Giant Cannon Fire Elephant

A babbling stream flowed through the weeds, gathering into mud-filled pools, **sending up ripples of raindrop-sized splashes.

Such terrain was common in the swamp. Every step kicked up black mud, and by the time Li Ziran left the camp, his feet had been completely wrapped in the swamp's distinctive black sludge, as if they were dragging enormous lumps of lead.

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

Hei Guduo, the buffalo woman!

She was an exceptionally burly girl, twelve years old. She had become a slave three years ago and was 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 laborer.

Yet Li Ziran did not find her gentle at all. She was a full half-head taller than him, and more importantly, she had incredible strength. She grabbed him like a chick without even panting.

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

During his conversation with Medusa, he had learned an explosive piece of news: they were in the territory of a giant dragon.

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

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

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

There was not a trace of emotion in Hei Guduo's huge eyes. She did not answer a single word, merely stepping half a pace back to maintain a precise distance from Li Ziran.

"You don't need to be polite to her. You saved her." Karen turned back with a smile. "Let's put in some effort. The Cannon Slave Corps camp isn't easy to reach. The mud ahead is thicker, so be careful."

"Commander, how about I cast a couple of fireballs and dry out the water here? We could travel faster that way." The Mage sitting on a bamboo mat carried by eight Fishmen made a suggestion.

Li Ziran dearly wished the place could be dried out, but Karen shot the Mage an impolite glare. "Save your mana. I don't pay you to waste it in places like this."

The Mage smiled awkwardly and fell silent. Li Ziran looked around. Everyone here seemed afraid of Karen. Along the way, aside from Hogg, the fire Mage, who could say a few words, everyone else remained quiet.

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

Freedom.

Karen rarely said much to the people here, yet strangely, every one of them followed him obediently, terrified of making even the slightest mistake.

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

He could clearly identify these as aquatic plants. They should have grown underwater, and from them, he could tell that this place had once been a small lake.

This was the Wasteland's magic. In merely three days, it could devour an entire lake without leaving a trace.

The road ahead was difficult to traverse. Every time Li Ziran stepped down, mud immediately swallowed him up to the knees. Hei Guduo had no choice but to carry him, and even she was gradually finding it difficult to walk.

The Fishmen, on the other hand, moved easily through the mud with their fish tails. Li Ziran somewhat regretted refusing a Fishman litter. Suffering like this just to save a little face truly was not worth it.

He could not understand why the Cannon Slave Corps had chosen such a place to station themselves. Did they rely on the natural defenses? But this time, they were facing the Swamp Kingdom.

However, Li Ziran soon understood.

After traveling for roughly a quarter of an hour, he saw more than a dozen colossal creatures leaning around the edge of the camp in the distance. Their feet continuously stomped the ground, and each time, Li Ziran could feel a faint vibration.

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

These colossal creatures were giant elephants, but their hides were not blue. Instead, they were mottled black and red.

Their four elephant legs were as red as if they were on fire. Most conspicuous of all was the thick, dark elephant trunk, nearly twice the length of the entire elephant body. Two sharp tusks hung on either side of it, covered in dense little holes whose purpose was unknown.

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

Boom!

A deafening explosion suddenly came from far away, followed by a series of blasts. At the far end of the camp, clouds formed by the explosions could be seen rising one after another.

Only after approaching the Cannon Slave Corps camp did he see its full appearance clearly.

This did not look like a camp at all. It was entirely a fortified position.

At the very front was a small lake. Far beyond it lay a chain of small islands. On the lake and islands, Crocodile Warriors wearing thick armor could occasionally be seen diving into the water, then surfacing again. They were clearly assaulting the camp.

But 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, while flesh and blood flew through the air.

Explosions frequently erupted across the lake, while the distant islands had already been completely covered in indiscriminate bombardment.

The source of these shells was the mottled giant elephants Li Ziran had just seen.

These creatures stood in neat rows. Their four thick red legs really did seem to be lit, glowing so crimson that they appeared to smoke. Whenever their red legs were close to igniting, their long trunks suddenly curled up, then shot outward before one could react.

Bang!

Amid a shockwave that tore through the air, a black shell sprayed from its nostril and landed precisely at the bombardment point.

Now Li Ziran understood the Cannon Slave Corps' name. Several hundred cannon elephants were more than enough to justify it. And the reason they had chosen this camp 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. Each one is worth three gold coins."

"Worth every coin!" Li Ziran smiled enviously. "If I had an elephant herd like this, I could run wild across the Wasteland!"

He was not telling the truth. What he wanted to say was that if he could buy all these giant elephant corpses, he would strike it rich.

With bodies that size and the ability to fire stone shells, even their corpses could probably sell for a gold coin each. If they were given to necromancers, there might even be some pleasant 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 with him, thinking that by then, he would probably be wandering in some unknown corner of the world.

Still, these Fire Elephants were truly formidable.

Their four feet were clearly extracting fire and earth elements from the Elemental Tide. They must have possessed a special organ that mixed earth and fire elements within their bodies. That elephant trunk was no ordinary thing either. Though it was not a magical organ, the firing heat it endured was certainly beyond anything mundane.

Combined with their special ability to sense ground vibrations, they were practically standard artillery platforms.

Slaves were valuable, but selling off their organs after disassembling them was even more valuable.

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

"Li, let's go. Cannon knows we're here and asked us to go underground." Karen's expression gradually turned serious.

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

These caverns resembled beastfolk bunkers, hidden and safe. But because the elephant herd was so enormous, they looked more like underground grottoes. Li Ziran estimated from the entrance that at least a dozen people his size could enter stacked on top of one another.

They were led to an underground area guarded by Blue Elephants. The Blue Elephants were thin and lacked tusks, but they gave off a sharp, warrior-like feeling.

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

The light immediately dimmed. Only faint glowstones hung overhead, leaving everything hazy. The elephant herd stomped continuously above, making the underground space shake fiercely as dust whooshed down, as though they had entered a Gray Dwarf mine.

Li Ziran became far more cautious. He did not like life underground. It was dark, oppressive, and offered no room to escape.

His hand often rested on his waist as his eyes constantly scanned the surroundings.

Just as Li Ziran remained on guard, the space ahead gradually brightened and widened. The ceiling had been replaced with enormous Sunstones, illuminating a space the size of a football field.

Li Ziran immediately spotted the towering, majestic creature at the center, five stories tall. A mountain-like slope stretched from far away all the way to his feet.

Since it was facing away from him, he could not see its full form, but he knew this was the Corpse Dragon's spine and tail.

So huge!

Li Ziran marveled. It truly was worthy of being a draconic creature.

There was an obvious opening along the side of its spine, like a door cut into the Corpse Dragon's belly. In front of that door, dozens of flea-like figures seemed to be hopping about.

Dwarves!

The tallest only reached an adult human's knees, but their heads were twice as large as a human's.

Li Ziran recognized the race at once. These Dwarves filled the stairs, and below them was a Pocket Factory covering roughly three square meters. Parts were currently being produced one after another, then carried by conveyor belts into the Corpse Dragon's belly.

The humming of machinery could be heard even from afar.

The Gnome Pocket Factory, a mechanical device independently developed by the Dwarf race, was a representative work of spatial studies.

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

These little fellows were absolutely masters of spatial studies.

Their talent for spatial studies made even Li Ziran somewhat jealous.

"Li, I've taken on the tusk modification job. Your task is simple: you must ensure that when the Corpse Dragon bites, it can't tear the Crocodile Warriors apart. At the same time, you must preserve the Corpse Dragon's combat strength. It won't be easy. I think you can do well, right?"

Like hell I can!

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

"You can ask for anything. Even if you need Medusa eyes as materials, it won't be a problem. A high-ranking slave corps can satisfy all your needs. Don't be afraid. You can do it. All right, we need to pay Cannon a visit. For your sake, he even invited a professional Tusk Appraiser!"