Chapter 1077: Chapter 262: Rise of the Tribe (Part 2)

"Fight Demons."

Zhuang Xiao was brief and to the point. "There are too many of them. We need to develop a bit too."

"Boss, we gotta make more weapons."

The young Judge suddenly spoke. He lowered his head, staring at his wooden stick, and started thinking. "We really need to find someone who understands tech and make some weapons that can attack from a distance."

He had just watched the boss fight.

Those Demons obviously couldn’t be more badass than the boss, but they could run. If they faced several Demons at the same time, there would always be a few that managed to escape. Even if they won, it still felt a bit unsatisfying.

And as the tribe’s Vanguard Officer, he naturally had to apply to the boss for some more badass gear.

His two companions immediately shot him looks of disbelief—what on earth was this guy talking about? How did he actually start thinking about the tribe’s future for real?

He really was acting like a proper Vanguard Officer as he formally requested war resources from the tribe’s boss. "You also gotta give me some manpower. Otherwise, there’s too many of them; this fight won’t feel good."

"I think so too."

Zhuang Xiao nodded. At that moment, the tribe’s duo seemed to share a mutual understanding as they looked at the elderly Judge. This time, the Vanguard Officer played the lobbyist. "The High-tier Council and the Legal Department are done for. Come follow the boss instead. You can make some badass equipment for us, and then these fights will be even easier."

???

This was definitely the strangest recruitment pitch the older Judge had ever heard. Absurdity was everywhere. Was he really supposed to give up his Legal Department Judge job—which countless people dreamed of—to join some shady, unknown organization?

His rational mind told him this was almost laughable, but then again, this might actually be a chance to observe Zhuang Xiao up close.

After all, even though this girl’s mental state looked a bit off, she really could fight. He probably couldn’t "invite" Zhuang Xiao to the Legal Department by force. So he might as well flip the script and voluntarily get close to her. Once he gathered enough information, he could report everything to the Chief Prosecutor.

Right now, they desperately needed ways to fight against Demons.

"Alright, I’m in."

The older Judge spoke.

And so, he too received a wooden stick personally handed over by the Warlord. The moment the Technical Director gripped the stick, countless ideas surged into his brain.

"Wait a second, boss, I’ve got a badass idea!"

The Technical Director raised the stick, excitedly proposing the new weapon he had just "developed." The Vanguard Officer had just mentioned they needed a way to strike enemies from afar. Guns and bullets were useless against Demons, which basically invalidated most of human society’s firearms. But such a problem was nothing to someone like him, the Technical Director.

Because there was no one in this tribe smarter than him. He could always solve every problem—that’s just how tribal society worked.

"If we install spikes on this stick, wouldn’t it hurt more when we hit people?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The Technical Director’s idea immediately got the boss’s and Vanguard Officer’s approval. But simply adding spikes to a stick wasn’t enough to showcase his earth-shattering brilliance. "Since spikes can make a stick hurt more, it means they’re really powerful on their own. As long as we load the spikes into a launcher and fire them at the Demons, isn’t that basically the same as whacking their heads with a spiked stick? That way, the Demons’ abilities will be completely neutralized."

"You’re a freaking genius!"

The Vanguard Officer grabbed the Technical Director’s hand in excitement. "When we get back to the tribe, make ten of those badass launchers for me first!"

???

The last normal person in the warehouse felt like the sky was falling.

He had absolutely no idea how the Technical Director’s brain worked. In his eyes, firing nails out of a launcher—wasn’t that just a gun?

"And you."

Finally, Zhuang Xiao’s gaze landed on the last person. She carefully observed the final Judge, weighing his talents.

"You look like a great diplomat. The tribe needs to establish diplomatic relations with other factions."

What the hell does any of this have to do with anything!

The last Judge was furiously roasting them in his head, but at the same time, a memory surfaced in his mind.

It was shortly after he’d become a Judge. He saw two colleagues get into a huge argument over differing opinions, to the point where they were about to come to blows. Back then, he had bravely stepped in and mediated, ultimately preventing things from escalating further.

Isn’t that exactly the kind of skill a diplomat needs?

"You’re good at communicating with the Chief Prosecutor and the Archbishop. The tribe really needs talents like you!"

Maybe...

His colleagues were just playing along with this mentally unstable girl’s act?

The last Judge, going with the flow, accepted the wooden stick Zhuang Xiao handed him.

"Boss, we can use the spike launchers to trade with the Legal Department for some hovercars!"

The stick bestowed a new mission upon the Diplomat. Arguments for negotiation sprang vividly into his mind. "We need those hovercars. I can represent the tribe tomorrow and go strike a temporary strategic alliance with the Chief Prosecutor."

...

Warlord Zhuang Xiao led her tribe members back to their temporary base. Although she hadn’t accomplished her small pre-departure goal of recruiting ten members, the three she did recruit were all elites, enough to become the backbone of the tribe’s rise.

But Merlin and the others felt like the sky had collapsed.

Not only had Zhuang Xiao brought strangers back to their secret base, those people were still wearing the uniforms of Legal Department Judges. The Legal Department was currently collaborating with the Sanctuary of Logic, and she had just orchestrated a prison break at the Sanctuary.

But Zhuang Xiao was completely different from before.

She wouldn’t listen to reason at all, and she seemed to treat them like annoying neighbors. Merlin hadn’t even opened his mouth before Zhuang Xiao kicked them out of their War Workshop.

Yes, the moment Zhuang Xiao returned, she annexed the connected basement of the stronghold as the tribe’s War Workshop.

Merlin watched as Zhuang Xiao and the other three hauled piles of firewood, Stone, and every spare part they could find into the basement. About an hour later, the sound of drills and circular saws came from below. The old motorcycle that had been sitting in the base, long out of fuel, was also carried downstairs by Zhuang Xiao.

"Since when did Zhuang Xiao... get that strong?"

Song Xian was shocked as well.

They watched Zhuang Xiao shoulder the motorcycle and stride off briskly. They all felt that after recruiting three tribe members, Zhuang Xiao had become even more badass, actually starting to radiate some real Warlord aura.

Song Xian used his infiltration ability to secretly observe Zhuang Xiao’s War Workshop. In fact, those busy tribe members couldn’t be bothered with them even if they saw him—as long as they didn’t talk nonsense, Zhuang Xiao wouldn’t chase them out.

So Song Xian managed to see how the Technical Director modified the old motorcycle.

No assistants, no engine swap, he didn’t even open the engine cover.

The Technical Director somehow found a graffiti brush and painted some cool designs on the bike. He even drew a pair of wings on the tail. These tribe members looked highly motivated, thoroughly enjoying their work, humming little tunes as occasional flashes of inspiration struck.

"Here, give it a try."

The Technical Director handed the modified motorcycle over to the Diplomat. This would be his ride tomorrow when he went to negotiate with the Legal Department.

The Diplomat gripped the handlebars and twisted the throttle. The motorcycle engine actually roared to life.

Not only that, the Diplomat suddenly had a flash of inspiration while straddling the bike. His body leaned back, lifting the front wheel, and the exhaust instantly spat out a faint blue plume of flame. That motorcycle they had written off as scrap just soared into the sky right before their eyes.

At the same time, on the other side, Lindong also reached a conclusion.

"My Power of Thought can actually influence each other!"

She carefully monitored all of Zhuang Xiao’s physical stats. After gaining three subordinates, her strength, endurance, and agility all experienced exponential growth.

Lindong felt out the trick behind it and understood the mechanism behind Zhuang Xiao’s sudden explosive growth.

Their Power of Thought was acting on their boss’s body.

To put it in simpler terms, those three subordinates just believed their boss was that badass.