Chapter 27: Invasion
The spatial fluctuations within the main hall gradually subsided. Although the Necronomicon had vanished, it left behind three items: a large chunk of flesh, a mass of divine blood floating in midair, and finally, a bony eyeball.
These were the remains of Dark Demon Hash and the Black Pharaoh, who had been trapped within the gray domain and disposed of by the Necronomicon.
The flesh and corrupted divine blood came from the beast-shaped evil god, Dark Demon, while the bony eyeball belonged to the Black Pharaoh.
Su Xiao didn't receive the kill rewards for these two evil gods, which was actually quite normal. From long ago, Su Xiao understood that kill rewards didn't materialize out of thin air. Instead, they were extracted from the enemy's existing possessions after their defeat, with Reincarnation Paradise acting as the notary party. As for the specifics, Su Xiao wasn't clear either, but he figured that at higher ranks, he might gain access to this knowledge.
To put it simply, if Su Xiao had killed Dark Demon himself, the subsequent Necronomicon and Abyssal Jar wouldn't have been able to seize anything from Dark Demon's divine remains. Anything that could be taken would have been collected as kill rewards, ultimately ending up with Su Xiao. For example, the [Divine Soul of the Ancestor] and the 2 Golden Skill Points were obtained this way.
The Necronomicon didn't monopolize the gains from killing these two evil gods. It left behind a large chunk of flesh, a mass of corrupted divine blood, and a bony eyeball. Among these, the bony eyeball was the most valuable, far surpassing the other two.
Su Xiao grabbed the bony eyeball floating in midair and tossed it to Kaiser. Kaiser took it with a sly grin, breathed on it, and even rubbed it against his clothes to make it shinier.
The remaining evil god flesh was preserved on ice. It turned out to be a large strip of tenderloin. Upon discovering this, Bubu Wang and Baha both swallowed their saliva. If Amu were here, he would definitely give a rare, simple-minded smile—this time, they were in for a treat.
The evil god fishing session was over. Molei and Yueshitu tiptoed along the wall toward the exit, ready to slip away.
The two soon disappeared from sight. The host landed outside the main hall. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha rode inside the host. Kaiser didn't join them; he had to return to the company's Platinum Capital.
No complications arose along the way. When Su Xiao returned to the base camp, two more living artillery towers had risen from the ground, bringing the total number of towers to 77.
As soon as Su Xiao returned, there was good news. Their plasma cannon had finally been successfully developed. To be precise, this wasn't an insectoid building but a super-massive insectoid combat unit, named the Titan Beast.
Behind the mother nest, the incubation nest had expanded halfway, and a Titan Beast was located there. Its appearance reminded Su Xiao of a scaled-down version of Kara.
The lower half of the Titan Beast was supported by multiple clawed legs, while the upper half consisted of a massive plasma sac. Overall, it looked round, with a jet nozzle at the top. The interior was filled with plasma, and the exterior was a highly flexible biological structure. When attacking, the plasma sac would expand, then use its contraction force to launch a plasma cannon.
The Titan Beast's plasma cannon fired approximately once every five minutes. This seemed slow, but it was a killing move used specifically against super-large enemies.
In addition to the plasma cannon, the Titan Beast's body was covered in biological tentacles. The tips of these cable-like tentacles had electrical particle energy-storage organs, capable of firing smaller plasma missiles. Each Titan Beast had over a hundred such tentacles, each tens of meters long.
Su Xiao looked at the Titan Beast. This giant was over 70 meters tall and was one of the mother nest's core guardians.
Indeed, the Titan Beast's main purpose was to defend against enemy aerial attacks on the mother nest. In critical moments, the Titan Beast could fire an electromagnetic shockwave net upward, killing any enemy daring to attack the mother nest from above. That electromagnetic shockwave net was terrifying. If Barbatos took a hit from it, even if he didn't die instantly, he wouldn't be far from death. After using such a powerful attack, the Titan Beast would need to remain silent for 24 to 30 hours.
Plasma missiles, plasma cannons, and electromagnetic shockwave nets—all three attack modes were excellent. Additionally, the Titan Beast was a mobile unit. Its movement speed wasn't fast, but it was much quicker than the extremely slow-moving Brutal Cannonballs.
With such a powerful weapon, if allowed, Su Xiao would prefer to stop building Brutal Cannon Towers altogether and instead focus entirely on cultivating Titan Beasts. Unfortunately, each one cost 1 million units of bio-energy to cultivate.
For now, cultivating five to guard the mother nest was the limit. To set up a defensive perimeter and hold the base camp, they still had to rely on Brutal Cannon Towers. Moreover, the living missiles fired by Brutal Cannon Towers were far cheaper to replenish than plasma. Relying on Titan Beasts to defend the base would truly bankrupt them.
The development of the base camp had entered a normal track. Unbeknownst to them, night had fallen. Various insectoid buildings emitted their unique fluorescence, keeping the base camp from being completely dark.
Inside the wooden building, Su Xiao sat cross-legged, having just completed his daily meditation. According to the information Kaiser had provided earlier, the Nether Forces would attack Pandora Star around the 10th day. It was now the night of the 7th day, meaning that at most two days later, the Nether would strike.
Given their current production capacity of Living Ore, in two days, they could barely reach 200 Brutal Cannon Towers. As for Titan Beasts, if they found a way, they might be able to get 400,000 units of Living Ore from the Empire or the Company.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao took out his communicator and directly contacted Monarch Ording of the Empire. The other party had already arrived on Pandora Star and was now at New Star City, where 50 million Empire citizens had just moved in, inevitably causing unrest.
The communicator rang a few times before being picked up. A slightly tired but authoritative voice came through:
"What is it?"
As Monarch Ording spoke, there was also the sound of a plate being taken away. It seemed they had interrupted his meal.
"I want to make a deal with you."
"What kind of deal?"
Monarch Ording's tone clearly showed interest. Then, as if thinking of something, he chuckled and said, "How much do you need over there?"
"400,000 units."
"That's quite a lot. My side also needs No. 9 Ore for weapons."
The No. 9 Ore Monarch Ording mentioned was Living Ore.
"Let's set up an interconnected spatial device between our two sides. Tomorrow afternoon or the day after tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to deliver the No. 9 Ore. That's it. Contact me later if there's anything else."
With that, Monarch Ording hung up.
Su Xiao looked at the communicator in his hand. Monarch Ording was too generous. They had talked about a deal, but the other party hadn't even mentioned what they needed before agreeing to supply Living Ore. This was clearly a form of sponsorship.
Alternatively, there was another meaning: after the Nether Forces invaded, whether it was the Sun Nest or New Star City, if they couldn't hold out, they could retreat to the other side.
Another point was that the Empire was an ultra-wealthy faction. Consider this: a powerful faction that originally had tens of billions of people had now shrunk to a few tens of millions. While tragic, the per capita distribution of resources was enviably high. This was originally a dictatorship, with all resources stored in the power center of Aokai Star. Now, bringing these resources along while fleeing was simple.
Having a wealthy teammate was reassuring to Su Xiao. Just as he was thinking this, the detection tower issued a warning: someone was approaching the base camp.
Half an hour later, on the second floor of the wooden building, Su Xiao was still sitting cross-legged on an animal skin rug. In front of him stood three people: Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei, who had just left not long ago.
"I already let you leave. Now you're back. Is this a provocation?"
Su Xiao's tone was casual, as if he couldn't be bothered to put on an act. He was just going through the motions.
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Hao Mei was furious inside, but she could only keep a smile on her face and said, "Mr. White Night, you've made the three of us wanted criminals of the Empire and the Company. Now that the Nether Forces' invasion is common knowledge, under these circumstances, we can't enter New Star City or Platinum Capital. What do you suggest we do? Should we obediently come here and pay up?"
As Hao Mei spoke, she gritted her teeth with a smile, the sound audible. Being so clearly manipulated, she was furious.
"What are you talking about?"
Su Xiao looked at Hao Mei with a 'puzzled' expression. Just as Hao Mei was about to continue, she received a notification.
[Notification: You have successfully joined the Sun Faction. Until you commit an act of betrayal against the Sun Faction, you will not be attacked by insectoid units under the command of Insectoid Dominator Jila.]
[Your faction reputation has been activated. Current reputation: 3000/5000 (Friendly).]
...
At almost the same time, Yueshitu also received this message. As for Molei, she had always been the 'legal representative' of the Sun Nest, but without any real power, so she naturally didn't receive the joining faction notification.
Molei and Yueshitu exchanged glances. They were both stunned. Such a good thing, like a pie falling from the sky, had actually landed on them.
"This... you, who are you?"
Hao Mei and Yueshitu both looked at Su Xiao with wary eyes. They suspected that Su Xiao had been possessed or taken over by something. Although that seemed impossible, the current situation was too abnormal.
"As members of the Sun Faction, when the Nether invades, the burden of protecting the Sun Nest will fall on the three of you."
Su Xiao said this lightly, his tone calm. But to Molei and the others, it sounded like the voice of a demon.
Molei and the others weren't stupid. They immediately understood Su Xiao's implication. He was practically saying outright: if you don't pay up, you three will be cannon fodder on the front lines. Don't want to go? Try disobeying the faction leader's orders and see what happens.
"Just name your price."
Hao Mei almost said this with tears in her eyes. Her original plan was to haggle even if she had to pay this time. But now, it seemed there was no chance.
"30,000."
Su Xiao named his price.
"Heh~"
Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei all showed smiles. 30,000 sounded like a lot at first, but split three ways, it was a drop in the bucket.
"Each."
As soon as Su Xiao added the word 'each,' the smiles on Molei and the others' faces immediately vanished. Even for the Apocalypse Sisters, coming up with 90,000 now was very difficult, especially since they had previously issued a bounty on the Heroic Spirit Hall, and Molei had already paid 20,000 Soul Coins.
After a painful struggle, Molei and the others finally reached an agreement. The three of them would pay a total of 50,000 Soul Coins to seek refuge in the Sun Nest. During this time, they wouldn't need to help with the defense. However, if the situation deteriorated to a certain point and their participation in the defense might help them survive, they would have to join the front lines. If the Sun Nest fell, they wouldn't fare well either.
[Notification: You have received 50,000 Soul Coins.]
A large sum of Soul Coins had been deposited. Adding the 20,000 Molei had paid earlier, that was a total of 70,000 Soul Coins in profit. Su Xiao was very satisfied with this. The upgrades for [Basic Passive: Awakening] and [Basic Passive: Spirit Toughness] finally had a way forward.
After paying, Yueshitu and Hao Mei immediately went downstairs to sleep in Molei's previous bedroom. The bed and bedding didn't need to be changed; they were still the ones Molei had used. As for Molei, she had nothing to do. Having slept for the past few days, she was now as energetic as a night owl.
Su Xiao took out an old-fashioned rotary dial telephone. This old phone was covered in barnacles, and some parts even had black tentacles growing out of it, giving it an ancient god style. This was the communication method left by Shenfu.
Su Xiao picked up the receiver and listened quietly for a while. The sound of dripping water came through. Since this morning, Shenfu had been out of contact.
There were two possibilities: either Shenfu was trapped somewhere, or he had joined the Nether Forces.
Su Xiao listened to the dripping water for a moment. Just as he was about to hang up, static came through. This static sounded like signal interference and lasted about 2 to 3 seconds before disappearing. With his hearing, he immediately sensed something was off.
Su Xiao tore off the electrode patch on the side of his face. This device was a recording apparatus. He handed it to Bubu Wang, who lay down in front of the mobile terminal and began operating it.
Soon, the static was broken down, and the extracted sounds were amplified.
"Nether... bottom... Nether... great bottom."
It was Shenfu's voice. Molei, who was bored and rolling around nearby, had been eavesdropping. Upon hearing this, she analyzed:
"I get it. Shenfu is imprisoned, trapped in a place called the Nether Great Bottom. He wants you to rescue him."
"Rescue him? You must have never faced death."
Baha almost laughed as he spoke.
"Aren't you teammates?"
"That's exactly why it's creepy. Do you know how treacherous Shenfu's backstabbing can be?"
Baha said this with lingering fear.
Molei shrugged and spread her hands, indicating that she didn't understand the world of old schemers.
Su Xiao ignored Baha and Molei. He was weighing whether Shenfu was still trustworthy and what the old man's intentions were.
Shenfu was different from Huishenshi. Huishenshi's style was to never put all his eggs in one basket. The targets he revealed were definitely not his trump cards.
Shenfu had a different style. This old man could suffer setbacks everywhere and seem to be constantly beaten. But in the end, it would turn out that he had somehow already positioned himself on the winning side, enjoying the spoils of victory together.
Last time was the same. Shenfu seemed to be conspiring with Huishenshi, but in reality, he had always been on Su Xiao's side. In the end, Su Xiao won. This old man not only got rid of the Necronomicon but also gained quite a few benefits before quietly exiting.
The 'Nether Great Bottom' in Shenfu's message sounded strange. But if the pronunciation was slightly altered to 'Nether Great Emperor,' it became much smoother.
The leader of the Nether Forces was called the 'Nether Great Emperor.' Shenfu left this message as a double-edged sword.
In the current situation, it was simply a showdown between the Nether and Pandora Star. If the Nether Forces won, Shenfu would benefit, assuming he had already joined them.
If the Nether lost and their side won, Shenfu would still be the good guy. He could claim that while gathering intelligence on Aokai Star, he was trapped by the Nether Forces and only had time to send one last piece of information: telling Su Xiao about the existence of the Nether Great Emperor.
This way, no matter who won, that old man Shenfu would be safe. He had already positioned himself on the winning side, even though the winner hadn't been decided yet. But Shenfu was already there. One could only say, as expected of someone from Sanctuary Paradise.
"That old fox is really cunning."
Su Xiao muttered softly. Molei looked at him with confusion.
"You can't see that?"
Baha let out a 'contemptuous laugh' as a wise one, then quickly typed in the team channel: 'Boss, what's going on? Explain it to me so I can show off.'
Soon, Molei grinned at Baha and said, "Did you secretly ask in the team channel? You're clearly not smarter than me."
"Damn it~"
Baha flew off to the side, ignoring Molei.
Su Xiao decided to take a laissez-faire attitude toward Shenfu's situation. He had already left a backup plan, giving the other party a Devourer. Perhaps that would be the key to ultimate victory.
Checking the time, Su Xiao went to the bedroom on the inner side of the second floor to rest. When he woke up, it was already bright.
The Empire's mechanical units had arrived. Inside their base camp, they built a metal platform over 20 meters in diameter. The internal structure of this device was precise, a spatial device. This meant that the channel between the Sun Nest and New Star City had been opened.
The Empire's mechanical units quickly withdrew. This was Su Xiao's territory, and as armed, organized troops, it wasn't suitable for them to stay long.
Not long after the teleportation device was set up, Bubu Wang and Baha formed a team to scout New Star City. They said it was for reconnaissance, but when they returned, they were so full they could barely walk. Amu was envious.
That afternoon, the Empire delivered the promised 400,000 units of Living Ore. As compensation, Su Xiao provided a mechanical blueprint: the [CU·Mantis-Style·949·Particle Ship Cannon]. This was a mechanical blueprint he had obtained long ago. He had kept it without any use, so this time, he gave it as a favor.
Su Xiao prioritized cultivating four Titan Beasts. This super-massive insectoid unit put considerable pressure on the incubation nest, which could only cultivate one at a time.
By evening, the setting sun was like blood on the horizon. People from the Company came to build a spatial teleportation device as well.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't refuse this. If something went wrong with New Star City or Platinum Capital and the enemy tried to attack through the teleportation device, their side could simply destroy it.
...
On the boundless western Gobi Desert, wind and sand raged, reducing visibility to just a few meters.
A figure over 4 meters tall, wrapped in tattered robes, walked through the wind and sand. Its skin was rough, and on its back was a long-handled blade-hammer over 3 meters long. This crude weapon was stained with black blood, like petroleum. It was precisely because of this contamination with the evil of humanity that the weapon had become extraordinary.
Indeed, this figure, nearly 4 meters tall, was the last surviving fanatic. All the fanatics from the Sun Nest seemed to have been summoned by this world. They had selected the strongest among them through mutual slaughter and absorption of each other's power. That was the Sun Saint, Wagg. Whether by coincidence or not, one of the Sun Warriors of the former Sun Divine Kingdom was also named Wagg.
Wagg looked at the setting sun on the horizon. In the wind and sand, he, wearing a head bucket, made a pose praising the sun.
...
Night fell imperceptibly. The 8th day passed both peacefully and predictably. At this critical juncture, whether it was the Sun Nest, the Empire, or the Company, they all kept a low profile. Even if there were conflicts, they would be minimized.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the roof of the wooden building, reviewing the mother nest's data. The Brutal Cannon Towers had been built to 127. Now, each tower was connected by walls nearly 45 meters high. These walls, made of biological tissue, were about 15 meters thick. Even if breached, they could be repaired by consuming bio-energy.
Looking down from above, the scale of the base camp was already astonishing. The towering Brutal Cannon Towers and the impenetrable walls gave a strong sense of security.
The eve of the Nether invasion was quieter than expected. Unbeknownst to them, it was already noon the next day.
By now, Su Xiao could clearly feel something abnormal. Even the sun in the sky seemed to have lost its warmth.
In this suffocating false peace, the night of the 9th day arrived. At 3 AM, their 200th Brutal Cannon Tower was successfully built. From then on, they stopped cultivating combat insectoids or building insectoid structures. Instead, they saved bio-energy. In a defensive battle, whether it was living missiles or plasma replenishment, large amounts of bio-energy were needed.
No one slept that night. The first rays of dawn streamed in through the window. This morning, which usually represented hope, instead gave a cold, lonely feeling, as if the world was about to end.
One could say this was one of the terrifying aspects of the Nether invasion. It made the inhabitants of the invaded land feel despair in advance. Before each Nether invasion, many people in the invaded area couldn't bear the pressure and chose to end their own lives.
The 10th day arrived. The sun was bright, and the sky was clear without a single cloud. It was a rare good day.
Su Xiao, of course, wasn't affected by the pressure of the impending Nether invasion. As usual, he had breakfast, then went to the window and looked up at the sky.
On the horizon, in the eastern direction, Su Xiao saw a black dot. That was the direction of Platinum Capital.
"Bubu."
As Su Xiao spoke, he leaped out of the window. Barbatos spread his dragon wings, allowing Su Xiao to climb onto his back via the wings.
Bubu Wang, carrying the black-feathered cloak in his mouth, also leaped out and steadied himself on the dragon's back. Barbatos spread his wings and took off, heading straight for Platinum Capital.
The wind whistled past their ears. Barbatos flew at full speed. When Su Xiao arrived a few kilometers from Platinum Capital, he saw the city, now surrounded by steel walls. Countless magnetic cannons had been fully charged, ready to fire at any moment.
On the dragon's back, Su Xiao looked up at the sky. A black hole appeared diagonally above, directly over Platinum Capital.
This hole was a few meters in size, but for some reason, it suddenly expanded, its diameter instantly exceeding several kilometers.
Inside Platinum Capital below, the Company's defenders controlled the magnetic cannons, aiming at the sky. They were nervous, sweating profusely. Standing on the steel walls, the Company's major shareholder, Aitaigi Fuke, and other high-ranking officials like Peidi were equally nervous. They hadn't expected the Nether Forces to choose Platinum Capital as their primary target.
The Nether's attack came too fast. Reinforcing Platinum Capital was impossible. In the sky, within the black hole several kilometers in diameter, sticky, dark green liquid dripped down, followed by mournful wails.
The first Corrupted One fell from the black hole. Its flesh had mutated into a pitch-black, dirty, and tattered state. Its teeth were sharp, its hands had claws, and its messy, fluffy hair floated on its own.
This Corrupted One began free-falling. Immediately, hundreds of Corrupted Ones poured out of the black hole above, screeching as they fell. Their hungry, green eyes were enough to make anyone's scalp tingle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Below, inside Platinum Capital, magnetic cannons and various weapons opened fire, blasting the tens of thousands of falling Corrupted Ones into fragments.
This falling attack lasted for about ten minutes. The blood and flesh of the shattered Corrupted Ones ignited many buildings in Platinum Capital below, turning them black and red. The smell of blood and gunpowder mixed together.
No more Corrupted Ones fell from the black hole in the sky. Seeing this, the Company's high-ranking officials in the command center gradually relaxed. The Nether's first wave of attacks—Platinum Capital had withstood it. This was worth popping champagne to celebrate.
The morale of the city's defenders noticeably rose. Before the Nether invasion, they had been unable to sleep from fear. But now, having experienced it firsthand, was that all there was to it?
Drip, drip~
Dark green liquid continued to drip from the black hole in the sky. No one noticed that a thick layer of black membrane had covered the black hole. This thick membrane was now dissolving.
Pop~
The membrane sealing the black hole shattered. The next second, a continuous wave of screeching came. Countless Corrupted Ones fell from above, forming a pouring column several kilometers thick. The number of Corrupted Ones was impossible to calculate. Dark green smoke poured down with them. The scene was both spectacular and chilling, filling people with a heartfelt trembling and fear.
"Roar!!!"
The roars merged into one. Faces filled with hatred and resentment stared intently at Platinum Capital below, locking onto the life auras within the buildings. These Corrupted Ones harbored extreme hatred for the living and would indiscriminately slaughter all living beings.
At the top-floor window of the command center, the Company's major shareholder, Aitaigi Fuke, stared blankly at this scene. He didn't even notice the cigar falling from between his fingers.
20 minutes and 32 seconds later.
Platinum Capital had fallen.