Mist Lord

Black Armor has broken through!

Having experienced the war with the kobolds and with the blessing of the Burial Grounds, Black Armor, who was initially at the peak of the third tier, finally made another breakthrough and stepped into the fourth tier of the extraordinary realm.

[Name]: Black Armor

[Quality]: Epic

[Occupation]: Skeleton Warrior

[Equipment]: Bone Shield, Bone Greatsword, Black Cloud Pattern Armor

[Rank]: Fourth Rank

【Main Skills】: Bone Body (Passive), Necromancer's Pact v1, Skeletal Intimidation v1, Bone Blade Enhancement v1, Bone Prison v1

[Combat Strength Assessment]: ★★★★★★

[Evaluation]: A general betrayed by his monarch, he was resurrected from the ashes of his burial ground. Endless years eroded his memories of his past life, and he returned to the world only under the name of Black Armor, still steadfastly upholding his loyal duty.

Reaching the fourth rank means stepping into the realm of the extraordinary.

As a skeletal warrior, the black-armored warrior wields an energy called necromantic element, also known as necromantic aura. By channeling necromantic aura, one can unleash a variety of extraordinary abilities.

For example, the passive skill "Body of Bones" allows you to quickly repair your damaged skeletal body with necromantic energy. "Bone Blade Enhancement" allows you to continuously enhance weapons and equipment such as bone shields and bone greatswords with necromantic energy.

For example, the Necromancer's Pact can forcibly convert a dead riding creature into a necromancer mount for the Necromancer to drive.

All of these extraordinary techniques are beyond the reach of even a third-tier expert.

"good!"

Xia Yuan was very pleased. In this way, he could finally bring the black armor to Yunyang City openly and legitimately.

It was something I wasn't really proud of before.

"I must thank my lord for providing this burial ground; otherwise, I would not have been able to break through so quickly."

Black Armor's memories have returned somewhat, and he speaks more fluently now.

"That's also because you fought bravely."

With the Burial Grounds guarding the western outskirts of the territory, one can rest easy. To the north, there are also the Mist Beacon guarded by gargoyles and bone-winged bats; only the east and south require patrols by sword-and-shield hounds.

As luck would have it, when Xia Yuan returned to the village and passed by the training camp, he saw Blade & Shield Number One rigorously training a group of Blade & Shield dogs, his attitude seemingly even harsher than he had imagined.

It's likely not only because of yesterday's battle, but also because of the stimulation from the Black Armor's breakthrough.

"My sword and shield!"

Seeing its master stop to watch, Blade & Shield No. 1 immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"have a look!"

Xia Yuan took out the military training books he had just purchased from his storage space and handed them to Blade & Shield No. 1.

"My sword and shield!"

Knife and Shield No. 1 respectfully accepted the book, curiously opened it, and found it richly illustrated, detailing how to conduct formation training, weight training, and how to integrate strict discipline into every aspect of the training.

The more I looked, the more excited I became, and in the end I couldn't help but dance with joy.

"You really can understand it?"

Xia Yuan was skeptical. How could a sword-and-shield dog that couldn't even speak be able to read and write?

"Take a look too."

As he spoke, he handed another book to a soldier with a sword and shield standing nearby.

"My sword and shield?"

The soldiers, however, looked at the swords and shields as if they were reading a book written in a foreign language; after a few glances, they lost interest.

"My sword and shield!"

Seeing this, Blade & Shield Number One was extremely pleased with himself. He tapped the Hero's Helmet on his head, as if to say that he too had been influenced by the Hero's Helmet and had gained sentience.

"A hero's helmet?"

Xia Yuan guessed that there might be some connection, but it was probably still due to the unique talent of Blade & Shield Number One. Or perhaps, like the legendary dragons, Blade & Shield Dogs possess inherited information deep within their bloodline, allowing them to know things from birth.

"Since you can understand it, let's look forward to the results of the subsequent training."

This saves Xia Yuan the trouble of teaching.

"My sword and shield!"

Blade & Shield Number One was overjoyed, as if he had opened the door to a new world. He was determined to train the Blade & Shield dogs rigorously according to the methods in the book, and not let them embarrass themselves like last time.

The urgency is even greater now that Black Armor has broken through to the fourth tier.

.........

Back in the lord's courtyard.

Xia Yuan then summoned his attendant Wang Er and militia captain Lu Chenggeng to discuss land reclamation matters.

"The territory advancement trial will end in three days, and then the great reclamation will begin. You can start preparing now. You two are both skilled in farming; do you have any suggestions?"

Clearing land is not an easy task.

How to survey the terrain, topography, and soil conditions, how to plan the direction of irrigation canals and ditches, and how to divide planting areas—none of these can be decided by Xia Yuan, an outsider, on a whim.

It is necessary to consult professionals.

"Your Excellency, this matter is of great importance, and I dare not speak presumptuously."

Having misunderstood several times, Wang Er became increasingly cautious and dared not speak recklessly again. Besides, how could a serf who had only ever farmed a few acres of meager land understand such grand land reclamation plans?

"Reporting to you, sir, my father once served as the head of the village and had some knowledge of its ins and outs. However, he was not very learned and might have hindered your important affairs."

Lu Chenggeng is indeed worthy of being chosen by Xia Yuan; he even comes from a family of village officials.

"Let's give it a try first."

Xia Yuan also realized that he might not lack fierce generals who could charge into battle, but he lacked talent in internal affairs, and even had no one to manage land reclamation.

"yes!"

Lu Chenggeng bowed and agreed, realizing that this might be an opportunity for him.

.........

Time flies, and it's now December 10th.

Over the past three days, in preparation for the coming beast tide, all the tribes in Mingguang Village have rested and prepared for war, and are just waiting for the big battle to begin.

[Time's up, the beast tide is about to arrive...]

As the gray mist text reappeared, five mist demon grasses suddenly sprouted next to the black stone altar.

"Five plants..."

Compared to the previous Level 3 Territory Trial, the difficulty has increased significantly.

As expected, the massive beast tide arrived as the gray fog surged. Although it was still the familiar combination of scorpion-tailed flies, gray fog rats, gray fog wolves, gray fog mantises, and gray widows, its size had more than doubled.

In particular, the giant worms that were stationed at the rear had increased from one to three.

Besides the mist monsters, this time the mist grass also attracted a few scattered demonic creatures from the surrounding area, such as demonic goblins, demonic kobolds, and demonic gnolls.

This shows that even after wave of exterminations, many mutated creatures still remain in the mist.

There is never any true safety.

Fortunately, Mingguang Village today is vastly different from when it was upgraded to level 3.

In terms of unit types, new additions include skeleton warriors, half-elf archers, bone-winged bats, and ballistae controlled by militia, and the army size has increased several times over.

In terms of defense, the wooden city walls have been upgraded to earthen city walls, and several new arrow towers have been added.

With continued feeding, the ground thorn grass and bramble vines have also grown vigorously, and their lethality has been greatly enhanced. They are still the trump card against the mist monsters.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Even the gray fog rats at the forefront could not escape the fate of being pierced by the ground thorns.

"Crunch! Crunch!"

The scorpion flies, which were originally a headache, have now become a feast for the bone-winged bats. Before they even flew near the earthen city wall, they had already been mostly eaten.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The half-elf archers stationed at the arrow towers, under the command of the elves Satir and Elua, became powerful ranged weapons, constantly reaping the lives of gray wolves, gray widows, and others.

"Second from the right, ready, fire!"

The skeleton warriors guarding the earthen city wall were mostly cavalrymen, and throwing javelins was their forte, far superior to the half-baked sword and shield dogs from before.

"My sword and shield!"

The sword-and-shield dogs, of course, were not intimidated at all, and all climbed onto the earthen city wall. With their agile movement and the cooperation of half-elf archers and thorny vines, they resolutely eliminated the invading enemy.

"boom!!!"

Under the command of Captain Lu Chenggeng, the militiamen skillfully operated the deadly ballistae, specifically targeting the massive gray widows and giant worms.

From the air to the ground, from melee to ranged combat, from traps to ballistae, a comprehensive and seamless crossfire network was formed, delivering wave after wave of devastating blows to the incoming beast tide.

It was less of a trial and more of a military parade rehearsal.

Originally intended as a terrifying lethal network for the kobolds, it has finally revealed its ferocious fangs, unleashing a terrifying destructive power that strikes fear into the hearts of its enemies...