Chapter 229: The Dangerous and Abundant Catachan

Chief Apothecary Mikel met with Reaper Lord Sanchez, and after the two discussed, they decided to continue exploring the forest, using it as a training ground for the Order Shadow.

After their deliberation, they divided the dense forest into three zones and established different standards for the squads exploring each area.

Within a fifty-kilometer radius of the dense forest, near the various Catachan tribes, the probability of encountering dangerous creatures like Catachan Bark-Toads is relatively low.

There are forty squads exploring the edge zone, numbered twenty-three to sixty-two, with the core strength of each squad being "Hunters."

After the Seventh Legion experienced the "Wheel of Fire" campaign and had over nine hundred men transferred to the Fourth Legion, there remained one thousand four hundred and seventy-two Black Jazz Royal Court Members.

Despite the heavy price paid in the Wheel of Fire, the Seventh Legion, having followed Ninglu on long-term campaigns, remains the Legion with the most Royal Court Members at present.

Each squad exploring the outskirts of the dense forest is composed of thirty "Hunters," one "Apothecary," fifty Order Shadow, and twenty Catachan Warriors.

The Reaper Lord hopes that the Order Shadow and the Catachan Warriors will learn from each other.

There are twenty squads in the middle zone of the dense forest, numbered three to twenty-two.

These squads are composed of ten "Provocateurs," one "Beastmaster," twenty Order Shadow, and ten Catachan Elite.

In the central zone, there are only two squads led respectively by Mikel and Sanchez, numbered one and two.

At the same time, the Order Shadow moved into the various tribes.

One portion is responsible for selecting Legion recruits; they gather children of appropriate age to conduct the selection.

Another portion is responsible for selecting soldiers among the adults to form the Catachan Auxiliary.

After the meeting ended, Mikel did not depart immediately; he brought the "Beastmasters" to the side of his new pet—a Catachan Devil.

A "Vampire," wearing a black hooded robe, a mask on his face, and a black scarf wrapped around his neck, spoke up.

"I am going to install a Runic Saddle on the back of the Catachan Devil, and I will instruct you during the process."

"I want to see the pets you have tamed in one month; this is my test for you."

"Before I begin the instruction, I must tell you about the importance of choosing a subject to tame."

"First, do not choose a Catachan Bark-Toad. Although by combining the use of medicine to make them dizzy, one might be able to tame them, they are too unstable and may be triggered to self-destruct by your battle-brothers or your servants."

"..."

At the same moment, the "Hunters" led their squads out.

Stepping into the jungle, the "Apothecaries" felt as if they had arrived in a paradise that was both dangerous and filled with rich treasures.

The "Apothecary" of the fifty-fourth squad encountered a group of Miler Catchers four hours after his squad stepped into the forest.

After eliminating the tentacles that suddenly leaped from the ground to launch an attack, the "Apothecary" used a detection probe to examine the remaining tentacles.

A moment later, the "Apothecary" said with pleasant surprise.

"The toxin contained within the Miler Catchers is thirteen point six four times more effective than the ingredients currently used in the Legion's anesthetics."

Just as the "Apothecary" was excited, four leaves suddenly lashed out, wrapping tightly around his body.

The "Apothecary's" face was covered by jaw-shaped leaves, his throat was throttled, and his body was coiled by two leaves.

Seeing the "Apothecary's" body being dragged, the Order Shadow immediately took action.

The "Hunter" closest to the "Apothecary" strode toward the carnivorous plant, and with a flash of his Charged Blade, he severed the connection between the leaves and the food.

He struck again with his blade, killing the predator.

Afterward, he came before the "Apothecary" and carefully pulled at the jaw-shaped leaves with his hands.

The "Hunter" was surprised to find that even though the leaves were detached from the main body and mostly shredded by the Disruption Field, the remaining small parts were still wrapped tightly around the "Apothecary's" body.

The Captain of the Catachan squad in the team came over, and he spoke in Vostonian.

"We call this plant a Catcher; they move their leaves..."

He had not yet mastered Vostonian for the rest of his words, so he switched to Catachan.

"Actively seeking prey and using its jaw-shaped leaves to clamp onto surrounding victims."

He switched back to Vostonian: "You must act immediately, otherwise he will suffocate to death."

The "Hunter" Captain also walked over, and he managed to understand the meaning from the language the Catachan spoke.

A major reason he became the captain of this exploration squad, aside from his command ability, was his rapid mastery of the Catachan language.

He recalled the data issued by the Gene-Father, cross-referencing it to confirm that this plant was indeed a Catachan Catcher.

The Captain said to his team members: "We must provide aid immediately."

As the Commander, he decided to take responsibility himself.

He drew his combat knife from his waist and cut the leaves quickly but carefully.

Especially when cutting near the face and neck, he deliberately slowed his movements.

Two minutes later, all the leaves wrapped around the "Apothecary" had been cut away.

The "Apothecary's" face and neck were covered in blood, and his upper body was a bloody mess, with his ribs exposed.

The "Apothecary's" Larraman Organ was activated due to the injury, and the skin-substitute tissue generated by the Larraman Cells quickly formed a scar.

The Catachan watched in astonishment as the wounded Order Shadow's body quickly stopped bleeding.

The "Apothecary's" consciousness was blurred; he struggled to pull an emergency stimulant from the side of his pack with his right arm and injected it below his left shoulder.

He said with difficulty: "Take me back to... the Milaojiapans."

Every word he spat out felt as if his vocal cords were being cut by a knife.

"You two, take the Apothecary back."

With the Apothecary injured, the "Hunter" Captain was forced to abandon the exploration and ordered a return.

The "Apothecary" was initially able to walk on his own, influenced by the stimulant ingredients in the emergency medicine.

But after walking three kilometers, the "Apothecary" collapsed.

Two "Hunters" carried the Apothecary back to the Void Hunter and sent him to the Milaojiapans.

After a day of intensive emergency treatment, the "Apothecary" woke up, but he was left with permanent scars on his body.

There were dense scars on his face and neck, looking like the cast-iron scales on the body of an Iron-Scaled Kraken.

One day later, the Captains of each exploration squad received the exploration briefing from the Fifty-Fourth Exploration Squad.

They realized profoundly that even as Order Shadows possessing keen sensory abilities, they must remain vigilant at all times in the forests of Catachan.

The animals and plants of Catachan would seek every opportunity to prey upon humans.

On the other hand, the "Apothecaries" also realized that plants capable of being used to craft potions were hidden within the jungles of Catachan.

One month later, Mikel stood in the newly constructed camp, inspecting the pets brought back by the "Beastmasters" one by one.

He saw the lumbering Marmoth that lived in volcanic regions; it could trade blows back and forth with a Catachan Devil.

He saw the massive, winged Dark Bats; they lurked in the upper canopy of the jungles near the Catachan equator, devouring their prey.

He also saw the flying Swamp Mamba and the Catachan Black Viper.

After inspecting the pets domesticated by everyone, Mikel said with satisfaction.

"Very good, each of you has domesticated your own pet, which proves that you have become qualified 'Beastmasters'."

"To become an excellent 'Beastmaster', this is not enough; your next task is to make the Thunderwolves adapt to the environment of Catachan."

"This is a challenge; they have lived for generations in the ice and snow of Fenris, and now you must make them adapt to this hot and humid forest world."

Just as Mikel finished assigning the task, he saw a group of Order Shadows and Catachans holding weapons and hacking away at vines.

【They are truly impossible to clear out; every night, they emerge from who knows where, as if they have consciousness and want to destroy the human camp.】

The Chief Apothecary walked toward the conference room while deep in thought.

A moment later, the meeting began.

First Captain Tibo spoke first.

"My Lord, the Chapter has suffered two hundred and seventy-four casualties within one month."

He could not hide the sorrow in his tone, but he quickly adjusted his state.

"According to the statistics, thirty-four died on the first day, twenty-seven died on the second day... and four died on the final day."

"Overall, after the Chapter's Order Shadows adapted to the environment of Catachan, the number of deaths dropped sharply."

"Among them, fifty-four have been interred into Dreadnoughts to continue serving the Chapter."

The Reaper Lord's eyes were filled with sorrow as he issued his command.

"Summarize the lessons learned, and every Captain must emphasize them repeatedly."

The "Hunter" responsible for organizing the Auxilia was the second to speak and report to the Reaper Lord.

(End of chapter)