Chapter 40: 32. The Secret of Spirit Pivot
Translator: 549690339
Noland Lee walked out of the stone tomb gate and saw the continuous gunfire in the battlefield, realizing that tomb level two had already turned into chaos.
At first, within the vast underground space of tomb level two, there was only one towering building – the Soul-binding Stone Tomb.
But now, a giant stone coffin made of bones and bricks had broken through the floor of the tomb level two and risen up, standing tall in the grand hall of tomb level two.
Countless walking dead and skeleton warriors were pouring out of the vertical coffin entrance, stumbling towards the position of the Imperial Soldier.
All sorts of weapons and equipment were pushed to the frontline by the Imperial soldiers.
Water-cooled machine guns that made a tearing sound when fired, fragmentation grenade launchers with a loud bang, flamethrowers that sprayed long tongues of fire, and so on – every lethal weapon Noland Lee could think of was here.
Gunfire and explosions echoed in the grand and empty space of the tomb level two, making Noland Lee’s ears ache and his head swell.
No wonder there was a saying about new recruits being scared out of their wits in their first battle. The continuous roaring in this scene would be unbearable for any new recruit without noise-cancelling headphones.
Being exposed to such a large-scale battle for the first time, Noland Lee could only grit his teeth and lower his head, keeping close to Corporal Mars as they moved forward.
Their location was either in the northeast corner or the southwest corner of tomb level two. Noland Lee was not sure which corner it was, as he hadn’t been to the ground level for quite a while and couldn’t figure it out.
The key point was that there was a nest of undead nearby.
A large group of walking dead, emanating a putrid stench, surrounded them like a horde of single men who hadn’t seen a young lady for a long time, upon seeing the living Imperial soldiers.
The walking dead moved at a slow pace, but when they gathered in the pitch-black mass, they were incredibly oppressive.
Corporal Mars calmly led his squad, weaving in and out of the gaps in the encircling line of the walking dead.
The group ran and shot their way around the battlefield, barely escaping the vast undead army before the encircling line closed in.
Halfway through, Noland Lee tried to fire two shots with the roaring noise by his ears, experiencing the shooting thrill that he hadn’t felt before crossing into this world.
Once they entered the Empire’s Army defense line and returned to the camp on tomb level one, Noland Lee’s hearing gradually recovered amidst the ringing in his ears.
At this point, the Imperial Army had entered full combat mode.
A transportation track was set up in the stairway between the first and second levels of the tomb.
Large numbers of ammunition boxes slid down the track, supplying the defensive line in tomb level two.
Injured Imperial soldiers, whether they had skin injuries or broken arms and legs, were placed on the track by medical soldiers and sent back to tomb level one, where they were treated with injections of special elixirs and hooked up to IV drips by the medical soldiers on tomb level one.
After blood transfusions, fluids, and medications, scabs formed on skin injuries and severed limbs were restored. The soldiers then boarded the small rail cars again and rushed back to the battlefield.
Besides the painful memories of being injured, the battle left no negative impact on the soldiers.
One could say that due to Tatis Empire’s extensive experience in biochemistry,
As long as the soldiers did not die on the spot, the Empire’s medical system would always find a way to pull them back from the brink of death and quickly return them to the battlefield.
Noland Lee didn’t know the ingredients of the special elixir, but its side effects were visible to the naked eye.
All members of Mars Squad, except for Noland Lee, had their hair turn white a dull, grayish-white.
Without asking, Noland Lee knew that this was a manifestation of overdrawn life force.
The soldiers who took the special elixir must have known how terrible its side effects were. So why were they so willing to consume it?
Was it because of the salary?
Was it for the honor?
Or was it some unknown factor that Noland Lee was not aware of?
Furthermore, with just one battle costing the soldiers so much of their life force, how large must the turnover of personnel in the Empire’s Army be?
There must be a secret about this that Noland Lee was unaware of.
Noland Lee and his squad members briefly rest in the camp before heading to the front line.
As they were waiting in line to board the rail cars, Noland Lee finally asked Corporal Mars the question that had been on his mind:
“Chief Officer, the special medicine you take seems to cause a lot of harm to your body, right? Aren’t you worried about your health?”
Corporal Mars and the soldiers beside him looked at each other and smiled, then mysteriously winked at Noland Lee:
“…Well, Jarvis, in consideration of your outstanding performance and the possibility of being promoted to a private, I can tell you some things that aren’t really secrets in the legion.”
Corporal Mars lowered his voice and pointed to the trolley full of ammunition:
“Look at these bullets, grenades, fuel cans, and us soldiers, each of us is shaped by the empire’s money and resources. A bullet costs 3 dollars. A biochemical bomb, 300 dollars. A water-cooled machine gun, 2000 dollars. A rapid skin wound repair special medicine, 300 dollars…”
Mars spread his arms and gestured a large circle toward the bustling campsite:
“War is a competition of logistics and supplies, a competition of money. The clear-up of Tomb No.1079 alone requires so many human and material resources. There are over a thousand tombs like this in the Suffering Borderland. How much tax do you think the empire’s tax bureau needs to collect from the people to cover this expense…”
Noland nodded in thought, Corporal Mars’s words hit the nail on the head.
The tax burden of the empire is not heavy, with an average corporate tax rate of 13% and an average personal tax rate of 7%. But the cost of clearing tombs is also real.
So, the answer is clear…
Noland narrowed his eyes and said:
“Chief Officer, you mean… Clearing tombs is not as simple as just clearing them… There are sources of profit I don’t know about, right?” Mars patted Noland on the shoulder and laughed:
“Yes. You guessed right. I was supposed to tell you the answer after clearing Tomb No.1079. But after thinking about it carefully, it’s not a problem to tell you now…”
Mars pointed to the stone bricks under their feet and continued:
“Do you know, Jarvis, the Spirit Pivot the Undead Cult set up in the tomb may be an evil death magic device, but it’s also a rare treasure.”
A glint flashed in Noland’s eyes…
A faint expectation appeared in Corporal Mars’s eyes, his voice became somewhat ethereal, as if recalling a scene that had shook his mind: “The Spirit Pivot has a total of five layers from the inside out.
“The outermost layer is the magic protective cover, lurking lethal threats in pure darkness.
“The second layer is the metal shell covered with Undead Runes, gorgeous and delicate, comparable to the silverware of a royal court.
“The third layer is filled with death energy, and the fourth layer is the core component of the magical device…
“In its innermost layer, there is the vibrant Eternal Essence, a milky white, smooth gel-like substance, as delicate as a young girl’s skin.”
Noland’s pupils shrank slightly:
“Eternal Essence? Can this thing make people immortal? Wouldn’t the empire’s bigwigs go crazy for it?”
If Emperor Qin Shi Huang had this… Then it would have been like Emperor Qin Shi Huang touching the switch…
“No, no, no, it can’t make people immortal.”
Mars shook his hand:
“It’s a magic material that contains the breath of life. The Spirit Pivot uses it as a power source – don’t ask me how the Undead Cult transforms something rich with life energy into death energy, honestly, I don’t know.
“I only know that Division Intelligence Unit Three has determined that this thing can quickly repair all cell damage and replenish overly consumed life.
“As long as we conquer this tomb, Sergeant Alvin Stafford will give each of us medical soldiers who take the special medicine a bottle of elixir prepared from Eternal Essence, to make up for the lost life. The name of this elixir is Life Elixir.
“As for the name ‘Eternal Essence’… Um… I think it’s somewhat exaggerated, this is named by Division Intelligence Unit Three. Anyway, I’ve never heard that anyone can be truly immortal by taking this regularly.”
Corporal Mars stepped onto the small train, his face still full of lingering satisfaction.
Noland glanced at the infatuated expressions of the other soldiers, and became somewhat curious about the so-called Eternal Essence in his heart..
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