Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 1015 - 701: Dream_2
"Of course." Kiro Lan solemnly nodded, "I will bring back the specific challenges and demands faced by 'Anvil City', as well as our joint battle experiences today, to Central Command in detail. We will definitely come up with a feasible plan."
Just then, the door of the command tower was pushed open, and Morphie entered with an aura of battle tension still lingering around him.
His armor was covered in Bug Race slime and scorch marks, with several cuts on his face, yet his gaze remained sharp.
He first glanced at Otto, then his gaze fell on Kiro Lan, nodded slightly as if to indicate that he was aware of the incident over there and had already sent people to assist.
Otto looked at this suddenly appearing, remarkably powerful young warrior, a deep and contemplative gaze in his eyes.
He vaguely guessed the identity of the other party, surprised that even after Bai E left, Central Command still had such powerful experts.
The crisis was temporarily resolved, but what was left was a mess and an increasingly complex, delicate situation.
As night fell, "Anvil City" was brightly lit, yet it was permeated with a sense of survival exhaustion and deep anxiety about the future.
Kiro Lan and Morphie stood on the terrace of the command tower, gazing at this scarred city.
"You're hurt." Kiro Lan looked at the wound on Morphie's face.
"A minor injury." Morphie nonchalantly wiped his face, "The bugs are more troublesome than expected; the underground environment is too advantageous for them. Has the City Lord's attitude changed?"
"Yes, he's willing to talk now. But it's not enough." Kiro Lan softly replied, "Morphie, we need to speed up. The underground entities... their awakening pace is accelerating. Today's attack on 'Anvil City' was of higher intensity than last time in 'New Jing City'. High-dimensional erosion is also worsening... I'm worried that the time left for us may be less than anticipated."
Morphie silently nodded, for the first time feeling the heavy pressure Bai E once faced when rectifying the world.
...
Having resolved the Bug Race attack on 'Anvil City' and the Spiritual Ability User uncontrolled incident, and with City Lord Otto Anvil's attitude shifting from resistance to conditions for negotiation, Kiro Lan and Morphie did not linger.
Time was tight; they had to swiftly show more cities with hesitating or wavering attitudes the necessity and feasibility of cooperation.
"Next stop, Ming Pearl Port." Kiro Lan circled the eastern coastal trade hub on the map.
There, commercial groups and council forces gather, where calls for "democratic election" reform are loudest, and is a key point to win over the "Middle faction" and divide potential enemies.
Upon leaving "Anvil City", Otto personally escorted them to the outside of the city, his attitude much calmer than upon arrival.
"Miss Kiro Lan, Captain Morphie, some of the minerals and weapon test data you need, I will arrange for delivery to Blackwater City. I hope Central Command... can respond promptly."
"Certainly." Kiro Lan solemnly promised.
She knew this was a gesture of goodwill from 'Anvil City', and also a test.
They traveled in a modified convoy, more streamlined than the way there but equipped with advanced communication and defense systems.
Morphie insisted on personally driving the lead vehicle, while Kiro Lan sat in the passenger seat, utilizing travel time to sort through the data and intelligence gathered from 'Anvil City', contemplating negotiation strategies with the factions at 'Ming Pearl Port'.
The convoy slowly left "Anvil City"'s defense perimeter and entered the wilderness.
The wilderness was indeed relatively safer after Bai E unified the federation; major threats like Bug Race nests had been uprooted, and wandering intelligent machines were periodically cleared away, but that didn't mean it was completely safe.
"Stay alert." Morphie reminded the convoy via the communicator, "The orcs have been active lately, they don't care about any safe routes."
The convoy drove approximately two hours on a slightly bumpy but fairly smooth old highway.
Ahead lay a terrain with slight undulations and weathered rock columns, the edge area known as "Whispering Canyon".
The terrain here was complex, a traditionally high-attack or encounter battle zone.
"Slow down, increase vigilance." Morphie ordered again, his combat intuition picking up on an unusual vibe.
It's too quiet; even the common sounds of mutated bird beasts on the wilderness had vanished.
Just as the convoy prepared to cautiously pass through a column-dense area, sudden changes occurred! 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"Waaaaaagh!!!"
Deafening, primitive excitement-filled roars erupted like thunder from all directions!
Immediately after, engine revs like beasts' roars filled the air; countless dilapidated motorcycles and tracked vehicles adorned with myriad colors and decorated with various spikes, metal sheets, and even unknown animal skulls, charged out fiercely from behind the columns, out of depressions, and from behind dunes!
They showed no formation, rushing in like a green tide, extremely fast, carrying a chaotic and violent momentum, instantly semi-encircling Kiro Lan's convoy!
It was the orcs!
And it was large-scale; seeing those densely packed green figures and the billowing dust, there were probably hundreds!
"Combat readiness! Form a circular defense formation! Do not get scattered!" Morphie yelled commands, braking hard, swinging the lead vehicle sideways.
Trained convoy members responded quickly; several off-road vehicles immediately adjusted direction, facing outward, forming a simple defense circle. Weapon operators on the vehicles opened the tops, operating onboard machine guns and light cannons.
The orc convoy roared closer, slowing down about two hundred meters from the human convoy, but didn't fully stop. Instead, like wolves encircling prey, they circled around, emitting various bizarre cries and mocking laughs.
They didn't launch an immediate attack, seemingly observing or waiting for something.
"Something's off…" Morphie closely watched those green figures, his brow furrowed.
These orcs, despite the chaos, seemed coordinated somehow; they didn't simply rush forward to die.
Just then, the largest, most flamboyant, loudest engine-roaring vehicle, made from unknown large chassis remnants, slowly emerged from the orc convoy.
On top of the war vehicle stood an exceptionally tall green figure.
He was a full head taller than the surrounding orc youths, with muscles knotted like granite, skin a darker olive green, covered in intersecting scars, the most notable being a diagonal, deep healed old wound across the left shoulder.
On his head was a "crown" of haphazardly assembled metal and bones, his body hung with various stolen trinkets, and in his hand he held a frighteningly large, jagged, spiked giant axe larger than his own stature.
Simply standing there exuded a wild, formidable, heart-shaking oppressive aura.
"War Boss…" Morphie spat the term softly, his expression heavy.
Having learned and fought alongside Bai E, he'd witnessed many strong figures, and had some knowledge of the beastman race.
To possess such a physique and aura, it must be the War Boss level of existence among the orcs, the absolute "boss" and strongest force in an Orc Tribe.
The War Boss' yellow-green eyes scanned the human convoy, finally landing on Morphie, who appeared as the leader or the most powerful present.
He grinned wide, revealing crooked yellow fangs, letting out an "aw-kaka" strange laugh, sounding like a broken gong.
"Humans! Little sprouts! How dare you yourselves in the territory of Blade-face Liao?"
He patted his solid chest, making his jingling trinkets sway, "Know me? I'm called Blade-face Liao!"
Blade-face Liao?
Morphie and Kiro Lan exchanged a glance, this name... seemed familiar?
Indeed, Bai E had occasionally mentioned encountering an interesting, skillful orc leader in the wilderness, apparently named this way?
Could it be him?
"Blade-face Liao, we know you." Kiro Lan's voice calmly transmitted via the convoy's loudspeaker, attempting negotiations.
