Chapter 378 - 346: An Unpeaceful Wait

Chapter 378: Chapter 346: An Unpeaceful Wait

Black Banner Country, Wuze City.

The National Sacrificial Hall, where the Parasite leadership once gathered to conspire, now lay in ruins.

An elite Ascender unit from the allied forces had arrived via airdrop to carry out a decapitation strike.

Since the Parasites were divided by intelligence, the plan was simple: eliminate the highly intelligent ones, and the remaining leaderless Parasites wouldn’t be able to stir up much trouble.

The plan was perfect. The execution was flawless.

Except the target was not what they’d expected.

"These don’t look like the Parasite leadership. They’re more like poor scapegoats who were left behind to die."

Adam said, looking down at the Parasite corpses on the ground. Faced with their airdropped assault, these things hadn’t managed to organize any effective resistance before they were swiftly wiped out.

"Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Pilot?"

He looked up and spoke to the person in front of him, who was Bai Xuewu, having just disembarked from her Mecha.

In response to Adam’s question, she merely glanced at him before walking away without a word.

Adam shook his head helplessly. "Well, it seems I’m not very well-liked."

"That’s just how Bai Xuewu is. She doesn’t seem to talk much to anyone."

"Didn’t you watch Decisive Ascender? She was the same on the show—ignored everyone and just focused on the competition."

Most of the other Ascenders had seen the Ascender-themed reality show and knew of Bai Xuewu. Adam, however, looked completely blank; he clearly hadn’t watched it.

"I think Adam’s right. These Parasites are too weak, and they have zero coordination when they fight. They’re nothing like a group known for its high intelligence."

"Damn it. How did the highly intelligent ones know we were going to launch an airborne raid here? Was there an intelligence leak?"

"That’s not very likely..."

As they were speaking, a communication came through from the Commander.

"Elite Ascender unit, five kilometers from your position, a human Ascender resistance group is under siege by Parasites. They’ve sent a distress call. Proceed immediately to rescue them!"

Receiving their orders, the unit wasted no more time and immediately headed for the new coordinates.

When they arrived, they saw about a dozen Ascenders trapped on a broken bridge. At the head of the bridge, a hundred or more Parasites were charging forward relentlessly in a ferocious assault.

The dozen or so Ascenders seemed to have nearly exhausted their Psychic Power and were on the verge of being unable to defend themselves.

Seeing this, Adam immediately took action.

He raised his hands and pressed them downward, activating his Manipulation Force Field ability.

The hundred-plus Parasites immediately felt an immense pressure from some invisible force. Unable to withstand it, they fell to their knees or were slammed flat on the ground, completely immobilized.

The crisis was instantly averted.

The sight left many of the Ascenders who had never seen Adam in action completely stunned.

Even if most Parasites were just ordinary people, how many Ascenders could suppress over a hundred of them in a single move like Adam? His power was truly immense.

"You came just in time! Our Psychic Power is completely drained!"

"Any later and we would’ve been killed by these monsters!"

"I can’t believe we were rescued. This is wonderful..."

The dozen or so rescued Ascenders were overcome with emotion, their eyes welling up with tears.

One of them tried to take the opportunity to kill the Parasites pinned down by Adam’s Invisible Force Field, but was stopped by one of Adam’s comrades.

"The allied Commander’s orders are to avoid killing if possible. These Parasites can be captured alive and transported to Sisiya."

The Ascenders proceeded to bind the Parasites. Adam watched the dozen rescued Ascenders and approached them curiously. "How did you all manage to hold out this long?"

The entire Black Banner Country may have fallen, but the Parasites were most concentrated here in the Capital Wuze. The Ascender resistance groups in this city had almost all been wiped out or captured in the first wave.

"We were hiding in the sewers. That’s why these monsters hadn’t found us! But we ran out of food and had to come out to scavenge, and then..."

"Oh, so that’s what happened."

Adam nodded thoughtfully.

Soon, both the captured Parasites and the dozen rescued Ascenders were transported back to the allied forces’ temporary base outside the city.

The Parasites were immediately packaged and sent to Sisiya. As for the rescued Ascender resistance group, the allied forces’ standard procedure was to place them in containment first and deal with them later.

Though this was bound to cause dissatisfaction among those rescued, it was a necessary precaution for the allied forces. If even one Parasite managed to infiltrate their ranks, it would pose an immense threat.

"You’ll stay here for now. You are not to wander around the base without permission."

A soldier led the dozen or so Ascenders to a large tent and left them there. Once the soldier was gone, they couldn’t help but start cursing.

"Those bastards! Are they treating us like we’re Parasites?"

"We’re one hundred percent human!"

"Forget it. It’s only natural for them to be cautious. At least we’re safe now. That’s all that matters."

One person in the corner remained silent. The man next to him asked with concern, "Wang Ming, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The man called "Wang Ming" looked up, revealing the face of none other than Lu Cheng—the one who had left the academy, killing two of his companions along the way.

He said, "I’m fine," and lowered his head again, but an imperceptible green glint flashed in his eyes.

...

「Fahe Country」

Four figures in black robes with gold-laced embroidery arrived at a dark and gloomy hall. Deep within the hall, a person sat on a chair, their upper body completely concealed in shadow, revealing only their legs.

As they drew near, all four knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Your Holiness."

The person in the chair grunted in acknowledgment. The voice was that of a man, and it was raspy.

"What is it?"

"Your Holiness, the Apostle Group led by Father Yake to attack Soloma was... completely annihilated."

...

"The heretics of Soloma deployed an unprecedented intelligent war machine they call the ’Annihilator.’ The weapon is too powerful. The Apostle Group was completely unable to contend with it."

"Your Holiness, should we send more men to subjugate the heretics of Soloma?"

After hearing their report, the Pope in the chair said slowly, "There is no need. Their mission is already complete."

The four of them looked at each other, speechless. ’How could being completely annihilated be considered a completed mission?’

One of them couldn’t help but ask, "Your Holiness, wasn’t their mission to breach Roder City and teach Soloma a painful lesson?"

The Pope let out a soft chuckle.

"You may leave now."

Although the four of them did not understand, they obeyed, rising to their feet and leaving the hall.

Once outside, they looked at each other, all completely baffled.

"What in the world did His Holiness mean?"

"I can’t figure it out either."

"Then let’s not overthink it. As the four Bishops serving under His Holiness, it is enough for us to carry out his orders and properly lead the Priests and Apostle Groups under our respective commands."

"That’s right. His Holiness is wise and brilliant. He must have his reasons. We need only follow his commands."

...

In Icefield Town, Shangyuan Zi sat by the window of her rented house, observing the town.

Since Guan Tong had gone to meet Yelena, the two of them had temporarily gone their separate ways.

Guan Tong had disguised himself as a soldier to infiltrate the Landing Site, preparing to find an opportunity to ask the Alien Intelligence a question.

Shangyuan Zi, meanwhile, remained in Icefield Town, waiting for him to make contact.

Guan Tong knew the Landing Site would likely have signal jammers, so before he left, he had traded her two [Communication Secret Scrolls]. In an emergency, they could use them to contact each other instantly.

Shangyuan Zi had thought she would only need to wait here for a few days, but when she woke up this morning, the situation in town had changed.

She watched the endless stream of people flowing into the town, her mind racing.

When she and Guan Tong had first arrived, the town was already nearly full. They had only managed to rent this house by spending a considerable number of Sublimation Coins.

Now, hundreds more people were pouring in, far exceeding Icefield Town’s capacity.

Shangyuan Zi glanced toward the outskirts of town.

Since last night, military vehicles had started parking there for long stretches, and armed Sisiya soldiers were randomly patrolling and checking the IDs of people in town.

Clearly, someone in a position of power in Sisiya had realized that Icefield Town, being the closest settlement to the "Landing Site," had become a gathering point for all sorts of people.

Fanatical alien researchers, seekers of answers, members of unknown organizations with ulterior motives, and even potential Parasite infiltrators... people from all walks of life had flooded into this small town.

Shangyuan Zi had a feeling that her few days of waiting would be anything but peaceful.