Chapter 2111: Disaster Without Cause

Star Radiant Battlefield, the ground 152 kilometers southeast of Eternal Summit.

"Heaven Walker Nuode! Reply to me immediately after receiving the message!"

"Heaven Walker squad! All members report your status immediately! This is an order!"

"Answer me! What exactly happened?!"

"Damn it!! Why did this happen?! Why did everyone die?!"

"Who is it?! Who exactly is it?!"

"Boom!!!"

The earth trembled; in a main force of up to two hundred people composed of several different races, an extremely burly Heaven Walker angrily stomped the ground.

Faced with the leader's anger, everyone present of the Fifth Stage fell silent as cicadas in winter, fearing to draw his wrath upon themselves.

A few seconds later, seeing the leader's icy gaze sweep toward himself, a Heaven Walker who looked like a staff officer swallowed hard and spoke softly:

"Lord Nuoman, please calm down!.."

"The incident has already happened; our top priority is to figure out what happened and whether we should continue."

"Based on the last image information transmitted from Nuode's battle armor, they were likely attacked by an underground monster! To wipe out an entire team in such a short time, the danger underground is probably far greater than..."

"Cut the nonsense! How could I not know this information?!"

"Without letting the staff officer finish, Nuoman angrily interrupted, not wanting to hear the other half at all."

"What do you want to say? Are you suggesting we give up?"

"Impossible! We've sent so many people in this time, paid such a price, and just give up like that? The Alliance will never let us off when we return!"

"A rat-like monster? I don't believe Nuode and his team died because of this monster; the underground danger couldn't be that great! Something must be wrong somewhere!"

"He spoke extremely quickly."

"Nuoman finished speaking and waved his hand; the miniature computer on his arm immediately projected the Dream Rat's 'big face'."

"Angry as he was, his train of thought remained clear."

"From the start, when Nuode and the others suddenly stopped reporting, to someone sending back the only picture in the middle, and finally the entire team being mysteriously wiped out."

"In just a few minutes, his heart pounded like a roller coaster, while he also imagined all sorts of possibilities!"

"Although he didn't know exactly what had happened to Nuode and the others, his instinct told him that things were definitely not that simple!"

"My lord, do you mean Nuode and his team didn't die at the hands of this monster, but were ambushed by someone?"

"The staff officer understood Nuoman's words; he had already thought of this point."

"But harboring other thoughts, he just wanted to play dumb."

"Hah! Put away your little thoughts!"

"Nuoman glared at the bowing staff officer with angry eyes, letting out a snort from his nose."

"How could he not see the staff officer's little thoughts, or what others were afraid of?"

"A very realistic problem."

"After Nuode and the others were wiped out, if they wanted to complete the mission they would have to go down themselves. If it was monsters that killed them, that would mean the risk is extremely high, and their fate might not be any better than Nuode's."

"If not, they should worry even more. After all, other participants are far more terrifying than monsters! This could also mean their plan has been exposed."

"Lord Nuoman, you've misunderstood! The Alliance has prepared for this operation for ten years. Having finally waited for this opportunity, we naturally must see it through at all costs!"

"Just as you said, we neither know what this rat-like monster actually is, nor are we sure who is lying in ambush..."

"What if, what if they're just waiting for us somewhere?"

"To wipe out Nuode and his team, even with monster cooperation, it couldn't have been done by a single person!"

"Being fearless of death is fake."

"Unlike Nuoman, who is a high-level member of the Alliance, if the mission fails he will inevitably suffer the harshest punishment."

"These 'foot soldiers' still cherish their own lives all the more. Moreover, the Alliance interior is not a monolith; given how strangely Nuode and the others died, acting rashly carries far too great a risk."

"That's right, Lord Nuoman. We also want to complete the mission, but don't you forget? Our other task is to seize first place in Star Radiant!"

"The Alliance has already poured huge amounts of points into the outside world! If we suffer another accident, the Alliance's losses will only be greater!"

"Sharing the same thoughts as the staff officer, in the ranks a War Star Individual whose entire body seemed mechanized spoke in a low voice."

"In the Alliance's plan, obtaining corpses and securing first place are essentially complementary."

"But now that we've suffered one failure, the most rational choice is to cut losses promptly!"

"Under no circumstances can we let emotions interfere with civilizational strategy; this is a basic skill any advanced civilization must possess!"

"At the same time, despite the members' pleas, Nuoman remained silent, his face as dark as ever."

"He certainly understood this principle as well."

"But likewise, to win first place they must cooperate with the Corpse Summoners. Without corpses, the Corpse Summoner side will surely tear up the agreement, and then they'll still lose everything."

"With both missions completely failed, as the commander of this Star Radiant War, he deserves to die ten thousand times over!"

"Having reached this thought, Nuoman no longer wanted to consider anything else."

"We have no choice! Listen to my orders—everyone prepare for battle; we're heading underground again! Even if other participants are guarding down there, we…!"

"Wait, Lord Nuoman!"

"Before Nuoman could finish giving his order, a Heaven Walker whose aura was second only to his suddenly stepped forward."

"He quickly displayed the current Star Radiant rankings for this stage, pointing at the list:"

"Lord Nuoman, I think we may have fallen into a misunderstanding, or perhaps there's a better approach!"

"You think! If Nuode and his team died from ambushes by monsters and other participants, then the ambushers are the greatest threat! Figuring out who they are is the most important thing!"

"I just carefully checked the rankings, and at the very moment Nuode and his team met their mishap, one Alliance ranking suddenly surged!"

"I suspect that Nuode and his team's deaths are likely related to that party!"

"As his words fell, the War Star Peak Heaven Walker indicated to Nuoman to look; at the spot his finger pointed, there was none other than the Creator Alliance."

"Creator?"

"Which alliance is this? I've never even heard of it!"

Norman was slightly startled, instantly reacting. He basically had some understanding of the participating civilizations, but he was very doubtful that such an insignificant civilization could possibly defeat Mand in such a short time.

"Lord Norman, the rankings are not fake. Please look at the details: this civilization that calls itself the Creator Alliance has its participants' information publicly available, yet none of them have a high score!"

"What does this mean! It means they have someone hiding their identity, but the total score is exposed!"

"I'm eighty percent sure that the deaths of me, Nord, and others are related to them! Moreover, they must be operating in squads; otherwise the score gap wouldn't be so huge!"

"Let's not go underground first; let's find their squads on the surface, which minimizes risk!"

"His thinking was clear, and he spoke faster and faster."

"After hearing this, Norman realized that the Sky Walker's analysis was correct!"

"Without Hesitation."

"As the alliance's strongest War Star Peak, Norman's eyes suddenly burst with killing intent."

"Good! In that case, let's do that!"

"Listen to my orders! Everyone immediately contact any other teams you can reach; I want to immediately find the trail of this group! No one can sabotage our plan, no one can stop us from getting first place!"

"Meanwhile, 410 kilometers southwest of the Eternal Summit."

"A rather disheveled Creator squad is currently flying at high speed."