Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 70: Atonement: Pales (XIX)

General Muller decided to divide the remaining nonhumans into groups of six, armed with heavy weapons, to attack the last three main rebelling tribes on Pales. Their main task was to assassinate the chieftains of the horned people. As long as their leaders were dead, the rebellion would soon fall apart, and all of the terrorist attacks against the city would stop.

Ethan and Samuel were still divided into the same group and joined the team led by chief security officer Schneider. Although most of the other nonhumans were people Ethan had met before, they were not very familiar with each other, and he could not start a conversation with them. What worried him more was that Typhoeus was assigned to the group led by Gray Fur.

However, it was obvious that there was no use worrying at this time. Fortunately, every team had some real soldiers with them, so Vasilev should not go too far. Before he left, Samuel gave a razor to Typhoeus and told him to hide it in his pocket. If he had to, he could use it to defend himself.

Even if one or two guards were killed on the battlefield, they could push the blame to the horned people. Samuel instructed the Omega in a low voice, who was so afraid he was about to cry.

The thirty people, along with Schneider and a small group of soldiers, landed on the top of a bare rock on a mountain in the militarys transport plane. There was a low-lying basin under their feet. The mist formed layers of light gauze, under which the dense copper plum forest could be seen. Strings of luminous copper plums could be seen shining in the dark.

The two captured horned chieftains claimed that there was a place that could swallow the entire Earth Unions entire army, called the Mouth of the Earth. Many of the captive horned people of different tribes interrogated by the Earth Unions army mentioned this place, so General Muller thought there might be some secret weapon here. Although he was dubious, the war was now coming to an end. To prevent the horned people from rebelling again in the future, he decided to send a team of nonhumans to conduct a search here.

The forest was very quiet, and the air was stagnant, with poor circulation. They would occasionally see a few flying insect swarms glowing in the depths of the forests, and the sight of them rising into the air was beautiful as a meteor burning.

If it werent for the fear that horned people were waiting to ambush them in the dark, the scene would be very moving. Ethan imprinted this image in his mind, hoping that if Tanisiel happened to be perceiving his thoughts, he could also see the beauty.

Since he had separated from Tanisiel, he could no longer feel the priests voice. He was starting to worry. Did Tanisiel face any danger? Did Roland capture him? He was restless, but he could not find out where Tanisiel was. He was absent-minded all day and even tripped over the tangled roots on the ground several times, which made Schneider glare at him.

At night, everyone slept out under the dense copper plum trees and silently ate from the cans in their bags. Samuel suddenly secretly put something onto Ethans hand. Ethan looked down and saw that it was a pair of glasses.

Ethan looked at him in surprise. Where did you get them?

I asked Schneider to buy them at the Earthlings supermarket. I wasnt sure about your prescription, but that guy should have been able to find out, Samuel said, looking down and gulping down the meat sauce in the tin.

Ethan looked up at Schneider, who was talking to a military Sergeant not far away. The other mans brow was furrowed habitually, and he appeared just as serious and tight as always.

Thank him for me, Ethan said to Samuel.

What, you wont thank me? Samuel nudged him discontentedly and said, I begged him for a long time.

I was just helping!

Alright, as long as youre happy, Ethan shrugged and said, But dont tell me you cant see how much the chief security officer takes care of you. If you say something, that person will bring back a pair of glasses for a stranger like me, who he is not familiar with. He also used to steal inhibitors for you. Have you ever wondered why he takes care of you so much?

Because I help him keep order in the Forbidden City! Do you think that he can control so many thugs easily without me? Whats more, I gave him a lot of money from selling things inside the Forbidden City.

Hahaha Ethan chuckled as if he had heard the innocent words of a child. We are nonhumans. They have a lot of means to control us. No matter how much we want to cause trouble, if they are willing to use the most extreme measures, the people on top can just wipe us out, and it will not affect their moral value points. Why does he want you, the so-called big brother, to maintain stability? As for the money, thats even more ridiculous. Would he, the head of the guards, look twice at your little bribe?

Samuel stared at him without saying anything. He had doubted the possibility, but Schneider always had a cold face and acted like he was doing official business, so Samuel thought he was too cold-hearted. Perhaps the other party had just sympathized with him, and he was overflowing with compassion?

But if Ethan also thought so

Ethan put on his glasses and looked at him. Theres nothing good in this world given to you for free. Youd better think about what he wants from you. Isnt that what you warned me before?

His words caused Samuel to turn silent, and he looked thoughtfully in the direction of Schneider. He wanted to shake his head as if he was in self-denial.

At night, Samuel suddenly woke up and heard a strange cry.

It was like a person groaning painfully, but it continued to echo in the dark night, diffusing a sense of quiet terror in the area.

Schneider also woke up, and the two peoples eyes met. Schneider quickly turned away and woke up a nearby soldier.

Ethan was also woken up by the cry, and his scalp suddenly felt numb.

They had heard this sound before. When they were lost on the way to Anas city, they had heard this sound in the woods before they were ambushed by the head-eating worm and the horned people who suddenly fell from the trees. After a moment, the chief security officer hesitated for a moment before calling Ethan, Samuel, and two other Alpha nonhumans. They were followed by the two soldiers to conduct a search deep in the forest.

This time, the nonhumans were given laser guns, making them more confident than the last time. They walked cautiously in the dense forest, and the hot mist seemed to stick to their skins. The thick fog limited their vision to ten steps in front of them, and the flashlights could only shine in a straight line. They could see the water vapor floating under the light.

The fog gradually closed behind them until they seemed to be engulfed in it. The two soldiers stared at the heat sensor and GPS in their hands to make sure they were not lost. Under the dampness, Ethan smelled the disgusting scent of decay, reminiscent of the dirty smell of maggots crawling on a rotting corpse. He stopped and hesitated whether he should go any further.

Samuel almost ran into him, and he asked, Whats the matter?

Theres a horrible smell.

Is there? Samuel sniffed hard. Its a bit damp and smelly, but its a smell typical for the forest.

Every time I smell this, nothing good happens. Ethans green eyes looked around him, as wary as a beast.

You two, keep up! Schneider warned from further ahead.

Ethan was at his wits end, but he had to continue following them through the dense shrubs. The cry grew clearer and clearer, and the two soldiers in front suddenly gestured for them to stop, ordering everyone to lower their bodies and look for plant cover.

In the thick fog, a black shadow could be seen, swaying leisurely under the light.

Was it a horned person?

The two soldiers carried their guns as they headed step by step towards the shadow. Samuel, Schneider, and the other two nonhumans who had also followed along moved forward slightly. Only Ethan stayed behind, frowning tightly, with his nightmarish memories playing before his eyes.

Altar, blood, blue, red

Suddenly, the movements of the two soldiers stopped, and they laid there for a long time. Samuel and Schneider approached them and heard them murmuring with a trace of confusion.

What is that

At this time, the fog coincidentally grew lighter. Samuel took out a night vision telescope from his pocket and looked at the shadow.

A grunt came from his throat, his emotions unclear.

He saw that it was not humans who had made the strange noise in the dark forest, but a fleshy worm coiled on the ground like a thick water pipe. On top of the worm was a small mouth that was stretched up high. It would suddenly expand disgustingly, revealing a circle of sharp teeth with flesh and blood hanging off them. The hiss they heard had come from that mouth.

The worm was just like the one that had suddenly fallen from the tree and ate several nonhuman heads near Anas city, as well as the giant worms that suddenly burst out from the ground near the altar. However, they were only one-tenth of the size of the big worms they saw previously.

Were these little worms the offspring of those big worms? The thought suddenly occurred to Samuel that the gray-white fleshy worms were intertwined and curled up, just like intestines spread out on the floor that were constantly gushing out hot acid. He suddenly shuddered from the cold chill and felt slightly nauseous.

If there were such small worms here, did it mean that those big worms were nearby?

The worm called out a few more times and suddenly stopped. Its head swung twice in the air, then suddenly twisted and climbed into a depression in the ground not far away.

It was a stairway, stone steps covered with a thick layer of moss and rotting grass that sunk below the surface. Only a few places in the middle of the stairs were unusually clean, as though something was often dragged down the stairs.

In the depths of the deserted forest valley, a section of artificial steps suddenly appeared The two soldiers said excitedly that this must be the entrance to the so-called Mouth of the Earth referred to by the horned people.

Samuel swallowed and whispered, I dont want to go in It might be filled with all those disgusting flesh worms.

However, their task was to investigate the Mouth of the Earth and destroy what they found if necessary. They even were carrying enough explosives to blow up a small building. Of course, they couldnt stop here.

Schneider said, Lets go back and call for the others. It wont be too late to go down then.

The two soldiers agreed with him, and the seven of them turned back in a hurry. However, when they returned to the camp, all of them were stunned.

The rest of the people, both nonhumans and soldiers, all collapsed on the ground, missing their heads. The crimson blood looked black at night and gushed out from the huge gashes on their necks, blackening the ground. The thick smell of blood turned into a crimson mist, spreading among the seven until they lost any resemblance of color on their faces.

A nonhuman Beta screamed.

Ethan, Samuel, and Schneider were not unfamiliar with such a scene. Still, since everything happened so quickly and quietly, it caused a chill to surface from the bottom of their hearts.

Ethans eyes seemed to float to that distant memory, and he murmured, The call just now was an invitation. They are waiting for us underground