Outside the Eye of Earth Marrow, on the mountaintop.
Han Ling, carrying a sniper rifle, gazed into the distance.
Unlike before, she was covered in dust, and there was a new abrasion on her left cheek.
She did not enter the Eye of Earth Marrow with the others, but had a separate mission.
That means from the moment the operation begins, killing all the Calamity Beast that try to leave through the Eye of Earth Marrow, and delaying the message from getting out as much as possible!
After a long while, she turned slightly to the side and looked behind her.
The ground trembled slightly, parted, and figures rapidly emerged from underground.
Han Ling's gaze swept quickly across the figures, finally settling on the one leading the way.
" The Calamity Beast sent out to deliver the message have all been killed!"
"Hmm," Shen Heng responded simply, then frowned as he looked at the wound on Han Ling's face, "Are there any other injuries?"
"That's all, just this one!" Han Ling shook her head slightly.
"Are the Calamity Beast we have to deal with difficult to handle?" Shen Heng asked.
"The first one was alright, because it was a sneak attack, so it didn't cause too much trouble. But since it was a flying Calamity Beast, it couldn't hide its movements and was spotted by the Calamity Beast still on guard outside. After that, they went to find another Fourth Tier Calamity Beast, and then gathered more than a dozen other Calamity Beast, which is why it got injured," Han Ling explained.
Shen Heng's gaze swept over Han Ling, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with her, he slowly nodded.
Han Ling's gaze swept over the others before finally returning to them.
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke:
"Did all those who didn't return sacrifice themselves?"
Shen Heng paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the figures in the woods.
Some people stood still, fists clenched, eyes slightly red; some lowered their heads, teeth clenched; others slumped against tree trunks...
Unlike before, when they hadn't completely left the Eye of Earth Marrow, they no longer suppressed themselves here.
There were no teammates who had sacrificed their lives nearby, and no one cheered; they remained silent.
"Hmm." Shen Heng nodded slowly and heavily.
"There's no body either?" Han Ling asked.
"..."
Seeing that Shen Heng did not reply, Han Ling seemed to understand something and did not ask any further questions.
Just then, a slightly trembling but still steady voice rang out.
" Captain Shen!"
Shen Heng turned his head slightly and saw Lin Yang looking at him with slightly red eyes.
Beside him, Chu Yu and the other two teammates looked somewhat sorrowful.
"Is there a problem?" Shen Heng asked in a low voice.
"Will our operation this time achieve its intended purpose?" Lin Yang asked.
Upon hearing this, the people around all looked over.
Before going in, based on the comparison of the two sides' strength, they knew there might be casualties, but they still didn't expect the casualties to be so great!
Eleven people! That's almost a quarter of the members who came this time!
Upon witnessing these casualties, even those who initially supported the operation couldn't help but begin to have doubts.
How effective will this operation actually be?!
Shen Heng did not reply immediately; he slowly scanned the faces that were looking at him.
What they need is affirmation, encouragement, but...
Shen Heng took a light breath and said:
"If you're asking whether this operation was effective, then I can definitely tell you that it was effective, and quite effective."
"But if you're asking whether this effect justifies the number of inspectors sacrificed..."
"Maybe yes, maybe no, I'm sorry, I can't give you a definite answer!"
"But as mentioned before, we have never had the upper hand in our struggle against the Ruins Realm; all we can use is..."
Cao Mingyu, Waking of Insects Squad, frowned deeply.
He sighed, and without speaking loudly, he said in a voice only loud enough for the rest of the team to hear:
"Brother Shen Heng, can't you just say that this operation was very meaningful?"
Upon hearing this, some members of the team nodded in agreement, while others were not entirely convinced.
"Post-war motivation can be divided into two types: one is spiritual encouragement, which aims to strengthen beliefs and maintain morale; the other is realistic warning, which aims to awaken everyone and deepen awareness," Qi Yue said in a low voice.
"But shouldn't we encourage everyone in this situation?" Cao Mingyu turned to look at the listless figures.
"Indeed, there's no problem with that, but..."
Qi Yue paused, then looked at Shen Heng, who was still speaking:
"Spiritual encouragement only raises morale temporarily, but after a while, people will eventually fall back into the current state of affairs."
"This approach might make them more depressed, but it will also make them calmer and more capable of growth."
Cao Mingyu let out a heavy breath and said in a deep voice:
"But this is just too cruel..."
Gu Lingxuan glanced at the center of everyone's gaze, then slowly looked up at the sky.
This world is inherently cruel...
Inside the underground passage.
The Scalearmor Lizard, its face grim, hurried forward.
Good news, we didn't hear any loud noises of destruction coming from the front, so the Crystal Melting Zone probably isn't in too much trouble.
Bad news: there's no sound coming from ahead; the other Calamity Beast are probably all dead.
The thought of this possibility made the Scalearmor Lizard's expression turn even more grim.
"Damn it, these useless trash! So many of them can't even beat those two-legged worms? What's the point of having them?!"
The Scalearmor Lizard grew angrier the more it thought about it, and its pace quickened once more.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from ahead.
Before the Scalearmor Lizard could figure out what it was, one figure after another came running from the front.
Hundreds of Calamity Beast swarmed in.
The Scalearmor Lizard looked at the scene before it with some confusion, and slowly came to a stop.
Soon, the beast tide stopped in front of it.
"You're not dead?" the Scalearmor Lizard asked, frowning.
"No, there were only so many of those two-legged insects, and they weren't very strong. How could we possibly have killed them all?" the leading Calamity Beast replied.
Immediately, it glanced behind the Scalearmor Lizard, then quickly turned its gaze back, saying with admiration:
" Scalearmor Lizard Lord, did you, a single beast, manage to kill all those two-legged insects?"
Upon hearing this, many of the surrounding Calamity Beast looked at the Scalearmor Lizard with the same reverence.
However, the Scalearmor Lizard lizard did not look well.
He realized that he seemed to have been deceived.
If he hadn't been tricked, he could have stalled them until these Calamity Beast arrived.
But now, it's too late to say anything!