Giant Cannon Fire Elephant

A babbling stream ran through the weeds, gathering in mud-choked pools and splashing up raindrop-sized ripples.

Such terrain was common in the swamp. Every step kicked up a clump of black mud. By the time Li Ziran had left the camp, his feet were completely wrapped in the swamp's peculiar black sludge, as though he were dragging huge lumps of lead.

Whenever his feet were about to be completely swallowed by the black mud, a pair of thick hands would pull him free, then use heavy palms to scrape the mud clean from his feet in one sweep.

The buffalo woman, Hei Guduo!

She was an especially burly girl, twelve years old. Three years ago, she had become a slave and been bought by Karen. Since then, she had served in the slave corps. Half a moment ago, she had officially become Li Ziran's attendant—and his laborer.

Yet Li Ziran felt none of her gentleness. Not only was she a full half-body taller than him, but her strength was the key. She grabbed him like a chick without even drawing breath.

"Thanks!" Li Ziran smiled at her, but she did not look happy in the slightest.

During his conversation with Medusa, he had received explosive news: they were inside a giant dragon's territory.

Dragons—though he had never seen one, every notebook had mentioned their danger, even exaggerating that a single breath could destroy a tribe.

Now, he truly could not understand why Karen was still so eager to modify the Bipedal Corpse Dragon after learning this was dragon territory.

Though the Bipedal Corpse Dragon also had the word "dragon" in its name, it was worlds apart from a true dragon.

There was not the faintest flicker of expression in Hei Guduo's huge eyes. She did not answer a single word, merely taking half a step back to maintain an exact distance from Li Ziran.

"You don't need to be polite to her. You saved her," Karen said, turning back with a smile. "Let's put our backs into it. The Cannon Slave Corps camp is a bit hard to reach. The mud ahead is thicker, so everyone be careful."

"Commander, how about I cast a couple fireballs to bake the water dry? We'd travel faster that way," suggested the mage sitting on a bamboo mat carried by eight Fishmen.

Li Ziran would have loved nothing more than to bake this place dry, but Karen shot the Mage a very rude glare. "Save your magic. I don't pay you wages to waste it in a place like this."

The Mage gave an embarrassed smile and fell silent. Li Ziran looked around. Everyone here seemed afraid of Karen. Along the way, apart from the fire Mage Hogg, who could exchange a few words, everyone else remained mute.

Yet Li Ziran could not see anything particularly special about Karen. Still, there was one thing Karen had not been wrong about.

Freedom.

Karen never said much to the people here, yet strangely, every one of them followed at Karen's side obediently, terrified of making even the tiniest mistake.

Unable to make sense of it, Li Ziran could only observe the swamp.

He could clearly identify this as aquatic grass. These grasses should have been underwater, and from them, he could tell this place had once been a small lake.

This was the magic of the Wasteland. It could devour a great lake completely clean in only three days.

The road ahead was difficult to traverse. With one step, Li Ziran would sink knee-deep into the mud. Hei Guduo had no choice but to carry him, and even she gradually found walking difficult.

Those Fishmen, on the other hand, used their fish tails to move easily through the mud. Li Ziran somewhat regretted refusing the Fishman stretcher. Suffering like this for a shred of pride was truly not worth it.

He could not understand why the Cannon Slave Corps had chosen such a place to make camp. Were they relying on natural barriers? But this time, they were facing the Swamp Kingdom.

However, Li Ziran quickly understood.

After traveling for roughly a quarter of an hour, he spotted more than a dozen enormous creatures in the distance, standing along the edge of the camp. Their feet continuously stomped the ground, and each time, Li Ziran could feel a faint wave of vibration.

This was the Elephantfolk's unique probing ripple. Like giraffe people, they sensed approaching outsiders through vibrations in the ground.

Those enormous creatures were giant elephants, but instead of blue skin, they were blotched with patches of black and red, like petals.

Their four elephant legs were red as burning fire. Most striking was their thick, dark elephant trunks, nearly twice the length of their entire bodies. Two sharp tusks hung on either side of each trunk, covered in dense little pinholes whose purpose was unknown.

Li Ziran had seen elephants before, but never this kind.

Boom!

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out from an extreme distance, followed by a string of blasts. At the far end of the camp, he could see clouds billowing up from the explosions.

Only after they approached the Cannon Slave Corps camp did he see the camp's full appearance.

This did not resemble a camp at all. It was entirely a battlefield position.

At the very front was a small lake. Far beyond the lake lay a chain of small islands. On the lake and islands, Crocodile Warriors wearing thick armor could occasionally be seen diving underwater, then surfacing with their heads above the water, evidently charging the camp.

Yet whenever that happened, a black stone shell would fall from the sky.

The instant the black stone shell struck the water, it exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, flesh and blood flew through the air.

Explosions erupted frequently across the lake, while the farthest islands had already been completely blanketed by indiscriminate bombardment.

The launchers of these shells were precisely the mottled giant elephants Li Ziran had just seen.

These creatures stood in a neat row. Their four thick crimson legs truly seemed to be lit aflame, glowing red as though smoke were rising from them. When those red legs were about to ignite, their long trunks suddenly curled up, then extended in an instant before anyone could react.

Bang!

Amid a vibration that tore through the air, a black shell shot from a nostril and landed precisely on the bombardment point.

Now, Li Ziran understood the name Cannon Slave Corps. These several hundred cannon elephants were more than worthy of it. And why had they chosen this camp? That was even simpler.

This place was high!

High enough to overlook the entire swamp completely.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Karen stepped forward and patted Li Ziran's shoulder with a smile. "There are a full two hundred and seventy-eight Giant Cannon Fire Elephants here. Every one is worth three gold coins."

"Worth every coin!" Li Ziran said with an envious smile. "If I had an elephant herd like this, I could run roughshod across the Wasteland!"

He had not told the truth. What he wanted to say was that if he could purchase all these giant elephant corpses, would he not become rich overnight?

With their size and their ability to fire stone shells, even their corpses could probably sell for one gold coin. If given to necromancers, they might even yield some little surprises.

"I want one too!" Karen laughed heartily. "Don't worry. Our slave corps will have them someday, and they'll definitely be even stronger than these Giant Cannon Fire Elephants."

Li Ziran smiled along, thinking, By then, I'll probably be wandering in some corner of the world no one knows.

Still, these Fire Elephants were truly incredible.

Their four feet were clearly refining the fire and earth elements within the Elemental Tide. They must have special organs inside their bodies that mixed earth and fire elements. That elephant trunk was no ordinary thing either. Though it was not a magical organ, the heat it could withstand when firing was no trifling matter.

Especially with their unique ability to sense ground vibrations, they were practically standard artillery emplacements.

Slaves were valuable, but dismantling them and reselling their organs was even more valuable.

In an instant, a business plan for dividing the Fire Elephants into three parts appeared in Li Ziran's mind.

"Li, let's go. The Cannon Corps commander knows we're here and wants us underground," Karen said, her expression gradually turning serious.

Because there were so many Fire Elephants, the roads within the camp were extremely wide. Numerous underground caves had been dug along both sides of the roads.

These caves resembled beastfolk bunkers, concealed and secure. Yet because the elephant herd was so enormous, they looked more like underground caverns. Li Ziran estimated at the entrance that they could fit at least a dozen of him stacked together.

They were led into an underground space guarded by Blue Elephants. The Blue Elephants were thin and tuskless, but they gave off a sharp, fierce feeling, like warriors.

After their identities had been checked, the two entered the underground space together.

The light immediately dimmed. Only faint luminous stones hung overhead, leaving everything hazy. Moreover, the elephant herd kept stomping above, making the underground space shake violently. Dust came whistling down, as if they had entered the underground mine pit of Gray Dwarves.

Li Ziran became much more cautious. He disliked underground life: it was dark, oppressive, and offered no room to flee.

One hand often pressed against his waist while his eyes scanned in every direction.

Just as Li Ziran was on guard, the space ahead gradually brightened and widened. Massive Sunstones now hung overhead, illuminating the football-field-sized area brilliantly.

At a glance, Li Ziran saw an imposing colossus standing in the very center, five stories tall. A mountain-like slope stretched from far away all the way to his feet.

Since it had its back to him, he could not see its full form, but he knew it was the Corpse Dragon's spine and tail.

So huge!

Li Ziran marveled. Worthy of being a drake.

There was an obvious opening on the side of its spine, as though a door had been cut into the Corpse Dragon's belly. Before that door, dozens of figures seemed to be hopping about like fleas.

Dwarf!

They reached at most an adult human's knee, but their heads were twice the size of humans'.

Li Ziran recognized the race at once. These Gnomes filled the stairs, while beneath them stood a pocket factory covering roughly three square meters. Components were being produced one after another, then carried on belts into the Corpse Dragon's abdomen.

The buzzing hum of machinery could be heard even from afar.

The Gnome Pocket Factory was mechanical equipment independently developed by the Gnomes, a representative masterpiece of spatial science.

This three-square-meter factory could shrink down to the size of a fingernail, making it extremely convenient to carry.

These little fellows were absolute masters of spatial science.

Their talent in spatial science made even Li Ziran somewhat jealous.

"Li, I contracted the tusk modification task. Your requirements are simple: you must ensure that when the Corpse Dragon bites, it cannot tear Crocodile Warriors apart, while also preserving the Corpse Dragon's own combat power. The difficulty is not small. I think you can perform well, right?"

Perform well, my ass!

"Of course!" Li Ziran answered with a perfunctory smile. "But I might need some special things."

"You can make any request you like. Even using Medusa's eyes as materials would be no problem. An advanced slave corps can satisfy all your needs. Don't be afraid. You can do it. All right, we need to pay the Cannon commander's a visit. For your sake, he even invited a professional Tusk Appraiser!"