Chapter 133: Chapter 127: The Situation of the Granary
Although there was a prior agreement with Su Han, the majority of the rat monster corpses on the battlefield had to be handed over to him.
However, aside from the rat monster corpses, the casualty situation of the Southern City Guards, wound treatment for their personnel, and other matters also needed to be tallied and addressed promptly, which required the oversight of a person of significant authority.
On Guo Wutao's side, he found Su Han accompanied by the two Angel Envoys.
At this moment, Su Han was still clad in Black Armor and had no intention of removing it; the Pu knife in his hand was stained with blood, and his aura was so chillingly cold that it put people on edge.
"Su Han, we need to clean out the warehouse next. Are you coming over personally, or...?"
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Guo Wutao originally intended for Su Han to join him, but his words changed upon seeing that both of his Angel Envoys were "devouring" the Troll Mouse King and the Mother Nest Queen, so he altered his approach.
It was clear that the two Angel Envoys could not stray too far at the moment, which was why he sought out Su Han now.
Even though Su Han himself was essentially an 'anthropomorphic monster' and had the strength to protect himself,
Since he did not want Su Han to misinterpret a sudden invitation, what was meant to be an invitation turned into an inquiry.
After some thought, Su Han called out to Zhu Xiong in the distance, "Old Zhu, Meiyu, you two go and check the condition of the grain warehouse."
Upon hearing Su Han's command, Zhu Xiong immediately responded, "No problem, we're on it."
Seeing that Su Han had called upon Zhu Xiong and Yan Meiyu, one a representative of military strength and the other the head of logistics, both of whom were influential, Guo Wutao nodded in agreement and said, "Alright, then we'll go on ahead, and you tell me if anything comes up here."
Guo Wutao and Zhu Xiong's teams entered the Bei Qing Grain Warehouse. Although the rat monster army had been defeated, including the death of their king and queen at the hands of Su Han, that did not guarantee the absence of rat monsters or other creatures within.
One can never be too cautious; after all, everyone has but one life, and once it's gone, everything is lost.
Meanwhile, Su Han waited silently for the Fusion of his two Angel Envoys. Compared to the monsters he had encountered before, the difficulty of this Fusion was undoubtedly greater; the resistance of both the Troll Mouse King and the Mother Nest Queen was extremely fierce.
The Fusion process was becoming increasingly prolonged. After well over half an hour, just as Guo Wutao and his team had completed a round of inspection and returned, the Fusion had only completed a quarter of their bodies.
"What's the situation inside?"
Seeing that Guo Wutao didn't look too pleased, Su Han spoke up and asked.
With a slightly grim expression, Guo Wutao said, "At most, there are a little over twenty thousand tons left. The rat horde has consumed a lot of the food, and there's also a fair amount that has been contaminated."
Half of the fifty thousand tons of grain had been consumed, no insignificant figure.
It must be understood that, given a fifty thousand-ton reserve, even if the two camps were to divide it equally, the food could supply one million people for one and a half months.
Although factors such as poor reserves, greater consumption by Contractors, and other reasons may slightly shorten this duration, it still represents a three to four ten-day period of consumption for a million people.
However, ten thousand tons would only be enough for two hundred thousand people for three months under ideal conditions. In reality, the actual duration of use would be somewhat shorter.
Of course, two hundred thousand is a significant number, and the Survivors' Camp in South City currently has only a few thousand people, which seems more than enough.
But this is under the current circumstance where South City has not fully expanded and has not conducted an active search for survivors, maintaining a population of just a few thousand.
If they were to commence a full search, the number of people would quickly rise, and the consumption would increase by the day.
Moreover, it's the post-apocalyptic era, and there are no other channels for supplies. Without establishing corresponding production and with only several months' worth of reserves, it's equally a perilous situation.
"Ten thousand tons is not a small amount, after all."
Su Han appeared calm, understanding Guo Wutao's concerns and said, "There are not a few who have survived in South City, scattered in various places. But even when you begin your rescue operations, not all of them may join you, so ten thousand tons should be enough. You could even consider trying to feed the Evolved Kind."
Guo Wutao's expression changed slightly as he frowned, "You mean, like a small group?"
Su Han nodded and replied, "Yes, so ten thousand tons will be enough."
In a way, Su Han's Survivor's Camp was akin to a 'small group,' yet their formidable strength meant that South City regarded him as an equal.
However, it was a different story for other small groups, which lacked the capability to protect civilians and instead relied on their own power to dominate.
Undoubtedly, such groups would come into conflict with the current camp in South City since they would not be content to submit to others.
"We'll play it by ear."
Guo Wutao shook his head slightly, then said, "Well, according to our agreement, let's start moving the goods."
Su Han nodded and said, "We'll each take half, and I'll leave it to Old Zhu and his team to handle my share."
The two reaffirmed their agreement, with no hint of reneging.
Su Han immediately instructed Old Zhu and Yan Meiyu to organize personnel to move the goods, while Bai Qilan returned to the camp after collecting enough samples to stand guard.
As for himself, he remained here, continuing to monitor the Fusion process.
Two and a half hours later, as a group of people began to transport the grain, Su Han's side finally completed the Fusion of the two monsters.
The Ancient Worm Tree's fusion progress with the Mother Nest Rat Queen reached 34%, while the fusion progress of the Troll Mouse King with the Scorpion Spider Demon reached 32%, nearly one-third.
However, this was just the beginning of the fusion.
Su Han's two Angel Envoys began to work on the piled-up rat monster corpses, with the Ancient Worm Tree being moved by Su Han to the mountain hollow battlefield to integrate the rat monster corpses there.
Meanwhile, the Scorpion Spider Demon stayed at the grain warehouse battlefield to fuse on the spot.
For a full day and night, the Scorpion Spider Demon first integrated the thousands of bodies on this side, and then joined Su Han at the mountain hollow to continue the fusion process.
In both battlefields, nearly 10,000 rat monster corpses were needed for one Angel Envoy to gradually bring the fusion progress to completion.
[Troll Mouse King 100% fusion complete, Scorpion Spider Demon level breakthrough to Third Order, acquired skills: LV1 Blood Qi Blessing, skill advancement: LV3 Coagulation Cannon]
The Scorpion Spider Demon was the first to complete its advancement, its size surging past the ten-meter mark, the carapace of its lower half, which was scorpion-shaped, became pitch-black and shiny, even more resilient, while its upper body's muscles bulged like boulders, unyielding and sturdy.
A blood-red color of vital energy surged through its body, interspersed with Spiritual Energy. With a thought, vital energy enveloped its scorpion tail, and with a whip of the tail, it was as if a Pu knife had slashed, instantly creating a five-meter long fissure in the ground that was two meters deep.
Su Han's eyes lit up. This Blood Qi Blessing seemed not only to temporarily enhance strength and speed but also served as a means to extend attack range.
Remembering the claw strike of the Troll Mouse King that not even the Floating Pagoda Black Armor could withstand, he could imagine how strong this attack was.
"No anthropomorphic state advancement, but it broke through to Third Order. Next, it can start addressing the weak points. Enhancements for Floating Pagoda Black Armor, Iron Skin, and also Self-healing..."
Su Han wasn't disappointed that the Scorpion Spider Demon hadn't undergone a morphological evolution. The enhancement of strength was the key point; the evolution of form was just a manifestation.
The increase in strength of the Third Order Scorpion Spider Demon was undoubtedly immense, yet Su Han was still somewhat unsatisfied, as the battle with the Troll Mouse King had also exposed shortcomings.
[Mother Nest Rat Queen 100% fusion complete, Ancient Worm Tree level breakthrough to Third Order, acquired anthropomorphic state advancement: Mother Nest Ancient Tree, acquired skills: Tree-Born Vine Giant Rat, Sound Wave Tree Fruit]
Unlike the Scorpion Spider Demon, the Ancient Worm Tree's advancement was accompanied by a morphological evolution. The entire crown of the ancient tree grew rapidly, the trunk thickened considerably, the branches became more massive, the vines spread unchecked, and the bark's color became even more ancient. The tree's aura grew even deeper.
In just a few minutes, the entire tree shot up to sixty meters, a veritable Sky-Piercing Giant Tree.
Among its massive branches, pouch-shaped objects resembling fruits hung down, about ten meters above the ground—some higher, some lower—emitting a faint green glow.
The pouches throbbed slightly as if possessing life.
Su Han felt the changes in the Mother Nest Ancient Tree. It seemed there wasn't much mutation in appearance, but the tree's entire aura was more vigorous, with the fresh sensation of life.
Although this feeling was a little twisted, as creating life also involved a sense of eeriness, there was no doubt the Mother Nest Ancient Tree was now powerful.
The Tree-Born Vine Giant Rat was apparently of the same type as the Tree-Born Worm, a nesting-abilities skill that could incubate creatures like Vine Giant Rats from the pouches.
Strength roughly between First Order Inferior and First-level Intermediate, appearance unknown. However, Su Han could sense through his skills that there were 50 Vine Giant Rats, with an activity range of about 1000 meters—not a small distance. Yet, much like the Tree-Born Worm, Vine Giant Rats required the tree sap of the Mother Nest Ancient Tree to survive for extended periods.
The other skill was interesting, as it resembled the piercing screech of the Mother Nest Rat Queen.
With a thought from Su Han, a vine suddenly came before him, Spiritual Energy gathered upon it, and then a red fruit began to form.
The vine whipped out, flinging the Sound Wave Tree Fruit away, landing it around 100 meters on the ground.
As soon as the Sound Wave Tree Fruit hit the ground, it exploded instantly, and the piercing sound of the blast was unnerving, making one's scalp tingle.
At the site of the explosion, a hole about a meter deep appeared in the ground, the power outstripping that of a standard hand grenade.
Most importantly were the effects of the Sonic Blast Attack. At a hundred meters away, it was already jarring to the ears and could cause tingling sensations. If closer, it could be lethally effective, similar to the roar of the Mother Nest Rat Queen.
And that was just one Sound Wave Tree Fruit.
If a series of Sound Wave Tree Fruits were to explode together, they could form a terrifying wave of sound and exert widespread suppression.
Of course, one could also be directly blown to death.
"Now we have bombs. How could we lack mass-destructive skills?" Su Han murmured. In terms of combat power, the Mother Nest Ancient Tree's single combat strength was actually weaker than that of the Scorpion Spider Demon, because as long as the vines could not effectively restrict, the Mother Nest Ancient Tree could only engage in close combat in its Anthropomorphic State.
In that state, it couldn't possibly match the Scorpion Spider Demon.
The role of the Mother Nest Ancient Tree was as a territorial Angel Envoy, commanding monster armies, cultivating dependent beasts, vine control, and other means, making any monster entering its territory fall into a 'monster' tide.
However, as vital as group combat was, it wasn't sufficient without having a trump card for critical situations, because there would always be powerful individuals that could pose a threat.
Therefore, the Sound Wave Tree Fruit was a good start, control combined with bomb strikes—equipped with such a setup, the fight for the Mother Nest Rat Queen wouldn't require Su Han's help.
"Next, first enhance the strength of the vines, and let's see what the new dependent beast looks like."
While incorporating the fusion materials, the supply of the dependent beast had also completed absorption, with the womb being that of the Mountain Corpse Giant Rat, and all materials sourced from the corpses of rat monsters.
Su Han had a hunch it would still be a rat-type creature, but to what extent it would develop was indeed something to look forward to.