The Conspiracy of the Elites

Chapter 248: an eventful journey

I think this is another animal kingdoms territory. How troublesome, how can they be so numerous? Joshs grumbling voice reverberated again but no one reacted to it, they were all used to it.

After spending some more time with this man, the allied squad finally grasped his personality completely.

Unlike what was expected of typical 3rd rank high-grade soldiers, he was the complete opposite. Not only did he not put on any airs, but he also grumbled more than the weakest soldiers in the squad.

Though it always left the soldiers awkward, his grumblings were not without basis. As the king of demolition said, this region was countless times more dangerous than all the areas theyve passed before.

As soon as they crossed from the safe territories marked out by humans after years of exploration, it felt like they just jumped out of a cushy king-sized bed directly into a lake of fire.

Starting from the first day of their journey, they started encountering strong exobeasts that were difficult to handle. Some came with their horde of subordinates, which only made the situation more precarious.

Despite the difficulty, they always defeated them and emerged victoriously. This changed though, on the 2nd day, it felt like the Mountain was just watching them with a cunning grin previously.

Just the morning of the 2nd day, they encountered the first animal kingdom. And like the king of demolition said, it was bigger than the one they encountered about 2 weeks ago.

All of them grew tense immediately after sighting it from afar, the trauma from the previous encounter with the Wild Yaks territory was still vivid in their minds.

This was when the king of demolition finally stepped up after being a silent observer for the past day.

After getting Clarks acknowledgment, he took over as the temporary commander of the allied squad. Though some of the soldiers felt disgruntled, this all disappeared 3 days later.

After taking command of the soldiers, King led them through various corners and hidden pathways through which they completely evaded the first animal kingdom without alerting them.

His movements felt just like he was an extension of the mountain. The allied squad finally knew what it felt like to have a local guide, and this was no mere local guide either.

Just like that, they passed through the first animal kingdoms territory safely without any hiccups. The allied squad felt it unreal as this same setting made them lose dozens of comrades previously, they were sincerely shocked.

Though this was shocking, this was not what made the soldiers discontent of him being the commander go, it was their next encounter.

The next day, they met their second animal kingdom, which was roughly the same size as the one that they evaded and passed through the previous day. It felt like the mountain was now spamming them with problem after problem.

This time, though the king of demolition took them through another hidden passage, a mistake from one of the soldiers exposed them. They quickly killed the few animals that were present, but the damage was already done.

The soldiers were completely horrified.

The animal kingdom was aroused like a beast that just woke from slumber as all the animals rushed in their direction. The horde of animals was endless. Such a sight was not strange to them, which only made them more horrified.

Follow my instructions and you will be safe. After calmly saying this, the king of demolition finally showed why he had such a nickname.

He gave some directions smoothly to the soldiers, allowing all of them to escape ahead of him, he only asked for Clark, Dickson, and Josh to stay behind.

He assigned Josh to be the temporary leader that would lead the two-2nd rank high-grade soldiers to harass the animals, he was the real damage dealer. He quickly explained his plan to them.

As the 3 soldiers quickly clashed with the animals that were rushing at them, he calmly placed his bag down from his back and started his work.

Now run!

None of the 3 soldiers hesitated, there was no way that they could fight so many animals alone. But before they could even take the first step, they felt like an earthquake was imminent.

Boom!!

The explosion was blinding as the fire-ravaged and roasted the animals who led the charge without any remorse, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air immediately.

The king of demolition had a calm face as he steadied the large weapon that was on his shoulders. It was shaped like a gun with an extremely large muzzle.

When connecting it with the bomb that was just released, it looked more like a grenade launcher, but a highly optimized one. This was the king of demolitions main weapon, and this was his fighting style.

He was a one-man army, so long as the cost of the bombs were settled.

His boots were already glowing an ominous red as they pushed him back across the rough passageway, his eyes never left his target. The 3 stunned soldiers finally knew why he addressed them as harassers.

Help repel the ones that are getting through. Josh quickly recovered as he started instructing Clark and Dickson. Though he was at times childish and all that, he always seemed like a different man in battle.

They all snapped out of their daze and began attacking. The few animals that escaped the line of fire became their targets as they picked them out for destruction, protecting their damage dealer in the process.

The first launched exotic grenade was not the end, this was just the beginning.

Boom!! Boom!!

After releasing the first, the others kept on coming as the muzzle of the weapon kept on lighting up with sparks and flames before raining down destruction.

This was not the king of demolitions only attack option though. As he moved, small gadgets that looked inconsequential kept on dropping from his bag.

Despite their sizes, Clark and the other 2 did not dare underestimate them after seeing the countdown timer that was faintly blinking from them. They quickly rushed behind them to let the animals suffer the brunt of everything.

As soon as the animals ran into the gadgets, they all erupted, forming a brilliant combination of red, orange, blue, grey, and indigo in the air. The timed bombs had different effects.

Some animals were pushed violently away as they were impacted with the high-pressure shooting bombs, others were torn to pieces after sharp shrapnels were shot at them, others were roasted to pieces.

These were just the most conspicuous effects; other minor effects were rapidly being displayed by dozens of the other bombs.

Even unconventional effects like extreme emotional manipulation were on display, Clark could only marvel at the technological skill on display.

After falling under the influence of these bombs, most of the animals succumbed as they entered their heat periods without prior warning. Not being able to hold back their urges, they ran around looking for female counterparts.

The sight was in itself both horrifying and goosebumps-inducing. The 3 soldiers felt chills drench their back, what a frightening ability!

At the same time, dozens of thoughts went through their minds. Where the hell did this guy get so many high-tech gadgets? No wonder he only asked for bomb research samples as his pay when they enter the Aragan ruin.

At this moment, they finally knew why their ally was nicknamed- the king of demolition. The name was just perfect for him.

Just like that, what they originally sacrificed dozens of comrades to cross, the king of demolition led them through it with zero casualties. The soldiers felt only awe for him.

Destroy the exit. He calmly ordered after they crossed through to the other side.

The soldiers did not hesitate, they swiftly reduced the entrance of the passage to a dead end blocked with rocks. They would not do such a lame mistake and let their enemies meet them again.

When they continued their journey, Clark and Dickson could not bring themselves to forget the battle at all.

They knew that it wasnt right, but they just couldnt help feeling incompetent all of a sudden.

When they escaped the last time from an animal kingdom, they did it with dozens of casualties. But this time, just because of a difference in leadership, they suffered no casualties. They felt inadequate.

If being a demolition expert could make someone so overpowered, why did we even waste our time training to become high-grade soldiers. It was a depressing thought to them.

Its a difference in inclination. The king of demolition suddenly said while coming closer to meet them.

How did you know?

I guessed. He smiled.

Even if you became a demolition expert, what are the chances that you will get access to such top-notch exotic bombs like the one I used? To me, I think the chances are low.

And it's also a matter of passion. You became a soldier because you have passion for it, that also applies to me. I became a demolition expert because I have passion for it.

Even with all my bombs, some 3rd rank high-grade soldiers can still trash me. No military inclination is the best, you just have to have passion for a specific one and pursue it to the best of your ability.

Clark and Dickson fell silent for a moment as they internalized what they just learned. Yeah, youre right. They sighed.

Thank you.

Dont mention it. The king of demolition smiled.

Do you know when my passion for bombs first blazed? It was when someone very dear to me took me through a battle, that is when I first witnessed the splendidness of bombs.

After that battle, I developed a zealous liking for bombs immediately, and here I am.

As the king of demolition continued, Clark and Dickson felt silent, listening attentively. This was a soldier that was stronger than them even if they forfeited his demolition skills, they had a lot to learn from him.

And recently, after they embarked on the mission, they already noticed that King showed them much more care than what was expected from normal short-term allies.

They didnt know why he behaved like this, but one thing was sure, he either had a liking for Clark or he knew him somewhere. That was evident to everyone, even Clark himself already noticed it.

Just like that, they spent the rest of the day uneventfully.

The next day, being the 5th day, they continued their journey. Unsurprisingly, they encountered another animal kingdom. This brought them a serious question.

How many animal kingdoms are there actually?

Though they were exasperated, they didnt feel much pressure as their reliable ally was still with them. What surprised Clark was that despite noticing the animal kingdom for a few minutes already, King did not speak.

He turned to look at him and was surprised. Unlike the casual king of demolition that he knew, King currently had a deep frown on his face.

Stop! King suddenly called. Something is not right.

[Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it.]