Episode 142: Strange events (2)
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s not like that. “There is absolutely no reason for you to worry about this.”
Lucy’s size has grown incomparably compared to the past. There are so many things going on that I can no longer focus on just one event.
Raon felt the agitated emotions that were affecting the entire Demon King Army and asked Lucy who was nearby, but Lucy shook her head.
What is happening on the continent where churches and alliances are fighting each other was an important matter directly related to survival for Lucy in the past, but now it is just an incident.
I was a little angry when I faced Liam and lost him, but that was it.
“The incident just happened within the margin of error. “Right now it’s more important for us to clean up this land.”
Lucy was looking down at her territory, which she was securing and eliminating corrupted World Trees, through her gaze through the scouts scattered everywhere.
Unlike the corrupted World Tree and the infected entities, the nest of the Demon King’s army, which desires sunlight, is spread out over a wide area.
Its shape was like a belt. The band was moving toward the border that existed to the west.
“As the battle progresses, the estimated time is advancing. If this continues, we will reach the borderline in a few days, not a month.”
“Why don’t you send scouts there again? To where the dark elf survivors are.”
“If the distance is close enough, we plan to send small scouts who can avoid being easily attacked by artillery fire.”
All of this was a stepping stone to meet the survivors who survived the infectious agents beyond the border. Previously, large and strong scouts were flown in to confirm the existence of that place, but all of the scouts were shot down due to a mysterious attack that came from there.
Lucy was conscious of this and this time she planned to spy on the place by sending small scouts who were small in size but difficult to fly far.
Securing data that could eliminate variables was something Lucy couldn’t bear.
“So what is the plan of attack? “Aren’t you going to attack anyway?”
Then Raon smiled and opened his mouth. In the end, the whole reason Lucy is working so hard to secure data is to attack there.
There was no such thing as a peaceful approach to Lucy. No matter how you use it, it will eventually eat you up and make it a part of you.
Fundamentally, it was no different from other infectious agents that infect randomly.
“We plan to properly establish this as soon as information is collected.”
Lucy didn’t deny it. Attacking and devouring others is the same as one’s fundamental nature.
For Lucy, who was trying to advance from being just a demon lord, the dark elf survivor was nothing more than prey to her.
[Goal achieved. Dispatch of scouts.]
And before long, Lucy had achieved her first goal.
* * *
[Small scouts are dispatched. Maximum flight time is 72 hours.]
Lucy launched scouts. These scouts, who have the appearance of small flying creatures, have invested all their bodily functions in mobility and senses, just like other scout specimens. Overall, it has the appearance of a skinny, winged bat, with one large eyeball stuck between its eyebrows.
Their mission was to fly around and collect information until all the nutrients stored in their bodies were used up.
“You won’t be able to see that much, will you?”
[The priority goal is to determine what intercepted our scouts.]
Of course, Changhyun was also watching this scene through the screen. Lucy, who reported to him in real time, used scouts to rotate the screen and traverse the territory of the fallen World Trees that had not yet been conquered.
Although they were weaker and slower than large scouts, they were not attacked. The Corrupted World Trees near the border were doing their best to keep the Demon King’s army in check when they came near them.
However, Lucy’s demon lord army, which declared itself a cancer cell, had spread endlessly and was already eating away at the territory of the corrupted world trees.
[Passing the border.]
A few hours later, Lucy reported back to him and asked him to look after her. This is because he did not go back to his house after work and made an appointment with Jiyeon Lee.
Of course, he didn’t cancel his promise with Lee Ji-yeon because of something here that he couldn’t be involved in.
“I can’t see anything right now.”
[I will lower my altitude.]
Finally, the scouts escaped the border dividing the world and headed to another world. To a normal world not covered by dark clouds.
Right in front of the spot where the scouts had been shot down in the past, Lucy lowered the scouts’ altitude and began to examine the ground more closely.
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I clearly remember it as something that flew from the ground.
[Nothing has happened so far. Maybe it was something unusual that day… … .]
After several tense moments and nothing happening, Lucy spoke up.
But at that moment, something flew in and once again intercepted the scout and completely destroyed it.
“I think I just saw it.”
[That’s right.]
Lucy and he also saw that scene.
However, this time not all of the widely scattered scouts were shot down.
“Why, that looks very familiar.”
Through the scouts she infiltrated, Lucy finally found out the identity of the enemy who was attempting to intercept her indiscriminately.
And when Lucy saw that, she, too, was so shocked that she was speechless for a moment.
“Wherever you look, it’s a turret?”
A support base firmly fixed to the ground, a body that rotates 360 degrees and moves freely, and an elongated gun barrel.
Unidentified unmanned turrets, which automatically detect external movements and attempt to intercept them, were embedded in certain parts of the border and were aimed at the land occupied by infected entities.
So that nothing from there can come here.
* * *
“It’s almost night. “I have to prepare.”
“The number of people has decreased significantly over the past few days. This is no coincidence. “What the hell is going on?”
As the sun was setting, Dark Elf Garrison Captain Cassel laughed and shook his head when his subordinates told him to prepare for battle.
Fighting against infectious agents coming from the border every night has been a daily routine for a very long time. But the last few days have been different. The number of infected agents gradually decreased, and now it has decreased to the point where it can be dealt with only with automatic turrets.
He thought that people who were happy that they didn’t have to fight were extremely simple, but he was even more anxious because he couldn’t figure out what was going on under those dark clouds.
“Go first. “I need to talk to the warden.”
In the end, Cassel sent his men first and went to see Lloyd, the head of the management center. Since this is something they specialize in, I was wondering if I could hear anything.
“In conclusion, I listened.”
And Lloyd, who actually had a serious face, did not deny it and nodded.
At the same time, Lloyd showed Cassel, who came to visit, a hologram displayed on a large screen.
“Since the last time an abnormality was detected in the contaminated land, the satellite has continued to monitor it. These photos are taken one day at a time. Can you see it?”
“If you can’t see this, it means your eyes are knotholes.”
Cassel sighed as he looked at the photos he showed.
The dark clouds, which were clearly like smooth eggs, began to gradually become distorted around small dots that had appeared at some point.
Spreading like a black spot, it quickly grew in size and now created a huge band spanning thousands of kilometers. And the end of the band has already reached the border.
“It’s clear to anyone that something has gone wrong inside there. Are you seeing this and not doing anything?”
“Bo, headquarters doesn’t want things to escalate.”
Lloyd shook his head, embarrassed by Cassel’s words. They simply discovered this planet by chance and came into contact with dark elf survivors.
The important thing for them, who were just a company, was to sell what they had mined from the mines of this land, which were generating huge profits, not to save the dark elves who were worried about when the infectious agents would invade here.
“If they gain power, you will also suffer great damage. “I don’t think that’s what you want.”
“First of all, I decided to investigate what this is all about. “With old satellites, we can’t get a detailed look through the interfering substances emitted from the ground.”
Lloyd said, pointing to the blurry and distorted screen.
No matter how old-fashioned a satellite may be, a satellite is a satellite. Even though it is a satellite that can see what is on the ground in meters if you want, proper observation was impossible due to the large amount of magic flowing in the polluted area.
“So you don’t know what’s going on, so you’re just going to wait and see? “What are those monsters going to do if they cause another terrible mutation?”
“Now, I know how you feel, but there’s no way right now. At least the headquarters is providing additional troops and equipment, so we have no choice but to arm ourselves with those and watch. “Otherwise, you don’t have to go in there and take a look.”
Embarrassed, Lloyd wiped away his cold sweat. Cassel also knew that this half-bald man in front of him was nothing more than a middle manager.
‘Am I being too sensitive? no. ‘They are the ones who don’t know how to change.’
He gritted his teeth with a dark face.
The fight against infectious agents that have taken over most of the world has been a thing of the past, but having experienced the loss of a family member, he was more wary of infectious agents than others.
“If you’re really worried, you can try sending an exploration drone. You will be able to see the closest area. “I’m also curious about what’s going on over there.”
In the end, Lloyd, unable to withstand the pressure, quietly suggested an alternative solution.
Cassel wasn’t particularly satisfied, but he thought that was enough, so he nodded.
“It’s better not to worry too much. Because it might not be a big deal. To put it bluntly, if the mine is really hit, the headquarters won’t sit still. I’m sure they’ll negotiate with the government and bring in a battleship. “If you bomb from the sky, those monsters won’t be able to withstand it.”
“You mean that big flying castle that you first rode in? “They said I couldn’t use it because it wasn’t for combat. I guess it’s for combat too.”
He chuckled at Lloyd’s confident words.
Although they have now become allies who work together for survival and gain over a common enemy, their first encounter was nothing short of a huge shock to the dark elf survivors.
They introduced themselves as employees of Carthus Corporation, but they were humans from another world who came here through the sky, not the portal that even the dark elves were familiar with.