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Chapter 346 – Reconnaissance Squad

Reconnaissance Squad

The soldiers of Dream Maker, led by Grucel, launched an operation to take back their city. Twenty thousand men were divided into three groups: one to get ready for deployment, the other to prepare the road to Dream Maker, and the last to scout out the city first.

The reconnaissance squad was a small team of thirty elites.

『Damn it... Why did I end up with the most difficult mission again?』Gin muttered as the ship sailed along the waters.

The operation was supposed to take place along the river, but they were also working on clearing the road since one would be necessary later to connect Dream Maker and Lands Harvest.

『Your bad luck’s contagious, man.』Dolan grumbled.

『Zzz...』Zuzun had brought out a chair out on the deck and was taking a nap.

『Isn’t this more right up Silver Face’s alley?』Dolan said.『Why did you take the job? And why did you have to bring us along?』

『Apparently Silver Face hasn’t shown himself lately. Besides, do you really want to ask more favors from him? Not only did he help our people cross to the other continent, he even provided us food.』

『That’s true, I guess.』

『We gotta put in the work too.』

『Okay, but why bring me and Zuzun with you? How about putting the work on your own?』

『It’s our duty as citizens of Dream Maker!』

『Don’t drag me into dangerous missions!』

『Come on. You can fish too, if you want.』

『I’m not in the mood!』

As they were arguing, a voice came from the lookout tower.『Dream Maker is in sight!』

Gin and Dolan exchanged glances and scampered towards the bow.

Propelled by a magic item, the ship could move upstream. They dropped anchor at a distance where Dream Maker was just barely visible, then used a small boat for an advance party of ten people to go to land.

Specializing in scouting, these ten men only brought first-aid kits and packed lunch. Each was equipped only with weapon that they were best at, and wore fit military uniforms.

『I’ll shoot a flare if something happens.』Gin said.『Green means come to me. Yellow means prepare for retreat. Red means to leave without us. I’ll make the decision, but if anything happens to me, judge the situation yourselves. If half of us are unable to fight, don’t hesitate to fire the red one.』

The nine men nodded.

Dolan sighed.『Drew the short end of the stick.』

They entered the forest and carefully advanced toward Dream Maker. Gin felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. When they were still in Dream Maker, he would go out into the forest every few days to hunt animals.

『The forest... hasn’t changed.』

『It feels like there are fewer animals.』

『I think it’s always been like this.』

After walking through the forest for an hour, they found a path they used to take hunting. Dream Maker’s outer wall was only a few minutes away.

『We’ll head to the city after a short break.』

They all looked tense. What was going on back home? More than six months had passed since then. What was the extent of the destruction? Where there still monsters left? After the silent break, the team proceeded down the path with Gin in the lead.

『Ugh...』

The road hadn’t changed much, but the area around the entrance to the city had changed significantly. The gates were crumbling and covered with grass. Bones of large beasts lay scattered everywhere. There were even Dream Maker military uniforms, and the bones of their comrades.

『Let’s go.』

『.........』

『Identification and burial will have to wait.』

『I know... I get it.』

They all recalled what happened that day when they were driven away from their home. Since then, it had been an uphill battle. Even though they were with fellow countrymen, they were worried if they could make a decent living in an unfamiliar land. If Silver Face hadn’t backed them up, thousands of people could have died from hunger.

For a brief moment, they mourned the dead before proceeding onward.

『Keep your eyes peeled.』

There was a reason why these ten men had been selected for the scouting team. They didn’t just lose everything when they traveled to Vireocean. They gained a few things as well. One of them was something they kept close at all times—their guild cards.

Dream Maker didn’t have a “job class” system. When the soldiers of Dream Maker registered with the Vireocean Adventurers Guild, they were given cards like it was the natural thing to do. And for the first time, they saw what kind of classes they possessed.

The ten members of the team had classes like Common Distant Viewing Eye God: Range Finder5, Auditory Awareness God: Vibration Detector4, Woods Strolling God: Forest Walker4, and other ones suitable for scouting. Forest Walker didn’t feel like it had much to do with scouting, but since it was Gin’s job class, Grucel decided that it was suited for the job.

『Dolan, can you hear monsters breathing?』Gin asked as he slipped through the collapsed gate and into the city.

『I don’t hear anything except your heart beating loudly. Are you scared?』Dolan replied jokingly. His Vibration Detector job boosted his hearing tremendously.

Gin chuckled.『All right, let’s go.』

The men treaded carefully. They were relieved to see that the city itself had not suffered much. There were no collapsed buildings in sight. But being abandoned for a long time allowed dust to pile up on the cobblestones. Houses seemed to be covered in soot.

Under the light of the sun, the empty city seemed terribly desolate, almost like a ruin of a forgotten civilization.

Everyone walked in silence, checking the back alleys to make sure they could hide at any time. The first part of the reconnaissance mission was to check the whole city. They needed to walk down the main street and verify the current conditions.

When they saw the crossing near the center of the city where the main streets met, they stopped in their tracks. The intersection was no more than thirty square meters. There, in the middle, was a pile of black, slimy object, as high as a two-story building.

Something seemed to be moving there. It was a four-legged monster that looked both like a stout pig and a wild boar, only half as tall as the tiny black hill. It stuck its head into the small rise, sniffing and snorting.

『Is that mud?』

They were upwind, so they failed to notice it. If one of them had a class that enhanced their sense of smell, they would’ve realized it sooner.

The monster’s nose stopped moving, and it turned around.

『Uh...』was all one guy could utter.

Black matter sputtered into the air, drifting like some kind of haze. The men thought they were flies, or some other winged-insect.

It was then that they realized the mass was a pile of rotten human flesh, bones protruding out in places.

Although dissolved into sludge, some color from the clothes still remained: black mixed into some red, blue, and greens.

Someone let out a long gasp of air from their lungs. His voice made no sense whatsoever.

The direction of the wind changed, carrying the repugnant stench of rotting meat to where the men stood.

Drool was trickling down the mouth of the monster, smothering the entire pile of meat, giving it its slimy appearance. If not for the saliva, there would only be bones left like the ones outside the city.

No one had the time to think clearly. A low grunt came from the mountain of flesh and a head poked itself from inside—most likely a young monster.

『Retreat! Run!』

Gin’s booming voice brought five of the men back to their senses, and they started running. They in turn pulled on the cheeks of their comrades who were too stunned to move a muscle.

『Go! Move!』

Noticing the men’s presence, the monsters roared and charged with great force like turbulent waves.