Chapter 773 Traces

Xu Chan’s team had encountered native settlements before, but the danger in this uncharted region was clearly several levels higher than outside. How could there still be a settlement here?

He immediately thought, ’This is definitely no ordinary settlement.’

He asked, "Have the people in the camp discovered us?"

"They have. In fact, they were the ones who approached us."

Xu Chan said in a low voice, "Give me the details."

The scout explained that through their recent contact, they had learned the other party was no ordinary native settlement. Its inhabitants came from all over. One of the main factions consisted of fugitives wanted by the Old Imperial Family. Another was made up of deserters from the Dashun Garrison. The remainder were the actual natives of the area.

These people claimed to be familiar with the surrounding terrain. They were willing to provide Xu Chan’s team with necessary supplies or other forms of assistance, but they also wanted some of the tools and materials the team was carrying in return.

Xu Chan considered for a moment, then said decisively, "Whatever they want, give it to them if we can spare it."

He instinctively felt there was more to these people than they let on. However, as long as they showed no hostility, he saw no reason to get involved—even if they might be harboring fugitives wanted by Dashun.

After all, these people had been here for a long time. If they could provide guidance, operating in this area would become much easier. It might even be a way to finally shake off their pursuers.

In short, acquiring the Lost Object was the only priority. Nothing else mattered.

However, for both sides, any transaction was predicated on having sufficient strength. Without the power to back it up, a deal was nothing more than serving yourself up on a platter.

Meanwhile, the Thunder Twins, Svia and Siegward, returned to their starting point with the Blood Diamond. But the area was different from when they had left. The surrounding trees appeared to have been completely flattened, and a large number of Federation personnel were searching and inspecting something. Upon seeing the twins return, the surrounding security guards all stood at attention.

Svia ignored the other personnel and addressed a young man sitting nearby. "Mr. Heros, why didn’t you show up as we agreed?"

Upon hearing her question, the young man slowly rose from the ground. He was a man over three meters tall with thick, seaweed-like black hair. His features were sharp and defined. Beneath thick eyebrows were a pair of incredibly expressive eyes, and his resolute face looked as if it had been chiseled by an axe. His entire body was covered in muscles that seemed to be carved from stone.

Despite being so much taller than the average person, his limbs were so well-proportioned that one couldn’t help but feel he represented a more perfectly evolved human.

When he spoke, his voice was magnetic, naturally putting others at ease. "My apologies, madam. We ran into an enemy just now and were unable to reach you."

"An enemy?"

"Yes," Heros said. "It’s right under your feet."

Svia looked down and gasped in shock. Lying on the ground was an enormous creature, and they were standing right on top of its body!

The creature seemed to lack any real thickness or a distinct outline, covering almost the entire area. Combined with the fact that it showed no signs of life, she hadn’t noticed it at first.

Siegward hopped a couple of times and realized the ground did feel different from normal soil. But all sorts of strange phenomena occurred in the Merging Land, so he hadn’t given it a second thought. Now, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "What is this thing?"

Heros said, "I don’t know. We ran into it on our way here. It tried to envelop all of us. There’s no record of it in our files, so I assume it’s a new species. We were delayed for a while breaking free from it, but that wasn’t the main reason for our tardiness."

He said very seriously, "The real reason is that I sensed someone watching us from a distance. He poses a threat to us."

"Who was it?"

"I don’t know," Heros said. "I only know that he’s extremely dangerous. But if he shows himself again, I’ll be able to find him."

"Was it someone from the Lynx Federation?" Svia looked up. "Wilhelm?"

Heros shook his head. "Not a blue blood." He then emphasized, "It wasn’t him."

Svia and Siegward exchanged a look. ’If even Heros felt threatened, and it wasn’t Wilhelm, who was rumored to be arriving soon, then who could it be?’

While they were talking, more than ten kilometers away, Qi Qianyang walked up to a treehouse woven from vines. As he approached, the branches parted on their own, and a man in his thirties with parted hair stepped out. "Instructor Qi, you’re back," he said immediately. "How did it go?"

Qi Qianyang said, "That Heros’s senses are surprisingly sharp. I was almost discovered just now. He’s certainly worthy of his high world ranking."

"So what?" the man said. "Is he really a match for you, Instructor Qi?"

Qi Qianyang rubbed his chin. "Hard to say. At our level, you never know for sure until you actually fight."

The man said with conviction, "That’s only if you don’t use your full power, Instructor Qi."

Qi Qianyang smiled, not denying it. "It’s not time for that yet," he said. "Let them do the searching. Once they’ve found what they’re looking for, I’ll step in and collect it."

Beneath the former Federation camp, Chen Chuan lifted his Snow Monarch Blade and, with a single slash, instantly sealed the Rift before him.

He had spent the night cultivating here. The area had plenty of underground spaces, which saved him the trouble of digging one himself.

After emerging, he sensed his Second Self and discovered its power had grown even closer to that of his own body.

In yesterday’s battle, he had relied purely on his own power to slay his opponent in a single exchange, which had given his Second Self a tremendous boost.

He still didn’t know the man’s name and hadn’t found any identification when he searched the body. Judging from his strength alone, his opponent had been no simple character—likely a well-known Fighter.

’I imagine I’ll be running into more Fighters like him from now on.’

He sheathed the Snow Monarch Blade, stood up, and walked out of the underground space. Chaoming, now awake, followed him.

He pushed open a warped metal gate and stepped outside. The area was completely scorched. Soot and ash drifted down from above, having already covered the ground in a thick layer.

Yang Yuncheng seemed to have been up for some time. He walked over from nearby. The previous day, before nightfall, he had already cleared out all the perimeter sentry posts. "Manager Chen," he asked now, "are you about to set off?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "I’m getting ready to leave. The road ahead is a bit rough, so I’ll have to ask you to look after the three horses we brought, Old Yang."

Yang Yuncheng said, "You can count on me. I’ll make sure they’re well looked after."

Chen Chuan glanced at the sky. "An Airship might come by today to assess the situation. You all should hide somewhere far from here."

Yang Yuncheng agreed.

Blade in hand, Chen Chuan walked to one side where a "Rakshasa" two-wheeled motor vehicle from Fenghai Company was parked. He had found it near a sentry post the day before. It was likely used by patrolmen for transport between the main camp and their posts.

Normally, using such a vehicle to venture deep into the Merging Land was practically impossible. One never knew what they might encounter on the road, and at high speeds, there would be no time to react.

For him, however, it was perfect. He had discovered that as long as his Spiritual Power was strong enough, he didn’t need to be overly cautious. By simply radiating his Spiritual Power while traveling, he could deter most creatures. Of course, this could also be interpreted as a provocation, but as long as he was fast enough, he could usually avoid any trouble.

This would likely consume a great deal of Spiritual Power, but with his Second Self and the Lost Object that could restore his spiritual energy, he didn’t have to be too concerned about the cost.

The motorcycle was large enough. He strapped his gear to the metal racks on either side, slung the Snow Monarch Blade across his back, and swung a leg over the seat. "Old Yang, I’m off," he said to Yang Yuncheng. "Take care."

Yang Yuncheng replied solemnly, "Manager Chen, I wish you a successful mission!" Then he took a few steps back.

Chen Chuan gave a nod, pulled on his protective visor, and adjusted the red scarf around his neck. He nodded to Yang Yuncheng one last time, then started the engine. With a ROAR, the motorcycle shot forward, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

Chaoming let out a sharp cry from the sky and followed.

Yang Yuncheng took a couple of steps forward, watching him depart. He raised his hand in a salute, holding it until Chen Chuan’s figure disappeared deep into the dense forest.

After leaving the camp, Chen Chuan glanced at the tracks left on the ground. They were clearly made by the large group that had headed into the uncharted territory earlier.

This made things easier for him. By following the tracks and using his Spiritual Power to clear the path ahead, he traveled at a speed far greater than he had the previous two days.

He also noticed that many of the powerful creatures that should have been on the road had already been dealt with. He even saw an unknown creature as large as a hillock lying on its side. Most of its body was already a skeleton, swarming with insects. It wouldn’t be long before nothing was left of the carcass at all.

After traveling for half a day, he discovered a fairly large, abandoned campsite. Judging from the number of campfires, at least a hundred people had stayed here.

He stopped and got off the motorcycle. Looking at the camp’s layout and the discarded metal cans, he was certain it had been left by the Federation team. They clearly had no intention of covering their tracks.

He looked ahead. ’If I follow the trail from this camp, I should be able to find their other campsites. If I keep this up, I might catch up to them soon.’

Just as he was thinking this, his Spiritual Power suddenly disturbed something in the camp. A covering was abruptly thrown open, and with a loud BUZZ, a dense swarm of something flew out and rushed toward him.

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