NOVPUBChapter 347 -344: There is No Day or Night in the Mirage Mountain
Jing City, the nearest transfer station to the Mirage Mountain Range.
This place had been transformed into an iron fortress, with cannon fire sounding off from time to time and the ground trembling.
“Another beast tide is attacking, it’s no wonder the Mirage Mountain Range has been marked as a five-star Extreme Danger Area…”
“It’s also a good thing, as there are many Mutated Beasts in the Mirage Mountain Range, and most of them are edible; recently, the meat prices in Jing City have dropped significantly.”
When the cannon fire ceased, the iron gates of the transfer station reopened, and the City Guard Army efficiently dealt with the corpses outside the walls, selecting some of the Mutated Beasts that were less damaged and still edible, with some people responsible for skinning and cutting the main materials, while the remaining bodies were taken to the nearest landfill for incineration.
Disinfection personnel also disinfected the area around the walls to prevent virus infections.
Facing the back door of the Jing City Sanctuary, several convoys drove in at that time, with Awakeners in uniform and excellent equipment getting off the vehicles.
The freelance Awakeners at the transfer station looked on in surprise:
“Why are people from several major Mercenary Corps together?”
“It’s the Mercenary Corps controlled by the Li Family, Ye Family, and Wu Family, and it seems that there are elites sent by their families too.”
“Didn’t the Li Family just lose a mercenary team recently? It’s said that the ‘Undying·Li Jing’ didn’t even have a complete body left, and no one knows who did it. It’s frightening.”
“The Ancestor Dragon Special Combat Team is also here! I wonder which faction, or all of them?”
“Feels like something big is about to happen!”
There were many elite Awakeners, and their presence caused all the Awakeners at the transfer station to take notice.
Freelance Awakeners and those from major powers were clearly divided into two parts, or perhaps the freelancers couldn’t afford to provoke those with power and could only sit aside to rest.
Unexpectedly to the freelance Awakeners, those elite Awakeners, fully equipped and neatly dressed, were obviously not just heading out for a stroll. They had been repairing at the transfer station for a good while but did not seem to be advancing into the mountains yet.
…
At this time, elsewhere.
The elite Awakeners, divided into different areas by force, were whispering among themselves.
Some had a look of contempt:
“Why do we still have to wait for people from other Sanctuaries? What use are those weaklings!”
“I heard it’s the upper echelons’ game. Anyway, the Mirage Mountain Range is so large, our Jing City can’t swallow it alone. Besides, more than a dozen large Sanctuaries are coming this time, and their combined strengths are not weak.”
“Heh, I heard some teams lost half their people just getting to Jing City, the remaining ones are nothing but a crippled force, they’ll just hold us back.”
“That weak?”
“What do you think? Our Jing City has the best rune equipment, the most powerful Awakeners, and has developed several Secret Realms… These are things other Sanctuaries can’t compare to. Just consider the Secret Realm we control together with the Li and Ye Families. Inside, one day of cultivation is equivalent to refining one-third of a bottle of soul power, more efficient than hunting Demonized Beasts…”
The speaking Awakener felt a sense of superiority:
“Other Sanctuaries, even if they’re lucky enough to discover a Secret Realm, would they understand the meaning of those words? While we’re rapidly increasing our cultivation, those people are still slowly crawling forward.”
…
As time gradually passed.
Various convoys arrived one after another; the teams were mixed, including official forces from the Sanctuaries as well as top-tier mercenary teams from various Sanctuaries. The personnel were numerous, adding up to two to three thousand elite Awakeners, although this was already after multiple selection process leaving only the elite.
This was not only for exploring the Mirage Mountain Range; many Sanctuaries took this opportunity to establish a ‘route’ with Jing City, facilitating future exchanges.
The transfer station wasn’t large, and the convoys all stayed outside. The major forces of Jing City that arrived earlier came out and assessed the various Sanctuary convoys.
…
The large-scale joint team from Tiannan Province did not immediately proceed into the Mirage Mountain Range for exploration.
The first day, lingering at the entrance, familiarizing themselves with the mountain range’s environment, was also a time for the teams to harmonize.
The sky darken and then brightened, and by the next morning, nearly three hundred top experts were selected from the joint army to form the Tiannan Exploration Team.
“How come Kun City only got so few slots?”
The leader from Kun City, looking at the sparse number of ‘his own people’ in the exploration team, turned dark-faced and was quite dissatisfied.
Officially, Jing City’s number one and two giants held the highest authority, but in reality, even though they were under the same official Sanctuary, they operated independently; Jing City did not have the ability to command all the major Sanctuaries in Tiannan… The formation of the exploration team was more like a drive of interest.
He was not satisfied with Jing City’s allocation of slots!
However, the dissatisfaction of Kun City’s leader did not resonate with other Sanctuaries, and some even scoffed,
“Can’t you see how few experts Kun City has? You want to bring the incompetent ones along?”
The black-faced leader from Kun City glared angrily.
“Kun City might have brought fewer experts, but the exploratory team should have at least the strength of the Seventh Layer of Awakening, otherwise it’s just dragging everyone down—bad both for themselves and the team…”
Jing City had the strongest capability, occupying almost half of the spots, other Sanctuaries had varying numbers of top experts selected.
Like Kun City, it had the fewest.
The exploration team was led by Jing City in selecting members, but all parties were watching closely, there were no secret manipulations based on the performance on the first day. Each Sanctuary was both a collaborator and a competitor, and the competition began the moment the selection was made.
More selected members meant a stronger Sanctuary, fewer selected meant a loss of face.
The black-faced leader from Kun Mountain argued a few words, but ultimately didn’t dare to venture into the mountain alone, grumpily dropping a couple of perfunctory remarks before saying no more.
…
The adventure team set off.
The remaining people from other powers also chose to enter the Mirage Mountain Range, but they did not dare to venture deep and lingered on the periphery.
…
The exploration team progressed slowly, the Awakeners in front wielding long weapons swung to chop down the overgrowth and obstacles. The Spiritual and Perception series ability users took turns unleashing their powers, detecting the surrounding environment.
Zhou Jianhong, assigned to the flank, chopped down the attacking Demonized Beasts and sighed,
“Somehow, I don’t have a good feeling about this joint operation.”
“Then why did you come?”
“Lindong offered a high price, these past few days I’ve been soaking in the ‘Trial Tower,’ and bought a few pieces of equipment, all my Source Crystals are spent. Green Shadow is so expensive, without making some money, life’s going to be tough, why did you guys come too?”
“It’s a coincidence, me too.”
“I noticed a lot of people didn’t come, they must be rich.”
“Forget it, whether Jing City achieves its goal or not, what does it have to do with us, as long as we get our compensation and can cultivate in Green Shadow, that’s enough.”
“You’re right, you’re right!”
At the forefront of the team, that commander from Jing City spoke in a deep voice:
“Attention! We’re about to delve deeper into the Mirage Mountain Range. There could be dangers inside at any moment, which might be environmental or unknown enemies. Stay alert, the sun is about to leave us.”
The voice was carefully controlled, allowing everyone to hear clearly but not spreading far enough to attract enemies.
Zhou Jianhong heard this, his head slightly raising, his gaze turning towards the sky.
The sky gradually became darker.
That high-hanging sun also disappeared without a trace.
Zhou Jianhong knew, however, it wasn’t yet the time for the sun to set. Rather, the sunlight couldn’t reach inside the Mirage Mountain Range. As they ventured deeper, that blazing sun…was leaving them behind!
