Chapter 383: Decapitation Operation (1/3) |
Chapter 383: Decapitation Strike (1/3)
Watching the Bluestone Fortress engulfed in soaring flames and filled with cries of misery, the group that had come along felt a chill in their hearts.
"It's too tragic," Yuan Ming muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly.
Qin Ziwu's expression was complicated, but he sighed inwardly. Faced with such an insect tide, they were temporarily powerless to help.
Fortunately, they now knew of the existence of the Dark Tide Fish-men, so they were at least prepared and wouldn't be fighting an enemy hidden in the dark.
"Are there many things like these giant leeches in your tribe?" Qin Ziwen asked Lanxie.
Lanxie shook his head. "There are some more, but their destructive power isn't as great as the giant leeches. These giant leeches are tenaciously resilient. Apart from Green Salt stones, most attacks find it difficult to kill them."
While Qin Ziwen probed Lanxie for information about the Dark Tide Fish-man tribe, he also dispatched people to provide support. They couldn't handle these giant leeches, but they could help evacuate some people from inside the Bluestone Fortress.
At this moment, the unconscious Lantu beside them groaned and slowly woke up. Faintly, he seemed to hear a conversation.
Immediately afterward, he heard Lanxie's familiar voice. "My companion won't surrender. His family has been high-ranking members of the tribe for generations; he has no reason to surrender. My father died fighting for the tribe. My mother is a breeding slave. I won't die for the tribe. But Lantu is different. The best way is to let him leave painlessly while he's unconscious. That's the only thing I, as a friend, can do."
Lantu was shocked and furious, abruptly flipping over to sit up. "What are you saying!"
Lanxie was somewhat surprised, not expecting Lantu to wake up so quickly. Hadn't he just been knocked out? Lanxie thought of something and glanced at Mogu with a complicated expression.
Lantu was seething with rage. "You! How can you be so selfish! What do you mean I have no reason to surrender? We've known each other for so many years. Not only did you not plead for me, but now you even want me dead!"
After saying this, Lantu turned to Qin Ziwen and said, "Sir, I know more than he does. My father is an elder. I know more of the tribe's secrets. I am more useful than him. I beg you, sir, to kill him."
Lanxie, standing to the side, seemed to want to say something but stopped himself, finally lowering his head in silence.
"Splendid!" Qin Ziwen clapped his hands, giving the two fish-men an amused look. "No hurry. I happen to be very curious about your tribe as well. Xiao Wu, take this Lanxie aside for questioning. Separate the two of them."
After speaking, he looked at Lanxie. This Lanxie had been subtly hinting for him to kill Lantu earlier. Sure enough, upon hearing they would be questioned separately, the fish-man's expression changed.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Qin Ziwen withdrew his gaze.
Before being separated, the Lantu who stayed behind gradually calmed down. He thought about what he had just said, his face shifting between dark and uncertain.
"I already know the location of your tribe and the places your people frequent. Actually, whether you say some things or not isn't a big problem. I just need to confirm a few things to save time," Qin Ziwen stated.
"I know," Lantu said in a low voice. "Like I said before, I know more than he does. These things aren't exactly secrets. I'm not really betraying any tribal secrets. If you're determined to investigate, you'll find the answers sooner or later anyway."
Lantu looked at Qin Ziwen with a complicated expression and said, "From what I know, our tribe has always been in contact with a certain force. This force is very similar to you. They probably aren't located in our world, but they can communicate with the high-ranking members of our tribe through some method."
Qin Ziwen's expression shifted slightly. It seemed likely that behind this Dark Tide Fish-man tribe was some Shedding Abyss faction. As for why they were doing this, it wasn't hard to guess. Without any prior enmity, deliberately targeting other Shedding Abysses was either due to hatred or profit. Having never met before, it probably wasn't hatred, so it was most likely profit. Destroying a human Shedding Abyss could bring them benefits. Or rather, safeguard their interests. Was it those ores? With too little information, he couldn't be sure.
"I also know that in a dark cave beneath the tribe, the clan keeps a monster. They throw large amounts of food into it at regular intervals," Lantu delivered another bombshell.
"What is the monster?"
Lantu said, "I don't know. That dark cave has had legends of a monster since I was a child. They say there's a monster inside that eats everything. Many children in the tribe are afraid of that place and don't dare go near it when playing."
After asking for many more details, Qin Ziwen finally went to the side. Seeing him frowning with a worried look, Du Yu stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Master, I have a plan. Learn from the foreigners to control the foreigners. They can use these insects, and so can we."
Qin Ziwen's expression shifted slightly. He thought of the newly acquired Insect Taming Hall. But from the current performance, the Belly Aphid Spider swarm seemed somewhat weak.
"Exactly. We just need to find a powerful type of insect, raise it near the residential complex, and drag things out until this mission's time limit ends."
"Just drag it out?"
Du Yu said seriously, "Judging from the intelligence gathered so far, this Dark Tide Fish-man tribe probably doesn't have any top-tier experts. We could also strike first and execute a decapitation tactic, cutting off the head, leaving them leaderless and too busy with internal affairs to bother us."
Qin Ziwen felt the decapitation tactic was feasible. It's difficult to destroy a faction through decapitation alone because the leader can be replaced. But losing the leader would plunge the faction into a temporary power vacuum. To compete for the position, internal strife would definitely erupt. This could buy them more development time. Moreover, Mogu himself was a fish-man. Other races would have reduced combat power underwater, but Mogu wouldn't. The only trouble was the uncertainty of whether there were units within the Dark Tide Fish-man tribe that could pose a threat to Mogu.
He looked at Mogu. Mogu's expression remained unchanged, and he said concisely, "No problem. I'll make a trip."
"Be careful. Preserving your own safety is the top priority," Qin Ziwen instructed.
Mogu nodded, then picked up Lanxie, turned, and jumped into the underground river behind him. His powerful body plunged into the water with almost no sound, like a drop of water merging into the entire river.
On the other side, a side gate of the Bluestone Fortress opened. Some residents living inside, guided by Cao Biansheng and Bai Sanshi, escaped from the fortress. They also managed to rescue the unconscious Ri Zheng from the city wall.
Cao Biansheng carried him on his back and placed him on the ground. His pale face and exposed arms were almost completely covered in blood. He had several wounds on his body, and at this moment, these wounds were continuously bleeding. The coagulation function in his body seemed to be temporarily blocked.
The accompanying Dr. Tang examined him, then applied pressure to stop the bleeding on Bai, simultaneously cleaning the wounds with clean water and pouring a small amount of Healing Spring into his mouth.
After a while, the bleeding from Ri Zheng's wounds gradually slowed.
After observing for a moment, Dr. Tang breathed a sigh of relief. "He should be fine for now. The patient is likely unconscious due to excessive blood loss."