At 8:40 pm, 20 minutes before the gates of Freedom City would be closed, Su Mo slowly made his way to the gate that he had come through on his first visit here.
Considering that he would be traversing 400 to 500 kilometers on his own this time, he had bought a Level 2 swift road lizard template before he left.
Furthermore, Su Mo did not conceal his purchase at all this time.
To an outsider’s eyes, he obviously looked as if he was going on a long journey!
“Wow, it’s so late now, yet Lord Harl is still going out. The wilderness hasn’t been peaceful lately!”
“That’s just it, a disaster will be arriving soon, but the b*stards outside still can’t resist stirring up trouble!”
From far away, the two guards guarding the gates had their interest piqued when they saw Su Mo coming over. They quickly greeted him with smiles and flattery.
Wealth might not represent much to the highest level of hierarchy above the city guards.
However, in the eyes of these individuals at the very bottom tier, it was still a temptation that was unimaginable even to ordinary people.
“Hah, I’m just heading out to do something. I’ll be back in about two or three days. I’m relying on you!”
As Su Mo walked by, the bluish-black detection stones activated and communicated with the mark.
At the same time, a permit to pass and a coupon for entry privilege that could be used before 11 o’clock were also entered into the mark with great precision.
Paying no attention to the two guards’ surprised expressions at seeing the entry privilege coupon, Su Mo gripped his collar tightly and hurriedly walked out the gate. A gust of warm wind blew through, turning cold as it went.
At present, the blizzard was 12 days away, but there were already changes in the weather.
In the Demon clan’s Freedom City, these changes were not very evident due to the protection from the city walls and the blessing of specific special abilities.
However, as soon as one went out from the city gates, the cold winds on the pavement would gust past, bringing with it a surge of desolate winter chill.
‘This isn’t good; the temperature is almost below zero now. I wonder if Chen Shen asked anyone to cover up the prefabricated houses after I left.
“If such weather were to concentrate in the farming tools center again, we might very well have another wide-scale occurrence of colds and fevers!’
Outside the city walls, there were tents set up by the Demon clan members who still lingered here.
With every gust of wind that blew, the little flames of the torches would flicker, looking very “fragile”.
Some of the demons with powerful physiques could still walk around the camp in their leather armor, finishing up whatever they had not completed during the day.
However, some of the weaker demons that had loaded weak templates could only shrink into their tents and wait for daytime to come.
The cooling temperatures were a nightmare for living creatures.
Even if this place became busier, in 10 days or so, it would become a piece of dead land, unsuitable for anyone’s continued survival.
Having put on the windproof mask he had prepared beforehand, Su Mo walked straight through without bypassing the camp. His mind constantly recorded whatever he saw and heard.
The Demon clan members in the city lived a good life. They all had enough to eat and drink, lived in expansive houses, and thought about how to make more money every day to better their lives and strengthen themselves.
Those of the Demon clan outside the city suffered as they reduced their expenditure, trying hard daily to find out how to get rich overnight and become top dogs in this city.
As far as daily living went, the technology tree of the entire Demon clan had advanced none too slowly.
However, along the way, Su Mo was surprised to find that most of the Demon clan still used clay vessels made from ordinary clay to cook their meals.
The disguises that the marks gave, the various high-tech testing equipment, and the significant consumption of imported products every day—these things did not bring any changes at all to the lives of these ordinary Demon clan members.
While the lord of the Demon clan was currently “off-line”, the well-being of these ordinary Demon clan individuals was so neglected it was pitiful.
‘No wonder so many of the Demon clan were forced to disguise themselves and go to other foreign clans to make a living—even those at Level 3 like Harl and Turner.
‘Looking at it now, that’s a truly terrible move to make.
‘I really wonder if the city guards and the top 10 exchanges will still be able to suppress these ordinary folk if someone were to incite them!”
There were camps all around Freedom City.
Su Mo came out from the west side and was greeted by the cold wind blowing.
This was why the group of individuals living in this camp was the smallest of the base camps in all four directions.
When Su Mo reached the end of the camp, he took a solemn look at the calm and peaceful firelight behind him. Without any further hesitation, he immediately activated the mark and began altering the template.
It was as magical as when he had become a dwarf.
With an explosive crackling sound, his dwarf’s bones began to soften and rapidly grow longer. His blood also began to swiftly transform, deriving new functional attributes to supply his heart.
He had morphed from a Level 3 dwarf craftsman to a Level 2 swift road lizard.
This was supposed to be a step down, but once the template had been replaced, Su Mo was pleasantly surprised to find that the strength available to him had increased instead of decreasing.
“Wow, it seems that this auxiliary career is ridiculously weak. Even a Level 2 lizard coolie can compare with it in terms of combat effectiveness.
“I really wonder what the effect of a Level 4 combat attribute template would be!”
The air seemed to have become fresher at his sudden departure from an 80-centimeter dwarf’s body, returning to the world of standing at 1.3 meters tall.
Unlike a coolie lizard, the swift road lizard’s body might look thin, but its thighs were all knotted muscles.
With each step, it could leave behind shallow indents on the marginally frozen hard ground.
Su Mo was amazed after wandering around for a bit and familiarizing himself with this new body. He then began a swift departure.
The distance was 500 kilometers.
At a speed of 60 km/h, it would take him nearly 10 hours to get back to his territory.
He was not worried about someone following him either. After ascertaining the direction, Su Mo instantly left Freedom City behind him in a vigorous burst of speed.
He was like a galloping black horse in training.
Having experienced this strange area once already, Su Mo was not worried about getting lost at all.
It took him only about an hour to shorten the distance by 400 kilometers!
After resting a little for about 10 minutes or so, Su Mo drastically slowed down once he started his journey again. Up until 12 o’clock, he only ran about 120 kilometers all the way.
After all, living organisms were not machines. Coolie lizards had higher endurance, but less speed.
The swift road lizard was fast, but its endurance was somewhat lower.
In regards to that, after once again finding a low-lying area shielded from the wind, Su Mo simply sat on the ground, took out the dry rations and water he carried on his back, and consumed them.
Four hours had passed since he left the city.
It had been almost 5 hours from the moment Su Mo had openly bought the swift road lizard template.
Looking at where he had come from and the clearly visible footprints on the ground, Su Mo was in no hurry to continue on the road after consuming his dry rations and water. He waited quietly instead.
At 12.40, it was still peaceful across the dark landscape. Nothing stirred.
Apart from the water in the air condensing into ice crystals from the decrease in temperature and falling to the ground as frost, there were no traces of other living creatures around.
At 12.50, the temperature had dropped by about two or three more degrees and was officially announced as below zero.
The power of the wind had also begun to increase. It cut like a knife across the face of every creature exposed on the wilderness.
At 1.10, it had been more than an hour since Su Mo had stopped to rest.
Calculating based on the time and distance, any pursuers would be able to reach him here even if they were slow.
Now, in this situation where there nothing was happening, there were only two possibilities.
Either the pursuers had given up the pursuit and chosen to resign themselves to fate, or else…
With a long sigh, Su Mo stood up “without any care”. He shook off the ice crystals covering his body, and all his muscles relaxed.
He seemed to be looking into the distance to ascertain the direction. Despite being completely focused, his concentration lapsed slightly.
It was also at this moment, however, that a sudden explosion erupted from beneath the frozen ground. Four incredibly fast creatures emerged from the place where Su Mo had just been resting.
Like poisonous snakes, once they had identified Su Mo, who was standing there with his guard down, they immediately launched into an assault.
In less than two seconds, they landed in front of the swift road lizard body that Su Mo had transformed into.
At this moment, despite Su Mo having clearly noticed the incoming creatures with the help of his instantaneous dynamic force response and incredibly swift reactions, he was still left with very little time to react.
However, no one expected Su Mo to boldly call up the template and change it in the middle of such an attack!
The swift road lizard, which stood 1.3 meters tall and had all four limbs on the ground, quickly disappeared. In its place, a Level 3 dwarf craftsman appeared again.
The sudden height change, together with Su Mo deliberately lowering his head, allowed him to dodge the four creatures’ attack easily almost without having to engage in evasive maneuvers.
Nimbly taking a hop backward, he escaped the four creatures encircling him and swiftly pulled out the hammer on his back. Both sides were now in a stand-off.
Based on species relatives, the creatures that had appeared just now were also another kind of lizard.
This type of lizard was only about 40 centimeters in size and looked very tiny, but it had a pair of somewhat large wings on its back that were enough to support it in flight.
This, then, was how all four were able to get here so stealthily.
However, after noting that Su Mo was now on guard, as well as the glimpse of his display of strength earlier, the four did not go into a stalemate. Instead, like Su Mo, they quickly called up their templates to convert them.
In the blink of an eye, the small lizards began rapidly growing in size.
Several acquaintances swiftly appeared.
“Yoo-hoo, Alec. And here I thought you really were restraining yourself from showing up. It looks like you still haven’t given up on the 10,000-plus contribution points that you lost, have you now?
“I have to say you’re utterly shameless. Let’s not talk about how you’re pitting a Level 4 main battle template against a Level 3 auxiliary template—you even set up an ambush. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
Su Mo mockingly eyed the mountain giant standing there like a small hill, shaking in the cold wind.
His tone was full of undisguised sarcasm.
However, Alec could achieve a Level 4; naturally, he would not fall for this simple taunt. Instead, he retorted coldly, “Huh, Harl, I don’t know what kind of dumb luck you’ve picked up for you to suddenly be so arrogant, but you better not try showing off your two-bit tricks.
“To tell you the truth, I really did have a hand in your parents’ death back then!”
Su Mo subtly observed the twitching below Alec’s eyes and how his pupils constricted when he said this.
It was very obvious.
As a skilled combat exponent who had experienced life and death, Alec was also very familiar with how to aid himself in the next battle by messing with his enemy’s mental state before the fight.
“Oh? You don’t seem to care about your parents’ death?”
After 4 or 5 seconds of scrutiny to ensure that the smile on Su Mo’s face was not fake, Alec was stunned. He then immediately grasped the sledgehammer in his hand.
“Alec, the truth is, my parents aren’t dead.
“Do you know why the city guards work with me? That’s because…”
This time, after throwing out a distraction, Su Mo did not wait any longer. Instead, he charged like an arrow released from its bow.
Furthermore, his target was not the mountain giant standing in the middle, but his henchmen nearby who had already transformed into cyborgs!
The hammer that was part of the dwarf craftsman’s template was extraordinarily resilient.
As a magic weapon that had gone through hell and high water as well as forge equipment, it also possessed a certain mysterious attribute bonus.
A faint red light flickered, and Su Mo’s speed rose to a higher level once again after it had been accelerated.
Right at this moment, the first of the Demon clan who had morphed their legs got hit in the waist by Su Mo’s hammer before he realized it.
Thwack!
The template for a cyborg was not that bad—it was somewhere between good and excellent. Its waist had also been metalized to a certain extent.
However, it was a great pity that after being struck by this strange force, it cracked from the middle down, instantly losing all combat effectiveness.
“Augh, my waist, I…”
Amid the miserable howling, Su Mo did not try to pursue victory. Instead, he retreated cautiously, temporarily lengthening the distance between himself and the three others.
The situation changed slightly after the sudden attack.
Although the other side was still superior in terms of numbers, their morale was no longer as high as before now that the cyborg was wailing.
Alec was still determined, however. After taking note of the cyborg’s howling and shattered mental state, a mighty blow rang out from the sledgehammer as Su Mo retreated.
Boom!
Under the power exerted by the mountain giant’s sledgehammer, which weighed over 100 catties, the cyborg’s head split apart on the spot. Instantly, white and red matter flowed down the protruding wolf’s teeth on the hammer.
“Not bad, not bad at all. We haven’t even started yet, and you’ve already gotten rid of one of your own people.
“That’s so you, Alec!”
The distance between the two sides had lengthened to a safe 30 meters once again. Su Mo did not attack again, and neither did Alec surge forward rashly.
If Su Mo managing to avoid the group’s attack earlier was considered dumb luck, then his attack just now was obviously a sheer explosion of power.
From a combat effectiveness point of view, it was at least Level 4 and above!
This was still restricted by the height and bodily physique of a dwarf craftsman, as well as the series of structures that functioned to exert strength, such as the arm span and skeleton.
“Harl, your strength has really earned my respect, but the fact that you’ve been able to restrain yourself for so long without losing control is completely beyond what I expected.
“I can erase all the grievances I have with you, so long as you convert the materials I’ve stored in the exchange into contribution points—no, give me 20% off contribution points.
“In the future, I promise you that I, Alec, will not bother you or expose any information about you. I won’t interfere with the inheritance your parents left, and I’ll also reveal to you the reason behind your parents’ disappearance!
“By the way, my people are among your mercenaries. I know you went to the territory of Su Mo, the king of mankind, and made some kind of deal with them. As long as you’rewilling to give me the contribution points, I promise not to tell others, nor will I disclose the deal between you and Su Mo, or even the location of the king of mankind’s territory!”
This was a startling acknowledgement that went beyond what everyone had expected. Alec was extremely frank and straightforward.
However, across from him, Su Mo could not help betraying a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.
Before this, prior to Alec uttering that last part, Su Mo had still entertained the thought of playing cat-and-mouse, wanting to reveal more secret information.
However,Alec now knew about the basin, and knew far too much besides!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Mo immediately attacked!
Boom!
This time, as he charged forward, Su Mo simply disengaged the dwarf template, immediately transforming into a human so he could maintain maximum combat effectiveness.
With a ferocious charge, he caught up the machete that the cyborg had dropped. With all his might, he cut down the remaining two cyborgs at the scene in just the span of a few breaths.
The strength of a true Level 5 was completely activated right then!
“Harl…no, you’re not Harl at all…
“You’re… a human!
“You’re the king of mankind—Su Mo! How… how is this possible!”
After transforming into a mountain giant, Alec’s speed would have been reduced. Together with Su Mo’s current speed, relatively speaking, Alec had no chance to react to what was happening.
There was only one person left now.
It was a pity, however, that Su Mo did not answer Alec’s questions. Instead, he immediately snatched up the arm stub left behind by the third cyborg and threw it violently.
Like a steel needle encountering an egg, the arm stub impaled Alec’s megalithic head at a frightening speed without any resistance whatsoever.
Whoosh!
Once Alec’s life force had been snuffed out, the cluster of stones began to separate and collapse at a visible speed. In a few seconds, they had become a pile of rubble.
From the time of Alec’s last words to Su Mo’s attack, and then the downing of the three others, less than 15 seconds had elapsed!
The human body was not weak.
However, due to equilibrium restrictions and the barrel effect, it was difficult to significantly improve one’s physique like other foreign races.
However, this did not include Su Mo, who was a complete anomaly!
With the pressures of rank, strength, and all-around physicality, victory in battle came easily to him. It was like bullying children.
“D*mn it, I still trusted too much in the mark’s control. Although revealing the information to others isn’t really betraying me, I was still too careless!
“If my guess is correct, Alec has probably already revealed the location of the basin. This is extremely bad!”
After realizing that his low-key thoughts of making a fortune had been dashed and that they might now have brought about a great deal of trouble, Su Mo no longer felt like waiting after looking at the peaceful land behind him for a moment.
If the basin’s location had really been exposed, all four, including Alec, were just simple “vanguards”.
The ones waiting behind the scenes would be the greedy vampires!
The moment they found out that Harl was not Harl, but the human Su Mo, then—contingent on the mark being decoded as a prerequisite—war between the two territories would be absolutely inevitable.
Both sides were bound to get into a struggle to be the last man standing!
“I hope I’m only scaring myself.
“After all, Alec doesn’t know that the mark has been decoded, or that Harl has been replaced by someone else!”
With his thoughts in chaos, he hurried forward to the four who had died and cut off the parts of their flesh that bore their marks, using the dagger strapped to his leg. He then put them into the special preservation container.
After changing the template, Su Mo resumed his journey.
This time, fearing that pursuers might catching up to him, Su Mo did not dare rest the entire journey. He just relied on his strong willpower to carry him through.
Seeing the border of the basin that had appeared within his sights, Su Mo was shocked at first, then he plopped down onto the ground in a sitting position.
At the same time, a sense of security from escaping and surviving a catastrophe suddenly surged up from the bottom of Su Mo’s heart.
Unlike the basin’s barren borders from two days before, there was now a watchtower about 10 meters high that had been quietly constructed. There were also several simple defense facilities along the borders of the territory!
At present, the individual standing on the watchtower was none other than the basin’s strongest individual combat force, wielding a Xuanhua battle axe in one hand and exuding a sense of security to anyone who looked at him.
It was the lightning bear!
Moore!
