Wasteland's Only King - Chapter 260 - 40: Tier Seventeen! Nangong Linglong! Crystal Mountain and the Tentacle Monster! (Part 2)
Chapter 260: Chapter 40: Tier Seventeen! Nangong Linglong! Crystal Mountain and the Tentacle Monster! (Part 2)
Yu Jin made his decision.
Buzz——
Space trembled around him.
After a short while.
Yu Jin’s figure slowly faded away.
…
…
Venus.
Southern Hemisphere, Northwest Continent.
Compared to the Northern Hemisphere, the skies and earth of the Southern Hemisphere seemed wilder, more primitive.
At this moment.
Extreme southern tip of the Northwest Continent.
Inside the ninth-level city called Linglong City.
Ninth-tier City Lord, Nangong Linglong, sat upright on the city lord’s throne, her brows tightly furrowed.
Before her, the Tier Eight Evolvers of Linglong City were locked in fierce argument.
“We can’t go, we can’t go!”
“Star System-Level Mutant Beast—far too dangerous, not something we can provoke!”
“Fools! Such a treasure right in front of us—how can we let fear make us miss it for nothing?”
“Yeah, the last message sent by the scout before dying said…”
“That crystal ore is immense, of extremely high quality. There might even be Tier Nine or higher crystals inside!”
“Tier Nine crystals or not—what’s the use if you’re dead? No life, no crystal, no shit worth!”
“…”
Nangong Linglong listened to her subordinates quarrel, her delicate face filled with hesitation.
Good news—
Half a day ago, the Evolver squad sent by Linglong City brought back news.
They had accidentally discovered a “Crystal Mountain” a thousand kilometers away from Linglong City.
According to them—
The crystals at that mining site had piled up into small mountains, dazzling, their energy aura unbelievably abundant.
Bad news—
The Evolver squad—all wiped out, none survived.
The Tier Eight Limit Squad Leader managed to send a final communication before dying.
“Star System-Level Mutant Beast!”
“There are Star System-Level Mutant Beasts of Tier Nine and higher!”
After that.
Up until now.
Half a day had passed.
The upper echelons of Linglong City were still arguing non-stop over this.
“Silence.”
Who knows how much time went by.
Nangong Linglong, who’d kept quiet the whole time, finally spoke.
Her two words landed; the city lord hall instantly fell silent.
As they hushed, every pair of eyes, nervous or expectant, turned to this ninth-tier Lady City Lord.
“On the road of the Wasteland, it’s like sailing against the current—not advancing means retreat.”
“Fall behind, and you’ll get beaten.”
Nangong Linglong spoke softly.
Though her words were gentle, her decision was already made.
A short while later.
Boom——
Rumble rumble——!
Nangong Linglong made her boldest decision yet.
All ten million subordinates of Linglong City—mobilized!
“If a Star System-Level Mutant Beast appears…”
“This City Lord will cover your retreat and buy you time!”
“The rest of you, extract the crystal ore at maximum speed and bring it back!”
Nangong Linglong’s command echoed among her millions of subordinates.
Her decision seemed reckless at first glance, but underneath, it was fine and subtle.
After all…
The fact that a Tier Eight Extreme Evolver could send back that last message probably meant the Mutant Beast wasn’t of too high a tier.
Tier Ten? Or Tier Eleven?
As one of the extremely rare Four-Attribute Evolvers, Nangong Linglong was confident in her own strength.
Time slipped by slowly.
The ten million Linglong City subordinates sped across the wasteland.
A short while later.
A radiant, mist-shrouded hill appeared at the far edge of sight.
“Hiss——”
“Crystal Mountain!”
“I-It’s this enormous!”
The moment they saw the crystal hill,
even those ’opposition’ guys couldn’t help but feel their hearts flutter.
And the millions held their breaths, gulping in deep lungfuls of air.
Simply because—
Even at some distance away, the energy surging through the air was already staggering, beyond belief!
Just breathing in, they all felt their cultivation level rising!
“This…”
“Maybe there’s more than just Tier Nine crystals here!”
But Nangong Linglong simply frowned her brows deeper.
The massive group pressed forward.
After a short while.
The ten million of Linglong City stood at the foot of Crystal Mountain.
This was when they truly saw—
Countless, countless crystals of all kinds piled together, impossible to count.
Looking over…
The lowest ones were actually Tier Four crystals!
And beneath the earth, stronger waves of energy wafted upward.
This meant…
The larger part of this crystal ore was still buried underground, not revealed yet.
“Holy shit!”
“If we mine all this…”
“Linglong City will skyrocket!”
The high-tier Evolvers of Linglong City—and the backbone management of the city—all flushed red with excitement.
Mining not only gave crystals, but also bonus Civilization Source Points from ’Wasteland’!
As long as they had enough Civilization Source Points…
Linglong City could secure a spot in this Star System Wasteland!
“Extract!”
Nangong Linglong’s voice rang out in every heart.
She didn’t let the army go deeper, staying at the periphery.
Because…
Even just these outer crystals were a fortune.
As for what’s further in?
Her instincts told her—maybe something horrifying lurked inside.
…
Deep within Crystal Mountain.
About a hundred kilometers from Linglong City’s forces.
In the void, a tentacle slowly swayed.
The tentacle was covered in eyes, giving off an extremely creepy vibe.
At that moment.
Thousands upon thousands of those eyes turned toward the people of Linglong City.
Buzz——
Suddenly.
A strange fluctuation pulsed from the tentacle.
ROAR ROAR——!
And with it, a thousand-meter-tall mutated giant beast materialized in the void.
It looked like a tiger, but with twin horns, and an aura of thick black mist swirled around it.
After revealing itself, the Mutated Black Tiger didn’t hesitate, charging straight for the outer Crystal Mountain.
Soon.
It appeared in the sights of Linglong City’s people.
“ROAR ROAR——!”
The black tiger let out an earth-shaking roar, making the ground quake.
“Lord City Lord!”
“This…”
“Star System-Level Mutant Beast?”
Everyone who’d been mining excitedly, stuffing crystals into their arms off the ground, instantly turned pale.
Every gaze shifted to Nangong Linglong, floating above.
Nangong Linglong frowned slightly.
BOOM——
Four kinds of attribute energy surged around her.
Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Lightning!
She was not only a rare Four-Attribute Evolver—she’d awakened pure elemental attributes!
“Human!”
Suddenly.
The black tiger seemed to sense Nangong Linglong’s aura, its roar faltered, and it abruptly spoke in human language.
“Leave here!”
The tiger’s tone was odd, its voice deep.
But to Linglong City’s people, there was a lingering sense of… bluster and inner weakness?
Nangong Linglong narrowed her beautiful eyes further.
“Tier Ten?”
“Just Tier Ten?”
A Tier Ten Mutant Beast, while considered Star System-Level, in practice matched a Tier Nine Evolver in strength.
A Tier Ten Infected Body is what truly matches a Tier Ten Evolver.
“Test its depth!”
Nangong Linglong made a decision in her heart.
She pressed her palms together.
Her four attribute energies fused!
“Go!”
Nangong Linglong gave a light shout.
In the void—
A ring like a four-colored fruit plate hurtled forth.
BOOM——!
The black tiger flew backward, coughing up blood!
Outside Crystal Mountain.
The million-strong crowd fell silent.
After the silence, a tidal wave of shouts erupted.
“Lord City Lord is mighty!”
“Invincible!”
“Linglong Linglong, who can challenge us!”
“…”
In the sky.
Nangong Linglong looked at the almost-dead black giant tiger, hesitation on her face.
She kept feeling…
Her opponent seemed oddly, excessively weak.
Even though her Four-Attribute Fusion Skill was strong, it shouldn’t have been enough to instantly leave a Tier Ten Mutant Beast half dead.
“Human…”
The black giant tiger coughed blood, again speaking.
“You, you…”
“Just you wait!”
“When I’m healed up, I’ll kill all of you!”
“This crystal ore is mine—and mine alone! You all can forget about touching it!”
Having spat out these threats,
the tiger turned into a black shadow, flashed deep into Crystal Mountain, and disappeared instantly.
Outside Crystal Mountain.
The ten million Linglong City subordinates burst out in cheers.
The scene instantly became one of celebration.
“We did it!”
“We beat the Star System-Level Mutant Beast here!”
“This Crystal Mountain belongs to Linglong City!”
“…”
In the sky.
Nangong Linglong squinted at the direction the black tiger had vanished.
“Seriously injured? Recuperating?”
“Strike while it’s sick and kill it?”
And above Crystal Mountain—
In the void.
Yu Jin, who had just arrived, happened to witness the whole show firsthand.
“This performance…”
“Way too fake, huh?”
Yu Jin muttered, turning his gaze toward the depths of Crystal Mountain.
Even separated by a hundred kilometers, Yu Jin still saw—
that ugly, eye-covered tentacle waving even faster in the void, seeming to transmit a sense of joy and anticipation…
