Chapter 69: Starting the Operation
Sunlight shone into the main command room, not from a window, but from the floating "Sun Ring" above.
The friendly Wild Boar Warriors and Dwarf Boar People all worshipped the sun. Following the previous "Tufu Incident," the Wild Boar Warriors had developed a deep impression of the "Sun Ring," regarding it as the representative shape of the sun. The resulting faith power had all gathered within the Sun Ring.
Su Xiao looked at the Sun Ring floating above. A massive amount of faith power had already accumulated inside, far more than expected.
After developing the Sun Faction for a period, he discovered a characteristic of Sun Faith Power: when Wild Boar Warriors were on the verge of death, they generated a massive surge of faith power. The specific reason for this remained to be verified.
It was precisely because of this that the Sun Ring had stored such a quantity of Sun Faith Power.
The fierce battle from the latter half of last night to this morning had resulted in over 100,000 friendly Wild Boar Warriors dead or wounded. This number of casualties produced far more faith power than Su Xiao had originally anticipated.
Su Xiao spread his palm, and the floating Sun Ring descended, hovering above his hand. The Sun Ring was not large, with an inner diameter of about 5 centimeters. It looked thin and light overall, yet it could carry a sea of faith power.
Currently, the [Sun Lord] title was a Four-Star title. Su Xiao materialized the title, and a badge-like ornament appeared, slightly smaller than the Sun Ring.
Su Xiao attempted to use the faith power within the Sun Ring to upgrade the [Sun Lord] title. Under his control, the [Sun Lord] title floated up, and with a *ding*, it embedded itself into the Sun Ring. The edge was perfectly fitted by the ring, seamless, as if it were no coincidence.
Of course, it wasn't a coincidence. The purpose of creating the Sun Ring was precisely to upgrade the [Sun Lord] title.
[Yes/No to use the Sun Faith Power within the Sun Ring to upgrade Sun Lord (★★★★ Title).]
[Warning: Once this title is upgraded using Sun Faith Power, it can no longer be upgraded through title refinement. Consider carefully whether to upgrade this title through this method.]
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Two upgrade paths were available; there was no need to deliberate. As long as the Sun Faction continued to develop, the subsequent Sun Faith Power would be continuous and inexhaustible. Additionally, the Sun Church in the World of Paintings could also provide a certain amount of Sun Faith Power.
Although both types of faith power were generated by worshipping the sun, their specific characteristics differed. The faith power of the Wild Boar Warriors had the main core as the sun, with attributes of war, flame, beast, and purity attached.
The Sun Church's faith power was stronger in intensity, with the main core as the sun, and attributes of hunting, madness, fanaticism, and zealotry attached.
Neither type of Sun Faith Power was necessarily better. The main characteristic of both was the sun. Having more additional attributes was beneficial for the development of the [Sun Lord] title.
As it absorbed the Sun Faith Power, the information on the [Sun Lord] title became blurred. Su Xiao could no longer check the star rating of this title.
The [Sun Lord] title seemed to be sealed, firmly embedded in the Sun Ring, impossible to pry out. Consulting the Reincarnation Paradise through his brand mark, Su Xiao learned one thing: the [Sun Lord] title could not be easily pried out. It would only detach on its own after evolving to a certain degree.
What star rating it would need to evolve to before detaching on its own, Su Xiao was also unclear. Fortunately, he had no urgent need for the [Sun Lord] title at the moment.
This title was useful in worlds where he couldn't develop a legion-style force but could recruit elite units. As long as the number of elite units exceeded 100, this title was perfect for dealing with traitors. Low loyalty? No problem. Once they joined, they would all praise the sun together, ensuring no rebellious intentions.
Su Xiao picked up the communicator and contacted the slave trader, Azba. From the laughter and chatter on the other end, Azba was definitely taking the Five Wild Boar Brothers to visit brothels.
They hadn't forgotten the main business. Su Xiao's methods had always been a mix of kindness and severity. Once, the Five Wild Boar Brothers had forgotten their place, and the second, fourth, and fifth brothers were nearly whipped to death by Amu.
The human side had already taken over 140,000 sets of combat suits, offering a price of 8.5 kilograms of Living Ore per set, totaling 11,900 units of Living Ore.
This price was not low. On second thought, it was normal. The Sledgehammer Unit was one of the elite forces of the "Vassal Alliance." Although General Leitz had considerable conflicts with the Alliance officials, those officials still had some fear of him. Moreover, since they were about to fight in the Borderlands, the combat suits allocated to the Sledgehammer Unit were all top-grade.
Why did Su Xiao send the Five Wild Boar Brothers to the human side? He was worried that the amount of this transaction was too large, and the slave trader Azba might abscond with the funds.
This was highly possible. The integrity of a slave trader could not withstand too great a test. Having run a business in Free City for so many years, he gave it up without hesitation. So, if this guy absconded with the funds, it would be perfectly reasonable.
Even with this risk, he had to cooperate with the slave trader Azba. Other potential partners were either less trustworthy than Azba or lacked the capability.
If that bastard Caesar hadn't suddenly disappeared, the human side's business would definitely have been handled by him.
The Living Ore obtained from this transaction didn't need to be brought back. It would be used to purchase Pig-Headed People on the human side. Then, through the channel Caesar left behind, the Pig-Headed People would be transmitted batch by batch from Warehouse No. 3 on the human side to Warehouse No. 2 in the Borderlands.
Regarding Caesar's disappearance, Su Xiao had Baha investigate. There were no clues. Caesar's last known trace was in a small workshop in Free City, after which he vanished into thin air.
Given this bastard's abilities, Su Xiao absolutely did not believe he had just died. The worst news would be that he had withdrawn and returned to the Reincarnation Paradise.
Putting that aside for now, Su Xiao still had something to deal with. In this battle against the Sledgehammer Unit, besides killing enemies and collecting spoils, they had also captured 35,000 Vassal soldiers. The exact number was being tallied; 35,000 was an estimate, and these were all wounded.
Previously, when the Sledgehammer Unit retreated, the two sides were locked in melee combat. A hasty retreat would have resulted in heavy losses. The Vassal side formed a rearguard unit akin to a suicide squad. Coupled with the slow retreat of the wounded, these 35,000 Vassal soldiers realized they had no way out and voluntarily stayed behind to cover the retreat.
After being completely surrounded, the highest-ranking officer among them, a Vassal Major, ordered them to surrender. Regrettably, they failed to capture that Vassal Major alive. After giving the order, he slit his own throat, a man whose pride outweighed his life.
From the very beginning, Su Xiao knew the Vassal Alliance would be tough to deal with. That was why he had developed until now before engaging them for the first time, and only fought them after they took the initiative to attack the Borderlands.
Su Xiao had two choices for these 35,000 wounded Vassal soldiers: kill them all, or let the Vassal Alliance ransom them. Having them mine or something would be far less efficient than the Dwarf Boar People. Keeping them in the Sun Fortress was an unstable factor. Although they were wounded, they were still soldiers.
Killing them all would reduce the enemy's numbers, but it would bring no benefits, only drawbacks.
Once news of the Sun Fortress slaughtering prisoners reached the Vassal side, the Vassal soldiers would fight to the death without surrendering in subsequent battles. After all, death was certain either way, so they might as well fight and leave a heroic name.
Conversely, if the Sun Fortress did not kill prisoners, when the enemy was surrounded and facing a desperate situation, their resistance would inevitably weaken significantly. Because surrender did not mean death. As long as those big shots were willing to exchange resources for them, they could not only live but also return.
Soldiers with combat capability could not be released. As for the wounded or severely injured, having the other side ransom them was a very good choice. The severely injured had no combat capability, couldn't go to the battlefield for a short time, and would consume resources for treatment.
Who to contact was a problem. The person needed to have a high say in the Vassal Alliance and not be a bureaucrat.
Those bureaucrats would not be in a hurry to ransom these soldiers who had fought desperately. They would delay as much as possible, dragging the wounded from severe injuries to death. That was the result they most wanted to see. Then they could say it wasn't that they didn't want to save them, but that the enemy was deliberately stalling.
General Leitz was ruled out first. Su Xiao needed to find someone with a high status who was also part of the Alliance's military. A name came to his mind: He Kangdiwei, more commonly known as the Alliance's Lone Wolf. He was only one step away from becoming the "Alliance Leader," standing at the pinnacle of power in the Vassal Alliance.
After narrowly losing to the current Alliance Leader, Toyin, He Kangdiwei was now the second-in-command of the Vassal Alliance, holding the position of Alliance Marshal.
It wasn't that Alliance Leader Toyin didn't want to eliminate this former rival; he had no opportunity. If He Kangdiwei fell, no one knew what would happen to the Vassal Alliance's military. As long as the human threat remained, Alliance Leader Toyin would not dare to act rashly.
Alliance Marshal He Kangdiwei and Alliance Leader Toyin were two different factions. The former was the head of the military, while the latter was supported by the officials, firmly holding the reins of resources, finance, and so on.
Contacting Alliance Leader Toyin was out of the question; there was no need to even try. On the other hand, if Alliance Marshal He Kangdiwei was unwilling to be forever trampled underfoot and remain the eternal second-in-command, this was his chance to turn things around.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking this, the communicator on the table rang. He picked it up, and Caesar's voice came through.
"My dear friend, Caesar is back."
On Caesar's end, there was the sound of noisy voices, but they were far away. He seemed to be in a room alone, with many people outside.
"After I started the war with the Vassal side, did your Quartermaster ability activate?"
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini all gathered around. Beini jumped onto Su Xiao's shoulder, listening intently. Bubu Wang looked at Su Xiao's other shoulder, estimated that jumping up with his size would get him beaten, and leaned against Su Xiao's leg.
"That's right, I became a Quartermaster. A person as honest, trustworthy, simple, and hardworking as me becoming a Quartermaster is only natural."
Caesar's sly laughter had nothing to do with the words he was saying.
"Among the three Vassal factions, which one did you become the Quartermaster for?"
Hearing Su Xiao's question, Caesar on the communicator paused for a moment, then said, "I became... the Quartermaster of the Vassal Alliance."
Caesar began to elaborate on his plan. Although he was now the Quartermaster of the Vassal Alliance, he couldn't act recklessly. Absconding with the funds was absolutely out of the question. The Vassal Alliance was such a powerful force; the difficulty of absconding with the funds was too great.
Who was Caesar? Even a mouse that entered his house would be thrown into a hamster wheel to run and generate electricity. Please, don't laugh. Caesar had actually invented this thing. A rat weighing one and a half jin, when it left his house, would be lucky to weigh half a jin.
Last time in the World of Paintings, when Baha saw that mouse running in the hamster wheel to generate electricity, he thought it was Caesar's pet. After learning the truth, Baha carefully observed the mouse and exclaimed, "Holy shit! This mouse is crying from running, come and see!"
Plucking feathers from a passing goose, leaving electricity from a passing mouse—that was Caesar's style. Now that he had become the Quartermaster of the Vassal Alliance, how could he not operate a bit?
Caesar's plan was that he couldn't easily expose himself. He needed a contractor to cooperate with him, to farm faction reputation in the Vassal Alliance.
Su Xiao immediately thought of catching either Molei or Yueshitu. Caesar refused, on the grounds that Molei and Yueshitu had seen him before, which might bring unnecessary risks.
The contractor responsible for farming faction reputation and then frantically exchanging items at the Quartermaster's office needed to be a fresh face, with no previous violations, a contractor with a good reputation.
Not going to Molei was because she was a Battle Angel. Not only did she have high brand mark reputation, but she also had a high authority level.
Caesar speculated that Molei and Yueshitu were likely key training targets of the Apocalypse Paradise. The reason was that in the previous world's god-tier lineup, they had both successfully obtained the Beast Heart.
As the Quartermaster on the Vassal side, Caesar couldn't easily kidnap a contractor. Moreover, his specialty was not combat. If he didn't use underhanded methods, Caesar's combat power was inferior to Bubu Wang's, while his survivability was a mystery.
Su Xiao was responsible for catching an enemy contractor who had already joined the Vassal Alliance. First, beat them into submission → physical negotiation → sign a contract, a full-service package.
Then it was Caesar's turn to shine. He would make that contractor gain reputation at an astonishing rate, but this required Su Xiao's cooperation.
For example, Caesar would issue a mission to infiltrate the enemy camp. The target was to enter the main command room of the Sun Fortress, find the secret door inside, then sneak into the Alchemy Laboratory and steal confidential information.
As the current hostile force of the Vassal Alliance, calling the Sun Fortress a dragon's den and a tiger's lair was no exaggeration. Several Eighth Rank Assassination-type contractors had tried to infiltrate and sabotage it, all dying on the spot.
They couldn't even enter the first floor of the fortress, let alone reach the top floor where the Sun Lord, Kukulin Bai Ye, was stationed. To make matters worse, they had to find the secret door in the main command room and enter the Alchemy Laboratory.
In the Void Tree's faction judgment, the difficulty of this mission would undoubtedly be sky-high. After Caesar issued this mission, given his flashy style, he would definitely max out the reputation reward for this mission.
Was this mission difficult? The answer was, of course, yes. But what if the person executing this mission was someone sent by Su Xiao to Caesar?
When the other party sneaked in, Su Xiao would be "just" taking a nap, Bubu Wang would have a "cold," Baha would be in shock due to "keratitis," Amu would have a "stroke," and Beini would discover the enemy, put up a fierce resistance, but be overpowered.
At that point, a nightmare-level difficulty mission would become a dream-level difficulty mission.
Once enough reputation was gained, they could go loot... ahem, they could go stock up at the Vassal Alliance.
This was the benefit of Caesar being a Quartermaster on the enemy side while Su Xiao was the leader on his own side. The combination of these two identities allowed for a lot of operational leeway.