Mist Lord

"Of course something's wrong!"

The kobold leader, Kaz, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.

They initially thought victory was assured when they saw that the enemy was just a bunch of ugly dogs that were even smaller than themselves.

First, a group of skeleton warriors charged out from the side, led by three skeleton knights, who went straight behind the kobolds and instantly inflicted heavy casualties on the kobold warriors.

Then a group of half-elf archers came running up from behind, harvesting the kobolds' lives like harvesting wheat.

The repulsive bone-winged bats still flew overhead, swooping down from time to time to pierce the kobolds' skulls with their sharp claws, grabbing them and flying them back into the sky before hurling them back down.

The kobolds' already scattered formation was immediately thrown into disarray.

Even the seemingly weakest ugly dogs are extremely powerful in combat. They are like madmen, and although they are not outnumbered, they still manage to overwhelm the kobold miners.

The key is that, no one knows what secret technique he used, but his body suddenly grew larger and his combat power soared during the fight.

The kobold miners on the front lines are showing signs of defeat.

"So this is what you meant by 'the enemy is almost completely worn down'?"

Kaz wished he could devour the kobold strategist alive; shouldn't they be the ones who were nearly exhausted?

My strategist has misled me!

"Chief, Chief, should we retreat first?"

The dog-headed strategist realized he had fallen into a trap and was now only thinking about saving his own life; if he stayed any longer, he feared he would all perish here.

"withdraw!"

Kaz's eyes were grim. The enemy was too powerful, and now the only option was to retreat to the camp immediately, use the terrain of the mine to block the enemy, and then escape alone through the secret passage of the mine.

"brush!"

Just as Kaz turned around, a dark blade flashed and disappeared from the shadows.

"Uh~~~"

Kaz instinctively clutched his throat, but blood continued to gush out uncontrollably; he was clearly dying. In his final moments, his eyes were filled with fear of the unknown and a longing for life.

His candle!

"Who is it? Who is it? I surrender, I surrender! Hero, hero, spare my life!"

The dog-headed strategist was so frightened that he turned pale and knelt down on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy.

"brush!"

The blade flashed again, and the kobold strategist's left Achilles tendon was severed, leaving him limp on the ground. Yet, he dared not cry out, continuing to beg for mercy and uttering oaths of surrender and loyalty.

He's clearly a formidable character.

With the death of their kobold leader, the already disadvantaged kobold army was leaderless and was quickly defeated, either surrendering or fleeing in panic into the mist.

Those few who resisted were quickly killed on the spot.

"My sword and shield!!!"

Having won another great victory, the sword-and-shield dogs were extremely excited, even forgetting their injuries, and started celebrating on the spot, banging their swords and shields together.

"My sword and shield..."

Only Blade & Shield One couldn't get excited, especially when it saw its master walking over with a dark face. It dared not say a word, like a child who knew it had made a mistake and was waiting to be scolded by its parents.

"Starting tomorrow, the sword-and-shield dogs will undergo the most rigorous military training, especially discipline drills!"

Xia Yuan's tone was calm, yet it contained an unquestionable authority.

While the sword-and-shield dogs are indeed brave in battle, this tendency to become completely engrossed in combat must be corrected. Otherwise, they might cause trouble in the future.

This time, Mingguang Village had the overall advantage, which turned what was originally planned as a defensive battle into an encirclement and annihilation battle, and still achieved a resounding victory.

But it's impossible to have such good luck every time.

Once the two sides are evenly matched, or even if the enemy has the upper hand, close cooperation between all units is required. If the sword-and-shield dogs do not obey orders, there will be big trouble.

"My sword and shield!"

Blade & Shield One immediately accepted, promising to follow the training no matter how rigorous it was.

He also realized that something was wrong.

Although the battle was won, the casualties among the sword-and-shield dogs were actually quite significant. In particular, the wandering sword-and-shield dogs, who failed to break through to the warrior sword-and-shield level, were almost entirely wiped out, demonstrating the devastation.

"Alright, let's go back to the training camp and rest!"

The battle was won after all, and Xia Yuan didn't want to damage morale or shake the fighting spirit of his troops too much. The sword-and-shield dogs were indeed reckless, but they were also genuinely brave, each and every one of them fearless of death.

They are simply born vanguards.

Since there was no need to dismantle it, Xia Yuan handed over the task of cleaning up the battlefield to Lu Chenggeng, the militia captain.

They collected the scattered weapons and equipment, fed the kobold corpses to the ground thorns and brambles, drained their flesh and blood, and then threw the skeletons into the burial ground, making sure nothing was wasted.

All the surrendered kobolds were thrown into the Demon Sealing Tower. After they absorbed the demonic energy and regained their sanity, they could be recruited as miners to mine for the territory.

Kobolds are born to mine.

After giving a few brief instructions, Xia Yuan left Elua to lead the half-elf archers to guard the base, while he, along with Satir, Celia, the black-armored warrior, and the skeleton warriors, headed towards the kobold mine.

If you arrive too late, you might get overrun by the mist monsters.

.........

"Master, it's just ahead."

During her previous reconnaissance, Celia had already determined the exact location of the mine.

The entire mountainside has been carved out into a maze of winding caves, and the damp underground winds carrying the stench of sulfur and rotten ore hit you in the face.

The cave walls were covered with claw marks of varying depths, and there were piles of rough gravel, discarded pickaxes, and broken hemp ropes everywhere. The passages were so narrow that only a hunched figure could pass through, and the side passages led in all directions.

"Woof woof~~~"

Fortunately, there was a simpleton to sniff out the way, otherwise they would have gotten lost.

The group moved slowly forward, guided by their fog lights, with Celia leading the way. Xia Yuan secretly rejoiced; thankfully, it was the kobolds who had taken the initiative. Had they led their troops to annihilate them, who knew what price they would have paid.

It's unclear who the real genius of the kobold camp is—the kobold leader who's already dead, or the kobold strategist who was thrown into the Demon Sealing Tower.

Because the kobolds had all launched their attack, the entire mine was unusually quiet.

The deeper you go underground, the more murky and stuffy the air becomes.

After walking deep into the mine, they finally found the location of the Black Stone Altar.

[Capture a blackstone altar in the wild. Please choose to capture or destroy it.]

"destroy!"

Unlike the previous demonized goblin camp, this abandoned mine can actually be used as a wilderness outpost for Mingguang Village and occupied long-term.

It provides a stable source of ore and can also serve as a base for hunting monsters in the surrounding mist.

The reason for the destruction is to prioritize obtaining black crystals to help the territory reach level 4. According to the Lord's Handbook, after a territory reaches level 4, it is possible to establish a sub-altar and retake wild strongholds.

Destroy the old before building the new, without delaying either.

"Snap!!!"

The Black Stone Altar shattered, dropping a total of 20 low-grade black crystals.

It really is a level 3 camp.

[Completely destroy the kobold camp, merit +300]

[Title promoted to third-class viscount]

After one battle after another, Xia Yuan's title had unknowingly broken through to the rank of viscount.

Of course, the further you go, the harder it becomes to advance in rank.

For example, it only takes 1000 merit points to be promoted to a third-class viscount, but it takes 2000 merit points to be promoted to a second-class viscount, which is more than all the previous requirements combined.

A temporary lead is not enough to make Xia Yuan complacent.

Not far from the Blackrock Altar was the residence of the kobold leader, where a corner was piled with dull copper ore, broken silver coins, rusty weapons, worthless glass beads, and boxes of candles.

The most valuable item was a bag of mist bud crystals, which, after a rough count, numbered over seven hundred.

The mutated creatures are unable to condense mist bud crystals within their bodies, nor can they increase their combat level by absorbing mist bud crystals, yet they live by hunting mist monsters.

Over time, a large amount of mist bud crystals accumulated.

These mutated creatures are quite pitiful, to be honest. Take the kobolds for example; they can't exchange any of the ores they mine or the mist bud crystals they collect for food.

They can only be left to gather dust in a corner, and in the end, they all benefit lords like Xia Yuan.

"Master, there is a secret prison here!"

Celia, who was exploring the area, soon discovered the cell next door where the human elders were being held.

"You're here?"

In the dimly lit prison, the old man slowly raised his head. His face was withered, his whole body was surrounded by black mist, but deep in his eyes, there seemed to be a sword light flashing, making it impossible to look directly at him.

watch carefully.

A rusty black greatsword was stuck in the corner of the cell, radiating a chilling aura.