Chapter 91: Chapter 74: Undercurrent_1
After reserving a mount from Baddy, Duanmu Huai returned to Modheim.
The transition from a beautiful tourist area to a filthy slum was indeed unpleasant.
“Did anyone come looking for me?”
Duanmu Huai stepped out of the portal and asked Ogis, who was quietly reading at the table. After thinking for a moment, she nodded.
“General Pastte sent someone to inform us that a meeting will be held this afternoon.”
“Then I will go and have a look.”
Duanmu Huai glanced at the time, caressed Ogis’s head, then turned around and left the house. He arrived at General Pastte’s headquarters – after the market area had been recaptured, General Pastte started using the city council as his base of operations. As the infrastructure was still more or less intact, it wasn’t much trouble to set up here.
When Duanmu Huai entered the city council hall, he immediately saw General Pastte and representatives of several combat groups. There was also a new face – a woman dressed in heavy armor, who was the head of the Rock Monastery, and a high nun. After the previous archbishop was exposed as a cultist, she joined the ranks as a representative.
Everyone welcomed her, as it was indeed more convenient to have a local on board.
“You’re here, Steel Warrior.”
Upon seeing Duanmu Huai, General Pastte nodded and greeted him.
“Perfect timing, we were discussing the next operation.”
“The next operation?”
Duanmu Huai walked to the table and looked at the map of Modheim laid out.
“Yes, with the help of the combat nuns from the Rock Monastery, we now have a preliminary understanding of the current situation in Modheim.”
As he spoke, General Pastte pointed to the map.
“From what we can see, the followers of the Evil Gods have each occupied a part of the city – the followers of the God of Lust are entrenched in the Aristocratic District, while the followers of the Brutal God are in the Military District. And as for the slums, which were smashed by a comet, they have now become the Plague God’s territory.”
“But the situation is quite serious now.”
At this point, the high nun also interjected.
“According to the information we have obtained, these believers all want to establish a transmission gate based on Modheim to open the way to the Demon Realm, in order to gain the favor and blessings of their insane gods. They are currently collecting dimension stones in the city for this purpose.”
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.
The so-called dimension stones were actually fragments that had fallen when the comet hit. These stones possessed mysterious and powerful abilities and could be used for a variety of purposes. And the cultists of Evil Gods in this city apparently planned to use these Dimension Stones as a medium to open a portal to the Subspace.
These believers are beyond redemption.
“Before you arrived, the Chaos Believers in this city were not only trying to build a transmission gate but also competing for Dimension Stones. The followers of the Brutal God even tried to exterminate all the other people in the city to use them as sacrifices to open the portal, but they didn’t succeed. They had a fight with the followers of the God of Lust, the Plague God’s believers and the Ratmen, and they all ended up severely weakened. That’s why the other forces didn’t target the Sigma Temple earlier on.”
Well, as expected of the followers of the Brutal God, their loyalty takes quite a twisted form. They deserve a medal for their dedication.
Duanmu Huai wasn’t surprised by this. In general, in the chaotic war of the Chaos Army, the Brutal God and its followers could be considered as half-allies of the players.
“However, due to our arrival, these forces have now accelerated the construction of the transmission gate.”
Well, that’s bad news.
“So, our next step is to defeat these cultists of the Evil Gods and destroy their ritual?”
“More or less, but there’s one more thing we need to do before that.”
General Pastte extended his hand and pointed at the map.
“What we need to do first is to regain control of this bridge and crush the Ratmen – Our scouts have discovered them poisoning the river. If this continues, even our drinking water will become a problem.”
“Shouldn’t the slums be prioritized?”
In Duanmu Huai’s view, the slums are the biggest threat because that’s where the comet fell, and it is also where the followers of the God of Plague were operating. Although the rats are annoying, compared to the God of Plague, the Ratmen’s threat is not as substantial.
When it comes to this topic, General Pastte also furrows his eyebrows, shaking his head.
“The area where the comet fell is filled with a terrifying and strange power. Anyone entering it would feel sick or even become ill or mutate. In fact, besides the followers of the God of Plague, no one can survive in such a place.”
No wonder, after all, the God of Plague loves all sorts of mutations. But looking at it this way, the radiation level in the slum should be off the charts.
“Then, I will go check the slum.”
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai put forth his suggestion, which surprised everyone who heard him.
“Sure, my armor can resist that kind of power, and my subordinates won’t be affected.”
The Judgement Court Power Armor that Duanmu Huai was wearing is capable of allowing his body to break through the atmosphere, it has first-rate radiation resistance. As for Lorena and Merlot, in a strict sense, they are both considered to be manifestations, and thus they won’t be affected by radiation at all. This goes without saying for Ogis and Feiya – radiation no matter how strong has no effect on wood.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
General Pastte let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, the slum is indeed a problem, but even soldiers do not dare to approach it casually, and they don’t have many good solutions. Now that Duanmu Huai has volunteered to investigate, it comes as a great relief to him.
However, at this very moment, dozens of meters underneath their feet, a group of bizarre shadows was rapidly darting through a series of tunnels.
“Rare stone! Rare stone! Rare stone!”
A ratman angrily waved his spear around, letting out shrill screams.
“Human stuff! Bad stuff! Obstructing the Combat Group’s bad stuff! No rare stone! Lord unhappy! Need more rare stones! More! Human stuff! Bad! They want to exterminate the ratmen! They want us to go extinct! Ratmen flatly refuse! Seize the rare stone, and we will become the most powerful Combat Group! The very best Combat Group!”
Accompanying the ratmen’s screeching, the other ratmen also started to raise their heads.
“Iron Skin Ghost! Terrifying Iron Skin Ghost! Can’t win! Thick iron skin! Can’t kill him! Human’s Iron Skin Ghost is very powerful!”
On hearing this, the leading ratman stamped its feet in frustration, but it was helpless. Thanks to their strength, ratmen indeed claimed a part of Modheim. However, this doesn’t help much, because the pieces of the comet have almost all fallen on the surface, and if the ratmen want to get the Dimension Stones from the other forces, they have no choice but to fight.
But, after several battles, they suffered heavy losses. For this ratman clan, this was initially an opportunity for them to improve their status, but now, they have been dragged deep into a quagmire.
In particular, the terrifying Iron Skin Ghost brought unimaginable fear to the Ratmen. Blades can’t pierce him, arrows can’t break through, and poison is useless. Whenever the Iron Skin Ghost swung his large hammer, several of their brethren were turned into bloody pulp—bones and flesh alike—smashed into tiny bits! Even their internal organs! They were indistinguishable!
Just as the ratmen were venting their dissatisfaction in rage, a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly echoed. A scout rat quickly emerged from the other end of the tunnel, pointing excitedly behind him.
“Big rare stone! The scout rat found it! A big, big rare stone! Very big!”
Upon hearing the scout’s report, the ratman in the lead brightened.
“Good thing! Let’s go immediately! Dig out the big rare stone!!”