Steel steam and flame

Many things are hidden in the unknown, and it is impossible to get the answer no matter how you think about it now. Cassia has always known that one day he will lose protection, and the situation within the empire will not give him much breathing time. Whether it’s the Kiris family, which we still haven’t figured out yet, or the forces led by the Holy Emperor’s Hall that stand against Noir. During the assessment, the appearance of No. 0 also made Cassia very alert. During this period of time, the former leader of the Chira Andi clan, Tovi Luest, was gradually gathering his own strength.

Most of those experimental subjects are not a threat to themselves, but only to themselves. If the number exceeds a certain standard, Torvillest uses it in combat against other people, and the effect will definitely surprise many people. According to Cassia's feelings after fighting them, their basic strength, speed and agility, as well as the tough defense brought about by the scaled state, which is almost impossible to do in many cases, can make them something that many forces must be wary of. strength.

Looking back at herself and excluding herself, Cassia tried to say something, but after a long time she could only sigh. Even if there is a voice in his head telling him that he has done a good enough job based on the current situation, the shortcomings are still insufficient, and if they are not good, they are not good. Some things cannot be excused with various excuses.

It was already noon when we reached the foot of the mountain, and Cassia took out high-energy food to fill her stomach. He circled more than half an arc around the foot of the mountain, and even with his open ears, he didn't catch any sound. There were only scorched traces left over from large and small battles in his field of vision. The examiner was mixed with the corpses of second-category creatures, and it was difficult to find any sound. distinguish.

When they arrived at the area where Novia and the others often move around, they would not be easily found in a short period of time. They could only try to see where there were gunshots, and maybe they would gain something. So moving forward, Cassia followed the unerased traces in the snow, and soon disappeared in the dim light of snow.

,,,,,,

"They're all dead." There was no hint of surprise in his voice, just stating the facts in a calm tone. He kicked the stiff corpses that were placed together with his foot. The foot finally fell heavily, trampling the chests of the three corpses into pieces. "You are lucky, you didn't fall into my hands." The man was very sad. Disappointed, but not unacceptable, he then looked at the body of the gorilla on the side before looking at the surroundings.

Next to him was his subordinate, who understood the meaning of the man's action, and answered: "Because the snow and fog fell, a layer of frost powder naturally covered many things, and it will take some time to find the traces. And Mr. Andrew, from now on Judging from the wounds on Elps and others, the person who finally took away the signal generator only succeeded by relying on a sneak attack. There is a high probability that he will hide for the rest of the time and leave directly to the edge of the assessment area in four days. .”

"In other words, you think there is no need for us to pursue them."

"You can try to follow up and have a look. Just keep it for an appropriate amount of time." The man suggested.

Andrew nodded, then sighed about something else: "If it weren't for Astus's group, we wouldn't have followed the traces of Elps's group. We must find an opportunity to fight back!"

"At this point, I don't think anyone would have thought that that group of monsters would actually be with the people of Astus. Fortunately, the captain of that group of people was not in the team together. I think there are many teams of examiners. , Unless several teams like ours unite, or there are Ones and others as a blocker, no one should be able to compete with them in a short period of time."

No more words were spoken, and a few people waited where they were. A few minutes later, the team sent out came back with news after tracing the traces.

"Toward the central area?" Andrew and several people around him expressed doubts. They looked at the corpse lying behind them again. "Is it Ernes and the others?" Some people speculated.

Andrew looked at the central area thoughtfully: "Looking at the appearance of the frozen flesh of the corpse, the other team will not be gone for long. There are still weapons and ammunition left around to replenish, allowing the team to repair for an hour before setting off. "

After receiving the order, more than a hundred people began to sweep away the traces of the surrounding battlefield, which were not large. Andrew stood alone next to the gorilla carcass, simulating various possibilities in his head that the gorilla would fall into the hands of Elps and the others. The conclusion drawn was not very good. No matter what Andrew thought, he would never think that Elps and the others had the ability to hunt gorillas. Even though the chronic biological poison has been destroying its body, his intelligence and experience are still in trouble. The avalanche that spreads for several kilometers under his feet is the best proof.

"It seems that it was also used as a tool by others." Andrew said to himself and left here in a few steps.

The team walked out of the area affected by the avalanche. Two traces of walking intertwined with each other, appeared on the smooth snow, and spread to the end in front.

"Only two people?" Some people wondered, and the team stopped as Andrew followed. Several team captains gathered next to Andrew and started discussing.

,,,,,,

Adelaide took out the food from her backpack and handed it over. He added fuel to the fire, keeping it as strong as ever. Ovelia was eating food on the side and watched the flames grow bigger.

"Two places have been occupied. As expected, with the help of Mr. Zero and his team, it is certain that Astus will get five places in the assessment this time." Adelaide said He picked up the ice cubes placed aside and threw them into the helmet next to the fire. Soon the "sizzling" sound spread around the two of them.

"This is the first step for the Astus family to return to its glory a thousand years ago. Among the twelve knights of the Round Table, the family already has one person. With the addition of the quota of five knights and attendants this time, in the future, there will be many It has helped the family a lot. Coupled with the background of the king's family, the goal may not be a fantasy. We need to be more active."

He said it to Ovelia, but her attention was not here, and she didn't answer a word. If it weren't for the firelight reflected in her pupils that gave her eyes some color, those eyes would still be as blind as the scenes inside were not transmitted to the brain for processing.

After about half a minute, Adelaide called Ovelia.

Suddenly waking up, Ovelia looked apologetic, "Brother, what's the matter? I didn't hear what I just said clearly."

Don't feel angry, Adelaide knows why Ovelia is like this. With a comforting tone, Adelaide stirred the ice cubes in his helmet and said: "The purpose of the family letting us take part in the assessment is to let us see clearly the gap between ourselves and them, in terms of strength alone. It is normal to have gaps. , but time allows us to catch up with everything, and for you, it will be much easier after you treat your injuries and come out of the culture jar because of the changes in your physique. So don’t worry, judging from your appearance, you feel depressed these days. Quite a few. Aren’t you still worried about these things?”

Ovelia shook her head. At this moment, her appearance was closest to the role of her sister. She no longer had the fierce temperament that was always present. She was a docile kitten with claws on her paws: "I know, it's not because of these. But sometimes I think about the family. Do you still have the strength and qualifications to be called a king's family? As a member of the Astus family, brother, you know very well that the family is not very different from other forces now. As for the background, we have never been in contact with it. There’s no basis for judging whether they have the power to reverse anything.”

"What you are thinking is what I am thinking, and it is true. So you should be more positive. The world is expanding in your eyes little by little. You should feel excited and excited. It is not a good thing to be so depressed. There are also three hunts for ferocious creatures. Opportunity, we should take advantage of the rare rest time to prepare for it. After the assessment, the family will probably reallocate the resources invested in us based on the evaluation in the assessment. After all, if we are still the same as now, there will probably be many more in the future The mission has nothing to do with us.”

Ovelia forced a smile, but the problem was still not discussed correctly. Adelaide sighed at this time, looked around, and then said softly: "It was about when Mr. Zero came over two days ago, right?"

Nodding, Ovelia's eyes regained their vitality. There was too much complicated brilliance in them, which also represented many of her thoughts, questions, and speculations. She clearly remembered that after Zero met the team leader for the first time, he locked his sights on her. Something happened after that, and everyone else seemed to think that Zero had other feelings for him, but only Ovelia knew it. The gaze that fell on her at that time was very sharp, and it also caused others to not notice it at all. hostility.

But later it turned into doubts and thoughts. The two of them only exchanged a few words. For the rest of the time, Zero was immersed in his own thoughts before leaving alone.

"What's wrong?" Adelaide suddenly became interested, "You know, you are already engaged, a descendant of the Hill family. Although I won't doubt it, your appearance will make other people think a lot. After returning to the family, this matter will probably be known to some people in the family immediately."

"I know, that's why I didn't explain it." Ovelia said, she looked at Adelaide, "Brother, I have been thinking about the reason for Mr. Zero's appearance, and now I have a clue. Where is Mr. Zero? At that time, he told me, "There is a familiar smell on you, which makes people feel friendly but full of hostility. It's very light. I don't know why it is like this. I think if you have a chance, you can come to my father's experimental base. Maybe this is not just The experiment that can help your father will help you even more. This taste is likely to become an important foundation. Through him, even if you cannot become that person, having some of the abilities can bring you greatness in all aspects. promote.'"

"Familiar smell?" Adelaide asked thoughtfully, "And who is 'that person', a friend of Mr. Zero? Or is it like his words, 'hostile' means an enemy." Very interesting. Interested, Adelaide knows the strength of Zero, and can tell just from the other experimental subjects in the team. It is definitely another standard line that many people cannot reach.

"neither."

"neither?"

"There is a premise here, and that is which family Mr. Zero is from." Ovelia said, "Only by clarifying this first can I confirm that my guess is correct. But I can tell you here, brother, that person It most likely refers to Cassia. I don't know what the 'familiar smell' would be, but I started to recall it when I had clear memories. The only thing that was beyond my control might be that outing mission. Now recalling , the reason why I stayed in the jar, Ye Jielin's shot that shattered half of my body was just an inducement. The real reason is the proliferation of biological tissues inside the armor. Although there is no basis, I think it is probably stuck. Siya injected his own blood into these tissues to cause that phenomenon. At that time, he was also a second-stage pre-operative, but he could already transform into scales. He was very similar to Mr. Zero's team members, probably, stuck Xia is one of them, but for some unknown reason, she lives outside and becomes Mr. Zero’s enemy.”

"Abandoned from Mr. Zero's family?" Adelaide stopped stirring the ice and looked at Ovelia.

"I don't know, but what I care about is that if I have the opportunity, I will take the initiative to go to the experimental base mentioned by Mr. Zero. First, to find out what happened to me and to solve all the hidden dangers that have been unresolved by the family professors. Secondly, this may be a rare opportunity.”

Adelaide did not answer for a while, but waited until the ice melted and turned into boiling water. He poured a glass for Ovelia before saying: "We need to investigate some detailed clues before we can make a final decision."

"I know, I will be very careful."

,,,,,,

It's still the same resting environment, with caves, strong fires, people sitting around, and silence. What changes seems to be always the faces and numbers.

As she silently dealt with the wounds on her body, Annabel was always playing with various exquisite bottles and cups, relying on her extremely keen sense of weight to prepare potions suitable for different injuries and physical conditions.

Silence indicates that the two people who are not in the team are not out processing traces or doing some investigation tasks, and will never have to return to the team. The results can sometimes be very simple.

By the time the flames dimmed, it was already two hours later. It was dark outside and no one wanted to go out. Ernes stood up and took a look outside, then came back and sat down in his original position, exhaling involuntarily, as if he wanted the flames in front of him to burn away the dullness in his belly.

"In order, the next spot is Annabelle's," Ernes said. None of the five people around him thought about adding fuel to the fire. Ernes took out a little from his backpack and threw it in. "Yi from the Hill family and Priscilla from the Three-Phase Connection Network Company were included in the hunting targets. , do you have any opinions?"

This sentence finally brought some vitality to the air. Some people nodded, and some said "hmm".

"They are also injured and will not launch another attack in the short term." Gladstone interjected. Christopher nodded in approval: "Although everyone is in a bad mood, including Annabelle, Novia and Zakad, none of them have received the signal generator yet. My own idea is that it is better to use ferocious creatures as the primary target. , this period is a vacuum period.”