Astral Cockroach

After a while, Hongdao arrived, clutching a fragment of iron birch wood.

Banbu said, "Chuzhu Princess, take this fragment back and test it on your amethyst grape. If it works, we'll help you get more. If not... the price of divine-grade oak remains might need further discussion."

"This... isn't oak. Two different tree species, two different remains..." Princess Chuzhu was a bit dumbfounded, staring at the dark fragment, examining it carefully, weighing it in her hands, and hesitatingly said, "Lord Banbu, the trade caravans sent something that seemed to be this heavy fragment, not the oak you mentioned..."

Heavy? That would be iron birch remains then.

"Oh! This kind!" Banbu wasn't really sure himself. He had distributed red pine, oak, and iron birch remains to his tribe members. The red pine was long gone, and oak couldn't be easily sold. As for iron birch, he hadn't found a use for it yet, and the quantity was quite sufficient.

"That's easy to say, then. Lizhu Peak is gone, but there's plenty in Chiwu Mountain. We should be able to get you a sufficient amount."

"Really? Thank you!"

Princess Chuzhu expressed her gratitude, but couldn't help but wonder, asking, "Lord Banbu, if this isn't oak, then what kind of tree is it?"

Banbu answered truthfully, "Iron birch."

"Iron birch..." Princess Chuzhu searched her inherited memories and exclaimed softly, "The Northern Wilderness! And from a very far north, cold climate forest."

"Lord Banbu, this thing is quite old. Could it be that..."

"Hehe, Princess Chuzhu, you just handle the transaction. There's no need to ask about its specific origin. Asking too much might affect the deal."

"Ah... I was just curious, please don't mind!" Princess Chuzhu stopped dwelling on it and continued, "Lord Banbu, are the goods transported from Chiwu Mountain to Lizhu Peak? Do they travel along the Jin River?"

Banbu said, "Yes."

Princess Chuzhu continued, "Could we arrange a time? Our Zijing Armor Tribe is adjacent to the 'White River'. The White River originates in the Northern Wilderness Mountains and flows south, joining the Jin River. It's also the border of many kingdoms along the way, quite desolate, and generally safe to travel along the river. Our Zijing Armor Tribe can send warriors to wait in advance where the White River meets the Jin River."

Judging by her appearance, the state of that amethyst divine seed wasn't very optimistic. Things were quite urgent.

This proposal seemed more convenient for him. Banbu agreed, "Alright, I'll depart in a couple of days for Chiwu Mountain. The remains should arrive by late spring or early summer next year."

"Thank you for your trouble!"

"You're too kind, Princess Chuzhu."

After discussing the transaction, Banbu steered the topic to the attack on Zijing County, asking, "Princess Chuzhu, have you found all the beast warriors who attacked Zijing County?"

Princess Chuzhu said, "After they succeeded, they scattered in groups of three or five. We found some, but they were almost all native beast warriors born in our insect kingdoms. They were all ignorant fools."

Banbu asked, "What about the Northern Wilderness?"

Princess Chuzhu replied, "The beast warriors from the Northern Wilderness have a very strict team structure. There are snow leopard and snow fox warriors responsible for combat, gray rat warriors responsible for digging and building hidden dwellings, and snow eagle and rock eagle warriors responsible for aerial reconnaissance."

Princess Chuzhu shook her antennae helplessly, saying, "Although the surrounding kingdoms sent warriors to help search, and the northern border kingdoms sealed off the mountains, they still managed to escape, whereabouts unknown."

An organized and planned attack was no ordinary robbery, it was war.

Banbu asked, "Princess Chuzhu, to be honest, Lizhu Peak was also targeted by Northern Wilderness beasts. Could you tell me in detail about their method of attack?"

"The core territory of Zijing County is Yangnai Peak. They knew everything about the location of the amethyst divine seed, the surrounding terrain, and the distribution of warriors on the mountain. This is the main reason they were able to successfully sneak attack." Princess Chuzhu said with a burst of anger,

"It has been verified that a mountain lord-level trade caravan that frequently came to Yangnai Peak to trade sold the mountain information to the Northern Wilderness beast race at a high price. Lord Banbu, you must be careful. Not every trade caravan is friendly. On the contrary, many caravans with poor trade or a shortage of raw ore will do such unscrupulous things."

Banbu tapped his antennae, saying, "That's why I moved the trading plaza to the bamboo sea at the foot of the mountain."

"I can see that. The brand-new trading plaza and trestle road, built this year, bypass the important locations. A wise move." Princess Chuzhu continued,

"The beast warriors' method of sneak attack is simple but very effective. They divide into three groups. The native beast warriors recklessly charge into the warriors' territory, destroying the fate plant. Other native warriors rob the primal force food produced by ordinary divine seeds. The native warriors are responsible for creating chaos."

"The main force, the Northern Wilderness beast warriors, take advantage of the chaos to attack Yangnai Peak, heading straight for the amethyst divine seed. Because it happened so suddenly, they were able to get close to the plant. To avoid accidentally injuring it, even the Armor King has to be careful during battle and doesn't dare release flame abilities."

"They have a complete plan and cooperation. The gray rats are small and climb vines to pick the grapes, using metal boxes from beyond the heavens to store and preserve them. The snow eagle and rock eagle warriors swoop down from the air, airlifting the boxes away... After successfully snatching them, the beast warriors scatter."

Banbu hesitated, "When they approached the amethyst divine seed, it wasn't convenient for you to attack. Why not simply let them get away with it and then organize a counterattack and pursuit after they escaped?"

"That's what we did, otherwise we wouldn't have been robbed so cleanly..." Princess Chuzhu sighed, "When they were withdrawing, the Zijing Armor King originally intended to capture a county lord-level snow leopard warrior alive. In case the pursuit failed, we could interrogate him for the location of their hiding place. Unexpectedly, the beast discovered that it was being targeted by the Armor King and its life was threatened. It immediately turned around and used its ability to attack the divine seed, causing a tragedy..."

"I see, I understand... Detestable beasts!" Banbu comforted, "Princess Chuzhu, please rest assured. Since the remains are useful, I guarantee a sufficient amount, as much as you need. You can return what you don't use."

"Thank you!" Princess Chuzhu expressed her gratitude again, hinting with a reminder, "Lord Banbu, the blood thorns of Lizhu Peak are for nurturing fate plants, right? They may be effective as defensive obstacles, but they are not foolproof. I suggest using metal abilities to build another defensive fence. Outside of Lizhu Peak... be very careful!"

"Set up more obstacles and traps around the important divine seeds, and be vigilant against beast warriors approaching. Don't think it's a nuisance or a bother."

"Understood." Banbu said solemnly, "Thank you for your guidance!"

A major transaction worth tens of millions of raw ore, and exchanging it for divine-grade primal force food that strengthens the basic physique, a very important deal.

After Banbu explained and arranged the territory affairs, he set off first to prepare at Chiwu Mountain.

The Red Iron Roach King and Iron Saber County Lord would organize warriors to depart in the spring of the coming year.

...

In the Northern Wilderness of Dragon Bamboo Continent, a total of two divine-grade iron birch divine seed remains had been found in the territory of the Pine Sea Gray Bear Tribe.

One of the remains was transported back to Lizhu Peak, and the primal force properties of the remains were squandered away.

The second was cut into pieces and moved to the mountain base to be hidden. Because they were busy building steel rails, they had not yet had time to transport them back to Lizhu Peak.

Banbu approached the Chiwu Ghost King and briefly discussed it, mobilizing all the ghost cicada and red roach tribe warriors who were digging, leveling the ground, and building steel rails at the front line to transport the remains to the location of the steel rails. They were then transported out using a high-speed train, all in one trip, and stored in Chiwu Mountain.

The latest and most complete novels are available at Liu-9-Shu-Ba, first released!

Subsequently, the transportation team led by the Red Iron Roach King arrived, and the remains were packed into standard medium-sized spider silk bags as required by the Zijing Armor Tribe. Iron birch wood was heavy, and each warrior carried 3 bags at a time, starting to transport them back.

Early summer. Heavy rain.

Terrible weather.

The rivers were swollen, and the confluence of the Jin River and the White River was a torrent of muddy water.

The time was a few days later than agreed. Princess Chuzhu led the team, waiting by the riverbank, letting the rain wash over them.

Bright red and purple, visible through the rain, a dense mass at a glance. They had actually mobilized 200 high-level warriors, including more than one county lord and more than twenty mountain lord-level warriors.

"Red Iron Roach King! Lord Banbu! This is our Yangnai Peak's Zijing Armor King." Princess Chuzhu quickly ran forward, waving her antennae to introduce.

The Zijing Armor King had personally come, truly frightened by the robbery, showing how urgent the matter was.

"Lord Banbu! Red Iron Roach King! Thank you! This matter has troubled your Red Roach Tribe."

"Greetings, Zijing Armor King!"

"You're too kind, Zijing Armor King!"

Both sides greeted each other.

The Red Iron Roach King asked, "Is the state of the Zijing divine seed still good? The remains are heavy, this trip we only transported 300 bags. Zijing Armor King, calculate how much more you need."

The Zijing Armor King glanced at the Red Roach Tribe's transportation team and replied without hesitation, "The more the better. The exchange conditions negotiated between Chuzhu and Lord Banbu remain the same. We want as much as you have."

"Understood, it seems the situation is not optimistic." The Red Iron Roach King said solemnly, "Our journey was delayed, a few days later than agreed. It's not appropriate to delay any longer, let's hand over the goods now."

"Thank you for your understanding!" The Zijing Armor King said gratefully.

The Chuzhu Armor King waved her antennae, calling the tribe members to step forward and carry the goods.

Banbu also turned around and used his metal ability to untie the steel wires binding the spider silk bags.

There were a total of 300 medium-sized spider silk bags, which were quickly completed.

The Zijing Armor Tribe team also had 100 high-level warriors responsible for transportation, and another 100 warriors, clustered front, back, left, and right, formed a guard battle formation.

Finally, the Zijing Armor King said, "Lord Banbu, do you have time to go to Yangnai Peak? You should personally witness this transaction."

Indeed, Banbu needed to personally witness the state of the amethyst divine seed, and personally confirm whether the remains had saved the amethyst divine seed, or whether the attempt to condense the tree heart had failed.

If it was saved, that would be great, everyone would be happy.

If the remains were used up and it wasn't saved, that would mean that there would be no more amethyst grapes produced from then on... Everyone would have to discuss how to compensate Lizhu Peak's losses.

"No problem." Banbu said, "Zijing Armor King, Princess Chuzhu, then I'll be bothering you."