Chapter 26: Spell Machine Gun
Before long, the door to the command room was pushed open, and Amu led Dorothy into the room.
Most of Dorothy's body was wrapped in bandages. The biggest difference between Boiling Red and Black A was that she followed a path of precision and speed, and her recovery ability was not on the same level as Black A's. Back then, when Aichi had a third of his head chopped off, he still got up from the ground as if nothing had happened. In contrast, if Dorothy suffered a fatal blow to the head, even if it wasn't a third of her head being cut off, she might still die.
Dorothy wasn't as lively anymore. After entering, she obediently clasped her hands behind her back and stood to the side.
Hausmann and Steel Fang also entered the room. After their transformation into Boar Men, their appearances had changed somewhat. On their previously bald scalps, stiff black bristles had grown, pointing backward. These bristles extended all the way down to their backs, giving the two a more savage and ferocious look. Coupled with their now sharp gazes, they were no longer the simple, silly image of the original Pig Head Men.
The black bristles on Hausmann's head, the back of his head, and his spine were especially thick, making him look particularly majestic and imposing, with the aura of a leader.
Steel Fang, on the other hand, had more prominent tusks. The flat metal teeth in his mouth had transformed into interlocking metal fangs, making him look even more fierce and dull-witted. The rope knot tied around his left wrist was clearly not something his thick, clumsy fingers could have made. Having just returned to the fortress, he was already wearing newly washed and dried clothes. It just goes to show that a Boar Man with a wife is indeed different.
If Hausmann had the qualities of a leader, capable of commanding on the battlefield, then Steel Fang was the Boar Vanguard who dared to charge at the very front, leading the assault. There was nothing he wouldn't dare to do upon receiving Su Xiao's orders.
The two now shared a common characteristic: they were both covered in quite a few medical bandages, indicating they had sustained considerable injuries.
Su Xiao checked Hausmann's information. Hausmann was now equivalent to a minor boss among the Boar Men, with potential for further growth.
**Name:** Hausmann
**Category:** Boar Man Head
**Health:** 72.53%
**Beast Value:** 0/500 points.
**Strength:** 192 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
**Agility:** 170 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
**Stamina:** 201 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
**Intelligence:** 57
**Charm:** 1 (Originally 5 points, dropped to 1 due to the commander's influence.)
**Skill 1, Fighting Stronger (Passive, LV.68):** Health +14000 points, Physical Defense +32 points. For every 1% of health lost, increases health recovery rate by 2 points per second.
**Note:** This ability can stack up to a maximum recovery of 35 health per second (i.e., 2100 per minute).
**Note:** Prolonged activation of this skill will deplete the body's cellular energy and vitality.
**Skill 2, Tenacious and Unyielding (Passive, Lv.65):** Health +5200 points, Willpower +10 points. After sustaining pain from injuries, it will greatly stimulate Hausmann's bestial ferocity, thereby increasing Beast Value.
**Beast Value:** 0/500 points.
**Note:** When Beast Value reaches 50%, Hausmann's overall attributes will be slightly enhanced. When Beast Value is full, Hausmann will trigger the Free Beast ability.
**Skill 3, Free Beast (Passive, X):** Upon entering this state, all of Hausmann's attributes are slightly increased. During this effect's duration, Health +6800 points, Physical Defense increased by 30%, self-healing recovery effect increased by 15.8%, and body size increases slightly. The size increase lasts until this state ends.
**Free Beast Duration:** Beast Value Cap × 2.17, which is 1085 seconds (18 minutes 5 seconds).
**Note:** Killing enemies while in the Free Beast state has a small chance of increasing Hausmann's Strength, Agility, and Stamina attributes (increase cap is 10 points per attribute).
**Skill 4, Desperate Strike (Ultimate Ability, Lv.23):** Hausmann uses his weapon to deal explosive damage to a fan-shaped area in front of him. Damage is calculated as: Hausmann's own Health × 0.12 + Current Beast Value × 6.5 + True Strength Attribute × 0.8 + Base Attack 260 (Blunt/Slash/Shock damage, damage type depends on the weapon chosen by Hausmann).
Su Xiao closed Hausmann's information. With the War Lord's boost, such physical attributes were normal. Hausmann still had the potential for continued growth.
One thing Su Xiao couldn't figure out was why he himself couldn't receive the War Lord's boost. Back when he was developing the insect race, due to the War Lord's boost, the Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos had higher attributes than Su Xiao himself.
Putting this frustrating matter aside for now, behind Hausmann and Steel Fang were five Boar Men of varying heights, weights, and appearances. They filed into the room one by one and stood side-by-side in a row.
"Lord Bai Ye."
"Lord Commander."
"Lord Commander."
"L-L-L-Lord Chieftain, h-h-h-hello!"
"Ah-choo!"
The five Boar Men greeted him in turn. Some were so nervous their voices cracked, one had a natural stutter, and the last one was so tense he sneezed. If Hausmann hadn't blocked him, there was a good chance Steel Fang would have chopped him down.
Su Xiao looked over these five brothers. From their words and actions, he couldn't sense any of the tacit understanding typical of quintuplets. Pig One had droopy eyelids, Pig Two was cross-eyed, Pig Three had bowlegs, the fourth stuttered, and the fifth had an upturned nose.
These five Boar Men brothers each had their own unique characteristics, but Su Xiao wouldn't judge by appearances. The fact that they had survived life-and-death trials already proved their capabilities.
Su Xiao checked the information on the five Boar Men brothers. Their Strength was lower than that of ordinary Boar Man warriors, their Stamina attribute was no different, and under the War Lord's boost, their Intelligence attribute was the highest at 193 points and the lowest at 190 points.
Don't think these attributes are low. By the average standard of a swarm tactic, these are solid elite units. That's the nature of a swarm tactic: individually, they are average, but when they swarm together, it's a different concept. Two fists are no match for four hands. Even if one can block all attacks from the surroundings, there's always a time when stamina or body energy runs out.
All five Boar Men brothers shared the same ability, which was:
**「Spell Resonance (Passive):** When this unit releases a magic-type ability, there is a certain probability of double casting, or even multi-casting. Double casting will consume an additional 97% of mana. When multi-casting, the mana cost for this cast will be significantly reduced (the more times multi-casting occurs, the lower the overall consumption).」
**「Note:** This ability cannot cause high-tier, large-area magic-type abilities to trigger double casting. The lower the tier of the magic-type ability released, the higher the probability of triggering this ability. The more times multi-casting occurs, the lower the overall consumption of the spell.」
Seeing this ability, Su Xiao had a flash of inspiration: have these five brothers master low-tier magic-type abilities and turn them into spell machine guns.
This idea was dismissed as soon as it appeared. First, there were no skill scrolls to let the five Boar Men brothers immediately master magic-type abilities. Letting them train slowly was even more impractical. By the time they became proficient, Su Xiao might have already advanced to the Ninth Rank.
Su Xiao needed a compromise. The talent of the five Boar Men brothers couldn't be wasted; they might prove very useful in the future.
He took out the **「Spellcaster's Diary (No Grade Item)** 」 from his storage space. This was an item Su Xiao had obtained from the chest dropped after killing the Scraping Technician, Loshi.
Opening the diary, Su Xiao only looked at the contents of the first few pages. These were the low-tier magic-type abilities recorded by Loshi when he first became a Spellcaster.
Su Xiao wasn't very satisfied with the first few magic-type abilities, until he saw a particularly classic one. This magic-type ability was called Great Fireball.
The Great Fireball ability from Arcane Eternal Star. Upon release, the fireball had a diameter of 1 meter. It didn't fly in a straight line but had a certain tracking ability. However, calling it tracking was generous; it could only slightly curve its trajectory, at most drawing an arc like a kicked soccer ball.
As one of the most classic abilities in the magic system, Arcane Eternal Star had modified the Great Fireball more than once or twice, mainly to make it simple, brutal, powerful, and fast-flying, improving the survival rate of novice Spellcasters in the field.
The arrogance and high threshold of the magic system? There was no such thing. Arcane Eternal Star also adhered to absolute pragmatism. Their fierce battles with the Law Destroyers back in the day weren't fought for nothing.
Su Xiao beckoned to Pig One, who looked the smartest, and gestured for him to sit on the sofa beside him. Pig One was extremely nervous, sitting on pins and needles.
"Can you understand this?"
Su Xiao pointed to the magic array pattern in the notes. Pig One leaned in, squinted, and stared at it for a long time. He scratched the bristles on his head in confusion. He didn't feel anything else, just hungry. He hadn't eaten since returning, and the food at the fortress was delicious.
"..."
Su Xiao waved his hand, signaling Pig One to step aside. Pig One sighed with relief and quickly went to stand in a row with his four brothers.
From Pig One's performance just now, it was clear that the five Boar Men brothers had spellcasting talent but lacked the aptitude to master magic-type abilities.
Not to mention elementary school; the Pig Head Men hadn't even attended kindergarten. They were all illiterate. On this basis, the probability of them understanding magic array patterns was too low.
Su Xiao hesitated, wondering whether to give up on the talent of the five Boar Men brothers. But then, he thought of a solution.
Entering the Alchemy Laboratory, Su Xiao studied the Great Fireball array diagram for a long time, mentally constructing the flow of its magic patterns.
In principle, the magic patterns inside a novice Spellcaster weren't much different from a particularly advanced circuit board. It was only as the Spellcaster's strength gradually increased that the internal magic patterns would become complex enough to surpass the scope of scientific understanding.
Since magic patterns were just conduction pathways that caused qualitative changes in mana and elemental properties, could he use the conduction paths of an alchemical array diagram as a substitute? It was impossible for mid-to-high-tier magic-type abilities, but low-tier ones were worth experimenting with.
Su Xiao's understanding was that constructing an array diagram path on an inanimate object that was identical to the operating magic patterns of the Great Fireball wasn't actually difficult. The difficulty lay in the carrier needing to have absurdly strong energy conductivity and a multi-adaptive energy that could resonate.
Black Maple Tree branches + Soul Crystal (Complete) – this was absolutely feasible. One of the values of Black Maple Tree yield was its absurdly strong energy conductivity. This was essentially the superconductor of supernatural items. Of course, Black Maple Tree had other uses; superconductivity was just one of its properties.
Su Xiao took out a Black Maple Tree branch about 1 meter long. The branch was relatively straight. He also took out a Soul Crystal (Complete).
Half an hour later, on the open ground in front of the fortress, Pig One held a "staff" in his hand. He probably never dreamed in his wildest fantasies how expensive this staff was.
The staff was about 1.3 meters long overall, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. Held by the five Boar Men brothers, whose average height ranged from 2.3 to 1.4 meters, it presented a different style for each.
The withered wood wrapped around the outside of the staff was very sturdy. Its purpose was to protect the Black Maple Tree branch inside and to disguise it, preventing outsiders from discovering that the staff was made from a Black Maple Tree branch. At the tip of the staff was a Soul Crystal (Complete) the size of a fist, which acted as an "igniter," allowing the Great Fireball to be cast more smoothly.
Pig One pointed the staff forward. He exerted force throughout his body, the bristles on his head almost standing on end. A large fireball condensed at the tip of the staff and was then launched.
The moment this fireball shot out less than a meter, a second fireball began to form. It was the Spell Resonance ability of the five Boar Men brothers. The lower the tier of the magic-type ability used, the easier it was to trigger, and the more times multi-casting could occur.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Including the first fireball at the front, a total of five fireballs shot out in a line. The next second, they slammed into the mountain face opposite, exploding violently. Flaming broken stones flew everywhere.
The power of these fireballs was very satisfactory. First, there was the damage bonus from the True Intelligence attribute of over 190 points. Second, there was the power boost from the Black Maple Tree branch + Soul Crystal. Finally, there was the sheer quantity.
If Pig One alone could achieve this level of power with his five fireballs, then if his other four brothers each had a staff like this, they would form a fireball machine gun squad.