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墨書 Inktalez
The flames still flickered as the Phantom slowly revealed its form.
The attacking Scarabs were knocked down one by one, their lives easily stripped away.
Clearly, such a situation could continue to unfold. Not long after they saw the battlefield cleared, the Phantom returned to the Human Alliance.
If things had gone worse, this mission could have been rendered meaningless.
At that moment, everyone turned their gaze toward the foot of the mountain, where a mass of red shadows appeared. A few individuals immediately prepared their protective suits—sturdy gear worn by chemical workers, designed to prevent the Man-Eating Worms from crawling in through any openings.
Putting on the protective suits required teamwork; it took over ten minutes to get everyone suited up. By the time they were all dressed, the foot of the Mountainous Region was surrounded by that sea of red shadows.
With little fuel left, humans even resorted to dismantling Napalm and pouring high-proof alcohol, creating a pungent smell of gunpowder.
Many quickly dispersed, each holding a bottle of high-purity liquor, uncorking it and pouring it out forcefully.
Inside were over a dozen bottles of such liquor, each stuffed with alcohol-soaked cloth. With a lighter in their right hand, they created makeshift Molotov cocktails that provided some psychological comfort.
Along the way, they could only see the charred ground. The worms varied in size from as small as a finger to as large as a palm, but now their original forms were unrecognizable, reduced to fixed blackened shapes.
Continuing along the path, an area spanning several miles was stained bright red.
However, it was not hard to notice that amidst the still-burning ashes of flames, those worms seemed eager to break free from the fire's grasp. Yet ultimately, they perished under the explosive force of Diesel Barrels—a devastating blow brought by the intense heat.
These Man-Eating Worms appeared to be trying to express something; they left no last words before dying.
After two hours of searching, everyone returned to their vehicles and removed their protective suits, digging a pit to bury them underground.
Though these suits could technically be reused after one use, the Hunters preferred not to take them back.
In memory of this place where so many lives were lost, let their clothes be buried here, carrying the remnants of their essence.
"There are no survivors; it seems they were killed thoroughly," Freyr said with a smile.
The others nodded in agreement. Ross took a swig from a bottle of strong liquor he had opened from his bag, drinking deeply until he was completely intoxicated, then collapsed inside the vehicle.
When a person's nerves relax to the ultimate extent, they become vulnerable, especially in times like this, where many lives have been extinguished. Their spirits should also be affected. Although they are not human and do not count as living beings, even enemies represent a living life. Ross's actions seemed somewhat entranced; it would likely take him a long time to recover from this pain.
Everyone noticed that he probably had never taken a life before. A hunter who has never killed, even one who has been in the profession for some time, would still have blood on their hands from many insectoid lives. Now, however, he had set fire to hundreds of Man-Eating Worms.
In this maiden battle, Freyr's Soldier-Level Hunter Team performed exceptionally well, maintaining pressure from start to finish. They faced risks but managed to turn every danger into safety, resulting in zero casualties.
In fact, after completing the mission, everyone felt a significant sense of relief, but fatigue soon washed over them.
Freyr opened a bottle of sparkling drink and took a sip, feeling invigorated. He immediately turned the vehicle around and drove out of the grassland.
The journey back would likely take all night. Freyr was skilled at driving, taking the fastest route possible to allow his companions to rest one by one.
His body was not made of iron; he also needed sufficient rest. Therefore, he arranged for Relock to take turns driving every six hours.
They would spend a lot of time on the road, but conditions could sometimes be troublesome.
They encountered danger without any effective weapons at hand; they could only use simple Molotov cocktails as makeshift firearms.
After all, insects are still a type of animal. As long as their size is not particularly enormous, flames can scare off those simple creatures.
In fact, these insects possessed considerable combat power; they could penetrate flames at close range. The ability of fire alone would not quickly achieve instant burn effects; the heat from those simple Molotov cocktails could not compare to the three thousand degrees Celsius of a furnace.
But perhaps due to an instinctive fear, living beings are inherently afraid of flames, unwilling to approach their reach.
This gave the people in the vehicle a chance to break free. In fact, it wouldn't take long for those insects to cross the fiery boundary, but by then it would be too late. The off-road vehicle, powered by an excellent engine and the strongest energy motor, smoothly traversed the road with its flat tires.
All the hard equipment was fully equipped; this vehicle was configured to perfection.
While it couldn't quite compare to top-tier vehicles, it could easily leave those inferior insects behind by ten streets in the blink of an eye.
Having gone through so much, the people in the car closed their eyes to rest, but in reality, their senses were heightened to the extreme. Even the slightest rustle of leaves or a whisper of wind could awaken them.
This was all thanks to the excellent training they received during this mission. Without these numerous challenges before them, they would never have realized how formidable they could be. The rescue of a city by Slyland City had already made it clear that they were a team worthy of being called excellent hunters—The Hunter Team.
They encountered some bumps along the way, including a tire blowout, but fortunately managed to handle it with timely use of a rain tire for cold treatment.
Although the situation was vastly different from when they had flat tires, being able to run was already a significant achievement. They didn't know if they could survive on this road, so it was better not to take unnecessary risks and just keep driving.
After refueling twice and nearly emptying their tank, they finally saw Slyland City. Without lingering, they returned the vehicle's performance to the repair shop for a complete overhaul and paid in full for it. The vehicle's performance was decent, but if they replaced it with top-notch motors and engines, starting it up would feel like unleashing a fierce beast.
Men love having such vehicles; as long as they can drive fast enough, that's all that matters.
After staying at Rose Inn for a few nights and leaving behind contact numbers for easier communication in the future, they waited until the vehicle's performance was fully optimized before planning to return to Human Alliance City.
Once they entered the city, they would be safe.
The next stretch of road was familiar to everyone. They drove back to the association first, each returning home briefly to show their families before spending a night there. The following day, they gathered at the dormitory building of the association at the appointed time. It seemed everyone looked somewhat fatigued; exhaustion was inevitable. But soon came their favorite time—the distribution of earnings. At this point, everyone's spirits were revitalized once again.
The counterattack from the opposite side was particularly fierce, with a strong aggressiveness.
The barrier effect of the Mountainous Region was not a concern; after traversing several slopes, the Mountainous Region had also been leveled in the past.
There was only a stretch of flat land, and this time the situation was relatively weak.
The target was to eliminate a rare type of insect known for its cruelty, which dominated the nearby area.
Any insect recognized by the association as a pest surely had a significant background. There had once been a migration of a certain species that completely wiped out all the flora and fauna of the grasslands, leaving not even a single root on the grass seedlings.
Today's mission was to locate that type of insect, which was omnivorous. Although not numerous, it was one of the few social creatures present.
Perhaps an individual insect did not possess much power, but when they attacked in swarms, they could strip even a small amount of flesh from an elephant.
This was the infamous Man-Eating Worm.
"Terrifying Man-Eating Worms! Who can think of an effective way to deal with them?" Even Freyr found himself in a dilemma regarding the Man-Eating Worms this time. Without destructive weapons available, it was impossible to ignite vehicles for another explosion, and clearly, there were no human outposts nearby. Walking back on foot from such a distant place would take an indefinite amount of time—perhaps even longer than one could imagine. The mission's timeline might have already passed without anyone realizing it.
Thus, the suggestion to blow up vehicles was dismissed. There was another method: to gather and use fire to kill the Man-Eating Worms.
These insects were terrifying due to their voracious appetite; once they parasitized an animal, they would directly burrow into its brain. Even boiling water might not be enough to kill them.
In fact, flames could reach temperatures sufficient to destroy all matter. Although the Man-Eating Worms were fearsome, it wasn't impossible to roast them alive using fire. Fortunately, there were still several barrels of diesel fuel bought for emergencies on the vehicle. They could sprinkle diesel around the soil and place several barrels as targets nearby.
Fortunately, the Man-Eating Worms did not fly; they were primarily terrestrial creatures. By the time they accepted this Bounty Mission, military satellite reconnaissance had already connected to their tablets. It turned out that these Man-Eating Worms were not native creatures; unexpectedly, they lived deep within glaciers and had recently resurfaced as a primitive species. With astonishing appetites and tenacious vitality, even massive whales in the ocean became hosts for these parasites and would soon be reduced to nothing but skeletons covered in thick layers of fat—a tragedy frequently witnessed in the ocean. The most horrifying part was that many fish also fell victim to these parasites, leaving no flesh behind.
However, this type of insect was not uncontrollable; high temperatures could kill them. Until methods to suppress them were invented, the association could only continue sending hunters and teaching suitable ways to eliminate their invasion.
It seemed like that was the case; the attack appeared no more terrifying than imagined. In fact, the higher-ups in the association believed that using fire to gather and eliminate them all at once was the most effective method.
They had a taste for blood, and even a single drop of it dispersed in water could be detected from several kilometers away. Once they gathered, their numbers could reach into the hundreds or thousands.
Simply detonating flames wouldn't be enough to kill them all at once, as it would drive the more resilient Man-Eating Worms to remote areas.
The terror of the Man-Eating Worms didn't stop there; they reproduced asexually, meaning that even if just one remained, it could multiply exponentially within a week.
The growth rate would surpass the original number geometrically.
Diesel had better stability; its instant explosion could dry up a pool of water with its high temperature, making it the most advantageous weapon.
"The fire attack method is good. We need to record this video to verify whether we achieved our goal. If the mission is completed and passes review, rewards will be sent to our team's Score card within a week," Freyr responded.
"We'll use a cow with its artery cut as a sacrifice. Once those worms swarm near the Diesel Barrel, we'll blow them up all at once. Just to be safe, we should also use some naturally generated White Phosphorus from Phosphorus Bugs as a distant fuse. Our vehicle needs to retreat a bit; the heat over there isn't an issue, but we must prevent the bodies of the Man-Eating Worms from splattering everywhere. We want to avoid any remaining resilient worms from parasitizing us. Those are difficult to cure; they consume all nutrients within a living organism and only stop when they've left behind a thick layer of fat," Freyr said. Although he had never witnessed the terrifying experience of Man-Eating Worms infiltrating their prey, he had read many detailed accounts in books. The horrific fates of those parasitized creatures were still vivid in his mind, and maintaining a safe distance was also a consideration for life safety.
Sacrificing even one cow's life was significant, though Freyr had never advocated risking lives in such ways before.
After all, it was still a living being. However, now Freyr believed that sacrificing some animal lives for the sake of human safety was justifiable.
Moreover, they couldn't directly place human lives in such peril without proper protective gear or rescue measures; the outcome would be predictable.
With these thoughts in mind, they immediately began implementing their plan.
This time, they arranged for three cows in total, leading the other two over as well.
One cow's leg was sliced open, and as blood flowed out, Xiong Tai quickly returned to the vehicle while the White Phosphorus fuse was also completed on the other side.
The ignition device was set up as a long-range sniper rifle's scope.
As the vehicle retreated to a suitable position, black shadows swarmed in from the other side.
The camera was already prepared, ready to capture the scene unfolding before it.
The two cows were soon enveloped by those black forms. At first, they struggled, but within just a few seconds, their resistance began to wane.
The figures of the cows gradually shrank, revealing their stark white bones, their skeletons becoming visible.
"Now's the time," the white phosphorus ignites at an average temperature of forty degrees. The sniper rifle erupted with a loud bang, and the bullet struck the white phosphorus directly.
Following a straight line of white fuses, it gradually split the skeletal remains of the two cows apart, instantly detonating the diesel barrels on either side.
The heat reached its peak, and in that moment, the noise became exceptionally loud.
Life flickered in the orange-red flames, and soon after, silence fell over the scene.
The man-eating worms were not particularly resilient; they had an insatiable appetite. However, as analyzed earlier, high temperatures were indeed their nemesis.
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