Chapter 1076: The Power of “Worms"
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The test site was at a valley down the Impassable Mountain Range.
It was surrounded by mountains and never before imprinted by the foot of man. With no access to public transit, it was quite difficult for people to reach this area unless with the help of an airplane or a tunnel. Therefore, this was the best place to conduct some secret projects.
Napalm weapons were by no means something of extreme secrecy, but there were some rare spectators.
"Ah... the air here is so refreshing. I can smell flowers and fresh soil," said Celine as she emerged from the crack of rocks while swaying her tentacle. "It has been over 200 years since I saw the blue sky last time."
Retnin shuddered. He looked at Roland, panic-striken and lost.
Everyone would be horrified by the sight of a giant blob monster coming out of the ground. If this was a disaster movie, the appearance of such a monster was definitely a turning point of the story where background music normally kicked in.
Not to mention that the giant monster could actually speak.
If one could still maintain his composure upon such a sight, Roland would think he was a competent official.
This was also why Roland had selected this valley as his test site.
"Don't worry. They used to be human too, but the demons turned them into monsters," Roland comforted the alchemist as he patted him on the shoulder. "They communicate through their minds, and that's why you heard their voices. If you want to talk to them, just say it aloud or within yourself, like this..."
Roland turned to Celine and said, "It isn't hard for an original carrier to take a look at the blue sky and clear water once in a while, is it?"
"That's because Celine locks herself up all day in the research room," said Pasha's voice as she emerged from the earth. "The God's Punishment Witches have been talking about their experience in the Dream World lately. There's a specific word that describes her lifestyle. I remember you call a person like her a... shut-in?"
"I somehow remember there are two adjectives before that." Alethea put in as she appeared with the Senior Demon.
"Do you really want me to say them?"
"Oh, not really..."
Roland raised his brows at Retnin and said, "See? They aren't that scary, are they?"
"Y-Yes, you are right..." Retnin agreed quite reluctantly.
"They sacrificed their human bodies in exchange for a life of eternity. Their new bodies are highly resistant to heat and corrosion, which means they can directly touch many chemicals. Their tentacles are sensitive to different materials, which enables them to conduct multiple experiments at the same time. In other words, their bodies are perfect for chemical research. What do you think? Are you interested in working with them?" Roland asked with a shrug.
Retnin swallowed hard. After a long silence, he answered, "I... I'm fine, Your Majesty."
Although Retnin declined Roland's offer, he no longer avoided eye contact with the Senior Witches from Taquila. Instead, there was a bite of curiosity in his look.
Roland shook his head in amusement and walked to the demon binded by ropes.
Although the demon had lost its legs, Roland did not want to take chance.
This body used to belong to a God's Punishment Warrior after all.
Roland crouched down, looked straight into the demon's eyes and said, "You are Carb... Radaby, right?"
Without connecting to a person, the demon could not understand the human language even though it was currently in a human vessel. However, the overt hatred and animosity in the demon's eyes seemed to have transcended the language barrier between them, so blatant that everyone knew what it was trying to convey.
Roland continued indifferently, "I prepared a firework display for you. You committed atrocities against the human population on the Land of Dawn and destroyed more than half of our kingdom. Now, it's time for us to retaliate. Enjoy the show."
He then nodded at Retnin and said, "Go ahead."
The alchemist cast a glance at the demon. Knowing that he was not supposed to question the king's order, he simply shouted, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Everybody descended into the underground tunnel after everything was in order, leaving the demon alone on the cliff.
"Explosion countdown, ten, nine... one, fire!"
An operator ignited the bomb.
In an instant, red flames erupted from the center of the valley. Unlike the high explosives used in their maneuver, the firelight was dimmed by a cloud of thick, black smoke. Neither the noise nor the impact produced by the explosion was as impressive as that by the high explosives.
But they soon noticed a big difference between this new weapon and the old one.
Through a porthole, they could clearly see thick smog rise slowly and spread across the sky, as though some giant hand had dropped a misty mantle. The hot air pushed fuels up into the air, which cascaded down to the ground like fiery lava and blasted like open umbrellas.
After these "umbrellas" opened up, flickers of red light grew brighter and soon turned into a flood of flames!
Roland knew this was a result of the reaction of the aluminum with the iron oxides in the combustion-supporting layer.
The energy released from this chemical reaction caused a second explosion that lasted for several seconds.
As the explosives rained down, the valley was immediately ablaze. Although Roland and his party were currently in a relatively safe area, they could still sense hot waves coming from the explosion.
Due to the pull of gravity, the thick smoke and the flames finally separated. The smoke dissipated while the fire spread throughout the entire test site. There had been a forest and a brook at the center of the valley, but they were now both aflame. Roland did not think it necessary to check whether their testing animals were still alive at this point anymore.
On the other side of the tunnel, Alethea curled up her main tentacle.
"If only there was a weapon like this in the Taquila Age!" thought she.
Since fire was the natural enemy of the Red Mist, the demons never left any visible combustible materials around their outpost. It was impossible to ignite firewood to disperse the Red Mist. Even if the witches managed to produce flame sources with a high temperature, they had to apply their magic power to make them work. Nevertheless, the new weapon offered them a possibility to instantly wipe out the demons' lair. If they could successfully transport the weapon into the outpost, they would be able to cut a path for the army.
In that case, the God's Punishment Witches would also have a greater chance of survival as they no longer needed to protect common soldiers from the demons and the Red Mist.
Alethea almost foresaw a flaming mist storage tower gradually turn into a blinding pillar of fire.
The three Senior Witches exchanged their ideas quickly in their original carriers. Without a single word, they reached a mutual understanding among themselves.
Alethea stole a glance at the mortal man and heaved a sigh... It was a pity that he had not been born 400 years ago.
The flames finally subsided after four hours.
The whole valley was razed to the ground.
When Roland came out of the tunnel, he had an illusion that it was mid summer rather than early spring. The scorching air had turned the valley into a temporary greenhouse.
He looked at the demon on the cliff. As they had cleaned up the surroundings earlier, the fire had not reached their shelter. As for the God's Punishment Witches, they could not sense heat anyway, so the explosion caused them no harm by any means.
But Roland clearly spied a hint of disbelief in the demon's eyes.
This was probably what Pasha and the other God's Punishment Witches expected to see.
The Taquila witches did not think the demon would yield.
They just wanted it to know —
That the creatures they had been looking down upon all this time had now the capability to annihilate them