This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 378 - 203: The Death of the Azure Dragon?

Chapter 378: Chapter 203: The Death of the Azure Dragon?

Rob’s voice was fierce, "One by one, put your back into it and tear these damn iron plates apart!"

Everyone’s hearts trembled, and not daring to refuse, they were about to step forward when Sislang, the Blood Wolf, halted mid-stride, his nose twitching, his gaze suddenly becoming grave: "Rob, there are people..."

Actually, without his warning, Rob had already turned his head to look at the other end of the corridor, his eyes icily cold.

There was yet another group of people.

Three figures clad in black standard combat armor emerged from the shadows.

The expressions of Froza and the others instantly turned grave, and Sislang added in a low voice: "They exposed themselves on purpose, their scent appeared very abruptly."

The appearance of this unexpected development made the atmosphere on the scene very tense, but the ferocious expression on Rob’s face softened, and he asked calmly, "My friends, where do you come from? What’s your purpose?"

"We’re here to help you," said Clint, his voice hoarse.

"Help me?" Rob sneered, "Hiding in the shadows and sneaking around is your idea of help?"

A man beside Clint said, "The Guard Commander under Ulrich has issued a temporary bounty, worth a total of one billion Star Coins."

"All the raiders on Trading Island are stirred up by the wind; if we wait for Ulrich to return, this place will be surrounded layer by layer."

"We can’t afford any more delays, or nobody will be able to leave."

Rob’s face tightened as he opened his smart terminal to check, and sure enough, it was as they said.

Clint’s brows were furrowed beneath his helmet. Rob and his men were unaware of their presence, but they knew about Rob.

They had intended to pick up a great deal behind the scenes, but the opposition’s actions were too crude, and a big mess ensued.

Under the current circumstances, they had to step forward.

"What’s your objective?" Rob didn’t agree but instead asked.

"I think now is not the time to fuss over this matter. At least for now, our goals are aligned—we all want to go further down," Clint shook his head; if both sides started fighting here, that would be the real joke.

Rob remained expressionless, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense; Froza was grinding his teeth with a fierce look.

"You’re right," suddenly said Rob, no longer pursuing the matter, "How do you plan to help?"

"Step aside," Clint and his men came forward, one of them saying unceremoniously, "Such a crude plan, I don’t know how you guys manage to get anything done."

"Following behind us and picking up the scraps and still having the face to talk big. Shameless," scoffed Froza.

Both Clint and Rob raised their hands signaling not to argue, and Clint crouched in front of the elevator shaft, jumping down to the lower level.

And then, carefully from the armor pack on his back, he took out a red metal disc the size of a manhole cover and attached it to the sealing plate.

Next, he turned the three rings on top, took out something that looked like a control device, and jumped back up.

"[Directional Electric Melting Burst]," Rob’s eyes narrowed slightly, "you guys came very well prepared."

Clint did not respond, just leading his men to step back; Rob and his group did the same.

As the button was pressed, a piercing buzzer sounded, followed by a muffled boom!

Amazing energy waves surged out of the stairwell, flames roared, almost covering the entire floor, but the force was surprisingly not that great, just a shockwave.

Boom! Boom!

The groaning noise grew deeper and deeper until it finally went silent.

"According to our information, there are at most five levels underground protected by Suleite Alloy. The directional explosive charges can break through up to three levels, you tore through one level, we should be close to the target location now," Clint said succinctly, very well-prepared.

Rob did not voice an opinion, but looking at the elevator shaft passageway not far away, he could not help but feel restless in his heart, having been delayed already, just in case...

"Let’s go down," he said in a muffled voice, though he didn’t move, Clint didn’t mind and took the first leap down, followed by the others.

Once they had jumped down, Rob then led Froza and the others down.

Boom!

The group landed, and before them was a passageway that ran in both directions, with many rooms on both sides and a small window on top with a smart panel.

"...It’s a cell block, holding quite a few people," reported the scout who came back.

"It’s still further down," Clint looked down at the floor.

Rob then said: "Friend, the previous level was opened by me; it’s your turn for this one, right?"

"Fine," Clint did not say much, letting everyone move to the sides, placing his hands on the metal plate, and a deep purple energy surged forth, pouring continuously into the metal plate.

After about ten minutes, with no violent fanfare, once the metal energy had accumulated to a certain point and covered the entire metal plate...

Clint’s hands trembled slightly, and with a click! the whole metal plate shattered, the fragments falling down onto the metal plate below.

He was not lacking in strength, and his development progress was definitely over 90%, Rob surmised, feeling a bit solemn in his heart.

The others then jumped down, and Rob’s gaze was immediately fixed on the vault ahead.

This is the place!

Only after a second glance did he notice the bodies lying on the floor.

"Huo Tan?" he was shocked, then astonished, as he quickly went forward to check.

Dead, he let out a sigh of relief, it was good, good that Huo Tan was the one who had died.

But immediately after, he became highly vigilant again, always wary of the strangers beside him.

"There’s a hole in the wall, looks like Huo Tan fired it before he died," said Clint, uncertain, as he bent down to check, "Was this Huo Tan’s augmented parts that strong?"

Rob noticed it too and was equally surprised; that should be cold-core U-gold, theoretically able to withstand the attacks of a Grade-A life form, yet it was blasted open by Huo Tan?

"Where is Azure Dragon!?" Rob suddenly started, and wanting to go check the hole, he looked at Clint and the others with hesitation.