Chapter 623: One Batch at a Time (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
While the picture was completely different from what Han Xiao had expected, Han Xiao received quite a bit of information from their conversation.
The Subterranean Mutants had the ability to think logically and had a certain level of intelligence. However, their ability to recognize and differentiate the different races was not fully developed yet.
After knowing that Feidin was able to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants, Han Xiao terminated the mental link.
“We can definitely communicate with them through the Prophecy Stones. If we make use of the mine, we should be able to communicate with the entire nest,” Feidin said.
“Then let’s find a nest to try.”
Han Xiao nodded and had a target in mind.
…
A thick b.l.o.o.d.y smell filled Nest No. 2, with puddles of blood all around. This was the scene after a ma.s.sacre.
The faces of many players turned pale as the scene before them was truly too shocking. Even after completing a small part of their mission, the players could not be happy. Many of them could not help but turn on the green filter mode.
Only the Sunil warriors were completely calm. They were far too used to seeing such a sight and were completely indifferent toward it. Furthermore, they had lost some of their soldiers in the previous battle, and their armor was full of cracks.
Herlous led the vanguard troops ahead and destroyed the entire nest. He killed millions of mutants, and the remaining few escaped in fear, taking with them a portion of the Prophecy Stones.
The logistics troops began to mine the Prophecy Stones, and the main troops reorganized their formation on the spot. They used flamethrowers to burn up the corpses of the Subterranean Mutants.
Herlous held onto his Battles.h.i.+p Slicing Blade and was resting by the side. Previously, he had been the tip of the spear and was like moving meat grinder, single handedly killing tens of thousands of Subterranean Mutants. His strength was far from Han Xiao’s, and he consumed a great deal of stamina in the battle.
After a while, a soldier ran over and gave a military salute.
“The mining is complete. Commander, please give us your next order.”
“Return to the temporary camp and replenish our ammunition.”
While the Subterranean Mutants were not strong, their numbers were frightening. Cleaning up a single nest had exhausted over sixty percent of their ammunition, and almost all the players had some injuries.
If they continued to attack the nests, the number of casualties would definitely increase. Thus, Herlous decided to return to camp and rest for a few hours first.
The troops marched back to their temporary camp, and Herlous saw two figures appearing in the camp—Han Xiao and Feidin.
“Why are the two of you here?” Herlous welcomed them with a questioning look on his face.
Han Xiao did not reply to the question and looked toward the troops. “How are the casualties?”
“There are very few casualties, but…” Herlous brows were furrowed. “This is only the first battle, and there are many nests all around the planet. The number of casualties isn’t ideal. The deaths of the Sunils will be too severe, and we can only rely on our mercenaries.”
The mine detector that Reynold had developed was already in use, and Han Xiao had deployed a few dozen s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps to scan the entire planet. In just a short few days, they had already found a few dozen underground mines all over the planet.
Some of the nests were large and some small. The largest had a population of a few hundred million while the smallest had millions at the very least. The total number of Subterranean Mutants underground had reached a staggering few billion.
The moment he thought about the staggering number of enemies, Herlous’ heart sank.
Furthermore, the positions of the other nests were different, and new underground tunnels had to be made in many locations. Without the undying Black Star Army, it was no more than a dream for the Sunils to wipe out the mutants. Only the Black Star Army would be capable of such a feat.
Han Xiao knew what Herlous was thinking about and briefly explained his plan of migrating the mutants. “I am here to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants. If I can convince a portion of the mutants to submit to us and get the mutants to convince other mutants, we will be able to greatly reduce the number of enemies.”
Herlous’ eyes lit up. He would naturally be willing to do so if it would reduce the number of casualties when cleaning up the mutants. “Do we have to change our strategy?”
“No, continue to attack the nests of the mutants, but there isn’t a need to chase those who escape. I want to plant a seed of fear in their hearts as it will make it easier to persuade them,” Han Xiao said slowly.
Compared to killing, this was a much more efficient method.
After leaving the camp, Han Xiao and Feidin paid a visit to the second nest and caught up to the mutants that had escaped.
The number of casualties in this tribe was disastrous, and upon discovering Han Xiao and Feidin, a fight could not be avoided. However, they could not threaten Han Xiao in the slightest.
Han Xiao summoned his Mechanical Army and killed a path toward the Prophecy Stones that these mutants were moving. They then infiltrated the mental network of the mutants.
The next moment, all the attacking mutants suddenly paused. If they had expressions on their faces, they would surely have looked dumbfounded.
In their knowledge, only those of their kind were capable of connecting to them mentally. However, Han Xiao had just killed them and was obviously not their kind. This situation confused the Subterranean Mutants, whose intelligence was not fully developed.
“Who are you?”
In the mental network, many of the mutants revealed emotions of shock.
“I am Black Star, an emissary from the galaxy…” Han Xiao then briefly explained what was going on with ‘appropriate’ changes.
He threw the entire blame of ma.s.sacring the Subterranean Mutants to the Sunils, and Han Xiao described the Sunils as though they were demons. He then described himself as someone willing to help their race and a friendly emissary who was convincing the Sunils to stop their ma.s.sacre. He then promised that he could stop the slaughter on the condition that they surrendered and moved out of this planet.
To allow the mutants to understand what was going on, Han Xiao had also briefly mentioned some basic knowledge of the universe and some of the benefits that they could receive.
The efficiency of a mental connection was extremely high, and the entire race fell into deep thought. It was as though they had just listened to the preaching of a heavenly book.
To the galactic residents, what Han Xiao had just said was no more than common sense. However, it completely changed the view that the mutants had of the world. In their eyes, the underground world was their entire world, and the planet and galaxy were completely new concepts.
The Subterranean Mutants viewed those who came from above ground as their enemies, and the Sunils treated them the same.
A mutant that seemed to be the leader of the tribe then took the initiative to communicate with Han Xiao.
“We are willing to surrender. Please do not hurt us anymore.”
Almost all the mutants knelt down on the ground and displayed their intent to submit.
The tribe leader treated Han Xiao extremely respectfully. The words that came out from Han Xiao’s mouth far exceeded the boundaries of his knowledge and was far too shocking to him. Because of their undeveloped intelligence, they treated Han Xiao as a G.o.d-like figure and began wors.h.i.+ping him.
The persuasion process was far easier than he had imagined.
But thinking back, it was not too surprising. The intelligence of the Subterranean Mutants was no different from children. They did not understand any complex feelings such as glory or humiliation, and their view of hatred was also extremely basic.
The Subterranean Mutants had not grown out of their b.e.s.t.i.a.l nature. Beasts that were afraid would reveal signs of submission. This tribe that had been ma.s.sacred by Herlous was already thoroughly frightened.
The Subterranean Mutants did not have any natural predators, and they could feed on the rocks underground without fighting with each other. Thus, they lived in peace and rarely experienced battle. At the very most, they would have small conflicts with other tribes. As such, their race was extremely simple.
The only downside was that they were far too ugly. It was probably because the underground world was far too dark, and no one could even see their appearance. Thus, they just grew as they wished.
With the ability to communicate, Han Xiao could now understand the structure of their civilization. After a series of questions, Han Xiao finally had a clear understanding of the Subterranean Mutant race.
The Subterranean Mutants knew that there were other nests near them, and they would occasionally fight each other to s.n.a.t.c.h Prophecy Stones. The structure of their society was at the caveman stage, and every tribe had a tribe leader with the development of every tribe being different. There were some with more intelligence and others that were more boorish. Their culture was starting to sprout into many different kinds of flowers.
If they developed according to their original path, the Subterranean Mutants would take many more years before the various tribes combined into a civilization with intellect and began forming kingdoms. With his interference, their development speed will be shortened by thousands of years.
“What do we need to do?” the tribe leader asked obediently.
Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “Convince the tribes in this region and disseminate my intention. From now on, you will be my emissary, and if you complete my mission, go to the cave nearby to find the guests from the surface. They will not harm you.”
“Woah, this is great!”
“They won’t attack us anymore!”
The entire tribe broke out in cheers.
After giving a series of instructions and ensuring that the tribe knew their mission, Han Xiao was prepared to leave. He then realized something and asked the tribe leader, “Right, what is your name?”
“What is a name?” The tribe leader was puzzled.
Han Xiao could only helplessly explain, “It is a way to address you to allow others to know that this word represents you. For example, I am Black Star, and Black Star is me…”
The tribe leader nodded, looking as though he understood what Han Xiao said.
“Sigh, alright. I shall give you a name…” Han Xiao then looked at Feidin beside him and immediately had an idea. “Since you are so good looking, you shall be called Chen Xing.”
Feidin’s mental energy immediately began fluctuating wildly, and Chen Xing who was inside him began roaring, “I will definitely kill you! Do you hear me‽ I will definitely kill you!”
The ugly Subterranean Mutants sharing the same name as her was something that Chen Xing would never be able to accept.
Feidin had a helpless look on his face. “Black Star, don’t tease her so much.”
“Tsk tsk, the two of you are indeed of one body. You are so protective of her.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue before saying to the tribe leader, “Okay, ignored what I just said. You shall be called Germinal.”
There should not be anyone jumping out from their graves to disagree with him.
“Germinal…” the tribe leader muttered to himself before suddenly crying out with joy. “I have a name!”
“As for your tribe…” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Let’s just call it the Germinal Tribe.”
Wait… does this mean that this fellow is the Germinal Leader?
Seeing the overjoyed tribe leader, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.