strictlysupreme Chapter 187 Discussion
Chapter 187 Discussion
Chapter 187 Discussion
"Retreat! Follow the original route, quickly!" Horn made a decisive decision.
Being directly hit by a scanning beam from this unknown technology could potentially reveal more information.
The team immediately turned around and retreated out of the rift valley as quickly and covertly as possible.
Nightshade and Rock Lizard brought up the rear, carefully erasing the most obvious signs of their retreat.
The pale blue scanning beam followed closely behind like a maggot clinging to a bone, moving slowly but covering a wide area.
Rolin could sense that the beam of light contained a peculiar analytical energy, capable not only of detecting life and energy reactions, but also seemingly analyzing the structure of matter and the history of energy flow.
"We can't let it keep following us!" Cassan exclaimed urgently.
"Once we leave the complex terrain of the rift valley, it will be difficult for us to escape this large-scale scanning!"
As Luo Lin ran, his mind raced.
The opponent uses order- and analytical energies, which are incompatible with the chaotic environment of the Scorching Hell. This might be a point that can be exploited.
"Captain Ella!" Rowling suddenly shouted.
"Cast a small-scale, high-burst [Pyroblast] on the rock wall above the passage behind us!"
"Don't aim at the scanning beam; create energy turbulence and rock debris!"
"Wizard Horn, please use a wind spell to expand the area affected by the smoke!"
Although Ella and Horn didn't understand, they immediately carried out the order based on their trust in each other.
Ayla flicked her staff backward, and a highly compressed orange-red fireball roared out, slamming into the rock wall at the top of the passage not far behind her!
boom!
A muffled explosion echoed through the narrow passage, rubble and dust rained down, and the intense heat of the flames collided with the chaotic energy of the environment, instantly creating a small-scale, violent energy turbulence and dense dust and ash!
Almost simultaneously, the wizard Horn waved his staff, and a strong wind swept up, blowing the smoke and energy turbulence from the explosion backward, instantly filling the entire rear passage!
The pale blue scanning beam shot into this area, which was mixed with a high concentration of chaotic energy and physical dust, and became noticeably sluggish and distorted!
The beam's resolving efficiency drops significantly, and tracking accuracy is also severely affected.
"It works! Continue!" A hint of approval flashed in Horn's eyes.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the team sped up and, after a few turns, finally broke out of the rift valley and returned to the relatively open area of the rock pillars.
Behind them, the pale blue scanning beam lingered at the entrance of the rift valley for a moment, seemingly due to the loss of a clear target and the increasingly chaotic energy of the external environment, before finally slowly withdrawing.
Without stopping, the team retreated for several miles in one go, only stopping to catch their breath after passing a relatively hidden pile of rocks made of huge black basalt.
"That was close—" Ella wiped the sweat from her forehead. That precise [Fireball] spell just now required a high level of control.
"What exactly are those things?" a furnace guard asked, still shaken.
"I've never seen anything like this before—"
Luo Lin pulled up the video he had just recorded and looked at it carefully again, especially the dark silver polyhedral device and the symbols on the operating interface.
"Their energy style and technology are highly similar to those of the Observer civilization, but they seem to be more—pure and efficient."
"They don't seem like guardians of relics, but more like active explorers or scouts who have inherited the technology."
"From other fragment worlds? Or—some unknown, hidden force in the Prime Material Plane?" Cassan speculated.
Wizard Horn's expression turned grave: "Whatever they are, such a thorough scan of the fragments of the Scorching Hell is definitely not for a simple purpose."
"We must bring the intelligence back immediately."
"It's no longer safe here; the other side may increase security or relocate."
No one objected.
Although the reconnaissance was brief, it was extremely fruitful and thrilling.
The existence, form, some of the abilities, and intentions of the mysterious visitor have been confirmed; this is extremely valuable intelligence.
Instead of using the teleportation point again, the team followed the backup plan and walked to another, more distant, pre-arranged secret extraction point.
Along the way, everyone fell silent, digesting what they had just seen and heard.
Those cold, efficient, and inhuman visitors cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
The troubles of the Scorching Hell Fragments do not seem to have ended with the destruction of the Ash Ring; instead, they have attracted a more mysterious and possibly more powerful being.
Rowling walked in the group, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the Ring of Insight.
The energy structures of those non-human beings, their highly ordered and analytical characteristics, and that device—all resonated with certain ideas he deciphered from the monument of civilization, in a way that seemed distant.
The teleportation light from the secret evacuation point shone, and the reconnaissance team, exhausted and burdened with heavy intelligence, returned to the Shadow Raven Tower headquarters.
The images and data brought back were immediately sent to the highest-level analysis room.
Master Veranica, Commander Hector, several elders of Santa, and the heads of the War Affairs Department and the Intelligence Department held an emergency meeting.
As a participant in firsthand intelligence and a technical expert, Luo Lin was also required to attend the briefing.
The atmosphere inside the meeting room was oppressive.
When the clear images of those inhuman beings and the dark silver devices they operated appeared on the central crystal screen, even the most composed high-ranking officials revealed undisguised shock and solemnity in their eyes.
"Energy characteristic analysis confirms that it shares more than 80% homology with the energy system of the previously discovered Observer Relics, but is more refined and efficient."
"The device's function has been confirmed as a high-precision scanner for ley lines and spatial structures, and it comes with an unknown communication or data transmission module," the intelligence analyst reported in a dry voice.
"The target organism's morphology is unknown, and it is not any race recorded in the existing database."
"Initial threat assessment — extremely high."
"The individual target is estimated to be at least as strong as a senior second-circle wizard, and possesses unknown technological or magical equipment, and their actions are highly coordinated."
"What is their purpose?" an elder asked in a deep voice.
"Based on the scanning behavior and device data analysis, they seem to be looking for specific areas in the fragments of the Scorching Hell that have undergone drastic changes due to overload decompression events, especially at ley line energy nodes and spatial structure scars." Researcher Duden pulled up a comparison chart of tidal observation data.
"Based on the information brought back by the wizard Rowling regarding the prominent orderly and analytical qualities in their energy, we speculate that their fundamental goal is likely this fragmented world itself."
"Or rather, it is the exposure of certain deep structural information or rule loopholes in the fragmented world due to drastic changes."
"Observer civilizations take observation and recording as their mission, and these visitors may have inherited this idea and regard the upheavals we have caused as a rare window of observation."
Master Veranica's projection slowly spoke: "In other words, they may not harbor direct hostility, but they also don't care about our existence or interests."
"Their observational activities themselves could cause further disturbance or even damage to this already fragile, fragmented world."
"Moreover, we cannot determine whether there are larger forces or deeper motives behind them."
Commander Hector's image scoffed: "Whatever their intentions, conducting such unauthorized reconnaissance on Imperial territory is a provocation. They must leave, or—leave."
"The risk of direct conflict is too high and could trigger unpredictable chain reactions," Wizard Horn warned.
"The opponent's technology, strength, and numbers are unknown."
The meeting fell into a brief silence.
Faced with a mysterious, powerful, and unknown force with unclear objectives, forcefully driving it away may backfire, while letting it go unchecked could lead to endless hidden dangers.
Rowling had been listening quietly, then suddenly spoke up: "Perhaps—we can try to communicate."
All eyes turned to him.