularity in TPC was inseparable from Director Sawai. Anyone with eyes could see that Director Sawai appreciated and trusted him. Just like now, all of Director Sawai's bodyguards were arranged by him to assist in the evacuation, with only Leo accompanying them.

"By the way, the equipment department asked me to ask you why you used such precious Pedanium alloy to make that kind of thing?"

"It's for a special purpose. The equipment targeting the subspace barrier of Sphia is still under development. I want to test its effectiveness before that."

As soon as Leo finished speaking, a loud noise suddenly came from the volcano. It seemed that the underground Pipa Tank had started up. Leo looked a little nervous.

"Is this situation very dangerous?" Director Sawai knew Leo's identity, and the fact that he was frowning like this meant that the situation was difficult to handle.

"Yes, there are likely two very powerful enemies, which will be troublesome. That's why I hope you can leave as soon as possible. Also, someone is behind this."

The two stopped, and Leo looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before finally speaking.

"The Special Investigation Division just interrogated those five staff members. Three of them were indeed found to have been drinking and neglecting their duties, but two of them don't drink at all. One was worried about affecting his work, and the other was allergic to alcohol."

"Is there an alien manipulating things behind the scenes?" Director Sawai realized instantly.

"I hope not, but that hope is slim. The enemy is probably coveting the dark power lurking beneath the volcano."

It seems the situation is indeed very urgent. Director Sawai is here to calm the public, not to cause trouble. Since Leo said so, he should naturally move to the rear.

"You are entitled to act as you see fit, this is the right I and the representatives of each branch have given you."

"Understood, we will solve the problem."

Leo summoned the Special Investigation Division personnel and Director Sawai's bodyguards, instructing them to assist in the evacuation of the director and the last group of people to be transferred.

"Jerdon, you go with them first, just in case they run into any problems on the way."

(Understood, I'll be back soon)

The director was also in charge of escorting the director for safety reasons. The five staff members who were responsible for monitoring the earthquake that day had been interrogated, and the results were just as Leo and Director Sawai had said.

According to them, since there had been no unusual occurrences in Chiba Sea for a long time, and Golza had only appeared once several years ago, they gradually became complacent. But no matter how complacent they were, they wouldn't dare to risk their lives. It was impossible for all five of them to be completely drunk, not to mention that one of them was allergic to alcohol.

"Vice Captain, the operation plan has begun."

"I understand, I'll head back right away."

So, regardless of who's behind this, the enemy's goal is nothing more than the so-called ultimate darkness. If they come, we'll fight them. Who's afraid of whom?

This was the first time the underground Pipa Tank had been used, but it performed better than expected. The three underground Pipa Tanks burrowed underground and worked together according to the predetermined route, using cryogenic beams and tunnels to change the direction of the magma flow.

"The pressure in the volcano has dropped significantly, and an eruption is not expected in the next few hours. Now, let the underground Pipa tank continue to explore the interior of the volcano."

When Leo returned to the temporary command post, the plan was almost complete. Several important magma channels were blocked. All that was left was to go down to the bottom of the volcano to investigate what was causing the magma to flow back.