Chapter 1256
Chapter 1256 - 1242: Chance Encounter
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7 min read
A normal war is one in which territories are clearly demarcated between parties who scheme against each other, and it often involves actual combat with real swords and spears.
If you win the battle, you’re victorious; if you lose, your kind is exterminated or you surrender.
But in a war that involves different planes of existence, the cycle is usually extremely long, and victory or defeat is not determined by a particular place, person, or event... For it to last a hundred years is rather common, and even going on for three hundred years wouldn’t make the headlines.
"To think it’s actually a Divine Envoy... uh, though it’s a bit trashy."
[Serpent Empress’s Divine Gift Trident (Upper Silver/Lower level): A weapon imbued with part of the Quasi-God Silver Snake Qixi’s power. In the hands of someone with aptitude, it possesses the traits ’Water Control’ and ’Damage Return.’]
Lu Ping’an assessed the weapon in his courtyard and found it to be much better than expected. Under normal circumstances, it should be a high-quality weapon of the Upper Silver tier, but it has not yet adapted to the environment of this world... Its exotic Divine Power was the very reason it was being suppressed.
Realizing the presence of even the weakest Divine Power, Lu Ping’an did not attempt to engage in close combat with it.
After all, being subjected to Divine Power-infused "Instant Death," "Transformation," or "Curse" could spell instantaneous doom, even for him.
But now that it was in his possession, it was even more trashy than expected; "Water Control" might be usable, but such abilities are far from scarce in this world...
"Yuge, do you want it? I’ll cleanse it for you."
Mei Yuge looked at the trident over two meters long, which could serve both as a staff and a melee weapon, with a certain eagerness.
She actually had quite a solid foundation in shooting... After all, feeding Lu Ping’an shooting experience was what got her on board, and she did not stop practicing in this area after that, having plenty of real combat opportunities as well.
"Sure, the material relates to Water Control, that should retain. What about the other trait, what do you want? Damage Return... it suits close combat and using it as a Javelin is not bad, but it’s not really suited for you."
"Instant Death, Shield, or Flame, any of those would do..."
Mei Yuge offered her suggestions, and after a moment of consideration, Lu Ping’an was ready to get started.
To him, using the "Spring of Oblivion" to wash away its Divine Grace lock and trait, then bestowing it with a new trait, was hardly challenging...
"Material cost 300 points, labor fee 150 points..."
It’s just as always, a bit pricey.
But looking at the girl, who was paying happily with the new trident in hand, Lu Ping’an wondered if he had charged too little.
However, his use of the Spring of Oblivion to easily wash away Divine Power once again elevated its quality and reputation.
He did not forget about his main tasks amongst all the private jobs. Clearing out the invaders from the Exotic Realm didn’t take much time, especially since most of them were logistics personnel and the wounded.
"Tch, that’s quite pitiful, the success rate must be less than 50%."
Near the Sptatial rift Lu Ping’an had found, there was nothing but flesh and fragments everywhere, the ground covered with severed limbs and blasted tissue.
This wasn’t the result of his own killing; rather, most of those transported through there would likely end up lying right there.
In contrast to the stable transportation of the "Divine Ship," forcibly tearing open a passage and transporting through it usually results in a high casualty rate.
After clearing out the ordinary soldiers and gathering a batch of "Biomatter," Lu Ping’an placed it aboard his large ship, forming his new garden.
Lately, he had been experimenting with planting "Flesh-Eating" Magic Plants. Development of the modules went smoothly, but their effectiveness in actual combat was lacking.
After all, no matter how intimidating the Carnivorous Plant’s "claws" seemed, they were not as tough or sharp as steel and bone, and their Reflexes were as movingly slow as ever. While they could pass for traps, using them as offensive weapons was too much of a stretch.
However, Lu Ping’an was quite proficient in using the part about "digesting flesh" as nutrients; after all, at this time, nutrients and fertilizers were much harder to come by than "life forms."
In a sense, this was also the root of why Lu Ping’an required a "large ship." He needed space and resources to build his own stronghold, to get used to, temper, and practice the common abilities of high-level Gardeners.
As a result, with the deepening of the journey, the steel "trash mountain" grew increasingly greener.
Of course, there were not many people who could... A normal person would have melted in just a moment after entering, and even Mei Yuge needed to wear a shield to move around freely.
Along the way, Lu Ping’an still took great interest in planting various flowers and playing with grass, and he certainly wasn’t short of fertilizer.
".....The third wave, this frequency is a bit high."
The sporadic attacks had been constant along the way, and this level of attack that posed a slight threat to Lu Ping’an had arrived for the third time... This level of legion and high-tier combat power was enough to destroy cities.
But they had their tribes, and in the end, they became fertilizer for Lu Ping’an’s flowers.
The "Flesh-Eating Module" was not exactly a rare Life module, but most Gardeners, including Lu Ping’an, did not like to use them. One reason was that it made them too aggressive, and the other was that it easily led to the "plants" deteriorating, acquiring too many traits not characteristic of Magic Plants, and likely contaminating the entire genetic library of Magic Plants.
But this time, Lu took it out, naturally, as a "design blueprint" for his Profession system, and perhaps to further evolve this Biological Module.
"Interesting, bloodsucking, flesh-eating, drawing life force, they’re actually different organs, different modules..."
The focus of Lu Ping’an’s current research and development was to create a Magic Plant capable of "devouring life," and preferably one that devoured on a conceptual level, leaving no trace of flesh or soul—a truly fearsome entity.
But obviously, to say progress was smooth would be an understatement; he hadn’t even begun the basics...
"...Is this Kulin City?"
The research results hadn’t come out yet, but the destination had already been reached.
"This is Kulin City?!"
Outside the city, a bit earlier, someone else had uttered the same astonishment.
It was a group of mercenaries, including the Long Hand Clan, Fishmen, and humans, with the leader draped in a resplendent gold veil.
"’Golden Moon’ Your Excellency, do you think we still need to enter the city? The distress message was sent out at least half a month ago, and now..."
Even though it was daytime, the city in front of them was still enveloped in an eerie darkness.
A layer of fog like a thin veil shrouded the city, which fell into a bizarre and continuous silence.
Standing outside the city, the warriors instinctively felt their scalps tingle, and even the ordinary Soldiers without extraordinary perception felt that the situation in front of them was quite grim.
And as one of the leaders of these mercenaries, a senior big shot in the mercenary world, Golden Moon... Miss Hua Xueyi, stepped forward without hesitation into the darkness.
She only left behind one sentence.
"Wait for my return." A flash of gold flickered and then disappeared into the vast fog.
The mercenaries outside waited in vain for their team leader, and after discussing, some chose to go in search of her, while others continued to wait.
Those who waited outside actually received unexpected reinforcements.
"Golden Captain? What name is that, never heard of it," said Lu Ping’an.
— End of Chapter 1256 —