Free Web NovelChapter 716: Chapter 503: Going on Reconnaissance (2)
Captain Xiao spoke as she clapped her palms together.
Buzz...
Blue light gathered in her palms, forming two transparent orbs about the size of fists.
She handed one to Xu Zihui and tucked the other one away herself.
These two orbs could transmit voices in real time between them, and at Captain Xiao’s current level, the range was enough to cover nearly a hundred kilometers and last for a full day and night.
As for why she wanted two nimble fighters, it was because as a scout who personally ventured into dangerous territory, Captain Xiao had never slacked off on her own training; in fact, she trained quite hard.
If the team members’ strength lagged too far behind her own, it would end up being meaningless.
"Nimble hands, huh? I actually have someone in mind."
The first person Xu Zihui thought of was his cousin.
Quan Shuren’s agility was famous; it was no exaggeration to say he was the number one in the second year.
So he called Quan Shuren over and asked him to recommend another suitable candidate.
And so, the last slot on the small squad landed on Li Pu’s head.
"A scout squad?"
When Li Pu heard the news, his eyebrows raised slightly.
He glanced at the Straw Man chugging cola, Bu Bu sucking on the cola lid, the Ugly Little Wolf riding No. 2 around to mark territory everywhere, and Fu Fu sleeping.
"Alright, I’ll go."
He nodded.
So before the next wave of beasts attacked, the three members of the scout squad quickly finished gearing up.
"Senior, which direction should we scout in?"
Quan Shuren looked at Captain Xiao.
"Over there. The visibility is worst there, so it needs scouting the most."
Captain Xiao led them to the edge of the cliff.
The flying Treefolk from earlier had appeared from this direction.
"Okay, then let’s climb up."
Quan Shuren was just about to order the Whip-Whip Tree to weave a ladder on the cliff face.
But before he could give the command, he suddenly felt his whole body become light.
Whoosh!
It was like riding an invisible high-speed elevator—an instant later they were at the top of the cliff.
He turned his head and saw that Captain Xiao beside him had undergone the same thing and was looking even more surprised.
Their Summoners’ beasts also all appeared together at the cliff edge.
"Uh..."
Quan Shuren felt glad he hadn’t actually ordered the Whip-Whip Tree, or he would’ve made a fool of himself.
"It feels even more desolate up here than down below."
Li Pu looked around and found an obvious difference.
There wasn’t a single tree—neither real trees nor fake trees disguised by Treefolk.
"Zihui, can you hear me?"
After landing, Captain Xiao lowered her head slightly and spoke, running a test.
A Communication Crystal Ball was hanging from her neck in a cloth bag.
[Loud and clear, loud and clear]
[You can start moving]
Xu Zihui’s reply sounded immediately from the Crystal Ball.
"Alright, then let’s head out."
"Ride my Choo-Choo Pig."
After reporting the situation on the cliff to the rear, Captain Xiao patted her Summoned Beast.
It was a pig that looked like a truck, a functional-type Summoned Beast.
Calling it a truck wasn’t just because of its size.
Its body structure was also quite special.
Strictly speaking, it should count as a half-mechanical, half-flesh Summoned Beast.
Its back was open, like a convertible, with rows of seats inside.
It had no limbs; instead, there were two rows of large off-road tires.
Its tires could freely adjust according to the terrain, and it had no problem going into water either; it could basically serve as a mini-submarine.
Its running speed was rather fast, and most importantly, it had a pretty decent stealth function.
To streamline the squad and to leave more strength behind on the defensive line, she only brought this one Summoned Beast, the Choo-Choo Pig, on this trip.
Li Pu and Quan Shuren were in roughly the same situation.
Quan Shuren only brought the Whip-Whip Tree; the Bro-Tree, which could summon and command Treemen, and the Hook-Tree, which had long-range attack capabilities, were both left in camp to help resist the beasts.
Li Pu left the Straw Man, Bu Bu, and Fu Fu back there.
He had No. 2 shrink down and climb onto his shoulder, then took the Ugly Little Wolf and sat on the Choo-Choo Pig.
[Boo boo boo!]
Once everyone was on board, the Choo-Choo Pig let out a delighted squeal and started moving.
The vehicle accelerated quickly and soon reached a constant cruising speed.
Even though the road here undulated a lot and the surface was uneven, it drove very steadily.
What would have been heavy jolts were all turned into small vibrations by its fatty shock-absorption system.
Li Pu felt it was a good thing Fu Fu hadn’t come; otherwise that guy would definitely fall asleep in the car—and sleep like a rock.
Taking advantage of the moment, he decided to ask Captain Xiao something.
"Senior, what procedures are needed to apply for a team dungeon key?"
Having continuously obtained useful related items, he’d started to get ideas.
"What’s wrong, Junior? Don’t tell me you want to be a party leader too."
Captain Xiao smiled at his words.
She was one of the few in the team who had a relatively friendly attitude toward this first-year.
"I do have that idea."
Li Pu nodded, not denying it.
Of course, what he wanted wasn’t just to be a party leader.
So Captain Xiao clearly laid out the process for Li Pu, from start to finish.
In fact, when it came to applying for dungeon keys, the school treated everyone the same.
As long as you had the qualification to enter the dungeon, you could apply.
Li Pu already had that qualification.
"Actually, there’s not even a queue for team dungeons."
"But not many people apply for keys."
"Do you know why?"
After finishing her explanation, Captain Xiao asked another question.
"Why?"
Li Pu looked slightly puzzled.
[Because of the team]
At this moment, Xu Zihui’s voice sounded from inside the Crystal Ball.
[The hard part isn’t entering the dungeon, it’s assembling a proper team]
[Each dungeon has different requirements for team composition]
[If your roster isn’t complete or your configuration is lacking, you can very easily run into danger]
[And once you apply for a key but fail to clear the dungeon, you’ll be banned from applying again in the future]
As for team members, Li Pu did have some ideas.
His ideal team composition was—himself.
That’s right, tackling a team dungeon all by himself.
Put simply, he wanted to form a "team" of one.
After all, if third-year team dungeons were all at the level of this Little Demon Forest, there was a chance he really could handle them.
In that case, all the loot would belong to him.
Though in the end he might still pull a few friends along; more hands made for faster cleanup of the battlefield.
If others found out that, in Li Pu’s eyes, the vaunted top ten first-years of Imperial University were nothing more than trash-picking tools, they’d probably think it was outrageous.
But if it were those students themselves, after what happened in the City of Eternal Fire, they’d definitely be thrilled.
In addition, there was one more person who would earn Li Pu’s favor.
That was the warehouse tool man, Patient Chang.
[Boo boo boo!]
Just as Li Pu was lost in his plans, the Choo-Choo Pig suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Everyone, humans and Summoned Beasts alike, lurched forward under the force of inertia.
Pop pop pop!
Fortunately, the airbags popped out in time and protected them.
"?"
Li Pu was the first to steady himself; he stood up from his seat and took a look, then raised his brows.
Because after traveling several kilometers, they had finally encountered beasts for the first time.
And this batch of beasts was a new species.
Their upper bodies were still like Treefolk, but their lower bodies were horses made from old, dead wood.
Each beast held a long magic-wood javelin in its hand.
The javelins were wreathed in a visible dark purple cursed energy, and their power was clearly nothing to sneeze at.
"Uh..."
Captain Xiao also saw clearly what these beasts looked like.
A terrifying image had already formed in her mind.
Just imagine if they were allowed to approach the cliff line.
By using their horse bodies to build momentum and the height of the cliff as an advantage, they could throw those javelins from the rear of the defensive line, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
This kind of sneak attack could easily pierce a Summoner’s body.
They were really lucky to discover them in advance.
Discover them early, then quickly contact the rear to send support and eliminate this potential threat.
This was exactly the purpose of the scout squad.
But just then, Li Pu was getting ready to jump off the Choo-Choo Pig.
"Junior?"
Captain Xiao had no idea what he was doing.
"I’m getting off to perform a close-range reconnaissance of their corpses."
That was how Li Pu put it.
"Huh?"
Captain Xiao froze, thinking she must have misheard.
...
...
