Chapter 322: b.u.t.terfly Serpent
Xia Fei had never once wanted to kill a ball more than today.
What was presently restricting Xia Fei was an Immortal-grade weapon, yet Furball had just chomped down on this priceless and precious binding weapon, which could even restrict an Immortal-rank expert like a dumpling.
Furball’s eyes flashed with anger. It had originally been having a wonderful dream in Xia Fei’s bosom, yet this black snake-like metal chain had so rudely awakened him. Furball was very displeased, and an exotic beast had their little tempers. Despite Furball being just a ball of fur, even it could get angry.
“Don’t!” Xia Fei shouted in a hurry.
No one had any idea just what sort of creature was Furball, but Xia Fei knew very well that it was not some low-grade exotic beast. Just from it being able to absorb energy like crazy showed that the pet could very well swallow even hard metal into its belly.
Unfortunately, Furball ignored this shout. It opened its mouth and gave the black, snake-like chain a vicious bite.
*s.h.i.+ng!*
The b.u.t.terfly Serpent, which was originally coiled tightly around Xia Fei, suddenly slackened, much like a snake that had been drained of its blood, falling weakly onto the ground.
Xia Fei leaped to his feet and grabbed Furball, angrily barking, “Do you know what you’ve done? That’s an Immortal-grade weapon! It’s worth a lot of money!”
Furball, of course, had no clue what money was, for all it cared was knowing whether it could eat that or not.
The crafty Furball had this charmingly naïve expression, acting all coy as it hopped onto Xia Fei’s palm, vigorously using its small, pink tongue to lick Xia Fei’s finger.
Xia Fei was now caught between two hard decisions: On one hand, the Immortal-grade weapon that Furball had ruined was worth a lot of money. Xia Fei was beside himself with anger over this, and he wished that he could just kill it.
On the other hand, Furball itself could be a Beast-King-grade exotic beast, possibly an expensive and precious creature. If he killed it, Xia Fei would only end up doubling his losses, yet there was no way he could contain the rage inside him. Just what should he do?
“The b.u.t.terfly Serpent isn’t completely ruined. Furball only drained half of its energy,” Phantom suddenly said.
Xia Fei hurriedly pocketed Furball into his bosom as he picked up that snake-like chain, holding it in his hand to observe.
“Look, there’s a casing in the rear end of this b.u.t.terfly Serpent, and that’s where its energy storage system is placed. If I’m not mistaken, it should utilize the Heart of Spirit as a power source.”
Xia Fei opened the casing that Phantom had pointed at and pulled out several Red Heart of Spirits from his spatial ring to toss inside it. Sure enough, the b.u.t.terfly Serpent came alive once again, coiling itself around Xia Fei’s arm as if it was a living snake.
“This is quite a find. The ancient humans back then designed this b.u.t.terfly Serpent for the purpose of apprehending criminals. Even a high-rank speed ability user will have trouble escaping its pursuit.”
Xia Fei knitted his eyebrows. “I’ve seen it in action just now; I would hardly call it fast. I could’ve escaped if I ran at my top speed.”
Phantom chuckled. “The b.u.t.terfly Serpent isn’t a speed weapon, but it’s the sort that will very slowly increase its top speed during pursuit. As long as it has power, it won’t stop until it completes its capture.”
Xia Fei was, of course, delighted to have obtained an Immortal-grade weapon. Weapons were similarly ranked like special abilities, starting off from Star Light, Star Base, Star Domain, Star River, Legendary, Eternal up to Immortal. The grade of this b.u.t.terfly Serpent far outstripped any weapon Xia Fei had in his possession.
Holding it in his hand, he gently caressed the b.u.t.terfly Serpent with his fingers; its matte texture gave him the feeling that he was stroking a piece of cow leather that had been very finely polished, which only showed just how exquisitely crafted this weapon was.
“Where’s Clean Knife!” Phantom exclaimed.
Xia Fei hastily turned around and looked behind him, only to find the place where Clean Knife had collapsed earlier to be empty. There was even the outline of a man lying on the ground where he had just been, yet the person himself had disappeared into thin air.
Just what was going on?
Xia Fei and Phantom had quite the canny senses, yet neither realized when Clean Knife had escaped.
“The spatial plane is linked to the user’s life, so breaking his spatial plane equals to taking his life,” Phantom said helplessly.
Xia Fei pursed his lips. “He’s a very scary opponent. I don’t wish to have such an enemy in this world. Besides, I have yet to retrieve the activation code for my second visit to Heritage planet, so I won’t let him off so easily.”
Storing that b.u.t.terfly Serpent into his spatial ring, Xia Fei immediately made his way to the Impaler. He first used his Black Bat radar to inform Sarah and the others to set off before flying his Impaler to the stars, searching for any clues that Clean Knife might have survived.
…
Xia Fei only returned to Yawei’s military base in the evening of the second day. Opening his bay doors, Xia Fei heaved a light sigh. Though he had searched for any trace of Clean Knife, it was still very tough to locate a single person in the sea of stars.
There was a rare hustle and bustle in the base, for the soldiers tasked with staying back and guarding the base had all dropped whatever they were doing and arrived by the tarmac to carry goods. Aside from the energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters, there was also plenty of foodstuff and ammunition; these were among their urgently needed necessities.
“Where’d you go?” Sarah was currently supervising the workers with the unloading when she anxiously set aside her work to run over to Xia Fei, evidently very concerned.
Xia Fei shrugged. “I just went for a little trip around outside. Have you gotten what I wanted?”
Sarah replied, “Everything’s ready. What are you going to do with so much food and light weaponry?”
…
“Porter has a soulmate living here in Black Abyss. Though he didn’t openly mention this, I could tell that he’s very concerned over her well-being, asking me several things about the situation here before I departed. That’s why I’ve decided to swing by and visit her—maybe even bring her back into the alliance if possible. If she refuses, I’ll leave her with enough supplies at the very least, so that she can continue living in this harsh environment.”
Sarah had a stubborn personality. Despite looking all fierce every day, she was actually the typical, soft-hearted person with a hardy exterior. She had the slightest smile as she asked, “I didn’t think you’d be so kind. I’m sure Uncle Porter would be very happy if he were to know about this. May I join you?”
Xia Fei hurriedly waved his hand. “It’s not safe out there. Besides, it’s not a good idea for a single man and woman to share the same roof. Plus, big sister Windchime isn’t fond of strangers, so it’s best if I go alone.”
Xia Fei was, of course, more than aware of Sarah’s thoughts, which was why he was in a hurry to reject the offer. Before Sarah could say another word, Yawei could already be seen marching over enthusiastically.
“I’ll go make the arrangements to have what you want transfer onboard your s.h.i.+p,” Sarah said before jogging away.
“Xia Fei, you’ve really sent me a huge gift this time! We’re presently in a dire lack of rations, ammunition, and medical supplies. These goods you brought can be said to quell all my urgent needs.” Yawei excitedly expressed his appreciation.
Xia Fei smiled. “Brother Yawei, you’re mistaken. I’m only temporarily leaving these goods here in your base and will immediately transfer hands once I locate buyers.”
Yawei’s face paled as he asked, a little annoyed, “Are you perhaps afraid that I won’t be able to afford it?”
Xia Fei quickly put on a smile and said, “That’s not what I mean. If I wanted to hide all this from you, I wouldn’t even have them unload these goods here. I, of course, have no problem if you want to buy them; I’m just afraid that the price…”
Yawei waved his hand dismissively. “A seller will always ask for the most, while a buyer will only offer their least; I understand how business works. Give me your starting price.”
Xia Fei was now smiling cunningly. “You do have what I want, and quite a lot of them as well…”
“What is it?”
“Men,” Xia Fei said.
Yawei wrinkled his forehead. “I’m not going to deny that the Death Tri-region has an active slave trade. Though I’m very opposed to using humans as goods, this is a place where law and order is hardly enforced, and there are but limited sources of income. That’s why I can only treat the illegal slave trade with one eye closed.
“I know quite a few slave traders here in the Black Abyss. Just tell me how many you need and I’ll find a way to get them for you.”
Xia Fei shook his head without any hesitation. “I don’t want slaves.”
“Then, what do you want?”
“Soldiers. Men who have been to war, killed people, and have seen bloodshed. Veterans who are well versed in operating various kinds of machinery and hardware.”
“Combat veterans!” Yawei was shocked, and he very swiftly told Xia Fei with much vehemence, “As a general, how could I let the most powerful men under my command be sold off like that? Forget it.”
Xia Fei laughed uproariously. “Brother Yawei, I of course know how much you care about your soldiers, but you haven’t even let me finish. I don’t want slaves. Once your war is over, promise to let the soldiers I’ve selected to leave your service immediately and that’ll do. As for whether they’ll be willing to leave with me, I can deal with that myself.”
Yawei was a lot more amenable to this after hearing what Xia Fei said, though he could not help but have his doubts.
“Just what exactly do you want to do with these combat veterans?”
Xia Fei answered, “Look, we have a prior agreement. If the Black Abyss Consortium wins the war, I’ll have a large piece of land to me. I’ve got the land, so how can I not have the men to protect it?”
“I can buy wars.h.i.+ps, but where will I buy the troops, and where will I find veterans with proper combat experience?
“That’s why I want you to give me a chance to recruit a batch of experienced soldiers, who will help me guard my borders.”
Yawei finally understood what Xia Fei was trying to do. He could not help but marvel that the recruitment of a private army from his was a brilliant idea. The entire alliance was in an age of peace, and it was only here in Black Abyss that there was a war ongoing.
A soldier who had not seen a lick of blood or combat was not qualified to be called a soldier, so if Xia Fei was only interested in recruiting combat veterans, the Death Tri-region was the only place he could do this.
Furthermore, these soldiers would be born here in the Death Tri-region, making them familiar with the local customs and people. When Xia Fei ultimately owned his part of s.p.a.ce, having these people acting to secure his borders could not be any more appropriate.
To think that Xia Fei would have considered all these factors before the ink had even dried on their contract. It was hard to tell if he had actually planned ahead or was just very optimistic about everything.
Yawei was still hesitating, eliciting a laugh from Xia Fei. “I know that you’re unwilling to let the soldiers you’ve personally trained go, but this is a fair choice to make; you aren’t possibly thinking of having your soldiers fight for you their whole lives, are you? That paltry salary you’re providing may not even be enough for them to find women to marry. When the war’s over, let them join my private army, earn a bit more so that they can marry someone, and live their lives. That’ll be what’s fair to them.
“Besides, if they choose to follow you to the death, I won’t s.n.a.t.c.h them away, either. It still depends on the choices they make. You don’t have to give me an answer right away. I’m off to meet an old friend, so it won’t be too late for you to come to a decision after my return.”
…
Thirty-six hours later, on the planet where Windchime was staying.
The Impaler appeared out of its wormhole and in front of Xia Fei was a planet in ruins. Thick, black smoke could be seen covering the skies.
Xia Fei’s heart shuddered as he slapped his command console before him, croaking, “Sh*t!”