Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2280: Loki Cross

The shadow of the last defeat once again fell over everyone's hearts at Xia Lei's words.

It was true that Cloud Peak was strong now. The number of top-tier beings was not only unrivaled in the national region but also among the best in the world—no other power could look down upon the world like Cloud Peak.

But in truth, every high-level member of Cloud Peak knew that their strength was built on the foundation their leader had laid. Even the surge in top-tier lifeforms after Ye Zhongming's departure had been made possible by the vast wealth he had left behind.

Look at the present—though the number of top-tier beings was still increasing, the pace had clearly slowed.

Part of this was naturally because everyone's main focus had been drawn to the coast, but without the leader's miraculous touch, the probability of obtaining evolution potions had decreased significantly—that was also a fact.

Moreover, high-level demon crystals were hard currency in the apocalypse. When Ye Zhongming had been on Earth, many things—like equipment—had not required spending magic crystals. Now, however, large sums had to be allocated for such things, consuming a great deal of wealth as well.

Furthermore, the establishment of Cloud Peak's Technology Department was another money pit. The advanced knowledge Ye Zhongming had sent down from above, from learning and research to experimentation and manufacturing, involved an entire process that drained funds like flowing water.

This was even more expensive than the previous Gene Lifeform Lab and Magic Crystal Weapons Lab combined.

Only a wealthy power like Cloud Peak could sustain it. For anyone else, they would have been bankrupted long ago by the astronomical research costs.

The Demon Whale was, after all, no ordinary monster—it was an existence that could defeat Cloud Peak's powerful peer-level lifeforms within minutes, and was universally recognized as the most powerful being on Earth right now.

Attacking such an existence did not guarantee victory. Even if they won, they might still suffer heavy losses, and many would die.

This lingering unease was felt by everyone.

There was another undeniable point: the sea beasts were numerous—many times more than humans—and the number of high-level beings among them was equally substantial, certainly no less than Cloud Peak's. Otherwise, they would not have been held back from rescuing Zaochi back then.

Since the Demon Whale had already used such tactics to kill a top-tier lifeform once, it could certainly do so again in the next battle.

Even if there was no opportunity, it would create one. The Demon Whale cared far less about the lives of its subordinates than Cloud Peak did.

Seeing the heavy silence, Xia Lei understood everyone's concerns. She lightly clapped her hands and said, "Let's talk about the potion first. Uncle Daqian doesn't want it—so who should get it?"

The core members who had not yet become nine-stars were naturally tempted, but no one spoke up. First, everyone felt their merits were roughly equal, and no one dared to claim they stood out above the rest.

Second, Xia Lei always acted fairly. She would have her reasons for choosing whoever she chose—everyone just had to listen.

The silence stretched on. Xia Lei smiled. "Then I've decided—I'll give it to Teacher Park. I'm really looking forward to seeing how terrifying a top-tier medical job becomes after reaching nine stars."

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling it was the best decision.

Park Xiuying was one of Cloud Peak's earliest members. Over the years, she had quietly stood at the edge of the battlefield, providing all kinds of medical aid. She and her medical department had saved countless lives. Such a person deserved a bottle of nine-star evolution potion.

This matter was settled so lightly. Xia Lei did not continue discussing the general offensive against the sea beasts. In truth, even she needed a strong reason to bolster her conviction.

Cloud Peak's transport convoy arrived, and Le Dayuan also teleported over from Cloud Peak Villa, accompanied by Mo Ye.

Red Sister did not come. Xia Bai and the Red Female Guard were temporarily stationed there to protect the villa. Once Tang Tian woke up, Xia Bai and her team would head to the front lines.

Perhaps that would be when the attack began.

Xia Bai and the Red Female Guard had long become Cloud Peak's cornerstone, but at certain moments, they still represented Cloud Peak's offensive nature.

Along with Le Dayuan came over a dozen researchers, as well as several large metal boxes they had brought.

These were said to be the core components of the weapons they would assemble today.

The other parts had arrived with the convoy, having set out from Cloud Peak many days earlier, because the items were too numerous and too large for teleportation to be cost-effective.

Le Dayuan still had that cheerful look. Although he was only an eight-star evolver, and not ranked high in combat strength among Cloud Peak Villa's many experts, when he arrived, everyone stood up straight—including the two nine-star evolvers, A Lang and the Radiant Army's Third Army commander, who had hurried over.

As the saying goes, the name casts a shadow. Aside from Ye Zhongming, the special existence at Cloud Peak Villa, everyone knew that Queen Xia Lei was the core, that Xia Bai—secretly called "Xia Dog"—was formidable, that Little Tiger, Guangyao, Liang Chuyin, and others were all renowned...

But these people, they felt, were their own kind—at most, like Ye Zhongming, they were a peak before them. They themselves were mountains too, just not as high. Given some time, they could reach that height too. Whether Ye Zhongming would be even higher by then was another matter entirely.

But Le Dayuan and Liu Zhenghong were different—they were like clouds and mist atop distant peaks. Visible, yet unreachable, and something one could never become.

That was a reverence for knowledge and technology.

Le Dayuan did not know Ah Lang or the man the Glory Army called Third Brother, but seeing them present and Xia Lei and the others not objecting, he did not care much.

Given his status, there were indeed not many things that concerned him.

"We'll start assembling today. If we move quickly, we should be done before nightfall."

Hearing Le Dayuan's words, Xia Lei asked, "How many?"

"Three."

Xia Lei nodded, immediately pulled out a map, and made the final confirmations with Le Dayuan, then gave orders to her subordinates to begin deployment.

Everyone was curious and followed along. Ah Lang and the Glory Army's Third Brother, seeing that they were not being excluded, also tagged along. They even joined in when Cloud Peak's high-level members discussed matters.

However, since Le Dayuan did not say, no one knew exactly what these things were.

"Loki Cross!"

After assembly was complete, Le Dayuan gave the names of these three weapons.

Everyone stared at these enormous weapons, each over a dozen stories tall, somewhat bewildered.

"I got many insights from Little Ye and absorbed a lot of knowledge from up there. I improved the magic crystal system so that it could fuse with the new Moonspan Gold system, complementing each other and working together."

Le Dayuan spoke excitedly, but he keenly noticed that those around him did not really understand. So the great master lost interest in showing off.

He began to explain their function directly.

"You've all been driven crazy by that Demon Whale, so I thought—could I make a weapon that could eliminate that thing? And what makes a weapon powerful? It's about being able to hit the enemy and kill it. That is, fast enough, accurate enough, and strong enough."

"And this thing..." Le Dayuan pointed to the three Loki Crosses and said, "No other fancy tricks—only one attack mode. But what it pursues is the ultimate speed, the ultimate accuracy, and... the ultimate power!"