Mist Lord

"Master, Master, is this for me?"

Looking at the 75 mist bud crystals, Satir was like a startled fawn, completely at a loss.

"certainly!"

Xia Yuan forcefully shoved the Mist Sprout Crystal into Satir's hand, "Before, due to limited resources, we could only prioritize upgrading the Sword and Shield Dogs. Now that they've almost finished upgrading, it's your turn."

In several consecutive major battles, it would have been almost impossible to win without Satir; those who made contributions should not be constantly overlooked.

"With your increased strength, I'll have more confidence in tomorrow's beginner trial, won't I?"

"Thank you, Master!"

Satir knew she had no reason to refuse, and her heart warmed.

.........

Yunyang Restaurant.

Just as Mingguang Village launched its advancement trial, the gathering in the private room was also drawing to a close.

The atmosphere was lively and bustling, with toasts and laughter filling the air.

Sitting in the main seat, Song Jing was naturally the undisputed focus and center of attention. All the topics revolved around him, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and everyone smiled at him, whether sincerely or insincerely.

Not to mention the three outstanding newcomers, Wu Qianqian, Xiao Xiong, and Zhou Kui, even Zhao Wu, the specially invited newbie guide, seemed somewhat humble in front of Song Jing.

If the Yanxia Alliance were a sect, then Song Jing would undoubtedly be the sect's holy son.

What can Zhao Wu compare to?

Let alone a mere level 3 lord like him, even more than 90% of level 5 lords still fail to draw a tier 3 unit after obtaining their third barracks.

The rarity and power of Tier 3 units are evident.

How could anyone not be envious and jealous of someone like Song Jing, whose starting unit is already Tier 3? Others are born as cattle or horses, but he was born in Rome; no wonder their statuses are worlds apart.

If Zhao Wu is like this, then Chen Wei, whom he brought along, is only fit to stand and serve tea and water.

Liu Qingyan, who could act coquettishly in front of Xiao Xiong, was now busy running around like a maid, not even hoping to win Song Jing's favor, just to get acquainted with him.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Song Jing appeared gentle, but inwardly he was already impatient. If it weren't for the task assigned by the alliance leader, he wouldn't have bothered with these people's pretense.

Do you really think he's stupid?

As the event was about to end, Song Jing gave Wu Qianqian, Xiao Xiong, and Zhou Kui 20 Mist Sprout Crystals each, as a small token of support from the alliance for these outstanding newcomers.

"Thank you, Alliance Leader! Thank you, Big Brother!"

Wu Qianqian and the other two smiled and thanked them. Although the reward was far below their expectations, something was better than nothing. Didn't they see that Chen Wei and Liu Qingyan were completely ignored?

The weak have no right to have opinions.

.........

City Lord's Mansion.

The gathering at Yunyang Restaurant had just ended when Tang Ce received news that he had only given away 60 of the 300 Mist Sprout Crystals he had prepared for Song Jing, but he just laughed it off.

To him, who Song Jing was, what kind of person he was, and even what his abilities were, were all irrelevant. As long as Song Jing's heavy infantry could ultimately serve him, that was enough.

Before slaughtering a pig, the piglets must first be raised to be strong and fat.

.........

Star-Picking City.

Li Mingyu has great ambitions, and he named his territory "Star-Picking".

He was now somewhat displeased. Despite two days of thorough investigation and setting up a trap, he still couldn't catch Xia Yuan.

This made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

I thought there would be a chance today, since tomorrow is the novice trial. Even if Xia Yuan tries to tough it out, he should at least be able to go into the city to buy some war supplies.

In the end, there was still no trace of them.

"...I hope I don't die during the newbie trial tomorrow?"

If that were the case, then his actions these past few days would truly become a joke, and he might even have to bear the stigma of "forcing newcomers to their deaths."

After all, respect for the dead is paramount.

.........

Night fell quickly.

Before nightfall, Zhang Tie and his men had indeed gathered enough resources to begin upgrading and constructing the wooden city wall and the fog lighthouse. Thorns and vines had also sprouted from the ground.

To celebrate the daytime victory, Mingguang Village held its first bonfire barbecue party.

The upgraded sword and shield dogs were back to full strength, eating roasted meat and dancing strange dances around the campfire, creating a lively and festive atmosphere. The children's faces showed happy smiles, and Wang Xiaohua even boldly handed Xia Yuan a skewer of roasted meat.

"Thanks!"

Xia Yuan smiled as he accepted the grilled meat, raised his glass, and said, "There's another fierce battle tomorrow, so let's celebrate our victory with water instead of wine for now. If we win again tomorrow, we'll drink until we drop!!!"

"Respect the master!"

"My sword and shield!!!"

Xia Yuan's toast undoubtedly brought the banquet atmosphere to a climax, and everyone was in high spirits.

.........

As the time drew near, Wu Qianqian, Xiao Xiong, and the others who had attended the daytime gathering all stayed in their respective lord's cabins, preparing to promote the gathering in the group chat.

This was not only to curry favor with Song Jing, but also to take the opportunity to solidify their position in the newcomer circle.

This establishes the company's leading role.

Even a minor maid like Liu Qingyan is preparing to make a good appearance in the group chat; some people want to be maids but can't even get the chance.

Time quickly came to 7 p.m., and the gray fog text appeared on time.

[The Mist Chat Group is now open...]

[Xia Yuan's territory has been detected to have reached level 2. You have automatically become the chat group owner...]

The group owner has muted the number of members in the chat group...

What happened?

【? ? ? 】

Upon seeing the group announcement, Wu Qianqian, Xiao Xiong, and the others were completely stunned. They were just waiting to make a big splash, but before they could even speak, they received a huge "surprise."

How did Xia Yuan's territory reach level 2?

[...This doesn't seem right, could there be a mistake?]

Xia Yuan has barely spoken in the group chat these past two days. Besides being considered a taboo topic, he has also been seen as a sign of weakness by some lords, who have suppressed him to the point that he doesn't dare to utter a single word.

I heard that they still don't dare to enter Yunyang City.

Many people speculated that Xia Yuan had probably drawn a Tier 1 unit, or even some cannon fodder like a goblin. Otherwise, given his previous spree of killing Li Aoyu, he shouldn't be so cowardly.

Without any warning, a huge firecracker suddenly went off.

Can a newbie really reach level 2 territory in just three days?

Even Song Jing, the holy son of the sect, couldn't achieve that.

The chat group, which should have been bustling with activity, has now fallen into an eerie silence.

No one dared to speak casually.

Most newcomers dared not offend Song Jing, nor did they dare offend Xia Yuan, a taboo subject.

Xia Yuan is just too strange.

[Xiao Xiong: @Xia Yuan, regardless of whether there's a mistake or not, you should voluntarily hand over the group admin position to Brother Song. This position isn't one you can hold onto securely; who in the group respects you?]

At crucial moments, it was Xiao Xiong, that ruthless guy, who took the initiative to bring up the topic and even tried to deliberately obscure the facts.

[Xiao Xiong has been banned from posting for 3 days by the group administrator...]

【…】

Seeing Xiao Xiong get instantly killed as soon as he showed his face, no one dared to speak up anymore. Xia Yuan was still the ruthless man who dared to kill Li Aoyu in the street. The reason he didn't speak before wasn't because he was afraid, but simply because he disdained to.

Who would dare to mess with them?

Uh, isn't anyone worried about tomorrow's newbie trial?

How can I not be worried? We only have so few small troops; it's hard to say whether we can hold out.

If you can't hold on, you'll die.

[Your joke upstairs is so lame, it's not funny at all.]

The subsequent chat mainly revolved around the novice trial, with everyone carefully avoiding Xia Yuan as if nothing had happened.

While the power struggles among the powerful are certainly exciting, the survival of the ordinary people is of utmost importance.

Wu Qianqian and the others would not be foolish enough to publicize the daytime gathering, lest they embarrass Song Jing in public.

have to.

Now there's another taboo in the group.

.........

Song Village.

Upon seeing the group announcement, Song Jing was indeed filled with shame and indignation, feeling as if his face had been stomped into mud, burning with pain.

What is this?

A lowly pawn he had never paid attention to suddenly appeared ahead of him and was the first to reach level 2.

That was a really painful slap in the face.

Originally, this matter didn't really concern him much, and he didn't care about the grudges between Xia Yuan and Li Mingyu. But since he was put in the position of the elder brother, he was destined to be compared with Xia Yuan.

There's no way to avoid it.

"...A level 2 territory?"

With Song Village's strength, destroying one or two monster camps wouldn't be difficult. The challenge was accurately locating the monster camps in the fog and ensuring they didn't get lost along the way. Unfortunately, this delay allowed Xia Yuan to take advantage of the situation.

Who doesn't know that Xia Yuan is accompanied by a third-tier elven archer?

Whether it will work or not depends on tomorrow's novice trial.

Although caught off guard, Song Jing did not panic. His third-tier troops were his greatest strength, and with each passing day, Song Village's power would crush the enemy by a greater margin.

Time is always on his side; a single act of taking a shortcut is nothing compared to the long-term consequences.

As for the honor of winning first place in tomorrow's novice trial, Song Jing is determined to win. In any case, unexpectedly losing his position as group leader has ultimately affected his prestige among the newcomers.

We must respond resolutely!!!