Chapter 804

The pursuit army marched toward the Black Earth Fortress in an orderly manner. Along the way back, Su Xiao occasionally saw small groups of Imperial soldiers patrolling the situation around the Black Earth Fortress. Once they discovered the Tribal side, they immediately fired signal flares similar to firecrackers into the sky.

Signal flares rose into the night sky from time to time. The more than 100,000 Imperial soldiers were divided into several groups, clearing out the Tribal Army in the nearby area.

Of course, this clearing had a time limit. When night fell completely, the clearing would end, and the main army would assemble at the Black Earth Fortress and guard the place.

If there were no surprises, the Tribal Army would not give up the Black Earth War Zone; after all, this was one of the three major war zones. Moreover, this wasn't the first time the Tribal Army had been driven back.

In this battle, the Tribal Army had been beaten very miserably. This was both because the Tribal Army was not united enough and because Carlos personally arrived at the front line, causing the Imperial soldiers' morale to reach a level of pressing forward without hesitation.

When Su Xiao followed the main army back to the Black Earth Fortress, several large piles of corpses were stacked outside the Black Earth Fortress. These corpses were burned by raging fires, and plumes of black smoke rose into the sky.

"Lift, be careful, take it slow with the lasso over there."

"Who saw Marsa? Tell him to appear before me within five minutes."

"Report, our side's sacrificed soldiers have all been transported into the Black Earth Fortress."

Soldiers were busy on the battlefield. Legion Commander Carlos stood among several officers, and those officers reported something from time to time.

The tribe Su Xiao was in dispersed after arriving near the Black Earth Fortress, and all soldiers could move freely.

The new recruits climbed up the fortress via rope ladders; they were going to find the scribe inside the Black Earth Fortress, wanting to write a letter home to tell their families that they were still alive.

As for the veterans, they scavenged for property on the battlefield. Compared to letters, they were more willing to send valuable things to their wives and children at home.

Su Xiao walked toward the Black Earth Fortress; he was going to find the Quartermaster Nicholas Caesar. If there were no surprises, the Merit Store would open before long. At that time, the leaders of the major adventure groups would also head there. After this battle, there was more than just Su Xiao who had enough merit to exchange for the 【Holy Oak Branch】.

Fortunately, Su Xiao had had contact with Nicholas Caesar before and could pull some strings.

Su Xiao climbed up the Black Earth Fortress along the rope ladder. The stone slope on the outside of the fortress had already been dismantled; that thing had no other use except to facilitate the Tribal Army's attack on the fortress.

Above the fortress wall, the ground was wet and slippery, and some light red puddles reminded everyone what had happened here before.

Su Xiao smelled a faint bloody scent. Although the corpses on the city wall had been handled and the ground had been cleaned, the bloody scent lingered.

After asking the passing soldiers, Su Xiao learned Nicholas Caesar's location; that guy had already moved all his family property back to the Black Earth Fortress.

The entire stone wall of the fortress was several dozen meters wide. One side inside the fortress wall was hollow, used for stockpiling supplies and for soldiers to live in. As for the outside, it was built entirely of obsidian. This side was frequently attacked by the Tribal side, so it had to be sturdy.

Su Xiao entered the interior of the fortress wall. This place was somewhat like a large war fortress, with floors, and each floor had a corridor running horizontally through the entire floor, facilitating movement.

Floors to were used for soldiers to live in, partitioned into large dormitories of thousands of square meters. Floors 5 to 4 were where officers lived, partitioned into small cubicles. The higher the position, the better the living conditions. Floors 3 to were used for storing supplies.

Su Xiao walked into the interior of the fortress, and a rich smell of gunpowder hit his face. Large pieces of black gravel were scattered in the corridor; this was the masterpiece of the Tribal side. They had wanted to blow up the Black Earth Fortress before, and of course, they had to start blowing it up from the hollow side.

Torches were inserted into the walls of the fortress corridor, the firelight flickering, and it was somewhat damp and cold inside the fortress.

According to the information he had gathered, Nicholas Caesar lived on the 4th floor, a place where only high-ranking officers could live.

Su Xiao had just walked to the entrance of the 4th floor when he found several soldiers blocking the entrance.

"Please show your officer identification, my lord."

These soldiers stood straight, their expressions serious.

"I am Squad Leader White Night, I don't have identification for the time being, it's an official position added during wartime."

Su Xiao had nothing to prove his identity. However, he didn't need identification at all. The war had just ended, and many new officers had been added. These officers didn't have officer identification. As for impersonating an officer, ordinary people wouldn't do that; that was a capital crime.

Several soldiers looked at each other, and they were somewhat hesitant.

"My lord, I'm sorry, without officer identification, you cannot enter here for the time being."

A soldier stepped forward and said in a low voice: "My lord, the small one has no choice, please don't make it difficult for the small one..."

The soldier's words already carried a tone of pleading.

"This method is not bad."

Su Xiao roughly guessed what was going on. Needless to say, these soldiers were "interested parties" planted here. Now that the war at the Black Earth Fortress had just ended, the officers were all very busy and had no time to return here at all. The only kind of person who would come here at this time was a Qiyuezhe who wanted to exchange merit for items.

Su Xiao had only opened the Merit Store after obtaining the officer position. Those adventure group leaders were the same. A squad leader could recruit 200 subordinates, which was actually equipped for adventure groups. Adventure group leaders would recruit their subordinates as subordinate soldiers, which would allow them to help their subordinates open the Merit Store. Only by opening the Merit Store would merit be displayed.

The few soldiers blocking Su Xiao now were very likely recruited by those leaders to block other Qiyuezhe from seeing Nicholas Caesar.

Even if they couldn't block everyone, blocking some was good. Military discipline was strict during wartime, and most Qiyuezhe didn't dare to cause trouble.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao pushed aside the soldiers in front of him and walked straight forward.

"Wait."

These soldiers didn't shout "Stop" or "Kill anyone who dares to approach" or anything like that, but subconsciously shouted "Wait." This made Su Xiao even more certain that these soldiers were paper tigers.

Su Xiao's footsteps paused, and he looked sideways at the few soldiers. Now it should be them who were feeling guilty.

"My lord, the small one..."

A slightly older soldier stepped forward.

"If you talk nonsense again, I'll slaughter you."

Facing this kind of deliberate obstruction, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't be polite.

"..."

Several soldiers retreated a few steps. They had a feeling that if they continued to block Su Xiao, they would really die. If they died now, they would die in vain, and they would also bear a crime after death.

Su Xiao walked into the corridor on the 4th floor of the fortress. From a distance, he saw more than a dozen people standing in the corridor, seemingly waiting for something.

After seeing these people, Su Xiao recognized that these people were Qiyuezhe, because among them were "acquaintances"—the pair of siblings he had met outside the Quartermaster's tent before. Su Xiao had sold the "Tauren Lord Arm Guards" to the younger brother among them.

More than a dozen Qiyuezhe all looked at Su Xiao. These dozen people were divided into four groups, which basically represented the four adventure groups remaining in the Black Earth War Zone.