Chapter 487: Chapter 488: Unfortunate Duo_1
An hour ago, on the outskirts of the city near the base, Lamia was sitting under a tree, waiting.
"Do we really have to force our way through?" Qiqimora’s voice came from behind the tree.
"We can’t spread the drugs extensively within the military barracks, and that cult has been stepping up their pace. To this point, we still have no clarity on how many people in the base have turned into zealous followers, and we’ve narrowed down the scope of the core experiment site. Delaying further is disadvantageous for us, we should take a gamble here," Lamia said. "You’ll rely on your abilities, breaking in while they’re changing the experimental materials and steal the items."
"With such a short window of time, I might only be able to steal the tools for creating demons. I have no interest in the ’Chaos’ authority anyway; this proposal is like picking chestnuts out of the fire for me," Qiqimora said.
"I’ll delay them as much as possible. From the current situation, the power of the ’Balance’ authority they are using for experiments is mostly based on the tools," Lamia said. "Steal that along with it. Didn’t the jailer’s little imp say that Dodge is watching that very treasure? With that, do you still worry that the Hand of Oblivion might grow legs and run off?"
"The innermost situation is still unclear, you’re asking me to infiltrate alone and steal two Divine Artifacts? This is a bit too much for me," Qiqimora complained.
"If you want to increase the success rate, then get the jailer’s little imp to join the gang and help, provided he is willing!" Lamia shrugged. "Didn’t you hear what Abigail told us? He has already arrived in Gistas, yet he has shown no intention of contacting us! Just as I said, he has his own plans, which probably don’t need us."
Qiqimora fell silent.
As the creator of the Great Witch’s Credential, Abigail could sense the approximate range of the other six credentials. Earlier today when they were in contact discussing with Abigail, she had revealed to them the fact that Aiden Galahad had moved to the southern region of the continent.
This confirmed Lamia’s earlier speculation. The jailer had started to move after acquiring enough information, but so far, there was no indication of further cooperation with them.
Their two’s actions were now caught in a conundrum of advancing or retreating. To advance was to attack the base directly at great risk. To retreat and continue to lay the groundwork for intelligence might fall behind Mr. Blood Coat’s Revival Society, and they still did not know the whereabouts of the darkly lurking Professor Dodge, or what he was scheming.
Involving Aiden Galahad in the attack on Sunset City’s military base would undoubtedly greatly increase the chances of success, yet Aiden’s main objective was not this matter. The Kingdom of Gistas’ "Infection" project was quite low on his list of priorities, and the fact that he had come to Gistas but had not taken the initiative to contact them already made his stance clear. At this point, requesting his assistance was likely to be fruitless and only add to the awkwardness.
"Your ’informant’ is a bit late this time," Qiqimora temporarily changed the subject. "It’s been two quarters of an hour already."
"Maybe he got caught while gathering intelligence for us; this guy might just rat us out," Lamia said, stretching out her tongue to lick her lips. Even after transforming into a human form, it was hard to change the habit of flicking her tongue from her beast form right away.
"The method of brainwashing with drugs isn’t reliable enough. Spreading drugs like this within the military, you’re bound to be exposed sooner or later," Qiqimora said.
The risk of their method of controlling internal personnel to act as their spies through the spread of drugs being discovered by the base was very high. In this aspect, they couldn’t compare with Mr. Blood Coat, whose followers were essentially absolutely loyal.
"That’s why I’m urging you to act sooner rather than later," Lamia said in a hoarse voice.
A few more minutes passed, and Lamia sniffed, pricked up her ears to listen, then said in a calm voice, "Someone is coming... at least ten people, light footsteps, they’re professionals."
"Bad luck always comes particularly fast," Qiqimora sighed.
The approaching figures appeared to be a squad of soldiers; it seemed their informants within the army had been exposed, and now this squad had arrived.
Although it was only a matter of time, having their infiltration operation detected by the base was still an unwelcome development. They could no longer continue to gather internal intelligence using this method.
"Let’s go out with a bang before the operation. This time, we’ll capture a few people and interrogate them with Magic Potion," Lamia said, her body subtly beginning to swell as she entered pre-battle mode.
"I’ll lend a hand," Qiqimora began casting her spells without hesitation.
A thick fog emerged in the forest, enveloping the area. Only Qiqimora and Lamia could see the outlines of objects in the fog; everyone else was blind, and if they did see something, it was an illusion created by Qiqimora.
To deal with a squad of soldiers, Lamia alone would have been enough. Her tough beast-transformed body could resist bullets, and exorcising rounds couldn’t reverse her modified flesh. Qiqimora was just looking to slightly increase their efficiency.
Several figures emerged in the fog, and by then, Lamia had completed her beast transformation, crawling on the ground with her snake tail whipping rapidly.
Reaching the front line of people, she lashed out with her tail, striking two of them hard and sending them flying.
The sound of breaking bones and screams arose almost simultaneously. The stricken soldiers flew like sacks flung by dockworkers and crashed heavily against trees before falling down, motionless.
The others who had entered the mist now saw the silhouette of a giant over three meters tall. In terror, they raised their guns and fired, but the bullets only passed through the illusory figure in the fog. In the next moment, a woman’s arms reached out silently from the mist, grabbing one man’s neck. A light twist was all it took to break his neck. He slumped down, head dangling, while nearby, another was squeezed by the snake tail, unable to make a sound until a popping sound indicated all his ribs had snapped and pierced his lungs, spewing blood from his mouth and nose.
"Remember to leave two alive for questioning," Qiqimora reminded from beneath a tree.
"You don’t need to remind me," replied Lamia as she pounced on her next victim, flicking her tail once more.
This time, however, she felt as if she had hit a pillar—the man stood unshaken. Moreover, Lamia suddenly felt as though she had been violently struck by a galloping wild buffalo, sending her tumbling to the ground.
At the same time, another soldier in the distance cried out in agony and fell without warning.
What just happened? Lamia quickly propped herself up, still feeling pain all over.
"Judging by your strange appearance, might you be the infamous Magic Potion Queen, Lamia?" The man’s voice emitted a chilling laugh. "Never would I have expected that the person obstructing me from the shadows would be a Great Witch from the witches’ council. What a fortunate encounter."
He took a step closer to Lamia, and in the fog, the mask he wore on his face faintly emerged.
In this moment, both Lamia and Qiqimora’s expressions changed—they had both heard this man’s voice before.
