I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield - Chapter 559 - 451: Xue Dao Battle Group—Annihilated, Strange Occurrence (2)

Chapter 559: Chapter 451: Xue Dao Battle Group—Annihilated, Strange Occurrence (2)

“Now it’s time to deal with this matter.”

Qin Tian’s eyes flashed. From Karon’s memories, he “saw” the search mission for the cold iron vein by the Xue Dao Battle Group. Another team from the Xue Dao Battle Group was searching for the Iron-Eating Ice Lizard to determine the location of the cold iron vein.

But so far, they have found nothing.

What surprised and delighted Qin Tian was that the preliminary demarcation area of the vein marked in Karon’s memory happened to fall within the jurisdiction of the Ice Extreme Pass, and was several hundred miles away from Inzaghi Luoho’s Soul-Cracking Ice Valley.

This means that as long as he can find the vein first, he can rightfully bring it under the control of the Ice Extreme Pass, making all the previous efforts of the Luoho Clan work to his advantage.

“Tsk tsk, Inzaghi Luoho, thank you for this generous gift.”

A playful smile appeared at the corner of Qin Tian’s mouth.

He knew very well that for the Ice Extreme Pass to gain a strong foothold and develop rapidly on Mingwang Planet, relying solely on the military’s regular supply was far from enough; there had to be a strong economic pillar.

And the cold iron vein was undoubtedly the best “source of lifeblood.”

This ore is the core material for manufacturing spiritual ability weapons, armor, and large-scale equipment, containing immeasurable economic value.

If he could accurately pinpoint the location of the vein, he could immediately build an entire industrial chain around it: from forming a mining team to extract the ore, to setting up smelting workshops to refine the iron ore, then initially processing it into weapon parts or raw materials, and finally distributing it through interstellar routes to various parts of the Empire.

Throughout this process, the Ice Extreme Pass can not only capture enormous profits to expand military supplies and improve base facilities but also gain stronger support from the military department.

With this in mind, Qin Tian immediately took action, raised his hand, opened a Void Gate, and stepped in.

…

The wind and snow over the Morag Ice Field were fiercer than elsewhere, with strong winds whipping up ice particles that crackled against the warriors’ cold-resistant armor.

The atmosphere on site was silent and heavy. The news that had just come from the Soul-Cracking Ice Valley hit everyone’s heart like a boulder.

“Leader, what did the Military Lord say?”

The member’s voice carried a hint of unnoticed trembling.

Not only him, but hundreds of other members also looked up at Batuh, their eyes full of panic and confusion.

They had just learned that after Commander Karon ordered an attack on the Ice Extreme Pass safe house, they were pursued and countered by the other side, resulting in the annihilation of the entire Xue Dao Battle Group, and even the commander himself did not survive.

The Xue Dao Battle Group was founded by Karon. From just a few dozen people to its current scale of a thousand, every member was personally selected and trained by Karon.

Karon was not only the commander but also the backbone of the entire battle group.

Now that the backbone was gone, the remaining members were like kites with broken strings, completely lost as to what to do next.

Batuh slowly turned around, his voice heavy: “The Military Lord only said to stay concealed in place and await further support.”

This statement immediately caused an uproar among the party.

Everyone understood the implication behind “awaiting support” — with Karon’s death, the Xue Dao Battle Group’s importance to Inzaghi Luoho would inevitably plummet.

According to the Luoho Clan’s usual practice, they would most likely be dismantled and merged into other battle groups to continue the search for the cold iron vein.

In doing so, neither he as the deputy commander nor his brothers would hold the same status or treatment in a new battle group as they did in the Xue Dao Battle Group.

Realizing this, Batuh’s brows furrowed tighter, his heart full of reluctance.

The people in the team also realized this, their mood became even heavier, they mourned their fallen comrades, and pondered their future with uncertainty.

The cold wind swept through, and no one spoke, the only sound was the howling of the wind and snow, accentuating the dead silence of the scene.

At this moment, a bearded warrior quietly sidled up to Batuh and whispered, “Leader, how about… we report that situation to the Military Lord?”

His gaze flickered with a hint of secret anticipation, “Maybe there’s a great opportunity hidden behind it! If it can be verified, not only could our battle group receive a handsome reward from the Military Lord, but we might also keep the ’Xue Dao Battle Group’ name!”

Upon hearing this, Batuh’s eyes suddenly flashed, and the once gloomy face showed a hint of complexity.

They had stumbled upon a strange occurrence while tracking the Iron-Eating Ice Lizard.

Normally, this should have been reported to the Military Lord as soon as possible.

But he and Karon privately agreed that this strange occurrence was anything but simple, perhaps hiding some secret behind it.

So they agreed to quietly explore it first with their people, after getting detection equipment and protective gear from elsewhere. If there really was a treasure, they would first hold onto it, and report only if they couldn’t handle it.

But who could have predicted that before the equipment arrived, Karon would die in the Ice Extreme Pass’s counterattack?

Now, with his mere Tier Six, Two-Star spiritualist abilities, coupled with these few people, he really didn’t have the confidence to investigate thoroughly.

“I’ll think about it,” Batuh said in a low voice.

“What’s going on? Why don’t you tell me?”

At this moment, a faint voice suddenly arose in the wind and snow, not loud, yet clearly heard by everyone.

In an instant, Batuh and all the warriors’ bodies shuddered simultaneously, abruptly looking around, spiritual energy sensing instantly expanded, yet they sensed no external presence.

“Who! Come out!”

Batuh shouted sternly, immediately gripping the battle sword tightly, and vigilantly scanned the surroundings through the wind and snow.

The next second, a dark shadow appeared ghost-like in mid-air.

The newcomer dressed in pure black attire, standing tall like a pine tree, his face expressionless save for a pair of eyes that were as calm as a bottomless icy lake, looking down at the people in the snow.

“Who are you!”

Batuh asked in a deep voice. He could not sense any spiritual energy fluctuation from the man, but precisely because of that, it made him even more uneasy.

“Guardian Envoy of the Ice Extreme Pass, Qin Tian!”

The soft voice spread through the wind and snow.

“Guardian Envoy of the Ice Extreme Pass!”

In an instant, everyone’s body trembled; wasn’t this the very culprit who killed the commander and wiped out most of the Xue Dao Battle Group?

He actually came here alone!

“Act! Kill him!”

Batuh’s pupils contracted suddenly, without a moment’s hesitation, he issued the order sternly.

He knew very well that Qin Tian dared to come alone, not for negotiation but to root out all opposition!

Given the situation, they had to strike first and go all out.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Hundreds of attacks erupted instantly, colorful spiritual ability magics, glowing sword qi, and wind-breaking blade qi surged toward Qin Tian like a torrential downpour.

Energy fluctuations tore through the wind and snow, arousing a fierce airstream on the ice field, causing the snow on the ground to be swept up and dance around.

However, in the face of this dense barrage of attacks, Qin Tian’s figure melted into the storm like an illusion, disappearing just a moment before impact!

“Where is he?”

Batuh rapidly scanned his surroundings, spiritual energy perception expanded to its utmost, yet not a shadow was found.

Not only Batuh, but all members of the Xue Dao Battle Group were equally panicked, their hands holding weapons began to tremble uncontrollably, the enemy was right before them yet could disappear without a trace, such unknown terror was more shattering than direct combat.

At that moment, an unexpected change happened!

“Ah—! Help!”

A warrior suddenly let out a piercing scream. Everyone followed the sound to see his armor inexplicably ignited with black flames.

Soon after, more black flames ignited on the soldiers.

The black fire clung to each person as if alive, no matter how they rolled or patted with snow, they could not extinguish the flames. On the contrary, the black flames grew more vigorous, even charring bones with a “sizzling” sound.

“No! Don’t! Leader, save me!”

“It hurts… help!”

The heart-wrenching screams echoed across the ice field but lasted only a few seconds. The black flames, like an abyss devouring everything, reduced the hundreds of warriors to ashes, armor and all, and with a gust of wind, they dispersed into the snowstorm.

The scene instantly returned to silence, with only Batuh frozen in place.

He looked at the desolate snowfield before him, his face drained of all color, his pupils filled with sheer terror and despair.

“I…”

Batuh just began to speak, but a sharp pain from the back of his head brought darkness over his eyes, as his body went limp and fell forward.

Qin Tian emerged behind him, holding the back of his head.

With his power, dealing with an ordinary Tier Six spiritualist was merely a single blow.

“Let me see what the strange thing you mentioned really is.”

A hint of curiosity flashed in Qin Tian’s eyes, then he activated his talent — Soul Devourer!