Chapter 38: Are You Sure This Is a Mobile Fortress?
“Master, Molei’s father is so strong. Look at him, then look at you.”
Xianlulu looked at Su Xiao with an expression of disappointment. Although she had discovered that her compatibility with Su Xiao was very high, she would not betray Yueshitu. When she was weak, Yueshitu had taken meticulous care of her, never forgetting to share any good food.
Su Xiao locked eyes with Yueshitu. The moment their gazes met, Yueshitu, who hadn’t recognized Su Xiao before, froze in place. This gaze was somewhat familiar to her. In many recent nightmares, the owner of this gaze had been the source of terror.
Since she hadn’t directly fought Su Xiao, Yueshitu only had a vague suspicion in her heart and couldn’t be certain. Besides, Molei hadn’t mentioned this to her—not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t.
Currently, Su Xiao was under multiple layers of disguise, including his mark and aura. Without directly fighting him, it was absolutely impossible to see through him at a glance, not even for an acquaintance.
This was also the difference between the Paradise and a contractor. The Paradise wouldn’t make guesses; it was very clear-cut with yes or no. Contractors, as rational beings, would speculate.
“Xianlulu, hurry… hurry down.”
Although the enemy had been slain, Yueshitu fell into even greater fear. In the previous world, she had interacted with Su Xiao more than Molei had. In the Sand World, the people Su Xiao hired had caught her and brought her to the Sun Church three times.
Those people would catch her, then Su Xiao would let her go, then catch her again, then let her go again. During that time, Yueshitu felt like she was being toyed with. Was she a Pokémon? Catch and release, release and catch again.
“Master, what are you afraid of? Didn’t Molei say this is a powerful ally?”
Xianlulu looked at Yueshitu in confusion. When she noticed Yueshitu’s face turning pale, she realized something was wrong.
Xianlulu immediately canceled her attachment state. Just as she was about to move away from Su Xiao, he grabbed her.
Su Xiao examined the little cat in his hand, estimating whether this thing could be sealed away through contracts or similar means and brought out during battle.
Under Su Xiao’s scrutiny, Xianlulu felt a chill run through her body and began to tremble involuntarily.
“I don’t taste good, and I have little meat. Don’t eat me.”
“Boss, how about we have dragon-tiger fight for dinner tonight?”
Baha landed on Su Xiao’s shoulder and spoke. Xianlulu had obviously heard of what dragon-tiger fight was and cast a pleading look at Yueshitu.
“I’ll pay 5,000 Soul Coins. Let her go now!”
Yueshitu said the most cowardly words in the toughest tone.
[You have received a trade request.]
[You have obtained 5,000 Soul Coins.]
...
These 5,000 Soul Coins weren’t for releasing Xianlulu, but rather a reward. Su Xiao had killed a Guardian from the Watchful Paradise, and Yueshitu offered 5,000 Soul Coins as thanks.
Su Xiao released Xianlulu, who quickly floated back to Yueshitu’s side and hid in the hood of her pajamas.
The journey was silent. Su Xiao led Yueshitu and her summons back to the base camp fortress.
Upon entering the Doomsday Fortress, Yueshitu’s eyes grew brighter. She had clearly taken a liking to this place. Such a sanctuary for survival suited her perfectly.
A moment later, in the top-floor command room of the fortress, Su Xiao sat on the right-side sofa, while Molei and Yueshitu sat on the opposite sofa. The three sat facing each other.
“The specific plan is like this. Do you want to join, Yueshitu?”
Molei described the plan to Yueshitu: first develop, then go to war with the contractors from the Holy Light Paradise and the Watchful Paradise.
“Of course I’ll join. This isn’t a multiple-choice question.”
Yueshitu sipped Maple Tea, as if all the fatigue from the journey had dissipated. She was somewhat amazed by the tea-drinking experience and the unique flavor of the tea. As a black tea fan, she was leaning toward Maple Tea.
“Then sign it.”
Molei produced a contract. Yueshitu saw that it was a contract drafted by Molei, glanced over it, and signed it.
[You have obtained 40,000 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao had barely gained any profit before. The pressure from this mission was high, and he had been focused on developing his forces. As the saying goes, three years without business, and then business brings a fortune—that was the current situation.
With a large sum of Soul Coins in hand, Su Xiao was in a good mood. He asked, “Do you two need Battle Merits?”
“Of course we do.”
“Battle Merits can’t be traded.”
Just as Molei and Yueshitu finished speaking, each received 1 Battle Merit. Both were momentarily stunned.
“You and that guy named Kaisa must both be Violators. Everything you do is… unpredictable.”
As a former Battle Angel, Yueshitu had begun to doubt whether Su Xiao’s identity as a Hunter was genuine.
Why was she a former Battle Angel? Actually, Yueshitu used to be called the strongest Battle Angel of the seventh rank. But later, because she was too much of a homebody, by the time she developed and went to deal with Violators, it was already too late. That’s why she became a former Battle Angel.
Soon, Su Xiao, Molei, and Yueshitu agreed on the price for Battle Merits: 10 Battle Merits for one Soul Crystal (Complete).
The Apocalypse Paradise Battle Merits, which were useless to Su Xiao, would bring huge profits to Molei and Yueshitu. Meanwhile, Su Xiao could obtain the Soul Crystals (Complete) he needed. To raise his Blood Spear Grandmaster skill, he would need to consume many Soul Crystals (Complete).
Apart from this, there was also the issue of having Yueshitu’s moon-type summons mine underground.
The Doomsday Fortress had been upgraded to a T3-level fortress. With enough Living Ore rough blocks, it could convert 10,000 points of Living Energy per day, equivalent to 100 units of Living Ore.
The 2,638 Pigman miners weren’t enough to dig up that many Living Ore rough blocks. With Yueshitu’s moon-type summons, it would be different.
Excluding the summons lost in the previous battle, Yueshitu still had over 32,000 summons. She would gradually summon the remaining moon-type summons.
Su Xiao wasn’t worried about Yueshitu rebelling with these summons. That was impossible. Yueshitu was only strong with her swarm tactics when she was hidden. She herself was the biggest weakness of this powerful summoning technique.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to improve or pursue strength, but she couldn’t. Nothing was perfect. Her inability to become too powerful was the price she paid when she signed that master-servant contract.
Yueshitu had no objection to having her summons mine. She made one request: working was fine, but they had to be fed. Moon-type summons also had dignity and wouldn’t accept being exploited for free.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn’t refuse this request. The Pigmen’s cafeteria could be expanded at any time, and there was already a stable supply channel for ingredients.
After the negotiations, Yueshitu and Molei went to set up their own territory. When they descended into the mine shaft, Yueshitu released numerous moon-type summons. Under her command, these summons found a mine tunnel and began digging diagonally downward.
Yueshitu planned to open a spacious underground space at a depth of about 100 meters. While staying there, she would also summon more moon-type summons.
After observing the main mine tunnel for a while, Su Xiao took the elevator. Since he was cooperating with Yueshitu and Molei now, there was no need to keep a constant watch. The two had just paid 40,000 Soul Coins; even if he asked them to leave now, they wouldn’t. The loss would be too great.
Su Xiao went up to the second floor of the fortress and checked the time. It had been over three hours since the 500 Pigmen entered the [Evolution Nest]. They were about to complete their evolution.
After waiting for over ten minutes, Su Xiao saw the dozen entrances of the [Evolution Nest] open. A figure wearing only tattered shorts walked out of the Evolution Nest. Its first few steps were unsteady, but after a few more steps, it became much more natural.
This figure was about 2.5 meters tall and very muscular. Its head resembled a wild boar’s but was somewhat anthropomorphic. It had tusks, and black bristles grew on its head, the back of its head, and its spine. Its skin was rough but tough.
Compared to the previous Pigmen, the gaze and aura of this Wild Boar Warrior had undergone a qualitative change. It retained its rationality but had gained aggression. It was no longer submissive and content with mere survival. This was the influence of the insect race genes. Su Xiao checked its information.
Name: None
Category: Wild Boar Warrior
Health: 100%
Strength: 182 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
Agility: 165 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
Endurance: 195 (True Attribute, boosted by War Lord.)
Intelligence: 57
Charm: 1 (Originally 3, dropped to 1 due to commander’s influence.)
Skill 1, Tempered and Refined (Passive, LV.63): Health +4,600 points, Physical Defense +10 points. For every 3% health lost, increases health recovery rate by 1 point per second.
Tip: This ability can stack up to an additional 14 health points per second (i.e., 840 health points per minute).
Tip: Prolonged activation of this skill will deplete body cell energy and life force.
Skill 2, Combat Instinct (Passive, X): This ability comes from the Insect Race·Demon Beast. The instinct for combat is engraved in the Wild Boar Warrior’s genes. In chaotic battles, they can quickly learn how to fight.
Tip: This ability has increased Willpower by 25 points.
Skill 3, Thick Skin (Passive, Lv.65): Although Wild Boar Warriors did not gain the carapace of the Demon Beast, they have tougher skin, muscles, and bones. Physical Defense rank +1.
Skill 4, Bloody Battle (Title-Type·Passive): Not activated.
Skill 5, Soul-Burning Power (Title-Type·Passive): Not activated.
...
Seeing these base attributes and abilities, Su Xiao knew that the Wild Boar Warriors evolved through the [Evolution Nest] could be thrown directly into battle.
Not to mention the increase in physical attributes, with [Combat Instinct (Passive, X)], the Wild Boar Warriors had undergone a qualitative change. Through the genetic memory of the Demon Beast, they had gained the instinct to fight. Although their development direction had deviated from the “human” path and moved further toward the “beast,” it had exchanged for combat power.
According to the normal upgrade path, Pigmen were basic units, or Tier 1 units. Next were Wild Boar Men (Tier 2 units), and another upgrade would make them Wild Boar Warriors (Tier 3 units).
With the Evolution Nest, Pigmen could leapfrog to become Wild Boar Warriors. This meant that the 3,655 Wild Boar Men (Tier 2 units) in the fortress could also undergo evolution in the Evolution Nest to transform into Wild Boar Warriors, a Tier 3 unit.
A total of 500 Pigmen entered the Evolution Nest. 51 failed the evolution and died, absorbed by the Evolution Nest. 402 Pigmen transformed into Wild Boar Warriors. The remaining 47 Pigmen transformed into Dwarf Pigmen.
These Dwarf Pigmen were about 1.6 meters tall. Compared to their previous height of 2.3 to 2.5 meters, their height had suffered a dimensional reduction.
These Dwarf Pigmen were very stout. Their evolution wasn’t for combat power but for enhanced endurance and mining ability.
The mining efficiency of Dwarf Pigmen was at least three times that of Pigman laborers. With this efficiency, Su Xiao decided to have all 2,638 Pigman laborers undergo evolution in the Evolution Nest once.
When 500 Pigmen entered the Evolution Nest, there was about a 10% mortality rate, 10% evolved into Dwarf Pigmen, and 80% evolved into Wild Boar Warriors.
Compared to the previous rate of 1 to 3 warriors per 100 Pigmen, now, with the power of the Insect Race genes, about 80 out of 100 Pigmen could transform into warriors. With this ratio, rapid development could begin.
Even more gratifying was that the Evolution Nest would grow along with the fortress’s level upgrades.
When the fortress advanced to T2 or T1 level, the Evolution Nest might be able to produce Tier 4 units stronger than Wild Boar Warriors. When the fortress evolved to T0 level, Tier 5 units might not be out of the question.
Su Xiao realized that the fortress had started a snowball effect. First, the fortress only needed Living Energy to level up. After the fortress upgraded, the capacity and performance of the Evolution Nest would also improve.
A higher-level Evolution Nest could produce more Wild Boar Warriors (Tier 3 units) and Dwarf Pigmen (underground miners). As the population increased, the daily output of Living Ore would also increase.
With more Living Ore, the fortress could continue to be upgraded. Then, using the insect race genes, more advanced unit evolution paths could be unlocked, achieving Tier 4 units and the peak Tier 5 units.
Having developed to this point, Su Xiao decided to start mass-producing troops.
PS: (Three chapters, ten thousand words. My body has recovered a bit, so I tried to write more. The number of chapters hasn’t increased, but the word count has.)