Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 439 - 432: Making a Decision

Chapter 439: Chapter 432: Making a Decision

The sight of these headless female corpses made Luo’er realize that the Judgement Legion was a group of scum, and it strengthened his resolve that the Olavia Sisters must not be released so easily. Leaving aside the dangers they might face after leaving the Advance Team, if they were intercepted by the Judgement Legion, death would be the only outcome.

So, regardless of the circumstances, they should take the Olavia Sisters with them, even if it means bringing them along on their missions.

Before coming here, Wang Xu had repeatedly stressed that they should not become involved in the war between the Judgement Legion and Theron. So, as long as they slipped away before the fight began, they wouldn’t need to worry about the war affecting them.

As long as they didn’t participate in the battle, then the Advance Team taking the Olavia Sisters with them wouldn’t cause any problems. Relying on the equipment and strength of the Advance Team, they could completely protect the sisters from danger.

However, their final destination might only be their base. Although Luo’er was worried about possible rumors from Wang Xu and others, judging from the current situation, this seemed to be the best solution.

After crossing the border of the Three Kingdoms, the group eventually entered the desert areas of Baales. According to the Judgement Legion’s estimation, they should be able to cross the territory of Baales in twenty days and reach the next border of the Three Kingdoms.

As soon as they entered the desert of Baales, Luo’er immediately felt the temperature rise. The Baales desert, crossed by the Tropic of Cancer, was controlled by a subtropical high-pressure area, so even in winter, they could still feel the heat.

Baales has a unique geographical position. The Namijiya Mountain Range in the west blocks the vapor from the western sea, while the east is obstructed by the north-south Xi’en Mountain Range, which starts from Saint Bartz and ends in the Ancient States, blocking the vapor from the eastern sea.

The obstruction of these two mountain ranges has made Baales the driest place on the continent. Fortunately, two rivers originating from Bisana and Lene converge here, providing the most basic water source for the people living here.

Baales has rich underground mineral resources, including not only Magic Crystals but also many traditional energy sources still valued by people on Earth, such as coal and petroleum, second only to the reserve in the Lene region to the west.

For a long time, Baales has been the continent’s largest resource-exporting country. They transport mineral resources to the downstream ports within the Ancient States by ship, then follow the coastline north to the white beaches of Roen River and finally up the river to their final destination, Yazhi City, where they sell resources to people from Earth.

However, due to development restrictions, Baales eventually fell out with the people from Earth, who no longer imported traditional energy from Baales. Baales, in turn, used the Magic Crystals in their own territory to develop their own Magic Crystal industry.

The reason why the Ancient States needed to smuggle in Magic Crystals from Odelanqi is that Baales and Lene needed a large number of Magic Crystals to develop their industry, which led to a supply-demand imbalance, forcing the people of the Ancient States to import from other countries.

The deeper they went into Baales, the hotter it became. However, the Advance Team was well prepared and had put on the summer clothes provided by the Headquarters.

As it was a traditional route, the Judgement Legion did not need to worry about supplies as there were plenty along the way to sustain the team.

When they arrived at the river, Luo’er and the others finally saw the city of the Zhuyan People. Their cities were not large, and seemed to be constructed of reinforced concrete. The reinforcing bars were produced by their Magic Crystal industry, while the cement was imported from Earth.

What they were looking at was a mine, a veritable source of iron ore. The majority of Dwarves living in the town worked in this mine. They used energy from Magic Crystals to drive the mine carts into the mine, and made explosive materials from Magic Crystal bombs to extract iron ore.

Everything here was quite primitive, and apart from propelling mine carts, blasting, and providing lighting, Magic Crystal energy didn’t play much of a role. Most of the work still relied on manual labor, and the efficiency was incredibly low.

However, it could also be due to the fact that this was just a small mine. Although it was a transportation hub, when the locals saw people from the Judgement Legion approaching, they would flock over like they were looking at animals in a zoo, as if they hadn’t seen humans for decades.

The Advance Team members felt uncomfortable under their constant scrutiny, so everyone hid inside the wagon to avoid the curious onlookers outside.

Moreover, with the addition of the Olavia Sisters, the carriage became rather crowded, to the point where even turning around was difficult.

After spending so many days together, the Olavia sisters finally harbored no more hostility towards the Advance Team. They even seemed quite fond of Hu Daoke and enjoyed listening to his stories about the battles that the Advance Team had gone through. They admired and revered him greatly.

Luo’er and Cheng Ziang could see that Olavia seemed to have a slight crush on Hu Daoke. Every time she looked at him, her eyes would change.

However, Hu Daoke seemed completely oblivious to Olavia’s apparent interest in him and just continued to blabber on and on in his blissful ignorance.

Indeed, despite their somewhat darker skin, the Olavia Sisters were quite attractive. Their facial features were distinct, and their flushed lips especially striking, easily drawing attention in a crowd.

Since they started their mission, the Advance Team had been in Otherworld for nearly two years. The youngest member in the team, Cheng Ziang, was now twenty-one, so it was time for him to start considering marriage.

Although the Advance Team still needed to carry out missions around the world, this didn’t hamper their pursuit of love. Luo’er thought that if possible, he would like to play Yue Lao, matchmaking to encourage something to happen between Hu Daoke and Olavia.

After all, as their captain, who was nearly ten years older than most of the team members, he always saw the members of the Advance Team as his younger brothers or sisters. If he could help Hu Daoke find a good partner, he felt he had a responsibility to do so.

While thinking about this, Luo’er glanced at Cheng Ziang and saw that he was also looking at him. Their thoughts seemed to align, and so they silently nodded at each other.

"Olavia?" Having made up his mind, Luo’er quietly called out.

"Yes, Lord Luo’er!" Olavia looked towards Luo’er with some apprehension.

"Oh, you don’t have to call me sir, just call me Captain." Luo’er waved his hand and said.

"Alright, Captain Luo’er!" Olavia nodded.

"Olavia, how old are you this year?" Luo’er asked with interest.

"Me?" Olavia pointed at herself, not understanding what Luo’er wanted to ask. After a moment of reflection, she answered, "I guess I’m about... about eighteen years old... sorry, I don’t really know my actual age."

"Eighteen, the rainy season of life," Luo’er couldn’t help but lament.

"Rainy season, what does that mean?" Olavia asked him, frowning.

"Oh, it’s nothing. I just wanted to ask about your situation." Luo’er waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh." Olavia frowned and nodded, although she didn’t know what he was asking, she sensed that he meant no harm.

"I’m fifteen this year!" Ona added from the side.

"Oh, I couldn’t tell!" Luo’er nodded, not really planning to ask her.

"Luo’er, what are you up to?" Tangmo, who was standing nearby, noticed Luo’er’s intentions. She stared him down, frowning.

"Nothing, I’m just idly asking." Luo’er answered innocently.

"What do you want asking a girl’s age?" Tangmo questioned, grabbing his arm and puffing out her cheeks.

"Don’t misunderstand, it’s not what you think!" Luo’er hurriedly explained.

At his explanation, Tangmo stared at him, cheeks puffed out, scooted over a bit and huffed but she didn’t let go of his arm, instead, she turned her head away.

She knew what Luo’er was up to, and if he was actually interested in Olavia, he wouldn’t have been able to explain so smoothly – he’d be stuttering and almost unable to speak.

But considering Luo’er’s likable personality, she decided to assert her possession, to prevent anyone from getting ideas about him.

"What do you think of us?" Having dealt with Tangmo, Luo’er continued asking.

"You guys..." Olavia looked at them hesitantly, then said gratefully, "You all are good people, willing to help me and my sister. I’m really, really thankful."

"And what do you think of me?" Luo’er asked, looking at her.

"Luo’er!" A voice of dissatisfaction came from Tangmo within the cart, but she was quickly pushed away by Luo’er.

"Uh... Captain Luo’er... I mean, Luo’er... You’re a good person, even though you’re a... half-elf..." Olavia said, staring at his slightly drooping elf ears, and went on, "You and your wife are good people, we really appreciate you."

"Wife?" Hearing this, Tangmo’s face lit up instantly, and she grabbed Luo’er by the neck.

"That’s right, he’s my husband!" Tangmo hugged Luo’er and enthusiastically told Olavia.

"Moumou, you’re choking me!" Luo’er cried out helplessly.

While this fire was being stoked here, something else was brewing elsewhere. Baiyue closed her notebook and then firmly tugged on his clothes. Although not voicing anything, her attitude was clear.

Cheng Ziang didn’t expect a simple question from Luo’er to kick up a storm. He sighed helplessly, then grabbed Hu Daoke’s shoulder and blurted out, "So, Olavia, what do you think of old Hu here?"

"Old Cheng, what the hell are you asking about?" Caught in the crossfire unexpectedly, Hu Daoke took a look at Cheng Ziang and questioned with wide eyes.

"Hu... Hu... Brother Hu is a good person... He’s very nice to us, willing to chat with us..." Olavia stammered, her face turning red. She couldn’t pronounce Hu Daoke’s name properly, so after trying a few times, she just gave up.

"That’s true, this kid’s not bad. Humorous, reliable and responsible!" Cheng Ziang smiled. However, because of his somber expression, his smile looked more like a smirk.