137: Chapter 137 Skillful Knee Slide

Although the Relic would be incorporated into Xu Qin's War Gift after the battle, the Relic was, after all, a unique item.

If it could be multiplied by twenty-one, wouldn't that mean twenty-one of them?

"That's probably unlikely," Xu Qin shook his head.

Forget it, obsessing over this was meaningless.

Whether it doubled or not, he would have to fight regardless.

"Whatever the multiplier is, let's just get our hands on it first."

Xu Qin closed the plunder rules panel and pulled up the reconnaissance footage again.

The ruins had a garrison of thirty to fifty thousand, and the defenses were tight.

A frontal assault would certainly result in high casualties.

But that wasn't the point.

The point was that the ruins had already been bound.

He had bound two ruins himself and knew the rules very well.

First kill the lord, then destroy the territory core, and the bond could be broken.

But there was one problem.

Xu Qin stood up and walked to the edge of the Watchtower.

"Where is this lord?"

If the lord was inside the ruins, it would be simple.

Just storm in and flatten everything, and that would be it.

But what if the lord wasn't in the ruins?

This was no longer the novice phase.

A lord capable of capturing the ruins surely possessed several territories.

Even if Xu Qin pounded the ruins into dust, it would be useless and wouldn't break the bond.

Therefore, the key to this battle wasn't the ruins, but the main city.

"Tian Ming."

"Here."

"The ruins can wait."

Xu Qin turned to look at Tian Ming.

"Help me think about a question: If you were a lord who occupied the ruins, where would you build your main city?"

Tian Ming pondered for a moment and replied: "Reporting to Master, it shouldn't be too far away."

"If an enemy force destroys the teleportation point within the ruins, and then destroys the ruin buildings... for the lord occupying the ruins, the losses would be unbearable."

"It would take a long time to recover."

"Therefore, the main city should be within a range of five hundred to one thousand kilometers."

"Correct," Xu Qin nodded.

"But we can't search blindly."

He opened the regional map and zoomed in on the area around the ruins.

According to the vulture's reconnaissance report, there were fifteen alien territory markers within fifty kilometers of the ruins' perimeter.

But these were just "territory markers."

Some were branch cities, and some might be vassals.

But surely, among them, there must be a lord who knows who occupies the ruins and where the main city is.

"Therefore..." Xu Qin rubbed his chin.

"We need to ask for directions first, then kill."

He circled three territory markers on the map that were furthest from the ruins.

"These three are more than forty kilometers away from the ruins. They don't look like vassals; they look more like independent forces."

"Tian Ming, which one do you think is most likely to know the inside story?"

Tian Ming looked at the three markers.

"The one furthest to the north."

He pointed out, "The building scale is medium, but it has a teleportation platform."

"A lord who possesses a teleportation platform and can establish themselves around the ruins must be a trusted vassal."

"Good," Xu Qin made his decision.

"Then let's go pay this vassal a visit."

He opened the navigation interface and entered the coordinates.

Hum!

The Floating City slightly adjusted its course and flew towards the northernmost territory marker.

...

Forty minutes later.

The Floating City arrived above the target.

Xu Qin stood inside the Watchtower, looking down at the ground.

He saw a medium-sized territory standing on the wasteland.

The city walls were a mixture of deep red bones and clay.

The buildings inside the city were rugged, with beast bone flags planted everywhere.

Orcs?

No.

Xu Qin zoomed in on the image.

It was the Bloodhoof Tribe.

One of the races he had fought before.

Just as he was observing the territory, a scene caught his attention.

Outside the south gate of the Bloodhoof territory, a tall Bloodhoof Lord was holding a battle axe, standing in front of an alien lord who was kneeling and begging for mercy.

The one kneeling was a small Cave Dog Man.

Its territory had been torn apart, and the wreckage of its troops was scattered everywhere.

The Bloodhoof Lord raised its battle axe high, looking down at this alien.

"...The weak should kneel and die."

"Do you think begging for mercy is useful?"

"In this wasteland, strength is the only language."

"Struggle a bit harder! Let me see how much longer you can hold on!"

The Cave Dog Man lord lay on the ground, trembling all over.

"Don't... kill me... I'll give you all my resources..."

"Hahaha!"

The Bloodhoof Lord laughed heartily, raising its battle axe.

"After I kill you, they will be mine anyway!"

Just as it was preparing to deliver the final blow, a huge shadow descended from the sky.

The Bloodhoof Lord's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

It raised its head and looked at the sky.

It saw a massive bone city hovering thirty meters above its head.

The bone-structured bottom of the city covered half the sky.

The Bloodhoof Lord's mouth hung wide open, its pupils contracting violently.

"Wha... what is that?"

Xu Qin stood at the bottom of the elevator, the city gate already open.

Long Gu stood behind him.

The Floating City's shield emitted a faint golden glow, enveloping the entire city.

Xu Qin looked down at that Bloodhoof Lord.

"Un... Undead Race?"

The Bloodhoof Lord's hand holding the battle axe began to tremble.

It had seen Floating Cities before.

But it had never seen one this big!

No, could this even be considered a Floating City?

Xu Qin took the initiative to ask.

"I have a few questions."

Asking questions?

The Bloodhoof Lord calmed down a bit upon hearing this.

Its expression changed instantly, actually revealing a hint of toughness.

"Ask? You want to ask in my territory..."

Before it could finish speaking, Long Gu stepped out from behind Xu Qin.

A massive undead dragon skull poked out, with two dark purple soul fires staring at the Bloodhoof creature on the ground.

Eek!!!

The Bloodhoof Lord's legs went soft instantly.

Thump.

The battle axe dropped to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Okay! Please, go ahead and ask!"

Xu Qin looked at it suddenly kneeling and felt like laughing.

That was a quick kneel.

"Who occupies these ruins?"

Xu Qin asked, pointing in the direction of the ruins.

The Bloodhoof Lord's eyes rolled.

"Are you talking about... that ruin?"

"Yes."

"That is... Grande's. The Rock Lord Grande."

"Rock Demon Tribe?"

"Yes! He is the overlord of this region! His troops exceed one hundred thousand!"

As the Bloodhoof Lord spoke, it became excited.

"He is very strong! You shouldn't..."

But after seeing Xu Qin's gaze, it instantly changed its tune.

"...No, I mean, he used to be strong."

"Now that you're here, he's not worth a fart."

Xu Qin: "..."

That face changed really fast.

"Where is his main city?"

The Bloodhoof Lord hesitated upon hearing this.

Grande was its ally—no, it should be said, its alliance leader.

Uh~ to be precise, it should be the former alliance leader.

But if it handed over the coordinates...

It snuck another glance at Long Gu.

That dragon skull was bigger than its entire body.

The hesitation vanished instantly.

"Eight hundred kilometers southwest of the ruins!"

"I can send the coordinates directly to you! Please spare my life! I'll tell you everything!"

Xu Qin listened quietly.

The Bloodhoof Lord spoke at lightning speed, spilling everything about Grande's territory location and troop numbers.

After listening, Xu Qin nodded.

"Good. Noted."

The Bloodhoof Lord breathed a sigh of relief, kneeling on the ground with a fawning smile.

"Then... can I go now?"