Chapter 1227
Chapter 1227 - 1213 War Begins
1,336 words
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7 min read
The indescribable monster had become increasingly restless, with countless mouths screaming and shrieking, the eyes on them desperately seeking the thief who had stolen the treasure.
However, its enormous size limited its mobility, and the absurd strength of a body that could only be maintained by "Holy Water" also came with the high consumption that was to be expected.
As a result, its mighty body further confined its range of movement.
It had tried to evolve wings—and had succeeded!
It’s just that those tiny wings flapped in vain, failing to even lift off the ground.
It had acquired intelligence, learned to imitate birds, and attempted to gain the freedom to move.... But clearly, its intelligence wasn’t enough, and it consumed even more of its essence.
The wails echoed through the world, sounding like the screams of a human girl to Lu Ping’an, while the local Long Hand Clan heard the mournful cries of their own kind.
It was in a powerless rage...
And its appearance, with countless wings sprouting from its tentacles, was becoming even more bizarre and ferocious.
When it finally abandoned the dwindling pool of water to move towards the nearest congregation of living creatures, everyone knew there was no dragging this out.
"It’s heading towards the village! We must stop it!"
Long Xike immediately panicked; if that thing entered the village, it would result in a massacre.
Wang Rui and Tao Song also looked anxiously at Lu Ping’an.
Although this might be the Magic Monster’s instinct, it hit their weak spot for sure.
Once war involved the common people, they probably had no choice but to intercept it head-on.
Many eyes were on Lu Ping’an, expecting that according to past practices, it should already be time for the final battle.
But the young man merely smiled and then...
"How’s the plan executing?"
He contacted the colleagues who had gone out to work earlier.
"Most people have agreed and received their pay, but some are hesitant to leave their ancestral lands..."
"Give them double the resettlement allowance, if that’s still not enough, double it again and tell them they have ten seconds to decide, otherwise forget it. Also tell them another monster is coming."
Three minutes later, the call came in.
"... They’ve all agreed, but those who were paid earlier are causing trouble."
"Are they all on the ship? Okay, never mind them, those making more of a fuss, give them a beating to settle down. Tell them we’re not saviors or nannies, we’re just ordinary ’mercenaries’."
Lu Ping’an put down the walkie-talkie and smiled at the others.
Having known that there were other ordinary people on this island, Lu Ping’an had arranged relocation before the battle commenced... Considering the local purchasing power, the amount spent on the resettlement allowance was really insignificant.
Besides, that Magic Monster was not an invader who claimed territory; after the fight, it would not stay there to claim the land, and the people could simply return then.
It was better to max out the resettlement offer now than to talk of "refuge" or "compensation for losses." If their homes were still there upon their return, they would be the ones ahead.
"Don’t panic...."
When time was on his side, Lu Ping’an naturally made every preparation possible, spending money to hire ships and relocating a village of a thousand or so—in comparison with potential gains, it was just a trifle.
Making good predictions and avoiding unavoidable traps before being grilled in a moral dilemma was Lu Ping’an’s consistent style.
Now, the preparations he had made in advance paid off, giving Lu Ping’an yet more precious time.
The massive form slowly moved, stopping and starting... Its pace seemed sluggish, but due to its outrageously large size, its speed actually surpassed that of most vehicles.
If they hadn’t prepared in advance, it would have certainly been too late by now.
And the time they had fought to gain was not wasted either.
More Demon Wolves, Magical Beasts, and Magic Plant Traps were deployed, and now that its path had been determined, they conducted a mine-style probing, obtaining more detailed and complete intelligence.
For an entity of an "unknown tier," Lu Ping’an was willing to pay a higher cost.
He now treated it as a "war" to be taken seriously.
"Declare war, Spider Monkey race."
[Lu Ping’an’s Conquest Declaration (Upper Silver): As a Conductor on the battlefield, when you declare war against a specific organization or individual, successful kills or conquests will earn ’Life Coins’ and ’extra Life spoils of war’.]
At the same time, when he regarded it as a battlefield, many battlefield-specific abilities were also fully activated.
"Life bombing..."
The bodies of those Spider Monkeys are the cheapest and most effective landmines on the battlefield.
Although they are of a relatively lower tier, as "Life Essences" under the enhancement of a series of Lu Ping’an’s abilities, their power is something to be expected.
But judging from the results, other than splattering the opponent with blood, flesh, and fragments, there were no obvious gains.
"The Curse, did it not take effect either?"
Lu Ping’an sighed with resignation. Dealing with "higher tier" opponents, the most troublesome part was probably the high probability of one’s Career Abilities failing.
[Toxic Flesh (Silver Mid-position Professional Ability): The flesh and Life you control contain eroding toxic poison, which inflicts double damage on creatures from the same race as the "material" donor.]
This was a Professional Ability Lu Ping’an had acquired not long ago, and its Silver Mid-position trait also meant it was actually a fifth-tier Abnormal Ability.
This was the result of Lu Ping’an’s efforts over the past couple of months. Instead of evolving his "Conqueror" into his own Path, he chose the Black Knight Path from Chris’ lineage.
This ability naturally synergized with the third-tier Black Holy Grail Holder.
As a war Profession that "uses Life as a weapon," his "Reverse Silver War Child" had even more unique traits.
"...But according to my Profession judgement, the attack took effect."
On the "monster’s" body, a layer of flesh and blood residue had been smeared, and in the eyes of Lu Ping’an and his group, that outer skin’s color became a new War target.
[Child of War (Silver Mid-position Professional Ability): In the battlefield, targets that have been attacked by you or your forces will receive a War mark, which, when you and your subordinates attack a second time, will significantly enhance the effect. Note: A maximum of one unit can be marked at one time, and the mark can be stacked.]
This was a general fifth-tier Soldier Path (Battlefield commander direction) Professional Ability, quite useful for dealing with large-scale siege monsters.
From the data, the actual effect amplification could range from 1.1 to 3.0, depending on the power (tier, Resistance) of both sides... it’s quite difficult to stack high layers in actual combat.
After all, if you’ve already landed a hit, allowing you to repeatedly strike would be too lenient.
And this time, although Lu Ping’an’s side had received an "enhancement," it was estimated to be the lowest end of 1.1 and still not enough to break through the defense.
But what Lu Ping’an used were the products modified (fine-tuned) by Big Cat.
[Wretched Child of War (Silver Mid-position Professional Ability): Targets marked by the War marker, if attacked with flesh or Life Essence, their flesh and poison will be eroded and assimilated.]
The blood curse of the same source was gradually becoming a part of the Giant Body. Although it still lingered on the surface, Lu Ping’an could already perceive and manipulate that part of the flesh.
And this was a prerequisite for the series of traits of the new war Profession.
"As always, Big Cat provides Profession abilities that are quite unorthodox... but indeed very useful."
— End of Chapter 1227 —