Chapter 30: Title Shop
The bright moon hung high. Because it had just rained, the surrounding area of Segona City was particularly lively. Puddles reflected the pure white moonlight, and the croaking of frogs rose and fell in succession.
Fighting all the way here, capturing Segona City meant breaking out of the desert and reaching an oasis. The summer night was slightly cool as several figures swiftly passed by—these were scouts from the Dwarf troops.
Before seven o'clock tonight, 140,000 Flame Sand soldiers had entered Segona City. This made Spring Iron Sheep know that this battle was inevitable; the Divine Maiden could not be retrieved. For now, retaking Segona City was the key.
During the day, Spring Iron Sheep had deployed 250,000 Dwarf troops to station in the surrounding area. By eight o'clock that night, another 50,000 Dwarf troops had arrived. As for assembling 450,000 troops to attack Segona City, that was merely a threat.
The border between Flame Sand and Peru was very long. Both sides had deployed heavy troops in various war zones along the border. Even for Spring Iron Sheep, he could not draw too many soldiers from these defensive lines. Assembling 300,000 Dwarf troops was the limit; other war zones also needed soldiers to guard them. He could not tear down the east wall to repair the west wall.
Spring Iron Sheep had 300,000 Dwarf troops on his side, among which 50,000 were Ram Cavalry, which were difficult to deal with. This could be said to be Spring Iron Sheep's trump card.
Su Xiao had over 200,000 soldiers on his side. With the blessing of the War Lord, even if Spring Iron Sheep had 50,000 Ram Cavalry, he still had a fighting chance. The Black Dragon, Medes, was the trump card in this battle.
A battle involving 450,000 troops from both sides, and concerning border territorial issues, had not even started yet when the high-level officials of both countries began to call for a ceasefire. If this battle escalated, it could easily trigger a full-scale conflict along the entire border—a war on the scale of millions of people, potentially involving the survival of both nations.
Before Su Xiao and Spring Iron Sheep could even start fighting, the high-level officials of both countries were already breaking out in a cold sweat. Flame Sand had not achieved a major victory for too long, and its territory was being continuously encroached upon. It urgently needed a major victory.
At this moment, in the Rose Palace of Sand Capital, within the council hall, the Flame Sand Emperor sat upright. Below him were rows of high-ranking Flame Sand officials. Carols was so sleepy she kept yawning, and Uno's head kept drooping—after all, he was getting older, and even the fierce dog couldn't hold on.
At this moment, in the Sacred Capital of the Peru Kingdom, Ksadesa, because the name of the Sacred Capital sounded strange, the locals called it 'Green Capital' or 'Sacred Capital,' but more people were accustomed to calling it High Mountain City.
The Peru Sacred Capital was located at the foot of a high mountain several hundred meters tall. The front part of the mountain range had been leveled.
From the mountain wall excavated behind the Sacred Capital, one could see the stubbornness and tenacity of the Dwarves. As long as they set their sights on a place, even a towering mountain range would be leveled to build their Sacred Capital.
Inside a palace, flames flickered. The Peru King, Spring Steel Sheep, looked around from his throne. He wore an iron-black scale armor, which bore slash marks and burn stains that could not be wiped off. As the King of Peru, he had once been a warrior.
Below the throne, a large group of Dwarf officials knelt. Strangely, among them was a small number of Flame Sand people. They were actually Peruvians, just not of the Dwarf race.
"Iron Sheep hasn't sent any news back yet?"
The Peru King spoke. Although he was not tall, his voice was loud and imposing without anger.
"Your Majesty, Lord Iron Sheep is still in a standoff with Kukulin Bai Ye. His message from the evening said that the battle is expected to begin tomorrow morning. The enemy's numbers are only 200,000. With the Ram Legion, we are sure to win..."
Before the Dwarf official below could finish, the Peru King raised his hand to interrupt.
"Kukulin Bai Ye was able to capture the Segona Border Fortress, which shows he is not easy to deal with. Has Red Ji set out yet?"
The Red Ji that the Peru King mentioned was an alien race from another continent. That continent was a remnant of an ancient civilization, no longer suitable for biological survival, with only a few alien races still living there.
Regarding that continent, both Flame Sand and Peru adhered to a policy of never provoking it. There was no need to provoke it either; there were no resources there, and one had to cross the sea to reach it, making it not worth the effort.
To some extent, the power controlled by the alien races was the origin of the cultivation method known as Holy Soul.
"Red Ji has already set out and will arrive at Segona City tomorrow night."
"Mm, all of you may withdraw."
The Dwarf officials filed out, leaving only the Peru King alone in the great hall.
"Spring Steel Sheep, you must kill that human at all costs."
A voice appeared in the great hall. The Peru King didn't even lift his eyes and didn't respond.
"Retrieve my Divine Maiden. Only she can find me."
"Are you afraid? You are a deity. Don't act like a coward."
The Peru King rarely smiled. Teasing a deity was quite interesting.
"Spring Steel Sheep, do you know what you are facing?"
The voice of the Verdant God was somewhat angry as vines hung down from above.
"A Flame Sand person? Or something similar to you?"
The Peru King gently stroked the armrest of his throne, where his sword was hidden. To be honest, he found the deity somewhat displeasing. If it weren't for various issues, the first thing he would have done after ascending the throne was to eliminate Peru's deity.
"Human? No, do you know what an Ancient God is?"
"Ancient God!"
The Peru King's pupils contracted. He knew a piece of secret history: the continent with the ancient civilization had ended up in its current state because of a fight to the death with an Ancient God. Although the Ancient God was eliminated, that ancient civilization was also destroyed.
"Is he an Ancient God?!"
"If that were the case, it would be fine. That human—no, that monster—has killed many Ancient Gods, so many that I can't sense them clearly. At least... five or more."
"..."
The Peru King fell silent.
"Think it over yourself. If that monster goes mad, not to mention the front-line battlefield, both Flame Sand and Peru might cease to exist. Don't forget the continent west of the sea. That will be your fate. Before you provoke him, use every means to kill him. He is the one who destroys everything."
The aura of the Verdant God dissipated, leaving only the Peru King in the great hall.
"Frightened to such a state, truly disappointing."
The Peru King sighed softly. Regarding the Verdant God's words, he only believed part of them. Based on his speculation, the Verdant God must have suffered a setback in some matter, hence the exaggeration. However, some things still warranted caution.
No one noticed that in the cat bed in the corner of the hall, a cat was stretching. It 'innocently' looked around before curling up again.
...
Segona City, inside a stone building.
At this moment, the 'one who destroys everything' as the Verdant God called him, was holding a tablet computer with murderous intent in his eyes, tackling a puzzle game of inhuman difficulty.
Su Xiao calmly put away the tablet computer, feeling a strong urge to meet the game developer, Fatty Pi.
Su Xiao had requested meetings many times, but Fatty Pi always made excuses about being busy. As Baha put it: "Does that guy know the game is too hard, so he won't show his face?"
Su Xiao wanted to see Fatty Pi, not because he couldn't clear the game and was ready for a real-life fight, but because the games Fatty Pi developed were genuinely interesting. Now that he was about to clear this game, he planned to buy another one from him to pass the time in his spare time.
As the saying goes, every profession produces its top expert. Reaching Fatty Pi's level in game development was rare. It was said that the income from selling games was even higher than the rewards from fighting within worlds. Moreover, he now primarily operated in high-tech worlds, usually dressed like a tech otaku, and was hired at high prices by many large adventure groups.
Su Xiao lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and sensed the situation inside his body. During the day, he had devoured a deity's incarnation, and the Azure Steel Shadow ability had improved to a considerable extent. It had now stabilized.
Checking the notification records, several prompts appeared before Su Xiao.
[Due to absorbing the energy converted by the Devouring Core, the Azure Steel Shadow ability has been enhanced.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been upgraded to Lv.57.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been upgraded to Lv.58.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been upgraded to Lv.59.]
[Azure Steel Shadow: Lv.59 (Active/Passive Skill)]
Usage Condition: Activate Azure Steel Shadow, consumes 180 Mana Points per minute (increased by 15 points).
Active Effect: Each melee attack burns 627 Mana Points from the enemy (increased by 30 points) and deals True Damage equal to 1.6 times the burned Mana Points (1003 True Damage + 25% increase from Dragon-Slashing Flash = 1254). The enemy will suffer intense pain from the Mana burn.
Passive Effect: When the enemy suffers Mana burn, there is a 21% chance to trigger one of three abnormal statuses: Paralysis, Immobilization, or Stun. The duration of the abnormal status is 0.2 to 3 seconds.
Defense Form: Proud Song (Active)...
External Release Form: Energy Blockade (Active)...
...
The Azure Steel Shadow ability was stuck at Lv.59. To upgrade it to Lv.60 would require a massive amount of energy. Generally, this situation indicated that completing the upgrade would bring significant changes.
As one of Su Xiao's core abilities, once Azure Steel Shadow reached a certain level, it could only be improved through opportunities. The downside was that it was hard to upgrade, but the upside was that each upgrade did not consume resources, and the improvement was substantial.
Fortunately, Azure Steel Shadow had this characteristic. The other core ability, Blade Technique, consumed an outrageous amount of resources. If both core abilities required large resource investments, Su Xiao wouldn't even be able to afford to feed Dragon-Slashing Flash.
Closing the skill list, Su Xiao began browsing the Title Shop. All the titles obtainable in this world were listed there. The contents were as follows:
[Ancient Primordial King (★★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 10,000 Battle Merit Points.
[Ancient Civilization Redemption (★★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 13,000 Battle Merit Points.
[Extreme·Youthful Bloom (★★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 11,500 Battle Merit Points.
[Rainbow (★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 1,120 Battle Merit Points.
[Omnipotent (★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 1,070 Battle Merit Points.
[Deity Slayer (★★★)]
Attributes: Visible after acquisition.
Price: 2,580 Battle Merit Points.
...
Hundreds of titles were arranged according to their star ratings. There were three four-star titles obtainable in this world. Su Xiao speculated that to acquire these three titles through normal means, one would have to reach the other continent.
That was the Ancient Civilization Continent, a wasteland as far as the eye could see. It was not a high-risk area or a hidden area. The gains from going there were far lower than from fighting. If one wanted to explore, that place was good—it was Beini's favorite.
Aside from exchanging Battle Merit Points for these titles, they could also be obtained by triggering various hidden events. So far, Su Xiao had rarely encountered such good fortune.
Triggering hidden events meant having to negotiate with various local residents or strong individuals. With Su Xiao's Charm Attribute, if he could obtain many titles through normal means, Charm specialists would cry in the bathroom. Obtaining titles was one of the advantages of Charm specialization.
In derivative worlds, due to the resetable nature of the worlds, some Charm-specialized contractors would even set clear prices for titles. They would use World Keys to bring other contractors into that derivative world, form contract teams, complete titles on their behalf, and profit from it.
This was not possible in Primordial Worlds. Primordial Worlds could not be reset. They were real worlds that existed. Resetting a Primordial World would cost the equivalent of completely destroying that world and then recreating it. Moreover, this was not a reset but a replication, consuming an astronomical amount of resources. No Paradise would replicate a world, and over 99.51% of Primordial Worlds could not be replicated—they had World Cores, each of which was unique.
Looking at the hundreds of titles before him, Su Xiao wanted them all, but unfortunately, he had zero Battle Merit Points on hand.
Su Xiao fell into a deep sleep. He didn't know how long he had slept when he suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Dragon-Slashing Flash beside him. Just now, he felt someone spying on him. It was not that violator named Saw Poison, but a more obvious kind of spying.
Morning light streamed in through the window. It was already six o'clock the next morning. A hurried knock came at the door, and at the same time, the sound of a horn blew, signaling that the battle was about to begin.