"This… this is the stronghold of Base 15 in the Otherworld?"
In Su Xiaobai's imagination, the Otherworld should resemble Base 15—an environment of constant warfare, where cities were built to resist the invasion of Otherworld beasts.
However, the reality before his eyes had no trace of a city at all—only a small, dilapidated town!
The houses were crudely built from mud, with ruins and broken walls scattered everywhere.
The tallest building wasn't even three stories high. The roads were riddled with potholes. It looked no different from some impoverished tribes in the wilderness!
"Greetings, my lord!"
At that moment, the guard responsible for the teleportation array immediately ran over and respectfully saluted Su Xiaobai, not daring to show any negligence upon seeing an elite Martial Commander arrive.
"Why does this stronghold… look like it's not developing very well?" Su Xiaobai asked in confusion.
"My lord, this is your first time here, so you may not know… This stronghold may be small, but it faces a large number of Otherworld beast attacks!"
"It has been built and destroyed several times before, each time falling completely to Otherworld beast invasions. So, to make reconstruction easier and to minimize losses, we decided to maintain it in this state!"
"Are the Otherworld beasts that strong?" Su Xiaobai's eyes flashed.
A trace of fear passed through the guard's eyes. "Every single one of them is at least S-rank. It takes at least 180 people working together, with great effort, just to kill one! They are far stronger than S-rank beasts on Earth!"
On Earth, there were already S-rank, SS-rank, and even SSS-rank beasts.
And when beast tides struck, those Earth beasts would become the 'accomplices' of Otherworld beasts. With just a roar, the Otherworld beasts could command them, forming an army to attack human bases.
The only reason Base 15's last beast tide hadn't escalated into a major catastrophe was that the Otherworld beasts hadn't had time to summon Earth's beasts before Su Xiaobai and his shadows slaughtered them all on the spot.
This proved that, at the same level, Otherworld beasts were a tier above Earth's beasts… It was as if Earth's beasts had an innate instinct to obey Otherworld beasts!
"Could it be… that Earth's Great Cataclysm was caused by this Otherworld?"
A bold guess suddenly emerged in Su Xiaobai's mind.
He then continued to gather information about the stronghold from the guard.
The Otherworld was vast—so vast that they had yet to find its boundaries.
This stronghold was not located directly at Base 15's Otherworld passage entrance but was thousands of miles away… because too many powerful beasts lurked at the passage entrance. If they attempted to go there, it would be suicide!
This was just a small stronghold. Most of the people stationed here were ordinary Martial Commanders, with only a handful of elite Martial Commanders.
Among them were warriors not only from Base 15 but also from Base 11, Base 39, and Base 45.
Once stationed here, they typically only returned home once every six months—because it took that long to save up enough teleportation fees and sufficient profit to make the trip worthwhile.
The biggest advantage of this stronghold was that most of the surrounding beasts were S-rank, with very few SS-rank threats. That was the only reason they had been able to survive here for so long.
Beyond the basics, Su Xiaobai also learned something deeply connected to the Otherworld.
Just as he had suspected, the Otherworld was incredibly rich in natural treasures and mineral resources!
Many elite Martial Commanders came here to leave the stronghold and search for treasure elsewhere. Any discovery could bring them an astronomical fortune!
And not to mention, the corpses of Otherworld beasts alone were extremely valuable—any part of their body was worth at least five times that of Earth's beast materials. The more rare and useful parts could even fetch ten times the price!
That was one of the main reasons why ordinary Martial Commanders from other bases were willing to take the risk and stay here for half a year at a time.
Moreover, about 4,000 kilometers from this stronghold, there was a settlement of Otherworld humans!
According to the guard's description, Otherworld humans resembled Earth's humans in appearance.
They had a head, two hands, and two feet, with eyes, ears, noses, and mouths just like humans.
However, some were exceptionally tall, with skin tones ranging from green to brown-red to dark yellow. Some even had long horns growing from their foreheads.
Despite these differences, Otherworld humans also practiced cultivation and followed the martial path… Most crucially, they cultivated Lesser Transcendent Techniques!
Earth's Techniqueists frequently clashed with Otherworld humans, with victories and losses on both sides.
Even Dongfang You had come here before, slaughtering several elite Martial Commander-level Otherworld humans and obtaining several Lesser Transcendent Techniques manuals…
"I see… No wonder Dongfang Rou has so many Lesser Transcendent Techniques techniques—Dongfang You must have collected them from here!"
Su Xiaobai suddenly understood.
Lesser Transcendent Techniques were rare treasures. Even Martial Commanders coveted them… but Su Xiaobai, who had over a dozen such techniques, was already uninterested in them.
"In that case, although this stronghold is disappointing, the environment is exactly what I envisioned!"
"As long as I send my shadows here to hunt Otherworld beasts, collect their materials, and dispatch treasure-seeking goblins and mining goblins to excavate resources… Tsk tsk, just thinking about the profits makes me excited!"
Su Xiaobai's eyes gleamed. "And since Otherworld humans cultivate Lesser Transcendent Techniques, that means there must be Great Transcendent Techniques as well. If I explore deep enough, I might even obtain one or two Great Transcendent techniques… What a jackpot!"
Just as Su Xiaobai was fantasizing about his grand fortune, a deep, urgent horn suddenly echoed throughout the stronghold.
At the same time, tremors could be felt through the ground.
"Damn it! Those beasts are attacking again?!"
"This time, I'm going to chop them all to pieces!"
"They didn't learn their lesson last time? Fine, let's teach them again! I was just wondering how to make money for repairing my spiritual weapon!"
Martial Commanders who had been resting in the stronghold instantly soared into the sky, their gazes fixed on the distant horizon.
Su Xiaobai also took to the air.
"It's S-rank Otherworld beasts!"
He immediately spotted several towering figures, each hundreds of meters tall.
"Not just one—there are several of them!"
Seeing this, Su Xiaobai grinned widely.
These were piles of gleaming spirit coins waiting to be collected!
"They're all mine!" This update is available on n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
Without hesitation, he sent his shadows charging toward the S-rank Otherworld beasts!
Meanwhile, above Base 15, a warship the size of an ocean liner slowly entered the base.
"Wu Honghe, you better not be lying… The 'Thousand Miles to the West Art' is my Wu Family's greatest secret!"
"If word gets out that our Family's Great Transcendent Technique was leaked, and that a mere ordinary Martial Commander managed to comprehend it… our Wu Family's reputation will be utterly ruined!"
On the warship's deck, a figure stood with hands behind his back.
The aura emanating from this person unmistakably belonged to a Demi-God Martial Commander!