Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 184 - 180: Reconnaissance Plan

Chapter 184: Chapter 180: Reconnaissance Plan

After more than half an hour of flight, the airboat finally arrived above Helros and gradually approached the airport. Needless to say, a commercial airboat would not dock at the army base’s airport.

The architectural style of Helros was not purely of the Otherworld. The Advance Team could distinctly see signs of Earth-like structures. This was, of course, not surprising. The High-peak people had always been at the forefront of contact with Earth following the Otherworld war, and naturally, they would have incorporated many elements from Earth.

Helros’ buildings gave a sense of intermingling of old and new. The older structures were mostly built with stone blocks, while the new ones were mainly constructed with concrete and utilized a great deal of materials imported from Earth.

Upon disembarking the Airboat and stepping on the concrete ground, the temperature on the mountains was much colder than on the riverbank. Everyone put on their warming gear, yet the fall chill seeped through the wet, cold air.

After arriving at the airport, another round of security checks was conducted, particularly focused on registering the weapons carried by the visitors. Of course, the members of the Advance Team were accustomed to this and were not at all surprised. In line, there was a fellow from the Human Race ahead of them registering his RPG7 rocket launcher and three rocket heads. Who knows what he intended to do in Helros carrying those items.

Given the earlier example, Hu Daoke was much at ease with his own weapon. After all, compared to a rocket launcher, his light machine gun amounted to nothing significant.

Passing the security check effortlessly, they finally arrived at the capital of Ronisca, Helros, the city of the sky. From the mountains, the melted snow water flowed down the riverbed, ran through the rivers in the city, and eventually cascaded near the airport of the airforce base, forming a stunning waterfall.

The design of Helros was a bit strange. As a city built atop flat mountain tops, each small district was a leveled area on the mountain, and different districts were connected by roads. Some steep areas had bridges put up, some made of stone, and others of concrete.

Despite the small scale of the city, it was teeming with people. In addition to the local High-peak people, many foreign visitors came here for tours and adventures.

Whether constructed with stone blocks or poured with concrete, the buildings’ walls in Helros were sturdy, likely to withstand the frigid winters of Helros.

Here, the air was damp, with a drizzle floating in the sky. Walking on the wet stone slab path, they occasionally caught sight of yaks passing by. Yaks were the main beasts of burden in Helros. Of course, these yaks were not the same species as those on Earth, but they appeared similar, so they were dubbed ’yaks’ by Earth people.

Upon arriving in Helros, everyone experienced misunderstanding for the first time. At Haiya Academy, they had been learning the Tasta language, so they didn’t feel out of place when they first arrived in the Otherworld. However, for the first time in Helros, they were inconvenient because of the linguistic differences.

A few elderly High-peak ladies were chatting loudly at the corner of the street. As the team passed by them, no one understood what they were saying fully. Maybe Baiyue could comprehend a few phrases, but since she had only studied for a week, it was impossible for her to master the language entirely.

The language barrier brought about the problem of finding accommodation. The team entered several hotels but was unable to find a High-peak landlord who spoke the Tasta language. It has to be said that the foreigners who resided in Helros were extraordinarily adaptable. They could all understand the Dwarven Language, probably the reason why the hotel owners were unwilling to learn Tasta.

After walking around for half a day, they finally found a hotel where the owner spoke Tasta. Although it was a bit pricey, Luo’er bit the bullet and booked two triple rooms. According to the owner, many foreigners flocked to Helros in the spring, and if they didn’t rent now, there would be no rooms later.

Having secured the rooms, they followed a houseman to their second-floor rooms. The hotel was much better decorated than the Blaiqi one, and Luo’er couldn’t help but shudder when he thought back to the inn they stayed in at Holy Heart City.

The entire hotel was built out of massive stones, with thick walls and a floor paved with wooden boards. Upon entering their rooms, they found them well-lit, and realized upon closer observation that the windows were made of double-layered transparent glass—a undoubtedly Earth-derived product.

The beds were also quite good, draped with linen sheets and quilts, substantially more comfortable than coarsely stuffed straw beds. Although the High-peak people were small-statured, the beds were designed to be big, similar to a mattress. Luo’er then remembered the difference in bed preference between the East and the West. Easterners were not tall but preferred big beds, whereas Westerners were tall but inclined towards smaller beds.

Opening the glass window, the damp air outside swiftly seeped into the room. The location of the hotel was quite high, so from the window on the second floor, they could take in much of Helros.

After all the hotel staff were sent away, everyone gathered together for Luo’er’s first internal meeting as Captain. Upon their arrival at Helros, Tangmo sent a message to Headquarters and received an instruction not to change the mission. Therefore, the focus of the meeting was to investigate the military status of the High-peak people.

After confirming that the door was securely locked, Luo’er cleared his throat and began, "Our mission is to investigate the military buildup of the High-peak people, to see whether they are secretly amassing military power behind our backs. If they are, then they must be planning something for the Third Otherworld War."

"The main body of Ronisca’s military force is its air force, so trying to study it in detail should suffice," Luo’er said. When he finished, Cheng Ziang was the first to comment.

Luo’er nodded in agreement, and then spread out a map on the table. The map, given by Headquarters before they set off, was a blueprint of Helros, providing detailed layouts of the city and even the airforce base.

"According to the available information, the Ronisca Air Force currently has seventeen serviceable airships. Among them are ten High-peak class main battle airships, two of which are undergoing upgrades at the shipyard. One is of the Four Beasts-class. There are also several landing ships and six support ships. This constitutes the entire force of the Ronisca Air Force."

"Four Beasts-class... Xuanwu?" Hu Daoke glanced at the materials and then paused.

"It’s normal," Luo’er explained. "The Four Beasts-class contains four ships, each named after Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The people of Ronisca call it the Four Beasts-class, while our headquarters refer to it as the Azure Dragon class."

"Damn, the High-peak people believe in these things too?" Hu Daoke asked, looking at him.

"The Four Beasts-class is the second generation of High-peak battleships; they are also experimental ships," Luo’er continued to explain, "These ships received substantial support from our headquarters, adopting more than fifty percent of new technology for application on the airships. Among them, the Azure Dragon was a comprehensive experimental ship developed in a conventional way; the White Tiger was a firepower experimental ship, loading a large number of ground artillery based on existing weapons; Vermilion Bird was an experimental aircraft carrier, used to verify the feasibility of air carriers; while the Black Tortoise was a defense experimental ship, reducing half of the firepower and using thickened armor to study the required armor thickness for airships."

"Badass!" Hu Daoke raised his thumb.

Luo’er continued to explain: "Due to the use of a large number of new technologies, the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger of this class of airships crashed one after another due to technical faults. The surviving two ships, the Vermilion Bird has been transformed into a training ship, and now only the Black Tortoise of the Four Beasts-class is still in service, and it has been transformed into a ground support ship. The Four Beasts-class airships have had a profound impact on the Ronisca Air Force. The Azure Dragon class evolved into the High-peak class main battle airship, while the White Tiger class and the Black Tortoise class also evolved into ground support ships. The Vermilion Bird class also verified the feasibility of aircraft carriers, so the last two ships of the High-peak class are currently being transformed into aircraft carriers."

"Damn, in just thirty years, High-peak people have developed so many, three generations of battleships. If this goes on, which country in the world can beat them." Hu Daoke was stunned by Luo’er’s words.

"It’s not just three generations," Luo’er continued in the face of Hu Daoke’s surprised expression, "there is information showing that a new class of airship is currently being designed and built in the shipyard of Helros."

"They’re aiming for space!" Hu Daoke couldn’t help jumping up and saying.

"That’s why we are here," Luo’er said seriously, "The High-peak people have not openly disclosed their new airship construction plan to the headquarters, our current information all comes from the commercial spy network of the Blaiqi people."

"The High-peak people are evidently no longer content with the role of being dominated. Technological accumulation has allowed them to challenge headquarters. If not restricted, the achievements that the headquarters have labouriously seeded in the Otherworld for thirty years might vanish." Cheng Ziang coldly added from the side.

"Exactly, so our next task is to thoroughly investigate the military power of the Ronisca Air Force and report back to headquarters. If they indeed harbour any other intentions, we can also prepare defensive measures in advance." Luo’er said.

"So what should we do next?" Hu Daoke asked.

"This is my idea. Baiyue and Cheng Ziang will form a night team and attempt to sneak into the air force base at night to investigate their military equipment. The rest will form a daytime team staying in the city area to observe the movement of the airships."

"You want Yue’er to work with this guy?" Hu Daoke asked, pointing at Cheng Ziang. He had thought that he and Baiyue would be assigned together to form a sniper team.

"Isn’t it perfect that they are both scouts, one works at close range and the other from far away?" Luo’er asked, looking at them.

"Humph, piece of cake!" Cheng Ziang showed a dismissive smile.

"Yue’er?"

"No problem!" Baiyue solemnly nodded.

"If there are no other issues, start the mission tonight. Everyone keep in mind, we’re foreigners in Helros. Be cautious in your actions and don’t do anything to attract attention." Luo’er advised.

"Understood!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.