Chapter 743 Lord of Plague!
Chapter 743 Lord of Plague!
In the spacious cave, dark red smoke was filled with the sour smell of corruption, and strange monsters chanted and cried.
They were huge in size, with an astonishing number of species, and their shapes and functions were different. Some had a strong and powerful single arm on their chest, and some had multiple hands and legs like centipedes.
The only thing in common was that most of them were covered with pustules, and their limbs were corrupt and ulcerated.
The dark red smoke seemed to be squeezed out of the pustules, and the huge mosquitoes and flies lingering around them seemed to have grown from there, and they clustered around them like their offspring.
These maverick mutants called themselves “Plague Monks”, believed in the ubiquitous and omnipotent “plague”, and regarded it as a treasure.
Rather than saying that these guys are mutants, it is better to say that they are stitched monsters born after countless mutants were disassembled and rearranged, and they have completely deviated from the concept of “human”.
This was especially true for the monster surrounded by the babbling cries.
Its name was Sodo, and it was the prophet of the Plague Monks and the leader of the Bloodhoof Clan.
It was even fatter than Orlon of the Rock Axe Clan, with three eyes on two heads. The long horns growing from its skull were inlaid with rusty bells, which made an ominous tinkling sound as it shook its head. Its
bloated body and sparse hair made it look like a sick plague pig, but with that amiable smile, it looked indescribably weird.
In front of it was a pot of bubbling crimson soup, filled with pus squeezed out of its pus bubbles.
There was no fire under the pot, but bubbles kept coming out and cracked to emit dark red smoke, just like boiling water. But what was boiling was not water, but some kind of evil pathogen.
It called it “original soup”.
As the mother of the virus, or the gift, Sodo scooped up a ladle of pus with a wooden spoon, and splashed it on the chorus of the tribesmen with a wicked laugh and howl. The
mutants who were drenched in pus groaned with pleasure, and some shouted in excitement, and their expressions were twisted with joy as if they had received the blessing of the gods.
Compared with those happy lunatics, the short men who shuttled between the legs of the big guys were much more pragmatic.
These goblins and mutant children scrambled to crawl on the ground, licking the “original soup” given by the prophet like it was a delicious delicacy.
Some goblins began to mutate, and their bodies swelled into a ball as if they were foamed. Some curled up and seemed to become even smaller, so small that they could hardly recognize their original appearance, and then their bodies began to tear apart and were soon eaten by their peers.
Whether it was the cubs of the big guys or the born short goblins, the ones who survived became the “plague monks” who spread the plague and joined the chorus of cheering for rebirth and death. The
”feeder” holding a large basket of flesh-red fungus blocks squeezed in from the entrance of the cave and splashed the filthy flesh-red fungus blocks on the crowded believers. The
newborn plague monks pounced on them like wolves and tigers, scrambling to stuff those organic matter into their mouths, filling their hungry stomachs and absorbing the nutrients needed for growth and development.
Amid the babbling strange words and the burping sounds, the bloody and chaotic party continued endlessly, spreading the diseased body like a plague.
Very satisfied with the new batch of works, Sodo nodded contentedly, then picked out a larger pustule from his body and started to create the next pot of soup.
However, at this moment, there was a commotion at the entrance of the cave, and more than a dozen people who were stripped of their equipment were carried in.
There were men and women among them, most of whom were seriously injured and fell into a coma. There were also a few people who were awake, looking at everything in the cave, with obvious fear on their faces.
Grabbing one of them by the neck, the three-meter-tall, six-armed big man gave a treacherous grin, raised his longest arm high, and showed off the struggling “antelope” in his hand.
These guys were the Alpha team trying to sneak into the cave. After eating two brains, it figured out the whole plan of these little mice.
Bathed in the cheers of the plague monks, it stared at the prophet intently, with admiration, pride and desire for reward in its eyes.
”Human stuff! Transparent! Think we can’t see! Haha!”
Sodo showed a loving smile on his face.
However, in the eyes of the Alpha task force member, that smile was as terrifying as the devil described in the beliefs of the old times.
His face was filled with fear, but because his throat was tightly pinched, he could not make a sound. He could only watch himself being brought to the disgusting guy.
Sodor stared into his eyes, and suddenly his bloated belly cracked open. The intestines as thick as buckets wrapped around him like twisting earthworms, pulling him into his stomach. The
last remaining consciousness seemed to “hear” the sound of bones breaking, and then his consciousness fell into darkness, turning into Sodor’s burp.
Looking at the captain who was swallowed alive, the other awake team members showed fear and despair on their faces.
Sodor generously poured a ladle of original soup on the brave man who brought the captives. He looked at the captives at the entrance of the cave and continued to shout.
”Take them to the hatching pool!”
”Dedicated to the great Lord of Plague! Thank Him for giving us evolution!”
The sound was like ten thousand cicadas flapping their wings together, and the rustling sound continued to echo in the empty and dark cave.
”Oh, oh, oh!”
The monsters twisted their limbs wildly, and their excited shouts shook the earth, as if even the mountains were shaking.
The members of the Alpha Mobile Task Force struggled to resist, but were eventually dragged to the place called the incubator.
It was a bottomless abyss, and a faint bloody red tinge was faintly revealed in the darkness, just like an extinguished volcanic crater.
The dark red mist that permeated the mountains seemed to come from there.
There were several wooden cranes on the edge of the abyss, and iron chains were wrapped around the winches. At the end of the iron chains were tied a string of iron barrels, on which flesh-red fungus blocks were still left.
A female team member was pale, her lips were purple, and she trembled and murmured.
”…The mother nest.”
It turned out to be the mother nest of the mutant slime mold!
She must bring this news back!
However, this place is unknown how many meters underground, and there are unknown meters of rocks outside, so ordinary electromagnetic wave signals cannot be transmitted at all.
What’s more,
they have fallen into the hands of the enemy and are now in danger of losing themselves.
”Offer a sacrifice to the great Lord of Plague!”
The Plague Monk who brought her here grumbled solemnly, and then threw her into the abyss.
She felt a warm current passing through her body, as if she was in a hot embrace. Then her consciousness disappeared in the darkness that could not be looked at directly, like a kite with a broken string…
…
At the same time, on the hillside on the south side of Broken Blade Mountain.
A group of soldiers wearing gas masks and fully armed stood on the battlefield like statues, staring at the blood-filled mountain in the distance.
The blood mountain was like a long halberd falling from the sky, splitting the 80-mile mountain road in half.
”Alpha Team 13 lost contact… The package failed to be delivered to the designated location, and no explosion was detected.”
”It is judged that all members were killed.”
”Plan C13 failed, activate Plan B14… Action.”
”Received.”
Plan C13 is for a stealth team equipped with optical camouflage to go deep into the cave and place explosives to collapse part of the cave, thereby destroying the fortifications built by the mutants in the mountain.
Obviously, the plan has failed.
Even in order to find out the reasons for the failure and to formulate a more thorough offensive plan, they must recover the remains of the soldiers of the 13th Squadron and go deep into the cave to learn more about the battlefield situation.
After the silent communication ended, the soldiers waiting halfway up the mountain left the trench in an orderly manner and formed teams of ten people to head towards the direction of Blood Mountain.
Different from the 13th Squadron.
Equipped with heavy exoskeletons and electromagnetic weapons, they are the backbone of the Alpha Task Force. On the battlefield, they usually serve as the spearhead of the attack and are responsible for clearing out dangerous targets that the exploration team of the academy cannot solve.
At the same time, deafening muffled sounds came from afar. Two 902mm railway guns spewed out flames at the same time, pushing several chamber-fired rockets carrying thousand-pound fuel-air bomb warheads into the sky.
In a dozen breaths, a series of piercing screams penetrated the thin clouds in the sky and exploded into mushroom-shaped red clouds in an instant.
The scorching flames were like magma falling from the sky, almost engulfing the entire mountain area, and instantly draining away the oxygen within a radius of several kilometers. The
strange red fog lingering on the peak of the Blood Mountain was blown away completely.
Facts have proved that in the face of sufficient equivalent, all demons and monsters are nothing but paper tigers.
Of course, the concept of attack and defense is always relative, and the premise of everything is “enough”.
There was a slight landslide on the peak, and large pieces of rocks rolled from the 3,000-meter-high peak to the foot of the mountain, but the entire peak still stood there motionless.
Even the rising heat looked as if the entire mountain was roasted.
In a few minutes, the coalition forces poured at least ten 902mm heavy rocket-assisted range bombs towards the Blood Mountain area.
This was enough to fill five carriages of artillery shells, almost washing every place that could be washed, and not even an ant would be left.
At the same time, two 100-man squadrons of the Alpha Task Force had pushed to the front line.
Along with them, there were 200 quadcopter drones equipped with shellless rifles and grenade launchers. Unlike
the drones of the Alliance, the drones of the Academy not only have a more sci-fi style, but also have a variety of integrated functions.
At the same time as the drone attack formation was deployed, a series of brilliant lights and shadows suddenly appeared below the drones, forming a series of colorful portraits.
General Lium, who was watching the battle on the Loyalty airship, was stunned and thought it was some kind of black technology like instant teleportation.
However, he soon realized that this thing was just a holographic projection, and those soldiers who appeared out of thin air were not real guys, so he sat back in his chair.
”Heh, playing tricks.”
He sneered disdainfully, but there was a trace of fear in his eyes.
To be honest, this holographic image is so realistic that it is indistinguishable from the real thing.
If the drones and the dummies open fire at the same time, it is hard to say whether the soldiers on the front line will be deceived by the disguised targets and thus disperse the firepower.
Even if he saw through the illusory targets, which were actually holographic disguises, it would be useless. After all, those drones themselves were “bunkers” that provided cover for the members of Task Force Alpha.
If he fired at the drones that could not carry much ammunition, it would play into the hands of the slugs in the swamp.
If he engaged in a firefight with these guys as imaginary enemies, the most serious situation his soldiers would face would probably not be distinguishing between the drones and the optical disguises, but distinguishing the real targets from a group of dummies and a few real people.
This was the case at the tactical level.
At the strategic level, the troubles his officers would face would probably be no less than those of the soldiers fighting on the front line.
Although the academy did not show it in this battle, according to Lium’s judgment, since they could use holographic light and shadow to provide tactical cover for the front-line combat troops, there was no reason why they could not implement the strategic obstacle method.
For example, they could use a few drones to disguise themselves as a non-existent force, thereby forming a strategic deception.
Those slugs in the swamp may not be good at large-scale battlefields, but their intrigues are among the best in the wasteland.
The more Lium thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his palms even sweated.
He secretly made up his mind that after this battle was over, he must write a serious report and tell the situation here to Triumph City.
The guys in the north are not as weak as they look, and they may even be more difficult to deal with than the good-for-nothings in Ideal City…
Just when Lium was secretly frightened, the Alpha Mobile Task Force of the Academy had already attacked the halfway point of Blood Mountain.
After the unreasonable bombing before, the mutants on Blood Mountain seemed to be scared and huddled in the caves and refused to come out.
Of course, it is also possible that they planned to place the battlefield in the caves and tunnels where the supporting firepower could not reach from the beginning, and use the advantages of the terrain to deal with the invaders.
The soldiers of the Alpha Task Force did not waste time talking to them. The vanguard, under the cover of drones and holographic lights and shadows, was the first to rush into the cave entrance halfway up the mountain.
Almost at the same time they entered the cave, the battle broke out instantly!
The flashing flames from the muzzles lit up the dark cave into daylight, and the tracers of bullets opened up the way forward for the team that had not penetrated deep into the cave. The flames and shrapnel from the explosions of rifle grenades continued to harvest the lives of mutants. The
twisted and ugly appearance of these mutants was horrifying, but that was all.
Facing the dense firepower network opened up by assault rifles and Gauss rifles, the mutants who resisted with flesh and blood were beaten back step by step, and they could not even put up a decent resistance.
Under the cover of optical camouflage, a team of four broke through the defense of the Bloodhoof Clan with overwhelming force. They had already attacked two tunnels in a row and remained unscathed. Only five drones were damaged. The
four team members wearing gas masks fired silently while communicating silently in the communication channel.
”It stinks.”
”Too stinky.”
”Canned herring.”
”It stinks worse than that.”
”…How did you smell it?”
”……?”
The four immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. Their single-soldier three-defense system was actually breached!
The stench lingering in the cave became more and more obvious, and the stench brought not only a strong sense of nausea, but also mental trance and unnatural hallucinations.
They belonged to the Science and Technology Committee and did install some prostheses and plug-ins to enhance their body functions, but those were only general components to improve combat efficiency. They could be disassembled and used by others after death or retirement.
And they themselves were not rich enough to customize a bionic immune system for themselves like college researchers or corporate residents.
Realizing that he might have been infected with Nago mycelium or something similar, the team leader immediately issued an order to retreat.
However, at the moment when their offensive paused, the mutants of the Bloodhoof clan suddenly showed their ferocious fangs.
They could see that the phantoms constructed by the optical camouflage were actually the disguise of the human creatures in front of them.
This was understandable, after all, they were also camouflaging.
Not only did they pretend to be weak and vulnerable, they even lay on the ground pretending to be dead.
Looking at those guys who got up from the ground, the team leader with three teammates was stunned and sank.
The chance of survival was less than 13%. He immediately made a judgment and transmitted the battle video stored in the brain chip to one of the drones and set it to automatically return.
Almost at the same time he completed this operation, an ugly monster stepped out from the front of the passage.
Its body was fat and bloated, its eyes were stupid, its belly was cracked like a big mouth, and circles of fat intestines were exposed, like a mop dragging on the ground, even blocking its two short feet.
In the Bloodhoof Clan, it was just a member of the Plague Monk, one of the followers of the Lord of Plague, and a servant of the prophet Sodo. It
held a strange-shaped big gun in its hand, and it was not wearing a piece of armor, but it was covered with scars of serious injuries, so that the four Alphas could not analyze its weaknesses for a while…
…
The battle on the front line was still going on.
At this moment, on the Broken Blade Mountain in the distance, a group of Willant people were watching the battle situation on the front line.
General Modlin, the commander of the 310,000th Corps of the Legion, held a telescope in his hand and stared at the direction of the halfway point of the Blood Mountain.
Everything seemed to be going well on the front line.
However, what made him frown slightly was that the red fog that was previously dispersed by the fuel-air bomb seemed to be gradually coming back…
The adjutant standing next to him couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth and complained in a low voice.
”So what’s the point of their long list of numbered battle plans? In the end, they’re still the same as us.”
Even the artillery that projected heavy firepower was sent by the Southern Legion.
General Modlin remained silent, just staring at the front line in silence.
It is said that the academy’s battle plan has dozens of gigabytes in total, and the action numbers alone have a catalog of more than ten pages. The preparations can be said to be quite thorough.
Not to mention his adjutant, even he himself was very curious about what was written on those dozens of gigabytes of information.
It’s a pity that the academy did not intend to make the battle plan public, and only submitted the plan to the coalition’s highest command, that is, Chu Guang, on the premise of confidentiality.
It was precisely because of this that he could only use his eyes to confirm what the academy was going to do.
This is a rare opportunity to understand the opponent, and he didn’t want to miss it so easily.
Coincidentally, on the top of Broken Blade Mountain, Commander Quanshui, the commander of the Storm Corps, was just like him, staring at the direction of the front line.
Unlike NPCs like General Modlin, as a player, he can see the entire content of the Alpha Task Force’s combat plan on the official forum of Wasteland Online.
But that thing confused him – even to the point of being completely confused.
It’s not that the people in the academy don’t speak human language, or that the description is too abstract.
It’s just the opposite. They wrote too much detail!
These guys made statistics on each type of mutant on Blood Mountain, and analyzed their attack methods and weaknesses through battlefield analysis AI.
Not only that, they even made detailed designs for the tactics and equipment used by mutants of different sizes, weights, and characteristics encountered by frontline combat soldiers based on these statistical information.
The entire dozens of GB of information is like a game guide that you have to read over and over again, and even provides guidance on what skills to use when encountering different monsters.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with this behavior itself. The pamphlets issued by the armies of various countries to soldiers also mention some “little tips” on the battlefield, requiring recruits to remember them to increase their chances of survival on the battlefield…
However, no matter what, it is not as precise as “how many shots should be fired at what kind of target” and so on.
Commander Quanshui couldn’t even tell for a moment whether this was the formalism unique to the Wandering Swamp, or whether their commander really believed that this overly lengthy plan would really come in handy.
However, considering that the soldiers of the Alpha Special Forces Mobile Team are equipped with bionic prostheses like Enterprise, and have received more professional training than Enterprise recruits, I think maybe they have their own understanding of combat.
”Good guy… Do you need so much ammunition to attack such a mountain?”
Standing next to Quanshui, the edge who ran to the front line to join in the fun couldn’t help but complain.
Unlike the focus of Quanshui, his attention was more on the 902mm heavy artillery that was fired earlier.
The fireworks were indeed exciting enough, but the firepower density was a bit excessive.
With such a round of heavy artillery bombarding, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for A Guang’s wasted ammunition.
Commander Quanshui frowned and said,
”If they can take down this position, it will be worth it even if they double the strength.”
Bianbianhuashui looked at him strangely.
”You think they can’t take it down?”
”Don’t even mention them. We are in trouble.”
With a look of astonishment on his face, the commander of the spring water paused for a moment, looked at the blood mist that was once again filling the mountain, and continued with a solemn expression.
”… I always have this feeling that it is probably not the ‘pseudo-mother nest’ we saw in Jinchuan Province.”
The so-called pseudo-mother nest is the core of the Naguo.
According to the research of the Alliance biologists on the “Heavenly Kingdom”, that thing is based on the Qingquan City mother nest, which is similar to the mother nest. The “Nago Nest” is made. Its main function is to control the Naguo hyphae in the Kingdom of Heaven, urge it to release spores, and interfere with the will of the infected.
Before the Kingdom of Heaven enters the “fourth stage”, as long as the “Nago Nest” is destroyed, the Kingdom of Heaven can be prevented from coming.
But this thing does not look like a Naguo.
After all, in his impression, mutants can rely on their strong immune system to directly exempt themselves from the influence of Naguo, and they cannot serve as a seedbed for the reproduction of Naguo hyphae.
In other words, Shifeng Mountain does not actually have the foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven to descend.
But if those spores are produced by the mutant slime mold mother nest, everything makes much more sense.
The expression of Bianbianhuashui changed slightly.
”You mean… that thing is real?!”
Commander Quanshui nodded, raised the telescope and continued to watch silently.
Every hive they encountered was almost different.
He had reason to believe that the guy in front of him was the same. He had his own understanding of “evolution” and made a completely different choice from the Qingquan City hive on the road of evolution.
However, a hive that can “coexist” with such manic guys like mutants sounds too incredible. How can two extremely aggressive things coexist peacefully?
And if his speculation is accurate, then the setting of this thing is too similar to “Xiaoyu”…
(End of this chapter)
