1000 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, 500 units of Level 2 Gunpowder.
Li Ye clearly remembered that this was the consumption required to fully replenish the combat resources of the Vanguard Armed Gunship.
"I’ve got to remind you, our Tomorrow is really running low on Level 2 Iron Ore. As for gunpowder, don’t even mention it,"Lin Wu said slowly.
"We can get some from Iron Whale,"Tang Fang reminded."By the way, I wonder how Professor Annie is doing."
Li Ye’s expression became quite intriguing.
There was no denying that this Zombie Civilization posed an incredibly severe threat—it had forcefully driven the Human Forces and the Level 2 Frogmen Civilization to form an alliance.
He was not optimistic about the situation in the Archipelago Zone.
With the zombies' offensive, it was only a matter of time before the Archipelago Zone fell.
By then, the entire southern region of the Western Wasteland Continent would have only the Valley Zone, soon to be reached by the Tomorrow Alliance, as the last remaining pure land.
It wasn’t long before the Tomorrow Alliance encountered the Warblade M3.On the deck, Li Ye picked up a binocular and looked.
The Warblade M3 had a tough and rugged style, with every part of its City Paint Scheme and deck exuding a steampunk boldness.
The cannons and heavy machine guns configured on its deck were jaw-dropping, not to mention a series of combat vehicles.
There were Light Airships equipped with heavy machine guns, rocket launch pods, and bomb compartments.
Jet planes, armed to the teeth, looked extremely aggressive just by their appearance.
Spider Tanks, the size of a vehicle, with eight mechanical legs, armed with heavy machine guns and manned by combat personnel, maneuvered flexibly through the Snowy Peaks.
What surprised Li Ye most was that there were even Combat Mechs on the Warblade M3’s deck.
To call them mechs was not entirely accurate—they looked more like individual exoskeleton armor or powered armor suits.
These powered armor suits stood three to four meters tall, with armor styled in heavy metal fashion and painted in iron-grey.
Looking closely, not only the armor but also the City Paint Scheme and banners bore overlapping patterns of gears, swords, and documents.
"This Iron Oath Brotherhood’s Mobile City really looks combat-ready,"Li Ye thought.
Then, as he stared at those powered armors, he couldn’t help but feel itchy with desire.
"So cool. If only I could get hold of their production program."
Seeing four Level 2 Mobile Cities approaching, Warblade M3 immediately let out two long and one short steam whistle blasts.
Tomorrow responded with the same whistle pattern.
Warblade M3 soon dispatched an airship over.
Before long, the airship landed on the deck.
A bald, burly man chewing a cigarette walked over.
He scanned the group and then spoke.
"Which one of you is in charge here?"
Seeing Li Ye nod slightly, the bald man was momentarily stunned.
"You? So young?"
The two sides soon engaged in a series of discussions.
The bald man’s name was Willy, a Low-ranking Knight aboard the Warblade M3.
As a World-class Organization, the Iron Oath Brotherhood—just like the Titan Throne and the Apocalypse Sect—had a strict Class Rank System.
"So what’s your Iron Oath Brotherhood’s class structure like?"Li Ye asked with interest.
In fact, he was very curious about the organization structure, class system, and configurations of human World-class Organizations.
Willy proceeded to explain.
The Iron Oath Brotherhood upheld iron-blood military discipline, with class ranking tied directly to military merit and contribution points, rejecting inheritance and political appointments.
It operated under a dual-track promotion system.
In combat, it followed the "Knight" sequence; in administration, the "Scholar" sequence.
The Knight ranks included: Apprentice Knight, Knight, War Knight, Elder Knight.
The Scholar ranks included: Apprentice, Clerk, Scholar, Grand Scholar.
And each rank was further divided into three sub-levels: lower, middle, and upper.
Those responsible for command and administration belonged to the Elder sequence, categorized in order as Ordinary Elder, Elite Elder, Red-robed Elder, and Supreme Elder.
The Iron Oath Brotherhood was governed by the Council of Elders, composed of Supreme Elders.
"I see."
Just as Li Ye nodded, Willy spoke again.
The Lord of Warblade M3 was Elder David. Elder David originally intended to come personally, but he was currently occupied with preparing combat resources and planning a renewed assault on the Swarm, so he couldn't make it.
Thus, he sent Willy as a messenger.
"The development of the Swarm in the Plateau Zone is progressing too rapidly, so the Elder hopes you can provide assistance,"Willy said, furrowing his brows."If left unchecked, the Swarm will soon become a major threat."
"Absolutely,"Li Ye nodded.
Beside him, Lin Wu pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"Excuse me, Mr. Willy, with such rapid reproduction and evolution, are the Swarm only at Level 2?"
"You’ve misunderstood,"Willy replied."The Swarm appearing in the Plateau Zone is not the main body—just a small offshoot."
Seeing everyone confused, he continued.
"Listen carefully now, I’ll explain to you what the Swarm is."
The Swarm.
The most unique Monstrous Civilization in the Wasteland.
They even surpassed the Zombie Civilization in threat level.
The most notable feature of the Swarm was their ability to rapidly adapt to their environment and evolve into various unit types.
Their reproduction speed was also incredibly fast—what started as a small cluster could take over an entire zone in less than a month.
The core of the Swarm was the Broodmother, ranked from Level 1 to Level 7.
Each Broodmother served as the absolute core of its Swarm. It could continuously produce basic larvae, which would then evolve into different combat types according to necessity.
Broodmothers could also produce various Swarm structures.
The most critical point: each Broodmother was responsible for directing reproduction, resource extraction, and external combat—it essentially served as the "brain" of the Swarm.
Regarding the Swarm, both Human Forces and Monstrous Civilizations reached a rare consensus.
Once the Swarm was discovered in any zone, both sides were required to eliminate it immediately.
It was mutually accepted that deploying high-level Mobile Cities to Swarm-infested areas did not constitute a violation of the Silence Agreement.
At this point, Li Ye was stunned.
Even both human and monster factions were willing to bypass the Silence Agreement—just how dangerous was this Swarm?
Tang Fang and the others asked curiously,
"What is the Silence Agreement?"
In fact, the intelligence Li Ye had at hand already far surpassed that of his companions.
As for the Silence Agreement, Willy said he could not disclose any information.
To demonstrate the threat level of the Swarm, he gave a simple comparison.
If a Level 1 area saw the emergence of a Level 1 Broodmother and no one intervened, that area was effectively considered lost.
And so forth.
"This time, the Swarm is still in its infancy. It's manageable for now. Since you’re here, you’ll need to coordinate with us in battle."
He waved his hand.
"Don’t worry, the Iron Oath Brotherhood won’t have you fight for nothing. Once the job is done, we’ll reward you handsomely."
Then he glanced at Li Ye and asked,
"Can you join the battle right now? If you need anything, say so quickly."
Li Ye thought for a moment, then replied.
"Iron Ore. Lots of Iron Ore."
Warblade M3 immediately delivered 1500 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, 1500 units of Level 2 Gunpowder, 2000 units of Level 1 Iron Ore, and a batch of Level 1 Molten Iron Ore and Frost Iron Ore to Tomorrow.
Staring at the mountain of resources before him, Li Ye rubbed his hands together excitedly.
There was no denying it—when a World-class Organization made a move, they did so lavishly.
He promptly refilled the Vanguard Armed Gunship’s combat resources.
He then consumed Level 1 Iron Ore to replenish a large quantity of bullets and shells.
The remaining Iron Ore was transported to Peacemaker via the Black Hawk Helicopter.
In the following time, Li Ye activated the City Radio.
Through the invitation code shared by Li Ye, Warblade M3 joined the K1 City Communication Channel.
Elder David immediately sent a message.
【Warblade M3: This is really beyond my expectations. I was already surprised by the development and configuration of your Tomorrow Alliance—I didn’t expect you even had a Level 2 City Radio.】
【Warblade M3: Long story short, we depart in 10 minutes. If you have any questions or needs, say them now.】
【Tomorrow: Greetings, Elder David. We’ve already been briefed on the situation by Mr. Willy. May I ask how long the battle is expected to last?】
【Warblade M3: If everything goes smoothly, it will end within a few hours.】
【Engineer: And if it doesn’t go smoothly?】
【Warblade M3: Then we’ll be completely wiped out.】
"It could really be that serious?"Li Ye was astonished.
Warblade M3 already had terrifying firepower. With the Tomorrow Alliance, their combined strength could easily sweep through an entire zone—yet they might still be wiped out by the Swarm?
【Warblade M3: This is your first time fighting the Swarm, so I must give you a solemn reminder.】
【Warblade M3: No matter the environment, always maintain distance from the Swarm and use firepower to suppress their advance.】
【Warblade M3: The Swarm is highly intelligent. They will prioritize disabling the mobility of your Mobile Cities. Your defensive-type cities must not engage in battle.】
【Tomorrow: Understood.】
Ten minutes later, five Level 2 Mobile Cities departed for the destination.
Tomorrow's combat mobilization was complete. The Black Hawk Helicopter and the Vanguard Armed Gunship took off in sequence, while the Storm Infantry Vehicle rolled onto the deck to complete deployment.
Combat Personnel took their positions before the Heavy Machine Guns and Cannons, with personnel also assigned to guard key positions on the deck.
Their weapons included the Scorcher Flame Thrower, the Remington Shotgun, and the Bloodletter Military Dagger.
Watching those manning the key points, Li Ye fell into thought.
He began considering whether Tomorrow should build fortifications at those critical locations.
The reason was simple.
First, after being upgraded to a Level 2 City, Tomorrow's volume and surface area had expanded considerably, and the deck now offered much more space.
Second, back in the Eternal Night Zone and the Cretaceous Zone, Tomorrow had faced multiple situations where enemies breached the deck during battle.
Therefore, deck defense had become a focus of Li Ye’s attention.
As they moved forward, insects began appearing in the sky.
Those were the "Balloon Bug Beasts" mentioned by the Mayor of Snowcap Town.
These insects, resembling balloons and filled with light gas inside, floated high in the sky.
Li Ye turned his head toward the screen—Elder David had already sent a message.
【Warblade M3: These Balloon Bug Beasts have an extremely wide detection range. They’ve already discovered you and have relayed the information to the rear.】
【Warblade M3: The Swarm will be ready soon.】
【Warblade M3: Prepare for a tough battle.】
With a steam whistle from Warblade M3, the Knights on its deck all raised their Firearms, taking aim and firing at the Balloon Bug Beasts.
Through his binoculars, Li Ye also saw that some Knights had already donned Powered Armor.
Many others busied themselves in front of the Powered Armor suits, conducting final maintenance—these were likely the "Apprentices" from the Scholar sequence.
Staring at those Balloon Bug Beasts, a thought came to Li Ye.
He ordered the Black Hawk Helicopter to capture one Balloon Bug Beast and bring it to Tomorrow's deck, then took out the Universal Monster Translator.
"What is your Swarm like?"he asked.
The Balloon Bug Beast let out a faint hissing sound.
"We survive. We reproduce. We plunder."
Even when Li Ye continued to ask more, the insect kept repeating the same phrases.
So Li Ye shook his head and, raising the Military Dagger, cut it down with a strike.
A few minutes later, Warblade M3 sounded a warning whistle.
Li Ye picked up his binoculars and looked into the distance—several Snowy Peaks had turned black.
Clearly, this was the domain where the Swarm had built its nests.
Looking more closely, he saw the peaks were covered in Mycelial Mats.
Elder David explained this.
Mycelial Mats were essentially living organic matter secreted by the Swarm. They allowed rapid movement for the creatures atop them, helped them heal, and served as nesting grounds.
Not only the Earth-Eaters could secrete Mycelial Mats—many units within the Swarm had that ability.
At that moment, a large number of Burrowers scuttled across the Snowy Peaks, digging various tunnels.
Engineer Bugs used those tunnels to move around the peaks and began collecting resources. Their method was unique—using their massive pincer-like head limbs to crush mountain ore, then swallowing it to carry away.
High above, flocks of Windrippers patrolled and scouted. On the snowy slopes, countless Frostblade Beasts sprinted, moving as if on flat ground thanks to the Mycelial Mats.
Not far off, an Earth-Eater was devouring the icy mountain and continuously secreting Mycelial Mats.
【Warblade M3: Commence battle.】
The next second, its deck Cannons fired.
The Earth-Eater at work was immediately hit. Its body was torn apart in successive explosions, collapsing in flames.
Tomorrow and Peacemaker followed suit, unleashing a barrage that engulfed several Snowy Peaks in firepower.
The Swarm insects on the peaks, along with the Mycelial Mats, were swallowed in the rolling blasts.
Windrippers circling in the sky shrieked and swooped.
What greeted them was the anti-air firepower from Warblade M3.
Warblade M3 was armed with over a dozen Level 2 Anti-Air Cannons. Under the intense barrage, the Windrippers were torn apart like paper, falling in flocks.
A few Windrippers broke through the firepower net and reached the deck, opening their massive jaws to release Sound Waves.
The impacted deck instantly dented inward.
Under the bombardment from three Mobile Cities, this wave of Swarm creatures was quickly wiped out.
【Warblade M3: Advance.】
【Warblade M3: Stay alert. The battle has just begun.】
Li Ye pondered, then asked the question that concerned him most.
【Tomorrow: Elder David, does the Swarm have any long-range firepower?】
【Warblade M3: Yes.】