Chapter 708 - 671: Destroying the Hell Gigantic Siege Machine
Da Fei, having finished matters in Swamp Village, continued his journey to Divine Punishment City. Of course, Tachiusu and Billbo went ahead first, while he and Anlicia followed the previous route, passing through a certain Church Town to the backyard of the Saint Paul Knight Order before reaching Divine Punishment City.
One had to admit, the independent teleportation array in Church City was both a hassle and a convenience. The deeper meanings here were undoubtedly profound, but to Da Fei, who directly entered Divine Punishment City and mixed in under the Angel Leader, the meanings of mortals were no longer worth the time to study.
When Da Fei returned to Divine Punishment City, Ror had been waiting for some time, "Warrior, the demons have started digging trenches at the foot of the mountain. Their next step will surely involve mobilizing siege machines that pose a real threat to us. We can’t let them complete their deployment so easily. We must take the initiative to harass them, infiltrate their rear, and find and destroy their giant siege machines. This arduous task is entrusted to you, Warrior."
Finally, a mission! Going deep behind enemy lines was Da Fei’s favorite. He nodded and said, "Leave this task to me!"
—System Prompt: You have received the Divine Punishment City Meritorious Mission "Destroy the Giant Hell Siege Machine." You have obtained the "Map of the Surrounding Area of Divine Punishment City."
—Task Hint: The location, number, and mobilization time of the Hell Siege Machines are unknown. The more machines you destroy, the more merit rewards you will receive.
Da Fei was stunned on the spot, so much was unknown?
Ror reminded, "Please note that the Angel’s Wings granted by the Angel Leader can only be used near Divine Punishment City. Once you stray too far, you will lose flying ability. Also, this map was drawn many years ago and only roughly reflects the surrounding terrain. You will have to make all decisions yourself, so start preparing, Warrior."
At this point, Blacksmith Will also ran over to Da Fei, pulling out a golden shimmering space bag, "Warrior, as Crusaders, you have a high chance of acquiring spoils of war, and the giant siege machine is considered very advanced technology of the Hell Race. If you come across intact parts, please use this space bag to bring them back."
—System Prompt: You have received Blacksmith Will’s collection mission "Collect Parts of the Hell Siege Machine." You have obtained the quest item "Space Bag for Storing War Machine Parts."
Da Fei raised an eyebrow, holy cow, a golden shimmering war machine space bag! No wonder the Angel Blacksmith is well-stocked! And being able to pique the Angel Blacksmith’s interest means the Hell Siege Machine must be extraordinary. Is there any need to ask about the reward? Sure, taking on two missions for one task is what I love most.
Da Fei nodded, "Alright, leave it all to me!"
Will said with satisfaction, "Warrior, if you can complete this task, it shows you have the ability to delve into the depths of Hell. This means the materials to repair Titan’s Grasp will be guaranteed. I’m looking forward to your performance. Well, I’ll continue working busily now."
Holy cow, indeed, I have to venture deep into Hell to find the materials. The repair of this Divine Artifact is indeed troublesome.
Da Fei opened the map to inspect it, Divine Punishment City was at the center of the map, surrounded by a stony Despair Plain. Beyond the plain were lava-producing Blood Lakes, and outside the lake was a vast expanse of Hell’s Volcano Group. This indicates that Divine Punishment City was situated on a plain surrounded by mountains. The outer area of the mountains on the map had a vague mark indicating the Demon King Fortress. This means there’s definitely a Demon City there. So, the most likely direction for demon troop movement is from there.
In short, although much about the mission was unclear, for Da Fei, who possessed the Reconnaissance Blood Eagle, God-level Reconnaissance Technique, Phantom March, and was a Stealth Master, this mission seemed almost tailor-made for him. Time to assemble the team and prepare.
However, as this was the Hell Battlefield, the difficulty was undoubtedly beyond normal. To be safe, it was better not to bring troops on the first mission. This way, even if the team was wiped out, the losses would be minimal. Right, Selvia was still in the Nightmare Space recharging the Nightmare Crystal; I should call her out.
Da Fei arrived in the Nightmare Space where Selvia was sitting in meditation on a chessboard, while Remy was still sound asleep.
Da Fei suddenly remembered, if he called Selvia out, who would recharge the Nightmare Crystal? He then fixed his gaze on his Nightmare Plush Bear.
—System Prompt: The Nightmare is a summon unit and cannot carry items.
Damn, Fuzzy Bear can’t carry equipment! For a unit to carry equipment, it at least needs to reach BOSS-level, just like the Blood Eagle with three item slots. So, it’s up to the NPC Remy?
Da Fei approached Remy and called, "Remy, can you hear me?"
A nearby Guardian Angel smiled and said, "Warrior, if you have matters to convey, you can tell me and I will relay them to him once he wakes."
Oh, come on! This is a Divine Artifact, how can you relay this? Da Fei could only ask helplessly, "Could you help me hold onto this Nightmare Crystal?"
The Angel smiled, "Of course, you can be assured, Warrior."
Assure me, my foot! I’m entrusting such an important Space Divine Artifact to an NPC that’s not even a subordinate, and I don’t even know their name? But there’s no other way now; thankfully, this is a game, and players’ most trusted entities can only be NPCs.
Da Fei handed over the crystal with a bitter smile, "Alright then, I’ll be counting on you."
The Angel saluted, "It’s my honor to serve you, Warrior."
Da Fei sighed silently, after all, he had too few hands in the Nightmare Space to fully exploit its resources.
With nothing more to say, Da Fei left the Nightmare Space with Selvia, assembled all his heroes, and prepared for the sortie.
He then summoned the Blood Eagle for reconnaissance. The Blood Eagle circled once over the demon-infested Despair Plain, discovering nothing resembling siege machines. It then reached the fiery Blood Lake where a large number of newly sprouted Flesh Demons were emerging. Still, no siege machines were in sight.
This left Da Fei in a bind. Under normal circumstances, reaching the Blood Lake was already the flying limit of the "Angel’s Wings," wasn’t it? If not even there, this mission’s difficulty might be beyond imagination.
Time to delve further into Hell!
At that moment, the Blood Eagle’s vision caught sight of several hundred large Flesh Demons gathered around a rocky Lava Lake. So many demons concentrated in one place definitely meant something significant, so the Blood Eagle flew closer and saw a huge stone platform next to the Lava Lake.
Da Fei raised an eyebrow, what is this? There’s no marker on the map! It looks like a dock? A dock on the Lava Lake? Damn, what kind of ship could possibly sail on a Lava Lake? Just then, Da Fei noticed among these Flesh Demons, there was a hero riding a Hell Warhorse!
What the heck! A hero specifically stationed as a guard, this must be a dock, right? Is he feeling cool and flashy riding his horse huh?
Da Fei suddenly remembered the achievement reward "Nightmare Space One-day Tour" he received for defeating the Divine Beast Nightmare, which also included a Nightmare mount, right?
Alright, now isn’t the time to see who’s cooler, Da Fei now noticed that outside the Lava Lake was a broad Lava River, stretching towards the distant mountain range, which was approximately in the direction marked as the Demon Fortress on the map.
So, surrounded by mountains and inconvenient transport, the Hell Race must have relied on "water" transport for large cargo, right?
Fine, then I’m keen to see exactly how the Hell Race conducts "water" transport.
Thus, the Blood Eagle proceeded along the Lava River. Various fiery giant beasts occasionally roared and rolled out of the river, their intimidating presence causing Da Fei’s eyelids to twitch violently. Eventually, he reached the Hell’s Volcano Group upstream, where dense, scorching smoke and red clouds filled the entire area, making visibility poor.
Such an ominous scene inevitably made Da Fei hesitated. Without a doubt, according to the system’s usual shenanigans, this kind of obvious special terrain surely had insidious negative effects. However, since he was already there, there was no reason to turn back, especially since the Blood Eagle was a Spiritual Creature in otherworldly stealth mode, it should be less affected by the fire smoke, so he decided to venture in and take a look.
When the Blood Eagle flew into the red cloud, Da Fei’s vision turned completely red, and sure enough, as expected, came the ominous messages.
—System Prompt: Your Reconnaissance Blood Eagle has entered the Volcanic Flame Zone, vision reduced by 80%, stamina decreases by 1 every 5 seconds, loses 1 health per second.
Damn! But no worries, for the Blood Eagle with God-level Reconnaissance Technique, even with an 80% vision reduction, it’s still better than an ordinary person’s vision. As for health and stamina, ignore it for the time being.
The Blood Eagle continued its flight through the red cloud. After flying over a few canyons, it heard uniform roars ahead, and a large cluster of red dots appeared on the radar, promising some action!
Finally, he saw it, a huge crystal-clear rowing ship docked at a giant stone platform at the canyon’s edge. On the platform, hundreds of demons of various sizes were chanting loudly and carrying items.
Holy shit! Da Fei was amazed; there actually was a ship that could sail on a Lava River? Made of ceramic or crystal stone perhaps? Certainly not wood! Da Fei finally recalled the metallic assault ships like those the demons had used during the Pool of Radiance National War.
Of course, now that ship wasn’t the point; the point was that the siege machine had finally been found and it was transported via the river. The question now was, how to make a move?
It seemed he could only engage in a fierce battle with that dock-guarding Hell Hero at the end point? And the Angel’s Wings’ flying limit was precisely there as well. But if so, I’d have to mobilize the troops for a head-on clash. Moreover, they might summon reinforcements everywhere, and if I fail, I might lose all my troops! Besides, brawling head-on obviously wasn’t a guerilla harassment strategy, and I’d definitely be at a disadvantage!
Attack from the middle of the river? Damn it, the Lava River’s so wide! How do I board the ship?
While pondering, Da Fei noticed in the Blood Eagle’s view a slow-moving convoy on the winding mountain path. Could it be I’d ambush directly at the starting point on the mountain road?
Meanwhile, in the European Union Zone, Divine Punishment City.
The Angel Leader summoned Lancelot and the Crusader Warriors with a stern expression, "Warriors, the battle situation has changed. All signs indicate that the demons are preparing for a siege attack. Your mission is to find ways to destroy as many of their giant siege machines as possible..."
The entire Royal Ark Team Command Center was stunned! Destroy siege machines within a million-strong Demon Army? Just how powerful must a player be to accomplish this?
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