Chapter 3327: Equivalent Exchange

Viewed from above, the post-disaster world does not feel like an apocalypse at all; on the contrary, the natural environment is much better than it once was. Vast grasslands resemble a green carpet, divided by oxbow lakes that look like donuts.

Near one of these oxbow lakes stands a mobile fortress. It is used for movement, with metal tentacles nearly ten meters thick curving downward, their clawed tips piercing the ground to anchor the fortress in place. Even a Category 10 typhoon would not be enough to shake it in the slightest. The armor plating on the fortress's exterior provides an inexplicable sense of security.

This mobile fortress is named "T5-619 Fortress." Because of the cruel methods of its leader, Li Xiniwei, the outside world calls this fortress the "Doomsday Fortress." Few living things that enter here, other than the Demi-humans, ever come out alive.

The Doomsday Fortress is a fifth-tier fortress, a small one among the six tiers from T0 to T5. The fourth-tier to first-tier fortresses ranked above it have smaller numbers, meaning the mobile fortresses are larger in size, and naturally, the population living inside is greater.

In addition to the fifth-tier through first-tier fortresses, there is one level above them: the Undefeated Fortress, which more people call the Immovable Fortress. There are only three of them, all belonging to the Demi-humans.

These three Immovable Fortresses truly do not move much; they remain in a deployed state year-round. In people's impressions, they are more like fortress cities.

The three fortress cities also represent the three strongest factions of the Demi-humans: Radical, Conservative, and Neutral. These are the different styles of the three major Demi-human factions, and the T5-tier Doomsday Fortress is one of the supporters of the Radical faction.

Clang, clang, clang...

With every step Su Xiao takes, the large iron shoes on his feet make a dull thud. This item is usually just somewhat heavy, but once activated, the soles generate immense suction, clinging tightly to the ground to prevent the prisoner from escaping.

In addition to these "large iron shoes," Su Xiao also wears thick hand shackles, and his arms are covered in weighted rings. Even so, the four guards around him remain uneasy, keeping a distance of 1.5 meters from him at all times.

Su Xiao is somewhat puzzled as to where this identity rushed into to kill hundreds of Demi-humans to warrant such treatment. Presumably, the Demi-humans sent this predecessor here because they were certain the individual had lost their combat capability. However, this has nothing to do with Su Xiao; he is just connecting—no, he should have borrowed this heavy identity.

After walking out of the long, narrow passage of the prison cell, Su Xiao sees a vast, circular open space. It appears very empty. Near the center, there is a central pillar several meters thick, with many metal troughs resembling crematoriums fixed to the pillar in sequence, stacked upon one another.

Judging from the traces above, this is where the Pig-headed Men sleep. Including the stacked sleeping troughs built along the walls, the total number of sleeping troughs on the first level of the fortress is around 700.

Continuing forward, Su Xiao sees many metal racks on the first level of the fortress, with freight elevators hanging from them. As the elevators open, two Pig-headed Men push out large carts. After pushing the carts to the inner side of the first level, they stack a type of light green ore from inside onto a conveyor belt to be transported to the second level.

This is consistent with the data scouted by Bubu Wang; this fortress has not moved its position for about half a month, intending to mine the active ore vein directly beneath it dry before moving to the next location.

Under the escort of the four guards around him, Su Xiao boards a stained and mottled freight elevator. Accompanied by creaking sounds, the elevator descends deep into the ground along a vertical mine shaft.

After descending about a hundred meters, the elevator jolts and stops. The scene that meets the eye is a network of mine tunnels spread throughout the blue-black rock layer, as if one had arrived in the kingdom of rodents.

The height of these mine tunnels varies from 2 to 3 meters. Pig-headed Men wearing thick cloth work clothes walk between the tunnels. Some Pig-headed Men, due to the stuffiness underground, wear dirty undershirts, their faces covered in grime, their skin rough.

All Pig-headed Men share a few characteristics: long-term labor and the inherent power of their bloodline give them sturdy physiques, but their eyes are dull and numb. Almost everyone has scars on their bodies; either their noses have been torn open, their ears have been half-severed, or whip marks can be seen on the shoulders of their undershirts.

With a clatter, a mining shovel is thrown at Su Xiao's feet. It is a foreman holding a whip.

"What are you looking at? From now on, you have no name, no title that can represent you. Pick up the mining shovel and go dig over there. Ask one question, and your tongue will be cut out. Don't work, and your throat will be cut..."

Boom!

A sonic boom spreads from diagonally above Su Xiao. A 3-meter-long blood spear shoots out. This blood spear first pierces the foreman's high-tech mask, then penetrates his skull and brain matter, and finally pierces through his entire head, pinning him to the rock wall behind.

The foreman's angry reprimand comes to an abrupt end. After being pinned to the rock wall by the blood spear, because his head was pierced, he flails his limbs. In the next second, the blood spear explodes with a bang, shattering his head and upper body to pieces.

Just as the blood spear ten meters away explodes, the four guards around Su Xiao react. One of them is the fastest; he suddenly disappears from his spot and appears in front of Su Xiao, thrusting a short baton rendered blue by electric arcs toward Su Xiao's chest.

Crackle!

The guard's expression is fierce, but the result is different from what he expected. Blue-white electric arcs spread across Su Xiao's chest, yet he has no reaction at all.

Compared to the power of World Thunder, Su Xiao feels nothing other than a bit of numbness from being shocked by this thing. What surprises him is that the opponent actually used some kind of technological creation to perform spatial movement, and their performance in all aspects is excellent.

In the astonished gaze of the guard in front, Su Xiao grabs the short baton rendered blue by electric arcs. The Boundary-Breaking Thread pops out from his sleeve, its hook locking onto the neck of the guard opposite. After so many reinforcements, the metal content within the Boundary-Breaking Thread is not low, and naturally, it conducts electricity.

"Liao liao liao liao~"

The guard opposite twitches, then, holding his shoulder, falls straight backward onto the ground, a large puddle of urine wetting his pants.

Looking behind Su Xiao now, the remaining three guards are either pinned to the ground by blood spears or pinned to the wall.

Zhan Long Shan appears at Su Xiao's waist. His right hand presses on the hilt. After the long blade is unsheathed a small distance, a crisp sound of slashing rings out. His hand shackles and the weighted rings on his arms are severed instantly, and the heavy metal shoes also turn into fragments.

Through preliminary testing, the "Blood Spear: Hunt," used for mid-range sniping of enemies, is very satisfying in power. Its formation speed is fast, its flight speed goes without saying, and its penetrating power is impeccable. More importantly, Su Xiao can also manipulate this thing to cause blood energy explosions, thereby causing more severe secondary damage.

Su Xiao grips the metal collar at his neck with one hand. Crystals spread along his hand, quickly eroding the metal collar and crystallizing it.

With a snap, Su Xiao tears off the crystal collar from his neck. Although it contains semi-fluid explosives, it cannot explode due to the crystallization.

"Save..."

A Demi-human guard who is not yet dead wants to call for help, but just as he shouts, a miniature blood spear pierces into his mouth and then explodes. His head bursts open like a watermelon.

The remaining two guards see this and quickly shut their mouths, looking at Su Xiao with pleading—no, it should be begging—eyes, requesting him to spare their lives.

Su Xiao picks up a metal short baton from the ground and looks around, locking onto a Pig-headed Man pushing a mining cart. This Pig-headed Man looks quite honest.

"You, come here."

Su Xiao's words make the Pig-headed Man hesitate for a moment. He looks at the corpses of the foreman and the guards, his eyes showing no fear, and he walks over with a numb expression.

"Take this, go, beat him to death."

Su Xiao hands the short baton in his hand to this Pig-headed Man. After seeing the number of sleeping troughs on the first level earlier, he already had a plan in mind. Whether this plan can succeed depends on the performance of the Pig-headed Men. If the wildness within the Pig-headed Men has been completely tamed, this plan will come to nothing. If the Pig-headed Men still have some wildness, it can be utilized.

These guys are strong and sturdy. Judging by their status as laborers, their numbers are definitely not small. As for combat proficiency, that doesn't matter; they don't know tactics, but they can swarm forward and hack at whoever they see—that they can do.

This tactic is one Su Xiao often uses, driving many famous generals of native worlds to despair.

Previously, when fighting the Dwarves in the Sand Emperor world, Spring Iron Sheep was driven to despair just like this.

It's no wonder Spring Iron Sheep was driven to despair; the opponent's tactic was clearly a pile of shit, so why couldn't he beat it? Anyone would find this stifling.

The detection of the Eye of the Gods ends. Su Xiao looks at the data of the Pig-headed Man, which is the same as expected: strength and endurance are good, but there are no skills that boost attack capability.

Although there are no skills that boost attack capability, there are defensive skills. This is not because the Demi-humans are kind-hearted and want the Pig-headed Men to have stronger survivability; this ability is something the Pig-headed Men have honed bit by bit from childhood, enduring beatings, canings, electric punishments, and hunching in cramped small cells.

The Pig-headed Men don't know how to fight, but they are truly resistant to beatings. In that case, it's simple: when the enemy attacks, if the person being attacked doesn't defend at all and strikes back with a hammer, there is a high probability of severely injuring the enemy. Once a certain scale is formed, Su Xiao doesn't worry about the Pig-headed Men being afraid on the battlefield.

"War Lord Title Effect: Morale +70 points (This effect can be triggered after the number of soldier-type units reaches 500)."

The problem at hand is whether the Pig-headed Men, once formed into a scale, will be judged as soldier-type units.

In the past, the manifestation of morale bonuses was not obvious, but this time it is crucial. As long as morale is high enough, the Pig-headed Men will charge forward as if they have taken stimulants.

These thoughts appear one after another in Su Xiao's mind, but thinking about them now doesn't mean they can be realized. If they don't know how to fight, they can go directly to the battlefield to practice; if they have no ability, they die; if they have ability, they live.

Su Xiao doesn't mind helping the Pig-headed Men escape their current predicament, but the Pig-headed Men must pay with enough blood and death, and with enough victories, to prove they are useful. This is an equivalent exchange; otherwise, they will all die.

The starting point for whether this plan can be realized lies with the Pig-headed Man holding the short iron baton in front. Assuming the beastliness of the Pig-headed Men has been wiped out, they are worthless. Only by daring to resist can they dare to go to the battlefield and have value.

The Pig-headed Man holding the short iron baton looks at Su Xiao, then at the iron baton in his own hand, and finally at the Demi-human guard cowering by the rock wall, shaking his head and begging for mercy.

This Pig-headed Man lowers his head and thinks for a short while, finally shaking his head, indicating that he will not kill the guard who often beats him.

"Then you are useless."

A blood spear is constructed behind Su Xiao. The numbness in the eyes of the Pig-headed Man in front disappears, replaced by immense fear, but he still doesn't rush toward the guard, instead taking a big step back.

Just at this moment, a Pig-headed Man wearing an undershirt so dirty its original color is unrecognizable, with a cheap pigskin belt around his waist, dark green thick cloth trousers on his lower body, and a piece of his ear severed, walks out. He bumps into the Pig-headed Man blocking the way with his shoulder, snatches the iron baton from the other's hand, and strides toward the guard pinned to the rock wall, ignoring the guard's loud begging.

Bang, bang, bang...

After a dull sound of iron baton strikes, the Pig-headed Man in the undershirt, his face covered in blood spots, straightens his body and finally steps on the corpse's head, crushing it to pieces.

Why is this Pig-headed Man so brave? Is he the chosen one? Does he have extraordinary talent? None of these. It is because he is young, in his prime at 28 years old, the period when his beastliness is strongest, and he has too many questions in his heart.

Why must we mine every day?

Why must we eat the same food every day?

Why are we not allowed to speak freely?

Why can the Demi-humans kill us at will?

Why was he born a lower-class creature?

Blood flows down from the face of the Pig-headed Man in the undershirt. Just as he is about to walk toward another guard, his legs feel as if they have been filled with lead, unable to move.

Su Xiao looks the Pig-headed Man in the undershirt up and down, feeling satisfied. His plan seems to have hope of continuing. The first step is to seize this mobile fortress and use it as the base camp for the current stage.

Su Xiao doesn't even need to think about the main quest this time; he knows the general content. This is also the reason he was teleported to "Selle Star." The main quest must be related to this world conquest war.

Within this world, the number of contractors from Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Watcher Paradise will not be small. Su Xiao has absolutely no chance of winning against so many contractors on his own, and even if he waits for those three parties to fight each other, it will be very difficult to seize the final victory.

If one asks, what to do when the enemy is numerous? The answer is simple: be more numerous than them.

The problem to note is that the world conquest war is ongoing, and the Void Tree must be the notary. Su Xiao is invading this world and must be careful not to be warned by the Void Tree. He has been warned several times in the past because of similar matters.

PS: (Thanks for everyone's concern. Fei Wen's neck is much better today. I wrote three chapters and then found that I had actually written 10,000 words. Going to treat my neck was indeed the right choice.) ===== CHAPTER 3328 =====