Chapter 95: Be Magnanimous?
Before the steel city's main gate, the grand metal doors were wide open, and the wild boar cavalry were exiting the city in succession from the main gate and the four side gates on either side.
This morning's attack target was the Watchtower's "Freedom City." Steel City and Freedom City were not far apart, so there was no need to bring the Sun Fortress along; leaving it beside Steel City to continue converting Sun Citizens would suffice.
After Su Xiao negotiated with He·Kangdiwei last night, he exchanged 100,000 vassal soldiers for 700,000 pig-headed people. This batch of pig-headed people was sent overnight from "Freedom City."
The exact number of pig-headed people within the vassal territory was a difficult figure to calculate. The official number was no more than 6 million, but in reality, the number of pig-headed people in the vassal territory might have already reached a 1:1 ratio with the vassals themselves.
Why was this? Because the vassals were generally lazy. Calculating the time, the vassals had been oppressing the pig-headed people in this manner for at least two hundred years.
By now, a trend had formed in vassal culture: any vassal engaged in manual labor would be looked down upon, despised, and even bullied by others.
It was no wonder the vassals were like this. From birth, all of them associated physical labor with pig-headed people. Vassals had this impression from childhood—only pig-headed people did manual labor.
This created a labor shortage among the vassals. At the time, the vassal high-ranking officials had two choices: 1. Guide public opinion through newspapers, media, education, and other means to correct this misconception. The downside was that it would provoke public backlash.
The second option was to relax regulations on the pig-headed people's businesses and issue permits allowing them to engage in various industries.
The downside of this was that the pig-headed population would explode due to supply and demand.
With the foresight of the vassal high-ranking officials at the time, they intended to solve the problem with the first method, controlling the pig-headed population surge to prevent this group from turning the tables.
But at that time, the chaotic war with the human race was at its peak. War plus insufficient productivity made the vassal civilians' emotions like a powder keg.
Helpless, the vassal high-ranking officials at the time chose to amend the laws and issue multiple permits.
From then until now, the happiness levels of several generations of vassal civilians had been incredibly high, but everything had its consequences.
The evil fruit planted by the situation at that time now revealed a deadly point: there were too many pig-headed people in the vassal territory. These pig-headed people seemed unchanged, but once they reached the Sun Fortress, they could become warriors at the cost of a one-tenth mortality rate.
Since the first clash with the Sun Fortress, He·Kangdiwei had issued an order to immediately execute all pig-headed people in the territory.
At that time, the Sun Fortress had only shown it could contend with the vassal side but couldn't invade the vassal territory, only passively defend.
He·Kangdiwei's choice was both ruthless and correct, but as soon as the order was issued, it faced strong backlash. At that time, He·Kangdiwei was not the supreme leader of the vassal side but one of four power holders, and he was suppressed by Alliance Leader·Tuoyin.
After He·Kangdiwei and others were assassinated and Tuoyin died, He·Kangdiwei successfully took power, becoming the true leader. At that time, he issued another order to immediately execute all pig-headed people in the territory and shut down the "Life Factory."
This time, He·Kangdiwei failed again. He was defeated by a dozen capital families within the vassal side, some of which could be traced back to before the Great Cataclysm.
Even so, He·Kangdiwei didn't give up. After Steel City fell, he issued the order to execute all pig-headed people in the territory for the third time.
This time, Tuoyin was dead, and the dozen capital families were terrified by the Sun Legion's combat power, so they no longer dared to oppose. The purge had just begun when Su Xiao's contact came.
In reality, the vassal side hadn't executed 70,000 pig-headed people; they had slaughtered over 700,000 pig-headed people in a horrifying manner and speed. This was just the appetizer of the Purge Night.
Su Xiao's stance made He·Kangdiwei immediately stop the purge of pig-headed people. The reason was that Su Xiao's attitude was clear: if He·Kangdiwei cut off his source of troops, then when he attacked cities, there would be no concept of prisoners among vassal soldiers or civilians. The war direction would shift from defeating the vassals to exterminating them.
If someone from the human side had said this, He·Kangdiwei would have dismissed it as barking. But Su Xiao's past actions made He·Kangdiwei have no doubt that he could do such a thing. This was the advantage of being in the evil faction.
Dark clouds filled the sky. Standing on the dragon's back, Su Xiao looked down. After capturing Steel City yesterday and having a large number of Sun Citizens move in, the morale of his army had fundamentally changed.
Before, the wild boar knights were willing to fight because of the Sun faith and the good food.
With Steel City as a rear base, the wild boar knights clearly felt a sense of belonging there.
This was a good boost. Su Xiao only cared about defeating the enemy; why the wild boar knights fought didn't matter much to him, as long as they followed orders.
A dragon roar pierced the sky. After a rapid march, Su Xiao saw Freedom City in the distance.
Although Freedom City was also a T0-level fortress, it had no walls. Plus, it was in an expanded state, with various buildings constructed on the expanded parts. If this T0-level fortress were to retract, over 70% of the buildings inside would be damaged.
Freedom City indeed had no walls, but the hundreds of guard posts around it were equipped with fortress-grade heavy artillery weapons called T-019 Executors.
The firepower of these heavy artillery weapons couldn't be described as merely powerful; they had seven types of ground defense states.
Only the Watchtower's capital, "Freedom City," could afford hundreds of heavy artillery-grade Executor defense towers.
Not to mention the manufacturing cost of these heavy artillery weapons, once a large number of enemies attacked, these weapons, powered by living ore, would consume massive amounts of living ore and special ammunition in a short time.
Therefore, no walls were built around Freedom City. The distance between each Executor defense tower allowed them to radiate to each other, surrounding the oval-shaped Freedom City.
Apart from the Executor defense towers, the vassal side had stationed 300,000 vassal soldiers here.
The small number of troops didn't mean weak defense. Su Xiao led 490,000 wild boar knights to attack, but not all of them were responsible for the assault.
When the battle started, only about 100,000 wild boar warriors would attack and charge. The remaining wild boar knights would split into several large groups to intercept the vassal reinforcements coming from all directions.
From above, his massive army pressed forward. On the opposite side, the vassals had set up their defenses.
At the front of the vassal line was a row of 5-meter-high armor plates. Judging by the thickness and weight, these were likely armor plates meant for fortresses. It seemed that yesterday's charge by the Sun Legion had left an impression on Lieutenant General Whitely.
Yes, the vassal high-ranking officer defending the city was the old rival, Lieutenant General Whitely. He was originally an officer of the Watchtower and was now called back by Watchtower Leader·Ferdinand to defend Freedom City. This was only natural.
If Steel City represented the face of the three major vassal factions, Freedom City was the Watchtower's lifeline. If this place were captured, the Watchtower's high-ranking officials would have a blood pressure spike on the spot. The older ones might not be able to catch their breath and would bid farewell to this beautiful world.
The Watchtower's "Freedom City," the Judgment Court's "Loyash," the Vassal Alliance's "Kravob Ring City," and the Aurora Council's "Eternal Light."
These places were extremely important to the vassals. Losing any one of them would have a wide-ranging impact on the surrounding area.
After the Great Cataclysm, both the vassals and humans developed in a centralized manner. For example, the large area around Freedom City consisted of small cities or medium-sized ring cities centered around T2 to T1-level fortresses. Although these places were important, they relied on Freedom City as their trade and resource core.
To put it simply, without Freedom City, the "power plant," the "lights" in the surrounding areas would all go out.
Under the dark, cloudy sky, the once bustling streets of Freedom City were now exceptionally cold. This city, with a steampunk style, had fallen silent since morning, with every household staying indoors.
Among the vassal high-ranking officials, some had proposed evacuating the residents of Freedom City. But the problem was, with such a large population, where could they go?
At the moment, only the front line had been breached, and the troops stationed there were from the Vassal Alliance. Because of this, the citizens of Freedom City always believed that the Watchtower's soldiers were stronger than the Vassal Alliance's soldiers, so Freedom City was the safest place.
It was unclear why the citizens of Freedom City had such confidence in the Watchtower's soldiers. As the Watchtower's leader, Ferdinand had very little confidence in their combat power.
At this moment, in the top-floor meeting room of Freedom City's iconic building, the Eternal Hope Lighthouse, the room was circular with no walls, all made of one-way glass.
Watchtower Leader·Ferdinand stood with his hands behind his back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down. Even from a distance, he could see the overwhelming Sun Legion pressing forward and the Storm Winged Dragons occasionally roaring in the sky. Saying he wasn't intimidated would be a lie, but Ferdinand had to stay calm now.
In the meeting room, besides Ferdinand, there were over a dozen Watchtower high-ranking officials. These were former big shots, but today, their eyes were all on Lieutenant General Whitely. Regardless of rank, the most proficient in warfare among them was undoubtedly Lieutenant General Whitely.
Lieutenant General Whitely, wearing a black-based officer uniform with gold-blue sleeve patterns and shoulder insignia, was sweating on his forehead.
"Whitely, what are your chances of winning this battle?"
"Don't talk about winning yet, Whitely. Tell us, what are your chances of holding Freedom City?"
"Whitely, defending the city isn't hard. The hard part is repelling the enemy. Whitely, how confident are you in repelling the enemy this time?"
One question after another pressed down on him. Lieutenant General Whitely didn't know how to answer for a moment. He wanted to say: 'The Finance Minister who said defending the city isn't hard, you try defending it! Steel City was fully manned by Vassal Alliance soldiers, such a tough border city, and it was hammered until the commander led the troops in a breakout. Do you know how strong Brigadier General Rez was when fighting the humans? He was a brigadier general because he only wanted to be a brigadier general, repeatedly refusing promotions. I'm a lieutenant general because I can only climb to this position.'
Lieutenant General Whitely had a lot to say, but with over a dozen people present, the lowest-ranking among them was his direct superior, so he could only respond politely.
At this moment, Lieutenant General Whitely's thought was: could he find a chance to surrender? No one knew better than him the gap in combat power between the Watchtower and the Vassal Alliance soldiers. If the Vassal Alliance soldiers' combat power was 30, the Watchtower soldiers' combat power was at most 8.
In the past, when fighting the humans, the Vassal Alliance charged forward like ultimate berserkers, while the Watchtower shouted the loudest from behind and contributed the least.
"Whitely, the battle is about to start. Don't hesitate. Tell me directly, do you have any chance of winning?"
"The chances... are very low."
When Lieutenant General Whitely said this, he actually felt relieved inside, and found it ridiculous. Did these big shots in the meeting room really not know the quality of the Watchtower soldiers? In the past, he thought they were pretending not to know.
Hearing Lieutenant General Whitely's words, the over a dozen people present were in an uproar. Before the battle even started, their commander didn't even have the confidence to win.
"Whitely, fearing the enemy before battle, as expected of you."
Finance Minister·Nahemu sneered. Lieutenant General Whitely kept his eyes on his nose and nose on his mouth, looking like he didn't care what they said.
Actually, it wasn't entirely Lieutenant General Whitely's fault. He was somewhat traumatized by Su Xiao, and having been on the front lines all along, he understood the battle situation better than anyone present.
Lieutenant General Whitely's lack of confidence, even to the point of not caring about his lieutenant general rank, made the people present uneasy. They didn't know how to fight this defensive battle when their commander had chickened out.
Watchtower Leader·Ferdinand's face was extremely grim. He urgently needed someone to step up, so his gaze instinctively turned to his trusted subordinate, Finance Minister·Nahemu.
Noticing Ferdinand's gaze, Finance Minister's eyes showed a strange gleam. He lowered his eyelids, subtly seeking Ferdinand's approval. Seeing Ferdinand touch the ring on his hand, Finance Minister had a plan.
Bang!
Finance Minister slammed the round solid wood meeting table in front of him, angrily pointing at Lieutenant General Whitely, and shouted, "You have no chance of winning? Why didn't you say anything last night?"
"You didn't ask. I thought you all knew."
Lieutenant General Whitely had completely given up. Ferdinand was his uncle, so he didn't believe he would be executed today. At worst, he would be stripped of his authority.
Seeing Lieutenant General Whitely's reaction, Finance Minister was momentarily stunned. Remembering that Ferdinand was Lieutenant General Whitely's uncle, he snorted in frustration, as if disappointed, and asked:
"Ferdinand, do you trust me?"
"I do."
"Good."
Finance Minister whispered a few words to his trusted subordinate behind him. The subordinate hurried out. A few minutes later, a vassal officer under 30 years old walked into the meeting room. He was impeccably dressed, with an imposing demeanor, and was a vassal brigadier general.
"This is my eldest son, Morley."
When Finance Minister introduced his eldest son to Ferdinand, he also patted his son's shoulder.
Everyone understood Finance Minister's intention, but they all looked worried. Changing commanders at such a time was really inappropriate. However, the previous commander didn't even have the confidence to win. Thinking about it, temporarily changing commanders seemed acceptable.
Ferdinand also thought of this. He looked at Brigadier General Morley with "satisfaction."
"You're good. From now on, you hold the rank of lieutenant general."
Ferdinand immediately promoted Brigadier General Morley. This wasn't just a two-rank promotion; it carried more meaning.
Brigadier General Morley, no, Lieutenant General Morley, tried to suppress the joy in his heart and said calmly, "Lord Ferdinand, I will not disappoint your trust. This time, I will personally go to the front line. As long as I don't die, the city won't fall."
"Good!"
Even Ferdinand, with his experience, slapped the armrest of his chair.
Lieutenant General Morley glanced at Lieutenant General Whitely, then walked out of the meeting room with the demeanor of a victor, heading straight for the front line. This was Lieutenant General Morley's confidence. In command, he was inferior to Lieutenant General Whitely, but in combat power, he was several levels above.
Seeing Lieutenant General Morley's victorious posture as he left, Lieutenant General Whitely was overjoyed. He had been unable to figure out how to get rid of this burden all night, and now someone was actually rushing to take it.
Lieutenant General Whitely looked at Finance Minister with gratitude, which startled Finance Minister, who then felt a sense of pity. He thought Lieutenant General Whitely had developed mental problems from the enemy.
...
Directly in front of Freedom City, three rows of shield walls stood tall. 200,000 defenders formed a semi-circular defense line in front of Freedom City, perfectly matching the circular shape of the city, firmly blocking it behind.
Behind these defenders were many Executor defense towers over 30 meters high. These towers were entirely metal structures, standing there like loyal and majestic steel guards.
On a metal platform in front of the city, Lieutenant General Morley, who had just arrived, stood proudly, with 30 personal guards behind him.
Looking at the Sun Legion two kilometers away, Lieutenant General Morley felt considerable pressure on the battlefield, but he knew this was also his opportunity.
Lieutenant General Morley knew how he had climbed to the rank of brigadier general. Without today's opportunity, he would never have advanced even half a step in his career, even with his powerful father.
But Lieutenant General Morley wasn't stupid. In his view, with the quality of the Watchtower soldiers, defending the city was absolutely no problem. More importantly, there were these 617 Executor defense towers around Freedom City.
With these war machines, which could be called killing spires, the enemy would definitely not break through. Plus, he was appointed in a time of crisis. As long as he held Freedom City, it would be a great achievement.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Lieutenant General Morley's face. He looked at the Storm Winged Dragon in the sky. The enemy leader was on the dragon's back. If he could kill him...
Just as Lieutenant General Morley thought this, a long horn sound came. The sound seemed to come from ancient times. Following the sound, Lieutenant General Morley saw a huge goat-headed figure behind the enemy army. The goat-headed figure looked old, with tattered clothes almost in strips, gray-black hair, and a huge ancient war drum on its back.
Buzz~
The horn sound grew longer. The next second, Lieutenant General Morley heard a neat thumping sound. It was the enemy knights striking the ground with their weapons in unison. Despite the large number, the sound was exceptionally orderly.
"Roar!!"
The Storm Dragon in the sky roared. The person on its back pointed the dragon lance forward. This wasn't a meaningless gesture but a full activation of the War Lord's title ability 2: Full Army Charge.
"Full Army Charge (Active): The morale of all friendly soldier-type units immediately reaches X, and the morale bar enters a 'Burn' state, lasting 100 seconds.
Note: In this state, the charge speed of all friendly soldier-type units increases by 30%, knockback characteristics increase by one rank, and pain perception decreases by 90%."
With the dragon roar, raging flames rose from the wild boar knights, and their mounts became extremely agitated.
Hausman looked up at the sky. After receiving Su Xiao's order, he spurred his mount and charged at the front.
"Kill!"
With Hausman as the arrowhead of the charge, all the wild boar warriors behind him surged forward. Two kilometers was enough distance to complete the charge.
On the enemy's defense line, vassal soldiers stood behind the 5-meter-high armor plates. Although this wasn't the best way to counter cavalry, there was no other choice. Cavalry was a card Su Xiao had only revealed yesterday.
The vassal soldiers were on high alert. As the enemy approached, they felt the ground shaking more intensely.
Boom!
A series of loud sounds echoed far. Don't forget, besides the wild boar knights, the heavy tanks could also benefit from the charge effect.
The charging wild boar knights suddenly split left and right, revealing the heavy tanks that had built up full momentum.
Even if it were a living chariot, a heavy tank at full speed could knock it flying, let alone armor plates.
The sounds of metal breaking and twisting came one after another. A large section of the armor plate wall fixed to the ground was breached. The soldiers behind were unlucky, crushed against the rear armor plate wall by the charging heavy tanks, dying on the spot. Some who didn't die screamed in agony.
After a roar, the three layers of armor plate walls were broken through, but they were effective. The heavy tanks' momentum was exhausted, and large nets shot out, covering them.
Behind, rows of vassal soldiers, each holding a sharp long weapon, had abandoned their usual war blades. These were all set up by Lieutenant General Whitely, now benefiting Lieutenant General Morley.
Under Lieutenant General Morley's watch from the rear platform, the wild boar knights charged forward as if brainless.
The sharp long weapons pierced the wild boar knights' bodies, blood spraying from the bleeding holes. What Lieutenant General Morley never dreamed of happened: these wild boar knights seemed to feel no pain. They let their bodies be pierced, swung their war hammers, and smashed the vassal soldiers in front.
Bang!
A hammer hit a head squarely. Just as the wild boar knight was about to add a few more hits, he saw the vassal soldier's brains splatter, dead.
The wild boar knight was puzzled. He calmly pulled out the long weapon piercing his chest, then used his war hammer to poke the fallen enemy. After confirming the enemy was dead, he scratched his bristly head in confusion.
In the past, when fighting vassal soldiers, if he didn't hit a vital point, it would take seven or eight hits before they shouted for more. Even hitting a vital point like the head, those with metal cells in their bodies could withstand two or three hits before dying.
Now, killing an enemy with one hammer, the wild boar knight was very uncomfortable. This wasn't the vassal soldier he knew.
In the sky, Su Xiao held a Thunderstone in his hand. Originally, he planned to use it to strike the enemy's vital areas during the assault. But seeing this scene, he knew he wouldn't have a chance to test the Thunderstone this time.
After activating the "Full Army Charge" ability, his army almost charged directly into Freedom City. If not for the Executor defense towers setting up an electric plasma net, his wild boar knights would have already rushed in.
Based on previous investigations, the Watchtower soldiers were weaker than those of the Vassal Alliance and the Aurora Council. But Freedom City had abundant resources, so its defense should be no less than "Loyash" and "Kravob Ring City."
Now that the battle had started, aside from the Executor defense towers posing some pressure, the Watchtower soldiers were like paper, breaking at the slightest touch.
On the chaotic battlefield below, electric plasma shells bombarded, and laser beams swept continuously, causing considerable casualties among his wild boar knights.
But even so, his wild boar knights were slaughtering the Watchtower soldiers. Some wild boar knights, as they killed, even suspected these were barely trained civilians. In their understanding, without the Lord's order, they couldn't slaughter civilians unless the other side chose to take up arms.
In the melee, Hausman looked at the vassal soldier sitting on the ground in front of him. The soldier was about eighteen or nineteen years old, sitting there with a tear-streaked face.
"Pick up your weapon."
Hausman pointed his mace at the enemy. The vassal youth sitting on the ground shook his head firmly and raised his hands.
Seeing this, Hausman's eye twitched. He was very uncomfortable. Used to fighting the tough Vassal Alliance soldiers, encountering these Watchtower weaklings made him feel out of place.
Nearby, Gangya looked in disbelief at the three vassal soldiers who had all dropped their weapons, knelt, and raised their hands. Gangya was also uncomfortable.
Last night, many professionals predicted that today's battle would be Watchtower vs. Sun Legion. In their analysis, although the Sun Legion had the advantage, the battle would last at least a week.
The reality was that after three hours of fighting, 20% of the Watchtower defenders were killed, and the remaining 80% all surrendered.
Compared to this, the 100,000 wild boar knights led by Baha fought a more brutal battle against the Vassal Alliance reinforcements from the north. That was a heavy armor + heavy artillery unit, like an iron turtle, almost making Baha vomit.
When the six reinforcement units from the surrounding areas learned that Freedom City had been captured, their commanders all thought it was an enemy trick or a communication problem.
When they, still in the midst of bitter fighting, sent reconnaissance teams to confirm the news, these six commanders almost vomited.
Coming from the Aurora Council or the Vassal Alliance, they retreated in confusion. What made them even more frustrated was that the enemy had cavalry. If the enemy wanted to retreat, they could. But if they wanted to retreat, they would be chased and beaten for a long time. It was incredibly frustrating.
At the base of the Eternal Hope Lighthouse in Freedom City, Su Xiao walked at the front, followed by Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Hausman, Gangya, and Gluttony. As for Beini's whereabouts, it was unknown; she was probably off treasure hunting somewhere.
After obtaining the "Traveler's Favor," this cat had become obsessed with hiking. The more she walked, the better her luck.
Two wild boar knights, with their mounts crouching beside them, guarded both sides of the main entrance of the Eternal Hope Lighthouse. Seeing Su Xiao approach, both knights knelt on one knee. It was unclear where they had learned this etiquette.
Boarding the glass elevator of the Eternal Hope Lighthouse, as the elevator rose, most of Freedom City gradually came into view.
Ding~
The elevator stopped at the top floor. Su Xiao, with Bubu Wang and Baha, stepped out of the elevator. As for Amu, Hausman, and the others, the elevator was overloaded, almost crushed by them.
Guided by a tearful vassal girl, Su Xiao entered the meeting room on the top floor of the Eternal Hope Lighthouse.
There were only two people in the large meeting room: Ferdinand and Lieutenant General Whitely.
"We meet again. Have you had lunch?"
Ferdinand spoke calmly. Having been a leader for so many years, he still had the grace to accept failure and death.
"Not yet. I'll send someone to arrange it later."
"Hmm, then I'll join you for a meal. I can't command anyone now, and my family is all dead. Come to think of it, I don't even know how to do something as simple as cooking."
Ferdinand laughed self-deprecatingly. Su Xiao signaled Bubu Wang to find the head chef. It was almost noon, and the wild boar knights had been fighting all morning. They were hungry too; it was time to arrange a meal.
"Bai Ye, let me tell you in advance, I have no treasures left. Before you attacked, my subordinates took a lot of resources and fled to Kravob Ring City."
"Ferdinand, why didn't you run?"
Baha asked. Hearing this, Ferdinand smiled and poured himself a glass of wine.
"Freedom City held out for 3 hours and 20 minutes before being breached. I, Ferdinand, can't afford to lose face like that. I can't afford to lose face in front of He·Kangdiwei."
Ferdinand raised his glass, about to down it in one gulp, when Baha said, "Drinking before a meal isn't a good habit. Lunch will be here soon."
Hearing this, Ferdinand laughed freely and temporarily put down his glass, but his hand rested on the rim, clearly not wanting anyone to take it away.
Both Ferdinand and Lieutenant General Whitely could have escaped. The former didn't flee to protect the civilians in Freedom City.
As the Watchtower leader, Ferdinand knew very well that if he fled to "Kravob Ring City" today, all the civilians in Freedom City would become prisoners.
But if he was still alive, Su Xiao could use him as a puppet to stabilize the city's residents, keeping the factories and other operations running orderly. Controlling a functioning Freedom City was a hundred times more valuable than just occupying it.
"Since you've already chosen this, why regret it at the last moment?"
Baha looked at the glass in Ferdinand's hand. Ferdinand leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, and moved his hand away from the glass rim. Just then, Su Xiao received a notification.
[Notification (Reincarnation Paradise): You have captured Freedom City.]
[This is a historical event in this world.]
[You have obtained Victory Medal × 5.]
[Victory Medal: A unique resource in the World Conquest Battle. One Victory Medal can be converted into 1.5% to 3% World Source in any Primordial World (if used in this world, one Victory Medal can be converted into 5% World Source).]
[You have obtained Drifting Paper (Fragment).]
[Note: This item is an alchemical product and a unique reward in this world.]
...
Su Xiao had now obtained a total of 8 Victory Medals. Converted into World Source, that would be 40% World Source. How to use this item was not urgent for now.
Su Xiao took out the [Drifting Paper (Fragment)] that had suddenly appeared in his storage space. It was a triangular piece of paper, looking thin but actually harder than metal.
Su Xiao had confirmed that there was no alchemical inheritance in this world, yet this was a unique reward from this world. That meant this item had come to this world by chance, just like the [Dark Haze].
The function of the [Drifting Paper (Fragment)] was unknown. When checking its attributes, everything was question marks, indicating it was likely of significant origin.
Capturing Freedom City was a big step forward for Su Xiao, but there was one thing he was concerned about. When Ferdinand decided to stay to protect the people, all his trusted subordinates had fled. Among them, the Finance Minister had taken all the supernatural resources from Freedom City's treasury.
For such Caesar-like behavior, severe punishment was necessary. Su Xiao had been eyeing the supernatural resources in Freedom City's treasury.
Unfortunately, the other party had used a teleportation array to escape to "Kravob Ring City," making things difficult.
Su Xiao took out a communicator and called Kaisa.
"My dear friend, what does Kaisa need to do for you?"
Kaisa was in a good mood, having recently been fleecing the human side, probably quite enjoyably.
"I have a problem. After capturing Freedom City, the resources in the treasury were taken away by the Finance Minister in advance."
"Such a thing, truly regrettable. My dear friend. Wealth is an external thing..."
Kaisa's words were cut off by Su Xiao. He said, "A third of that was originally yours."
"What!!"
Kaisa's voice cracked on the other end, and the communicator could be heard trembling.
Kaisa urgently asked, "What's that Finance Minister's name? Where is he?!"
"His name is Nahemu. He's in Kravob Ring City."
"Kaisa will go right away!"
"That place is very dangerous now..."
"Bai Ye, for the sake of our friendship, what is a little danger? Wait for my good news."
"Alright."
Su Xiao hung up the communicator.
Meanwhile, in the human territory, Capital·Genli.
At the second floor of the Military Supply Office, Kaisa put down the communicator, his hands still trembling from anger. A third of various resources that should have been his were about to be offered to He·Kangdiwei by a Finance Minister named Nahemu. Unbelievable!
Thinking of this, Kaisa's hair almost stood on end. He took out the dirty Ouroboros Stone Tablet from his bosom and said:
"Snake, take me to Finance Minister·Nahemu."
'No way.'
The words on the Ouroboros Stone Tablet showed its backbone.
"Heh~ptui!"
Kaisa gathered a large, sticky phlegm and spat it onto the Ouroboros Stone Tablet. With a crack, the Ouroboros Stone Tablet split open.
The trembling Ouroboros Stone Tablet emitted a strong light, enveloping Kaisa.
A few seconds later, the scene before Kaisa changed. He was now in an underground port, next to a two-story building. The area around the building and inside was heavily guarded.
Hiding behind a trash can next to the building, in a stealthy state, Kaisa looked around furtively. After confirming through the Ouroboros Stone Tablet that Finance Minister·Nahemu was inside this stone building, Kaisa showed a troubled expression. He was a merciful person and didn't want to harm the guards inside, but 'circumstances forced him,' and he didn't want to either.
Kaisa sighed. He felt he was too kind. Thinking this, he poured some yellow powder into his shoe.
After putting on that shoe, Kaisa took out a timer. After about half a minute of fermentation, when he felt a slight burning sensation in his sole, he took off the shoe, then took off the sticky sock. A shit-yellow smoke gradually dispersed from this sock.
Kaisa brought it close and sniffed, causing him to roll his eyes and almost choke.
Feeling the timing was right, Kaisa quietly opened the window and secretly threw the sock into the two-story building.
About ten seconds later, a sharp scream came from inside the building. A burly man, as strong as an ox, leaped out of the window, gasping for air as if escaping death. His eyes were red, his face tear-streaked, and the corners of his mouth stained with vomit. His expression looked as if he had been spiritually violated.
Rolling yellow smoke billowed from the doors and windows of the two-story building, with visibility inside less than 10 centimeters. Wearing a gas mask, Kaisa walked into the building. Moments later, a strong light flashed on the second floor.
When Kaisa emerged from the spatial fluctuation, he was in Warehouse No. 1 of Freedom City. Finance Minister·Nahemu, foaming at the mouth, lay at his feet, his body twitching from shock, his crotch soaked.
Soon, wearing gas masks, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha entered Warehouse No. 1.
"Should I do it, or will you?"
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, Kaisa said, "I'll do it. Your methods are too cruel. Kaisa is afraid he can't bear to watch."
As Kaisa spoke, Amu dragged the portly Finance Minister·Nahemu to a square pillar, made him lean against it, and tied him up.
Kaisa dragged a chair over, sat down, facing Finance Minister·Nahemu.
Several crystal needles pierced Finance Minister·Nahemu's face and head. He took a deep breath and suddenly woke up, looking around in panic, not yet understanding what was happening.
Whenever benefits were involved, Kaisa was at full efficiency. He asked:
"My friend, where did you put the supernatural resources from Freedom City's treasury? You went to see He·Kangdiwei this time, so you wouldn't have brought those resources with you. So, speak."
"What resources? Who are you!"
Finance Minister·Nahemu was determined to play dumb.
"Very well~"
Kaisa sighed, took off his shoe, and extended his foot toward Finance Minister·Nahemu.
Just seeing it visually, Bubu Wang, wearing a gas mask, instinctively dry-heaved. One could imagine the recipient's feelings.
A few seconds later, a scream echoed out of Warehouse No. 1.