Mist Lord

Good news came from Yunyang City.

Given that this is the first time newcomers have faced the Civilization Trial, in order to encourage them to actively participate, reward outstanding performers, and establish role models, the Alliance has decided to establish the Civilization Trial Best Newcomer Award as an incentive.

Of course, the rewards are only given to the top performers in the trials.

According to the trial rules, for the monthly trials in which level 1 and 2 lords participate, Gray Fog will select one three-star trial champion, two two-star trial champions, and three one-star trial champions from all participating factions based on their trial performance, and will announce this to all alliance lords in Gray Fog's written form.

This means the Alliance is going to give an extra reward on top of the existing Gray Fog rewards, just like the previous novice trials.

With the backing of the gray fog, there's no need to worry about being questioned about the fairness of the selection process.

The alliance has really gone all out this time, offering everything from mist bud crystals and soldier slaves to serfs. The most eye-catching reward, however, is a fourth-tier bronze gargoyle.

The Gargoyle is an advanced version of the Tier 3 Gargoyle and is extremely rare. When placed on the roof of a building, it is an ordinary bronze statue during the day, but transforms into a Gargoyle at night, patrolling its territory and hunting down any invading enemies. It is an extremely powerful nighttime guardian.

What's even better is that you don't need a contract scroll to capture gargoyles, bronze gargoyles, etc. You can simply place them on the roof of a building, such as the top of the Mist Lighthouse, and they will automatically protect the area.

For a new lord, it is an extremely valuable asset.

Anyone with eyes can see that this bronze statue ghost was a reward tailor-made for Song Jing by the alliance leader. The rewards for the next few people were also basically kept within the family.

Even Xia Yuan, who had always been in the limelight, had all his previous advantages vanished in the eyes of Tang Ce and other alliance leaders as time went on.

Although only a few days have passed, the number of third-tier experts under Song Jing's command has doubled.

What does Xia Yuan have?

It took a lot of effort to snag a Tier 3 Elf Ranger.

With only the second-tier unit, the sword-and-shield dog, it is completely impossible to compete with the heavy infantry in defense.

By the time of the trial, Song Jing will have at least ten heavily armored infantrymen, plus the support of slave soldiers provided by Tang Ce. How could Xia Yuan possibly surpass him? At best, he'll only get second place in his alliance.

Guaranteed win!!!

It is said that the fourth-tier bronze gargoyle was a spoil of war seized by Yunyang City when it was clearing out a level 6 monster stronghold. It could have been given directly to Song Jing, but instead they pulled this stunt, which was to put on a show for Song Jing.

Having been outshone by Xia Yuan three times in a row, Song Jing's aura as the newcomer king inevitably dimmed somewhat.

So Tang Ce made his move.

And when he made that move, it was an incredibly generous gesture, leaving everyone else in the league speechless.

This is the advantage of having a powerful backer.

.........

"The bronze statue ghost?"

Xia Yuan, upon receiving the message, was equally interested.

Ever since the territory expanded, mist monsters have been frequently lurking in the northern forest to harass us. It's alright during the day, with sword-and-shield dogs patrolling, but at night it's become a real headache.

The forest is likely inhabited by third- or even fourth-tier mist monsters.

If a gargoyle can be placed on top of the Misty Lighthouse, there will be no need to assign a Tier 3 expert to guard the lighthouse at night, ensuring the safety of the northern part of the territory.

However, winning the first place prize is not so easy.

The fact that the alliance leader dared to set up this scheme suggests that victory is highly likely. Furthermore, Song Jing's heavily armored infantry are naturally suited for defense, so achieving an S-rank rating shouldn't be a problem.

Xia Yuan's only advantage was that he unexpectedly chose to attack.

Offense is naturally rated higher than defense.

However, to surpass Song Jing, one must at least ensure the complete conquest of the enemy's territory, and preferably win decisively.

"That's quite a challenge."

Regardless, preparations for war in Mingguang Village are proceeding in an orderly manner.

After Xia Yuan and Satir worked together to draw up the sketches, Wang Er, Zhang Tie, and Pi Laogen got together day and night to study, experiment, improve, and jointly develop the territory's first siege vehicle.

More accurately, it's a dog siege vehicle tailor-made to the characteristics of sword and shield dogs.

The sword and shield dogs weren't idle either. In the morning, they went into the misty area to clear out mist monsters, honing their combat skills while also helping the newly recruited wandering sword and shield dogs advance, and collecting mist bud crystals along the way.

In the afternoon, under Xia Yuan's command, they used simple siege vehicles to conduct live-fire drills against the gate tower.

In the midst of our busy lives, June 28th arrived in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke, the most powerful army Mingguang Village had ever fielded was assembled. Including the sword-and-shield dogs recruited today, there were a total of 51 elite sword-and-shield soldiers and 63 wandering sword-and-shield soldiers, marking the first time the force had exceeded one hundred.

As time goes on, the potential advantages of the sword-and-shield dog unit are gradually becoming apparent. The sheer number of sword-and-shield soldiers already surpasses that of lords who have drawn second-tier units. In the future, as they break through the third-tier threshold, they will inevitably catch up with, and perhaps even surpass, third-tier units.

Especially with the addition of the War Statue, the number of Sword and Shield Dogs has expanded rapidly.

Over the past week, by clearing out the fog monsters, more than thirty wandering swordsmen have been promoted to warrior swordsmen, but more than ten wandering swordsmen have also been killed. Compared to the initial stage, the casualty rate has been greatly reduced.

However, as the frequency of battles decreased, the advancement rate of the Wanderer's Blade & Shield was not as high as before.

It is evident that the path to advancement for the Blade & Shield Dog is destined to be accompanied by battles, killings, and sacrifices; it is a bloody path forged with blood and bones.

Besides the main force of the sword-and-shield dogs, the remaining three are Black Armor, Satir, and Elua, all Tier 3 experts.

Xia Yuan and Han Bao can only play support roles at most.

Because the mist monsters will not actively attack the territory during the Civilization Trial, the attacking side can go all out without having to deploy any defensive troops.

The Civilization Trial is about to begin; please assemble your troops as soon as possible.

To avoid passive attacks, the size of the expeditionary force must not be less than 70% of the total military strength of the territory, and the lord himself must lead the expedition.

[The expedition team has been confirmed and meets the trial requirements. Teleportation is in progress.]

"Set off!"

Xia Yuan didn't give any emotional pre-battle speech. With a flash of teleportation light, he disappeared from Mingguang Village. After a dizzying moment, he appeared in the unknown misty zone.

[Successfully arrived at the outer perimeter of the target territory]

Your presence will not alert the target territory in any way. You may approach stealthily to conduct reconnaissance or launch a direct attack. This attack is valid for a maximum of ten hours.

Ten hours later, it was already dark, and Xia Yuan wouldn't dare to stay in the fog zone even if he had a lot of courage.

[Teleportation is restricted during the first half of the trial. Once the second half begins, lords not in combat can choose to teleport away. However, only after destroying the Black Stone Altar can they leave with their accompanying troops and loot…]

The Civilization Trial is inherently bloody and cruel, and it won't easily give lords any loopholes. As Xiang Yu previously suggested, using proactive attacks to avoid losses to the territory is only feasible if one can withstand the first half of the attack without being bogged down by the enemy.

Even if they manage to survive the first half of the campaign but fail to breach the Blackstone Altar in the target territory, over 70% of the expeditionary force from that territory will become casualties. Such a massive loss of troops will become increasingly unbearable as the campaign progresses.

If you're not strong enough, it's best to stick to defense.

"You little rascal, it's up to you now."

Xia Yuan patted Hanbao's head, his eyes filled with the expectations of a loving father. Although only a week had passed, Hanbao's growth was rapid. With a large amount of mist bud crystals fed to him, he had successfully broken through to the third stage and entered adolescence.

Their growth rate will slow down significantly afterward, but they are already quite good assistants, especially in reconnaissance.

[Name]: Hanbao

[Race]: A native dog with a trace of ancient celestial dog blood.

[Rank]: Third Rank

Combat Level: ★★★★

[Talent Skills]: Scent Tracking Lv2, Tengu Roar Lv2

[Note]: Growth can be accelerated by consuming Mist Sprout Crystals, continuously awakening bloodlines and breaking through ranks.

Although the upgraded version of Hanbao did not awaken any new talent skills, its original olfactory tracking and Tengu Roar were greatly enhanced. In particular, its olfactory tracking can actively sniff out hidden living creatures within a one-kilometer radius.

That's amazing!

If there's an ambush nearby, there's no way to avoid a fool sniffing out the danger...