Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 696 - 689: Seeing Shariya Again

Chapter 696: Chapter 689: Seeing Shariya Again

After several hours of flying, the airship finally arrived at the Door of Annihilation located deep in the infected area. The Advance Team had seen this door while executing the leapfrog tactic before. However, at that time, this place was a paradise for corpse demons and exotic beasts.

But now it was different. As the armies of the Church Court steadily reduced the infected area, this place was now completely surrounded by dense armies.

Looking down from the sky, the Door of Annihilation remained open, its purple ripples emitting an ominous aura. The Church Court’s army had eliminated all the exotic insects, beasts, and even corpse demons on the ground. Now, they were only waiting for the Mage corps to close the Otherworld Gate, and then the crisis could be completely resolved.

This Otherworld Gate stood in a forest on the plain, its pillars overrun with green vines and covered in thick moss. Before it was opened, it was just a relic lost in the primeval forest, but now it had become the source of the disaster.

The Church Court’s ground troops, with the Door of Annihilation as their center, organized teams to cut down and remove all the trees within a kilometer radius, clearing a space for maneuvering. Some modernized armies began to dig trenches and build defensive fortifications to prevent monsters from the Otherworld from counterattacking.

Using the felled trees, they built a comprehensive wooden defense fortress, leaving only single-person entrances and exits and machine gun ports. Thus, even if the exotic insects or beasts counterattacked, they would not be able to enter the fortress for some time.

However, many of the trees could not be handled and had to be dragged together for incineration. In addition to trees and weeds, the highly infectious corpse demons were also in the fire. For people from the Otherworld, incineration was the simplest and most effective way to prevent the spread of the virus.

It must be said that the corpse demons, who had virtually no combat power, had become the ground forces’ combat achievements thus far. These monsters-turned-corpses had almost no combat power besides their high infection rate. Dealing with them did not even require weapons such as firearms. Having proper protective measures, a suit of armor and a long sword alone could eliminate them.

The ground forces set up camp along the perimeter. Some of the largest tents were designated for the Mage corps to perform the task of closing the Otherworld Gate.

With the arrival of the airship, everyone couldn’t help but look up. As the airship slowly descended to low orbit, transport planes and reconnaissance aircraft began to spring into action.

Li Si left the airship with two advance teams on a transport plane. Carter’s Purification Corps had specifically cleared a space to serve as a landing pad for the transport plane.

After the transport plane stabilized, Luo’er opened the cabin door, and Carter, followed by a few of his attendants, came up to welcome them. Carter and his people weren’t wearing gas masks, but for safety reasons, Li Si required everyone to wear gas masks while on the ground, including himself.

"Commander Carter, I’ve heard much about you, it’s a pleasure!" Li Si disembarked from the transport plane and extended his hand to Carter, who was walking towards him.

"Oh, hello, Chief Li Si," Carter didn’t recognize him at first because of his gas mask, "Too kind, too kind, I’m grateful for your kindness in this time."

"I’ll spare the pleasantries. How’s the situation looking right now?" Li Si asked, walking towards the largest tent with his hands behind his back. Carter, like a subordinate, respectfully followed him.

"We have basically controlled the Door of Annihilation, and the defense work is almost complete. The monsters from the other side have launched several counterattacks, but we have repelled them all. However," here Carter paused, a troubled expression on his face, "our ammunition might be severely depleted, and we are also running short on heavy weapons."

"You don’t need to worry about weapons and ammunition. As a responsible major power, we will steadfastly support the actions of the Church Court until the Door of Annihilation is completely closed!" Li Si turned back to tell him.

"Thank you for your strong support. On behalf of the Church Court, I extend to you our highest respect." Carter flattered obsequiously.

"When is the Mage corps planning to take action?" Li Si asked as he continued walking.

"Tomorrow, at noon tomorrow, they will initiate the ceremony to close the Door of Annihilation." Carter answered respectfully.

The two walked down the path towards the tent, followed closely by the members of the Advance Team who wisely refrained from going up to greet Carter.

The group arrived at the tent. The guards at the door were about to step forward to stop them, but Carter quickly spoke, "These are envoys from headquarters, don’t prevent them!"

Hearing his words, the two guards looked at each other, then halted mid-action and continued to stand rigidly at their posts.

The group entered the tent, which was furnished with several tables and cluttered with odds and ends, along with sacks filled with magic crystals in the corner. Robed mages adorned with hooded hats scurried about, while many were huddled around tables discussing matters in hushed tones. Sheepskin parchments adorned the walls, bearing complicated runes drawn on them.

Seeing strangers barging in, one of the young mages was displeased and went to confront them, frowning as he scolded, "This is the office of the Magic Legion. Unrelated personnel are not allowed in!"

"Is an envoy from headquarters also considered an unrelated person?" Before Li Si could respond, Carter retorted in a displeased tone. His voice was loud enough that all the mages immediately turned their heads towards them.

"Dean Shariya!" At this moment, from the back of the group, Tangmo let out a joyful shout and quickly walked towards a mage standing in front of a table.

"Oh?" Hearing someone call his name, Shariya became momentarily startled. A girl with a mask was approaching him. He quickly searched his memory and soon found the answer.

"Ah, it’s you. The little prodigy from Sacred Heart Magic Academy, Moumou, right?" Shariya said with a smile. He replaced Tangmo’s Chinese pinyin name with her nickname, as he wasn’t used to it.

"Dean Shariya, it’s been a long time!" Luo’er stepped forward, bowing respectfully in greeting.

"Captain Luo’er, long time no see. I’m surprised to encounter you here. It seems you’re always around." Shariya joked.

"Hey, who’s that old man?" Seeing the familiar interaction between Luo’er and Shariya, Wu Tairan nudged Hu Daoke and whispered his question.

"He is the dean of Sacred Heart Magic Academy, just one step away from becoming an archmage of the Church Court." Hu Daoke boasted.

"Sacred Heart Magic Academy, that sounds familiar..." Hearing his words, Wu Tairan and Xuzhong Qi exchanged looks and muttered to each other.

"The virtual hall of Haiya Academy was constructed following the specifications of Sacred Heart Magic Academy." Hu Daoke reminded them.

"Wow, how do you guys happen to know such a big shot?" Wu Tairan pondered, and asked with some envy.

"That’s what we call ’opportunity.’ Back then, we aligned with Dean Shariya to close the Otherworld Gate of Lipei." Hu Daoke became increasingly proud as he spoke. Although he had a gas mask on, one could almost see his sense of superiority gushing out from beneath it.

"That’s great, we have a lot of magic-related issues that we haven’t resolved. Now that you’re here, I feel a lot more relieved." Shariya turned to Tangmo and said.

"I’m flattered," Tangmo shyly waved her hands, then looking sincerely at the older mages, added, "My experience is nowhere near comparable to the experts present here."

"If Dean Shariya requires Moumou’s help, please don’t hesitate to ask. As long as it can help ease the crisis sooner, we will undoubtedly offer all our help." Luo’er said.

"My thanks in advance, Captain Luo’er." Shariya was visibly pleased at hearing Luo’er’s words.

"It’s only our duty," Luo’er replied seriously. In front of his elders, he always demonstrated respect and grace. As Cheng Ziang had said, Luo’er was not one for jokes, but he dealt with formal occasions well.