Chapter 13: Mark
A choice lay before the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon: become food, or temporarily cooperate with the Law Destroyer. Under these circumstances, for the dignity of all dragonkind, the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon chose to set aside past grievances and cooperate with Su Xiao.
A soul mark was further imprinted into the soul of the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon. Because this dark soul was too powerful, the soul mark was gradually dissipating, which was why the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon could not be controlled for long.
After sensing for a moment, Su Xiao estimated that this soul mark could last for about two months. That was enough for him. Two months later, he might already be in another Transcendent Primordial World, or even a more dangerous place.
The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon, dragging his battered body, sank into the lake, descending into the dark matter below to recover. Seeing this, Su Xiao ordered the Lord Team members to rest on the spot.
Over an hour later, the massive eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon burst out of the Dark Salt Lake. Hearing the dragon roar, Ergin, Harvey, and others, who had already formed a conditioned reflex, were all jolted awake from their deep sleep.
Just as they opened their eyes and sprang up from the ground, Viper, whose mind wasn't fully awake yet, let out a shout. The beastmen made as if to charge at the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon, but after only a few steps, they suddenly remembered that they had forcibly turned enemies into allies. The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Su Xiao leaped onto the dragon's wing and walked up to the top of its head. Seeing this, the members of the Lord Team jumped or climbed onto the dragon's back one after another. The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon did not take flight immediately. Black semi-fluid surged over its massive body, and with this huge and peculiar form, it 'swallowed' everyone, including Su Xiao, into its body.
The surrounding light was somewhat dim. Su Xiao looked around. His current feeling was like being submerged in a dark fluid. The surrounding suction force was considerable, but he could break free. The most wonderful thing was that, although he was in such a confined place, he could see the scene ahead through a resonance of aura. It was very much like a partial perspective synchronized through the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon's vision.
Breaking free from this state, Su Xiao stood back on the dragon's back and looked behind him. The beastmen who had been on the dragon's back were nowhere to be seen. In fact, they had all been 'swallowed' by the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon, located in various parts of its body.
With Su Xiao's control, the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon roared and took flight. Whoosh! The wind pressure lifted a curtain of water from the Dark Salt Lake. The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon ignored the gale and flew over the dark Gobi Desert.
The high altitude was dim, surrounded by patches of black clouds. Standing on the dragon's back, Su Xiao faintly sensed that there seemed to be something within these black clouds. He tried to perceive it, and a dark and cold feeling came over him, very much like some kind of remnant left after an Abyss invasion.
The things inside these black clouds were both ancient and strange. Su Xiao decided not to disturb them. Primordial Worlds always contained too many unknowns; he couldn't explore everything. Facing unknowns that were too bizarre, rushing in rashly would only bring bad consequences. One must maintain mutual reverence.
In less than half an hour, the surrounding environment opened up. Sunlight shone down from above, giving a warm feeling. The flying eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon discovered that the sunlight it had originally detested now actually had a healing effect on it, making its Primordial Life Force exceptionally active.
Whoosh! The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon swept past the edge of the Main Battlefield. When it neared Iron Fort City, it lowered its flight altitude to avoid being shot down by the garrison forces of Iron Fort City.
The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon spread its wings wide. Ergin, Harvey, and other beastmen detached from positions like the dragon's belly and under its wings, falling towards the ground. If this were a surprise attack on an enemy camp, it would certainly have an excellent effect.
After explaining the situation to the garrison legion that rushed out of Iron Fort City, the leading Lionmane Clan chief, after repeatedly confirming that Su Xiao was the Lord, only then withdrew his men. It seemed he was very uneasy about the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon being near Iron Fort City.
When Su Xiao returned to the temporary camp, it was already past 10 AM. He had Bubu Wang and Amu take five savings cards from the Ten Thousand Beasts Bank to exchange for 500,000 Sordos, which were beastman gold coins.
When boxes of gold coins were piled up in the courtyard, the beastmen still found it hard to believe. Su Xiao was really going to fulfill his promise of 1000 gold coins per person after defeating the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon. Only when they held several large bags of heavy gold coins in their hands did they confirm it was real.
Having spent a large sum of gold coins, it was naturally time to rest for a while. Su Xiao ordered a rest until tomorrow morning. After doing this, he took Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu to the rear district. With the remaining 150,000 gold coins, he began purchasing war armor, high-quality weapons, and the like.
The Lord Team had developed to this extent, which met Su Xiao's expectations. Although it could continue to develop stronger, for example, by using permanent enhancement potions to boost the strength of the Lord Team members, there was no need to do so.
The Lord Team's combat power was now sufficient. Moreover, Su Xiao wouldn't stay in this world forever. No matter how strong he made the Lord Team, once he left this world, it would be like benefiting Grand Commander Kane and others.
Therefore, quickly obtaining a fief and developing the comprehensive strength of the Jila Insect Race was more important.
Arriving at the supply point in the rear district, Su Xiao, besides purchasing war armor, also replenished food, fresh water, and the like. The spatial packaging technology of this world meant that the food in one supply crate was enough for the Lord Team to eat for many days.
He replenished 5 units of meat food and fresh water supplies, 1 unit of medical supplies, and 3 units of strong liquor. Compared to meat food, the Lord Team members actually cared more about the strong liquor, which was the favorite of over ninety percent of beastmen.
When Su Xiao returned to the temporary camp, he found that in the empty courtyard, only the Treeman Clan's Giant Armor was lying on the roof, snoring loudly, still holding half a bottle—no, half a jar of wine. The wine bottle was so big that it was a head taller than Amu.
Ignoring Giant Armor, Su Xiao went to a bedroom on the second floor of the camp. Since leaving the main city, Eternal Ring City, he hadn't really slept. After taking a shower, he just lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. The next second, he felt as if he were sinking into the deep sea. A strange shadow, like a siren, rushed towards him, and then, with a tearing sound, it evaporated amidst a wail.
Su Xiao's eyes snapped open, his gaze startled. Just now, before falling asleep, it seemed he had been assassinated—some kind of nightmare domain plus soul entity assassination. But because the gap in soul power was too great, before Su Xiao could figure out the situation, the opponent's soul body evaporated with a tearing sound.
For a moment, Su Xiao couldn't even tell if it was the Sea Clan who had made the move. The assassin's death was too sudden and careless. He pondered for a few seconds and decided to go back to sleep.
When the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the curtains, Su Xiao sat up in bed. It was time to formally clash with the Sea Clan. He opened the faction list and accepted a high-risk, high-reward mission.
[Faction Mission: Capture/Raid White Hoof Port.]
Difficulty Level: ★★～★★★★ (Faction mission difficulty is ★～★★★★★).
Mission Brief: The Sea Clan occupies White Hoof Port, which is close to the Main Battlefield, using it as a landing buffer zone, putting immense pressure on several beastman legions.
Capture White Hoof Port Reward: 38,000 Reputation Points (must occupy for at least 2 natural days).
Raid White Hoof Port Reward: 500～37,000 Reputation Points (based on the number of kills and degree of building destruction during the raid).
Mission Time Limit: 3 natural days.
Mission Penalty: Reputation Points -1000.
...
Meanwhile, on the north side of the Main Battlefield, a fortress city.
On the towering city walls, rows of living heavy cannons were in a state of readiness. The development paths of the Sea Clan and the Beastman Clan differed. The Beastman Clan was Supernatural + Metal + various kinds of rough black technology, but they were exceptionally backward in some aspects, such as the use of electricity. The Beastman Clan was never interested in it, even though this energy could drive some precision technology. But that wasn't what the Beastman Clan needed.
In contrast, the Sea Clan's tech tree was even more skewed. They developed biological technology. The most obvious manifestation was that all of the Sea Clan's war weapons were living organisms, driven by biological energy.
Looking down at this seaside fortress from above, one would notice its unique wall shape, like a half-barrel stuck on the coast. The alloy walls, several hundred meters high, were covered with explosion cracks and erosion marks, showing how many times the Beastman Clan had raided this place.
The fortress and the numerous buildings inside were not the main point. The most important thing here was a massive port near the sea, named 'White Hoof Port'. It was one of the safest landing points for the Sea Clan. Over eighty percent of the Sea Clan legions on the Main Battlefield landed here.
Such an important place naturally had a supply depot. The giant building at the center of the fortress, thirty stories high, was the Supply Depot + Storage Depot + Command Center of White Hoof Port. To prevent accidents here, the surrounding buildings of varying heights were actually the collective dormitories for Sea Clan soldiers. If an enemy attacked, they would protect this place immediately.
Now, on the 21st floor of the Command Center, a Sea Clan commander with pale blue skin and a bald head sat in the main seat. He was the highest commander of White Hoof Port, Sea Clan Commander Penelope, the absolute confidant of the Sea God.
"You're saying that Iron Fort City recently shipped a large batch of living crystals to Eternal Ring City?"
Sea Clan Commander Penelope spoke with some displeasure. Ever since the Sea Clan took control of the Crystal Forest, they had been suppressing the Beastman Clan's resources in this area. Now, Iron Fort City suddenly had a batch of energy crystals, making him wonder if it was related to the ambushed transport convoy three days ago.
The ambushed transport convoy was a minor matter. The key was how the Sea Clan had opened those sealed boxes. Or had the Beastman Clan already cracked the spatial secret patterns currently used by the Sea Clan?
Thinking of these things, Sea Clan Commander Penelope had a headache. The dwarf adjutant standing beside him lowered his head. He had previously escaped death on the Main Battlefield and was now transferred to serve under Sea Clan Commander Penelope. It was actually a promotion rather than a demotion. Moreover, guarding White Hoof Port meant he no longer had to go to the Main Battlefield, making it less likely to encounter that human god of death. Every time he thought of this, the dwarf adjutant was genuinely happy.
"Sir, is it possible that those beast barbarians accidentally cracked our spatial secret patterns?"
A Sharkman spoke. He was called Black Omen Aponus, originally the Sea King's chief bodyguard. But because the Sea King was worried about Sea Clan Commander Penelope encountering danger on the Main Battlefield, he transferred Black Omen to serve beside Sea Clan Commander Penelope.
"Impossible."
The Deep Sea Siren Dita, leaning against a bookshelf with her arms crossed, spoke. Needless to say, the Deep Sea Siren was definitely a member of the Council, sent here as one of Sea Clan Commander Penelope's deputies.
Just as Sea Clan Commander Penelope was silently thinking, and the Dwarf Adjutant, Black Omen, and Siren Dita were discussing whether the Sea Clan's spatial secret patterns had been cracked, the translucent jellyfish floating on the round table suddenly turned light red and displayed an image. A massive Abyssal Dragon was flying within the clouds. After ascending to a certain height, it folded its wings and dived straight down. Its speed was so fast that it broke through layers of sonic booms and spatial ripples.
Sea Clan Commander Penelope recognized at a glance that the image displayed on the 'Detection Float' was the scene directly above the Command Center.
Boom!
An explosion sounded from above. Everyone present looked puzzled and confused. The reason was that they couldn't figure out why this infamous eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon had come to die today.
Above the Command Center, the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon had turned into a black blur, diving vertically. Just as it was still a kilometer away from the central building, a stream of living missiles shot towards it. There were so many living missiles that they completely blocked the path of the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon's dive.
Deafening explosions rang out incessantly. Large patches of black dragon blood scattered. Contrary to all Sea Clan expectations, the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon, having endured a barrage of living missiles, not only didn't die but also charged to the very top of the Command Center. However, this was meaningless. The interior of this building was inscribed with a vast number of spells, making it indestructible. If the eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon smashed into it, the building would pierce it like a sharp sword.
Suddenly, the rapidly diving eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon spread its wings wide, halting its diving momentum. One by one, beastmen detached from its semi-fluid body, landing around the Command Center. Some even hung by one hand on the upper floors of the building.
After a burst of rapid roaring sounds, the main gate of this central building, which had just been lowered, was shot and exploded by concentrated fire from 150 Centaurs. Solar Flame melted the two-meter-thick alloy gate into molten iron. The Treeman Clan's Giant Armor charged in first, followed by Ergin, Harvey, and the others, who also rushed inside.
In just a few seconds, White Hoof Port, which had been peaceful moments before, was filled with the sounds of battle and shouting. It had to be said that this central building was truly sturdy. Apart from the Centaurs activating and blasting the main gate, several beastmen tried to break through relatively weak points like windows, but due to the massive number of spells inside the building, they couldn't even break the windows.
Now that the main gate was breached, the Lord Team members poured in. The first-floor defense line held for less than two minutes before being broken through by Ergin and the others. The eldest son of the Abyssal Dragon, which had turned into a large patch of black semi-fluid, also entered the first floor and surged towards the second floor.
150 Centaurs guarded the hall on the first floor. If any Sea Clan soldiers rushed in through the main gate, they would be met with three-meter-long metal spiral arrows imbued with Solar Flame.
With the Centaurs holding the main gate, any Sea Clan soldiers who rushed in died. Meanwhile, Ergin and Harvey each led a group. Ergin led the Snake Clan, Blood Beast Clan, Mad Beast Clan, and other members skilled in attacking and killing, advancing towards the Command Center above. Harvey led the Treeman Clan, War Bear Clan, Titan Clan, and other groups of burly physiques, pushing towards the underground supply depot.
Now, on the 21st floor of the Command Post, Sea Clan Commander Penelope's expression was exceptionally grim. Having guarded White Hoof Port for so many years, he had certainly imagined what to do if this place were ever breached by a Beastman army. But he had never imagined that it would be breached by the eldest son of the Abyss plus a few hundred beastmen.
What made Sea Clan Commander Penelope's blood pressure spike even more was that outside the central building, there were two full Sea Clan legions, meaning a million combatants. But now, these two Sea Clan legions were completely lost. They didn't know who to attack. Bombard the central building? Their highest commander was still inside. Charge inside? The Centaurs on the first floor were the most powerful Centaurs they had ever seen. No matter how many charged in, they were shot dead.
"Sir, we..."
Black Omen hesitated, holding a spatial item in his hand. With this, they could escape, teleporting the few people present further back to the 'Ancestor Lighthouse'. But retreating like this was too unwilling. Outside the building were two Sea Clan legions, and further out were eight Sea Clan legions. That meant a total of several million Sea Clan soldiers were stationed here. Yet the most core location had been occupied by a Lord leading a few hundred beastmen.
The Dwarf Adjutant and Siren Dita beside him didn't dare say a word. Both were a bit stunned. The current situation was too surreal.
Bang! Bang!
The dull sound of an axe chopping against an alloy door came from outside. This made Black Omen, who was blocking in front of Sea Clan Commander Penelope, look even worse. To have reached the 21st floor so quickly, these few hundred beastmen were probably all at the Chieftain level.
"Let's go. Leave this place."
Sea Clan Commander Penelope spoke in a deep voice. Hearing this, Black Omen immediately activated the spatial artifact in his hand. The four of them were enveloped by spreading spatial tentacles and then disappeared.
Boom!
Ergin, with some bloodstains on him, kicked open the door. His eyes scanned the room. Seeing the drifting spatial dust, he kicked aside the tables, chairs, and other debris blocking his way.
In total, just over half an hour, the Lord Team successfully occupied the central building of White Hoof Port, forcing the enemy commander to retreat, leaving behind ten confused Sea Clan legions.
Inside the underground supply depot, rows of metal boxes were neatly stacked. Walking among these metal boxes, Su Xiao found that most of them were sealed with spatial metal, containing meat, grain, and the like. The rest were processed energy crystal fat, all purified and catalyzed to a liquid state, of extremely high value.
Unable to teleport these resources away, Su Xiao tried to store an alloy box into the team storage space. It succeeded easily. Obviously, the storage space of Reincarnation Paradise far surpassed the Sea Clan's spatial secret patterns.
Su Xiao stored all these boxes of supplies into the team storage space, taking up about a third of it. He came to the stairs on the inner side and continued down, arriving at the treasure vault where supernatural items were stored.
This vault didn't store Soul Crystals or the like. Such items were distributed as soon as they arrived at the Main Battlefield area; none were left behind. The shelves here mostly held various unverified equipment. But what he needed were already verified items. After searching for a while, a bone box caught Su Xiao's attention. He opened it and found several pieces of Divine Bones inside.
[You have obtained Divine Bone (Origin Grade) x5 Blocks.]
Looting the treasure vault was full of surprises. Just these five Origin Grade Divine Bones made the trip worthwhile. He continued searching. A few light orbs, similar to essences, were lined up on a shelf.
[You have obtained Eternal Life Source (World-Class Item).]
[Eternal Life Source]
Origin: Wind Sea Continent (Unique)
Quality: World-Class
Usage Requirement: Can be absorbed without risk, greatly replenishing Primordial Life Force (If there is no loss of life force, it can permanently increase Health Points by 7500～9000 points. By absorbing Eternal Life Source, a maximum of 42000～50000 Health Points can be permanently increased. The bonus will vary depending on the constitution).
Effect for Shadow of Law Destruction: Can use the Devouring Core, which has reached X rank, to absorb this Eternal Life Source, using the unique energy converted from this item to enhance the Azure Steel Shadow ability.
Rating: 3570 points (Eternal Life Source rating is 3000～5200 points).
Brief Introduction: Please do not confuse this item with ordinary 'Life Source'. The value difference between the two is enormous.
...
There were a total of three [Eternal Life Source] on the shelf, with ratings ranging from 3570 to 3820 points. Needless to say, these were obtained from killing exotic beasts in this world.
Priority could be given to using this item to increase the Azure Steel Shadow ability level. The current Azure Steel Shadow ability was only Lv.20, with huge potential for improvement.
After raising the Azure Steel Shadow ability to a certain level, directly absorbing this [Eternal Life Source] was also a good choice, potentially increasing Health Points by up to 50,000 points. That was a very powerful enhancement.
Su Xiao looked at the [Eternal Life Source] in his hand, finding it more and more agreeable. This thing was definitely the more, the better. This made him start to take an interest in the exotic beasts of this world. Thinking carefully, exotic beasts were treasures all over. Many parts were top-grade ingredients, and they had unique outputs like [Eternal Life Source].
After searching the vault a bit more, a small wooden box with the Sea Clan language 'Priority Transport' caught Su Xiao's attention. He opened it and found a fragment inside. The texture was somewhat crystalline. He tried to touch it, and a prompt appeared. It was indeed an [Initial Mark] fragment. When he had walked into this building, he had received a prompt from the Void Tree that an [Initial Mark] fragment was nearby.
[You have obtained Initial Mark (Large Fragment).]
[This Initial Mark (Large Fragment) has not been obtained by any Contractor. Authentication is about to begin. For the next 40 minutes, the location of this Initial Mark (Large Fragment) will be sensed by all Contractors in this world.]
[If the Initial Mark (Large Fragment) you hold is not taken away within 40 minutes, you will formally hold this Mark Fragment and can store it in your storage space.]
[Tip: Only Large Mark Fragments will undergo this type of fair competition authentication. This is a synchronized authentication by Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, Death Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, Sanctuary Paradise, and Watchful Paradise. Small fragments, upon discovery, are defaulted to belong to the current holder and will not undergo this type of fair competition authentication.]
...
A wave of energy spread from the [Initial Mark (Large Fragment)] in Su Xiao's hand. The next second, all Contractors in this world received an announcement and could know the location of this Mark Fragment. If their Void Tree Reputation was high enough, they could even know the general identity of the current holder.
After the announcement appeared, the World Contact Platform became exceptionally lively. Noticing this, Su Xiao opened the contact platform to check. For these 40 minutes, he planned to stay right here. Any Contractors who wanted to come and snatch the Mark Fragment could try.
Xiao Ge (Sanctuary Paradise): "Finally, a large Mark Fragment has been found. Time to start fighting."
Kai Yin (Death Paradise): "Where is the Mark Fragment located?"
Deer Horn Man (Death Paradise): "White Hoof Port."
Bee: "(′???`)"
Hen Ren Xiong (Reincarnation Paradise): "Who has high Void Tree Reputation? Detect which faction's person is holding the Mark Fragment."
Thunder Mage God Aige (Apocalypse Paradise): "The Mark Fragment is located at White Hoof Port, held by a Lord of the Beastman faction. However, at this stage, White Hoof Port has not been captured by the Beastman Clan; it still belongs to the Sea Clan territory."
Xiao Ge (Sanctuary Paradise): "The information in that sentence is... quite substantial."
Lu Ge (Apocalypse Paradise): "Ahem~ everyone, I am currently on the high wall of White Hoof Port. Anyway, the Sea Clan legions are besieging the central building and haven't broken in yet."
Fortune Teller (Holy Light Paradise): "You mean, to go fight for that Mark Fragment, one must first break through the encirclement of several Sea Clan legions before they can fight that Beastman faction Lord? What's the point of fighting then?"
Lu Ge (Apocalypse Paradise): "Attached photos x2."
Thunder Mage God Aige (Apocalypse Paradise): "You've successfully made me give up the idea of going to fight for this Mark Fragment."
Deer Horn Man (Death Paradise): "How many Sea Clan legions are there roughly over there?"
Lu Ge (Apocalypse Paradise): "I don't know. Anyway, I'm standing on the high wall, and below me are all Sea Clan legions. Outside the high wall, there are also them, stretching as far as the eye can see. Probably 8 to 10 Sea Clan legions? (Attached photos x3)"
Bee: "w(?Д?)w"