Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 968 - 961: Action Plan

Chapter 968: Chapter 961: Action Plan

Walking further inward, they reached the area where the Flying Head Monster often lurked. The space here, compared to the outside, was quite narrow; the long tube-like passage allowed no room for maneuvering. The Flying Head Monster launched an attack right there and, within less than a minute, had killed most of Talis’s team members. Had it not been for Fulajie’er’s timely protection, she would have perished in the attack as well.

Once they reached this point, Fulajie’er did not continue to delve deeper into the tomb. At this moment, she had to stick close to Talis to protect her. Otherwise, Talis might fall victim to the fierce onslaught of the Flying Head Monster.

After several encounters, Fulajie’er gained some new insights into the Flying Head Monster’s attacks. The move that had previously injured Luo’er, a double-strike, was also perfectly defended by Fulajie’er. The next time the Advance Team encountered it, they would not be as passive.

Since both were divine beings, in truth Fulajie’er and the Flying Head Monster could not destroy each other— the Flying Head Monster sought to kill, while Fulajie’er sought to protect. That was all. They could only contend within the realm of magic.

However, considering that they might need to rely on Cheng Ziang going forward, they probably would not have to clash with that creature again. Of course, that was only probable, as no one could guarantee that the Flying Head Monster would absolutely heed Cheng Ziang’s advice. Therefore, concerning the matter of the Flying Head Monster, Luo’er felt that the immediate priority was to find its Achilles’ heel.

The so-called Achilles’ heel was, in fact, its vulnerability. Luo’er noticed that the Flying Head Monster did not seem to be a true god; she not only lacked divinity but barely had any human essence, merely a murderous demon. A god such as her could never become a true deity.

This was Luo’er’s subjective view. Objectively speaking, the reason why the Flying Head Monster constantly wandered the tomb and its surroundings likely stemmed from the same restriction as Fulajie’er— it could not wander freely in the world.

Fulajie’er’s Achilles’ heel was the crystal on Luo’er’s neck; the crystal bound her spirit, and if it were damaged, her soul would dissipate along with her spirit.

This was because she had not yet completed the final ritual to create a body made of magical energy to bind her soul. So, if the crystal that bound her spirit were to break, she would face the dissolution of her soul.

If the Flying Head Monster was a demigod like Fulajie’er, then it likely also had something that bound its spirit—its Achilles’ heel. Once its Achilles’ heel was destroyed, it could be killed outright.

In the discussions, Cheng Ziang also mentioned a detail he had noticed. Unlike Fulajie’er, the Flying Head Monster was capable of producing real sounds.

As mentioned before, Fulajie’er could not directly produce sound waves because she had no physical body, so she could only convey her voice through touching other realms. However, the Flying Head Monster could make actual sounds, even if it was just terrifying screams.

Cheng Ziang believed that she was able to do this because of her method of using magical power.

The Flying Head Monster was clearly a magic expert, with a speed of gathering magical power that had once caught Fulajie’er, also a demigod, completely off-guard.

Magic existed in the atmosphere, and any disturbance of magic would stir the air. Intense magical disturbance could also generate strong air turbulence.

So Cheng Ziang speculated that the sound produced by the Flying Head Monster was the result of rapidly gathering magical power to create severe air disturbance, subsequently achieving the effect of making a sound.

Of course, Fulajie’er could also do this, but there was no point. Because such sounds were meaningless shrieks, by comparison, she preferred to directly converse with others by touching their realms.

As the discussion continued to deepen, everyone gained a general clear understanding of the tomb and the Flying Head Monster. The only variable now was whether it would listen to Cheng Ziang and allow the Advance Team to enter the tomb to find what they were looking for.

On this issue, the Advance Team had a significant disagreement. The cautious faction, led by Luo’er, believed that since the Flying Head Monster was the only variable, for the sake of safety, it would be better to have only Cheng Ziang enter the tomb with it. This way, supplemented by the protection of Fulajie’er, if the Flying Head Monster attempted to harm him despite Cheng Ziang’s attempts, Fulajie’er could still protect Luo’er.

However, Cheng Ziang, representing the more aggressive faction, clearly disagreed with this approach. He thought that instead of having the Captain charge into the fray while others watched, it would be better to gamble with everyone’s involvement. If the Flying Head Monster were willing to listen to him, it should spare everyone, not selectively target individuals.

Such a radical viewpoint might have seemed, but it attracted a considerable following, with almost all members of the Advance Team, except for Luo’er and Axia, agreeing with Cheng Ziang’s opinion. They believed that the Advance Team should move forward or retreat together rather than having the Captain charge ahead while the team members loaf around.

This contrast made Luo’er feel quite embarrassed, because if he were to dictate everything, it would mean that the discussion was completely meaningless; he could simply issue orders. But if he tried to be democratic, then his viewpoint would definitely be overrun.

He also tried to propose a compromise, which was to selectively arrange for a few team members to go down together, leaving the rest to stand guard. But this compromise was still met with collective opposition, simply because Luo’er wanted to go down.

Tangmo and the others felt that if part of the team stayed above while Luo’er and others took risks below, and if something happened to them, the ones remaining on the surface would be pointless. Additionally, the loss of Luo’er and Cheng Ziang would lead to the complete disintegration of the Advance Team; hence, staying behind had no purpose at all.

Failure would mean annihilation for the entire team, regardless of how many people survived in the end. As long as Luo’er was gone, it was the same as total defeat.

Luo’er understood their thoughts, but he was also aware of the dangers of this mission. So, after repeated discussions, Luo’er decided to have Cheng Ziang and Eve stay behind while the others entered the tomb.

This decision had reasons. First of all, the threat inside the tomb was most likely just the single creature, the Flying Head Monster, which was a magical form; firearms had no effect on it, something Luo’er had already confirmed. Therefore, bringing support personnel would not be much help to the Advance Team.

That was the consideration from an objective standpoint. From a subjective standpoint, Luo’er thought it important to uphold humanitarian principles. Hu Daoke had someone dear waiting anxiously for him back at base, so Hu Daoke couldn’t afford to take risks.

As for Eve, that was actually taking into consideration Axia’s feelings. Since Axia was also going to enter the tomb, naturally, they couldn’t bring Eve along. Eve was Axia’s junior, and Axia certainly wouldn’t want anything untoward to happen to her.

Therefore, Luo’er decided to leave those two behind at the camp. If the Advance Team really faced total annihilation, then they would head straight to Luscaque Port, take a boat back to Odelanqi, and then make their way back to base to report the bad news.

Clearly, Hu Daoke was not satisfied with this arrangement, and out of respect for Luo’er’s position, he didn’t outright object, but his discontent was evident from his gloomy expression.

After the discussion, Luo’er continued to communicate with Axia and Talis. Cheng Ziang noticed Hu Daoke’s dejected mood and sat down beside him, casually asking, "What’s wrong, don’t feel like staying behind?"

"Isn’t that obvious?" Hu Daoke glanced up at Luo’er and then lowered his voice, "If something happens to you all, do you think I’d have the face to go back?"

"Don’t talk like that. You’re going back to report the bad news, which is also a very important task, isn’t it?" Cheng Ziang consoled.

"What kind of task is that? Going back to the base to report bad news just sounds depressing," Hu Daoke said, pursing his lips.

"Don’t be so pessimistic. It’s not certain something will happen, and don’t forget, I certainly won’t come to any harm," Cheng Ziang said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

"If the boss and the others are in trouble, and you walk out unscathed, do you think you’d have the face to see me?" Hu Daoke retorted unceremoniously.

"Don’t worry, your boss won’t get into trouble, and most of us won’t either," Cheng Ziang said, squinting and smiling reassuringly.

"How do you know?" Hu Daoke asked.

"The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed," Cheng Ziang said, squinting and giving a meaningful look.

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