Chapter 49: A Meeting Gift
Announcements from the Void Tree appeared one after another. Su Xiao, who had just finished voting, felt a pang of regret. He had originally wanted to experience the Hunting Mode, but unfortunately, the other contractors disagreed.
The World Contact Platform became exceptionally lively, with messages scrolling so fast they were almost unreadable.
The overall content was split into two extremes. The contractors currently located in the Western Continent were all full of question marks. Some were hiding in sparsely populated areas of the Western Continent, gaining benefits by killing primitive humans parasitized by threadworms, while others had joined the Taiatu Civilization. This faction was joinable, but the difficulty was on the higher side.
These contractors in the Western Continent were now extremely frustrated. The Alliance declaring war on the Western Continent was, for them, a complete disaster falling from the sky. The area they were in was about to be upgraded to "Hell Difficulty."
These contractors had a bellyful of curses brewing, but they all chose to hold back. The cost of cursing was too high, and they weren't sure if Su Xiao was the type to hold a grudge.
Compared to these contractors on the Western Continent, those in the Southern Continent's Gaman City and Youke City were almost setting off fireworks in celebration.
Earlier, Black Rose had exposed something: Su Xiao was the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency. Upon learning this, the contractors around Gaman City and Youke City were speechless. What do you do when someone becomes a boss-level unit right from the start? Asking online, very urgent.
This was the power of the Eight-Star Title [Lue Tian Jing Lan]. Although this Title didn't directly boost combat power, it allowed one to take on a high-status position early in the world's entry, albeit with certain risks.
Don't think the side effects of [Lue Tian Jing Lan] are minor. Being hostile to the World Child can sometimes be very dangerous, such as encountering a World Child like the Nameless Captain.
Back when the Nameless Captain fought Su Xiao, it was after he had completed his mission. At his peak, the Nameless Captain could even go toe-to-toe 1v1 with the Fallen Deity, Ogus.
Su Xiao still vividly remembered the cost of besieging the Fallen Deity, Ogus. Over a hundred Seventh Rank contractors died that time, along with over a thousand elite pirates, and the cursed people on the Doom Number were nearly wiped out.
From this, one can imagine how strong the Nameless Captain was at his peak. A normal World Child isn't scary; what's terrifying is an evil-aligned World Child, backed by World Force, who stops at nothing to achieve their mission, even willing to burn themselves to ashes, using any available power, regardless of its nature.
That was the risk of entering a world wearing [Lue Tian Jing Lan]. Of course, the rewards were also generous.
With Su Xiao as the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency, the contractors around Gaman City and Youke City didn't dare act rashly. They weren't afraid of Su Xiao himself, but they were worried he would bring a large group of Transcendents to deal with them.
Now that they learned Su Xiao had left, the contractors in Gaman City and Youke City were overjoyed. As Black Rose put it: 'You're finally gone.'
Let's just say these people were celebrating too early. A big pitfall was waiting for them. If they joined any of the four major powers—the Eastern Alliance, Southern Alliance, Containment Institution, or Eclipse Organization—they would immediately receive a high position upon joining, only to be conscripted to the front lines.
The process was: Join → Get Promoted → Get Promoted → Get Promoted → Receive Conscription → Refuse → Get Beaten Unconscious After Being Surrounded → Wake Up → Find Yourself on a Shell-Riddled Front Line → Confusion.
Su Xiao wasn't in the mood to deal with this for now. He looked around at the furnishings. This top cabin was brand new, having just been renovated not long ago.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came from the door. Amu opened it to find Major Gewe standing outside. Last time Su Xiao went to the Western Continent, he had ridden on Major Gewe's steel warship.
As an iron-blooded officer, Major Gewe outside the door seemed hesitant to speak. He finally just greeted him and left. His purpose in coming was to politely suggest that Su Xiao not blow up the top cabin of the steel warship this time.
Su Xiao sat in front of a metal table. He took out a large amount of materials from his Exclusive Room and began working on creating a downgraded version of Apollo. Soon, a spine-chilling fluctuation emanated from the top cabin.
On the deck, Major Gewe, who was giving a pre-battle speech, froze. His gaze turned to the top cabin. He said, "Hey, you two."
"Sir."
"I'm giving you two a tough mission. Guard that lifeboat 24/7 in shifts."
"Yes, sir!"
Major Gewe pondered for a moment, then walked into the middle cabin. Soon, he came out carrying a bedroll, claiming he would bunk with the soldiers to set an example.
Inside the top cabin, several large fireballs floated above Su Xiao. As they were compressed by his mental energy, these golden fireballs gradually shrank, eventually turning into fist-sized gelatinous substances. Four downgraded Apollos were completed.
One Apollo fell into Su Xiao's hand. This Apollo had many impurities visible inside, and its detonation time was unstable, ranging from 3 to 16 seconds.
Don't think this was a breakthrough in Apollo's detonation time. If it detonated in 3 seconds, this type of Apollo would be even weaker. In a normal fight, it would likely blow up in your own hand.
This batch of downgraded Apollos was meant for area saturation. Just activate and throw them. Quantity would make up for the lack of power.
There were plenty of materials. Su Xiao picked up a batch. With so many materials, he wanted to try making a liquid form of Apollo. If successful, it would be a significant breakthrough in Apollo manufacturing.
Half an hour later.
Bang.
A metal canister was thrown out of the top cabin, breaking through a wave of air, and exploded above the sea surface.
Boom!
It was like a sun falling onto the sea. Raging waves surged up, slamming hard against the steel warship's side.
Looking at Su Xiao's steel warship now, all the soldiers were lying prone on the deck. Some soldiers in boxer shorts rushed out of the cabins holding rifles, sleep still crusted in their eyes, looking confused. Enemy attack? Was the battle starting? Where was the enemy?
Major Gewe on the deck smiled. He snapped his pocket watch shut, walked into the lower cabin, and soon came out carrying his bedroll. He tossed the bedroll into the lifeboat and settled in there. He wasn't a coward, but he didn't want to be blown up by his own people.
That noon, Su Xiao's steel warship arrived at "Severch Bay" and anchored in the designated waters. Looking out, dozens of steel warships were already anchored on the sea.
At 2 PM, a total of 175 steel warships had all assembled here. The entire fleet was divided into four parts. At the very front were 12 steel warships known for their speed, including the Newdy, K76, and Dreadnought Vanguard.
The second echelon of steel warships were all famous for their heavy firepower, such as the Fury Cannon, Fourth Fleet Ship, and Giant Hand.
The third echelon consisted of 106 transport vessels, as lightly loaded as possible, carrying only soldiers, trying to keep up with the steel warships' speed. They were positioned here to avoid enemy attacks, as these transport vessels were almost completely protected by the 175 steel warships.
The steel warships at the very rear were all known for their carrying capacity, loaded with large amounts of shells, fuel oil, and coal.
As for further behind, there were 32 supply ships. The supply unit was struggling, completely unable to keep up with the main fleet, chasing desperately from the rear.
In total, 175 steel warships, 106 transport vessels, and 32 supply ships. The target for all these vessels was only one: the Western Continent.
Inside the top cabin, Su Xiao stretched his neck. Creating downgraded Apollos wasn't easy. He had started around 9 AM, and now it was 5 PM. He had produced a total of 56 downgraded Apollos.
Su Xiao picked up a glass tube from the workbench. This tube was about 10 centimeters long and 3 centimeters thick, filled with a golden liquid.
The liquid Apollo Su Xiao wanted to create, after several experiments, had successfully produced a prototype, though many aspects needed improvement.
Sometimes in a mission world, he would encounter a situation where, upon meeting someone, killing them directly would result in significant losses because they still had value. In such cases, injecting them with alchemical poison was the best choice.