Chapter 1036: Not a Vacation (2)
Chapter 1036: Not a Vacation (2)
The ship came close to the island, but not too close. It stayed far enough away to avoid being seen, but near enough to still see the island. It was night time, and all the ship's lights were off to stay hidden.
Erik stood at the bow, his eyes scanning the distant shoreline.
"This is close enough," Erik said, turning to the group of Chimaeric Demons gathered behind him.
"Remember your mission. Scout the area, gather information, and secure key positions, raising no alarms. The last thing we want is for them to find out we are here."
The Chimaeric Demons nodded. June had chosen thirty of the clones for this task. While the Chimaeric Demons of this batch had the same level of strength, each of them chose what to focus on in terms of brain crystal powers. This meant that some of them were more suited than others for different tasks.
June chose the best with shapeshifting abilities, given Amber's plan. With a couple focusing on healing powers and some on defence.
"Good luck," Erik said.
Without a word, the thirty Chimaeric Demons moved to the ship's railing. Then they vaulted over the side, plunging into the dark waters below.
As they hit the water, their bodies changed. Limbs elongated, skin hardened into scales, and in moments, thirty Luminous Leviathans glided beneath the waves. They quickly dove deeper to avoid being spotted by ships or by the land personnel.
As they got closer to the island underwater, they swam up. They moved towards the surface, watching for any movement on the beach in front of them.
Finding the coast clear, they emerged from the water. But instead of the massive forms of sea creatures, tiny insects now buzzed above the waves of water. The Chimaeric Demons had shapeshifted again, this time into flies.
Funnily enough, this was by far Erik's favourite transformation, and it was the same for the Chimaeric Demons. It was damn too useful for sneaking around; even invisibility was not this great.
The Chimaeric Demons flew towards the center of the island. From high up, they could see the outpost clearly.
It looked like a powerful fortress in the middle of the island. This made sense because the outpost needed to be well-protected. Dangerous sea creatures could attack the shores at any time.
Not all the thaids could reach the land, but there were some gigantic ones that could attack them from the sea without having to put a finger on the sand.
Once at the outpost, the Chimaeric Demons spread out. Some flew high, getting an aerial view of the compound's layout. Others stayed low, going between buildings and through open windows.
Two of the transformed Chimaeric Demons found themselves near the main gate. They landed on a nearby wall. Many guards stood at attention, flashlights parting the darkness like the sea surrounding the island.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Another silent night," one guard said, stifling a yawn.
"Don't jinx it," the other said. "Remember what happened to our night shift last week?"
The first guard shuddered. "How could I forget? Those damn thaids are getting bolder by the day."
The Chimaeric Demons' antennae twitched with interest.
"Hey, did you hear about the supply ship that was supposed to arrive yesterday?"
"Yeah, word is it got hit by a school of thaids. An officer told me they dragged the whole thing under, crew and all."
"Brutal. At this rate, we'll be cut off from the mainland entirely. But you know what? Anything to make those Frant's bastards pay for what they did to us."
"Yeah. I got mad when I got told the blackguards didn't want us to attack them when Becker got nuked, but luckily, those guys are too stupid to understand what's best for them and killed their new general."
The Chimaeric Demons exchanged a glance.
They took flight again, moving deeper into the compound. As they flew, they overheard more snippets of conversation.
"Captain Roth wants a full inventory by morning. Says we need to start rationing supplies."
"Did you hear? Lieutenant Vega's pushing for more frequent patrols along the eastern shore..."
"Sergeant Kline caught some recruits trying to sneak out last night. They're on latrine duty for a month."
Each name, each piece of information, was filed away in the Chimaeric Demons' perfect memories. But as they listened, one thing became clear: there was no mention of a stolen ship from Frant, no whispers of Erik or his group, just stupid shit or stuff pertaining to the outpost.
The Chimaeric Demons continued their exploration of the base, mapping out guard posts, rotations, identifying key buildings, and locating potential weaknesses in the outpost's defences.
After gathering sufficient intelligence, the Chimaeric Demons regrouped at a predetermined location-a secluded corner of the base near the supply warehouses.
There, they shared the information they had gathered and planned their next move based on the general plan Amber came up with.
Amber came up with a simple but effective plan: Take the place of important people in the outpost. It was something the Chimaeric Demons had done many times before, and that was possible only because of their skills. It always worked well for them, and it would not be
different today.
However, Amber left to them the choice of whom to steal the identity off, since they didn't have information about the outpost, and the Chimaeric Demons were well versed in this kind of operation, so they knew better than her what to do.
The only condition was for them to take the highest people's identities, so that they could at least gather control of the base and facilitate Erik's operations.
"Are we ready?" One of the Chimaeric Demons said.
"I am."
"Me too..."
The others followed suit.
The Chimaeric demons split. Each of them had to locate and neutralize a specific individual.
One group, comprising three Chimaeric Demons, made their way to the officers' quarters. There were three targets there, but the most important one was Captain Roth, the apparent leader of the outpost. They slipped under the door of his private room.
Inside, they found the captain asleep at his desk, reports and maps spread out before him. One of the Chimaeric Demons landed on his neck and, in an instant, transformed.
His body grew rapidly, taking in human form.
In moments, it was over. Captain Roth lay dead on the floor. The clone studied him before his own features shifted, changing into a replica of the captain.
Similar scenes played out across the base. Lieutenant Vega was ambushed as she made her nightly rounds. Sergeant Kline was taken as he supervised the night shift in the mess hall, and several other key personnel were neutralized and replaced.
Each time, the Chimaeric Demons were careful to kill their targets without raising alarm. The dead officers were brought to the sea, where the thaids took care of the rest.