Chapter 32: Recon Korps 2

The deck of the crawler's equipped with armaments meant to penetrate the skin of the beluas. The middle of the crawler was the Outrider Korps, a part of the Recon Korps that assigned to this long task. Rain falls on top of them. None of the Etherians made a fuss. Their coats shielded their weapons from the rainwater. Their eyes would shift to the flatten the wetlands and the concrete ruins of the old. About five land crawler-transporter traveled on the wasteland. From the spot he was standing, Damon could feel the tremor of the steel cylinders and hydraulics grinding.

There are about four decks inside the crawler-transporter. These fortresses are for retaking the lost lands of humanity and are mobile enough to defend and hold a spot. The sides of the giant caterpillar tracks were the Etherians paving the way, clearing any belua that were trying to climb up the crawlers.

Noise and light attract the belua. Most of the drones do the job, but lately there are sightings of belua capturing the drones, tearing their electronics. The adaptable ones started being wary of the drones. There are those who had shown camouflage abilities. Humanoid beluas who stand on two legs and wielding stone weapons. As humans evolved into etherians, the belua themselves were evolving, and only a few centuries was all it took for them to walk in two legs.

Damon walked to the side. On the horizon were ruins of the old world. Rooted with olden trees that have wrapped their roots around every inch of those buildings. The Scavengers were prepping their buggy's deep into that city. Damon sat on the edge of the crawler with his vibrant on his lap.

After some time, he moved to where the rest of his crew were. They drank from a thermos and drank sizzling coffee. Taking a cup from the small table, he poured one for himself and made his clothes dry using the ether on his body. Mei drank quietly and then shifted her gaze in the distance.

"Looks like we are heading to Gharasu."

"Gharasu, ain't that the place that got overrun by the belua. I don't get why anyone would want to come to that place."

"There are people on Gharasu who didn't evacuate. Not to mention that recent surveys showed that there might be an ore veins left untouched on that land. One of the many places that are seem to be fertile."

"Do you think they would hold down fort in that place?"

"No," Ralf cut in. "That place isn't rich. It's on the green river as well which is next to the Steep Hive. If we try to hold a fort in that place then the belua sitting on the other side of the river will try to cross and investigate."

"That would be problematic. Not to mention that we are not sure about the vein they are talking about. If it's not up to the standards of the City, then it would be useless to spend resources trying to hold down the place. Even the Oceanic Union has been transporting their assets to the canyon-cities. Migration has been happening lately. It won't be long until the belua closes in on us."

Damon shrugged his shoulders. Ralf came close to him.

"You lot heard of the Union they are trying to build?"

"That one trying to form an Organization for etherians?" Ares snorted. "Sounds like they are trying to fear monger again. But then again, who can blame them when Dion Bismark just died in a traffic accident? Who would believe that an etherian who could stand up even after being blow up by a RPG could still stand would die with something like that?"

"No one's buying it," Ralf drank. "He's been sending funds for us. When someone like that dies then there's something going on in the dark. Not to mention that Ursula Louis herself got targeted by the Cult of Decker. Everyone's been aching to know why the fuck someone was trying to snuff her out."

"Can see why they want to act before we are all killed. Four etherians dead in a single night. It was a mess, and many witnessed the sight of someone eviscerating an etherian as if their ether skin did not matter."

That gave Damon the shivers. Their skin was like the scales that protected them from harm. But if someone could eviscerate them in one slash, then it only meant that there are people who really could kill them. Damon had seen the footage of the carnage that happened. Aured City was small and there are those who thrive on this information. Before they cut the cameras off they saw the whole thing. It was useless to hide it. Not when it concerned the rising star of Aured City.

One highlight of it was the bodyguard who rid the etherians and fought the Talos Machina unafraid. His face blurred because of the glasses he wore that acted as a digital mask. The way he fought had put a shiver on his back. Yet that way of fight felt familiar.

"Well, as expected of a star," Ares said. "That righteous anger that she only doubled my liking for her."

"I will not bow down to the idiots who would try to wedge a gap between all of us!" Ursula Louis raged in her interview. "Today a lot of my beloved died! The humans fought and killed only those who dare to butcher! It is only clear that they are another entity that needs to pull out from their roots!"

Her righteous stare turned the hearts of those who saw the tragedy into hatred. Her words were like a siren. It's no wonder that she could speak so blatantly, despite the horrors she saw. But there was a question that bothered the audience and those who delved deep into the event.

Miss Ursula Louis was missing the bodyguard that protected her. Like a ghost that appeared to save her from distress. A ghost that vanished after her rescue. From the footage Damon saw, it seems like the Ghost was a hired bounty hunter assigned to her. What made the Ghost dangerous was the etherian they saw in the footage. A monster who reached the third layer, and yet this one could fight it without the ether.

No wonder they wanted to form a Union.