On the wasteland.
The ‘Deep Blue’ immediately retracted its lift platform, returning to combat readiness.
One kilometer away.
Although the process of establishing communication had been interrupted by the uninvited guests, the act of both sides lowering their lift platforms clearly signaled a friendly stance from each party.
Therefore, without any prior communication, the other party restarted their power furnace and elevated their cannon muzzle.
Their target was precisely the two raider cities!
Thus, the ‘Deep Blue’ tacitly formed an alliance with them, united against the external threat.
Not long after.
The two raider cities, flying the bright red Dragon Hunter flags, arrived at the battlefield. Their agile tires shifted restlessly below, eager for action.
Four cities now formed a quadrilateral.
At their very center lay the wreckage of the raider city, the ‘Roarer’.
The two newly arrived raider mobile cities were equipped with Tier-1 cannons, while the ‘Deep Blue’s temporary ally was not.
On paper, Jiang Zhixu’s side was at a disadvantage.
Yet, after several minutes of stalemate, it was the two raider cities that chose to withdraw!
They had only come hoping to snatch a share of the spoils, not to get themselves battered and bruised.
In a 2vs2 scenario, even if they could win, it would undoubtedly be a pyrrhic victory!
The potential gains might not even cover the cost of repairing their cities.
After their departure, Jiang Zhixu finally established contact with his temporary ally.
‘Elegy’!
That was the other’s name.
“City Lord of the Deep Blue, I am the City Lord of the ‘Elegy’, Zhou Yi. Pleased to meet you!” A young man’s voice came through the communicator.
Jiang Zhixu took the communicator and greeted politely, “Hello.”
He only spoke two words, coming across somewhat aloof.
Zhou Yi didn’t mind and continued enthusiastically, “We received the broadcast from the previous City Lord of the ‘Deep Blue’ and rushed over immediately. We were just quite far away, so we only arrived now.”
The previous city lord had maxed out the broadcast range. Cities within a 300 km radius could receive his dying curse and the attached location information, though not all chose to come investigate.
Jiang Zhixu was curious about the other’s intentions. “So… what did you intend to do?”
Zhou Yi’s tone was straightforward, “I figured raider cities would definitely come looking for you.
“If we arrived early, we’d form a temporary alliance with you to drive them off. If we were late, we’d take in any remaining resources and survivors… Survivors without a city cannot survive on this wasteland.”
His words were brutally honest.
Even if the ‘Deep Blue’ had been destroyed, the raider cities wouldn’t have taken in all its people.
So, they could have come to pick up some slaves, either to bolster their own city’s population or to sell off, at least recouping their fuel costs.
Zhou Yi just hadn’t expected that they were indeed late, but it wasn’t the Deep Blue that was destroyed—it was the raiders!
The strength of the Deep Blue left him somewhat shocked.
“I see. Thank you for your good intentions.”
Jiang Zhixu chose to tentatively believe the other party, after all, they had just jointly deterred two raider cities.
But feelings of gratitude? Nonexistent.
If the other side hadn’t blocked the way, they’d already be gone from here!
Zhou Yi clearly knew this too. He didn’t try to take credit for the matter and instead asked, “What about that raider city over there? Do you still want it?”
He quickly added, fearing Jiang Zhixu might misunderstand, “What I mean is, if you’re willing to trade its population to me, I can process it for you, dismantle that city. All the materials would be yours!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhixu was genuinely surprised. He asked, astonished, “You can dismantle it? How?”
A hint of pride colored Zhou Yi’s voice:
“Our ‘Elegy’ is a purely industrial-type city, possessing formidable industrial processing capabilities.
“We also have a Tier-2 component—a ‘Goblin Smelter’. As long as you feed parts into it, they can be re-smelted into various raw materials, though with some loss.”
Then, considering Jiang Zhixu was a new city lord, he proactively explained the types of mobile cities.
Simply put, mobile cities are categorized into three types: Combat, Industrial, and Generalist.
This classification is based on the modification components the city possesses.
If the vast majority of Tier-1 components are combat-oriented, it’s a Combat-type mobile city, boasting powerful combat strength. Raiders usually fall into this category.
The same logic applies to Industrial types. Their combat ability is relatively average, but they possess strong industrial production capacity, typically earning money through contract processing or repairing other cities.
Both these paths are quite extreme, so the most numerous is the third type: Generalist.
They can do a bit of everything, excel at nothing, have strong environmental adaptability, but are basically doomed if they encounter raiders.
While Zhou Yi was explaining, Jiang Zhixu was also contemplating his own direction.
After some thought, he felt well-rounded development suited him best.
With the ‘Universal Critical Hit lv1’ talent, he shouldn’t be too short on resources. As long as he had one, he could crit for dozens—barring exceptionally bad luck.
And there was also quality crits to consider.
Jiang Zhixu hadn’t tested it yet, unsure if a tenfold crit could turn a common item into Tier-1, or a Tier-1 item into Tier-2.
But from the looks of it now, a Generalist mobile city was the most suitable path for him!
“A Goblin Smelter? You’ve had great luck!”
Jiang Zhixu praised sincerely and followed up, “Where did you get that?”
“Dropped as a finished product from a field boss!”
Zhou Yi held nothing back… though there was no need to.
Boss drop rates are random, even the bosses that spawn are random. It’s impossible to replicate.
—*The previous city lord was truly useless*, Jiang Zhixu thought. The ‘Deep Blue’ didn’t even have a proper Tier-1 component, while another Tier-1 city like theirs already had a Tier-2 component!
Returning to Zhou Yi’s initial request, Jiang Zhixu said, “Alright, the ‘Roarer’ is yours to handle.”
“So it was called the Roarer?”
Zhou Yi hadn’t heard of this city, guessing it was a recent addition to the raiders. He didn’t dwell on it, happily activating the ‘Elegy’, which soon approached the ‘Roarer’.
He sent people in to drive everyone out. Then, Jiang Zhixu watched as the ‘Elegy’ extended long mechanical arms and a metallic, spiral-shaped demolition device, forcefully plunging them into the ‘Roarer’!
Accompanied by the screech of twisting metal.
The massive spiral demolisher began to spin and drill furiously. The ‘Roarer’s’ sturdy outer armor proved fragile as paper before it, easily torn and curled back, revealing the intricate network of pipes and compartments within.
Then, several thick mechanical arms thrust into the city’s wreckage. Some tore off large chunks of metal structure like giant claws, while others extended cutting blades, precisely dismantling components of any value.
Sparks flew, thick smoke billowed.
The once formidable and menacing ‘Roarer’ was rapidly disassembled amidst a series of grating, jarring noises, countless parts and pieces being swallowed by the ‘Elegy’s’ gaping “maw”.