Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 607 - 600: Learning from Experience

Chapter 607: Chapter 600: Learning from Experience

"Commander Carter, are you all right?" Luo’er approached and asked with concern.

"Ah, Captain Luo’er," Carter’s gaze swept over the Advance Team, a flicker of emotion finally crossed his face, "It’s great that you’re all unharmed, I can rest easy now..."

"Commander Carter, why don’t you join us on the Transport Plane and leave?" suggested Luo’er.

"I am the commander of the Purification Army after all..." Carter said with a self-mocking expression.

"It wasn’t your fault, you don’t have to feel guilty about this failure!" Luo’er responded.

What he said was true, the Purification Army’s assault this time was composed of fresh recruits, the information turned out to be flawed, and there was no contingency plan either, so the collapse of the army was inevitable.

"Regardless, I can’t escape my responsibility..." Carter said, bowing his head in defeat.

"Commander Carter, why don’t you come with us first, sort things out with that Marlori on the airboat, and not shoulder all the blame on your own." L’or said seriously.

"No," Carter waved his hand in refusal, "There’s no accounting for an army commander abandoning his soldiers to escape."

"But now..." Seeing his stubborn resolve, Luo’er grew a little anxious.

"Don’t worry, Captain Luo’er, I’ve already informed the Church Court, they’ll be sending reinforcements soon, so you don’t need to worry about our safety. You are here to help us, so there’s no need for you to die with us, so it’s best if you leave first." Carter reasoned.

"We have reinforcements?" Luo’er asked with some disbelief.

"Yes, the Temple Knights will be here soon to back us up, you can believe that those monsters won’t be able to break through with them around." Carter explained.

Luo’er trusted in the fighting prowess of the Temple Knights. They were nearly invincible, essentially armored vehicles in human form. Those monsters were already struggling against the Purification Legion, let alone against these Knights.

"Then we will depart first, take care of yourselves!" Seeing Carter’s firm determination, Luo’er made no further resistance, instead he saluted and spoke.

"Yes, you should leave first, we’ll stay here and wait for the arriving Temple Knights." Carter nodded in agreement.

"I’m sorry that we were unable to be of help." Luo’er apologized.

"Don’t say that," Carter dismissed with a wave of his hand and wore a forced smile, "you being unharmed has already helped me a great deal. If anything had happened to you, my guilt would have been much greater."

Looking at his dejected figure, Luo’er reluctantly shook his head and then turned to leave.

By this time, the Transport Plane had already descended to half a meter above the ground, and the members of the Advance Team began boarding in groups. Clearly, the plane had undergone special treatment. The interior of the cabin was enveloped in silver-white film, and even the Dwarven pilots were dressed in full protective gear. Although the visibility was good, piloting in this gear must have been uncomfortable.

The original plan for this Transport Plane was to act as a vehicle for an epidemic containment team, and of course, to carry members of the Advance Team into the epidemic area. Hence, necessary protections were required.

As Luo’er neared the aircraft’s door, he couldn’t help but look back at Carter. Carter, surrounded by a group of people, walked at a steady pace. Soldiers of the Purification Army, who had already lost their will to fight, occasionally ran past him. His face seemed a bit forlorn.

Evidently, Luo’er was overly worried, thinking that the soldiers of the Purification Army might try to board the Transport Plane. But in reality, their fear of the Plane was almost as great as their fear of the monsters. Therefore, they stayed far away from it, with no one daring to climb on board.

Luo’er took Cheng Ziang’s extended hand, before climbing onto the Transport Plane. As soon as he was on board, the pilot immediately increased the output power of the anti-gravity engine, causing the Plane to begin its shaky ascent. When the Plane was more than ten meters off the ground, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh my lord..." Hu Daoke groaned, setting the machine gun aside, then rubbing his aching leg while attempting to remove the gas mask from his face.

"Are you crazy?" Cheng Ziang grabbed Hu Daoke’s gas mask and roughly shoved him, almost toppling him over.

"Everyone check for injuries. If you are injured, you might have to be placed under isolation watch. I hope nobody resists," Luo’er advised, scanning the group.

"I’m fine, just some bruising on my knee from the fall," Hu Daoke said, massaging his knee.

"Would I be quarantined if my protective suit gets torn?" Shangguan Jiu asked timidly.

"No, as long as you haven’t been scratched by the creatures, you’re fine." Luo’er dismissed, waving a hand—getting a tear from tree branches while moving through the woods was expected.

"That’s a relief..." Shangguan Jiu finally breathed out in relief upon hearing Luo’er’s words.

Just when everyone was feeling at ease, a sudden series of gunshots rang out from the ground, instantly putting them on edge again, their hearts almost leaping into their throats.

"Look, it’s the Knights of the Temple!" Tangmo shouted, pointing towards the ground.

Everyone peered down from both open sides of the transport plane and saw that, at some point, the Knights of the Temple had swiftly arrived on horseback. The recent gunfire had been them, aiming at the retreating soldiers from the Purification Army.

These feudal forces had learned to shoot from horseback during the epidemic. Although their aim was questionable, the continuous shooting ensured some Purification Army soldiers were downed.

With the arrival of the Knights of the Temple, Carter and his entourage promptly halted and stood their ground. The Temple Knights’ vanguard whizzed past them, first pursuing the fleeing new recruits. But a few high-ranking knights stopped before Carter and his team, dismounted their horses and began to speak.

Luo’er found nothing wrong with the Knights’ actions. On the contrary, he agreed with their methods. After all, if morale could be restored by the execution of a few deserters, they would willingly do it—and so would Luo’er.

Regardless of how, these soldiers have to be retained. Whether for punishment or reorganization, it was better than letting them scatter like this. If they fled, they were really gone, rendering the Purification Army’s months of training moot.

In front of the Temple Knights, Carter seemed very humble, hanging his head and bending his back listening to the knights, not at all like the figure of a corps leader. Regardless, defeat was defeat, no matter the circumstances, and as the corps leader, he bore an undeniable responsibility.

Obviously, with the Temple Knights’ arrival, the creatures’ attack likely only reached the edge of the forest. Luo’er noticed that there were at least three hundred knights gathered on the ground. Those monsters had trouble dealing with the inexperienced Purification Army, let alone these three hundred humanoid armored vehicles.

With a clear mind, Luo’er pondered the reasons for their hasty retreat. The sudden emergence of the creatures was the direct cause - they were caught off guard. However, the fundamental reason was a mistake in the Airboat Headquarters’ plan.

The epidemic research department wanted corpse demons as research materials, thus the Advance Team acted together with the Purification Army. Once corpse demons were found and controlled, the containment team could be called over to retrieve them.

However, it was clear that the Advance Team could not exploit their tactical flexibility when combining operations with the main team. Furthermore, being affiliated with the Church Court made them susceptible to its commanding influence.

Like now, when the Church Court declared corpse demons sightings in the area, the Purification Army was immediately dispatched. As a result, the Purification Army’s recruits ran headfirst into these limbed creatures, falling right into a trap. The Advance Team, along with the Purification Army, was also affected by this misinformation, almost resulting in their annihilation.

This was a fatal mistake. Luo’er thought. Since the headquarters wanted to carry out its mission, they should collect the materials themselves, rather than relying on friendly forces. Moreover, the Church Court was no reliable ally.

As per Luo’er’s current plan, they should utilize the Airboat Headquarters’ aerial mobility and use aerial reconnaissance to ascertain the specific situation in the epidemic area. Then, with the detailed intelligence report, they could deploy the Advance Team for a targeted airdrop, working with the containment team to collect samples.

No matter how it’s perceived, the Church Court could not be relied on. However, this wasn’t a crucial issue. After all, the nature of the headquarters’ task was to help the Church Court research disease prevention methods, not to assist them in reducing the disease area.

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