Chapter 118: 81. Seeing Jiegu again
Translator: 549690339
10 minutes later, at the entrance of Staircase 16.
Dozens of Imperial Soldiers fled chaotically from the staircase interior.
They were the members of the reconnaissance squad and the combat squad led by Sergeant Alvin Stafford.
The entities chasing them were not Frost Skeleton Mages, but Tomb Walking Dead covered in rotting flesh, and skeletal soldiers with empty eye sockets.
An endless Undead Army swarmed out from the staircase interior, treading on the heels of the Empire’s soldiers, and crossed into the first underground level of the tomb hall.
The phenomenon happening at the entrance of Staircase 16 was not an isolated case.
All staircase entrances, except the first and second blocked by the river, were flooded with a huge number of undead forces.
“Dadada…”
The ripping sound of gunfire rang out.
The water-cooled light machine guns waiting at the staircase entrance spouted tongues of flame, facing the approaching undead with a flood of bullets.
The flesh of the Tomb Walking Dead split apart, ripped to shreds by the sharp barrage of bullets.
The stench of rotten meat and filthy blood splashed everywhere, instantly filling the tomb hall of the first underground level with a putrid smell.
The Undead Army surged forward, stepping on the corpses of the Tomb Walking Dead.
At this moment, the undead creatures fully demonstrated the advantage of “Constant Morale”.
No matter how the machine guns roared, the Undead Army would never stop their advance.
The moment the living and the dead made contact, the battlefield situation skipped the probing stage and went directly into the most intense phase.
Squad commanders bellowed orders.
“Fire! Fire!… Quick, change the gun barrels! Reload the ammunition chain!”
“Bomb launchers prioritize attacking Skeleton Archers, their arrows are poisoned!”
“Flamethrower troops press forward! Alternate flame jets! Prevent overheating of the flamethrower!”
The flamethrower operators, dressed in heat-resistant suits, looked bloated and moved slowly, constantly bearing the tremendous recoil of the flame jets.
They strode forward under the force of the fire jets and were pushed forward by comrades standing behind them.
The unique liquid flame had excellent adhesion, no low-level undead troops could shake off its corrosion if touched by the flame.
It could be said that as long as the Undead Army was trapped inside the staircase, the fierce flames could purify everything.
It could effectively damage the Undead Construct and Sutured Creatures, much more efficient than machine gun bullets loaded with Biochemical Nectar and Bee Syrup Bombs.
With the flame dragon leading, the on-site situation instantly went under control of the Empire’s Army.
Mars’ reconnaissance team had just escaped from the staircase and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Noland Lee flung open the breathing mask, wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead, still feeling a lingering fear thinking back to the scene inside the staircase.
The Frost Skeleton Mage retreated when the giant stone coffin appeared, seemingly only aiming to prevent the reconnaissance team from entering the first underground level.
Once the Frost Skeleton Mage had left, a large group of Skeleton Hounds fled into the staircase, followed by a dense crowd of Walking Dead and Skeleton Soldiers.
The explosive capacity of giant coffins was indeed extraordinary.
The staircase was instantly crammed with the undead, yet more undead continued to squeeze into the corridor from the metal gate.
Fortunately, the combat team which came for the rescue brought Biochemical Army dogs and successfully slowing down the Skeleton Hounds.
Otherwise, the combat team would surely fall into a dangerous situation of being besieged by the undead while trying to save people.
“Mars, Jarvis!”
Alvin Stafford’s guards came over and relayed the commander’s instructions: “You both, come with me. Someone wants to see you.”
Sergeant Mars was slightly startled, “Someone wants to see us?… Oh, I see.
Mike, you take command of the team. Jarvis and I will go see the chief officer.” “Alright, Captain.” Sergeant Mike Adams nodded.
Mars gestured to Noland Lee, and the two of them ran off with the guard.
They pushed through the crowd, avoided ammunition-toting trolleys, and struggled through the crowded camp.
“Boom!”
A sudden explosion resounded throughout the field, making people’s scalp tingle and their eardrums ache.
Noland Lee turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, witnessing a shocking scene.
In the staircase that had been sealed off by flamethrowers, several Metallic Skeletons suddenly appeared marching together.
Metallic Skeletons resisted the spray of flames with their metal covered bodies, with greater burning resistance than other undead troops.
While they held on for only a few seconds, they successfully escorted the Suicide Skeleton Soldiers to the ground level!
The moment the Suicide Skeleton Soldiers appeared, the Empire’s side had no time to switch off the flamethrowers!
“Boom! Boom!”
The fire exploded repeatedly, and the smoke engulfed the sky.
Noland Lee stood in the camp, feeling the gusts of wind brushing past him.
No need to mention the flamethrower operators closest to the staircase entrance, all of them were blown up into the air by the violent explosion.
The fire attack was broken, smoke filled the staircase entrance, and the Undead Army disregarded the remaining fire, rushing out of the staircase.
Noland Lee watched all this with a grave expression.
The Undead Cult was truly cunning.
They stealthily mixed Suicide Skeleton Soldiers into the crowd, breaking the Empire’s defense line in one fell swoop…
It has to be said that the low-rank undead troops, the Suicide Skeleton Soldiers, indeed work wonders when breaking through a firepower blockade.
Ultimately, the range of the flamethrowers was just too short.
If the range were long enough, the Suicide Skeleton Soldiers would never have been able to explode in front of the flame-throwing soldiers, let alone break through the Empire’s Army Defense Line.
But it’s too late to say that now.
On the first underground level, nine giant stone coffins were spewing soldiers at full power, as if to bulldoze the Imperial Army.
Grave 717 had completely revolted.
“Snap out of it, Mars, Jarvis, follow me!” the guard leading the way shouted over the gunshots.
Noland Lee came to his senses and followed him through the noisy camp.
The three of them passed through the great gate of the tomb, boarded a waiting steam locomotive, and ten minutes later, entered the camp of another hidden army in the ruins.
Only then did Noland Lee and Mars learn that there was not only Lieutenant Sterling Parker’s army at Grave 717, but also the Vidas Army hidden nearby.
However, the Vidas Army was not here to support Lieutenant Sterling Parker; they had another purpose here.
“The warrant officer of the Vidas Army wants to see you. Mars, you go in first.
Jarvis, you go in after Mars comes out.”
The guard led the two to the door, gave a few instructions, and then turned and
left.
Corporal Mars caught his breath, straightened his uniform, nodded at Noland Lee, and took the lead in stepping into the meeting tent in front of him.
Noland Lee waited at the door for about five minutes before seeing Corporal Mars come out with a look of distress on his face.
“Jarvis, you go in.” Corporal Mars moved to the side with a worried face, not mentioning a word about the meeting. Apparently, he was given a gag order.
Noland Lee took a deep breath, calmed himself, lifted the curtain, and walked into the tent, passing around the screen.
A conference table appeared before his eyes.
At this table, he saw Captain Murphy sitting in the main seat. A few lieutenants
and second lieutenants he had never met before were seated on either side of the conference table.
As soon as Noland Lee entered the tent, he was stared at by several sharp gazes.
The unknown warrant officers stared at Noland Lee, sizing him up as if scrutinizing him.
They were expressionless, with tense lines, sharp sideburns, stern and serious expressions, tall and stalwart. They resembled huge bears seated on chairs.
Despite these formidable officers, Noland Lee remained calm and composed, his back straight.
No matter how they scrutinized him with their eyes, he didn’t even furrow his brows.
“Private Second Class Noland Lee reporting in!”
Captain Murphy sat at the end of the conference table, the position of the host. She held a thin cigarette with her fingertips and lit the cigarette in a crystal ashtray.
10 silent and oppressive seconds passed in the meeting place.
When Captain Murphy finished her cigarette and stuck the cigarette butt in the ashtray, she finally broke the silence:
“This is the Noland Lee Jarvis, whom I mentioned to you.
At that time, it wasn’t just me at the scene. Lieutenant Sterling Parker, who is under Major Bale, was also present. Both Lieutenant Parker and I can attest to the abilities of Noland Lee Jarvis.”
Under the gaze of the military extraordinaries, Noland Lee nodded slightly, accepting the praise from Captain Murphy, and responded with a standard answer:
“To go through fire and water for the Empire is an honor bestowed upon me by the Empire.”
Capain Murphy looked at the lieutenant next to the conference table:
“So, Lieutenant Slyke Thompson, what do you think of my proposal? Let Noland Lee Jarvis accompany your elite squad, and let him disrupt the magic barrier of the Necromancer’s Watchtower. This is quicker and more discreet than you using a flamethrower. With his participation, your success rate of raiding the Necromancer’s Watchtower is almost 100%, and the possibility of alerting the Undead Cult is almost zero.”
Necromancer’s Watchtower? Where’s the Necromancer’s Watchtower?
Noland Lee mumbled in his heart.
He remained calm and composed, locking his thoughts firmly in his mind without showing them.
The lieutenant called Slyke was hairy, with a full beard and fluffy hair, like a male lion.
He stared at the handsome and young Noland Lee and asked Captain Murphy:
“Chief, are you sure that rigid Lieutenant Sterling Parker also recognizes the ability of this private second class? I’m not doubting you. It’s just, Major Bale and his officers are all very stubborn and rigid. It’s hard for me to imagine that the guys who only know how to use flamethrowers to deal with magic shields would accept the fact that ‘modifying Undead Runes can also destroy shields’. ”
Although the other officers did not explicitly say so, their eyes revealed their doubts about Noland Lee.
Clearly, when it came to the issue that ordinary people could modify Undead Runes and not make mistakes, the officers remained skeptical.
Even with Captain Murphy’s guarantee and Lieutenant Parker’s testimony, many officers still couldn’t fully believe in Noland Lee’s capabilities.
“I understand what’s holding us back from reaching an agreement. Seeing is believing.”
Captain Murphy lowered his right arm, picked up a black metal box from the ground, and opened it on the conference table.
“Jarvis, remove the magic shield in the box to prove your ability.”
Noland Lee took the rune staff from the guard, walked to the conference table, and looked into the box.
His eyes were calm, but his heart skipped a beat.
The item in the box was the evil magic wand named Bone-mending Wand.
Either due to an operational error or some other reason, this wand activated its self-protection function.
It wrapped itself in a small magic shield to prevent outsiders from touching it.
Seeing the Bone-mending Wand again, Noland Lee couldn’t help but sigh. So far, the Bone-mending Wand should be the most powerful magical item he has ever seen.
Don’t forget, the “Martyr’s Ten Commandments”, known as the “Death Spell UP Pool”, was deconstructed from the Bone-mending Wand.
Theoretically, the Empire’s army should have taken the Bone-mending Wand for destruction.
Noland Lee didn’t expect to see this wand again.
It was definitely false to say that he wasn’t tempted, but under the surveillance of the military big shots, there was no way he could keep it for himself..
