Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 949 - 942: Empty

Chapter 949: Chapter 942: Empty

"There’s no need to be so polite, I haven’t decided to join you yet," Axia replied while wiping the Magic Array.

"Uh, that’s alright, after all, we’ve been staying at your place, so it’s only right that we help you with some things," Luo’er hesitated, then said with a slightly embarrassed tone.

He could tell that Axia joining the headquarters was almost a done deal, but since Axia was clearly playing hard to get, he decided to go along with it.

After a day of preparation, when the day of departure arrived, everyone had their necessary items packed and loaded onto the wagons.

Axia’s belongings were not numerous, consisting of just some herbs and a change of clothes. Considering that her original weapons were indeed subpar, Luo’er had her take a FAL semi-automatic rifle and two magazines for self-defense.

As for the Browning, Hu Daoke thought of a fitting use for it. He mounted the gun on the driver’s seat of the wagon, to serve as a vehicle-mounted machine gun.

Of course, considering that the wagon was drawn by horses easily spooked, Luo’er dismissed the idea, though they kept it there for show.

Indeed, compared to his light machine gun without a stock, the Browning had obvious shortcomings, but its advantages were also very prominent—chief among them its tremendous suppressive power.

The Browning automatic rifle was heavy and had a lot of recoil, and its magazine capacity was a mere thirty rounds. However, the suppressive power of this weapon was something the 7.62X39mm caliber weapons used by the Advance Team couldn’t match.

As previously mentioned, the Browning fires .30 Springfield rifle cartridges, roughly 7.62X63mm. While the caliber may appear the same, the amount of gunpowder loaded into the cartridges is significantly different.

The Advance Team’s stockless light machine gun could only cause damage to targets without cover—this monster could send both personnel and their cover flying to the heavens.

So despite his gripes, Hu Daoke didn’t give up on this gun and planned to use it to supplement his own stockless light machine gun. Although the weapon was heavy, for Hu Daoke, it wasn’t much of an extra burden. After all, he had previously carried the team’s ammunition on his back and still managed to run and jump around as usual.

The day the Advance Team set off was a clear and sunny one, with not a cloud in the sky and the scorching sun hanging in the azure blue. Although due to atmospheric pressure, the ground temperature remained low, and the Snow Domain was still enveloped in snow, the surface temperature was striving to rise above zero under the sun’s efforts.

Because the weather was nice, most people chose not to ride in the wagons but instead to ride alongside the team on horseback. They followed the path through areas they had previously fought in, where several large grave mounds lay with cross-shaped tombstones placed in front of them—these were the works of the Advance Team.

Although they had been enemies of the Advance Team in life, the saying goes, ’when a person dies, their debts are forgiven.’ There was no need for the Advance Team to bear a grudge against the dead, so out of humanitarianism, they buried these bodies together.

However, this battle also served as a wake-up call for Luo’er and the others, signaling that the enemies the Advance Team would encounter in the future might not be as weak as before. If they continued to rely solely on their rapid and fierce attack tactics, they would certainly suffer a setback this time.

Fortunately, both Luo’er and Cheng Ziang were aware of the increasing strength of their enemies and began adjusting the Advance Team’s combat strategies accordingly.

Although Fulajie’er still appeared somewhat childish, Luo’er believed that with time, she would definitely grow into a qualified squad commander.

The team followed the road ahead, spotting many disorderly footsteps along the way—likely left by that group of people. However, Luo’er wasn’t worried about an ambush from these people on their route. With Fulajie’er’s reconnaissance, not even the slightest movement in the vicinity could escape their notice.

It was about a hundred kilometers from their starting point to the tomb, and roughly half of that was on major roads, with the other half requiring passage through the jungle. Luo’er estimated that at their current pace, they should reach the tomb in about three days.

However, considering there was a group of less than a hundred mercenaries ahead of them, Luo’er intentionally slowed down, allowing them to walk into danger first. They would then swoop in afterwards, reaping the benefits.

Based on the information provided by Axia, Luo’er analyzed and adjusted their route. They planned to travel ninety percent of the way on main roads, take a detour into the jungle, and thereby largely avoid direct contact with the mercenaries.

Luo’er was not sure how these people had managed to locate the tomb, but from their behavior and Axia’s feedback, it seemed likely that among them were individuals familiar with Snow Domain and the tombs. Perhaps it was precisely because these people had seen Axia that someone had come seeking trouble with her.

With these people around, Luo’er did not dare delay any longer, for if he dragged his feet too long, it was highly possible that they had already found the Ancestors’ Holy Book. By then, if the Advance Team wished to obtain the Holy Book, they would have no choice but to engage in a massacre, which was not the outcome Luo’er wanted to see.

To put it nicely, Luo’er did not want to kill so many people just for a book. To put it less nicely, what he was mainly worried about was the prospect of casualties within the Advance Team, which was the last scenario he wanted to face.

These people could number in the thousands, and Luo’er wouldn’t bat an eye. But if even one member of the Advance Team was injured, he would be exceedingly distressed.

Therefore, after weighing his options, Luo’er decided to rush to the location of the noble tomb within five days. If the mercenaries had already found the Ancestors’ Holy Book, they would find a way to get it; if not, then they would wait for them to do so, or take advantage of their weakened state to wipe them out in a strategy akin to the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

The journey was devoid of many surprises, and on the fifth day, the Advance Team finally made it through the difficult jungle and pitched their camp on the outskirts of the noble tomb.

As Snow Domain was mountainous, the terrain was rugged, and the Advance Team set up camp at a relatively flat location. They left most of their heavy gear there, using it as a base from which to conduct their operations.

After setting up camp, and as evening fell, they attended to their food needs. Luo’er then took Baiyue and Axia farther in for reconnaissance. Prior to this, Fulajie’er had already located a high ground for them that overlooked the entire tomb area from a vantage point.

Luo’er and the two companions reached this commanding height and began to observe the situation below. The noble tomb lay at the foot of a mountain, with the whole structure built along it, and the tomb itself inside the mountain.

The entrance to the tomb boasted a grand and imposing building, adorned with exquisite stone carvings. It made no attempt to hide the fact that it was a tomb—in fact, those unaware might even mistake it for a palace built into the mountain.

Of course, there was a reason for this, as according to Axia’s description, countless individuals had died within this tomb from ancient times until now. Many who entered never returned, and those who did escape managed to do so without any treasure, and instead ended up mad from fright.

In front of the tomb was a flowing river, and between the entrance and the river lay a river beach plain about two hundred meters in distance. The waters were still frozen, and atop the snow-covered beach were pitched several small tents.

Upon reaching the observation point, Luo’er immediately felt something was off about the tents on the river beach. Baiyue looked through her telescope for a long time before speaking with a serious face, "Why isn’t there anyone inside these tents?"

"No wonder something felt strange," Luo’er nodded and then looked upwards to ask, "Fula, when you did your reconnaissance, did you see anyone in the tent area?"

"Hmm, no!" Fulajie’er thought for a moment and then replied with certainty.

"Then why didn’t you report this anomaly?" Luo’er asked, puzzled.

"There’s no need to report that, right?" Fulajie’er was stunned for a good while before speaking with a touch of grievance, "They all went down into the tomb, so isn’t it normal for no one to be there?"

"Sigh, you really do lack common sense..." Luo’er said with a pained smile, holding his face in his hand.

"Did I do something wrong?" Fulajie’er asked timidly.

"Even if they were going down into the tomb, they would surely leave at least half their people on the surface—they wouldn’t send everyone. Just look at our arrangements; have we ever had everyone go down into the tomb together?" Baiyue said coldly from the side.

"Right, I’m sorry, it was my oversight..." Fulajie’er’s voice grew weaker and weaker.

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