Mist Lord

"May I ask your esteemed name, senior?"

Seeing that the old man had an Eastern face, Xia Yuan immediately felt a sense of goodwill towards him.

"I've long forgotten my name, just call me Sword Demon."

"..."

Surprisingly, this old man quite enjoys showing off. "It seems Senior Sword Demon knew we were coming?"

"You need not test me. I was corrupted by demonic energy in my younger days and am now barely able to suppress it. I pose no threat to you. It was indeed I who instructed the kobolds to drive away the mist monsters to attack our territory."

The Sword Demon's murky eyes seemed to be able to easily see into people's hearts.

"Would you be willing to join Mingguang Village, senior?"

It turns out that the so-called "great wisdom" of the kobold camp was nothing more than the Sword Demon Elder's ulterior motive. His goal was to help Xia Yuan, an ally he had never met, eliminate the kobold camp.

This would allow them to join the territory, enter the Demon Sealing Tower, and suppress the demonic energy within their bodies.

"Mingguang Village? What a nice name!"

Seeing Xia Yuan's Eastern face, and that he was a purebred Chinese from Yanxia, ​​the Sword Demon Elder was actually quite relieved. He had been worried that it might be a territory of another race, which would have been a real problem.

The alien races will not truly trust him; the previous kobold leader is a case in point.

[Name]: Sword Demon

[Class]: Magic Swordsman

[Rank]: Fifth Rank

【Main Skills】: Crescent Moon Slash, Rising Dragon Strike, Earth Shattering Slash, Heaven and Earth Cross Sword, Heavenly Thunder Flash

Combat Level: ★★★☆

[Evaluation]: Once a fifth-tier powerhouse, his strength was greatly diminished after being corrupted by demonic energy, leaving him on the verge of complete demonization. He needs to stay in the Demon Sealing Tower year-round to suppress the demonic energy within his body.

"Fifth tier!!!"

Xia Yuan never expected to encounter a legendary fifth-tier expert in an obscure kobold camp. This was someone even Yunyang City didn't have.

What is the concept of fifth order?

That's a realm that only legendary Titans, Behemoths, dragons, and battle angels can tread; it's the pinnacle of the Misty Continent.

He's always been like a dragon whose head is seen but whose tail is never seen.

Unfortunately, for a long time to come, the Sword Demon, this fifth-tier powerhouse, will be confined to the Demon Sealing Tower, at most serving as a mascot and helping to guard it.

But no matter what, it's still one more glimmer of hope, isn't it?

.........

Having rescued the old sword demon and taken all the spoils, their trip to the kobold camp was now over. Even the kobold cubs were taken back to their territory and imprisoned in the Demon-Sealing Tower.

This not only increased the population but also provided an opportunity to appease the kobold captives.

Back in their territory, the battlefield had been cleaned up.

Xia Yuan immediately summoned all the generals to the council hall to discuss the gains and losses of this battle, reward those who made contributions, and discuss the subsequent upgrade of the territory to level 4.

Those attending the meeting included Skeleton General Black Armor, Half-Elf Commander Satir, Deputy Commander Elua, Shadow Assassin and Bone-Winged Bat Commander Celia, Blade-Shield Dog Leader Blade-Shield Number One, and Militia Captain Lu Chenggeng.

They can all be considered the best of their time.

Unbeknownst to him, Xia Yuan gradually gathered a group of capable military commanders around him.

Elua was the first to report the battle losses: "42 Wandering Swordsmen and Shields were killed in this battle, leaving 38. 12 Warrior Swordsmen and Shields were killed, and with those that advanced during the battle, there are a total of 97 remaining."

Without a doubt, the Blade & Shield Dog suffered the heaviest casualties in this battle.

Despite their malnutrition, the kobolds were notoriously ruthless. Their pickaxes were not only excellent for mining, but they were also ruthless in combat.

The fierce battle also led to the advancement of more than forty wandering swordsmen and shieldmen.

Unfortunately, so far, only the Blade & Shield No. 1 has broken through to Tier 3. This shows that although the Blade & Shield Dog has great potential, Tier 3 is still a huge hurdle that cannot be easily crossed.

Even so, its potential still surpasses that of ordinary Tier 2 units.

It has only been 20 days since the day of its arrival. If we calculate that we can only recruit 3 second-tier troops per day, there can only be a maximum of 60 troops. However, there are already as many as 97 soldiers with swords and shields.

Of course, this is also due to the presence of war statues.

"Two half-elf archers have been killed, five wounded, and 26 remain."

At this point, Elua, the half-elf vice-commander, felt somewhat helpless. To be honest, the half-elf casualties in this battle were not high, but without reinforcements, every fallen soldier was a loss.

If this continues, the half-elf archer unit will likely become a mere shell of its former self in the territory.

"Seven skeleton warriors have been killed, leaving two skeleton knights and 28 skeleton warriors."

Because they were tasked with a major offensive, the skeleton warriors also suffered considerable casualties in this battle. Those who were wounded were relatively easy to heal; they could slowly regenerate upon returning to the Burial Grounds, a process similar to that of the Sword and Shield Dog Training Camp.

This is another aspect in which territory troops are superior to slave troops; they are naturally suited to serve as the main force.

Besides, two bone-winged bats were accidentally killed by the kobolds, leaving 27 remaining. The militia, having not been assigned combat duties, suffered only one fatal injury after accidentally entering the battlefield; the others were unharmed.

Overall, it was a resounding victory.

On the other hand, the kobolds suffered heavy losses: their leader was killed, their strategist crippled, and their warriors were either dead or wounded. Including the kobold cubs, only 168 were ultimately imprisoned in the Demon Sealing Tower, a mortality rate exceeding half.

That's brutal!

Later in the battle, the kobolds wanted to surrender, but the kobolds with swords and shields wouldn't let them, insisting on fighting to the death.

After this battle, including heroes like Black Armor, Satir, Elua, and Celia, as well as quasi-heroes, the total number of active and registered soldiers in Mingguang Village was 223.

There are still 97 troops needed to reach the maximum troop size for a level 3 territory.

However, due to the arrival of the kobold captives, the territory's population has exceeded the 640-person limit. This means that starting tomorrow, the Blade & Shield Dog Training Camp and the Burial Grounds will be unable to recruit.

There are two solutions.

First, immediately upgrade the territory to level 4 to increase the territory's population cap.

Secondly, some slaves were sold to free up some population quotas.

Xia Yuan is prepared to take a two-pronged approach, and will soon launch a trial to upgrade his territory to level 4.

According to the Lord's Handbook, there should be three days to prepare. Therefore, tomorrow we can go to Yunyang City to sell some of the kobold slaves in order to continue recruiting soldiers.

There's no point in continuing to drag it out.

Although after upgrading to level 4 territory, you will most likely be matched with a level 4 lord in next month's Civilization Trial. Moreover, they will most likely be veteran lords from last year or even the year before, so the pressure will be immense.

But we cannot stop moving forward because of this.

If we don't upgrade now, there will still be more than a month until the Level 3/4 Territory Civilization Trial on the 25th of next month. The territory area and population of Mingguang Village will be locked and unable to advance any further.

A little over a month is enough time for Song Jing and his team to catch up with, or even surpass, them.

The hard-won lead can vanish in an instant.

This is not a simple battle of egos. Mingguang Village's achievements today are not only due to the help of a special factor, but also to the various rewards for winning.

Once this support is lost, they will at least be unable to compete with Song Jing, if not become mediocre.

Let alone confronting Li Mingyu.

In view of this, Xia Yuan could only carry Mingguang Village forward without daring to slacken in the slightest.

.........

Before launching the territory upgrade trial, the rewards for the war to eliminate the kobolds must be distributed first.

"Celia!"

"Owner!"

"You made the greatest contribution in this battle, this is a reward."

Xia Yuan took out a bag of mist bud crystals, a total of five hundred.

From initial intelligence gathering to slaying the kobold leader on the front lines, and then to exploring the mines, Celia has repeatedly distinguished herself and deserves a reward.

"Thank you, Master!"

After receiving the bag containing the mist bud crystals, Celia was at a loss for words.

She couldn't help but think of the previous lord, Nakamura Teppei, who claimed to trust and rely on her so much, yet he only bestowed upon her less than a hundred Mist Sprout Crystals in total.

In comparison, the difference is obvious.

Celia was indeed a hero before, but after being defeated and captured, and signing a master-servant contract, her status changed to that of a soldier slave like Satir. This bag of Mist Sprout Crystals is enough to raise her from six and a half stars to seven stars, further enhancing her strength.

Black Armor, Elua, and even militia captain Lu Chenggeng all received different rewards.

In this battle, Black Armor and his skeleton warriors served as the backbone, and at a crucial moment, he led two skeleton knights to break the kobold formation and cut them in half. Otherwise, the casualties among the sword-and-shield kobolds would have been even greater.

After distributing the rewards, only the Sword and Shield Number One was overlooked…