Chapter 170: Unnamed Lake, A Fierce Fight Begins!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Unnamed Lake No. 421 seemed to have been formed when two meteorites fell during ancient times. The two craters were of different sizes but right next to each other. They created a shape that resembled a gourd.
At first glance, the water sparkled and no waves could be found. Even the lush aquatic plants around the lake appeared harmless aside from their slightly red tips. The area looked calm and peaceful.
But when artillery shells tore through the air and landed in the unnamed lake, the illusion of harmony was shattered.
Boom! Crack! Splash!
As water pillars rose into the air, a number of strange fish with savage faces and sharp teeth were thrown off-kilter and started biting each other.
A few reptile-type monsters who had shells as sturdy as those of a crocodile but could move as fast as leopards started crawling toward the bushes of the bank.
The bushes were then struck by a few artillery shells, and mini-sized boar-like monsters with thorns all over them appeared and ran into the distance helter-skelter.
With the two brutal carnivorous monsters leading the escape, all the monsters around the lake were alerted to the attack, and more than one thousand monsters started fleeing in all directions.
Some of the monsters were mortal enemies with each other, and as they fled, they noticed each other. Their desire to hunt the other overwhelmed their awareness of danger. They pounced on their enemies and tore into them.
Some of the etherealized plants, which pretended to be normal weeds, swung their branches, which looked like poisonous snakes, and bound a lot of the monsters who had started fleeing. They dragged them into the bushes, and in an instant, bone-chilling slurps rose into the air.
The area, in truth, was partially a swamp. When the artillery shells landed on the ground, they sank deep into the loose mud, which diminished their power.
Dragon City only had a limited number of resources, so it could not carpet-bomb the area numerous times.
Also, Shattered Starlake was to be the most important high-tech agricultural area of Dragon City. The leadership planned to plant plants with spirit energy so that the Dragon Citizens of the next generation could be stronger. It would be for the best if everyone could awaken to supernatural abilities.
But if they carpet-bombed the area and completely leveled Shattered Starlake to the ground, the soil filled with valuable nutrients would be reduced to ashes, and they would destroy their future plans.
The artillery attack lasted for three minutes, but it only terrified the monsters and forced them out of the bushes that were about half a man’s height.
After the artillery attack, a large number of multi-limbed fighting vehicles with thin metal limbs that were as sharp as blades and looked like spiders that had been magnified a hundred times their original size surrounded the area from three directions.
Shattered Starlake was filled with swamps and bogs. They had a lot of weeds that were incredibly sturdy, because they were filled with metal. Various liquids from the weeds also had highly corrosive properties, so it was not suitable for crawler armored trucks that weighed dozens of tons and had a low undercarriage to move through the place.
The failure rate of normal multi-limbed fighting vehicles would also increase by leaps and bounds if they were sent here.
To completely clear out Shattered Starlake, the army intentionally upgraded the multi-limbed fighting vehicles by increasing the height of their bladed limbs and turning them into a model called the Long-legged Spider. It was designed to be used in swamps and lakes.
They had runic symbols and runic ink carved into them, which made them look like they were etherealized and increased their durability and tenacity on a molecular level. However, the mechanical limbs in the Long-legged Spiders were still weak and not suited for carrying many weapons and lots of ammunition.
A single unit usually carried eight tactical cameras that could turn 360 degrees, detect objects far in the distance, and identify them very accurately. They also carried biothermal probes and spirit energy detectors, so their main purpose was scouting.
Aside from those things, they also carried a new crystal-powered battery with a high capacity. It allowed the fighting vehicles to provide energy for themselves and the unmanned fighting vehicles to temporarily land on their backs to quickly charge up. They only needed to “rest” for a short five minutes before being able to perform high-intensity work for more than thirty minutes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of Long-legged Spiders and hundreds of cameras as well as biothermal probes instantly scanned the monsters that ran out.
Through the unmanned fighting vehicles levitating in the air, they sent the data to the data chain, from where it was sent to the tactical superbrain located at the base to the east.
The superbrain could instantly calculate the number of monsters, their level, and the danger they posed.
Then, by comparing them with those existing in the databank, it would figure out the monsters’ weaknesses, the best way to fight against them, the number of materials they might contain, the spots they would favor to build their nests, and even locate numerous videos showing the classical way to fight such monsters.
After that, through the signal tower and the communication drones, the data would be sent back to the battlefield, or more accurately, it would be sent to the helmets of the Agricultural University’s freshmen who were fully equipped and stood at the edge of the battlefield as they eagerly waited for their chance to join the fight.
There were two monitors installed in the helmets of the Agricultural University freshmen. They showed large amounts of data from the battlefield while monitoring their physiological parameters. They could also share their team members’ vision.
The functions of the helmet were much more varied and better than those of the helmets and communicators that the students had used during their national college examination.
[Wolf Crocodile, an amphibian-type monster. It has incredibly strong bite strength, and once it closes its jaws over its prey, it usually uses the death spiral to tear off its limbs. The creature has some imitative abilities and loves lurking at the edges of lakes and bushes. As of current, 87 of them have been detected.
[Ghost-arrow Pig, an artiodactyla-type monster. It’s a distant cousin of the Demonic Halberd Pig, but it chose to evolve into a small, nimble creature. Even though it is less than half a meter tall, it possesses the brutality, fierceness, and fearlessness of boars.
[Pay attention to the sturdy, fine hair on its body. They contain neurological poison that can deliver unbearable pain to those that touch them. If necessary, Ghost-arrow Pig will even curl up like an armadillo and stick up its poison needles while it jumps at its target. If hundreds of poison needles pierce the victim’s face, there is a high possibility that they will suffer from disabilities or be blinded. As of current, 243 of them have been detected.
[Hundred-eyed Toad, an amphibian-type monster. It is large and has astonishing jumping capabilities. It has more than one hundred poisonous sacs on its body, and when it is in midair, it can spray extremely corrosive acid in a large area. It deals some damage to metal and machines. If you are equipped with strengthened exoskeletons, you must pay attention to the Hundred-eyed Toad’s attacks. As of current, more than 1,000 of them have been detected.
[These three types of monsters pose the largest threat. Aside from them, there are at least fifty other types of monsters that possess a certain degree of offensive abilities near Unnamed Lake No.421. This is the monster list.
[Aside from monsters, there is a carnivorous etherealized plant known as Water Monkey. It is shaped like a normal water reed. Its leaves are as sturdy as vines, and it can swing them at will. Its attack range is over three meters, and it can drag its prey under its roots, and by blocking the prey’s airway and binding it, it can suffocate its prey.
[Based on the overall analysis, the level of danger in Unnamed Lake No.421 is at Code Yellow. One-star superhumans are allowed inside. Please fight bravely for the future of Dragon City, Earth, and human civilization. Go forth and contribute!]
Based on reconnaissance from the first few decades, Dragon City had set up a large database of the monsters in the north. They had a clear idea of the habitats of most of the monsters as well as their areas of influence. With that knowledge, they divided the battlefield into five different areas.
Green regions were areas where all the monsters had been eliminated, and even if one or two monsters popped up occasionally, they were just small fry that could be killed by normal people. These regions were absolutely safe and could be built up without having to worry about anything in the slightest.
Yellow regions had a lot of normal monsters and their nests. But aside from the occasional monster leaders, there were no superbeasts around them. Armies formed by normal people were enough to clear out such regions under the leadership of one-star to three-star Earth Realm elites.
Red regions had a lot of Nightmarish Beasts and their nests. They were not regions suitable for a normal army. Even if an Earth Realm elite entered the place, they had to consider the risks. If they ended up surrounded by a large number of Nightmarish Beasts, there was a high chance that they would die on the spot. An army led by Heaven Realm elites was required for this area, because it was only then that they could kill at ease.
Purple regions were full of Hell Beasts. Since the wild was the home of monsters, even if a Heaven Realm elite’s raw power could suppress a Hell Beast at the same level, it was not advisable for Heaven Realm elites to enter such places alone. They were to either form parties of around twenty Earth Realm superhumans led by at least three Heaven Realm elites that had support from the rear by artillery and unmanned fighting vehicles or have a Deity Realm elite controlling the situation from a base that was not too far away so that their safety could be ensured.
The last was the most dangerous region, and it was given the black color. There was no need to even say what it represented. It covered the territories of the mightiest kings of thousands of monsters—the Apocalyptic Beasts!
After the fights that had lasted for most of the month, the electronic military maps the Agricultural University freshmen saw of Shattered Starlake were mostly yellow and green. The closer the areas were to the two tactical bases in the west and east, the greener the regions were, and it looked cute.
But there was a smattering of red near Graveyard Forest. It meant that there were Nightmarish Beasts appearing in those places.
The regions classified below black were also divided into different shades of their respective colors to differentiate the level of danger in those regions in greater detail.
Right then, Unnamed Lake No.421 was classified as a Deep Yellow Region. It meant that even though the creatures here were all normal monsters, the environment was complicated, and the monsters were all brutal and fierce. There was also a certain chance that a monster leader or a mutated monster would show up. They could break through the limits of their race and turn into Nightmarish Beasts.
It was not suitable for the Red Dragon Army to attack this sort of place on a large scale.
The fifty outstanding freshmen chosen from Agricultural University’s martial arts course and monster controller course were all one-star superhumans. Even if they ran into Grade One Nightmarish Beasts, they would still have an advantage in terms of raw power. It made them suited for this place, and it could serve as the starting point for them to make a name for themselves.
“Understood. There’re just thousands of normal monsters. We have fifty people here. If we divide them among ourselves, we’ll only get dozens per person. We also have the Griffin Li Yingzi and the monster controller course’s lecturer here. They’re powerful Heaven Realm elites protecting us. We won’t run into any danger, so we should just kill to our heart’s content!”
For three days, everyone had been shut in the base to receive basic training before the battle. When they saw the other freshmen from the other universities reaping kills under their belts because they had come a few days earlier, they were so restless that even their bones were rearing to go.
At that moment, the new superhumans were dressed in biochemical fighting suits fitted with strengthened exoskeletons. In their hands they held military-grade sabers or swords that could cut even hair, and they felt every drop of their blood raging.