Lord: My troops can evolve indefinitely.

"As for the issues of conflict and duplication, we can only wait and see if they can be resolved through subsequent evolution."

Luo Xuan pondered to himself and then told Shen Ce about his request.

"Could you get me a Poison Fin Sea Serpent unit card? Just the lowest quality white is fine. I'll study it first."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ce immediately agreed.

"White is no problem, but green or blue will be a bit more complicated."

"I can get it for you in three days at most, and I'll let you know then," Shen Ce said.

"By the way, do you have any equipment that increases leadership? I can borrow it temporarily. The bonus doesn't need to be too high, just one or two points will be enough."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ce was somewhat puzzled, but considering their long-standing relationship, he decided after a moment's thought to lend Luo Xuan a necklace that would increase his leadership stat.

This was something Luo Xuan suddenly thought of.

His current leadership value is already full, and even with new troop types, he hasn't undergone any transformation or evolution, so he needs additional leadership value.

If you choose to eliminate a skeleton soldier to free up leadership points, isn't that still a waste?

As for why Luo Xuan didn't go directly to the gathering place to trade as before...

That's because we're currently in the midst of the Scourge, and all the lords are desperately trying to strengthen themselves.

Therefore, the leadership value bonus equipment that was not favored by everyone in the past has now seen its price rise, and it is no longer the bargain price that Luo Xuan bought back then.

The key issue isn't the money; if it were cash, Luo Xuan would have gritted his teeth and bought it.

However, now trading requires in-game resources or other items.

Luo Xuan himself didn't have enough of these things, so how could he possibly offer them for trade? Thus, a stalemate ensued.

This is also why Luo Xuan's leadership value hasn't increased for a long time.

"What do you want?" Luo Xuan asked.

Since it's a transaction, a price must be paid, especially since I'll need to borrow equipment from Shen Ce later.

"Um..." Upon hearing this, Shen Ce hesitated for a moment, "Just settle the payment with timber according to the basic recruitment price."

Upon hearing this, Luo Xuan nodded. He lacked everything else, but he had no shortage of wood.

Luo Xuan has resource points, and wood is the most abundant of all resources.

Upon seeing Luo Xuan agree, Shen Ce's face lit up with joy, but he then poured out his grievances:

"You have no idea, timber resources are really scarce on the island!"

"Every time I need it, I have to be frugal and piece it together from various sources."

"There must be large islands that are rich in timber, right?"

Luo Xuan was somewhat uncertain.

According to the information he had read, the Naga people were not only able to swim freely on the sea.

In order to dominate the vast seas, they also possessed extremely advanced shipbuilding technology.

"Yes, there are, but such large islands are all in the hands of the Naga, and I have no way of getting in touch with them."

Shen Ce explained.

. . . . . .

Two days later, in the afternoon, Luo Xuan and Shen Ce met at a milk tea shop in real life.

"Hey, this is my coral necklace. Wearing it will increase your leadership stat by a little."

As he spoke, Shen Ce took out a coral necklace from his lord's space that looked somewhat like a child's toy.

"Don't laugh. This is the first piece of equipment I ever got in the game. It's very valuable as a keepsake."

Seeing Luo Xuan's somewhat amused expression, Shen Ce exclaimed.

"Hey, don't lose it! Return it to me as soon as you're done using it!"

Shen Ce muttered to himself as he handed the necklace to Luo Xuan.

The rough texture traveled along the necklace to Luo Xuan's palm, and he gently grasped the coral necklace.

"Don't worry, I'll return it to you intact in a couple of days."

"Here you go, this is the Poison Fin Sea Serpent unit card you requested."

Then, Shen Ce took out a unit card.

"Thanks." Luo Xuan picked up the card and expressed his gratitude, while also handing over the 100 units of wood that he had prepared in advance to Shen Ce.

"Hey, didn't you give me too much?" Shen Ce noticed that the amount was different from what the two of them had agreed on.

"It's not much, consider it rent for the necklace." Luo Xuan raised the necklace in his hand and shook it gently.

Upon hearing this, Shen Ce no longer refused and accepted it.

"By the way, have you heard any news?" Shen Ce asked mysteriously.

After completing the transaction, the two did not leave immediately, but began to chat casually and share information.

"What news? I haven't heard anything special lately," Luo Xuan asked, puzzled.

Although Luo Xuan had focused on the game these past few days, he would still log in to the forum as usual when he was offline to rest, and he did not find out that anything major had happened recently.

"Oh dear, have you forgotten what Captain Zhao said before?" Shen Ce said hurriedly.

"What?" Luo Xuan took a leisurely sip of the milk tea in his hand. The refreshing grape pulp mixed with the juice entered his mouth, bringing him a wonderful feeling.

In the hot summer, having a cup of milk tea once in a while is really refreshing.

"No way? You really forgot?! It's about what Captain Zhao said before, that Director Jiang has already gone to report to his superiors." Shen Ce reminded him.

Upon hearing Shen Ce's words, Luo Xuan's eyes narrowed, and he remembered this matter as well.

In that incident, although the Two Elements Division took the initiative, they instead fell into a trap set by the Cult of Spirituality.

Although they ultimately thwarted the enemy's plot through overall strength, it also resulted in the permanent loss of many lives.

Ye Cheng, a third-tier lord in Luo Xuan's group, also died tragically at that time, while the other two second-tier lords, Lin Mufeng and Ding Qisong, were also seriously injured.

How could Luo Xuan forget this matter? It's just that Shen Ce's question was too broad, and Luo Xuan hadn't thought about it at the time.

Judging from Shen Ce's words, it seems that this matter has been resolved?

Luo Xuan immediately became interested: "What do you mean? Is there any latest news?"

"I heard that the higher-ups are furious about this attack and plan to hold an exchange with multiple countries to discuss the complete eradication of the Xieling Cult."

"?" Luo Xuan looked at Shen Ce in shock.

"No, what's wrong?" Shen Ce looked at Luo Xuan's expression, somewhat puzzled.

"Dude, who are you? How do you get this kind of top-level information? I bet even Captain Zhao isn't as well-informed as you, right?"

"The rest is all my speculation, but the news that Great Xia is preparing to form an exchange team is true."

Shen Ce explained.

Luo Xuan still looked at Shen Ce suspiciously: "Stop pretending. If you're a second-generation gamer, just say so. I'm not the kind of guy with a strong sense of pride who can't accept your identity and then gives up on himself."

"I'm very good at doing tough jobs like sucking up to powerful people."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ce was both amused and exasperated.