Chapter 687: The Giant Elephant City Raid

If it really came to this, everyone could guess what fate awaited the Song Family.

That’s exactly why Song Chi set such strict demands for himself.

Unless the success rate of advancement hit 95% or higher, he would never officially begin the process.

Dozens of ideas flashed through his mind in just a few seconds.

When he glanced around again, the doors of the Heavenly Ruin had already swung open. Countless Terracotta Warriors, Doomstar Clansmen, ancient monsters and other enslaved creatures surged out, flooding down into the chaotic Giant Elephant City below.

Above their heads, the market projection slowly faded away until only the Heavenly Ruin remained suspended high in the sky.

Song Chi hadn’t kept attacking, but only because he knew there was no need.

The final two Dominion auras within the city had vanished the moment the City Shield shattered. Presumably, they’d escaped through that superdimensional portal.

Apart from that, among the millions of foreign races left in the city, the strongest was only a sixth-tier being—not even close to a threat for the Heavenly Ruin.

For now, Song Chi’s main task was to quickly stabilize the city’s order. As for looting, he set his Terracotta Warriors and enslaved creatures to do a rough sweep.

This trade city had stood for tens of thousands of years at the eighth tier; the wealth hidden here was staggering. But Song Chi couldn’t afford to put too much thought into it for now.

The Heavenly Ruin’s Warship Evolution Quest could last up to ten years, and in that time he had to find every possible opportunity to raise the success rate a little higher. There was no time to waste here.

Another key issue: thanks to his careful control, the spatial barrier above the city hadn’t shattered despite the energy waves from eighth and even quasi-ninth-level powers. That meant everything happening in the Giant Elephant City was still locked in place. But that wouldn’t last long.

With millions of foreign races involved—countless tribes and factions across the Sea of Stars—the moment their absence stretched on, curious eyes would start probing. When that happened, everything he’d done here would be impossible to hide. He had to move quickly, before others became suspicious and locked down the super-dimensional continent, reducing his chances.

He also wanted to use the Celestial Authority Ring to try enslaving an eighth-tier Dominion. If he could pull it off, he’d have a powerful guardian for the Dragon-Spine Continent or a deterrent against rivals watching the Song Family.

If he managed that, he could station it at Dragon-Spine Continent or use it to keep lurking enemies at bay—either way, it’d be a major asset.

Even if the Heavenly Ruin advanced, it would only scare off outsiders temporarily. Song Chi couldn’t always stay with the clan—his heart longed for the wide, endless sea of stars. So the family needed a lasting source of strength.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was giving up the massive stash of wealth down in Giant Elephant City. With over ten million foreign races, including several hundred sixth-tier beings and even more fourth and fifth. Whether sold as slaves or kept for clan use, they’d be a great boon.

Deep underground in the Giant Elephant City, several Void Shadow Assassin Terracotta Warriors stood beside the superdimensional portal.

Following Song Chi’s mental command, one Terracotta Warrior stepped forward into the portal’s range, then pulled out a Void Crystal.

But before long, Song Chi, high above the city, shook his head.

“Just as I thought—the portal on the other side has already been destroyed. This one’s useless now!”

“Well, in that case…”

With a flicker of thought, several other Void Shadow Assassin Warriors received new orders. Acting together, they quickly destroyed the portal in the hidden chamber.

Who knew if the other side might have a way to repair it? Best to play it safe and demolish it completely.

After finishing, the lead Void Shadow Assassin Warrior produced another item.

A familiar Market-Walking Token.

But this time, the token wasn’t meant to enter the market. He’d already shipped all the roughly looted resources there; today, his aim was different.

Under the Terracotta Warrior’s precise manipulation, the place where the portal once stood began to tremble. Within a minute, a brand-new teleportation platform quietly appeared.

The moment this special teleportation platform materialized, a change echoed through the Omniverse Market’s newly-evolved seventh-tier Omniverse Teleportation Platform—a new Floating-land teleportation node appeared, labeled as the Red Star Continent.

……

Dragon-Spine Continent. Deep within the Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, in the Dragon Whale Hall.

Today, with Chaotic Mist and a dazzling tri-colored glow enveloping Dragon Whale Hall, the place felt different than usual. Beyond the ghostly figures ruling from their thrones atop the Family Ancestral Hall—including those seated on the Star, Golden and Silver Thrones—there now stood more than a thousand people in neat rows at the heart of the hall.

In that instant, the phantom on the flaming golden throne sent a beam of golden light from its brow. As the light rippled, identical contract screens appeared in front of every person standing in the hall.

Name: Covenant of Flame

Quality: Gold

Confidential Clause: For the next month, everything you experience must be kept secret. Leak anything, and clan law will decide your fate!

Signatories: Song Yiming, Song Li, Song Yueying, …

When everyone had signed, the phantom of Song Wujian atop the hall’s throne waved a hand.

A faint tremor echoed from the depths of the ancestral hall. Through the Chaotic Mist, everyone glimpsed only the rough outline of a strange teleportation platform.

“Alright, Yiming, you’ll be the captain this time. Everything is up to you, but don’t rush to start the Warship Evolution Quest. Your ship is already an ultimate battleship, but you’re still missing some advancement resources. If you complete this mission well, the clan will reward you with a high-grade Energy Crystal. Wait until then to begin!”

“Yiming, all of you remember—during the second teleportation, you must pick Red Star Continent as your target. If you don’t, the consequences will be far beyond what any of you can handle!”

“I understand, Ancestor! Your grandson obeys!”

With their ancestors’ advice still echoing, Song Yiming led over a thousand Song Family members up to the teleportation platform in the depths of the ancestral hall.

Omniverse Market — Omniverse Teleportation Platform.

As flashes of light swept past, swarms of Song Family members materialized upon the strange platform.

After teleporting to the Omniverse Teleportation Platform, each one looked around curiously. But since the platform was sealed from inside and out, there was nothing to see. They simply followed the Ancestors’ instructions, picked Red Star Continent for their second jump, and triggered the transfer.

The moment they arrived in the Giant Elephant City’s underground chamber, their eyes landed on a few of Song Chi’s Void Shadow Assassin Terracotta Warriors.

“I greet you, Uncle Song Chi!”

Song Yiming, who’d been mentored by Song Chi many times, recognized the significance of the Terracotta Warriors right away. He knew Song Chi was nearby.

“No need for ceremony. I heard your ship’s become an ultimate battleship? Excellent…”

Song Chi remembered Yiming clearly—a rare junior who’d been given the title of “super galactic genius” in the clan after Song Chi himself, and who’d earned top ranks from the Bodhi Inheritance Tower.

He hadn’t disappointed their investment, either. Not just first sequence of his class, but already an Elder Captain at just over six hundred years old, and soon to challenge the Dreadnought rank.

Family prosperity certainly played its part in these achievements, but Yiming’s own talent and hard work were undeniable.

After giving everyone a short pep talk, Song Chi got down to business.

“Your assignment is to completely loot this city as fast as possible—including the millions of foreign races living here.”

“If you need to advance, you can take out any of the foreigners, just don’t slaughter large numbers in public or you’ll trigger chaos. Ship all resources back to Dragon-Spine Continent first—the clan will make sure you’re rewarded later!”

……

With all that arranged, Song Chi wasted no time. The Heavenly Ruin’s engines roared as it leapt toward the next target.

He left the Flamewrath Giant behind at Giant Elephant City—just in case.

After all, many of the promising clan youths were on this mission. He wasn’t about to risk anything happening to them.

Of course, before leaving he’d planted a divine sense imprint on the Flamewrath Giant. Once Song Yiming and the others finished their work, he could activate the Tome of Divine Will to recall the giant.

Eighth-Tier Floating-Land Origin: 24,800 wisps

Ninth-Tier Floating-Land Origin: 20 wisps

Eighth-Tier Dominion Soul: 15 pieces

Seventh-Tier Dominion Soul: 140 pieces

Black Hunyuan Lithium Armor x1

Black Giant Elephant King’s Fang x1

Golden Sigil of Might x1

Golden Sky-Splitting Axe x1

Giant Elephant Secret Arts Inheritance Stele x1

Floating-land Spirit Treasure: Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Marrow Liquid x8 drops

Floating-land Spirit Treasure: Hundred-Thousand-Year Earth Marrow Crystal x1

……

In the Heavenly Ruin’s control room, Song Chi set the ship to autopilot and tallied up his haul.

Even with just a quick, rough sweep by his minions, being the first on the scene meant he still nabbed most of the treasures.

No wonder this city thrived for tens of thousands of years under an eighth-tier Dominion. The treasures here didn’t disappoint.

Don’t forget, those two seventh-tier Elephant Sovereigns who escaped probably took some valuables with them, too. Even so, the eighth-tier’s hoard was truly impressive.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find any rare, high-grade advancement resources among the loot.

Of the gold and black oddities, only two could be converted into battleship components: the Giant Elephant King’s Fang and Sigil of Might. The Hunyuan Lithium Armor and Sky-Splitting Axe were just ordinary oddities.

He tossed the two oddities that couldn’t be converted into the market’s Oddities Exchange, then focused on the battleship component attributes of the other two.

First up was the Sigil of Might: a unique component with decent stats—though its benefits to the Heavenly Ruin were limited.

Sigil of Might Lv0

Quality: Gold

Trait: When pursuing comprehension of the Laws of Might within the warship, insight +5%.

Trait 2: Resistance to force +1000.

Trait 3: When the warship’s hull collides with an enemy unit, impact damage increases by 140%.

Trait 4: When casting Might-related secret arts within the warship, their power doubles.

Trait 5: Blessing of Might.

……

{Blessing of Might: Spend 80,000 eon energy points to give a unique blessing to a friendly unit. For the next 10 minutes, their strength increases by 40%. Cooldown: 24 hours.}