Chapter 14: An Unexpected Encounter?
Above White Hoof Port, a Dragon-Fin Whale over a hundred meters in length swam by, the air ripples it stirred making the place look like an underwater world.
In reality, this was the defensive formation of White Hoof Port. Once activated, the sea clans within the port's range could swiftly swim through the air as if in water.
Because of this, the scene at White Hoof Port was spectacular. Ten entire legions of sea clans stood on the ground or floated at higher elevations, completely surrounding the central building. The sunlight filtering down reflected off the liquid-like air, creating shimmering waves.
Even though the central building was inscribed with countless formations, under such dense attacks and the relentless bombardment of war weapons, relatively weak points like windows had already been breached.
The central building became riddled with openings, allowing various sea clans to charge inside. There, within the limited terrain, they engaged in chaotic battles with the Great Chieftain-level beast clans. The results were predictable.
This disadvantage for the sea clans didn't last long. Under the human wave tactic, even though the Lord's team had an average strength of Great Chieftain level, they couldn't hold out and were forced to retreat layer by layer, eventually falling back to the first underground floor.
The stairs to the first underground floor were easy to capture, but when the sea clans rushed into the corridor, they were taught a lesson by the centaur clan, who were well-supplied with spiral arrows. Under the onslaught of three-meter-long, all-metal spiral arrows, any sea clan that charged in was shot to pieces. Moreover, the Solar Flame attached to the arrows incinerated the slain sea clans on the spot.
At this moment, in the temporary command post in the front area of White Hoof Port, Sea Clan Commander Penero listened grimly to his subordinates' reports. He had previously used a spatial artifact to leave the central building and reach the Ancestral Lighthouse. From there, he used the teleportation array to return to the outer district of White Hoof Port, stabilizing the various sea clan legions stationed there as quickly as possible.
But even so, Sea Clan Commander Penero felt a thorn in his throat. The building he had just ordered destroyed was the central building of White Hoof Port, the hub of all formations within the city.
In other words, once the central hub of the central building's foundation was destroyed, all formations in White Hoof Port—whether on the city walls or underwater—would fail. If the beast clan army attacked during this time, White Hoof Port would be no different from a flat wilderness.
This led to a dilemma: although the central building had been bombarded to a sieve-like state, Sea Clan Commander Penero dared not continue the assault. The formation hub of White Hoof Port was located in the treasure vault at the lowest level of the central building. Penero wasn't sure if any of those savage beasts could recognize it. If the formation hub was identified, it would be disastrous.
The few people in the room stared intently out the window, watching the besieged central building. Explosions occasionally rang out from within. Just then, a perception jellyfish floated up, indicating someone was contacting them.
Sea Clan Commander Penero activated the jellyfish, and a figure clad in dark golden scale armor, with hair like writhing gray snakes, was projected by the sensing jellyfish. Due to the long distance, the image wasn't very clear.
Seeing this figure on the throne, Sea Clan Commander Penero immediately knelt on one knee, lowering his head. The others prostrated themselves, for the person opposite was none other than the supreme ruler of the sea clans, the Sea King.
"Penero, has White Hoof Port fallen?"
The Sea King's tone was calm, seemingly without intent to blame or punish.
"Not yet... fallen."
After saying this, Sea Clan Commander Penero lowered his head even further, clearly feeling some shame.
"So, the enemy hasn't breached the high walls yet?"
"The enemy is currently besieged in the underground treasure vault."
Upon saying this, Sea Clan Commander Penero's forehead touched the ground. He wished he could find a crack to crawl into.
"So, the enemy launched a surprise attack and reached the treasure vault?"
The Sea King on the other side was surprised, but from start to finish, this Sea King showed no intention of blaming Sea Clan Commander Penero. The latter had guarded White Hoof Port for many years, and this place was within the main battlefield, a contested area between the sea clans and beast clans. The sea clans had occupied it for years, seventy percent due to Sea Clan Commander Penero's personal abilities.
"Yes."
Sea Clan Commander Penero gritted his teeth and admitted. He didn't make excuses that the enemy had broken in using the Abyssal Dragon's eldest son, nor did he mention that the enemy was a super elite team of several hundred beast clans.
After ending the communication with the Sea King, Sea Clan Commander Penero sat gloomily at the conference table. In his view, losing face didn't matter, but the formation hub of White Hoof Port absolutely could not be destroyed. Not only was its construction cost astronomical, but once the various buildings in White Hoof Port lost their formation support, they would be as fragile as dead wood under the beast clan's attack.
"Sir, the beast clans have never been good at manipulating formations. So, I believe those savage beasts wouldn't recognize the formation hub. How could they recognize something they've never seen?"
The dwarf adjutant spoke. He naturally guessed Sea Clan Commander Penero's concerns. But no sooner had the dwarf adjutant finished speaking than many buildings in White Hoof Port dimmed, especially the several-hundred-meter-tall alloy city walls, which lost their indestructible feel.
This made several sea clans present realize that the formation hub in the treasure vault had been destroyed. Sea Clan Commander Penero's expression grew even uglier, but it also helped him make a decision. Since White Hoof Port's formations were ruined, this beast clan elite team must be permanently eliminated here.
Just as Sea Clan Commander Penero was about to give the order, a Sea Lizard clan messenger ran over quickly and reported, "Lord Penero, the enemy has shut down our formation hub, causing over half of White Hoof Port's formations to stall."
Hearing this, Sea Clan Commander Penero's heart sank. This time, not only did the beast clans have someone who understood formations, but they could even shut down the formation hub.
Soon, Penero received news that the enemy lord leading this beast clan surprise attack wanted to talk with him.
Meanwhile, on the fifth floor of the underground treasure vault, it was somewhat dim. Su Xiao poured the last bottle of inhibitor onto the formation hub, causing it to further quiet down, only emitting a faint fluorescence.
Su Xiao picked up an air detection device and found that the sea clans hadn't injected poison gas or the like. He removed his gas mask. He naturally had no intention of negotiating with the sea clans, but he also wouldn't continue to fight to the death with the sea clans here.
The reason was that the [Initial Mark (Large Fragment)] he had just obtained had been activated. It would take 40 minutes for this item to settle down, after which he could gain ownership and store it in his inventory.
Under normal circumstances, there would already be a massive free-for-all with Big Shot, Demon Scythe Tailed, Lightning Mage God Aige, and the Four Ranger Brothers. In this competition, there were no allies. According to the Void Tree's notarization, there could only be one victor: the person holding the most [Initial Mark] fragments.
However, there was one point: as long as one obtained an [Initial Mark] fragment, no matter how small, it could exempt them from corresponding mission penalties.
Su Xiao estimated that in a one-on-one fight, he probably wasn't a match for Big Shot or Demon Scythe Tailed. Both had reached the absolute limit of the Ninth Rank. The reason they hadn't advanced to Absolute Strong was likely due to accumulation or waiting for an opportunity.
Under these circumstances, the ten sea clan legions surrounding them were the best defense. Whether it was Big Shot, Demon Scythe Tailed, or the others, they had already arrived in the peripheral area of White Hoof Port. Seeing the sea clan army besieging the place, all the competitors suddenly lost interest in this [Initial Mark] fragment.
Therefore, Su Xiao never intended to negotiate with the sea clan commander here, nor did he care about the sea clans sealing off the space in this area. He checked the mark acquisition progress:
[Currently held Initial Mark: 5.1%.]
This was equivalent to obtaining one-twentieth of the Initial Mark, which was already a lot. If he could obtain over 50% of the Initial Mark, even if it was just 50.01%, as long as he wasn't killed, victory was assured.
The Void Tree's current notarization rule was: at the end of this world progress, the person holding the most Initial Mark would immediately obtain all remaining mark fragments.
Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal (Complete) and bit off a piece with a crunch. He could only say that even though he had eaten various soul-based "delicacies," classics never go out of style, and Soul Crystals were the classic.
Just as Su Xiao was savoring the taste of the soul, Ergin hurried over. Seeing Su Xiao toss the last piece of Soul Crystal into his mouth, even with Ergin's boldness, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks. He felt that every time their lord ate souls, his gaze had an inexplicably eerie quality.
"Speak."
"It's like this, my lord. Sea Clan Commander Penero has sent an envoy who wants to negotiate with us. Moreover, the envoy claims to know you."
"Let him in."
"Yes."
Ergin turned and walked up the stairs. Soon, he returned with a sea clan dwarf.
Seeing this sea clan dwarf, Su Xiao found him somewhat familiar. After recalling, he remembered it was the sea clan adjutant he had let go earlier.
"This lord... sir, rather than both sides suffering losses, there is another way to resolve the current situation."
The dwarf adjutant spoke, maintaining respect without losing the sea clan's dignity.
"2000 Soul Stones."
"What?"
The dwarf adjutant didn't react for a moment. The originally planned negotiation was that the surrounding sea clan legions would withdraw, allowing the Lord's team to leave, but in exchange, the Lord's team must not destroy the formation hub before leaving.
Before the dwarf adjutant could even state this condition, Su Xiao had already made his opening offer.
The dwarf adjutant tried to negotiate further, but when he noticed the beast clans around him looking hostile, he wisely retreated to report Su Xiao's conditions to Sea Clan Commander Penero.
In less than ten minutes, the dwarf adjutant returned to the underground treasure vault. This time, he brought the news that the sea clans would not pay Soul Stones, but they could discuss other materials.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew his opponent this time was quite troublesome. He simply had Baha negotiate with the dwarf adjutant. The Sea Clan Commander Penero guarding this place had a considerable reputation, and it would be difficult to outwit him.
Su Xiao checked his current reputation value and found it had become 1295 points. This meant that temporarily occupying this central building had earned him over 13,000 reputation points.
Finally out of negative reputation, Su Xiao opened his mission list. Sure enough, the first faction mission had changed, showing that he could obtain a fiefdom through a compromise method, but he first needed to return to the main city, Eternal Ring City.
Su Xiao's core purpose in forming the Lord's team was to obtain a fiefdom and, after acquiring it, use the team to deal with the unruly city lords on that land. Now that the initial goal was achieved, there was no need to continue taking risks on the main battlefield.
[Prompt: The notarization time limit has been reached. No contractors have come to compete for this Initial Mark (Fragment). You have obtained ownership of this Initial Mark (Fragment).]
Upon receiving this prompt, Su Xiao stood up from his seat and simultaneously released the Blade Demon Spirit. A crystal warhammer formed in the Blade Demon Spirit's hand.
He went to the inner side of the treasure vault, where the ground was already inscribed with a spatial array. Su Xiao stood on the teleportation array, and a large mass of black semi-fluid surged over. Then, Ergin, Harvey, and other beast clans rushed into this black semi-fluid.
After the last centaur submerged into it, Su Xiao commanded the Blade Demon Spirit to smash the formation hub to pieces. From the beginning, he had no intention of negotiating with the sea clans. Or rather, the sea clans had similar thoughts; both sides were stalling for time. However, the sea clans were waiting for their most elite assassination squad to arrive.
The moment the spatial array beneath his feet activated, Su Xiao noticed a translucent film enveloping the surroundings. This was clearly a spatial seal set up by the enemy.
Meanwhile, outside the central treasure vault, a spatial tower emitted white light, indicating it had begun blocking the teleportation.
Seeing this, Sea Clan Commander Penero in the temporary command post felt his hidden killing intent grow colder. He knew the formation hub had been destroyed. Even without receiving a report from his subordinates, he was certain of this.
"Lord Penero, with this spatial seal in place, no one can escape using spatial formations. Please rest assured."
An old sea clan with octopus tentacles spoke. He was the mage responsible for the spatial seal of White Hoof Port. But no sooner had the octopus mage finished speaking than—
Boom!
A dull sound rang out. The spatial tower that had been continuously blocking the teleportation exploded, sending fragments flying everywhere, as if the tower had been hit by a train.
The gazes of Sea Clan Commander Penero, the dwarf adjutant, Black Omen, and Siren Dita all turned to the octopus mage. The octopus mage's tentacles writhed as he stared in shock at the shattered spatial tower.
...
Space twisted, turned, stretched, and finally spiraled before spitting out the Abyssal Dragon's eldest son, Ergin, and the others. This place was a lush valley, with a waterfall cascading down and mist rising. Baha had set up a node here in advance, allowing everyone to teleport to this location.
As soon as he was thrown out of the spatial vortex, the Abyssal Dragon's eldest son reverted to his Abyssal Dragon form. He staggered a few steps as if drunk, then propped one dragon wing against a towering rock wall like a hand and vomited yesterday's dinner with a "wah." His vertical dragon pupils no longer held ferocity but had begun to show confusion.
A centaur captain tried to stand up from the ground. In his entire life, he had never been in such a position, lying on the ground with all four legs splayed wide. Not far away, Evil Tooth sat with two fingers in his mouth, soon pulling out a broken tooth.
Originally, Su Xiao planned to use the teleportation array again to return to Iron Fortress City. However, at the unanimous request of Ergin, Harvey, Viper, Evil Tooth, and the others, Su Xiao left them here on standby. He then took Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha back to Iron Fortress City.
When the spatial teleportation ended, Su Xiao arrived at the temporary base. Bubu Wang drove the car. As soon as the vehicle left the courtyard, the towering steel chimneys of Iron Fortress City came into view first. The faint, dirty smell in the air was the unique scent of Iron Fortress City.
Driving to the rear district, Su Xiao arrived at the supply point. When he pushed open the door of the material exchange office, the smell that hit him made his vision go black. He supported himself against the doorframe with one hand for 0.5 seconds before the darkness in his vision receded.
A bubbling cooking sound came from within. Kaiser was brewing something in a large iron pot over a fire stove. Seeing Su Xiao arrive, Kaiser's eyes lit up with surprise, and he stepped forward to say, "My dear friend, you've come at just the right time. What do you think of my concocted recovery potion?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Keeping a few meters away, he glanced at the boiling, churning brown viscous liquid in the iron pot. He made no comment. Or rather, with his "rudimentary" alchemy skills, he truly couldn't discern the potion's ingredients.
As if realizing the potion's smell wasn't great, Kaiser opened the window, took the iron pot off the stove, cooled the liquid, and bottled it. He picked up a bottle and handed it to Su Xiao, saying, "See if there's anything that needs improvement."
"..."
Su Xiao took the potion and found it was indeed a recovery potion, but its properties were rather peculiar:
[Thick Potion]
Origin: Nicholas Kaiser.
Quality: White ~ Holy Spirit Rank.
Type: Recovery Potion/Debuff Potion/Unknown Component Liquid.
Drinking Effect: After drinking, there is a 33.33% chance of vomiting, a 33.33% chance of fainting, and a 33.33% chance of immediately recovering 95% of maximum health.
Side Effects: After recovering health with this potion, there is a certain probability of severe diarrhea or adverse reactions like soul chills.
Rating: 1～1000 points.
Description: Pending.
Price: Pending.
...
Su Xiao still couldn't figure out the potion's general ingredients. When he asked Kaiser, Kaiser hemmed and hawed for a long time without giving an answer, clearly having improvised this potion without even knowing the recipe himself.
This was very much in line with Kaiser's style of concocting potions. Others put in what the recipe says; Kaiser puts in whatever he has.
Su Xiao walked to the wooden counter, while Kaiser went behind it, activating his quartermaster authority and the faction shop.
Su Xiao first submitted the [Faction Mission: Capture/Surprise Attack White Hoof Port], receiving a total of 6,850 reputation points. Although he had previously occupied the central building of White Hoof Port, the damage to the port's structures wasn't extensive. These 6,850 points were almost entirely the reward for destroying the formation hub.
There were actually a few thousand more points available, but they required destroying the buildings that had lost their formation effects. At the time, there was clearly no such opportunity. Su Xiao opened the faction shop, and a list appeared before him.
[Current Reputation Points: 8,345 points.]