Chapter 45: The Reason
The next morning, inside a stone house behind the war zone, Su Xiao was reviewing the information relayed back by Amu.
Blazing Sun Mountain had been difficult to capture, so Su Xiao had pulled Amu from guarding the base camp. In that relatively narrow terrain, Amu didn't need to worry about being focused down, making it the best choice to break through the enemy lines.
From the intelligence Amu provided, Su Xiao learned that only about a thousand Sun Warriors remained in the cave on the left side of Blazing Sun Mountain.
Today was the last day for the World Coordinates to form. If he couldn't gain some benefits from the Sun Tribe, then this war wouldn't be considered profitable.
The reason Su Xiao chose to attack the Sun Tribe wasn't just because it was close to Jila's insect nest, but also because of the flames they used.
When he first fought the Sun Tribe, Su Xiao felt something was off about their flames. They gave him a sense of familiarity.
During the siege of the Three Paradise Alliance, Su Xiao had a Demon Beast capture a Sun Warrior alive, and he obtained some of that warrior's flame.
In the following days, Su Xiao certainly didn't just go to his death inside the [Greed Chapter]; he also studied this flame when his mind was fatigued.
After analysis, Su Xiao discovered a secret: the flame used by the Sun Warriors was actually a variant of Solar Flame. Both had the same burning characteristics, but the intensity differed.
Of course, the variant Solar Flame had a much lower temperature than the golden Solar Flame, but that didn't mean it was worthless. This flame was so gentle that it could be contained within a Sun Warrior's body, and the value of that was obvious.
Su Xiao wanted to know how the Sun Tribe processed Solar Flame to a level the human body could tolerate.
Su Xiao wasn't planning to specialize in fire magic; he wanted to use this knowledge to strengthen Apollo, or to create a miniaturized Apollo for use as a conventional explosive.
Now that Alchemy Bombs were obsolete, Su Xiao had no small-scale explosives available. If he could manufacture a micro Apollo, it would be excellent for setting traps, targeted demolition, and the like.
Moreover, Su Xiao was even more curious about where the Sun Tribe obtained their Solar Flame.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering matters related to Solar Flame, Amu's condition caught his attention.
Amu's health was dropping rapidly. In just half a minute, it fell below 50%, only stopping when it reached a mere 20%.
Soon, a message came from Amu: it had encountered a powerful enemy—a strong old man wielding a long blade.
"A strong old man..."
Su Xiao stood up. The sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand, and he tucked it into his belt.
On the square outside the stone house, a few injured Contractors were resting. This was a safe zone, heavily guarded by numerous insectoids in the surrounding area.
"Hey, isn't that... Azure Steel King?"
"Your eyes are playing tricks on you. I've never seen him come out... Huh, it really is him. Why is he out? Isn't he just a plot character who gives out quests?"
"With all due respect, this is the easiest plot character I've ever negotiated with, bar none. You just walk into that stone house, and within five sentences, he'll definitely give you a quest. If all plot characters were like this, I'd be laughing in my dreams."
A Contractor who had risked his life to complete a mid-to-high-difficulty quest spoke up. He had lost an arm, and the left side of his body was charred black. Though severely injured, the rewards he gained had left him more than satisfied.
"You don't even need five sentences. One guy only used two."
The Contractor speaking barely suppressed a laugh. Just yesterday, a thrill-seeker had approached Su Xiao and said, "I'm not afraid of death. Give me a hard quest."
Then, that fellow received a campaign quest with a difficulty level of Lv.42, with rewards so generous they made others green with envy. He left satisfied, and that night, he died fairly peacefully—just twitching a bit.
In truth, Su Xiao had thought highly of that Contractor. His strength was only mid-to-low tier, but he was an ambitious guy. He'd probably been unlucky and stuck in a rut for a long time, so he decided to take a gamble. It just didn't pay off.
Escorted by a large number of Demon Beasts, Su Xiao headed toward Blazing Sun Mountain.
There wasn't much time left in his stay. Only one step remained to capture Blazing Sun Mountain: dealing with the Great Chieftain of the Sun Tribe, Gulaba.
Gulaba was blocking the deepest part of Blazing Sun Mountain, a cave of modest size. He stood there like a one-man fortress, impossible to breach. Earlier, Amu had been severely wounded by Gulaba's blade; the old man was unexpectedly formidable.
Soon, Su Xiao arrived at the entrance of Blazing Sun Mountain. He stood before the cave mouth, peering inside. It was pitch black.
As Su Xiao ventured deeper into Blazing Sun Mountain, several dozen Contractors came into view. They stood at the edge of a cavern, with many Demon Beasts nearby.
This cavern was about a thousand square meters in area, with a ceiling over ten meters high. It had clearly been excavated from the mountain's interior. The stone walls were daubed with various strange symbols using a fiery red dye.
On the other side of the cavern stood an old man nearly three meters tall. He wore a shaggy bearskin cloak and wielded a rough-hewn long blade. His bare chest showed clearly defined muscles, with a few scars visible—not many, but all in dangerous locations.
This old man was none other than the Great Chieftain of the Sun Tribe, Gulaba. A chill still emanated from him, evidence of his fight with Amu. Nearby lay the corpses of several dozen elite Demon Beasts.
With Great Chieftain Gulaba standing there, no one dared to step forward. His primal, power-laden aura declared that anyone who took a step closer would die.
"Noda..."
A dying Sun Warrior spoke. Gulaba glanced at him and nodded. The light faded from the Sun Warrior's eyes.
Gulaba shifted his gaze to Su Xiao, who was approaching at a leisurely pace. No words were needed; he could sense that this man was dangerous.
"Here we go, here we go. Final boss versus final boss. Should we try to snag some kill rewards?"
A woman in a miniskirt with light red eyeshadow spoke, her smile gradually turning twisted.
"I don't want to die yet. If one of them one-shots me, that would be a real waste."
"True. And I feel like this place isn't safe anymore."
The Contractor who spoke backflipped several times, landing at the entrance of the cavern.
Several dozen Contractors stood or sat at the edge of the cavern, watching. They were willing to take the risk to see how the strong of a Fifth Rank world fought.
Su Xiao stopped about ten meters from Gulaba. If his stay weren't almost over, he wouldn't be stepping in himself.
Gulaba was nearly three meters tall. Logically, he should have exuded a strong sense of pressure. Yet, it was he who first placed his long blade horizontally in front of him and crouched low in a defensive stance.
Gulaba had been fighting continuously for a full day and night. He was exhausted now. Even at his peak, he wouldn't dare claim he could definitely defeat Su Xiao.
"Why did you declare war on my tribe?"
Gulaba voiced the doubt in his heart. A campaign of this scale would result in significant losses for the victor as well. With no prior grievances, the Jila insect swarm had suddenly attacked. While not entirely unexpected, it was still very abrupt.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He simply drew the Dragon-Slashing Flash from his belt. A reason? War sometimes doesn't need a reason.