Leaning back in his seat with eyes closed, nearly ten hours of flight passed in an instant.
The troop transport stopped two kilometers away from the facility, the landing pod descended, Canis and over a dozen motorcyclists first sped onto the mudflats, while Leon and Olivia strapped on their ammunition gear, carrying automatic cannons, and set out with the Holy War Knights from the cabin.
Above, the engines of the landing ship roared, and a Hawk Gunship carrying soldiers from the Dawn Sect took off, guiding the motorcyclists forward as the vanguard to scout ahead.
Leon and the others led the warriors, dispersed into squads, to follow on foot.
Marching through the wilderness, before reaching the tunnel entrance of the shelter, he heard the report from Canis ahead through his earpiece.
The first group of Dawn Warrior squad’s gunship which arrived earlier was discovered in front...
Reaching the underground facility entrance, Leon saw two Hawk Gunships, one on the left and one on the right.
One of these was the vehicle of the team that went missing several days ago.
He entered the cabin of the gunship, saw Sasha with a rifle checking the cockpit at the bow, her expression somewhat grim.
She turned her head and shook it: "Too strange, there are no signs of battle around, the airship wasn’t damaged, there’s enough energy, and I don’t see any corpses of soldiers or pilots."
Hearing this, Leon looked around at the intact cabin, the open cockpit was indeed empty, as if the pilot and weapons operator had voluntarily left the gunship.
This was clearly abnormal.
Since the shelter didn’t respond to communications or open the hangar entrance, the gunship pilots temporarily landing near the ground entrance wouldn’t voluntarily leave their posts; even if the soldiers entering the shelter lost contact due to some accident, the pilots would have taken off in emergency to fly back to the fortress.
Leaving the cabin, Leon looked at the dark, open tunnel entrance of the shelter, feeling an eerie sensation.
Seeing Sasha about to order the Church’s soldier squad into the facility, he stepped forward to stop her.
"Let my people go down to recon, everyone else stays outside to wait." Leon said in a serious tone, unintentionally adopting the commanding attitude he used in the military.
Sasha was momentarily stunned, as if facing a general, her soldier’s instincts made her inexplicably reluctant to defy his orders, yet she still suggested:
"At least let me send a few soldiers down; they are more familiar with the shelter’s pathways and... some technical operation devices."
Leon nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Canis, instructing the Wolf Family Young Master and a number of Knight of Valor from the Holy War Army, accompanied by two Dawn Warriors, to enter the shelter to investigate the situation.
The Holy War Knights beat their chests in salute, opening the curious lighting devices attached to their weapons, holding their guns as they stepped into the tunnel.
The backs of the Armed Knights quickly disappeared into the darkness, while the earpiece continued to receive periodic reports in both the Felu Language and Tasa Language.
The tunnel interior seemed unimpeded, the entire shelter appearing undefended, wide open to the vanguard scout squad.
Until suddenly, after the last communication report, a buzzing sound came from the communication channel, then nothing more. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel•fire.net
With such an abrupt interruption falling into silence, Colonel Sasha’s face changed slightly, repeatedly calling out for the warriors to respond, but there was no reply.
She looked at Leon, feeling an ominous foreboding.
Leon, however, did not panic, gestured to the female officer: "Don’t worry, my knights are still alive, they are still advancing."
Though communication was mysteriously blocked, the magic power connection with Canis and the Holy War Knights continued. He was still supplying magic to the Heroic Spirits and could sense their distance increasing, clearly they were fearlessly probing deeper.
At this moment, he couldn’t help but be glad for his caution and the convenience of the Netti Card.
However... this bizarre encounter is increasingly resembling some kind of... trap?
Leon suspiciously furrowed his brow, sinking into contemplation.
If this were a trap, then what is the enemy’s objective?
Is it merely to lure surviving soldiers here to die?