Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 258: Ice Demon

At dawn, a convoy of trains left Lightning Fire Base. Gao Lei stood at the window of his office and watched the convoy leave. Their destination was the Abyss of the Falling Stars. This construction team would be led by Allen. Based on the remnants of the Saber Demon's sentinel in the vicinity of the Abyss, they would build and expand the scope of the building and transform it into a base for advancement.

Gore transferred Allen to a team of necessary engineers, including two engineers, a number of assistants and 50 engineers from the base. Of course, relying solely on this small amount of strength to build a base for advancement in a short period of time was not realistic. Therefore, when needed, the soldiers of the Border Rong Army had to act as engineers. Of course, they couldn't draw up the blueprints if they were to plan the base like engineers. Transporting cement and building stone bricks is not a problem.

Naturally, Lucy and the others also followed the army. They all possessed LV14 strength. Apart from Lucy, Gray had officially bestowed the rank of sergeant on Broy and William, allowing them to share some of the work with Alan.

The journey had not been peaceful, and it was now the season for dangerous species to flourish. Along the way, many dangerous species were eyeing the convoy covetously. However, the aura emitted by Allen and the others made these wild beasts sense danger. Only the unsightly ones would attack the convoy. The result would naturally be some corpses on the wasteland, and then they would be cleaned up for other dangerous species.

Due to the rough road in the Winter Sunset Mountain Range, the convoy was difficult to travel. Alan could only divert his route, bypass the west side of the mountain range, and enter the Ice Demon Valley. This place was different from the last time they arrived. The last time Alan and the others arrived was winter, and Ice Demon was hibernating in his nest. But now it was early summer, and these dangerous ape species appeared frequently. However, the Ice Demons' intelligence was quite high. They were only observing the convoy from afar, but none of them dared to appear within the convoy's range.

Alan put down his binoculars.

He was at the back of an off-road vehicle. Just now, he had witnessed at least four groups of Ice Demons moving on the cliffs of the valleys on both sides. Those dangerous species that looked like white apes were terrifyingly quiet. It could be imagined that these fellows had strict internal discipline, and they were more like an army.

After leaving the Ice Demon Valley, the convoy stopped near the Death Star Abyss. Under Peter's orders, the Bian Rong army began to set up a temporary camp. There was only a dilapidated trestle connecting the two sides of the abyss. It was said that the convoy was extremely troublesome even for people to pass through. In order to build a base for advancement, one had to start by repairing bridges. The original trestle naturally could not be used, but the frame was still there. After being fixed and expanded, the convoy would be able to pass through.

However, engineers said that with the number of engineers in the team, it would take at most half a month to complete the project. Moreover, the bridges that were built were only temporary. After that, one or two more iron bridges would need to be strengthened to meet the needs of the large-scale march.

However, this could only be done after the advancement base was established.

Alan found Peter and told him that the team needed to stay here for half a month, and a series of jobs followed. For example, the security of the camp was a top priority. One had to know that their location wasn't far from the Ice Demon Valley. God knew if those neighbors would coexist peacefully.

Alan quickly rejected the idea.

Three days ago, everything was normal. The engineers began to work, and the sentries and defenses of the camp were opened in an orderly manner. On the evening of the fourth day, some soldiers began to discover traces of the Ice Demon's activities. There weren't many Ice Demons appearing, only four or five at most. However, it was as if they were observing the camp. They took turns to come and go, and the distance between them gradually narrowed.

Allen set up a safety line for this purpose. The security line was three hundred meters away from the camp. Once an Ice Demon crossed or even entered the security line, the sentry would be responsible for killing them.

On the morning of the sixth day, just as Alan got up, he heard sporadic gunshots coming from outside the camp. He changed his clothes and lifted the tent. Peter came up with a tin wine jug and shook it. "How about a mouthful?" He asked.

Alan shook his head. He had no habit of drinking as soon as he got up.

"What's going on?"

"The soldiers discovered that an Ice Demon had crossed the safety line and shot a few of them, scaring the rest away." Peter took a few sips and wiped his mouth with a smile. "But I bet those guys won't let it go. These things are very cunning. They're probably testing where our bottom line is. We'll be busy soon."

Alan nodded, "Let's get ready."

"Naturally."

At night, Alan had the soldiers set up a searchlight at the edge of the camp, illuminating the space within three to four hundred meters of the camp until it was snow white. Under the light, one could see ice demons gathering. They seemed to have developed a deep interest in the human camp. They all came out of the Ice Demon Valley and gathered in the open space outside the valley. The Ice Demon was very quiet, occasionally letting out chirping sounds. His voice was short, as if he was talking about something.

The atmosphere became oppressive.

After the number of Ice Demons exceeded a hundred, the soldiers of the Bian Rong army changed their serious expressions. The number of Ice Demons was still increasing. Peter handed the binoculars to Alan. The two of them stood on a rock and could see the ice demons hundreds of meters away. In his line of sight, the ones with the largest number of Ice Demons were the small, grey-haired, black-faced ones that revealed their fangs. Among them, there were some special Ice Demons. One of them had light blue hair, the other had a larger body, and the hair was silver-white.

Allen widened his gaze. At the unlit valley entrance, an Ice Demon continued to emerge, seemingly preparing to attack the camp. These fellows were very smart. They were close to the exit of the valley and far from the safety line that Allen had drawn. After gathering enough, the Ice Demons began to advance. They did not rush forward like other dangerous species. Instead, they split into several gray tips and winded towards the camp like an army.

"Prepare for battle." Alan said.

Peter smiled. The Border Rong Army would be in charge of this battle. Alan planned to not interfere if he didn't need to, so that he could feel the strength of this army. He didn't care about the attack of the Ice Demon. There were a lot of dangerous species, but they didn't exceed the Bian Rong army's strength. Not to mention that they had plenty of ammunition, and they also had weapons like Fire Steps/Spears. If he lost in this way, he wouldn't need to build any forward bases. He could just return to the Thunder Fire Base.

There was a faint Origin Energy reaction in the air.

After Windsor Belo's training, Alan was much more sensitive to Origin Energy than before. The reaction came from the Ice Demons. He raised his binoculars and saw that the blue-furred Ice Demons were stretching out their arms to grab them. Their claws released frost energy and gradually formed icicles. These ice demons held onto the ice cones and threw them like javelins at the camp's defensive line in a parabolic trajectory.

These were throwers, proficient in long-range attacks amongst dangerous species like Ice Demons. The larger Ice Demons were saboteurs. Their temper was irritable, and their strength far surpassed that of ordinary Ice Demons. They would only stop when their prey was smashed to pieces.

At this time, dozens of icicles began to descend from the highest point, exploding above the defensive line, causing a hail rain to fall. The soldiers wore helmets. Many of them possessed Grade 5 or 6 Origin Energy. The hail did not cause much damage to them, but it only caused a burst of harassment. The Ice Demons did not intend to stop. They continued to throw icicles, while a large number of the Grey-furred Ice Demons began to attack with screams.

The battle began.

The soldiers of the Bian Rong army began to attack after using a simple mask made of stones. The dense firepower net knocked down a large number of Ice Demons. The Ice Demon's vanguard even drank their hatred on the spot when they failed to break through the safety line. Peter was skilled in setting up the firepower of Bu Ying. Under his arrangement, the firepower of the defensive line took into account both the attack range and the concentration, which made the opponents who were attacking face-to-face suffer a lot.

However, if they were to consider attacking from both sides due to the fierce firepower of the front, then up until now, the two relatively quiet wings would shock the opponent. The reason for that was because on both sides of the line of defense, Peter had set up warriors armed with fiery steps/guns. Although they were few in number, their firepower was not inferior to the frontlines at all.

The Ice Demon didn't split up.

The throwers no longer threw icicles in vain. Streaks of Origin Energy streaks lit up on their bodies, and their claws continuously emitted frost energy. Frost Qi sprayed onto the battlefield, colliding with the hot air of the battlefield, immediately forming a large amount of ice mist. Even Peter was surprised that the mist would become the last cover for the Ice Demon. Under the cover of the ice mist, the Ice Demon began to charge into the flawed firepower net.

The saboteurs were even more ferocious. They followed the Ice Demon and charged through the barrage with their hands covering their heads and faces. They jumped towards the soldiers behind the mask. As he jumped into the air, the Destroyer's arms were wide open, and the frost Qi between his claws circled, quickly forming a spiny ice ball. Holding the ice hockey ball, he smashed it down fiercely. Even though the soldiers rolled away in time, they were still injured by the sharp pieces of ice that splashed when the ice hockey ball exploded.

The defensive line was slightly chaotic.

Peter snorted and ordered the officer to take action and clear out the saboteurs as quickly as possible. Even though the saboteurs were ferocious, they were still no match for the rank ten veterans. Very quickly, these big fellows turned into corpses one by one. At the same time, the soldiers threw explosive hands/thunder at the battlefield. Apart from reaping large amounts of Ice Demons, the shockwaves of the explosion also blew away the ice mist.

As a result, the situation of the Ice Demon became worse.

Seeing this, Alan knew that if the Ice Demon didn't have reinforcements, or if a high-grade mutant appeared, the outcome of the battle could be predicted.

Perhaps it meant that if they attacked again, they wouldn't be able to obtain any benefits. There was no chaos when these fellows retreated. Some of the Ice Demons continued to attack the defensive line and were responsible for cutting off the rear so that the other fellows could safely evacuate. Of course, the Ice Demon that was left behind eventually turned into a corpse.

After the battle, the soldiers cleaned up the battlefield. The corpses of the Ice Demons, especially those who destroyed them, although they had yet to form Origin Jade, they still had valuable parts. The Ice Demon's claws were still precious. The throwers and saboteurs' claws were all series of materials that could be used to drive the ice attribute abilities. If they were collected, they could be exchanged for a certain amount of military merit.

When Alan turned around to leave, he suddenly felt something and suddenly raised his binoculars to look in the direction of the Ice Demon Valley. At the top of the valley, under the unique moonlight of Nether Domain Star, a strange figure appeared under the moonlight.