Origin Paradise!

Under normal circumstances, for a dominant combatant, dealing with a group of thugs would be no problem at all.

The convoy of jeeps arrived at the entrance of the Royal Bank, where the area had been cordoned off and the bank's doors and windows were tightly shut. The deputy director of the Security Bureau's Emergency Response Office was in charge of the situation.

"Sir, Deputy Director Hongxiu is on her way. She has plenty of experience with this type of incident." The Deputy Director of Countermeasures reported with a smile. While ruling-level ability users are indeed powerful, politics, diplomacy, and the economy cannot be managed by force alone. Even the Speaker of the Council needs to make concessions and coordinate.

From an unseen perspective, Lilith held a glass of iced drink and said in a live translation: "He said you have no experience. He's one of Deputy Director Hongxiu's men. As long as you don't confront him directly, you can't do anything to him with his soft words. Don't even think about getting credit for this."

Jiang He nodded slightly. After the night battle in the business district, the Security Bureau was at least outwardly very calm, with no one openly opposing him. However, in secret, quite a few people had sided with Deputy Director Hongxiu. After all, Hongxiu represented the will of Governor A, had served as Deputy Director for more than five years, and had many confidants.

“It’s too late. I have to be responsible for the safety of the citizens. Notify the robbers. I’m willing to exchange myself for the hostages.”

Ah Er took a megaphone and went forward to shout.

The deputy chief of countermeasures was speechless. Unless the robbers paid no attention to the news, how could they possibly let in someone who had beaten up a dominant-level ability user? It was simply a joke.

"Boss, the robbers have agreed, but they don't believe your identity. The deputy chief who was in charge of the operation just now also has to go in."

The deputy chief of staff had a blank stare.

Jiang He grabbed the guy's arm and took a step. With the powerful strength of his Overlord Blood Body, he dragged the guy away without even having to exert any force.

"Director, you can't do this!" The deputy chief of countermeasures struggled frantically. He was only a mid-level ability user and couldn't withstand bullets at all.

"That's not up to you." Jiang He ignored her. There are 128 characters in the superpower sequence list. Wind, fire, earth, and water correspond to speed, strength, physique, and spirit, respectively. Therefore, there are 8 types of superpowers, each with 16 superpowers, for a total of 32 advancement paths from bottom to top.

Among them, very few physical ability paths are mastered by humans. These paths are mainly in the hands of werewolves. In terms of speed, vampires are unparalleled. The Ninth Fortress is famous for its fireball path. Most of the administrators at all levels are also this type of ability user, and they do not have outstanding defensive capabilities.

The Royal Bank is surrounded by marble columns, resembling an old-fashioned temple. The kidnappers pushed the door open a crack, revealing brightly lit interiors where hundreds of citizens were crouching on the ground with their heads in their hands.

"Release two citizens," Ah Da ordered, wearing a black hood. "These two newcomers are superhumans; lock them in the most secure underground vault."

"Yes." A Dawn soldier carrying an assault rifle kicked the two citizens away.

The citizens in the bank whispered among themselves. Generally speaking, releasing hostages means buying time and easing the situation. These well-trained robbers might be leaving soon.

Ah Da escorted the two newly arrived hostages to the underground vault.

"Boss, the Royal Bank has the largest gold reserves in the Alliance, totaling over 3000 tons. The Ninth Fortress's vault only has around 300 tons. According to the bank manager, this gold is the ballast of the fortress's economy."

As Ah Da explained the situation, Dawn Intelligence had given him the template of a sheriff in a western town. Along the way, he had developed the ability to handle things on his own. Losing the bank and gold would cause serious economic turmoil in the fortress. Ah Da's main mission was to become the fortress's chairman, and he was unsure whether this would increase the difficulty of the mission.

"That's not something I need to worry about right now," Jiang He said casually. "I'll deal with it when I become the speaker."

The deputy chief of countermeasures was already shocked. The robbery of the bank was not only orchestrated by the new director, but this guy even planned to overturn the existing structure of the Ninth Fortress and become the speaker. Most importantly, the two of them did not hide anything from him at all.

The deputy director of countermeasures said with a mournful face, "Director, I haven't made things difficult for you, have I? If you kill me, Lady Hongxiu will definitely not sit idly by. When the Security Bureau falls apart, the bigwigs will definitely hold them accountable. I follow Lady Hongxiu, and Lady Hongxiu is Mr. A's confidante. You are Mr. A's right-hand man. We are family!"

Ah Da's face was icy cold. He had chosen the wrong side. What else was there to say? Since ancient times, nothing could be more deadly than this.

The three arrived at the vault. The Deputy Chief of Countermeasures desperately unleashed his ability, Ash, to heat the enemy's palm with high temperature. Unfortunately, the 100% fire damage immunity of Fire X completely ignored the damage. Only the fire attack launched by the Silver Rank could break through the defense. However, the Blood Body also had a high amount of elemental immunity. Most elemental mages could only wait to be slaughtered in front of this person.

The deputy chief of countermeasures struggled frantically, but the hand gripping his arm was like an iron clamp.

"Chief, we have no grudge against each other!"

"You not harming me is not a reason for me not to harm you."

Jiang He flicked his finger, and at close range, the force, like a spiraling bullet, pierced through the opponent's brow.

Ah Da stepped forward to support the fallen body, while Jiang He smashed the lock on the vault door with a punch. A deep pit the size of a human head suddenly appeared on the surface of the door, which was covered in metallic luster. The perfect-grade withering easily corroded this high-strength alloy.

The gate opened, revealing a room bathed in incandescent light. Boxes were filled with standard-sized gold bars. Neither the ruling hall nor the council expressed any concern about the gold reserves. The weight of over 300 tons far exceeded the robbers' carrying capacity; even with large trucks, it would take two or three to transport it. Furthermore, if the robbers only took a portion, the ruling hall could legally hand over that portion of the gold once they were apprehended.

Chapter 234 Prison

The Royal Bank, the underground vault.

"Boss, a few Dawnmen will have to die to make this a complete charade," Ah Da said worriedly. He naturally didn't want to see any Dawnmen die. These fellow clansmen all held positions as squad leaders and platoon leaders, but everything revolved around the boss. If the robbers disappeared, it would be a major blow to the prestige of the security chief.

“There’s no need. The Royal Bank’s gold reserves have all been stolen. I might not even be able to keep my position as head of the Security Bureau. After all, it’s an important asset of the Royal Family. But three hundred tons of gold is enough to serve as raw materials for thirty thousand vicious soldiers. It’s worth giving up some power. The most important thing now is the Great Expedition.”

Creating a malevolent soldier requires ten kilograms of gold, a symbol of wealth, and a relatively intact corpse.

The greatest strengths of the evil soldiers are their loyalty and fearlessness, and they can be maintained by solar and wind power. With these soldiers as the core, it is possible to expand to a loyal and brave army several times larger.

The only problem is that the evil soldiers have an intelligence of only 60, which is equivalent to a 9-12 year old child, and they are unable to think deeply.

Jiang He picked up a box of gold and walked to the deputy chief of countermeasures. He activated his flame control, and flames immediately ignited at his five fingertips, forming intricate alchemical patterns.

But the next moment, a blood moon appeared next to the pattern symbolizing the Blood Bat Knight in the alchemical pattern.

"What are you doing?" Jiang He turned her head and frowned.

Lilith shrugged. “You are my chosen one, so naturally the symbol of the blood moon is present.”

Jiang He's expression was indifferent. "I don't remember promising you that I would become a chosen one of the gods."

Lilith replied with a smile, "Only in the state of divine descent can a god reside in the body of a living being, and the vessel for divine descent must be a chosen one of the gods. I have no intention of secretly tinkering behind your back. This is simply common knowledge. You becoming a chosen one of the gods is a natural occurrence, or you can choose to refuse."

"Benefits." Jiang He was more concerned about this issue.

“Those favored by the gods have a higher status. All I can give you now is your status. To put it bluntly, the abnormal rules of the Golden Age and below are ineffective against you, such as the instant death upon contact, or the spells that turn you into a cat, dog, cow, or sheep.”

Lilith teased, "You're already taken."

"It seems the hegemon deserves your greater investment."

"Otherwise, I'm not helping you become stronger because I have nothing better to do. There are no benefits in this world without a price; you just can't see the cost yet."

Alchemical patterns formed by flames melted the gold, and the golden liquid covered the Deputy Chief of Staff's entire body. A few seconds later, the dead man stood up again, his eyes clear and pure. The original owner's soul had been completely shattered, and what was walking now was nothing more than a vicious puppet with intelligence.

Evil Soldier +1

"Have all the Dawn warriors come and move the gold into the portable sanctuary. I'm going to set it on fire," Jiang He ordered.

"Understood." Ah Da, wearing a black hood, turned and left.

……

12 month 3 day.

Just as the turmoil inside the fortress was subsiding, a major robbery occurred in Queens. A group of robbers attacked the Royal Bank, set it on fire, and stole a large amount of gold. The once solemn and magnificent bank building was destroyed and engulfed in flames.

When the news broke, citizens rushed to various branches of banks to withdraw their savings, triggering a bank run. The embassy stationed at the First Fortress immediately questioned the Council of the Ninth Fortress. The council passed a standing resolution, which, after being approved by the governor, announced the suspension of Jiang He, the main person in charge of the incident, from his duties. The order would take effect immediately at midnight.

That night, in the controlled area, in a prison under the jurisdiction of the Security Bureau.

The Security Prison is the largest prisoner settlement in the entire fortress, with a total of nineteen prison districts, each housing two thousand people, for a total of more than 38,000 registered prisoners.

"Jiang He, are you crazy?!"

In the warden's office, Jiang He held her phone a little further away, and Mr. A's roar could be heard coming from inside.

"Secretly execute all prisoners? Who gave you that authority! You're simply acting recklessly! I haven't even settled accounts with you for the theft of the Royal Bank yet! How could a ruling-level combatant like you let a few robbers escape? The council is still investigating this matter. You must immediately cease all actions. Don't think that just because you've closed the door, I don't know what's going on inside!"

The phone was abruptly hung up. Mr. A couldn't sit still. He never expected that this person would go crazy once they gained power, even though they had been quite adept at assessing situations before.

As soon as the phone call ended, Ah Da dragged two prisoner corpses into the warden's office.

The council and the administration's order to halt operations will take effect in two hours. The entire prison has been placed under lockdown. The Dawn Company has taken control of the prison and is "interrogating" prisoners one by one. Although the company's soldiers are guarding the scene with real weapons, the news has inevitably leaked out.

"Boss, are we about to cross the line?" Ah Da asked anxiously.

Jiang He nodded, stood up, and transformed the two prisoners into vicious soldiers. "To execute a prisoner within the fortress, one needs the dual authorization of the Judicial Department of the Governing Council and the Supervisory Commission. However, I am using the pretext of a prison riot, where a prisoner has killed the warden. In this case, as the Director, I have the authority to take emergency measures, suppress the situation, and use firearms."

Two vicious soldiers were born, and Jiang He sent them directly to his personal sanctuary. The most dangerous time had passed. If the prisoners and the warden had resisted together at the beginning of the operation, that would have been a big problem. But as the alchemy made progress, a thousand vicious soldiers had disarmed the prison guards.

Gunshots rang out continuously from inside the prison. Someone noticed something was wrong. The mass disappearance of prisoners alerted the various prison gangs, and the gunshots gradually intensified.

after an hour.

All the gold was exhausted and transformed into vicious soldiers. Only half of the eastern section of the prison remained alive, with guards and prisoners locked together. A thousand vicious soldiers quickly cleaned up the traces and set fire to create the illusion that the corpses had been destroyed.

Meanwhile, inside the portable sanctuary, 29,000 Fiend soldiers were receiving a crash course in firearms use from the Dawnbringers, and half of Rock Town began to feel crowded after a large influx of people moved in.

Prison gate.

Two armored vehicles drove up, and dozens of military mechs surrounded the prison. A reinforced regiment of three thousand men was fully armed, and the Dawn Company and the Evil Fiend soldiers on the wall also raised their guns.

Mr. A stepped down from the armored vehicle, his face extremely grim. The council and the army group had just been asking him if the security chief was planning a rebellion.

"What on earth are you going to do!"

Fifty paces away, Mr. A lit a cigarette and asked.

Jiang He stood at the door, her expression calm: "A failed case handling, a sudden riot suppression, that's all."

Mr. A was so angry he laughed. "It doesn't sound like a big deal. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Jiang He said, "A division has hundreds of military mechs, and the entire Ninth Army has more than two thousand mechs. I'm not so confused as to be confused."

Mr. A took a deep drag on his cigarette. He didn't really care about the bank robbery or the prison deaths and injuries. His emotions along the way were just statements. What he cared about most was whether the dominant power in front of him could remain docile, as this was related to the progress of the Great Expedition.

"Then tell me how to handle it."

"I voluntarily resign from my position as Director of the Security Agency and hand over my congressional powers so that my First Division can serve as the vanguard when the war begins."

Mr. A narrowed his eyes. Everything else was secondary. As long as the other party supported the Great Expedition, anything was negotiable.

Chapter 235 The Fiend Soldiers

late at night.

After a private meeting, Mr. A's reinforced guard took over the security prison.

After the situation calmed down, the council passed a majority decision requiring the Security Director to leave the fortress immediately after stepping down. A domineering superhuman with unbridled abilities is a ticking time bomb and a great threat to any member of the council.

The garrison corps dispatched two regiments to "escort" them along the way.

Jiang He sat in the jeep, while the Dawn Company and the Evil Fiend soldiers followed him out of the fortress.

At the north gate of the fortress, a woman in a red dress had been waiting for a long time. After someone stepped down, she would become the acting director.

"The First Division is stationed at the North Camp of the fortress. The Great Expedition will officially begin in a week. Since you voluntarily gave up your status as a member of parliament, you will not be eligible to share the spoils."

Hongxiu's words were more severe than Mr. A's.

Jiang He waved his hand. In fact, the failure of the case and the suppression of the riot were not enough to completely ruin his power. To be precise, he only lost his position as the head of the Security Bureau. He still retained his status as a councilor. However, according to the secret meeting just now, the voting rights were given to the Tu family to "manage" in exchange for independent command of the First Division. In other words, during the Great Expedition, the First Division would not need to obey the orders of the Tu family.

The convoy of jeeps left the fortress and headed towards the park.

In the passenger seat, Lilith was browsing videos on her phone, chuckling softly from time to time, until the signal went out. Then she turned her head and said:

"Looks like you guessed it."

Despite the seemingly random remark, Jiang He nodded. If she didn't distance herself from Mr. A soon, things might get complicated. Whoever wanted to be the head of the security bureau could have it.

Lilith laughed and said, "Mr. A is the leader of the Kavi clan at the end of this world. Xidu is his territory. As for how he infiltrated the fortress and how he rose to a high position step by step, I don't know. He was actually quite good at infiltrating, but it was meaningless in front of the vampire progenitor. The information I was going to tell you at the ball that day was actually this, but you didn't agree to the invitation at first."

Jiang He gripped the steering wheel and casually remarked, "The Second Army Group and the Ninth Army Group are attacking Xidu, but the leader of Xidu has taken up the position of governor. He controls the entire First Army of 50,000 men. I don't believe that the Great Expedition won't cause some major chaos."

The army group is the main force for the fortress's external expansion. Once it is completely wiped out, the Ninth Fortress will be in an unprecedentedly passive position, relying solely on the garrison corps.

In the event of defeat, the commander, whose position was already precarious, would inevitably be forced to step down. If the Tu family head could achieve great merit with Mr. A's intelligence and gain the full support of the ruling hall, his ascension to the position of the third-generation commander would be just around the corner.

"He's aiming to climb to the top step by step." Jiang He chuckled and turned to ask, "If it weren't for the fact that I might have to take the blame for some huge mess, I probably wouldn't mind hanging out with him for a while longer."

……

At dawn.

The jeep convoy arrived at the park after a half-day journey.

The park is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and it is still heavily guarded as before. The only difference is that trucks occasionally come and go. After someone left, Wuhe seized control of the park and expanded the cigarette production line from one to nine, monopolizing the cigarette business in the surrounding area. The price was that the guard regiment launched two small wars.

Jiang He got out of the car, a crow landed on his shoulder, and he went straight to the fifth floor of Building 3, returning to his small room opposite the interrogation room.

"Boss, who is this female?"

Wuhe circled the new member a few times.

Lilith smiled and said, "Of course, she is the embodiment of beauty and wisdom."

Wuhe cackled in mockery. He couldn't see any beauty in them at all. To him, a human without feathers was like a human looking at a gorilla covered in hair. As a crow that was already qualified to transform, he maintained his current form entirely because he wanted to. If it weren't for his long-term interaction with the White Snake Villagers, even Zhuang Ya wouldn't have thought that a human form was necessary.

"A fallen deity, ignore her."

Jiang He pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "The Great Expedition will officially begin in a week. I got the command of a division, on the condition that I serve as the vanguard. I just made some extra money from the fortress, a total of 30,000 vicious soldiers. The problem is that they don't have any equipment."

When the cannons roar, gold flows like water. Supporting a regular regiment requires 150 million fortress coins annually. With one division and six regiments, plus over 10,000 reserve personnel, the annual cost is around 1 billion.

The First Division of the Army Group was supported by the fortress; if it wanted to expand its forces further, it would have to bear the costs itself.

"Boss, we vicious soldiers don't need food or water, nor do we need allowances or pensions. All we need are guns and bullets," Wuhe said with an air of honor, uttering these outrageous words.