Note, this is not a game

Chapter 166: Fork in the Road at Point 8
Despite being prepared and experienced, this shadowy behemoth was no match for them and was completely suppressed head-on.

The battles in other locations were similar. More than 20 professionals joined the battle and cooperated with many soldiers to quickly suppress the impact of the shadow orcs.

With many soldiers blocking the front row, they can output safely and fully exert the powerful combat effectiveness of professionals.

This time, Chu Cheng didn't have to take action. The shadow orcs attacked for a long time but couldn't break through their defense line.

After about two minutes, the shadow beast was killed and a red loot chest was formed.

The five people who had freed their hands joined the battlefield and specifically killed the shadow orc leader, which accelerated the orcs' collapse.

Five minutes later, a dull horn sounded from the depths of the dark and twisted realm, and many shadowy creatures began to retreat.

The light cannot reach farther, and no one knows what is hiding deep in the dark and commanding these shadowy creatures.

The battle ended quickly, and after cleaning up the battlefield, the team continued on their journey.

When the camel beast walked to the front of the car, it saw the corpses of two similar giant shadow beasts on the side of the road, as well as an even larger number of shadow orc corpses, mixed in with a number of strange-looking shadow monsters, all of them twisted and weird.

The professionals who had fought before did not return to their own carriages, but sat on the backs of camels. After a while, the caravan manager came to them to purchase the spoils.

The Qiuye Chamber of Commerce does not only trade, but also purchases spoils of war, and they particularly like to purchase various shadow creature spoils of war.

Fang Xi had just used magic to kill a large number of shadow creatures, and several loot chests appeared. They were not of high level, and the most abundant item in them was a material called Shadow Stone, which was condensed from the bodies of shadow creatures. It could be referred to as a stone and could be used to make potions to defend against environmental damage in the Shadow Land.

Chu Cheng spent 15 gold and bought 15 bottles of powerful shadow potion from a manager of the caravan.

After taking it, you will gain a BUFF that lasts for 2 hours and can be immune to a certain degree of shadow environmental damage.

But it is not necessary now. The moonlight lanterns hung by the caravan can make them immune to environmental damage. Keep them in reserve now and let Fang Xi use them when they set out alone at Stronghold No. 8.

He doesn't need it, his natural damage reduction can absorb this little bit of damage.

The team then continued on their journey and the caravan returned to calm.

Two days later, the caravan crossed the Shadow Region again and arrived at the fourth stronghold.

After staying for half a day, we continued on our way, diving into the darkness like diving into the sea.

The huge broken star realm was submerged in shadows, just like an endless ocean. The broken fragments of the realm were like isolated islands scattered on the ocean. They were like a fleet crossing the ocean to find isolated islands.

The island is inhabited by normal creatures, while the shadows outside the island are inhabited by distorted shadow creatures.

Various twisted shadow monsters, shadow behemoths, goblins that have been eroded by shadows and transformed into shadow creatures, shadow orcs, and even shadow humans.

These shadow creatures transformed by distorted laws also have their own groups and form tribes. They extremely hate normal life and will attack any living person entering the shadow area. Every once in a while, they will gather together and attack the fragments of the realm, exterminating the normal creatures inside.

But he had only heard these things. The professionals accompanying the team would sometimes get bored and come out of the carriages and gather on the camels' backs to chat and hear them.

Many of the professionals accompanying the team have been training and adventuring in this plane for a long time. Some teams have even established their own bases and strongholds in certain realm fragments.

For example, if valuable minerals are discovered in some areas, a base will be established there for mining.

Recruit a group of soldiers from other realms to guard the mines and capture some alien races such as orcs who are mining.

Every once in a while, they would collect the ore and sell it, which was a steady source of income. However, most people just built a mining base, and few dared to build a fixed base.

In this world, there are actually quite a few domain fragments that are large enough, have large plains, and have water sources. Many large domain fragments are large enough to support a population of hundreds of thousands or even millions.

But the biggest problem is safety. The more living people there are, the more shadow creatures will be attracted.

If the population exceeds tens of thousands, from time to time groups of shadow creatures will rush into the realm fragments to kill and destroy.

Shadow creatures can leave the twisted realm and enter the boundary, but they cannot leave for a long time. It is no problem for them to just rush into the boundary and burn and kill.

Soldiers alone cannot withstand the attacks of wave after wave of shadow creatures, and professionals must be stationed there for a long time.

But few professionals are willing to stay in one place for a long time, unless they are too old and there is no future for them.

Therefore, among the more than 20 fixed outposts and strongholds in the Star Tower, the majority are mining and other resource outposts, and there are only six city-state strongholds for fixed population reproduction and farming, half of which are near the outpost base.

Chu Cheng listened to these as fun and enjoyed them very much.

Time passed, and on the fourteenth day after they entered this world, they finally arrived at Outpost No. 8.

This is a small boundary fragment with a total area of ​​only a dozen square kilometers. There are no mineral resources in it. The reason for setting up an outpost here is mainly because it is a key intersection.

In addition to the routes leading to Stronghold No. 9 and Stronghold No. 16 respectively, Chu Cheng and his team will also set out from here separately to go to the Nest of Destiny.

After paying the remaining fee, the two entered the outpost castle.

The castle was built between two mountains and only needed to be defended from the front and back.

The mountains on both sides have been artificially flattened, and the straight mountains can prevent monsters from climbing over the mountains and entering the castle.

The city walls at both ends are more than 20 meters wide and more than 30 meters thick. They are made of special concrete and steel bars and are extremely strong.

The surface is covered with various scratches and claw marks, and in some places the steel bars inside have been exposed.

"The rest is up to us."

Chu Cheng opened the map and the light curtain unfolded. On the map that looked like the night sky, there were only a few bright balls of light on the edge. A straight line extended from the Star Tower outpost and split into three forked lines at outpost No. 8.

There are two routes, namely, the No. 9 and No. 16 strongholds. The last one extends dimly in another direction, all the way to a fragment of the realm marked as the Nest of Destiny deep in the night sky.

"We need to prepare more shadow protection potions, but the cost of potions is too high. It would be better to prepare a lamp that can dispel shadows."

He looked up at the main building in the center of the castle and said to her:
"Besides these, I think it would be best to hire a team of soldiers."

There were too few people, and he was afraid that he would not be able to take care of her in the fierce battle.

As an important transit base, Outpost No. 8 Castle is fully functional, with facilities for potion and equipment repair, and various sundry transactions, including, of course, employment.

After asking a random guard, Chu Cheng found an officer in the castle who was responsible for hiring soldiers five minutes later.

(End of this chapter)