Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 85 - 81: Aniya

Chapter 85: Chapter 81: Aniya

It took Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke approximately four days to return. They rode horses, and the carriage behind them was loaded with supplies covered in burlap. Hu Daoke, a chatterbox, rambled on and on in Cheng Ziang’s ear during the whole journey. For some reason, Cheng Ziang didn’t seem to mind and simply rolled his eyes as Hu Daoke prattled on.

"Would you look at that, it’s a good thing we went. Those cunning merchants tried to pass off 7.62R ammunition because they ran out of 7.92. Unbelievable!" An animated Hu Daoke rode next to him, spewing rapid-fire words.

"Hello!" Luo’er, accompanied by two girls, greeted them at the entrance to the village. The other villagers were busily following Luo’er’s instructions to construct village defenses.

Seeing Luo’er, Cheng Ziang appeared visibly relieved, letting out a deep sigh.

"How did it go?" asked Luo’er.

"Blue Bay is filled with German munitions. We couldn’t find any other weapons out there," Hu Daoke shrugged in response.

"Of course, that’s why the Oudallo forces in Blue Bay are all equipped with German gear," Luo’er said.

Hu Daoke pulled up the reins, dismounted from his horse, assessed their surroundings, and asked, "Why is everyone chopping down trees and refining steel?"

"They’re building defense facilities. Anyway," Luo’er paused before asking, "What did you manage to buy?"

"Thirteen Gew.98 rifles and a 98k. Plus, roughly 300 rounds of 7.92 ammunition," Hu Daoke stated, unable to control his excitement, "You know, those crooks..."

"I get the idea!" Luo’er waved a hand to cut him off.

"Huh, how do you know?" Hu Daoke asked, puzzled.

"Never mind that, let me reintroduce our team members. Yue’er!" said Luo’er, stepping to the side.

"Sister Moumou," Bai Yue hesitated, prying herself free from Tang Mo’s hand on her ear. She stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hello, everyone. I’m Yue’er of the Sub-beast Race."

"Very cute!" Cheng Ziang commented from atop his horse, looking down on her with a typically aloof expression. But everyone could tell his tone wasn’t as cold as usual.

"Yue’er, your ears... oh, I’m dying!" Hu Daoke dramatically clutched his heart, exclaiming in excitement.

Bai Yue, taken aback by his reaction, looked confused and a bit lost.

"Little Ke," Tangmo moved a step forward and once again caressed Baiyue’s fluffy ears, then addressed Hu Daoke, "You are not to bully Yue’er when you two are together!"

"Does petting her ears count as bullying?" asked Hu Daoke, blinking innocently.

Baiyue stood frozen for a moment, her mouth open but unable to say anything in response. Luo’er stepped in, guided her back, and switched the topic back to business, "Did you hear anything when you were in Blue Bay?"

"From what we heard, the situation on the Kabarguru Peninsula is tense. Oudallo’s forces in Blue Bay have put on hold their vacation and are preparing for war. It’s not a good time to visit the peninsula," Hu Daoke promptly replied when the conversation turned serious.

"Right," Luo’er nodded before adding, "If the situation on the peninsula continues to deteriorate, we’ll temporarily abandon our previous mission and carry out the current one."

"Huh, do we have a mission right now?" asked Hu Daoke.

"Investigating the relationship between the Sub-beastmen and the Beastmen..." Luo’er replied, somewhat exasperated.

"Oh, so how’s the investigation going?" Hu Daoke scratched his head and asked.

"I’m not quite sure. Yue’er is leading the investigation on this, she’ll notify us when she’s done," Luo’er replied with a shake of his head.

"So, does that mean we can slack off for a while?" Hu Daoke asked, a gleam in his eyes.

"Seems like it."

"Perfect!" Hu Daoke exclaimed, walking towards the carriage, lying down, and stretching out his legs.

Trainee guards and children in the village, hearing the commotion, rushed towards the carriage, eager to see what goodies it contained. Hu Daoke slapped the carriage, loudly telling the children, "Come on, little ones, help unload!"

Frightened by Hu Daoke’s booming voice, the children scattered. Only Tara remained standing. Holding a piece of fruit in her hand, she walked over to the carriage, stretched on her tiptoes, and offered the fruit to Hu Daoke.

"Oh, a mini-Yue’er?" Hu Daoke glanced at Bai Yue upon seeing Tara’s fluffy bunny ears. One of Tara’s ears drooped just like Bai Yue’s did.

Bai Yue’s face flushed as she shot a reproachful glare at him and retreated beside Tangmo.

"Aren’t you afraid of me?" Hu Daoke asked Tara as he accepted the fruit, pointing at himself.

He was a half-beastman, and the village had just suffered a brutal raid by the beastmen. Therefore, despite Luo’er’s explanation about Hu Daoke’s identity, most of them still harbored a sense of fear towards him.

Tara shook her head and innocently said, "Brother Luo’er said, you helped our village drive away the Kagulu (beastmen), you’re a great person!"

"Oh, I’m flattered." Responded Hu Daoke, warmed by her words, he stood up, and looking down at her asked, "Can I hug you?"

"Yes!" Tara nodded without hesitation.

"Great, I’ve caught a little cutie." Hu Daoke said, as he lifted Tara in the air, his 1.9-meter height a stark contrast to her. Holding Tara, he plunged toward the children who had gathered around again, shouting loudly, "Continue capturing!"

"Wa, wa, wa!"

The children who had just gathered were scared off by him again, cheering and scattering in all directions.

"Childish!" Cheng Ziang covered his face; Luo’er could clearly hear the sound of his disappointment.

"Let’s move everything back and then distribute the weapons for training!" Luo’er said to the apprentice guards with a smile.

The apprentice guards excitedly swarmed around, driving the cart into the village. A few people climbed onto the cart, touching the cold weapons through the burlap.

After preparations, each apprentice guard was assigned new weapons for formation training. Since the average height of the Sub-beastmen hovered around 1.5 meters, it appeared rather odd when they carried the 1250mm Gew.98 rifle. If a bayonet was added, the length of the rifle was almost as tall as they were.

Luo’er taught them how to aim the rifle correctly. They had to get used to carrying the 4.2 kg rifle for precision shooting. However, since they didn’t have much ammunition, they could only conduct limited live-fire training.

Despite being intended for the civilian market, the restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council have inflated the prices of these old bolt-action rifles. It took a great deal of effort for Hu Daoke and Cheng Ziang to acquire these guns and other weapons, depleting all the savings that Chief Feron had entrusted to them.

To shorten their training time, Luo’er came up with a method. He estimated the distance of each marking on the rifle, and from the wall outward, a landmark was set up for each marking. In this way, the guards could adjust the sight of the rifle by the landmarks to achieve precise shooting.

According to Luo’er’s initial plan, all the trees within a kilometer of the village were cut down to construct defensive walls around the village. Equipped with tall watchtowers at the four corners, these were for monitoring the situation. If the beastmen dared to attack, they would have to traverse almost a kilometer of an open area without any cover. At this time, the guards of the village could adjust the sight of the rifle using predetermined landmarks to accurately shoot at the beastmen, decreasing their numbers before they could reach the walls.

Of course, rifles alone would not be sufficient to protect the village, so they also purchased a batch of crossbows.

Prior to the introduction of firearms from Earth into the Otherworld, the crossbow had always been considered the most powerful ranged weapon of the cold weapon era and was strictly prohibited for personal ownership by various nations. However, with the introduction of firearms from Earth, these prohibitions became ineffective, thus they could easily purchase a substantial number of crossbows.

Compared to rifles, the crossbows had significant power and were second only to rifles, serving as supplementary firepower when the beastmen approached the walls. Additionally, they were easy to operate, even for the elderly and women, making up for the village’s lack of able-bodied individuals.

Upon completing weapons operation training, it was Baiyue’s turn to teach them how to maintain the weapons and load ammunition.

Looking at Baiyue’s dedicated teaching, Luo’er felt a sense of comfort. Once she had opened up, she had obviously become more cheerful and less solitary, which was good for him and his team.

Turning his head, he saw Chief Feron standing beside him, bent at the waist. Clearing his throat, Luo’er asked, "Chief Feron, may I ask you something?"

"Please ask, Lord Luo’er, I will certainly answer if I know." Feron was still very respectful to Luo’er. After all, Luo’er had once saved their village and helped to prevent their race from being exterminated. Luo’er was practically their savior.

"You’re too kind," Luo’er waved his hand. He glanced at Baiyue in the distance, then asked, "Can I inquire about your daughter Aniya?"

"Aniya..." Feron uttered her name, glancing involuntarily towards Baiyue.

"When did Aniya go missing?" Luo’er asked.

"Approximately thirty or so years ago," Feron looked up, reminiscing, "At that time, the Prophetic War had just ended, and the allied forces had suffered a disastrous defeat. They were stationed at the Otherworld Gate, fearing that the people from the other world would attack. Aniya was part of the transport team staying there and supplying rations for the troops. Who would have known..."

Feron, with a pained look on his face, closed his eyes, "A year later, the army from the Otherworld did come. They swept through the allied forces like a flood and dispersed in all directions. It was chaotic then; many of our people died in the war, and Aniya went missing. Of course, I would prefer to believe she’s just missing."

"Thirty years ago, 2021, the second Otherworld War!" Luo’er murmured in a voice only he could hear. "Yue’er was born in 2031, according to gestation, it’s calculated back to 2030!"

"How old was Aniya when she went missing?" Luo’er asked again.

"She was only sixteen then, just came of age." Feron recalled.

"Sixteen, that’s twenty-five in 2030!" Luo’er nodded, having a rough idea, then asked, "One last question!"

He looked at Baiyue and asked: "Were Aniya’s ears drooping like hers?"

"She..." Feron started, couldn’t help but look at Baiyue again, then sighed and nodded, "Yes, they’re the same!"

Luo’er felt a jolt in his heart. He stared at Baiyue in the distance, having drawn a rough suspicion in his mind. However, he couldn’t reveal anything now. He needed evidence to confirm it. And there was one person who certainly knew all about Baiyue!