Chapter 345: Drones (1/2)

Zac was ready to go, but Ogras held up a hand to stop him before he rushed out into the wilderness.

“You should know that this mission has a pretty decent risk of failing. The Technocrats possess all kinds of tools that don’t really conform to the conventional grading system,” the demon said.

“What do you mean?” Zac asked with confusion.

“I mean that their technology can be pretty hard to predict. For example, their shields might be way stronger than the arrays we have encountered, or we might be immediately spotted even if we try to sneak in. I have no idea whether my shadows can fool their detection devices,” Ogras explained.

“We’ll just have to see how it goes,” Zac sighed. “I guess I'll swap over to my Draugr form before we go.”

“Uh, I think your other class might be more useful in an all-out assault,” Ogras said with some skepticism in his eyes. “This might not be the time to look for more levels.”

“I am afraid their devices will detect that I might be part Technocrat, so better that I use my Draugr body,” Zac explained.

“Paranoid, I like it,” Ogras nodded in appreciation. ”Well, in any case. I'll fight with you, but I am not throwing my life away for your vendetta.”

”I know, just do what you can,” Zac agreed.

The two started to run through the dour landscape, both pushing themselves as much as they could while maintaining combat readiness. As they ran Ogras took the opportunity to update Zac on what had been going on in the underworld during his days of training.

The wealth that the merchants had amassed was extremely impressive, but unfortunately it looked like many of them had chosen to hide their wealth rather than carry it around. None of them were powerful fighters, so a common fear had been that their Cosmos Sacks would be snatched without them being able to fight back.

A few of the burrows had been found, but a lot of wealth was still unaccounted for. It had turned into somewhat of a treasure hunt, as whoever found a cache would be handsomely rewarded. Ogras had also received word that Emily finally found her sister, who turned out to be a captain under one of the Councilors. The teenager was staying with her for now, catching up on the lost months.

Their day was pretty uneventful otherwise. Between Ogras' stealth and Zac's towering aura, the wildlife left them alone, allowing them to keep running in peace. It was only after running for almost 40 hours straight did they stop and made camp in a small cave.

“The reports stated that there have been signs of activity in this direction. The resources in the area have been excavated, and scouts have gone missing. There haven't actually been any sightings of the Technocrats, apart from a mention of a red light in the distance,” Ogras explained as he took out a map. ”But it this can only be the place, especially considering that heretic you killed had time to visit the cavern.”

“That some parties managed to walk unencumbered through the area should mean that they haven’t bugged the place. Those who got killed probably just got unlucky and encountered the Technocrats,” Zac deduced.

“Probably,” Ogras agreed. “Or that they ventured too far. In any case, these reports are over a month old. Hopefully the heretics have finished draining the resources in this area, allowing us to get close to their base without them noticing. But that leaves the matter of how we'll deal with the Incursion itself. There's only two of us and you're using that class.”

“I can take care of the five E-Grade warriors as long as they are close to each other,” Zac said “I have a new skill that’s pretty convenient for such a scenario. But you should make sure to keep some distance from me.”

Ogras looked over with interest, slowly nodding in agreement.

“What about the rest of the Technocrats?” the demon asked.

“Leave no one alive. Kill everyone as quickly as possible. Let no one contact their homeworld,” Zac said.

A ruthless grin spread across Ogras face when he saw Zac’s resolve. It looked like he couldn't wait to start fighting, which was a bit surprising considering the demon's earlier misgivings.

“Why are you so eager?” Zac asked with confusion.

He was more than happy that the demon seemed motivated to help out with this problem, but he was a bit skeptical about it. The demon never threw himself into danger unless there was something in it for himself.

“You should know that most forces in the multiverse, including the demons, are in a passive state of war with the Technocrats,” the demon smiled. “But do you know why?”

“Isn’t it because they want to destroy the System while you want to keep it?” Zac answered with a raised brow.

“Well, it’s part of the reason, but the Technocrats are crazy powerful. Normally people wouldn’t want to mess with them. However, there’s another reason from what I’ve gathered. The technocrats hate the Ruthless Heavens, but the Heavens hate the Technocrats just as much it seems,” the demon grinned.

“What? Isn’t the System like an unfeeling program?” Zac blurted out in confusion.

“Well, The Ruthless Heavens at least have some sense of self-preservation I guess,” Ogras shrugged. “According to rumors it brings all kinds of benefits if you take out the Technocrat heretics. For example, it counts as great achievements, which will help with Class Evolutions. I’m sure taking out one of their Incursions will bring amazing benefits.”

Zac could only gape in response. It was truly a ruthless move by the System if what Ogras said was true. A lot of people were ready to do almost anything to push themselves forward on the path of cultivation. There were innumerable people stuck at one bottleneck or another, so it was no surprise that many forces would fight the Technocrats tooth and nail if it could help them break through.