Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 508 - 501: Divide and Conquer

Chapter 508: Chapter 501: Divide and Conquer

Under the cover of night, the group slowly arrived at the edge of a forest, where they set up a temporary campsite. Having a team of mercenaries meant that the Advance Team and others did not need to stand watch at night; everyone could get a good night’s sleep.

After the campfire was lit, its warm light brightened the campsite. Luo’er laid out a sleeping bag, and had Cheng Ziang help Luoya to lie down in it to rest. Luoya was on a mission like this for the first time, so it was normal for her to feel out of her element. She was still just a temporary special member at headquarters and hadn’t officially joined the Advance Team. Luo’er had no plans to include her either.

Luo’er knew better than anyone the dangers the Advance Team would face, so he had no desire for his sister to encounter them. He just needed her help temporarily this time. When it was over, he planned to let Luoya return to Nina and take over the task of accompanying their mother.

The captain of the mercenaries had no complaints about Luo’er’s orders. He directed his subordinates to prepare for the night shift. As for the mercenaries, Luo’er planned to use them only as a support team to avoid being left alone and vulnerable during reconnaissance missions. These missions would still be led by the Advance Team, a decision endorsed not only by Luo’er but also by Li Si.

After all, mercenaries are mercenaries. Even though they had been trained by headquarters, who could guarantee that they wouldn’t turn traitor for certain interests? There was plenty of previous evidence of such faithless actions among mercenaries in Otherworld. Compared to them, these Blaiqi mercenaries were highly principled.

After seeing Luoya settled, Luo’er and the others also crawled into their sleeping bags to rest. Their current location was not within Theron’s patrol area, so it wouldn’t matter if they were discovered. Adventurers camping in the wild was a common sight and hardly noteworthy.

They slept in rather late, not waking until almost ten o’clock the next day. After a brief morning routine, Luo’er directed everyone towards Nailin Town.

Nailin Town was a city located on the coastline and surrounded by woods. It served as a transportation hub for travelers from the City of Stars to Ilanadale, so there were always many adventurers and merchants coming and going.

However, with the "Creating God Plan" commencing around twenty kilometers away from here, Theron had imposed martial law on Nailin Town. Due to the plan, the town also became a transportation hub for transporting from the City of Stars to the base of the "Creating God Plan".

Nailin Town didn’t have a big port, only a fishing harbor. So, large cargo ships would have to reach the City of Stars first, then the magic crystals would be transported by land to the base of the "Creating God Plan". With the establishment of this base, the Ancient States’ demand for magic crystals had risen significantly, even causing the prices in the Northern magic crystal market to inflate at one point.

However, in Otherworld, magic crystals were considered a strategic resource. As the countries of the North implemented a ban on exporting magic crystals to the Ancient States, they could only smuggle them in from the North. However, this was far from enough to alleviate the shortage of magic crystals in the "Creating God Plan".

Because of the shortage of magic crystals, the "Creating God Plan" had been progressing slowly, so slowly that the Ancient States’ Parliament was near to losing faith in it. According to inside information received by headquarters, if there was no substantial progress in the "Creating God Plan" in the near future, the Parliament of the Ancient States would terminate the project. That’s why they dared to smuggle magic crystals from Holy Heart City, risking potential danger to meet the needs of the project.

Though situated in a forest, most of the trees around Nailin Town had already been nearly cut down. The Advance Team didn’t enter the town due to Theron’s presence at the entrance, they let the team of mercenaries go in first and hold the fort.

Among the members of the Advance Team, Cheng Ziang was the most conspicuous. The others, though they had a Northern accent, did not stick out as mixed breeds and weren’t likely to be targeted by Theron. However, Cheng Ziang, with his obvious Northern Aud facial features, could easily become the target of Theron’s scrutiny.

There’s an old saying about luck coming in cycles. Cheng Ziang thrived in the North, but he had to be careful in the South, in fear of attracting Theron’s attention.

The main task of the Advance Team now was to survey the base of the "Creating God Plan" and gather information related to Theron. The reason Luo’er brought Luoya was because he wanted to use her identity to infiltrate Theron and gather intelligence.

Outside the town, they checked into a roadside inn. Luo’er led the group in, and had Luoya negotiate with the innkeeper. Cheng Ziang, on the other hand, wore a hood to completely cover his face to avoid being recognized by the people in the inn.

Compared to Northerners, the people of the Ancient States in the South had relatively flatter facial features, and their skin was darker, unlike the fair complexion of the Northerners. However, though the appearances of these two groups varied, it was clear that whether Ancient States people, Aud people, Bobulu people or Blaiqi people, they all belonged to the same race. It’s just that over a long evolutionary process, the people had developed different physical characteristics according to their local environments.

"I’ve thought it over, and have decided to divide us into two groups. Ziang and Little Ke, you two will set out from here to scout the Creating God Base and draw relevant maps. Luoya and I will form a team and collect intelligence within Nailin Town." Luo’er said.

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Cheng Ziang looking at him in a strange way. Luo’er was taken aback for a moment, then turned his head to find Luoya also glaring at him with an unfriendly look.

"What’s wrong, is there a problem with my arrangements?" Luo’er asked, taken aback.

"You did it on purpose, didn’t you?" Luoya glared at him, speaking discontentedly.

"What do you mean, ’I did it on purpose’? " Luo’er asked her back, looking dumbfounded.

"Alright, alright. Luo’er is your brother, are you really so unwilling to be with him?" Cheng Ziang waved his hands to smooth things over.

Upon hearing this, Luo’er immediately realized what was happening. Apparently, this young girl thought he was trying to break up her and Cheng Ziang, and then shamelessly come over to interact and curry favor with her.

Luoya, however, didn’t refute it, just lowered her head and murmured something, looking unhappy. She spoke with a heavy Southern accent, so Luo’er didn’t even catch what she was muttering.

Cheng Ziang didn’t have any objections to Luo’er’s arrangements. After all, as a half-blood of the Aud people, his target would be too obvious if he entered the city. Forget about reconnaissance, he estimated that he would be caught by Theron’s men as soon as he reached the city gate.

Luo’er and Luoya are both half-blood Wood Elves. This mixed-race group was having a tough time in the North, so even if Luo’er spoke with a Northern accent, Theron would not associate him with the recently appeared Judgement Legion.

As for Luoya’s attitude, Luo’er didn’t pay much attention to it. According to Cheng Ziang, Luoya was a rather reserved character, hence her evasive and resistant attitude towards Luo’er, who had hurt her.

Having briefly arranged their plans, the two groups immediately set off separately. Since the distance from the inn to the Creating God Base was about twenty kilometers, it was agreed that Ziang’s group would return to the inn every two days for a meeting with Luo’er until the field scouting mission was completed. Cheng Ziang had a magic messenger printed on the back of his hand, so if they encountered any danger, he could completely call for help from the airboat, which would then direct Luo’er and the others to rescue them.

After the plan was arranged, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke began to head towards the base. Because they didn’t have horses, they had to walk. If they had horses as transportation, they could make a round trip in a day.

After watching Cheng Ziang and his team leave, Luo’er retracted his gaze, then turned around to look at Luoya. She seemed very nervous, her head down and rubbing her fingers, her toes anxiously rubbing the ground. It was clear that she was not yet used to being alone with Luo’er.

"Let’s go." Luo’er said gently.

Although Luoya was very on guard against him, he was very nice to her. It was probably because he knew that Luoya was his own sister, so he couldn’t bring himself to scold or direct her in any way.

"Mmm..." Luoya murmured, but she didn’t immediately move. It wasn’t until Luo’er had walked a few meters that she finally followed behind him cautiously. Seeing her being so tense, Luo’er didn’t know what to say to comfort her, and with a sigh, he just helplessly shook his head.

The two were heading towards Nailin town for the reconnaissance. This place had always been an important transport hub, so the flow of people was quite high, making it much easier to gather intelligence here.

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