fynovel Chapter 1014: A Sinister Discovery
Chapter 1014: A Sinister Discovery
Chapter 1014: A Sinister Discovery
Erik and June went through the underbrush and neared the city's outskirts.
The sewer entrance was shrouded by vines and foliage, and loomed ahead like a portal to hell. Though, that was just from the perspective of a fly. For a human, it was not bigger than a floor tile. The darkness to which the entrance led to, though, wasn't the major problem there. It was the smell.
The smell hit them right away. It was a disgusting smell that made their throats gag and eyes
water.
It smelled like a thousand dead bodies left to rot in a nasty pit with sewage. The air was so thick; it felt gross to breathe. The breeze that sometimes passed through the leaves seemed powerless, only swirling the stench around as if it were a cruel prank.
It was the kind of smell that made you wish you could stop breathing altogether.
Erik looked around to make sure they hadn't been spotted, and once he saw that wasn't the case, he nudged June forward. Then he tapped at his communicator.
"Mira, Amber, status update on the eastern gate?"
Mira's voice crackled through. "Erik, it's busier than we expected. A lot of troops and vehicles have been entering since before we arrived. They must have come here during the night."
"How many?" Erik asked, ducking behind a fallen log.
"Too many. It's impossible to count them, but I'm talking about at least 8000 troops and at least a thousand vehicles in the last hour alone."
"Most of the vehicles are transport trucks," Amber then added. "But we've spotted a few armored personnel carriers, too."
Erik gave a concerned glance to June. "That's a lot more activity than we anticipated. Any idea why?"
"Not sure," Mira said. "But the soldiers seem on edge. Their posture is tense. They all have their weapons in hand. Something's got them spooked."
"Or they're preparing for something big," Amber said. "Erik, I don't like this. The number of troops pouring in... it feels like they're fortifying for an attack."
That was a problem. Erik wanted to lure the thaids here and take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, striking them when they least expected it. But if they were preparing for an attack, what Erik wanted to do would not be effective.
With this many enemy troops, Erik would have to gather thaids for at least a week just to make the attack useful enough for him.
"But there have been no orders about an attack on this place from our people."
"That's the problem," Amber said. "I think it is a Thaid's attack, and for so many people to have these looks, I think it won't be something weak."
That, instead, was a good occurrence. However, to know if that was really the case, Erik had to enter.
"Understood. If this is the situation, then let's take advantage of it."
...
...
...
As they progressed, they noticed an odd undertone to the typical smell they would expect from the sewer.
smell that?> As they approached the manhole cover leading into the city, the peculiar smell intensified. The two flies rounded a bend in the tunnel and suddenly halted in mid-air. Before them stretched a sea of bodies, floating in the murky water as far as their insect eyes could see. Men, women, and children-all in civilian clothes-bobbed lifelessly in the feces- infested water. Erik said. They hovered silently, observing the lifeless bodies laying intertwined, their swollen faces gazing at the skyless ceiling without expression. June agreed. mentioned?> They went through the grotesque obstacle course of corpses, heading towards the ladder leading up to the streets above. They didn't need to use the ladder, though.