"Alright, alright, since everyone has paid the protection fee, feel free to wander around this city!"

Zhang Menglong instructed Gou Dan to shut down all sections where resources were stored. Even if these people wanted to secretly pull some tricks, he wasn't worried; to them, this city was merely a survival base.

"Gou Dan, do you think if I send these Black Warriors out to kill some beasts, will the fortune flames count as mine?" Zhang Menglong pondered as he looked at the beast tide outside that resembled mountains and seas.

"Fortune is linked to the benefits you gain in this treasure hunting space. In other words, it only concerns loot; it doesn't matter who kills the monsters," Gou Dan said. "Haven't you noticed that the flames above your head have turned purple?"

"Huh?" Zhang Menglong checked and indeed saw the flames above his head had turned a dark shade of purple.

"It must be because you acquired this batch of Black Warriors. Such a force could change the situation of a civilization or even several civilizations, and the associated fortune must be extremely significant."

"Goodness, it even comes with a delay," Zhang Menglong rolled his eyes; he hadn't accounted for it when collecting protection fees earlier. It's likely that the fortune standard associated with these Black Warriors is hard to calculate, and the owner of the Zuda Civilization never imagined someone could acquire the entire troop of Black Warriors.

"Come out, Pikachu!" Zhang Menglong took out a Black Warrior; it was one of the ten thousand advanced Black Warriors, with patterns clearly more advanced than the others, presenting a feeling akin to a premium player.

This Black Warrior stood around 2.4 meters tall, crafted with various special materials, yet it felt as if it had human skin and muscle texture, even some human warmth.

Zhang Menglong took out a Star Core, a mineral said to contain energy equivalent to an entire star's energy, formed only in extremely extreme environments during the universe's infancy. Such conditions no longer exist, thus making each piece exceedingly rare.

Zhang Menglong had seen these Star Cores at the cosmic trading market; its price was comparable to an entire Level Five civilization. Out of curiosity, he had casually bought hundreds of them, never expecting them to be of use.

"Star Core, that's a Star Core!" someone exclaimed upon seeing what Zhang Menglong held.

"One of these is worth hundreds of trillions of Cosmic Coins, comparable to the value of a Level Five civilization!"

"These Black Warriors require Star Cores to operate? Just how powerful are they?"

Zhang Menglong skillfully opened the crotch of the Black Warrior and inserted the Star Core. No one knew which perverse designer placed the energy compartment there.

With a slight sound, golden Photon blood flowed throughout the Black Warrior's body. Zhang Menglong had already bound these Black Warriors to his brain neurons; he was the master of the Black Warriors.

"Master, please command!" The Black Warrior knelt on one knee before Zhang Menglong.

"Comparable to the power of a Level Eight Life Form," Zhang Menglong rubbed his chin, "Go eliminate those things from the sky, and if equipment drops, pick it up."

Above the city hovered a massive winged creature, over 300 meters long, resembling the dragon-like creatures of Western mythology.

However, the true dragon-like beasts of the cosmos are closer to Huaxia's divine dragons, likely a subspecies of the Dragon Clan.

"Yes!"

The Black Warrior seemed to observe the beast for a moment before heading towards the city's outskirts.

The city's defense system was one-way, meaning outside beasts couldn't enter, but people inside could leave anytime.

"Look, someone went outside!"

"Isn't that the city's guardian, that Black Warrior?"

"This Black Warrior looks different from the others, those had red eyes, this one has golden eyes."

"What's he doing? With so many beasts outside, getting a few Black Warriors was hard enough, is he trying to scrap it directly?"

"Such a good thing, what a pity!"

Those Treasure Hunters watched the Black Warrior, lamenting, as they had seen firsthand; a single Black Warrior's power was comparable to a Level Six Peak Life Form.

But outside in the beast tide, Level Seven and Level Eight Life Forms are plentiful; even Black Warriors can't withstand it!

"Boom!" The Black Warrior shot into the sky like a missile, heading straight for the largest beast.

"That's a Comoros Dragon, a dragon subspecies extinct for billions of years." Someone immediately identified the beast using biological encyclopedias.

"At over 300 meters long, it must be mature; even as a subspecies, it has at least Level Seven Peak Life Form's genetic level and combat power!"

"Such waste; selling a Black Warrior could easily fetch thousands of Cosmic Coins!"

But what happened next stunned them.

The Black Warrior's fist collided with the Comoros Dragon's abdomen like a meteor, with the resulting wind shattering dozens of surrounding beasts.

Several points of light descended from the sky, from the loot and resources dropped by these beasts!

"Ow!" No one knew the strength of that punch, but the Comoros Dragon bowed its body in response, its abdominal scales smashed to pieces.

The Black Warrior flipped onto it, grabbing its tail; the massive Comoros Dragon was like a chick in its grasp, and it swung it around like a whip.

Numerous beasts were reduced to blood mist by the massive body, even forming a vacuum zone at the battle's center.

"That's actually a Peak Miracle Life Form Comoros Dragon?"

"Is that a chick?"

"That Black Warrior has at least Level Eight Life Form power!"

"Hiss!"

Everyone was intensely envious; an Eight-Level Life Form-grade Black Warrior was undoubtedly a priceless treasure. Even the rulers of the Cosmic Empire would go mad trying to seize it; it was enough to alter an empire's status!

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

The one-sided slaughter continued for half an hour, leaving the Comoros Dragon battered and bloody.

"Boom!" Its massive body was slammed into the ground, and the Black Warrior descended from the sky, crushing its head.

The Comoros Dragon completely lost its vitality, leaving only a golden sphere floating beside its corpse.

The Black Warrior gathered all the spheres and dragged the Comoros Dragon's corpse back to the city's edge.

Gou Dan opened a small gap in the defense system, allowing the Black Warrior to return inside the city.

"Master!" The Black Warrior handed the spheres over to Zhang Menglong.

"A Star Core, tsk tsk, directly refunded."

"What's this? Medicine?"

"Well, Seven-Level Martial Weapon, not very useful, keep it as a nutcracker."

...

Zhang Menglong clearly felt the flames above his head burn even more fiercely.

"It really works!" Zhang Menglong smiled contently, the beast tide would last a while longer; wasn't this his scoring heaven?

Zhang Menglong summoned 10 more Black Warriors, not willing to expose all his trump cards so easily; with just ten of them, it was already quite overwhelming.

"And more! He has ten such Black Warriors?"

"Bastard, these things should have been ours, he got lucky."

"With these Black Warriors, he could turn the treasure vault into his personal territory!"

"Fool, even if you had these Black Warriors, do you have Star Cores to power them?"

"Truly envy-inducing."

...