Chapter 324: Chapter 324
324: Chapter 104 Prelude 324: Chapter 104 Prelude The Burrow Dragons also had their own specialized jargon.
Larger Burrow Dragon groups categorized themselves internally into “Shallow Soil,” “Deep Soil,” and “Stone.” Among these, the “Shallow Soil” Burrow Dragons mainly handled the construction of living spaces, external communications, and were also responsible for building various secret passageways for some Heroes.
They would switch out their Prosthetic Bodies, disguise themselves as ordinary people, and head to the city areas to wait for the rendezvous with Heroes.
The “Deep Soil” Burrow Dragons, on the other hand, always remained underground.
As for the “Stone,” they were technicians who mastered complex refining techniques.
Of course, these special names were not for the purpose of “secrecy,” there wasn’t much need for “secrecy.” For the Burrow Dragons, it was a choice of “reshaping culture.” Those names, for them, carried a metaphysical sense of belonging and pride.
The Shallow Soil Burrow Dragons did the most dangerous work and had the strongest capacity to adapt.
Many of the leaders within the Burrowing Dragon Community had ascended from this position.
After the Burrow Dragons opened up, a few Shallow Soil would appear near the city, lurking in some grey zones, searching for Heroes who knocked on their door.
It was only with the help of these people that Heroes could eventually enter here.
On the way here, a Shallow Soil had come back with Scott.
But there were still two in the city.
Someone needed to send them a message.
However, judging by the situation where “turning your head around and your companion has vanished,” the enemy possessed a terrifying Internal Strength Cultivation.
Perhaps the moment a signal was sent, it would be detected by an Internal expert.
This was a life-threatening mission.
Scott watched the departing Burrow Dragon and sighed.
The old man then waved his hand at him, “Come here.
Southern Heaven Single Blade, your Prosthetic Body is really too tall, so there are fewer routes suitable for your retreat.
The area where you might appear isn’t necessarily safe either.
But now, hurry and come with me…”
Saying this, he turned and walked towards the side.
Scott then realized that this was not a three-way intersection; there was a small path easily missed on the side.
The old man had been sitting there, the light tube casting its shadows over this pathway.
At the same time, there seemed to be some sort of confusion mechanism in place that prevented him from detecting the presence of the path from the echoes immediately.
Scott followed him, squeezing into the tunnel.
“You seemed a bit surprised when he called me ‘Great Grandfather’ just now,” the old man said.
“Aren’t there quite a few Hero organizations now that exist as family units?”
“There should be more beyond the Asteroid Belt, but indeed, there are none left on Earth,” Scott honestly replied.
The old man nodded, “This…The era is indeed changing.
During the time of the Fourth Martial God, there were many people who thought that order would be restored quickly, so they educated their children to join the fight.”
“Youth is unreliable; involving children in the struggle is too cruel.
Ordinary Heroes also form Guerrilla Forces, without such reliable bases,” Scott shook his head, somewhat sorrowfully, “and moreover, people don’t seem very keen on having children.”
“Heroes loving Heroes is rare in itself.
Heroes often only fall in love with other Heroes, but when two Heroes meet, for the most part, their cyber-enhancements are maxed out.
Without hormone support, ‘love’ is difficult to ignite.”
“‘Reproductive instincts’ and ‘love’ aren’t always one and the same.
There will always be those who come together because of their souls.”
“It’s too rare,” Scott said.
“I used to know a couple, but they’re gone as of yesterday.”
“Is that so.” The old man fell silent for a moment.
After a while, Scott spoke in a low voice, “Old Senior, may I ask you a question?”
“Speak freely, I’ll tell you everything I can.”
“You mentioned ‘during the time of the Fourth Martial God’ just now…” Scott said.
“Do you know about the legend of the Eighth Martial God’s treasure?”
The old man looked at him in surprise, “Are you interested in that treasure?”
Scott nodded, “Honestly, yes.
But please don’t misunderstand, I’m just starting to wonder if those Houndhawk experts could be after that?”
The last words of the Eighth Martial God were well-known throughout Jianghu.
“I see…” the old man nodded.
“The brother just now said, ‘Even King Aqini back then did not uproot us entirely.’ I initially thought this statement meant that you all survived even under the EMP sweep. Read complete version only at noⅴelfire.net
But on second thought, it might also mean ‘you were targeted by King Aqini.’ And King Aqini’s reason for personally sweeping out a group of Burrow Dragons…”
The old man chuckled, “So it was because of that sentence.
Alright, I’ll make a note of that, similar statements should also be included in the banned language manual.”
Scott shook his head, “Elder, this isn’t a joking matter…
What I mean is, if those people are plotting to take the Eighth Martial God’s Legacy, we should protect it accordingly, or just destroy it, bury it.”
The old man nodded, “Indeed, the real thing must not fall into the hands of those scoundrels.”
“I’m willing to do my part…”
The old man shrugged, “But I really don’t recall such a thing.”
Scott said, “But what you said just now…
I thought it was real.”
“The Eighth Martial God actually planned to wait for a certain Paralympics to go north and seize a Prosthetic Body,” the old man sighed.
“But he didn’t make it.
He never had the chance to build a Prosthetic Body worthy of a Reactor.”
“He did come a few times indeed, but that was just to pre-order refined radioactive elements,” the old man continued.
Scott was astonished, “Is that it?”
The old man nodded, “All the components, including the control rods, were ready.
He planned to ignite the fission fire here and ascend to greater heights.
Those things are considered his.
But those items certainly aren’t worth him saying ‘One day, someone will inherit this Legacy.’ To us, this is at most a relic, a remembrance.”
“I truly don’t remember him leaving anything.”
The Burrowing Dragon nicknamed “Six” quickly changed into his Prosthetic Body and rushed toward the city district.
But soon, he saw a bright light above the dome.
It was the trace of Space-based Weapons!
The young Burrowing Dragon was shocked.
Being targeted by Space-based Weapons the moment he surfaced meant that the area had been exposed!
He gritted his teeth, abandoning the idea of retreating back into the hole.
From his calves, wheels extended to the ground.
The isotopic batteries inside his body powered the magnetic levitation bearings, allowing him to charge at unbelievable speeds.
His “Aunt Wu” had once been a speed-focused Hero.
His uncle fell in love with her and left the Burrowing Dragon Community.
After several years, Aunt Wu appeared at the entrance of the cave with severe injuries and the news of his uncle’s death, passing away shortly after.
To the young man, these legs represented the spirit and strength of his predecessors.
—Space-based Weapons are not unavoidable!
He rapidly charged forward.
Minutes later, a heavy object fell with a trail of fire, causing thunderous noises on impact.
Not far away, a squad was also in action.
They had inserted devices into the ground to capture the seismic waves generated as feedback.
A Life-Chasing Cavalry looked toward C.
Shivaji-21, “Commander?”
Shivaji-21 uttered an archaic term, “Take someone and chase it.
Don’t bother coming back if it’s not killed.”
After all, their main goal was to use the seismic waves generated by the Space-based Kinetic Weapons to further explore the details of the mining caves below.
The Burrowing Dragon was just an incidental encounter.
The Life-Chasing Cavalry nodded and quickly signaled a companion to leave.
Soon, data began uploading.
Then, the Scientific Knight Order, thousands of miles away, started processing the data and provided feedback.
Shivaji-21 calmly issued commands.
Behind him, a transparent canister housed a brain belonging to a Burrowing Dragon.
They had just captured a Hero and extracted the Burrowing Dragon clues from that Hero’s brain.
Then, they caught this Burrowing Dragon.
The most effective weapon Heroes had against Protectors was “attrition.” But when Protectors began fighting without regard for attrition, the Heroes’ vulnerability was starkly exposed.
“All members, switch to Dungeon Master suits and prepare to enter the Underground City.”
“Communications team, release the drones, get ready to establish a temporary LAN.”
Combat in the complex pit environment differed from ordinary combat.
Explosives and Firearms would be strictly limited here.
In terms of cold weapons, any weapon over one hundred fifty centimeters long would be significantly hindered and could not be used effectively.
Moreover, reconnaissance also posed a challenge.
In the tunnels, light could hardly propagate, and conventional radar was difficult to use due to excessive background echoes.
Only certain equipment like narrow-band sonars had a place in these conditions.
All Rangers changed into shorter and sturdier legs, discarded their long rifles for smaller Firearms, and some switched to Prosthetic Eyes specialized for dim environments.
“Those Burrowing Dragons are not important,” C.
Shivaji-21 maneuvered himself onto a hexapod pedestal expansion with his tracks and locked in.
He waved his sharp limbs as though they were his arms and said, “But engaging in Guerrilla Warfare with them in this terrain is quite bothersome, so if it’s possible to inflict casualties, we should do as much damage as we can.”
“Also, if you come across someone who looks like a leader, make sure to capture them alive.
Remember, our ultimate goal is always the Legacy of the Eighth Martial God.”
“Seek, locate, destroy,” C.
Shivaji-21 repeated the motto of his Order, “Then, eliminate them!”
The Mobile Cavalry closed in on the area where “Six” had appeared, and under the search of the Life-Chasing Cavalry, the partially collapsed cave entrance was quickly revealed.
The Mobile Cavalry filed in.