Chapter 313: Countermeasures.
“There’s nothing left.”
Even though they had received new intel from the encampment, the four hunters who truly arrived at the nearest hill couldn’t help but express their admiration.
“Steel beams, cannons, gunpowder — the entire fortress has been emptied by that thing!”
Who would’ve thought that this flatland before them was, just half a month ago, a fortress capable of standing against an Old Mountain Dragon?
“Be careful of leftover silk threads; let’s see if we can find anything valuable.”
The hunters slid down the hill. The tooth-hunting dogs brought from camp chased after them as they began a thorough search together.
“Boss, the tooth-hunting dogs found some bones—those of a blue bear beast—and also some Thunder Wolf Dragon claw marks.”
“How long ago?”
Kempe’s first thought was that other monsters had entered the fortress to conduct activities after the Queen Mantis had left.
“It’s been quite a while. It should be the same Thunder Wolf Dragon mentioned in the intelligence reports that the Queen Mantis rode. That’s interesting.”
“Hmm, also check for any human remains. There were people stationed here originally, along with hunting tools.”
After searching for a while, the hunters gathered where the tooth-hunting dogs were barking furiously, watching as it dug up the soil to reveal the skeleton beneath.
“The camp hasn’t dispatched any more hunters since then. It must have been some travelers passing through. They were indeed bold.”
Leading the tooth-hunting dogs away, the hunters personally reburied the corpse, bending over respectfully in solemn silence.
“Since there’s nothing important left, let’s go. We’ll chase it and investigate thoroughly.”
“What’s strange is that not even the gunpowder remains. Could it possibly have learned how to create explosions?”
The Great Sword user newly transferred into the team seemed puzzled.
“Don’t jinx us. If it filled the ruins’ structural layers with gunpowder, it might actually help us cause destruction.”
Speaking was the dashing female archer on the team, her wine-red long hair tied high in a ponytail, with a bow taller than herself strapped to her back.
“The parts falling off the Ruin City are getting fewer and fewer. Do you remember when tracking it, the Ruin City used to drop parts all over the place.”
“The investigation team that initially surveyed the Ruin City’s footprints?”
The last member of the team, the heavily armed Katana Warrior, looked surprisingly at the Great Sword user.
Their attire was completely different. The Katana Warrior, who should have been agile and light, wore heavy armor armed to the teeth, while the Great Sword user, who should have been clumsy and hard, dressed abnormally lightly, even exposing his bald and kind head.
“Yeah, we were right behind when the fortress fell, but we didn’t make it to the battlefield in time. What a pity.”
“What kind of opponent is it? I heard that this time, the selection process rejected gunners and instead chose bow users. Aren’t you worried about insufficient ranged firepower?”
The archer curiously looked at Kempe.
Compared to gunners using heavy crossbows or light crossbows, while hunter bows can also shoot from a distance, their combat distance is often close enough to be dancing alongside monsters.
Unlike crossbowmen who rely on ammunition hitting and exploding to deal damage, bow users primarily deal damage through the force applied to the arrowheads.
To effectively harm large monsters, the iron arrows used by bow users need to be as heavy as spears. When shooting from afar, speed and impact decrease significantly, making it easy for arrows to bounce off or fail to penetrate.
If range isn’t effective, then get closer. The instantaneous impact of a bowstring can split stones and pierce armor.
“At that time, our guards completed the encirclement and suppression, allowing the well-positioned gunners to safely unleash their firepower.”
“However, the Queen Mantis retaliated briefly and then consciously charged straight for the gunners.”
“You mean, it could determine the most threatening target to itself at the moment? In that case, it’s better to suppress it with a close-combat circle.”
The female archer nodded.
But they still needed some ranged capabilities to balance tactics, so the bow users came into play.
“Not only that, there’s another matter you should all know about—it ignored us and attacked the hunter activating the Strike Dragon Gun. That hunter wasn’t very conspicuous at all.”
“We don’t use the Strike Dragon Gun, but that should be based on the premise that the Queen Mantis has seen the Strike Dragon Gun being used. It shouldn’t be considered in battle strategy.”
When Kempe finished speaking, the Katana Warrior presented his own thoughts.
“Based on the former, perhaps we can control our own power output during the fight, causing the Queen Mantis to constantly reassess the level of danger, trying to prevent it from focusing its attacks on one person.”
“An interesting idea, maybe we should give it a try.”
Kempe slapped his palm against his fist and continued.
“Oh yeah, try to limit the weapons the Queen Mantis can use. Its own fighting methods are scarce, mainly relying on manipulating equipment with silk threads, like a meteor hammer, causing significant destruction.”
“I’ll try to lock its silk gland nozzles and attempt to block them.”
The female archer clenched her arrowhead and raised her eyebrows. The men present immediately tightened their sphincters.
“Still, be cautious. Observe for a longer period before it causes harm. It’s absolutely not a monster that can be dealt with easily.”
Feeling everyone’s strong hunting intentions, Kempe sighed and suppressed their short-term tactical discussions.
The more they discussed, the more likely they would underestimate the Queen Mantis.
Although the squad had high autonomy in choosing whether to face the Queen Mantis, as true elites, how could they not want to defeat the monster that destroyed the fortress?
The Queen Mantis earned the treatment of being judged as dangerous dragon-level by the Guild, but hunters who haven’t experienced it firsthand still find it hard to regard it as a true ancient dragon.
At the forefront of their pursuit route, Jié Jié was fully focused on piloting the Ruin City.
The sound of internal structure collisions inside the Ruin City was noisy, but under subjective affection, it could be sorted out to sound melodious.
These melodious sounds were like the Ruin City reporting its own condition to him. How could parents ever think their child was too noisy?
Occasionally, some unpleasant sounds would appear, indicating that something abnormal had occurred within the Ruin City, requiring maintenance and repair.
Then he would leave the cockpit, reinforce with silk threads, and replace and fill with surplus materials.
Leaving the cockpit was either for maintenance or transforming into a Fire Dragon to fly into the sky, confirming his direction of travel.
His goal from the beginning was the ruins to the west, and he never intended to attack fortresses or human settlements.
The Ruin City moved forward neither too fast nor too slow, stopping whenever it encountered ruins or situations that interested Jié Jié. The hunters saw the moving Ruin City after spending three days.
“All the essence of an entire fortress has been taken by it, and the result is such an ugly thing?”
The female archer voiced her disdain.
“I think it’s pretty cool. After all, it’s showing off the Strike Dragon Gun! Under the Ruin City’s movements, every monster flees upon seeing the gun!”
The Great Sword user expressed awe.
“…”
The Katana Warrior remained silent, his expression under the mask unknown.
