Chapter 511: Chapter 379: Battle in the Burrow
Zachary deliberated again and again before finally agreeing to Yara’s invitation.
In fact, according to Zachary’s personality, he shouldn’t have agreed to such a risky matter, but after clarifying the specific strengths of the team members and the time of departure, Zachary eventually accepted.
The hunting party organized by Yara consisted of martial artists with a minimum cultivation level at the Energy Refining Realm, and the Awakeners were handpicked, selecting three members with abilities that were particularly suitable for the mission.
The entire team, including Zachary, consisted of fifteen people. The departure was scheduled for five days later. As for equipment, aside from preparing their usual weapons, Yara took care of all the logistics.
However, Yara’s contributions were not without self-interest. In addition to command authority, he also claimed thirty percent of the profits from the underground exploration, with the remaining seventy percent to be distributed according to contribution.
In reality, Zachary wasn’t too concerned about the potential profits from the exploration. The real driving force for Zachary’s willingness to join this hunting party was his knowledge that the Bug Race liked to dig underground tunnels.
However, the Bug Race within the Star River team didn’t care about the mines, so Zachary’s reason for joining was to see if he could find suitable mines for upgrading his Cave in the spaces excavated by the Bug Race.
Moreover, if Yara had planned to depart within two or three days, Zachary might have outright refused, but since Yara decided to leave five days later, it gave Zachary enough time to learn the Five Elements Escaping Technique—Earth Escape Skill.
Earth Tunneling Technique, Stealth Technique, Traveling Dragon, Mountain Drilling Spell.
With a sufficient number of Survival Points, the Scripture Hall offered a variety of earth-related spells for Zachary to choose from.
Although these spells could seem odd when used, their most basic effects were actually quite similar, especially in the early stages, where the effects of various spells were essentially the same.
Zachary didn’t fuss much over these different options and directly chose the Five Elements Escaping Technique—Earth Escape Skill.
The name might sound unimpressive, but the effect was quite straightforward. After practicing for three days, Zachary was already able to move freely through the soil.
Having learned the Earth Escape Skill, should an accident really occur underground, the threat to Zachary would be reduced by ninety percent instantly.
Five days later, the fifteen members gathered at the prearranged meeting point. As the initiator of the mission, Yara laid out the plan for the expedition, "Our goal for entering the cavern is very clear, to capture or eliminate the Brain Bug.
In the bounty posted by the Officials, the reward for the Flame Bug seems rather insignificant, but if we encounter one, it can be killed as convenience allows. However, we should not waste too much effort on it; remember, the Brain Bug is our primary hunting target.
Additionally, I’d like to remind everyone, although the reward for a live Brain Bug is five times that of a dead one, by common sense, such an obviously intelligent creature is extremely difficult to kill, so I personally suggest that if our team encounters a Brain Bug, it’s better to err on the side of killing it than to let it escape."
Upon hearing this, most people nodded in agreement, knowing all too well that the difficulty of capturing alive is far greater than killing, and everyone who has survived to this day understands that although it’s important to earn money, having a life to spend it is of even greater importance.
After Yara finished explaining a mishmash of miscellaneous matters, he then began to distribute supply backpacks to each member.
Since everyone’s weapon preferences had been recorded in advance, Yara issued ammunition according to the different calibers needed by the members. In addition, Yara also thoughtfully prepared a supply pack for each member.
Upon opening the supply pack, Zachary found the contents Yara had prepared to be quite comprehensive, which included not only the essentials like water and food, but also common external wound medicine, as well as medical equipment such as scalpels and suture materials.
After everyone received the supplies prepared by Yara, the group traveled by vehicle to a well-explored Bug Nest entrance in the suburbs.
Zachary merely introduced himself briefly to the rest of the martial artists, and they got to know each other a little, but what intrigued Zachary the most were the three Awakeners in the team.
Whether it was because the three had already made their awakening items or their Awakening Abilities public, or because they were confident and bold, they didn’t hold back in sharing their abilities during the conversation.
Mekhi didn’t specify his Awakener item, but he shared his Awakening Ability: Earth Listening Technique.
This ability was highly valued in ancient wars since a person with this ability could use a specific item to detect the subtle vibrations in the ground and determine where people were approaching from.
According to ancient texts, once mastered, this ability wouldn’t require any item at all; just by touching the earth with their hands, the user could discern the direction of the enemy and also know approximately how many people there were.
It is said that at the ultimate level, one could even discern, through the earth’s vibrations, not only the number of enemies but also how far away they were.
Such an ability was already extraordinary when used on the surface; it would be even more effective when used in underground caverns.
However, through casual conversation with Mekhi, Zachary learned that Yara didn’t select Mekhi for the team to avoid the patrolling bugs in the underground nests, but rather to locate the position of the Brain Bug through the Earth Listening Technique.
