Mist Lord

Just as Xia Yuan returned to the square with the purchased supplies and slaves, he saw several young men and women enthusiastically escorting a man into the nearby Yunyang Restaurant.

"Is it them?"

When the chat group opened yesterday, Wu Qianqian suggested that we get together at Yunyang Restaurant to get to know each other and pay a visit to Song Jing, the boss we had just taken in.

Zhou Kui, Xiao Xiong, and others responded enthusiastically.

The so-called "gathering" is naturally a small circle where people get to know each other first. Those newbies who only drew Tier 1 units probably don't qualify to enter this circle.

Xia Yuan was also subtly ostracized by the entire circle, and no one wanted to provoke him.

Only three days after their arrival, the new lords had already naturally divided themselves into different ranks. The key was that no one felt there was anything wrong with it; everything seemed perfectly natural.

Without strength, one doesn't even deserve sympathy.

.........

With a flash of white light, Xia Yuan and his group returned to Mingguang Village.

With a major battle imminent, the territory was unusually lively. Carpenter Wang Er was busy making barricades, while Satir led her sword-and-shield dogs to cut down trees, move stones, and dig traps, keeping them extremely busy.

Even Wang Er's children were helping to move stones, their little faces tanned dark by the sun.

"Sir, I'll go help too."

Upon seeing this, Zhang Tie, who was accompanying the group, quickly volunteered with his two sons.

Go!

Xia Yuan was pleased that the entire territory was able to unite and fight the difficulties together.

"Thump!"

Wang Xiaohua, carrying a rock, was huffing and puffing as she walked forward, completely unaware of Xia Yuan and his group suddenly appearing. She accidentally bumped into Xia Yuan, and her little face immediately turned pale with fright.

"Sir, sir, I'm so sorry~"

"It's okay, you did a great job, here's a piece of candy for you."

Xia Yuan squatted down, took out a piece of candy and put it in Wang Xiaohua's hand, then patted the dust off her clothes.

This candy was specially brought for Hanbao; it wasn't anything particularly precious.

When the lords descended upon the Misty Continent, although they couldn't engage in large-scale industrialization, they could still improve traditional processes such as sugar refining, brewing, salt production, and papermaking. Therefore, rare commodities like snow-white salt and high-proof liquor could be purchased in Yunyang City.

"Please forgive me, sir! Please forgive me, sir!"

Wang Er's wife, who was working nearby, was so frightened that she ran over and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"That's all, go ahead and get back to work!"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly pulled her daughter away, her legs feeling weak.

Wang Xiaohua secretly licked a piece of the candy, her eyes immediately narrowing into slits with sweetness. Just as she was about to lick it a second time, she carefully put it away, intending to take it back for her brother to try as well.

.........

Seeing that there was plenty of wood and stone, Xia Yuan immediately built a basic blacksmith shop, which could be completed before dark so as not to delay the novice trial the next day.

In the final hour, Satir, along with the Blade & Shield dogs, stopped working and rested, making final preparations for battle. Blade & Shield Number One and the others also completed their level-ups and regained their vigor.

[Time's up, the beast tide is about to arrive...]

As the gray mist text reappeared, a mist demon grass suddenly sprouted beside the black stone altar, as if it possessed some kind of magical power, luring the monsters hidden in the mist to attack.

"...So that's how they attract beast tides?"

Seeing Gray Mist's bizarre actions, Xia Yuan was speechless.

"Buzzing~~~"

"Squeak squeak~~~"

"Snap! Snap!!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than various monster cries echoed from the misty southern region. The first to rush out of the misty region were none other than our old friend, the scorpion-tailed flies, densely packed together, probably no less than a hundred of them.

Following behind the scorpion fly were its old adversaries, more than thirty gray fog rats.

Finally, a completely new mist monster appeared, unlike anything encountered before. It resembled a praying mantis, but was entirely grayish-white and enormous, standing as tall as an adult. It carried a pair of large, grayish-white swords, looking quite menacing.

[Name]: Gray Mist Mantis

[Rank]: Second Rank

Combat Level: ★★★☆

[Evaluation]: A powerful predator in the gray fog, known for its ferocity.

The Gray Mist Mantis is a top-tier monster even among second-tier monsters, truly deserving of its name as a predator. Fortunately, only five came this time, otherwise this battle would have been impossible.

Previously, when using the Mist Fairy Grass, the Mist Monsters would come in waves, but now they're swarming in all at once.

They didn't give us a chance to defeat them one by one.

"Satir, you're in charge of dealing with the scorpion flies."

Currently, only Satir can handle flying monsters like the scorpion-tailed fly. This, however, also ties down the strongest fighter on the Brightlight Village side.

Xia Yuan then arranged for Blade & Shield Number One to lead five Blade & Shield Soldiers, two against one, to hold off the three Gray Mist Mantises. The remaining three Blade & Shield Soldiers were tasked with commanding the Wandering Blade & Shield Soldiers to deal with the Gray Mist Rat swarm.

The Gray Mist Rats have a leader in charge; without soldiers and shields, they simply cannot withstand the attack.

"Only two gray mist mantises remain..."

Satir seemed to realize something, and a look of worry flashed in her eyes.

"I'll take care of leading them away!"

Xia Yuan's gaze was firm; at this moment, as the lord, he had to stand up resolutely.

To win this battle, the key is to first eliminate the most threatening Grey Mist Mantis. In a one-on-one fight, Blade & Shield One might be able to hold its own, but it would be extremely difficult to kill it easily.

Therefore, it is necessary to concentrate superior forces.

With the rag doll as a safety net, Xia Yuan wasn't afraid to take the risk. Having mastered the fundamentals of archery, his agility had reached 8 points. If he couldn't win in a fight, surely he could outrun it?

"Sir, we can help too!"

Wang Er, Zhang Tie, and Zhang Tie's two sons also volunteered.

"Then you will be responsible for guarding the back of the village gate to prevent any stray gray mist rats from rushing in."

The number of sword-and-shield dogs is insufficient, and some will inevitably slip through the net. Once they rush inside the fence, women and children will be in grave danger.

To ensure safety, Xia Yuan took out several relatively intact leather armors and swords from his storage space.

It's a last resort, a desperate measure.

The sword-and-shield dogs can recover from injuries by entering the training camp, but Wang Er and his group will be crippled or killed if they are injured.

"Buzzing~~~"

The tactics had just been arranged when the beast horde was already close to the fence.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Satir climbed the arrow tower and launched the first attack on the scorpion flies.

"My sword and shield!"

A group of wandering swordsmen and shieldmen, led by the soldiers, stood guard behind the barricades, ready for battle.

"Walk!"

After the sword-and-shield dogs clashed with the gray mist rat swarm, Xia Yuan decisively led his sword-and-shield soldiers, including Sword-and-Shield No. 1, to bypass the barricade traps from the side, aiming directly at the last remaining gray mist mantis.

"My sword and shield!"

Blade & Shield One was as brave as ever, taking the initiative to choose the biggest and strongest one.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Xia Yuan raised the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and accurately shot two arrows into the backs of two Gray Mist Mantises in succession, successfully attracting their aggro. He then immediately put away the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and ran away.

"Snap! Snap!"

Enraged, the Gray Mist Mantis also gave chase.

Two chased, one ran, circling the wooden fence. Sometimes Xia Yuan would deliberately approach the area of ​​the ground thorn grass to create a little trouble for the gray mist mantis.

Whenever the Gray Mist Mantis showed any sign of leaving, it would suddenly turn around and shoot an arrow.

Although it's shady, it's very practical.

"My sword and shield!"

Blade and Shield No. 1's bravery never disappoints. Just as Xia Yuan was circling for the second time, he finally killed the Gray Mist Mantis on the spot with the help of another soldier, Blade and Shield No. 1.

The scales of victory are rapidly tipping in favor of Mingguang Village.

Third lap.

The remaining two Gray Mist Mantises were killed.

Fourth lap.

Blade and Shield One, along with his henchmen, charged in from behind and killed the two Gray Mist Mantises that were chasing Xia Yuan.

"Fight back!"

Xia Yuan immediately commanded Blade & Shield No. 1 to attack the rear of the Gray Mist Rats.

In this battle, Xia Yuan seemed to be in the most danger, but in reality, it was the sword-and-shield dogs facing the swarm of Gray Mist Rats who were under the most pressure. Not only did they have to deal with more than twice the number of Gray Mist Rats, but they also faced constant threats from the air.

In a short period of time, the casualties have been heavy.

Fortunately, the brutal battle also stimulated the bloodline within the Wandering Blade & Shield, and six more Wandering Blade & Shield broke through to the Warrior Blade & Shield in succession, barely managing to maintain the battle line.

Until Xia Yuan led his troops to reinforce, what followed was a one-sided massacre...