Chapter 42

It had been five months since the Silver Leaf Group arrived at the Iron Armor Fortress, a full five months.

In nearly half a year, the Iron Armor Fortress had become much more peaceful. There were fewer mercenary groups, and people's lives had become more stable. The remaining large groups, for the most part, joined the 'Temporary Management Group' to become official defense forces, while a smaller part lived lawfully, occasionally going out to pick up some easy gains. At this time, outside, there were often unimaginably large swarms of insect corpses. They knew that the Silver Leaf Group had killed them all, and they also knew that the Silver Leaf Group didn't care about this kind of 'small money' and had never once collected these spoils of war.

From mechs to no mechs, and then back to mechs...

The members of the Silver Leaf Group would go crazy every so often. Sometimes they would go out in mechs, sometimes without mechs; sometimes they would go out empty-handed, and sometimes they would go out fully equipped, even dragging several carts of weapons.

In nearly half a year.

Now, the mercenaries no longer paid attention to these figures: they didn't dare.

Heat, cold, massive shadows, lurking in the dark... Even the boldest mercenaries would be frightened by this indescribable scene with just a glance. Their eyes couldn't see the people, only a blurry image. It was as if they were in the presence of the most majestic emperor, where you could only see his supreme glory but never directly gaze upon his face.

The people of the Silver Leaf Group hadn't changed much, but their aura had changed everything.

Ordinary people.

Could only look up to them like a high mountain.

"Baor's condition is good. He quickly adapted and started school. Baor's mother also found some handwork to pass the time." The fat man checked the message and reported to Du Nan, a slight smile on his face. The scars on his face had diminished, but they now had a more engraved feel. The remaining scars were the most lethal. If they were elsewhere, they could only be found on a corpse.

Ye Binghua, Yinyin, and Li Yinzhu, the three women, had their skin restored to smooth and tender.

They had taken the lead.

Crossing the threshold of 'scars as honors, blood as rewards.' Compared to before, their appearances hadn't changed much, but the expressions in their eyes had. If Li Wenfu and Lu Sheng were fearless warriors at this moment, they were powerful beings who freely controlled life and death.

Their levels were completely different.

"Baor living happily is enough. We'll deal with the matters there when we return later." Du Nan hadn't changed much, only growing a bit taller: "These days, everyone has risen. I think we now have the ability to search for this five-star seed core. This time, our opponent is at least a four-star monster, and the danger is considerable. Fat man, Four Eyes, if you're not ready, you don't have to go."

"We need to use this opportunity to break through to the fourth level of body techniques. If we win this battle, we will have more confidence in fusing the three-star seed cores. Do you understand?" Yinyin no longer acted like a big sister, but her temper was still incredibly proud, as if you would be a liability if you were afraid.

"Can we bring mechs?" The fat man didn't overestimate himself when facing a four-star monster.

During this period, the insect beasts he had killed alone could fill this starship. However, after slaughtering millions, it didn't make him overly confident or think he was invincible. On the contrary, he was ten times clearer about what he could and couldn't do. If he couldn't bring a mech this time, he wouldn't go to be a sitting duck.

Four-star Silver Level.

Even without mechs, they could definitely overwhelm and kill it. But to do so without any damage was almost impossible.

A five-star core wasn't worth a noble's son breaking his limbs to obtain.

"I won't wear a mech, just carry weapons. You five need to be fully equipped." Du Nan spoke, and Yinyin pouted but didn't say anything. In her heart, she had quickly calculated and realized that not wearing a mech would indeed be dangerous. For a five-star seed core, she didn't want to break her skin or bones; it wasn't worth it.

Half an hour later, at a foundry in the Iron Armor Fortress.

"Old Yan, are the things we ordered ready?" The fat man took the lead, quickly finding a one-legged, strong, and dark old man.

"Is it you, fat man? They're ready, they're ready. These strange things took the old man a lot of effort. Fortunately, you prepared the materials early, or no one could have made them for you." Old Yan wasn't overly afraid of the Silver Leaf Group members. Everyone could see that this old man had the strength of the fourth level of body techniques, but unfortunately, he was missing a leg and an arm, so his future was bleak. Moreover, he was hiding here, so he must have a story.

"Fat man, here you go."

Old Yan first took out a huge shield, hexagonal with sharp corners, over two meters in diameter, capable of covering a person's entire body. Then, he threw a giant sword, about 1.5 meters long and as wide as two people standing side by side, with a dull blade that seemed unsharpened.

The fat man took the shield and sword, his face beaming with joy.

He swung them a few times.

Extremely satisfied.

"Four Eyes, this is yours." Old Yan took out a set of firearms, twelve in total, of various lengths and sizes. Additionally, there were six small flying swords, two crescent-shaped wheel blades, a metal flying claw, and a two-meter-long flexible snake sword. By the time Lu Sheng was fully equipped, he was armed from head to toe.

"Long Legs."

Old Yan teased, taking out a pair of cold daggers, a 16-meter-long whip, and a set of 36 small flying swords.

Handing them to Li Yinzhu, who smiled in thanks.

"Fiery Girl." Old Yan continued to tease, and Yinyin no longer minded. She took a giant sword three meters long and as wide as a person. Then, she picked up two crescent-shaped, 1.5-meter-long strange curved swords. Finally, she took four fast swords of varying sizes and lengths.

"Shy Girl."

Old Yan didn't play tricks with Ye Binghua, throwing her a weapon that looked like a half-moon halberd, saying, "This thing is generally called an 'Ice Mountain Spear' in our place. This weapon is too long and heavy, usually only used by battle-mad half-orcs. It's 3.6 meters long, with a large crescent blade on one side. According to the fat man's idea, I added a super-long sniper rifle component. Shy Girl, I hope you can handle it."

Ye Binghua stepped forward to take it, immediately stepping back a few steps.

Swinging it once.

Easily turning the gun's head, she aimed at a giant bird flying in the sky and fired without aiming. In an instant, a white light flashed, and the giant bird in the sky was pierced through the head and fell from the sky.

Old Yan was stunned, and the craftsmen beside him were also petrified.

After a moment, Old Yan raised his thumb, his eyes showing some confusion: "Your sniping is so accurate, why do you need a halberd?"

Finally.

Old Yan took a small roll from a box and slowly unfolded it, revealing 108 'long needles.' Calling them long needles, they were much larger than ordinary needles, but not heavy enough to be called long nails. Old Yan said bluntly, "This last set is yours, wasteful brat. This thing can be called 'Starfall Needles.' Heh, I don't know where you found the starfall stone, but to make such a thing, it's really wasteful."

In Old Yan's mind, a piece of starfall stone could make two long swords.

What could a bunch of long needles do?

"Old Yan, is this all Du has? Can't you give us some old stuff? Don't worry, Old Yan, I have a lot of meat and money, and I won't skimp on your payment." The fat man, seeing only a bunch of needles, immediately tried to get closer, acting as if he was very familiar with Old Yan.

"Do you think good materials fall from the sky?" Old Yan glared at the fat man.

In the end.

He still found a long sword and a strange gun in the corner and threw them to Du Nan: "Those maps from Baor's father, you guys collected them, right? Not bad, you have good eyes. Now, you're going to try to get that five-star seed core, right? At your level, tsk tsk, without the right tools, you won't even see the Iron Spider. Young people with ambition is good, but you should practice more."

"Thank you, Old Yan. The training these past few months has been too smooth. I was just about to give them a hard time." Du Nan explained.

A cold wind swept through the group.

Thinking that this practical training would be quite tough.

Ye Binghua, Yinyin, and Li Yinzhu's eyes gleamed, as if they were lacking this kind of 'super difficult' training.

"The Iron Spider is around four-star. Fast guns, fast spears, and sharp claws. With your meager abilities, don't get too close and risk your lives. I worked hard to make these good things, don't throw them in the wilderness. The primitive guardian will kill anyone who approaches. If you want to take advantage, you can lure some insects there. Alright, seeing you kids annoys me, scram." Old Yan's words were harsh, but he was also giving a reminder.

The primitive guardian, the guardian of the magic seed core... It's very powerful, but there are ways to use force, such as luring a group of insects to cause chaos.

Hearing 'fast guns, fast spears, and sharp claws,' the group imagined its appearance. Without a battle or a meeting, they already had a basic understanding of its combat power. Old Yan's information was better than what a scout could provide. As for luring insects to cause chaos, they hadn't thought of it.

Two hours later.

"It's the Frost Guardian, a four-star." Li Yinzhu reported back, now sounding like a scout: "Its lower body is spider-like, with each claw extremely sharp. The upper body is human-like, with short guns on the left and right and a long spear in the right hand. Its mouth is somewhat strange, possibly capable of spitting venom. It moves very quickly and has good defense. Just now, some insects tried to attack the five-star seed core and were almost all killed instantly."

"Do you know where the five-star seed core is?" Du Nan asked.

Among the primitive guardians, the Frost Guardian and Flood Guardian are generally water-based. Rock Guardians, Mountain Guardians, and Desert Guardians are earth-based. Flame Guardians are fire-based, and Storm Guardians are wind-based... These guardians are easy to distinguish by their appearance. However, where they guard the core is a problem.

Often, a battle group can defeat a primitive guardian but cannot find the seed core, which is frustrating.

"It's embedded in its chest," Li Yinzhu replied, indicating that the guardian was very arrogant, with the treasure hanging on its body.

"Then it's not a five-star?" Lu Sheng asked curiously.