Chapter 836: Feigned Innocence
The cannoneer picked up the autocannon and removed one of its parts with great familiarity, revealing an intricate machine component underneath. The component was covered in a dense array of veined patterns, apparently a special origin array.
“Activating this array will give the autocannon a sharp burst in firepower, raising it to grade six, or even seven at the maximum. The might of the attack would increase even more with special ammunition. Under the control of a master gunman, this autocannon’s firepower would come fairly close to grade-eight.”
“Overload Array?” Qianye had never heard of this type of array. But judging from the materials involved, he knew that it was extraordinary. It could be said that the essence of this autocannon was in this array.
Qianye pondered for a moment. “That means this autocannon is one of your tribe’s most valuable treasures?”
A grade seven autocannon was the limit of what the Highbeards could use since only divine champions could wield grade-eight weapons. The weapon was highly suitable for Highbeards since its base-grade was only five. Although the overload duration was fairly short, it was more than enough for a high-speed gatling cannon to empty hundreds of rounds.
It could be said that the true power of this weapon was far above its apparent grade. The Highbeards had replaced physical ammunition that required origin power injection with special bullets. Although that placed a cap on the maximum grade of the weapon, it was highly effective in raising firepower without increasing operational requirements.
The gunman said, “This autocannon had always been under the charge of Red Lotus’ mother, the shieldmaiden from two terms past. She especially lent out this autocannon in order to make sure the plan succeeds, and even Red Lotus can’t bear responsibility for the loss of this weapon.”
Qianye understood what the man was implying. “That means she has no choice but to look for me as long as I hold on to this autocannon?”
“She won’t be alone,” the cannoneer reminded.
“It’s the same no matter how many of them come,” Qianye said as he weighed the cannon in his hand. Then, with a flip of his palm, the weapon vanished completely, transported into Andruil’s Space.
The cannoneer was shocked. “Sire, you…”
“Even your Highbeard tribe has some spatial gear, it’s not surprising for me to have one, too,” Qianye replied calmly.
The gunman was both afraid and delighted. At this point, his fate was already tied to Qianye, so the more powerful the latter was, the safer he would be.
Qianye handed one of the other autocannons to the man and allowed him to pick out his equipment. Then, he pushed the remaining gear to a corner of the room and asked with a firm expression, “What’s your name?”
“I’m called Whirlwind, Sire. Thirty-seven years of age, rank eleven in origin power, and a physical modification of forty percent. I have a good chance of breaking through to rank twelve before fifty, and my modification tolerance is fifty-five percent.”
Whirlwind uttered a string of terms Qianye didn’t quite understand. Only after some detailed questioning did he learn that this so-called modification tolerance was a measurement system of the tribe, denoting the percentage of their bodies that could be replaced by machines. The human body wasn’t mechanical after all, and it was impossible for one to replace all of their flesh and blood with machines. Normally, those who could go past fifty percent were considered fairly outstanding. Only older Highbeards with one foot in the grave would modify their bodies without restraint in exchange for fighting power.
Summarizing all these data, this Whirlwind could be considered a rare genius among the Highbeards. It wasn’t just in the Highbeard tribe; someone like him would occupy an important position wherever he went.
Equipped with this autocannon, Whirlwind could easily fight against a rank-fourteen champion.
Qianye nodded. “Good, you’ll follow me from now on. So long as you remain loyal, there will naturally be great benefits for you in the future. You’ve heard of the new ancestral land, I presume?”
“Yes Sire, I have.”
“Then you should know that your new ancestral land is within my nation. As long as you contribute sufficiently to our cause, it won’t be difficult for you to gain an inheritable territory in your ancestral lands.”
Whirlwind was pleasantly surprised. He fell to one knee and said, “Rest assured, Sire, I will fight for you till my last breath.”
Nodding, Qianye allowed Whirlwind to return to his own room. After the man’s departure, Qianye sat down and slowly circulated the Glory Chapter, gradually refining his origin power. He planned to remain here for a couple of days and wait for Red Lotus to seek him out. With this overload-array autocannon in his hands, he refused to believe Red Lotus would just let him be.
He had to wait for Ji Rui’s goods anyway, and he also needed time for the Glory Chapter to refine his origin power. Qianye had no intention of rushing, either, since tranquility was essential for cultivation.
Meanwhile, two old trucks were driving into a small town not far from Southern Blue. The vehicles stopped in the town square and out came nearly a hundred people. How they all managed to fit inside the small compartments was a mystery.
There was a young man among them. He was clad in worn leather armor, almost like a hunter who hadn’t been doing so well for himself. He was carrying a large case in his hand, and his clear eyes darted about the area with great curiosity.
The young man asked many questions as he walked along the streets. Due to his handsomeness and way with words, none of the people in town made it difficult for him. Almost everyone would answer whatever he asked, until he finally found the liveliest tavern and made his way inside.
The taverns were always the best places to gather news. The young man made his way into a group of drunkards and gleaned a lot of fantastic stories from their conversations.
After a couple of bottles, the man staggered to a corner table and plopped onto it.
But the young man had yet to fall asleep as intended when he heard some footsteps thumping toward him. Looking up, he saw a great beauty staring down coldly at him.
Bang! She knocked on the table. The young man sat up in fright after glancing at her hand, completely sobered-up. There wasn’t a lot of skin on the lady’s right hand as most of it was made up of shiny machine parts.
Such a hand was too stark of a contrast on a beauty such as her.
The young man looked carefully at her hand and then at her face. Letting out a sigh, he placed a glass of wine in front of her, saying, “Perhaps I should change my seat, but I still want to buy you a drink. I don’t think I’ll fall asleep tonight if I don’t buy such a beautiful lady a drink.”
The girl was startled, and her cold countenance warmed up somewhat. Without a second word, she emptied the glass in one swig.
Despite his ragged appearance, just looking at this young man made one feel comfortable, and just chatting for a while was enough to tell that he was an extremely knowledgeable character who could keep up with any topic of conversation. Unknowingly, the two began chatting and drinking in good cheer until both were somewhat tipsy.
She suddenly checked the time and got up to leave. Surprised, the young man asked, “W-Where are you going?”
The girl glanced back at him. “No need to ask where, just come with me if you have the guts.”
Her voice wasn’t soft at all, so most of the people in the tavern had heard her. All eyes fell upon the young man, some envious, some jealous, and others of schadenfreude.
Looking pleasantly surprised, the young man glanced about nervously and grabbed his old case. He almost tripped in his rush to leave, eliciting a series of laughter from the drunk patrons.
His handsome face was red as he lowered his head and followed the girl out in a hurry.
The girl walked at a steady pace through the small town and soon arrived at a dark two-story building.
This quiet little house was located at the edges of the small town. There were no buildings on either side of it; only a couple of lonesome trees that added to the eeriness of the place.
The girl stood before the building and looked back, saying, “Since you dare have improper thoughts about me, you need to have the guts to follow it up. I’ll let you see something in a bit, and I hope you don’t get too frightened. And, I’m called Red Lotus.”
With that, she began to unbutton her clothes.
The young man was stunned speechless. Flustered, he turned away to open his case and seemed to be fumbling about for something. He stammered, “I-I also have something I want to show you! Wait a minute, I’ll find it v-very soon, dammit! Where did I put it? It’s definitely here.”
Red Lotus smiled ever so slightly upon seeing this young man’s demeanor. Such a naive young fellow was quite rare in the neutral lands.
She didn’t stop her movements, though. Very soon, she had unbuttoned her clothes and removed the outer layer, revealing a body that was half-flesh and half-machine.
That young man was knowledgeable and interesting but seemed to know nothing about the Highbeards. It was apparent at a glance that he had just arrived in the neutral lands. Red Lotus wanted to see how frightened he would be after discovering what she looked like.
At the same time, she was also a bit curious about what the young man had wanted to show her.
It had been quite some time since she was this curious.
The young man finally found what he was looking for and turned back with a radiant smile. The two parties saw each other at the same time, but it was Red Lotus who was shocked.
The young man was holding a short spear made of radiant silver. Its shining tip was suffused with a halo of flowing luminescence akin to that of a beautiful rainbow, an indication of extreme purity and depth of origin power!
The flustered expression on his face was gone, replaced by a mesmerizing smile. He said in a gentle voice, “I forgot to tell you my name just now, I’m called Song Zining.”
Back at the hotel, Qianye was seated quietly upon his bed, refining his origin power drop by drop. This was an arduous task that couldn’t be rushed. The origin power gained from a day of cultivation with the Profound Combatant Formula needed a month to be refined into Venus Dawn. Despite having formed his fourth origin vortex and reaching rank-thirteen, his daylight origin power was still far behind his blood energy, which would reach the level of an ancient marquis at any moment. He could barely achieve an equilibrium at this point.
There was really no shortcut for the Song Clan Ancient Scroll. All he could do was to cultivate step by step. Up to this point, the only boost in progress he had received was his battle with Ji Rui. But Qianye’s mentality had grown steady, and he wasn’t willing to use this kind of method to accelerate the process.
Human cultivation was fairly reliant on a steady foundation. The higher the purity of one’s origin power, the greater his future prospects.
Hence, Qianye remained unhurried, his mind as calm as water. Even the buzzing sound of the nearby insect couldn’t move his thoughts.
Yet, he suddenly realized something. What kind of insect would be flying around him, unafraid of his aura?
He opened his eyes and saw a green leaf floating before him. This very leaf was emitting a buzzing sound that had disrupted his peace and quiet.