Chapter 437.1: It Was The Will Of The Gods

"Motherfucker... I finally made it out!" Huffing and puffing, Construction Boy wiped the sand and sweat off his face. He stared at the mountains with uncontrolled joy.

He wasn’t the only one.

The players of the Death Corps, who were mostly strength type players, couldn't help but cheer when they saw the edge of the desert.

They had been pedaling their tricycles all the way. They even ascended as master riders by the time they approached before the finally saw the mountains.

If it weren't for the distress over losing some experience points and their hard-earned gear, they would have used their 3 day respawn timer teleportation magic to return to the city long ago!

Kakarot couldn't help but complain. "Piece of shit! How Escaping Mole got it good... He got a big gig the moment he came back from a vacation in Ideal City.”

Sitting on the tricycle, Eye Owe Money nodded solemnly in agreement.

"But that's 900 kilometers... How does he plan to get there?" Construction Boy interjected with a snark.

"Who knows? We're pedaling a tricycle, why worry about someone else driving?"

Hearing his teammates' sarcastic comments, Sideline Slacking, who was relaxing behind as the others pedaled, couldn't help but reveal an embarrassed smile. He patted Construction Boy’s shoulder and chuckled, "Heh... Sorry, buddy, for putting you through this."

Construction Boy rolled his eyes. "You better be sorry!"

Complaining about the team leader was basic protocol.

Most people weren’t that petty. Back when the server just launched, conditions were much tougher. At least now they have a tricycle.

Back then, even bicycles were treasured like giant pandas! Even T0 or T1 players ran around the map on foot.

Whatever it was, despite many hurdles along the way, they finally broke through the Army's encirclement and accomplished the miracle of a 1,000-kilometers raid followed by a 1,000-kilometer transfer.

Everyone's faces were filled with joyful smiles. Well... Other than the captured Piman and Antonite.

Tied up like rice dumplings on the tricycle, they were nearly baked dry by the sun.

No matter what these people planned to do with them, the torture of being exposed to wind and sun had already begun.

"This game's map is really too damn big..." Eye Owe Money raised his binoculars, looked towards the north, and still couldn't see the edge of the map. It was as if such a concept didn't exist in the game.

It was probably the first time the players of the New Alliance had set foot in the northern territories of the River Valley Province.

Though they were still in a plains, it felt completely different from the south.

Instead of lush green forests and grasslands, there were barren yellow lands and thorn bushes trembling at the edge of the desert.

There were forests nearby, but the straight pine trees were bare, without a leaf in sight. The vegetation was completely withered.

A godly river seemed to divide the entire province into two distinctly different worlds.

If the area around Clearspring City was modeled with a grey-green base, here it seemed as if someone had splashed a bucket of shit-yellow paint.

Moreover... The mutants wandering in the distance were even more bizarre. The furry mutant hounds from the south had only a few hairs left on their foreheads.

However, in contrast, the mutants around the desert were clearly more robust. They were not only larger in skeletal structure but their bulging muscles even pushed up to their faces.

Perhaps for that reason, their twisted muscles compressed their eyeballs, causing poor vision, which led them to trouble they shouldn't have.

More than 30 mutated hounds surrounded the group, baring their teeth with ferocious growls.

Sitting behind Construction Boy, Sideline Slacking was not panicked at all. He steadied his machine gun and bullets went sweeping across the land. The charging hounds were instantly halved in number.

The other half was easily dealt with by a few players who got off the tricycle. They used spades and bayonets efficiently.

"They’re slightly stronger than mutated hyenas and Crunchers... They are probably around LV5 or LV6." Sideline Slacking shook off the blood on his shovel and suddenly noticed there was still movement, so he gave a look to his teammates and put down the shovel to pick up the rifle hanging in front of his chest again.

The four cautiously approached and saw a humanoid monster crouching on the ground with its back to them, its mud-stained hands constantly digging in the ground.

Its figure was gaunt, its skin a sickly gray-white, and its wrinkled skin was covered with pus and sores, like a corpse that had rotted in a lake. It seemed to be rummaging for something in the soil.

Finally, it seemed to find something, excitedly pulling something out of the soil and then stuffing it into its mouth, greedily devouring it with a loud crunch.

Sideline Slacking and Construction Boy exchanged glances. They were both a bit dumbfounded, not sure what that creature was.

Seemingly noticing the noise behind it, the monster stopped its actions, glanced warily at the four of them, and then retreated to the side before running on all fours into the distant forest.

Eye Owe Money raised his rifle aiming at its back, but ultimately didn't waste a bullet and lowered the muzzle.

"... What the hell was that?"

"I'm more curious about what it was eating..." Construction Boy curiously walked forward, but soon saw half a brain buried in the soil. His face instantly turned pale, and he choked back a gag, stopping mid-sentence.

"Blue... It's a military uniform," Sideline Slacking went forward to take a look, digging around with a spade for a moment with his brow furrowed slightly. "It's one of the Army's."

It likely belonged to a decurion!

In an instant, Sideline Slacking seemed to understand something. He looked around at the pitted, muddy wasteland.

They were probably standing on a battlefield!

The Army's expeditionary force had clashed with the armies of the Great Rift Valley there.

And the undulating plains and deep pits and mounds they were seeing might all have been carved out by artillery fire...

Although curious about the mutant they had never seen before, no player chased after it.

The leafless forest always made people cautious, unsure what strange things might be lurking inside. They still had a mission, and it was best not to complicate matters further.

The group continued forward, soon encountering a sizable settlement.

Seeing a populated area, all of them revealed looks of joy. Their supplies had almost run out along the way, and they could finally replenish.

Signaling the main force to wait nearby, Sideline Slacking led a few unfamiliar teammates forward. He stopped a wastelander and asked, "What is this place?"

The wastelander glanced at the exoskeleton and then at his rifle, cautiously replying, "This place has no name, we all call it the Recycling Station."

"Recycling Station?" Eye Owe Money interjected curiously.

"Yes, see the plain nearby?" The man pointed to a nearby expanse of muddy land, "That's where the Army's expeditionary force dug trenches. Later, they were beaten so badly they ran off, leaving all their equipment behind."

Sideline Slacking followed the direction he pointed and could vaguely see two trenches segmented by craters.

"Are you here to scavenge?"

"Yes," the man glanced back at the camp behind him, speaking clearly, "Everyone here picks up trash, some collect it, some sell shovels... Although the Army didn't do anything good, their bodies have fed quite a few people."

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Sideline Slacking nodded. It seems he hadn’t found a fixed camp, but a nomadic group formed by scavengers.

Perhaps once the trash in the distance was cleaned up, the scavengers would move on, and the camp would relocate elsewhere.

As for the people buying trash like that... There was no need to guess. It had to be people from the Bugra Free State.

"Can we replenish supplies here?"

"Why not? Just go find the merchants in the camp. They're willing to sell anything as long as you're willing to pay. But... It's best not to cause trouble, unless you plan to make enemies of everyone here."

The scavenger subtly warned them, no longer wasting time with them. He walked to the muddy field with a sack.

Eye Owe Money looked at Sideline Slacking. "What do you say?"

Sideline Slacking thought for a moment, quickly making a decision. "Replenish supplies, then keep moving."

"Why not just camp here?" Construction Boy curiously asked.

"Our captives have extraordinary status, and since everyone here deals with the Bugra Free State, there's no guarantee there aren't their spies among them." Sideline Slacking glanced at the scavenger's retreating figure, motioning with his chin. "Let's go."

"After replenishing, we need to get moving fast."

...