Flying into the stars to find another home wasn’t a reliable option. In contrast, staying in the Union and living a stable life was a good choice.
Having made this conclusion, he still wanted to contribute his strength to the entire Union.
In his view, the Nature Salvation Society was one of the significant threats to this world.
He pondered before saying, “I’ve recently given it some careful thought, what Ge Wajia ultimately wants to do. When I was in the south, after being thawed and released by him, he didn’t trust me enough initially, and I couldn’t access too many secrets in the organization established by my student.
However, since he went to the trouble of saving me, he naturally wouldn’t give up on the knowledge I possessed. Some peripheral research projects were placed in my hands. Those projects, I’m working hard to piece together his goals.”
“What’s your speculation?”
“I should preface this by saying I can’t be completely certain, it’s just a guess, with insufficient evidence. That’s also why I didn’t tell you at the beginning…”
“That’s okay, I will make the judgment.”
“Well… I believe that Ge Wajia and his group are trying to summon demons again…”
“Oh, that’s a bad guess.”
“You don’t seem surprised? Did you guess this a long time ago?”
“In a sense, yes,” Gu Hang spread his hands and said, “I have no evidence and not like you, who conducted experiments with them and pieced together fragments of the truth. I am merely guessing. After all, those so-called Cult members, individuals tainted by the Abyss demons, have this constant thought in their heads—an easy guess reveals their goal.”
Hu Ke gave a bitter smile and said, “What you said… is indeed correct.”
“But simply knowing their goal isn’t enough, I hope to know what means they have to achieve it, and how we can stop them.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about,” Hu Ke sighed, “We can’t eliminate the Nature Salvation Society just by destroying the jungle. I’m not against your strategy, but that’s meant for exterminating Aberrant Beasts, and to eradicate Ge Wajia using this method, by destroying the jungle, it would be too slow. Perhaps, before we succeed, that group might accomplish their goal first.”
Pausing for a moment, Hu Ke continued, “My guess is that they might have gained control of an intact Psychic Energy Field that hasn’t been destroyed.
If you’re aware of the history of Rage Owl Star, you’d understand that in the past, it was precisely because of the presence of enriched Psychic Energy Fields that an ample energy source was formed, used as a means to open the veil between reality and the Abyss hell.”
“The primary Psychic Energy Fields of the old Rage Owl Star were on the other two continents, which should have been completely destroyed by now; there are fields on the main continent too, but few, and most probably in a state of destruction as well. The one that Ge Wajia found should be of a smaller scale. But we can’t afford to be complacent about this.
Once he truly tears open the veil of the real world, even if it’s just a tiny crack, we will be in huge trouble.”
Gu Hang mused, “So do you have any guesses about the location of the possible Psychic Energy Field?”
“None at all,” Hu Ke said with a wry smile, “in fact, I can’t be certain if it truly exists, all of this is just my speculation…”
“But your speculation is somewhat more reliable than mine,” Gu Hang stated reassuringly, “I’m still very grateful for your information. I was planning to deploy a special forces squad to the Southern Green Valley to assess the situation there, things like guiding bombings. Now, they might have an additional task.”
…
Aéro Rakrosha felt like he had been deceived.
He said he didn’t want to be an officer, just wanted to be a warrior. His wish had been affirmed by the Governor, and he wasn’t an officer now, but he still ended up with over thirty warriors under his command.
Isn’t this just making me a squad leader?
Earlier, he was transferred from the Beast Slaughter Brigade to the Tenth Special Brigade as a squad leader. He and his thirty new subordinates were equipped with a full set of individual soldier gear, which they had never seen before.
Each had an individual exoskeleton, fitted with primary plasteel and a ceramic-steel plating that protected the torso and limbs. It was nowhere near as majestic as the Interstellar Warrior Powered Armor but had a slender aesthetic.
The full-coverage helmet came equipped with night vision, anti-glare, color temperature, and other visual modes, as well as a shooting assistance system.
This so-called shooting assistance system was provided by a servo skull that accompanied them in combat. That specific servo skull of his could also help control the two drones in his backpack, carrying out tasks such as reconnaissance, supporting fire attacks, and kamikaze strikes.
The weapons in their hands had all been switched to LR5 Laser Rifles. Each person carried ten high-energy batteries which could support 15 shots before needing a replacement. This firepower sustainability was somewhat lacking, but the power far surpassed that of the conventional G9 rifle.
To make up for the firepower, they also carried a short-barreled, stockless tactical rifle—a specialized variant of the G9.
Lacroix himself had slightly more refined equipment than his team members. The most significant difference lay in the fact that instead of high-energy batteries, he used crystal-like energy blocks. These things were said to be much more expensive than the laser rifles in their hands. A Wind Falcon flying high above could operate solely on one of these blocks.
As a result, this device powered only his rifle and exoskeleton…
The potent energy source allowed his ‘Ranger 1st Generation’ exoskeleton to maintain a constant overload mode until it broke down; his laser rifle could also fire continuously in overload mode.
Other people’s LR5s would waste a high-energy battery with just one overload shot, and according to their training discipline, it was strictly forbidden to do so unless necessary.
But his energy blocks allowed him to fire in overload mode almost limitlessly without needing a replacement. All he had to worry about was whether his rifle could withstand the strain without breaking.
All of this made him feel as if he were in a dream.
People called him ‘Soldier King’, and he always felt it was surreal and disliked being addressed that way to his face. But now… it seemed he really was receiving the treatment of a Soldier King.
And in the so-called special forces brigade, he was to execute special missions.
After completing their bombing mission at Crook Manor, a formation of three Wind Falcons prepared for their return journey, carrying Lacroix and his squad straight to the world’s far southern end.
Their target was to reconnoiter a place known as ‘Chanter Town’, reported to be the headquarters of the Nature Salvation Society.
There was no specific location, just vague descriptions.
After they descended in the Wind Falcons, they continued to search the ground while maintaining constant communication with the three fast-attack crafts temporarily assigned to work in coordination with them.
In this joint air-ground reconnaissance operation, they uncovered numerous potential targets, but all were eventually ruled out. These were merely ruins of villages long deserted, with the jungle slowly extending its reach, reclaiming those places.
On the third day of the operation, however, they made a significant discovery.
Based on the intelligence description and an accompanying hand-drawn map, they could almost confirm that this was indeed Chanter Town.
But this place appeared to be abandoned as well.
After an internal discussion, the squad still decided to venture in for exploration.
Out of caution, they called Lieutenant Kuchi, and the three Wind Falcons were ready to provide air support.
Lacroix was quite nervous about this.
It was still warfare, going into battle, but the approach was completely different from his past experiences.
He wasn’t sure if he could do well enough and decided it was best to proceed with utmost caution.
And his caution saved many lives.