Tang Yu was astonished. It's been too long since he last heard the system's mechanical voice.
"But… What's a Rift Crystals?"
He pondered for a while, then he remembered that it was the same kind of material he couldn't find a clue for on the territory upgrade condition! There's no information of the origin, no shape, nothing. Lord Tang had no idea what to do back then, but he didn't expect he would actually get a hint right now.
Come to think of it.
Even though the system didn't provide a gift pack at the beginning, and he had to spend his own spirit stones to build the base, even though every system building was oddly expensive, even though it didn't even have an instruction manual and he had to figure everything out on his own, even though it also often made him feel like an African.*
There's still a lot of 'even though', Tang Yu's words stuck in his brain. But… the system proved to be reliable in critical moments! It's different from a gold digger!
"But why did the hint pop up all of a sudden? Like a few hints that popped up before, there must be a reason why it suddenly popped up."
Yet, at the moment, the territory was calm and quiet. So… There's nothing wrong with the construction site, right? If there really was one, Elaine must have already told him about it.
When Tang Yu opened the map, apart from the territory's places, there was a grey mist. Yet there were some moving dots in a particular grey area. Those were the patrols going out, or people monitoring the miners in the spirit stone mines, but there are also… Tang Yu's gaze moved upwards and saw that there were quite a few small green dots in a place far away from the territory.
One of the brightest green dots was spreading ripples around it. If there's a golden exclamation mark next to it, it will become a proper quest request.
"That should be Gray Blade."
Tang Yu's gazed through the wall into the distance.
......…..
Across the mountains and rivers.
On the rock wall around the shattered cavity, the team of mercenaries chasing the Metal Swallowing Beast couldn't help but stopped. They were stunned when suddenly a huge cave appeared in front of them.
Obviously, it wasn't a cave. Even if, for some reason, the inside of the rock wall was hollowed out and happened to be crashed open by the Metal Swallowing Beast and formed a cave. Even if that was the case, it would never look like this.
There's a gray mist at the mouth of this cave. Nothing could be seen from the 'cave', even the walls.
"What… is this… exactly?" The crowd was hesitant.
In the distance, Zhou Jianhong and a few of his team members were also observing the situation.
"Captain, are we going in or not? Years of experience have taught me that there will be unexpected goodies in there." One of the team members, who had a small body, said seriously.
Zhou Jianhong shook his head, "We don't know what's inside."
The skinny man was confused. Suddenly, he saw a few hunters rush towards the cave, "Captain, some people are going in-"
Before his voice could even fall, he heard the sound of gunfire. The bullets were like rain, hitting the road these people were rushing towards. Leaving holes in the ground. The hunters rushing towards the cave were shocked. They realized the bullets were just a warning. They had no choice but to retreat.
"Do you understand now?" Zhou Jianhong said, "No one has ever seen this kind of situation before, that means no one knows what's waiting for us inside that cave. Maybe there's some kind of valuable materials inside, but who knows about the danger lurking inside?"
"We all wanted money, but we didn't want to encounter danger, but we also worried others would take this benefit." He laughed dryly, didn't even bother denying his craving.
He wanted to go in too, but it's far too dangerous. But they won't get anything if the other party got in first. No matter what, they need to take their chance!
The other teams also thought the same way. Suddenly, the atmosphere was silent.
The previous hunt had attracted the attention of other mercenary regiments in the area.
Wooosh! A gust of wind blows.
A figure descended from the sky, followed by his team members running to catch up.
"It's the Kamikaze Squad captain, Chen Feng, I didn't expect him to be here!"
"And over there, it's the Fire Squad. The Fire Squad and the Divine Wind Squad are old enemies!"
"Not only that, but there's also the Dragon Slayer Squad!"
Everyone glanced over. A cold-looking and stern man with a hawk-like nose walked out of the forest, followed by his team members. Demonic beast blood stained their clothing and equipment as if they just stepped out from a massacre.
Their tremendous aura caused the other hunters to step back.
Some of the best mercenary regiments arrived in the scene, their eyes widened. This kind of scene was extremely rare. It could only be seen in the Black Market auction. In the wilderness, it was rare to see other mercenary regiments. Not to mention a top team!
Captain-level hunters like Wang Wu, Chen Feng, Zhan Long, and Chen Sheng were the object of other hunter's envy. A role model for the ordinary hunters.
The increasing number of hunters gathering in this area was like honey to ants, naturally attracting some demonic beasts. They had to deal with demonic beasts while they raised their vigilance against the other hunters. The weaker mercenary teams chose to retreat.
A two-meter sandworm emerged from the ground with its mouthparts wide open, biting at one of the Kamikaze Squad members. The team member was about to react when Chen Feng waved his hand, and a wind blade swept past them, splitting the sand worm's body in two. It wriggled twice before completely silent.
This was the power of a captain-level hunter. Ordinary demonic beasts are nothing.
However, Chen Feng's mind wasn't fixed at the scene. He looked at the empty hole and frowned, suddenly glancing on the other side. There was a movement in the forest.
Demonic beast carcasses were thrown out of the forest like cannonballs, bombarding the rock walls, smashed, and rolled down.
A group of people walked out.
The young man on the lead walked alongside s middle-aged man beside him, his face was indifferent. Followed by hundreds of elite hunters. They were dressed in uniform, equipping both sharp weapons and firearms. With their strict discipline, from a glance, they looked far from ordinary mercenary regiments. Even the captain-level experts in the area were stunned.
"It's the Warhammer Mercenaries! I didn't expect the Warhammer Mercenaries to come, it's one of the four… three major mercenary groups!"
"I'm not surprised, Warhammer was already active in this area. I didn't see all those top squads coming. They must have heard the news."
"That cold-looking young man at the front is the head of Warhammer. Warhammer's number one expert, right? He really looks like an expert at a glance. And… that middle-aged man next to him is the Warhammer Mercenaries' vice leader, right? I heard that he's actually still in his mid-twenties, he just looks older…"
At that moment, someone else looked in the other direction, and a number of silhouettes walked out over there as well.
"Wait! Silver Wolf… the Silver Wolf Mercenaries are here too! Two of the three major mercenary groups have already come!"
The leader of the Silver Wolves was a demonic man with long hair. Behind him, the members of the Silver Wolves Mercenary Regiments also wore similar uniforms.
Upon his arrival, his glance swept at the crowds in disdain, "You all want to take the profit, but at the same time, you're afraid of the danger. Where else can you find good things?"
Silver Wolves arrived in front of the Warhammer, "Captain Xiao, let's join forces to explore this place. When those big brass from the shelter arrives, we'll just have the leftovers."
The cold-looking Warhammer leader didn't hesitate and nodded his head. It seemed they had some information. They were certain they wouldn't encounter any dangerous and deadly danger inside.
The members of the two major mercenary regiments started walking towards the cave. At this time, no one was daring enough to stop their movement. Also, for some unknown reason, the two majors didn't stop the other teams from entering.
.........….
"Boss, let's go in now! If we wait here, the goods will be shared among them!"
In an inconspicuous corner, Gray Blade closed his eyes and stood still. The strong men around him were getting anxious.
After being subdued, Yan Dazhuang was convinced of the new Boss. But now, two major mercenary regiments had gone inside, but their Boss hadn't decided a thing. That's why he was feeling anxious.
Gray Blade opened his eyes and stared at the man, "Relax, they won't easily have the loot, if there's any. We'll go in when the Lord comes."
"The Lord?" Yan Dazhuang had heard these words countless times. He was suspicious, but also curious.
Suddenly, he saw Gray Blade raise his head and look towards the sky, smiling, "The Lord is here."
...........
Silver Wolf and Warhammer's Mercenary regiments had walked up to the cave.
After testing the cyclones at the mouth of the cave weren't harmful, they were ready to dispatch their men inside.
Buzz!
A loud noise was heard from the sky. Everyone couldn't help but look upwards. A double-rotor helicopter was flying towards them. The size of the helicopter was much larger than an ordinary helicopter.
"What??"
"What type of helicopter is that? I can't believe I haven't seen them before!"
"Who the hell flies a helicopter in the wilderness? Are they bored of life?"
The helicopter emitted a loud noise. The hunters who were about to enter the cave noticed a movement in the sky.
In their perspective, flying in the wilderness was very dangerous. Let alone a noisy vehicle like the helicopters that could attract the demonic beasts' attention,
The helicopter was slowly approaching.
Suddenly.
Shriek!!!
A shrill cry could be heard from afar.
A terrifying Eagle-like Demonic Beast with tawny feathers, and a wingspan so huge it almost reached over 20 meters, was flapping its wings and rushed towards the helicopter.
"See? I told you taking helicopters to fly is a bad idea!"
"Sh*t! That scary giant eagle would shoot down the helicopter and probably head on our way next.
He glanced around at the hunters crowds and the top squads, trying to get some sense of security.
But he saw that the captain-level figure's faces were all pale. Even the heads of the two regiments were already spectating the demonic beasts vs. humans.
......….
On the other side.
Yan Da Zhuang was astonished, "Er… Boss… is the 'Lord' you were talking about was on that helicopter? But…"
The Giant Eagle moved very fast. In less than a second, it had approached the helicopters. The violent wind from its wings made the helicopter's flight unstable.
This demonic beast was even more terrifying than they had imagined!
As they got closer, a terrifying and shocking aura came towards everyone's heart.
In the sky, a bucket of lightning flashed, still sleepy!
A bucked of lightning.
In the next moment, the Giant Eagle shrieked, and its charred black body fell from the sky.
On the helicopter, A torn scroll was reduced into fine ashes in Tang Yu's hand.
He looked at the falling Giant Eagle, "So flying beasts were very prone to lightning??"
...........
"What!"
"It's… dead?!"
The giant eagle smashed down and fell down with a loud thud.
Although they would prefer an expert to finish off the giant eagles, they had calculated it would be difficult to finish it, even for a captain level expert. If they had bad luck to be caught in the wave, they'd be dead meat.
But damn, those people could take down such a terrifying demonic beast with a single strike? If they hadn't seen its scorched body, they would have thought it was just a daydream.
Even the capital-level experts' faces were pale.
Who the hell was in that helicopter?
They were all looking at the sky with anticipation.
The helicopter had now flown over the crowd.
The propellers hovered with loud engine noises.
They saw the helicopter hatch opened and a rope draped down from above.
Several members of the patrol teams dressed in black combat suits and black helmets slid down from the rope. They were about to clear the trees around them so that the helicopter could land.
Gray Blade also knocked down a tree, telling his men to help.
The stunned mercenaries around them were still appalled. Even the members of the two big mercenary regiments froze.
It was impossible not to get shocked by a strong force's sudden appearance.
Note:
* I'm not sure what the author meant by 'feeling like an African'.