great-warnovel Chapter 310 What is the price?
Chapter 310 What is the price?
As the eighth rock beast emerged from the abandoned well, the scanning line of the Void Disc drilled another seventeen meters deeper into the mineral layer.
Behind the seven life points that were originally marked, there were six heat sources pressing down. The bursting crystal ball drove them all out of the main ore vein.
Thirteen rock beasts occupied the screening tower, the abandoned shaft, and the area in front of the transport vehicle, while the retreat route on the gravel slope was completely blocked by the rock armor.
Wei Xinghe's Sky-Splitting Cone was still glowing with crimson embers when its blade struck the leader beast's shoulder shell, leaving only a shallow mark.
"Step back and reset my artifact," Wei Xinghe shouted at the transport vehicle, but he didn't move an inch.
The rock beast's front paws pressed down on the white paint line, its two heads on the left side blocked his back, and its four heads on the right side squeezed close to the pile of debris.
Three officers from the Joint Training Office who accompanied the vehicle leaned out from behind it, one of whom hadn't even properly buttoned his hat.
"Captain Lu, Advisor Wei can't be harmed! Get him out of here first!"
"The high-level beast pack has already emerged from its lair; the joint training simulations are useless now," the officer pounded on the car door. "Who will be responsible if someone dies?"
The Void Disc spun in Lu Yan's palm, and seven thin lines fell onto its surface, blocking the path of the rock beast as it spread outwards.
The thin line was inserted into the crack in the stratum, and the rock beast would crash into the coordinate lock every time it turned, and the encirclement was nailed inside the white painted line.
The transport vehicle, observation post, and outer edge of the abandoned well remained outside the lock line, leaving Wei Xinghe and the herd of beasts trapped in the middle.
"Stand by," Lu Yan said. "He chose this practical course himself, so he should pay the tuition first."
Wei Xinghe struck the Sky-Splitting Cone three times in succession, but the magical artifact only emitted intermittent light blades, which rebounded and made his arm go numb.
The first rock beast pounced forward, and three layers of light shields rose in turn, its claws crushing the light fragments scattered on the ground.
Wei Xinghe raised his arm to protect his head and face. The outer layer of his armor was torn open by sharp claws, and his custom-made combat suit was ripped into strips.
He scrambled backward, his heels sinking into the loose soil, and he rolled down into the ore-screening tower.
"Help me!" Wei Xinghe shouted outside, "Remove the restrictions!"
"The Joint Training Office's special advisor is protected by regulations; you must rescue him!"
Lu Yan pressed the button on the authorization page: "The regulations protect those who carry out the mission; don't use them to cover up for those who disobey orders."
"The rescue team is in place," Lu Yan said, turning the board towards the horde of beasts. "Let him wear down his armor first."
The leader beast dragged half a quarry tower foundation stone from beside the abandoned well, grabbed the stone with both arms, and raised it above Wei Xinghe's head.
Wei Xinghe's third layer of shield was reduced to a thin membrane, the alarm light on his chest armor was flashing erratically, and the Void-Splitting Cone was stuck in his hand.
He tried to break free of the encirclement, but his right leg was struck by the rock beast's tail hammer, and his knee pads flew to the side of the white paint line.
The boulder pressed down, and the leader beast's stone arm, along with the broken rocks, crashed down on Wei Xinghe's head.
Wei Xinghe shouted until he lost his voice, and all three layers of light membrane on his chest armor went out, with the shield core displaying a message indicating that it was scrapped.
Xiao Qianyu pried open the warp beacon on her chest, and the Dragon King Halberd, which was reserved in the North District Armory, passed through the beacon and fell into her hand.
She stepped into the mark, her halberd slanted, the foundation stone shifted half a foot, and crashed into the adjacent mine pit.
As the gravel swept past her boots, Xiao Qianyu turned and kicked Wei Xinghe in the side, sending him out of the encirclement.
Wei Xinghe crashed outside the white paint line, rolled twice, and was panting, unable to speak, clutching the wrecked breastplate.
Shen Xinglin crossed the stone ridge, unleashed his armor-piercing spear, and stabbed the knee joints of the two rock beasts in succession.
Zhao Leiguang pulled the lock on the car body, and the two Earth Pulse Shields snapped back onto his arms, the pulse patterns pressing into the gravel.
The savage charge rammed into the horde of beasts, the two shields pushing the three-headed rock beast into the abandoned conveyor pipe.
The war trampled the ground, the mine churned up waves of stone, and the remaining rock beasts' forepaws all left the ground.
Qin Wuyi added six more practice array plates, sealing the landing point of the overturned rock beast into six earthen pits.
Lin Chuxue unleashed a blood explosion array pattern at the edge of the pit. The array pattern drilled into the cracks in the rock armor, specifically targeting the energy source of the mineral crystals.
Wen Yue used a short crossbow to pin three range-finding arrows to the side of the leader beast's neck, marking the same tear at the arrow's tail.
"Left shoulder, three inches, strike."
Lin Chuxue pressed down on her staff, and the blood explosion array patterns closed within the crack, breaking the mineral crystal's power supply into several segments.
Shen Xinglin withdrew his lance, the butt of the lance sweeping across the beast's neck. The leader beast tumbled into the edge of the abandoned well and never got up again.
The remaining rock beasts lost their power supply nodes, their rock armor collapsed, and they lay prone in the mine pit.
Zhao Lei shook off the slag from the shield: "Advisor Wei, this kind of class is charged by the minute, so you need to keep track of it."
Wen Yue put away her crossbow, drew a rangefinder arrow, and embedded it into the gravel near Wei Xinghe's ear.
"Next time, report it before bringing medicine. Using explosive pills to operate on a mine is expensive."
Three officers ran across the white paint line, helped Wei Xinghe to the side of the vehicle, and first checked the armor number.
"Lu Yan, were you just standing by and watching people die?" the leading officer asked, looking up.
"Armor destroyed, magical artifact stuck, training area damaged," Lu Yan reported from the logbook. "The person is still alive."
Lu Yan took the recorder from his waist and tossed it to the officer.
The recorder flipped the projection, starting from when Wei Xinghe accidentally touched the dagger and continuing until the crystal ball was inserted into the slot.
The white paint lines, the prohibited consumables clause, and the three violations are all captured in the image.
The last frame focuses on Lu Yan's ready-to-go gesture, and the lock wires on the Void Disc also mark the rescue channel.
The officer gripped the recorder, his throat bobbing twice, unable to use the regulations to pressure the man any further.
"The first team doesn't accept useless people," Lu Yan said. "Those who bring their own funding to join the team should also consider their own fate."
He pointed to the mine pit and screening tower: "Equipment compensation, geological re-exploration, resource point cleaning, the joint training office settles accounts according to the list."
"Wei Xinghe's test record clearly states that the prohibited item triggered a beast nest, and the team successfully contained it."
"If you want to submit a report, don't forget the attachments."
Wei Xinghe leaned against the car door, the gold-inlaid dagger still buried in the slag, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Zhao Leiguang tossed the training shield back into the carriage: "Don't rush, the logistics department will provide a stretcher. The gilding needs to be cleaned first."
The officer helped Wei Xinghe turn towards the transport vehicle, and a string of gravel fell from the top of the screening tower.
The distant mountain ranges echoed with the roar of beasts, which drowned out the wind. At the same time, the rock beasts in the mine lowered their back armor.
A rift opened up on the north ridge, and a bony wing swept across the low clouds, casting a large shadow.
A skeletal beast folded its wings and descended from the sky, landing in the center of the resource point.
The ground was pressed into a circular pit, and the remaining iron frame of the screening tower collapsed to both sides, with the white paint lines being swept away by the strong wind.
Zhao Lei raised his shield to block the falling rocks: "Which courier company airdropped such a large item?"
The bone-winged beast raised its head, the Jade Void Army emblem on the back of its neck lit up, and several mercenary chains hung from its back armor.
Nezha stood on the beast's head, his fire-tipped spear pointing diagonally at the mine, with a tattered flag unfurled behind it.
He first looked at Wei Xinghe, then glanced at the three officers.
"I just ran into a bunch of clueless mercenaries outside. I heard they took someone else's money and came looking for trouble with you."
Nezha pressed his fire-tipped spear down, the tip of which stopped in front of the leading officer's shoulder insignia.
A low growl rolled from the bone-winged beast's throat, making several officers lose their footing.
"The ones outside are all cleared," he asked. "Which batch do these belong to?"
Lu Yan didn't look at the tip of the gun; he turned to the officer.
When will the Joint Training Office settle the bills for mine cleaning and equipment compensation?
"..."
"Don't push me!"
The officer roared hysterically.