Chapter 62: These Thieves Are Too Arrogant
The title [Apocalypse] was obtained, and Su Xiao examined its attributes. He found that the title had only one effect: when worn while fighting a contractor from the Apocalypse Paradise, it would enter a [Sealed Domain].
Su Xiao understood what this meant. It all started with the brand contained within this title.
This brand was originally a disguise brand, later upgraded to a Battle Angel (Reserve) brand. However, after that, Su Xiao's identity as an invader was exposed. The Apocalypse Paradise would inevitably mark this title, labeling it as a 'blacklisted household.'
If Su Xiao used this 'blacklisted' brand as is, he would immediately be detected by the Apocalypse Paradise, with severe consequences.
The current situation was that this 'blacklisted' brand was sealed within the title. After Su Xiao equipped this title, if he fought a contractor from the Apocalypse Paradise, he could use the title to generate a [Sealed Domain], pulling that Apocalypse Paradise contractor inside.
The [Sealed Domain] was certified and dominated by the Reincarnation Paradise. There, Su Xiao would kill that Apocalypse Paradise contractor. The title [Apocalypse] he wore would strip the enemy's brand, merge it with the 'blacklisted' brand inside the title, and thus seize the enemy's 'legal' ID number, identity information, etc.
This way, when using the title [Apocalypse] for identity disguise in the future, the chance of exposure would be lower.
As for where to find Apocalypse Paradise contractors, there was no need to worry. Among the 600-plus contractors over there, if a very confident assassination-type came to kill him, he could pull them into the [Sealed Domain].
Su Xiao contacted Kaisa. After some conversation, he learned that after the war zone was sealed, that bastard Kaisa had astonishingly disguised himself as an Arbiter from the Apocalypse Paradise.
That guy wasn't doing this for the first time. Baoshu, Laihama, and Kaisa were collectively known as the Three Scoundrels of Arbiters, a reputation not earned lightly.
What surprised Su Xiao was that during his impersonation of an Arbiter, Kaisa had met an Arbiter from the Apocalypse Paradise. This young man was exceptionally righteous. According to him, he was once the protagonist of a certain anime series, meaning the main character of a derivative world.
The content of that anime series, summarized, was basically: In Episode 1, the protagonist's mother died in childbirth; Episode 2, his sister died protecting him; Episode 3, his father died from an enemy's pursuit; Episode 4, his uncle who raised him for years died; Episode 5, his master died.
As for Episode 6, it never progressed to that content. The protagonist of that derivative world had already transcended due to interference from Apocalypse Paradise contractors.
Full of righteousness, he learned he was once a paper character and that all his misfortunes were drawn. At great cost, he temporarily left the Apocalypse Paradise, came to the real world connected to the Apocalypse Paradise, and 'Episode 6' content was him causing the death of that manga's author.
Because the World War was halfway through, the restrictions on the war zone were lifted. The Arbiters from the Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Watchful Paradise were all stranded in this world. They were a bit confused, not knowing what to do next.
These stranded Arbiters might be used for something big, but buying a large batch of Pig-Heads was more critical at the moment.
During these three days, the slave merchant Azba had contacted Kaisa more than once, asking why the daily trade channel of tens of thousands of Pig-Heads had suddenly stopped. He probed indirectly, testing if the channel had issues.
Kaisa's reply was that indeed there were channel issues. The price negotiations with the human side had broken down. Both sides were holding their ground, seeing who could outlast the other.
Hearing this news, the slave merchant Azba grew anxious. The daily trade of tens of thousands of Pig-Heads made Kaisa his biggest customer.
Kaisa's suggestion was for the slave merchant Azba to stockpile a batch of Pig-Heads first. Once the channel's price was renegotiated, there would be an explosive surge in supply and demand.
Most of Kaisa's excuses were nonsense, but one thing was true: after the war zone blockade was lifted, Su Xiao indeed needed to buy a large batch of Pig-Heads.
"Meow."
Beini jumped from Su Xiao's lap onto the coffee table, signaling Baha, Bubu Wang, and herself to follow. For this Pig-Head purchase, she would go with Kaisa.
Soon, Beini left the fortress, passed through Warehouse 2 to Warehouse 1, and headed to Freedom City to meet up with Kaisa.
Su Xiao went to the second floor of the fortress. The Evolution Nest had shifted from its previous black-green color to a dim gold, with faint sparks floating upward.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew it was time. He took out a glass tube, pressed it into the slot of an injection gun, and manipulated the Evolution Nest to open, revealing a heart-like core.
Thump, thump~
A 3-meter-tall dark gold heart was beating. This was the core of the Evolution Nest. Su Xiao stabbed the injection gun into it, injecting [Sunbird Source Blood] into the Evolution Nest's core.
For the first few seconds after the injection, there was no reaction. Suddenly, the golden sparks floating on the Evolution Nest became dense.
The Evolution Nest's reaction seemed significant, but the released fluctuations remained stable. This was expected. As early as two days ago, Su Xiao could have injected a large amount of [Sunbird Source Blood] into the Evolution Nest. But for stability, he did it in several batches. This time was the largest injection of [Sunbird Source Blood].
The Evolution Nest closed up. Nearly two hours later, it showed signs of opening again. Su Xiao received a notification about the Evolution Nest.
[Notification: The Evolution Nest has mutated a new branch organ: Solar Force Storage Sac.]
[The Evolution Nest has gained a new trait: Solar Force Grant.]
[Solar Force Grant: Can grant Solar Force to soldier-type units that believe in the sun, allowing them to permanently master this body energy. Initial Solar Force is 3100/3100 points. The granted unit's fire resistance, willpower, light resistance, max health, and body defense are all improved.]
[Pig Warriors can consume the Solar Force within their bodies (this is body energy) to imbue their weapons with the [Blazing Fury] effect. If a Pig Warrior uses a blade-type weapon, the [Blazing Fury] effect adds fire damage. If a Pig Warrior uses a heavy weapon, such as a warhammer or battle axe, the [Blazing Fury] effect, when attacking, will have explosive flame and fire explosion properties, causing area damage and knockback effects.]
[Notification: This ability has a cooldown of 180 seconds.]
[Heavy Tanks can consume the Solar Force within their bodies to imbue themselves with the [Blaze] effect. When charging with their head horns, they cause a highly impactful flame explosion.]
[Notification: The Solar Force of Pig Warriors and Heavy Tanks can be restored through rest, or by basking in sufficiently strong sunlight to speed up recovery.]
……
Su Xiao closed the notification. The new ability of the Pig Warriors was simple. After gaining Solar Force in their bodies, if they used heavy weapons like warhammers or battle axes, they could channel the Solar Force into their weapons, causing a fierce fire explosion on the next attack.
The power of this ability was unclear, but the cooldown was 3 minutes. A Pig Warrior could use it 2 to 3 times in a battle.
With the War Lord's [All Ability Level Boost Lv.10] bonus, the Solar Force in a Pig Warrior's body could be increased to allow 3 to 5 uses of [Blazing Fury] per battle.
One or two Pig Warriors having this ability meant nothing. But if all of them had it, and warhammers imbued with [Blazing Fury] were swung around, the enemy's psychological shadow area would be enormous.
……
In the sea ice city of [Luoyashi], inside an underground wine cellar, the light of a teleportation array flickered, and several figures appeared. They were Sacred Hymn, Orlando, Guangmu, the Tian Gui brothers, Xiao Pei, and others.
"Guangmu, this crushing defeat isn't just your problem. We all share the responsibility."
The younger brother of the Tian Gui brothers, Gui Tong, spoke. This punk with a pompadour hairstyle was rarely not being sinister for once.
Hearing his words, the others looked at Guangmu, finding her face pale and worried.
Seeing this, Xiao Pei, who was eating chocolate, hid his hands behind his back. His thought was: 'She lost a round and is so self-blaming, yet I lost and still think about eating. How shameful.'
"Gui Tong is right. We all share the responsibility for this loss. Don't blame yourself alone."
Sacred Hymn spoke, her voice gentle.
"?"
Guangmu was a bit confused, then let out a 'bitter smile,' indicating she understood the others' goodwill.
Was Guangmu blaming herself? She was blaming herself for nothing. She was worried that if the others found out there was a traitor among them, how they would deal with her, and whether running away now would incur punishment from the Holy Light Paradise.
Just then, Sacred Hymn said:
"Our faction choice this time had a significant mistake. The Apocalypse Paradise chose the Vassal Alliance. At this stage, they have the most advantage. The Vassal Alliance is aggressive enough. Orlando, your choice of the Aurora Council is too conservative. Even if you go notify their higher-ups now, they won't react immediately."
Hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.
"What's your plan?"
Orlando spoke while picking up a bottle of wine, pulling out the cork, and drinking half to quench his thirst.
"We've been in this world for a very short time. The higher-ups of the three major Vassal factions won't fully trust us. Since that's the case, let's blow this up. We can't rely solely on the Apocalypse Paradise to contact the Vassal Alliance. They... they have too many variables."
"Blow it up? Before the Watchtower, Vassal Alliance, and Aurora Council nod, no one dares to blow this up."
Orlando rejected Sacred Hymn's suggestion.
"One side dares. We're in Luoyashi, the judicial city of the Tribunal."
Sacred Hymn's words made Orlando show a look of understanding. If they used the Tribunal to blow this up, it would be like putting the three major Vassal factions—Watchtower, Vassal Alliance, and Aurora Council—on a hot stove. Those three sides would have to react immediately, instead of passing the buck on who strikes first.
After settling this, Sacred Hymn and the others left the wine cellar and headed straight for the Tribunal in the central district.
An hour later, on the 12th floor of the Tribunal, in an imposing, spacious office, Sacred Hymn, Orlando, Xiao Pei, and others were seated, all with serious expressions.
Across a nearly 2-meter-wide desk sat a Vassal dressed in judge's attire, wearing rimless glasses. The right side of his neck was bluish, with a faint metallic texture. He was flipping through several documents in his hands.
"Everyone, I hear you have urgent matters? Today, the Chief Justice is unwell. If the situation is indeed urgent, I will relay it to him."
The Vassal judge put down the documents and looked at the people opposite him. The smile on his face gave a warm, spring-like feeling.
"The situation is like this..."
Sacred Hymn roughly narrated the situation to the Vassal judge. These matters would not be secrets later; the wider they spread now, the better.
"The border region... over a hundred thousand Pig-Heads mutated... an unregistered fortress... meaning this is a dangerous new force?"
"Exactly."
"The matter is indeed serious. Please wait a moment. I'll go find the Chief Justice immediately." The Vassal judge walked to the door, stopped, and said, "Everyone, this matter has far-reaching implications. Please wait. During this time, do not leave."
"Alright."
Sacred Hymn finished speaking and began to rest with her eyes closed.
The door closed. In the corridor, the Vassal judge took out a dagger and, without hesitation, cut a bloody gash on his own chest. Then, with a terrified expression, he shouted:
"Murder!!! Help!!!"
After shouting this, the Vassal judge, Li Xiniwei, fell unconscious. His voice was so loud that most people in the Tribunal heard it.
Sacred Hymn, Orlando, and the others rushed out of the room. In the corridor, they saw Li Xiniwei lying in a pool of blood, and on both sides of the corridor, rows of Enforcement Guards. None of these Enforcement Guards had weak auras.
Orlando's cheek twitched violently. He said sincerely, "Everyone, let me explain. The border region..."
"It's them! Save me!! Their target is Lord Fowo! Go protect Lord Fowo!!"
Li Xiniwei, who had seemed on the verge of death moments ago, suddenly regained strength, pointed at Orlando, and conveniently pinned the charge of attempting to assassinate the Chief Justice, Fowo, onto Orlando. This shit-slinging was done with practiced skill.
Not only that, but Li Xiniwei also took the opportunity to step up. He was lying in a pool of blood, yet still remembered to have people protect the Chief Justice, Fowo. If Fowo found out, he would surely think: 'This lackey is just like me in my youth, worth grooming. There's a successor.'
Seeing this, the Enforcement Guards' eyes turned red. Their thought was: These thieves are too arrogant! Not only did they infiltrate the Tribunal headquarters, but they also dared to assassinate Mr. Li Xiniwei and attempt to assassinate the Tribunal's highest authority. If they didn't fight for their lives today, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing their jobs.
A series of explosions cut off Orlando's unfinished words.
Ten-plus seconds later.
Boom!
Orlando was blasted backward out of the Tribunal building, flying in a diagonal line and crashing into a building below.
Sitting amidst broken concrete, Orlando rolled his neck. But the next second, a strong sense of crisis appeared. Something had locked onto him. It was, a heavy cannon-level weapon.