Chapter 469 - 466: Wave After Wave

Chapter 469: Chapter 466: Wave After Wave

Another earthen tidal wave forced Li Luo and Zhou Chao to a temporary halt. They stood on a thick, fallen tree, waiting for the tide to subside.

A gust of wind suddenly blew through the destroyed forest. Activated air gathered once again, like circling vultures snatching the leftovers after a lion’s hunt.

"Did you see that? The wind."

Zhou Chao gazed at the forest, pointing to the swirling leaves as he spoke.

"Is it activated air?"

"That’s right. But it can’t do us any harm. The more terrifying thing is underneath." Zhou Chao pointed down.

Meanwhile, Mo Ling was staring intently at the shuttle-shaped mass of soil. After attacking the forest, it had sunk deep underground.

’Doesn’t it feed?’

The shattered roots writhed in the soil like endless serpents. The shuttle-shaped mass had incapacitated its prey but hadn’t consumed it.

Just as Mo Ling was wondering about this, the shuttle-shaped soil returned to view.

But this time, it did not come alone.

Behind the large mass trailed countless smaller, shuttle-shaped mounds of soil.

They gathered together like a pod of hunting orcas.

’They actually have a pack?’

’It seems that as the activated pollution worsens, the intelligence of these creatures grows. Now they’ve even formed packs.’

This pack of shuttle-shaped soil soon reached the surface layer.

Then, like dolphins, they leaped from the earth, dragging countless roots back down with them.

A great feast had begun.

The roots, the soft gathered soil—everything became their food. They churned the earth wantonly, crushing all in their path.

"It’s activated soil! They’ve actually formed a pack!" Zhou Chao said in shock, watching the shuttle-shaped masses leap from the ground.

"Let’s leave from the other side. Don’t draw their attention."

The two were about to sneak away, but the leader of the shuttle-shaped soil suddenly looked in their direction, spun its body, and charged toward them.

Its rock-hard body smashed through several large trees, seemingly unwilling to let the pair escape.

"It’s spotted us!" Zhou Chao hurriedly handed the Holy Sword to Li Luo.

Li Luo understood immediately, placing her hand on the sword’s hilt.

But before she could draw the sword, a massive, cube-shaped hole appeared in the ground before them. The menacing shuttle-shaped soil, caught right in the middle, vanished without a trace.

"Block..." Li Luo turned to look at the Block behind her, and her hand, which had been gripping the hilt, slowly relaxed.

...

Meanwhile, Mo Ling was curiously examining the massive shuttle-shaped soil in the center of the Block.

’The activation is gone...’

The Block’s teleportation had eliminated its activation. What lay piled before Mo Ling was now just ordinary soil.

’What exactly is this so-called activation? Can it really give life to ’dead’ things?’

With a thought, Mo Ling tossed the soil in front of them out again.

The massive shuttle-shaped soil fell to the ground, now completely devoid of life.

In the distance, the leaderless shuttle-shaped soil suddenly began to fight amongst themselves, squabbling over the remaining food. Massive clumps of earth collided, smashing each other to pieces.

’Without their leader, they seem to have gotten a lot dumber.’

Mo Ling watched in confusion as the shuttle-shaped soil tore itself apart.

Their struggle made the ground tremble even more violently, and the tree trunk where Li Luo and Zhou Chao stood began to sway precariously.

"We need to get out of here!" Zhou Chao warned Li Luo, his eyes darting between the large pit left by the teleportation and the now-lifeless mound of soil that had been tossed out.

The two leaped from trunk to trunk, slowly distancing themselves from the battlefield.

Panting, Zhou Chao looked at Li Luo, then at the Block behind her.

"That was the power of this relic, wasn’t it? I should have known. A Hunter who can reach the fourth level alone is no weakling."

Li Luo nodded and handed the Holy Sword back.

But Zhou Chao didn’t take it, instead pushing the Holy Sword back toward Li Luo.

"It’s no use in my hands. You take it. If we run into danger, draw it immediately."

He turned to look into the depths of the dark forest, his voice filled with excitement. "You wield the Holy Sword with great power, and your relic is strong, too. We can definitely reach the central area."

Li Luo looked at the Holy Sword in her hand and nodded.

"You just said that soil formed a pack?"

"Yes. The pollution is worse than I expected."

"Then do you think they could develop a language, a society, even a civilization? What is the central area like now?" Li Luo voiced a terrifying possibility.

Hearing this, Zhou Chao fell silent.

"Can the beacon even be used anymore?" Li Luo pressed.

"I don’t know." Zhou Chao shook his head. "But we have to try, don’t we?"

He looked into the dark forest, as if recalling something from the past.

"Back then... we also thought about giving up..."

At that time, after losing two comrades, a rift had formed in the Sky Island Investigation Team.

Some team members argued they shouldn’t sacrifice so much for an unknown island. This Sky Island might have no value; their sacrifices might be for nothing. It would be better to leave now, or just set up a beacon anywhere and get off the island.

But the captain shut them down.

"Do you know why we must set up the beacon?"

"Is it to record this Sky Island’s trajectory? To monitor its ecology? Or is it to prove that humanity has been here?"

"Those are all reasons, but they are not the most important one."

"What’s important is those who come after us."

"When someone comes to this Sky Island in the future, they can use the beacon to learn about it, to avoid many dangers. Maybe because of this seemingly insignificant data, they can leave this Sky Island safe and sound."

"We aren’t doing something meaningless. We are leaving an ember for the future of humanity."

"You’ve all heard the story of Prometheus... And now, we are all Fire Thieves..."

No matter which level of the abyss, it all begins with the unknown. Someone has to push aside that darkness, to see what lies beneath the mist.

Every Sky Island is shrouded in its own fog, and someone has to be the one to lift it.

This is the duty of the Sky Island Investigation Team, and the duty of those who came before.

"Now, are you still willing to stay? To become a Fire Thief?"

The captain asked this question to the silent team members.

"I’ll stay! Captain."

"I’ll stay too!"

"They’re all staying, so of course I can’t run away!"

...

Almost everyone answered the captain’s call. The remaining few also raised their hands, showing their resolve.

They once again looked toward the depths of the dark forest...

And then, one after another, they walked into it.