Mist Lord

Xia Yuan took out a sweeping scroll and slowly unfurled it, revealing a map of the fog.

In the center is a level 3 goblin camp, surrounded by five level 2 goblin outposts. Once the sweep begins, the ten lords will pair up and descend upon the outer outposts first. After sweeping the outer outposts, they will work together to annihilate the central camp, thus completing the sweep mission.

Please select your landing point three minutes before the sweep begins; otherwise, you will be considered to have forfeited.

Outpost 1 (Nothing special)

Outpost 2 (holds one human prisoner)

Outpost 3 (with a secret passage leading to the central camp)

Outpost 4 (surrounded by various traps)

Outpost 5 (Nothing special)

The hidden information was still incredibly effective, giving Xia Yuan a glimpse of the possibility of turning the tables. If he chose base 3, after eliminating the opponent who had also descended upon base 3, could he launch a direct attack on the enemy's heartland?

At that time, it remains to be seen who will be the mantis and who will be the oriole.

Xia Yuan didn't rush to make a choice. As the first-place finisher in the trial, he had the right to choose first. If he didn't choose, the other nine would have to wait.

If you make your choice three minutes before the sweep begins, there will be no way to collude.

The most ingenious part is that even if Xia Yuan chooses Outpost 3, his name won't be displayed; it will only show that he's selected. Who knows which unlucky soul, or someone with ulterior motives, will also arrive at Outpost 3?

"You wanted to play? Then have fun..."

Xia Yuan could have taken a step back and avoided the risk. But why take a step back? He didn't have the strength to eliminate Li Mingyu yet, so couldn't he at least eliminate his lackeys first?

The two are mortal enemies, and there is no room for compromise or retreat between them.

Just do it!

.........

As the noise subsided and night fell, the aroma of roasted meat still wafted enticingly from the crackling campfire.

"Eat more, there's a tough battle ahead tomorrow."

Xia Yuan smiled and handed a skewer of grilled meat to Blade & Shield No. 1.

"My sword and shield!"

After the daytime battle, Blade & Shield No. 1 was clearly not satisfied. When he heard that there was another fight, his eyes lit up, and he didn't know what fear was at all.

What a fierce general!

At this rate of combat, it probably won't be long before Blade & Shield No. 1 breaks through to the third tier.

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

[1, 2, 3, 4…401]

Other members couldn't see the number of people in the chat group, but Xia Yuan, as the group owner, could. A novice trial almost caused the number of new members this year to drop below four hundred, demonstrating its brutality.

But this isn't the hardest part; the hardest part is the upcoming first civilization trial.

Who knows how many newcomers will be eliminated by then?

Although Xia Yuan's comeback during the day was spectacular, no one mentioned it in the group chat. Both Xia Yuan and Song Jing had become taboo subjects; no one would be foolish enough to provoke them.

Even Wu Qianqian and the others remained silent, which shows that they were being suppressed so much that they had no face to show off.

In this newbie trial, several so-called dark horses have emerged from the top ten. For example, Zhao Zihao, who ranked sixth, was revealed today to have a cousin, Zhao Zihang, who is a level 5 lord. He's really been hiding his true strength.

Xiang Yu, who ranked seventh, is said to be a retired special forces soldier. He managed to train a group of militiamen into an army and break through the encirclement in one fell swoop. He turned the boast that someone had been making in the group chat into reality.

Even Liu Qingyan, who was ridiculed, did not come away empty-handed, managing to secure tenth place.

Each has its own methods.

.........

June 22, 1031.

"Huff! Huff!"

As soon as dawn broke, Xia Yuan got up to practice his swordsmanship and fighting skills. Although his progress was slow, his persistence paid off.

Just one night later, his insect armor underwent a dramatic change. Although it was still crimson in color, the area it covered extended from his chest armor to his shoulder guards, arm guards, and other parts, and the keratin became tougher.

In terms of protective capabilities, the second-tier insect armor is already comparable to the fish scale armor.

The insect shell, though close to the skin, wasn't cold; instead, it felt warm like jade. Adding another layer of leather armor over it ensured survival even if struck by arrows.

Each swing of the blood-red blade in his hand brought forth a trace of eerie red light.

On the other side of the open ground, Blade & Shield One was leading a pack of Blade & Shield dogs in their early morning training. He not only had to roll up the armor himself, but also had to get his men to do it with him.

Time was fast approaching nine o'clock in the morning.

The sweep operation is about to begin. Please choose your landing point as soon as possible, otherwise it will be considered as a forfeit.

"Choose location 3!"

At the very last moment, Xia Yuan made his choice slowly and deliberately.

[Select Confirm]

[The beginner sweep scroll can only carry a maximum of fifteen people, including the lord. Please select your expedition team.]

Black Armor, Satie (who has already been upgraded to five and a half stars), the simpleton, and Sword and Shield No. 1 are definitely going to be included. The remaining ten slots will also be filled with brave soldiers and sword and shield warriors, the elite of the elite.

Although doing this would likely expose some of his trump cards, these were the very cards Xia Yuan originally wanted to reveal to the outside world.

Otherwise, how would we attract big lords to place bets?

[Expedition confirmed. The sweep operation will last up to five hours. Outside of combat, you can tear open the sweep scroll at any time to teleport back to your territory...]

With a flash of white light, Xia Yuan and his group disappeared from the spot.

Right after Xia Yuan disappeared, the other nine lords also made their choices one after another.

Song Jing ranked second.

With Alliance Leader Tang Ce as his backer, Song Jing didn't need to be coerced into participating in this conspiracy. However, after Li Mingyu paid a full two hundred Mist Sprout Crystals, he still agreed that no matter which one Xia Yuan chose, he would choose Stronghold 1.

This directly exposed Xia Yuan's location.

Xiao Xiong, ranked third, was the leader of this ambush plan. The fact that there were candidates at both stronghold 1 and stronghold 3 proved that Xia Yuan not only came, but was definitely at stronghold 3.

"You chose this yourself, so don't blame me if you die!"

If it were Xiao Xiong, knowing it was a trap, he would never have taken the risk.

As planned, Xiao Xiong decisively chose Xia Yuan's next target – Outpost 4.

To ambush Xia Yuan, teamwork is required; he's not going to rush in and throw his life away. Does he really think Xia Yuan is made of clay? He was the first to reach level 2 territory and then surpassed Song Jing to take first place in the trial. Who knows what other trump cards he's holding?

Wu Qianqian, who was ranked fourth, saw that there were people choosing locations 1, 3, and 4. Following the pre-arranged rules, she quickly locked onto Xia Yuan's location and chose location 4 as well.

This not only allowed them to successfully reunite with Xiao Xiong, but also conveniently marked the location of Xia Yuan for the next target.

Zhou Kui is ranked fifth.

Outpost 4 was already full, so it must be an allied force, and Xia Yuan must be at Outpost 3. In order not to cause trouble for the next person and to point out the direction, he decisively chose Outpost 1 to meet up with Song Jing.

Zhao Zihao is ranked sixth.

据点1跟据点4都满员，只据点3孤零零一个，情况不言而明，他果断选了夹在据点1跟据点4之间的据点5。

Xiang Yu is ranked seventh.

He really didn't want to get involved in such a conspiracy and infighting, but when you're in the world of martial arts, you can't help yourself. He could choose not to participate, but he absolutely couldn't cause trouble, so he chose stronghold 5 as a result.

Lu Quan is ranked eighth.

He actually had no other choice but to choose stronghold 2.

Chen Wei is ranked ninth.

He could only choose between stronghold 2 and stronghold 3. Since stronghold 4, which follows stronghold 3, was already full, it was basically certain, according to the pre-agreed rules, that Xia Yuan would be at stronghold 3.

They had no choice but to grit their teeth and choose base 3 to reunite with Xia Yuan.

Chen Wei's task was to use his acquaintance with Xia Yuan to stall Xia Yuan as much as possible, so as to buy time for the others to surround the stronghold 3.

Li Mingyu was unaware that Xia Yuan could disguise himself and infiltrate Yunyang City, and therefore did not know that in Xia Yuan's eyes, Chen Wei, the traitor, had already been thoroughly exposed.

Chen Wei certainly didn't want to be the bait, but how could things go as planned?

Offending Xia Yuan might offer a sliver of hope, but offending Li Mingyu would mean certain death.

.........

"Spread out and prepare for an ambush!"

As soon as they landed, Xia Yuan didn't even have time to look around. He put the fog light in his hand on the ground and quickly retreated into the nearby fog with Han Bao.

If Song Jing cooperates even slightly, his choice of position will most likely be exposed.

No matter who comes, they will be killed as soon as they land.