Mist Lord

[The Mist Chat Group is now online, 1, 2, 3... 471]

Despite yesterday's lessons, four lords still perished in the past day, mostly due to overconfidence in their military prowess, ultimately succumbing to their unforeseen circumstances. This shows that there are advantages to being cautious and timid.

Faced with the death of their companions again, the survivors were also moved, but they were stronger after all. Someone broke some shocking news as soon as the game was released.

[Breaking news! One of us has drawn a Tier 3 unit and has been personally taken over as a subordinate territory by the Alliance Leader!]

Of course, Xia Yuan wasn't the only one who went to Yunyang City during the day; all sorts of rumors were flying around. Lords like Xiao Xiong and Zhou Kui, who revealed their identities yesterday and both drew second-tier troop types, had signed subordinate contracts with higher-ranking lords, finding their own powerful backers.

The one who chose Zhou Kui was a level 5 lord, and Xiao Xiong unsurprisingly joined forces with the level 6 lord Li Mingyu.

Although they are both newcomers, their statuses are worlds apart.

Another female lord who also found a powerful lord to rely on was named Wu Qianqian. Her troops were second-tier archers, but she wasn't as high-profile as Xiao Xiong and Zhou Kui.

Of course, the most amazing one was a guy named Song Jing, who drew a Tier 3 infantry heavy infantry unit and was quietly recruited into the ranks of the alliance leader Tang Ce.

Given Song Jing's demonstrated potential and with the alliance leader's continued support, he was virtually invincible in the early stages and was poised to challenge for level 8 or even level 9 territories in the future.

They may seem like newcomers, but in reality, they are worlds apart.

[Song Jing: It's all thanks to the Alliance Leader's kindness. Let's work together to improve in the future. I'll definitely help if I can.]

These words, seemingly humble, actually subtly imply that the leader of the new generation is in charge. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the alliance leader accepted Song Jing so openly—to establish Song Jing as the leader of this batch of newcomers, so that he can lead the team well for the alliance.

[Wu Qianqian: From now on, I will follow Boss Song's lead and obey all his orders.]

Zhou Kui: +1

[Xiao Xiong: +1]

With rising stars like Wu Qianqian and Zhou Kui expressing their support, what could the others do? They all followed suit, showering the screen with flattery.

This is no longer a simple case of the East Wind prevailing over the West Wind, but a complete and utter crushing of strength.

Let alone these newcomers, even a level 3 lord like Zhao Wu would probably feel inferior in front of Song Jing, the "personal disciple of the alliance leader."

It's not every year that a new recruit starts with a Tier 3 unit; Zhao Wu hasn't had one yet.

"...Summer is indeed a place where hidden talents abound."

Xia Yuan, who was staring at the chat group messages, also felt immense pressure. So far, four new lords with Tier 2 or higher troops have already emerged.

It will be quite difficult to break into the top ten.

Given his current situation, if he wants to counter the threat from Li Mingyu, being in the top ten is probably not enough; he needs to break into the top five, or even the top three.

As for taking first place, forget about it.

He knew all too well the power of Tier 3 troops. Based on the timeline, Song Jing should have been able to recruit four Tier 3 heavy infantrymen by the day of the novice trial. How could anyone compare?

And this doesn't even take into account the alliance leader's support for Song Jing; the gap is so large it's almost despairing.

This year's Rookie of the Year is destined to be Song Jing.

"Hopefully, the goblin tribe will bring some surprises tomorrow."

Having calmed his mind, Xia Yuan stopped dwelling on it, drew his Tang sword from his waist, and joined the sword and shield training sequence number one. Rather than worrying about things he couldn't change, he should focus on the present and improve his strength.

Name: Xia Yuan

[Territory]: Mingguang Village (Level 1)

[Title]: Lord (20/100)

[Attributes]: Constitution 6, Strength 6, Agility 6+2

[General Skills]: Proficiency in Common Language, Gathering Skill, Detection Skill

【战斗技能】：格斗术入门（15/100），基础刀法入门（15/100），基础箭术小成（5/1000）

[Technique]: Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill (not yet practiced)

[Special Items]: Human skin mask, antidote, rag doll

[Combat Strength Assessment]: ★☆

The intense battles during the day allowed me to successfully break through to the minor mastery level in basic archery, and I also gained two points in agility, increasing my combat strength assessment by one star. But this is far from enough. To grow rapidly, I still need to fight on the front lines.

After Sword and Shield No. 1 took the lead in advancing to the next level, all the other Sword and Shield users were also spurred on and started training together.

The scene was very lively.

Xia Yuan didn't see any information about him until the chat group was closed. It's likely that someone didn't go to Yunyang City today, and Li Mingyu hasn't found a weakness yet.

Li Mingyu was, of course, not in a hurry.

His high-profile search for Xia Yuan was partly for revenge, but more importantly, he wanted to take the opportunity to discover promising talents among this year's newcomers in order to strengthen his faction.

Since Li Aoyu is already dead, of course we should squeeze out every last bit of value from him.

.........

After nightfall.

Xia Yuan and Gouzi squeezed onto the wooden plank bed, while Satir slept on a makeshift bed on the floor in the outer room. People really do adapt; in just two days, he had already gradually gotten used to these simple conditions.

I slept soundly until dawn.

The first thing to do upon waking up in the morning, of course, is to recruit 10 wandering swordsmen and shieldmen. This brings Mingguang Village's total to 4 soldier swordsmen and shieldmen and 23 wandering swordsmen and shieldmen, further boosting its overall combat strength.

Among them, the four warrior swords and shields led by Sword and Shield No. 4 each consumed 5 Mist Sprout Crystals last night, and all of them have been upgraded to two and a half stars today.

All 13 wandering sword and shield veterans have also been upgraded to the first-tier limit of one and a half stars.

As for the 10 newly recruited wandering swordsmen and shieldmen, each should consume one Mist Sprout Crystal to raise their combat level to one star. If they are injured in subsequent battles, they can be raised to one and a half stars, which will also heal their injuries.

It was a minor bug that was exploited.

"Set off!"

Around 7 a.m., after organizing the team, they entered the fog zone with fog lights under the guidance of Hanbao and quietly advanced toward the demonized goblin camp.

The morning fog was exceptionally thick, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Perhaps because the Mist Fairy Grass had wiped out all the surrounding mist monsters yesterday, they didn't encounter any disturbances on the way, and didn't even see a scorpion-tailed fly.

The journey was smooth and unobstructed.

The dog wasn't exaggerating; its sense of smell is truly top-notch. Even though a night had passed, it could still pinpoint the enemy's lair precisely by using the lingering scent of the demonized goblin's corpse.

Unlike monsters like the Gray Mist Rat, the Demonized Goblin has a fixed camp.

The camp was surrounded by a dilapidated fence, with tattered tents scattered around. In the center of the camp stood a black stone altar, burning with raging flames and driving away the surrounding mist.

By destroying the Black Stone Altar, you can obtain Black Crystals, which can be used to expand your territory.

"Grac!!!"

The inexplicable loss of a group of tribesmen yesterday had already put the demonized goblin tribe on alert. Xia Yuan and his group had barely approached when they were spotted by goblin sentries on the watchtowers, who screamed warnings.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Satir drew her bow and arrow, and dispatched the sentry in no time.

"Guknor! Chuch!"

"Krag! Stab!"

Seeing that the enemy had reached the camp, the demonized goblins, with no way to retreat, rushed out of their tents and, led by their leader, launched a fierce attack.

"My sword and shield!"

Sword and Shield No. 1 was not intimidated and charged ahead once again.

"Whoosh!"

Satir fired an arrow that pierced through the leather armor and plunged deep into the goblin leader's chest.

"roar!!!"

The goblin leader, whose strength had reached the second tier, immediately fell into a state of rage.

"My sword and shield!"

Blade & Shield One, however, was eager to fight the goblin leader and charged forward with a roar, wanting to take the initiative to confront the leader and have a life-or-death duel between the leaders.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Satir took the opportunity to kill other goblins, relieving pressure on the front lines.

"kill!!!"

Xia Yuan drew his Tang sword from his waist and stood guard beside Satir, responsible for clearing out any goblins that had been missed on the front line.

This was his first time participating in close combat.

"Pfft!"

The Tang sword slashed down fiercely, severing the goblin's arm, then thrust out, piercing the enemy's chest.

So this is what killing can be—simple and brutal.

Unbeknownst to him, Xia Yuan is gradually shedding the heavy shackles of modern society that bind him, becoming wild and crazy, and beginning to adapt to this cruel world of killing.

In comparison, Zhao Wu's use of the fat guy to establish his authority on the day of orientation was far too gentle...