Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 237 Attack Decision
“No, I suspect that what you encountered was the mysterious force of the Bell of Calamity!” Catherine said.

Despite the fact that major powers in the other world are investigating this evil cult, little actual progress has been made so far, aside from eliminating some peripheral organizations.

Moreover, intelligence on this organization has yet to reveal its full extent. As a result, Catherine has repeatedly raised her expectations for the Bell of Calamity's strength, judging that it may still possess Saint-level combat power.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes. "If that's the case, it's really hard to say!"

What happened on Earth just now was very likely related to the Bell of Calamity, and now we've encountered this group of people in another world.

"Can you take care of them?" Su Ming asked.

“Uncertain,” Catherine said with concern. “Elisa has only just entered this realm, and she will be at a disadvantage against most Saint-level opponents. If she encounters a powerful veteran, it wouldn’t be surprising if it were a one-sided defeat. What’s worse is that we know nothing about this old woman, and if she encounters a combat class with abilities that counter hers, the situation will be even more complicated.”

Faced with an enemy of unknown strength, potentially high intensity, and completely unfamiliar characteristics, Su Ming was starting to have a headache.

What Catherine didn't know was that Violet also had a weakness in her mental defenses. It was fine against ordinary enemies, but if she were to expose herself to a powerful foe, it would be extremely troublesome.

How should he make a decision? Su Ming was momentarily at a loss.

“In short, it’s too late for me to get here,” Catherine continued. “Iser and Silverface’s team are nearby, and I’ve already notified them to come and provide support.”

"it is good."

"Oh, right." Before ending the communication, Catherine added, "Gerndale, when you see Isher, tell her to make sure she wears the winter clothes I prepared."

Sure enough, every mother worries about her daughter getting cold.

"It's not that style again, is it?" Su Ming said. "Your little poison milk is full of resentment about the luggage you prepared."

“I’m doing this to help you.” Catherine covered her mouth and chuckled. “Don’t worry, what I’m preparing for Iser is just a regular set of matching parent-child outfits.”

****
The city of Lis, the scene of the ranger's investigation.

In the illusory world, flames suddenly erupted with the girl's movements and then spread rapidly.

Leonie stomped his foot.

Time was instantly frozen in "Traces of All Things," and all images were instantly stilled.

He walked slowly through the flying debris, approaching the eerie girl, and carefully examined the gray threads wrapped around her head. The threads did not appear out of thin air, but rather gathered from above, like some invisible string controlling her body.

Leoni had never seen such a bizarre spell or skill. He took a deep breath, enduring the stinging pain from his injury, and began to trace the source along the silk threads.

Soon, he followed the silk threads to the outside of the house and then out of the Astako family's courtyard. As the exploration area expanded, more phantom images of buildings were constructed in the world of "Traces of All Things," and fine beads of sweat began to appear on Leoni's forehead.

Two streets away, the threads finally converged on a blurry figure.

"A Saint-level expert!" Blood trickled from the corner of Leon's mouth.

"Trace of All Things" couldn't make out the face of this level of powerhouse, only vaguely judging from her figure that she was likely a very old woman. However, based on Trace of All Things' feedback, it was certain that her strength was definitely above his level before he was injured!
"I'm not surprised at all," Leonie said with a self-deprecating laugh.

The encounter in Crescent Forest more than a year ago that left him seriously injured was a similar surprise—even more extreme than this.

Beside this Saint-level expert was a respectful middle-aged man.

The two gazed in the direction of Astako's house, and the threads controlling the girl extended from the strong man's withered fingers, connecting all the way to the girl's head in the basement.

Leonie narrowed his eyes, a glint of silver flashing in his pupils, and quickly deciphered the name of the ability: 'Silk Puppet Prison'.

Only now did he finally decipher the truth about the threads: they were essentially manifestations of a domain, capable of penetrating and binding the consciousness of the target.

What's even more terrifying is that once it has penetrated to a certain depth, it can control the target's actions like a puppet on strings!

After confirming the situation, Leonie breathed a sigh of relief.

He lifted the time freeze, and the scene began to flow again. Instantly, blazing flames surged forth from the basement like a monstrous beast.

He continued to observe the powerful figure before him, another trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. But it didn't matter; he'd grown accustomed to this since his injury.

In the illusory world, the old woman ended her control over the girl. The house in front of them was engulfed in billowing smoke and dust, with people and various objects flying everywhere. In the midst of the upheaval, the priests were too preoccupied to prevent the explosion from taking the lives of all the human traffickers.

Abigail was quite satisfied with the result. She didn't look at it again and turned to leave with Rogkin.

They were just ordinary businessmen who came here to buy girls at the behest of an agreement. When they discovered that things had changed, they simply eliminated their trading partners to silence them and had no interest in getting involved any further.

“Lord Abigail, killing the mercenaries alone is not enough,” the middle-aged man said respectfully in a low voice. “I will arrange for a few street thugs to set another fire when the opportunity arises, to avoid leaving any inappropriate traces.” “Very well,” Abigail nodded indifferently. “Make sure the aftermath is clean.”

"Yes, my lord."

The phantom of "Traces of All Things" gradually dissipated, and the surrounding scenery returned to normal. Leonie leaned against the wall and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Highness, you've really hit the jackpot with this deal," he thought to himself.

****
On the Youth Civilization Model Unit.

"Seventy-five, seventy-six..."

Yunier stared intently at the footage transmitted from the drone, her finger tapping lightly as the bear-men moved. There were a great many bear-men; since the software wasn't updated, she was counting them one by one.

When Su Ming entered, the junior clerk had just finished counting. "Ninety-seven bear-men!" she immediately reported.

Considering there are still more inside the cave, that would be over a hundred bear-men units—a very powerful fighting force, Su Ming pondered.

"Are bear-men easy to fight?" he asked Violet.

“They are enormous, with high muscle density and incredibly hard bones. They are extremely resilient and will fight to the death once they become enraged.” Violet was clearly recalling some unpleasant memories. “I fought one once, and ever since, whenever I see a group of bear-men, I would rather take a detour.”

The scholar is strong in burst damage but weak in endurance; she really dislikes enemies who can withstand a beating.

"What was the outcome of your discussion with Catherine?" Violet asked in turn.

“I advocate continuing reconnaissance to find out the enemy’s details, but Catherine thinks we can attack immediately.” Su Ming pointed to the middle-aged man on the screen. “I have integrated the intelligence with her and speculate that this man may be called Rogkin, the person in charge of the Bell of Calamity in the North, a powerful earth archmage.”

Just then, the drone's monitoring footage changed, and an elderly woman emerged from the cave and came to the "Winter Ring".

She exchanged a few words with Ruogejin and the bear-man, and the bear-men immediately began their new activities and got busy again.

Su Ming's finger moved to the old woman surrounded by the crowd. "The key point is this woman. She may be a Saint-level expert—but we don't have any relevant information."

Zi Jin understood Su Ming and Catherine's logic, after all, the old woman had the highest status present, and both the Grand Magus and the bear-man powerhouse treated her with utmost respect.

But she didn't think so. "Saint-level isn't like cabbage; she's more likely just a more powerful Master-level!"

“I know,” Su Ming said, “but this risk does exist.”

****
On screen, the bear-man brings in more things and begins assembling the core of the "Winter Ring".

“The outer layer of the ‘Winter Ring’ is a defensive component,” Newman told Su Ming. “I haven’t seen the middle layer; it’s probably some kind of enhancement component. But what’s being assembled now is the inner ‘Winter Core,’ which is an offensive component. I suggest we either take action before they’re finished, or evacuate immediately!”

The footage captured by the drone's camera couldn't show the rune images, so Newman could only make judgments based on its shape and structure, which presented him with a significant challenge. He even suspected that what was in front of him wasn't a simple "Winter's Ring," but rather something that had been significantly modified and enhanced.

"With so many mountains blocking the way, the 'Winter Core' attack trajectory shouldn't be able to reach us, right?" Su Ming asked.

Newman shook his head and pointed to the sky. "The 'Winter Core' is powered by the Winter Spell, which doesn't require a projectile trajectory—it directly generates an ice array above the target, delivering a high-intensity, area-of-effect attack."

"Isn't this just an ice-type heavenly tribulation?!" Su Ming thought to himself.

“Like Catherine, I also believe we should take the initiative to attack,” Violet stated. “Su Ming, you have indeed anticipated various risks, but you don’t have a particularly good contingency plan to deal with them.” She stood up, her heterochromatic blind eyes flashing with a resolute light. “But avoiding battle itself is the greatest risk!”

"What do you mean?"

"Right now, our target is the Divine Might Prison. Or to put it more directly, the group of necromancers and scholars imprisoned there—this means that we and the Bell of Calamity are fierce rivals!"

Su Ming did not respond immediately; he was seriously considering Zi Jin's perspective.

"In the long run, we are not on the same side and are destined to be enemies! So if the enemy is not strong, we should take advantage of the situation and eliminate them along the way. If the enemy is too strong, we should seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack to increase our chances of victory!"

Su Ming unconsciously clenched his fists.

Just then, Gerndale hurriedly pushed open the door and handed a report to Su Ming, "An urgent message from Lady Catherine!"

Su Ming took the note and quickly scanned it, his face immediately displaying a variety of expressions. "The target has been confirmed to be a Saint-level being, and—what I feared most has come to pass!"

Zijin looked at the contents of the communication and was speechless for a moment.

"Prepare for battle immediately." Su Ming finally made up his mind. "It's best to eliminate such a dangerous enemy now!"

(End of this chapter)