Chapter 4: Equivalent Exchange
Viewed from above, the post-disaster world not only lacked an apocalyptic feel, but the natural environment was actually much better than before. Vast grasslands spread out like a green carpet, with oxbow lakes cutting through them like donut-shaped dividers.
Near one such oxbow lake, a mobile fortress stood tall. Its means of locomotion consisted of metal tentacles nearly ten meters thick, bent and curved, their clawed tips piercing into the ground to anchor the entire fortress firmly in place. Even a typhoon of magnitude 15 could not budge it in the slightest. The armor plating on the fortress's exterior gave off an inexplicable sense of security.
This mobile fortress was named the "T5·619 Fortress." Due to the brutal methods of its leader, Li Xiniwei, outsiders called it the "Doomsday Fortress." Few living creatures that entered here, aside from the Vassal Clan, ever came out alive.
The Doomsday Fortress was a fifth-tier fortress, a small fry among the six tiers from T0 to T5. Above it were the fourth-tier to first-tier fortresses; the smaller the number, the larger the mobile fortress's size, and naturally, the more people lived inside.
Beyond the fifth-tier to first-tier fortresses, there was one more rank: the Invincible Fortress, more commonly called the Immovable Fortress. Only three existed, all belonging to the Vassal Clan.
These three Immovable Fortresses truly rarely moved, remaining in an expanded state year-round. In people's minds, they were more like fortress cities.
The three fortress cities also represented the three strongest factions of the Vassal Clan: Radical, Conservative, and Neutral. These were the different styles of the three major Vassal Clan forces. The T5-level Doomsday Fortress was one of the supporters of that Radical faction.
Clang, clang, clang…
With every step Su Xiao took, the heavy iron shoes on his feet let out a dull thud. Normally, these things were just cumbersome, but once activated, the soles generated immense suction, clinging tightly to the ground to prevent the prisoner from escaping.
Besides these "big iron shoes," Su Xiao also wore thick handcuffs, and his arms were covered in weighted rings. Even so, the four guards around him remained uneasy, always keeping a distance of 1.5 meters.
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. Just what kind of place had this identity charged into and killed several hundred Vassal Clan members to warrant such treatment? The Vassal Clan must have been certain that this previous body had lost its combat power before sending it here. But this had nothing to do with Su Xiao; he was merely connecting with, no, borrowing this identity.
After walking out of the narrow corridor of the prison cell, Su Xiao saw a vast, circular open space. It looked very empty. Near the center stood a central pillar several meters thick, with many metal troughs resembling cremation ovens fixed to it in a stacked arrangement.
Judging by the traces left behind, this was where the pig-headed people slept. Counting the sleeping troughs stacked along the walls, the total number on the first floor of the fortress was around 700.
Continuing forward, Su Xiao saw many metal brackets on the first floor, with elevators hanging from them. As one elevator opened, two pig-headed people pushed out a large cart. After pushing the cart to the inner side of the first floor, they stacked a pale green ore onto a conveyor belt, which transported it to the second floor.
This matched the information Bubu Wang had scouted. This fortress hadn't moved for about half a month, planning to exhaust the active ore vein directly below before moving to the next location.
Under the escort of the four surrounding guards, Su Xiao boarded a grimy elevator. With a creaking, groaning sound, the elevator descended vertically down a mine shaft deep into the earth.
After descending about a hundred meters, the elevator jolted and stopped. The scene before him was a network of mine tunnels spread through the bluish-black rock layers, as if he had entered a realm of rodents.
These mine tunnels varied in height from 2 to 3 meters. Pig-headed people in thick work uniforms moved through the tunnels. Some, due to the underground heat, wore dirty vests, their faces grimy and skin rough.
All the pig-headed people shared several traits: long-term labor and the inherent power of their bloodline made them physically robust, but their eyes were dull and numb. Almost everyone had scars—either a torn nose, a half-cut ear, or whip marks visible on the shoulders of their vests.
With a clang, a mining shovel was thrown at Su Xiao's feet. It was a supervisor holding a whip.
"What are you looking at? From now on, you have no name, no title to represent you. Pick up that shovel and go dig over there. Ask one question, and I'll cut out your tongue. Don't work, and I'll cut your throat…"
Boom!
An air blast erupted from diagonally above Su Xiao. A blood spear three meters long shot out. It first pierced the supervisor's tech faceplate, then penetrated his skull and brain, before piercing through his entire head and nailing him to the rock wall behind.
The supervisor's angry tirade was cut short. Nailed to the rock wall by the blood spear, his head pierced, he flailed wildly. The next second, the blood spear exploded violently, shattering his head and upper body into pieces.
The moment the blood spear exploded a dozen meters away, the four guards around Su Xiao reacted. The fastest among them suddenly vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Su Xiao, thrusting a short baton, crackling with blue electricity, toward Su Xiao's chest.
Crackle!
The guard's expression was fierce, but the result was not what he expected. Blue-white arcs of electricity spread across Su Xiao's chest, yet he showed no reaction.
Compared to the power of World Thunder, being shocked by this thing just made him a bit numb, nothing more. What surprised him was that the opponent had used some kind of technological creation to perform a spatial shift, and its performance in all aspects was quite impressive.
Under the guard's stunned gaze, Su Xiao grabbed the short baton crackling with blue electricity. The Realm Severing Thread shot out from his sleeve, its locking hook piercing the guard's neck opposite him. After so many enhancements, the metal content in the Realm Severing Thread was considerable, so of course it conducted electricity.
"Eeeeee~"
The guard opposite him convulsed violently, then stiffened, his shoulders hunched, and fell flat on his back, a large puddle soaking his pants.
Looking behind Su Xiao, the remaining three guards were either nailed to the ground by blood spears or pinned to the wall.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared at Su Xiao's waist. His right hand pressed on the hilt, and as the long blade was drawn a small fraction, a sharp clang of a slash rang out. His handcuffs and the weighted rings on his arms shattered with the sound, and the heavy metal shoes also broke into pieces.
After initial testing, the power of the "Blood Spear: Hunt," used for mid-range assassination of enemies, was very satisfactory. It formed quickly, flew at an excellent speed, and its penetration was impeccable. More importantly, Su Xiao could also control it to perform a blood energy explosion, causing even more severe secondary damage.
Su Xiao grabbed the metal collar around his neck with one hand. Crystals spread from his hand, rapidly eroding the metal collar, crystallizing it.
With a crack, Su Xiao snapped the crystal collar from his neck. Although it contained semi-fluid explosives, the crystallization prevented it from detonating.
"Hel—"
A Vassal Clan guard who was still alive tried to call for help, but as soon as he shouted, a miniature blood spear shot into his mouth and exploded. His head burst like a watermelon.
Seeing this, the remaining two guards quickly shut their mouths, looking at Su Xiao with pleading, no, begging eyes, asking for their lives to be spared.
Su Xiao picked up a metal short rod from the ground, scanned the area, and locked onto a pig-headed person pushing a mining cart. This one looked quite honest.
"You, come here."
Su Xiao's words made that pig-headed person hesitate. He glanced at the bodies of the supervisor and the guards, his eyes devoid of fear, his expression numb as he walked over.
"Take this. Go, and smash him to death."
Su Xiao handed the short rod to this pig-headed person. Earlier, when he saw the number of sleeping troughs on the first floor, a plan had formed in his mind. Whether this plan could succeed depended on the pig-headed people's performance. If the wildness within them had been completely tamed, the plan would fizzle out. If they still had some wildness left, they could be used.
These guys were strong and sturdy. Judging by their role as laborers, their numbers must be considerable. As for combat proficiency, that didn't matter. They didn't know tactics—just charge forward in a swarm and hack down whoever they saw. They could manage that, right?
Su Xiao used this tactic often, driving many famous generals from Primordial Worlds to despair.
Back in the Tsar World, when fighting the Dwarves, Spring Iron Sheep had been driven to despair just like that.
No wonder Spring Iron Sheep was so frustrated. The enemy's tactics were clearly garbage, so why couldn't he win? Anyone would find that suffocating.
The detection from the Eye of the Gods finished. Su Xiao checked the pig-headed person's data. It was as expected: good Strength and Endurance, but no skills that enhanced attack power.
Although they had no attack-enhancing skills, they did have defensive skills. This wasn't because the Vassal Clan was kind enough to give the pig-headed people better survivability. This ability was honed over time, enduring whippings, beatings, electric shocks, and being cramped in tiny cells from childhood to adulthood.
The pig-headed people couldn't fight, but they could really take a beating. That made things simple. When an enemy attacked, and the target didn't defend at all but just swung a hammer at their face, there was a decent chance of severely wounding the opponent. Once a certain scale was formed, Su Xiao wasn't worried about the pig-headed people being afraid on the battlefield.
[War Lord · Title Effect: Morale +70 points (This effect can be triggered when soldier-type units reach 500 or more.)]
The current issue was whether a group of pig-headed people would be judged as soldier-type units.
In the past, the effect of morale bonuses wasn't very obvious, but this time it was crucial. As long as morale was high enough, the pig-headed people would be like they were on stimulants, daring to charge forward desperately.
These thoughts flashed through Su Xiao's mind one after another. But thinking about this now didn't guarantee it would work. If they couldn't fight, they could learn on the battlefield. If they lacked the ability, they died; if they had it, they lived.
Su Xiao didn't mind helping the pig-headed people escape their current predicament, but they would have to pay with enough blood and death, and enough victories, to prove their worth. This was an equivalent exchange. Otherwise, they would all die.
The starting point of whether this plan could be realized lay with the pig-headed person holding the short iron rod in front of him. If the pig-headed people's beastly nature had been completely erased, they were worthless. Only those who dared to resist would dare to go to the battlefield, and only then would they have value.
The pig-headed person holding the short iron rod looked at Su Xiao, then at the iron rod in his hand, and finally at the Vassal Clan guard cowering by the rock wall, shaking his head and begging for mercy.
This pig-headed person lowered his head and thought for a moment, then finally shook his head, indicating he wouldn't kill the guard who often beat him.
"Then you're useless."
A blood spear formed behind Su Xiao. The numbness in the pig-headed person's eyes vanished, replaced by immense fear. Yet he still didn't charge at the guard; instead, he took a big step back.
Just then, a pig-headed person stepped forward. He wore a vest so dirty its original color was unrecognizable, a cheap pigskin belt around his waist, dark green thick cloth trousers, and one of his ears had been cut off. He used his shoulder to shove the blocking pig-headed person aside, snatched the iron rod from his hand, and strode toward the guard nailed to the rock wall, ignoring the guard's loud pleas for mercy.
Thump, thump, thump…
After a series of dull thuds from the iron rod, the pig-headed person in the vest, his face splattered with blood, straightened up. Finally, he stomped on the corpse's head, crushing it to pieces.
Why was this pig-headed person so brave? Was he the chosen one? Extraordinary talent? No. It was because he was young, a vigorous 28-year-old in the prime of his beastly nature. He had too many questions in his heart.
Why did they have to mine every day?
Why did they have to eat the same food every day?
Why weren't they allowed to speak freely?
Why could the Vassal Clan kill them at will?
Why was he born as a lower being?
Blood dripped down the face of the pig-headed person in the vest. He was about to walk toward another guard, but his legs felt as heavy as lead, unable to move an inch.
Su Xiao looked the pig-headed person in the vest up and down, feeling somewhat satisfied. His plan seemed to have a chance of continuing. The first step was to seize this mobile fortress and use it as a temporary base camp.
As for the main mission this time, Su Xiao didn't even need to think to know its general content. That was also why he had been teleported to "Ser Star." The main mission would definitely be related to this World War.
In this world, the number of Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Watchful Paradise would not be small. Su Xiao had absolutely no chance of winning against so many Contractors on his own, even if he waited for the three sides to fight among themselves. It would still be very difficult to seize the final victory.
The question was, what to do when the enemy had numerical superiority? The answer was simple: have even greater numerical superiority.
The important thing to note was that the World War was ongoing, and the Void Tree was inevitably the arbiter. Su Xiao had invaded this world and had to be careful not to receive a warning from the Void Tree. He had been warned several times before for similar matters.
PS: (Thanks for everyone's concern. My neck is much better today. I wrote three chapters, and then realized I had written 10,000 words. Going to get my neck treated was definitely the right call.)