Chapter 14: The Guardian’s Secret

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“We’re not going to help out you two lousy Mages. These are physical creatures, and your magic staffs are useless,” the three other players sneered with disdain.

They had been stationed there for a while and had intended to pass the time dealing with the so-called ant lions.

Their naïve thoughts betrayed them; these horrifying creatures had a tendency to reappear here constantly. They would reproduce and multiply, while their ammunition and equipment were finite. Even if they managed to slay the creatures and obtain their equipment, it would still result in a war of attrition, one that was impossible to win.

They quickly buried the remaining mines in boxes along the monster’s path, with only one Disturbing Landmine in each box, and five to six ordinary Landmines left in their stock.

Based on their current supplies, it was apparent that they could only sustain one wave of attacks.

“Hurry up and move out of the way. You’re only hindering us,” they urged the mages.

[Disturbing Landmine: May not cause significant damage, but it has an intense reaction force. Any creature that touches or remains within 20 yards of the mine for over three seconds will immediately explode, causing a powerful impact force. This effect is not selective and affects both friends and foes. It will push any creatures within range away violently, with the mine at the center.

If there are at least five creatures in the vicinity, the mine will stun them for a certain

duration. The stun effect will last longer if there are multiple groups of creatures.]

The four entrances were guarded by machine gun turrets, but they were clearly not a long-term solution. Continuously firing the turrets would cause them to overheat and eventually leave them defenseless against the monsters.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Four consecutive explosions stunned all the monsters. The wave of creatures was then quickly eliminated with the help of ordinary mines and the machine gun towers.

“See that? What can you two mages do? Guns and cannons are far more practical than your fancy staffs.”

Bai Han heard their words and chuckled, his smile filled with contempt and disdain.

The two guards overheard him and became defensive. “What, not convinced?”

“I’m not convinced, no. You may be strong, but if another wave comes, can you handle it? You’ll end up torn apart by the antlions and become nothing but monster food. You’ll just be a pile of shit!”

The humiliation caused the three gunmen to fly into a rage, and they raised their AKs.

“Crack!”

“Second Brother, my gun is jammed!”

“I told you to take good care of it, but you didn’t listen!”

“You’re talking nonsense. There’s no place for maintenance in this place!”

“Did you see that? You don’t have the materials to maintain your weapons, nor do you have the resources to make new mines. When the machine guns overheat and fail, what will you do? And those monsters are endless because they can reproduce!”

The two men grabbed their sabers and were about to rush over, but their leader quickly stopped them and turned to Bai Han and Lin Yuwei.

“My soldiers were a little stubborn just now. Please forgive us. If you have any good ideas, we will follow your lead!”

“Then please provide us with some reliable information.”

The leader informed them that deep in the third cave, there were antlion eggs guarded by a fearsome antlion. They also discovered that at the center of the egg was a mysterious organism that could provide unlimited supply of a certain material or item if obtained.

Everyone’s eyes widened with excitement at the possibility of such a powerful advantage.

But Bai Han held back for a while and suppressed his curiosity. The ant lion guard was likely the guardian mentioned in the notification, and they couldn’t kill it. He quickly realized the veteran’s scheme. The veteran didn’t want his team to risk their lives exploring the eggs in the third cave themselves, but wanted someone else to do it for them.

Bai Han discreetly checked the veteran’s system attributes.

Name: Sheffield

[Class: Cannoneer]

[Military Rank: Colonel]

..

It appeared that the veteran, named Sheffield, was a seasoned colonel who had experienced numerous battles. As the saying goes in the Call of Duty game, “Once a war begins, it never ends.”

This is because wars are formed by countless famous and nameless casualties. As long as someone dies, another life lives on. Where there are people, there will inevitably be conflict.

It was likely that this colonel wanted Bai Han and his companions to perish so that he could assess the situation and decide whether to retreat or press on for the victory.

“Mr. Veteran, shouldn’t we go together? You don’t have any equipment that can be used for defense, but at least you have equipment that can be used for offense,” said Bai Han.

Facing the so-called ant lion guards, we will work together to destroy the eggs and then find the so-called mysterious creature together,” he added.

The colonel’s face darkened.

“That’s right, Colonel. These two at least look like they can lift a few taels of iron. Five people are better than three. But remember, these fruits are ours. Don’t even think of looting them. We came first so we’ll go by the first come, first served concept.”

The colonel’s two soldiers were a second lieutenant and a first lieutenant. Of course, they didn’t know what the old fox was thinking.

“Impressive. It seems like you’re not a simple person. Since you know what I want, I hope you’d prove yourself to be more interesting,” said Sheffield as he picked up the equipment in his hand and walked towards Cave No. 3.

What began as a seemingly straightforward five-person exploration operation, was in fact an expedition driven by individual ulterior motives. But, little did they know, their assumptions about the situation were about to be shattered.