Chapter 20 Chapter 17 Scarlet Fortress

The tall city wall is 20 meters high. I really don't know where I found these huge stones when building this military base. Driving the shell of a beetle, I jumped off a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the military base, and dragged the shell and the spine of a desert catfish towards the entrance. The huge city gate was ten meters high. Although the four city gate guards also had a tall body of more than two meters high, they still looked very small under the huge city gate. The four guards of the city gate also seemed to be of a humanoid race, more than 95% similar to the people on Earth, except for some differences in skin color, hair, and facial features.Over the past few days, I have experienced many battles with Zerg and native wild creatures on this planet. When I see humans, my mood is undoubtedly much more cheerful.

Through the entrance of the fortress, you can see that there are squares, streets and continuous houses in the fortress. "It's safe." I sighed sincerely in my heart, and I was about to walk in. "Stop." A gate guard suddenly moved a step sideways, standing in the middle of the gate to stop me. I froze for a moment, and suddenly realized that I hadn't revealed my identity, so I quickly apologized and said: "Sorry, you may not know me, I'm new here, our spaceship was attacked by Zerg and crashed on the way, our commander The officer is Charlie, but he died in battle, and most of the companions on the ship... died in battle."

Thinking of those companions who came together, although most of us are not familiar with them, but the rabbit died and the fox was sad, thinking of them still makes me sad. "Put away your tears, this has nothing to do with us." The city gate guards also used the most commonly used universal language in the Guardian Alliance, coldly and authentically. "Huh?" I'm not used to his indifferent attitude, and I'm not very happy.In a place like the Battlefield of Despair, where death is possible at any time, shouldn't we, intelligent races from various planets, help each other to resist the Zerg?

Another guard sneered and said, "Kean, don't scare our little brother." The other two laughed together, and the guard named Keen also laughed "hehe" and said, "Okay, then I won't talk nonsense. Boy, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from. As long as you come to the Scarlet Fortress, you have to abide by the rules here. The rules here are to pay taxes when entering the fortress, do you understand, rookie?" The four soldiers-like guards in front of me are completely different from the brave, kind, and just fortress guards I imagined.But when I first came to your land, I didn't want to cause trouble, and I didn't want to use my moral values ​​to restrain the other party. Since such a person exists, there is a reason for its existence.What's more, what the other party should look like is not in my control.For Scarlet...fortress, I'm just a rookie, a rookie at the bottom.

I took a deep breath to make myself look less embarrassed, and then said: "I came here for the first time, and I don't know the rules. Since I am here, I will abide by the rules here. Then, tell me, I How much tax do I have to pay?" Kean glanced at the carapace and desert catfish spine behind me.Although he hid it well, I still saw the greedy look in his eyes.The other three also showed covetousness to varying degrees. It seems that these two materials are quite valuable. Keane withdrew his gaze and said, "According to the rules, you have to choose one of your harvested items as tax money, um... leave the shell of this flame beetle, and you can go in."

Keane hesitated between the two materials, and finally chose the shell of a large beetle. It turned out that this kind of bug was called a flame beetle.Presumably the value of this carapace is still higher than the backbone of the desert catfish. When I first came here, I didn't intend to cause trouble. I took out the spine of the desert catfish and left the carapace in place. The four of Keen and the others looked at the carapace with eager eyes. I thought for a while and said, "The Scarlet Fortress should concentrate the power of the intelligent races of the planets to fight against the Zerg. It is a place to shelter us. We fight for all intelligent races here. We bleed and die. Why do we have to pay taxes?"

The four of Keen and the others laughed loudly, until my face sank, Keen wiped away the tears from his laughter and said, "For the sake of tax money, I'll tell you. Seeing the tallest building in the fortress Is there an energy light tower?" "Ok." Keane said in a slightly mocking tone: "Do you know how much energy it takes to activate a light tower? Do you know how much it costs the entire fortress to operate normally? Do you know how much it costs the fortress to hire guards every year? Not everyone They all have justice and faith, and will selflessly come here to die for some shit lofty ideal. The only reason we come here is that the income here is high enough. Now you know why tax is charged, Mr. Ideal."

I was taken aback. I thought these guards, including the warriors in the fortress, were fighting for the race and survival. It turned out that their reason was so simple, just for money. This is nothing to criticize, in fact most intelligent races would not sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.Even myself, I didn't come here for any ideals or beliefs, but because the alliance sent me here. How can I be more noble than others? I shook my head and smiled wryly, dragging the spine of the desert catfish past the four of them, and walked into the city gate hole tens of meters long. I had just walked a few meters when a voice behind me laughed and said, "You guys are bullying newcomers again! It's rare that the carapace of a level 7 flame beetle can be so complete. It's worth a lot, at least one hundred thousand Star coins. The tax money is only ten star coins, so you guys are too ruthless."

I turned my head abruptly, and the person speaking was a strong middle-aged man, slightly shorter than the guards, but much more powerful, standing there like a grizzly bear that might explode at any time.He was carrying a huge bag on his back, which also seemed to contain various materials taken from the bugs. Several guards looked at the big man's big bag enviously, with flattering and awe-inspiring expressions.Keane bent down, took the star coins thrown by the big man with a smile, and said: "Master Bai, you also know that these newcomers will not survive a few days in all likelihood, and it would be a waste to put these good things in their hands." Yes, the last death was given to the fortress for nothing. Besides, our brother did not intend to bully him. It is also stated in the regulations of the fortress that the tax money can be compensated with various materials, as long as the parties agree. Our brother wants this carapace. This kid also agrees."

I didn't expect the carapace value of the seventh-level flame beetle to be as high as 100,000 star coins, which is a lot of wealth.What I didn't even expect was that the guards of the Scarlet Fortress would dare to take away a carapace worth 100,000 star coins for only ten star coins in tax money. I suddenly turned around and looked over, Keen stared at me coldly with a flattering face and said, "Why, you are not convinced? You can go to the general and sue me; or, you can take it back yourself; or, Get out of my way now. Which one do you choose, boy?" The burly middle-aged man didn't say anything to stop him, but instead looked at me as if he was watching a show.It seems that this kind of thing has happened many times, and the upper echelons of the Scarlet Fortress also acquiesced in what the guards did, that's why these guards are so arrogant.

The strength of this guard is probably at the peak of level eight, and now I am at level seven, and it is not difficult to defeat a guard at the peak of level eight by summoning the pet beast.It's just that there are four opponents, each of whom is at the peak of the eighth level. In a real fight, I don't believe they will sit back and watch Kean be defeated by me.One against four, I have no chance of winning. After a few seconds of stalemate, I slowly unloaded my strength.Keen sneered and said, "You're wise, otherwise I don't mind teaching you a lesson." I glanced at him coldly, and didn't say any more, a hero doesn't suffer from immediate losses, not to mention that I just arrived at the Scarlet Fortress, so it's better to keep a low profile. I turned around and walked away. After walking more than ten meters, the burly middle-aged man came up from behind and said beside me, "Why didn't you do anything just now? It shouldn't be difficult to defeat Keen with your strength." I turned to look at him in surprise. The big man has a rough face, with many scars on his cheeks, neck, shoulders, etc. He is obviously a powerful warrior who has experienced many battles.The big man laughed triumphantly, pointed to his eyes, and said triumphantly: "Although I am not a strong person in the Scarlet Fortress, my eyes are ranked second in the Scarlet Fortress. No one dares to say that I am the first!" One. My eyes can see through the hidden strength of others." I said: "Does the general of the fortress know about them? Are these guards allowed to blackmail newcomers?" The big man said indifferently: "These people can only slaughter newcomers once. The newcomers will naturally know the rules when they enter the city, and they will only need to give them ten star coins when they come in and out. They will not go too far." I said unhappily: "For the entry fee of ten star coins, I was charged 100,000 star coins, isn't that too much?" The big man laughed and said: "Newcomers generally don't have such a rich harvest like you. The materials they get are at most worth a few hundred stars. You haven't answered my question yet." I shrugged and said, "It's better to keep a low profile when you're new here." The big man said with deep meaning: "Modity is not popular here. On the battlefield, only strength can be respected." The other party is kindly reminding me that in the face of provocations, I should fight back hard, so as to gain the respect of others.I thanked him politely: "Thank you Lord Bai for your guidance. My name is Lan Hu, and I just came from the Guardian Alliance." The big man showed a slightly surprised look and said, "From the Guardian Alliance?" Immediately, the big man suddenly realized: "Thinking about it, it seems that it is time for the guardian alliance to select guardians once every fifty years. So, what I am facing now is a future big shot. I am Baili, you You can also call me lunatic Baili, because I look like a lunatic when I fight, so everyone is used to calling me a lunatic, haha..." The big man laughed heartily. Get used to calling him crazy?I only saw a few guards standing proudly in front of me flattering and revering him, calling him Lord Bai, who would dare to call him a lunatic?Obviously, Lord Bai Li is probably a big shot in the Scarlet Fortress. I was a little embarrassed to be called a big man by such a big man, and said quickly: "Lord Bai Li, I am only one of hundreds of thousands of candidates, far from being called a big man." Bai Li waved his hand indifferently and said: "As long as you can survive, you must be a big shot. If you die unfortunately, everything about you is just a part of the dust of the universe, and it doesn't matter if you are a big shot or not." Bai Li's words were decisive, but they were full of deep meaning.There are only two possibilities on the battlefield of despair: survive and become a big shot, die and become dust.There is no failure here, only death or success. I walked side by side with Bai Li, and everyone I met on the road showed awe of Bai Li, and I could see that this was respect and fear from the bottom of my heart, except that there was no hypocrisy.And I seem to be an insignificant background around Bai Li, often ignored, or glanced at by people without stopping at all, as if I don't deserve the other person's gaze for a second longer. After walking for a while, I said, "Lord Bai Li, since the general in the fortress knows about this kind of behavior that affects unity, why doesn't he care about it?" Bai Lidao: "When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Although General Long Codman knows about their dirty little things, as long as they don't go too far, he generally won't bother. You must know that this is a battlefield, and the death rate is extremely high. On the battlefield, what is needed here is your fighting power, not your moral character. We can't ask them to fight regardless of their lives, but also ask them to be noble like saints, that's unrealistic." Bai Li paused, and said with a mocking tone: "Even if the Guardian Alliance is made of iron, how many nails can it drive? Resisting the Zerg requires the joint efforts of all intelligent races on all planets. The Guardian Alliance has to eat meat, and it must be let Let others drink some soup and water." I looked at Baili suspiciously, and listening to his tone, fighting against the Zerg has clearly become a good job, so there is a metaphor of eating meat and drinking soup.I couldn't help asking: "Isn't it a very dangerous and painful thing to fight against the greedy and cruel Zerg?" Bai Li looked at me meaningfully and said: "A thousand years ago, the Zerg race was so powerful that it almost swept half the universe, and there were eight hundred intelligent races that perished in the hands of the Zerg race. The current Zerg race is not as powerful as it was at its peak. One percent, although still powerful, occupies a large number of galaxies, but there is no threat of sweeping the universe. For some superpowers, the Zerg is like a cow that produces milk, which is enough to make any superpower Anyone with crazy interests." Bai Li said half-covered, I was confused, could it be planetary minerals?After coming to the Guardian Alliance, I also know that some planets are rich in rare minerals, and these minerals are invaluable.Take the Dune Star as an example, maybe this planet is rich in some kind of rare minerals. If you can defeat the Zerg and completely occupy the Dune Star, it will naturally be equivalent to taking the minerals into your own hands, and a planet that can live is very important to intelligent races. It is the greatest wealth. I said, "Does this benefit mean taking back habitable planets from the Zerg, or planets with rare mineral veins?" Bai Li smiled meaningfully, noncommittal. Looking at his smile, I suddenly had an idea, and my whole body was shocked!Could it be... the source spar! This is the benefit that is enough to make any superpower crazy about it!The Zerg are the cows in Baili's mouth, and the source spar is the milk they produce. It must be the source spar. I, a new human who has just arrived at the Dune Star, can know the source spar. Although this is also because of the little tree spirit, but for thousands of years, how many geniuses have been born in various intelligent races, there will always be a discovery this secret. Since the Zergs are too weak to threaten the universe, they are naturally regarded as milk-producing cows by other intelligent races, and they have to find a way to milk some milk every day, but this cow is extraordinarily fierce, and milking is risking death threaten. No wonder Bai Li said that the Guardian Alliance had to let other people drink some soup after eating meat.Fighting against the Zerg requires all intelligent races to unite, and most of the Scarlet Fortress is probably composed of coalition forces from other intelligent races. Talking about source spar touches a deep secret, and Bai Li is unwilling to say more, so he changed the subject and talked about his own tough record, spitting all over, talking endlessly, as if no one usually talked to him.Listening to Bai Li's story, I also gained a lot of knowledge and learned some secrets of the Dune Star. Bai Li talked about it, and I was more happy to learn more about Dune Star and Zerg.One to talk, one to listen. Suddenly, several people wearing the same uniform as the city gate guards walked towards us. Several people came in front of us, respectfully saluted Bai Li and said, "Lord Bai Li." Bai Li was very excited about the conversation, looked at the few people saluting, and said impatiently: "Leave if you have nothing to do." Bai Li had a bad attitude, but they didn't show any signs of annoyance. One of them said, "Master Bai Li, we follow General Long Codman's order to ask Mr. Lan Hu to go and ask questions." "Huh?" Bai Li frowned, obviously although he didn't pay attention to the people in front of him, he didn't dare not take General Long Codman's order in his heart. Bai Li turned his head to look at me, and said to several people: "May I know why General Long Codman asked him for questioning? This little brother just arrived at Scarlet Fortress today." The person who spoke first said politely: "Lord Bai Li, someone sued Mr. Lan Hu for abandoning his companions on the battlefield and fleeing alone." I was startled, abandoned my companions, and ran for my life alone. Where did this start? Bai Li turned his head again, looked at me twice as if his gaze had any substance, then turned his head and nodded to a few people, and said solemnly: "I have nothing to do with him, you can take him to see General Long Codman " After finishing speaking, Bai Li strode away without looking back. After several people watched Bai Li leave, they surrounded me. The person who spoke first said unceremoniously: "Mr. Lan Hu, I advise you to not do anything, otherwise, according to the rules of the Scarlet Fortress, anyone who dares to do anything in the Scarlet Fortress , the guards of Scarlet Fortress can kill him on the spot." I took a deep breath and said: "This may be a misunderstanding. I have never done anything to abandon my companions, and I have only just arrived at the Scarlet Fortress. Even if I want to abandon my companions, it is too late to do so." Several people turned a deaf ear to me and just took a step closer to me. One of them said solemnly: "You can talk about these words when you meet General Long Codman. We are only responsible for bringing you to see General Long Codman." They are all eighth-level powerhouses, and it seems that they don't intend to reason with me, and they seem to strike immediately if there is a disagreement. It is unwise to do it under such circumstances, and we can only go to see General Long Codman with a few people first.I said in a deep voice, "Okay, I will go with you to see General Long Codman." Several people looked at me mockingly, and the leader sneered contemptuously: "You are smart, come with us." Not long after I walked, a few people led me to the energy light tower.Looking at the energy light tower from a distance, I only feel that it is tall, but it is only when I come under the tower that I realize how magnificent the energy light tower is, and the closer I get to the energy light tower, the more lively the energy particles in the air can be felt. A few people led me into the energy light tower. The light tower was as bright as day, and everything looked simple and clear, without any extra decorations.The hall on the first floor is about ten meters high, and the whole space looks empty and atmospheric. In a hall of nearly a thousand square meters, an imposing man sat on a huge chair and looked down at us. "General, I've brought you here." One person stepped forward and bowed down very respectfully. That man above is General Long Codman.I looked up and met his eyes. For a moment, I felt as if I was in a sea of ​​sand, and the yellow sand all over the sky rushed toward me like a mad dragon. The terrible feeling made my back covered in cold sweat instantly, and then my eyes returned to normal, but it was only for a moment that I felt the power of General Long Codman. General Codman the dragon in front of him is just a clone, with a five-meter-high body, and his whole body seems to be made of yellow sand. The surrounding space seems to be affected by his clone, dry and hot. I learned from Baili that General Long Codman is a two-star guardian, but it gives me the feeling that he is much stronger than Tatarut, who is also a two-star guardian.It can be seen that even if they are both two-star guardians, they still have strengths and weaknesses. General Long Codman's voice was as cold as steel, full of chilling taste: "For someone accusing you of abandoning your companions on the battlefield and fleeing alone, what explanation do you have?" I said: "I am a candidate for the Guardian Alliance, and I just arrived at the Scarlet Fortress today. I don't know where this accusation comes from?" General Long Codman said: "Bring Takata and Malphite up." Soon Bianshan and Malphite, whose alias was Takada, appeared in front of my eyes. After saluting General Long Codman respectfully, they stood aside. General Long Codman said: "These two sued you for abandoning your companions and fleeing alone when the spaceship was attacked by Zerg. Do you have anything to say?" Seeing these two people, I immediately understood that they couldn't kill me, so they came to Scarlet Fortress first to accuse me.But now the key problem is that even if I say that I have not done such a thing, no one can testify to me.Under the circumstances at that time, there were not many people who survived, and they might not be able to come to the Scarlet Fortress alive in the dangerous sand sea. .