"Crystal Towers... they can also produce [Black Crystal]. What is that stuff used for?"
Shen Xing was a little confused.
He took off his glasses, opened his phone, and went to the Hua Country Pioneer forum.
After all, it was a repository of experience from countless Pioneers who had come before; there was bound to be some relevant information inside.
He typed "Black Crystal" into the search bar. After a bit of searching, he quickly understood its purpose.
’I see. The entire Land of Mist is a ruin left behind by an ancient civilization.’
’As Pioneers explore, they’ll come across some extinguished buildings or abandoned resource points.’
’Using the [Horse Lantern] in hand, they can light these buildings and convert them into their own strongholds.’
’On top of that, these buildings also produce different resources.’
’For example, the [Black Crystal] produced by a [Black Crystal Tower] is an essential material for upgrading certain territorial buildings.’
’There’s also the [Emerald Tower], which can produce [Emeralds], an essential material used to strengthen equipment for Soldier Types.’
Shen Xing nodded in understanding, then carried the Horse Lantern and approached the black crystal spire.
HUMMM—
A sacred white light suddenly erupted from the spire, shooting high into the sky and illuminating a ten-meter radius.
At the same time, a green marker appeared on his mini-map, a distant counterpart to the white dot of his village.
’Not bad. Besides producing resources, this Crystal Tower can also serve as a way station. I can rest here for a bit during future explorations.’
’It’s just that lighting buildings like these out in the wild carries a certain probability of attracting the attention of monsters.’
High-level players would leave a portion of their forces to garrison the stronghold and prevent it from being extinguished again.
But Shen Xing obviously couldn’t do that. His forces were already insufficient in this early stage, never mind dispatching troops to garrison it.
Therefore, as a new player, he didn’t need to defend these buildings to the death.
If he came across one while exploring, he’d light it. How much [Black Crystal] it produced was simply a matter of luck.
Even if monsters extinguished it, there was no real loss.
After a short break, Shen Xing re-lit the Horse Lantern and continued to command his squad deeper into the Fog.
Along the way, they were attacked by two or three more small groups of Lost Ones, similar in number to the ones before.
But with Shen Xing’s entire squad at Level 2, not to mention a Three-Star, enhanced version of Hellish Roar, they basically steamrolled right through them.
After all the fighting, he had accumulated a total of 54 Soul Stones and 45 Vinar Silver Coins.
He also had 24 Broken Souls and one [Complete Dim Soul].
This expedition could be called quite fruitful.
He glanced at the oil in the [Horse Lantern]. Only about a third remained, which meant roughly half an hour of burn time.
’We have to go back. If we explore any further, we won’t have enough oil for the return trip.’
Shen Xing made the decisive call to lead his squad back to camp from a different direction.
As they reached a pile of jumbled rocks, Hellish Roar once again stopped in his tracks.
"Boss... I smell a beast... and the scent of metal." His nostrils twitched, his brass-colored beast eyes gazing into the distance.
’There are beasts in this world?’ Shen Xing was confused for a moment, then he remembered.
He did seem to recall reading about it on the forums. Besides the monsters in the Fog, this world was also inhabited by Magical Beasts and creatures from other Races.
The Fog, it seemed, only had a corrosive Effect on Lords and the Soldier Types under their command.
"Boss... the scent is coming from that direction." Hellish Roar pointed to the edge of the rock pile, near a raised, black earthen mound.
Shen Xing considered for a moment, then glanced at the remaining time on the Horse Lantern. "Let’s go take a look."
"Yes... Boss."
Hellish Roar grunted in acknowledgment and led the way forward.
The other Beastmen followed cautiously behind him.
Soon, the squad came to a halt before the black earthen mound.
Before them now was a pitch-black cave entrance.
The entrance was about two or three meters wide. Besides a few faint claw prints, there were also several rusty pickaxes and shovels lying nearby.
[Abandoned Black Iron Ore Vein]
[Level: Small]
[Current State: Unoccupiable]
[Mineable Black Iron Ore: 2751/6852]
[Note: An abandoned Black Iron Ore Vein. Many years ago, a group of Dwarves mined here but left due to an unforeseen incident.]
...
’It’s a Black Iron Ore Vein? Looks like there are quite a few resource points near my territory.’
This was one of the wilderness resource points mentioned in the forum guides.
The [Black Iron] produced from the vein could be used to craft weapons, armor, and more.
However, unlike a Crystal Tower, an ore vein doesn’t automatically produce resources after being claimed; you need to dispatch miners to excavate it.
Shen Xing didn’t have any miner-type units in his territory yet.
But that was no problem. Later on, he could purchase some low-level Unit Nests for units like Beastman Laborers or Goblin Workers, and then he could begin excavating.
As for the threat of the Fog, it seemed that could be solved by constructing certain special buildings.
Just as he was preparing to enter the mine to investigate, a foul wind suddenly gusted out to meet him.
"Alert!"
Shen Xing immediately pushed his wheelchair back, positioning the Beastmen to protect him.
Immediately after, a massive figure crawled out from the depths of the cave.
Gleaming black fur, a streamlined body, and sharp fangs.
It was a black wolf, nearly one and a half meters tall at the shoulder and about two meters long, with a breathtaking presence.
[Black Wolf]
[Level: 4]
[Potential: Normal ★★★]
[Attributes: Power 24, Spirit 18, Agility 27, Constitution 22]
[Skills: Sharp Claw Sweep (Swings its sharp claws in a fan-shaped area in front of it, inflicting lacerating damage and applying 3 stacks of the ’Bleeding’ Effect)
Pounce Bite (Immediately pounces on a target, dealing a large amount of single-target damage and knocking it down.)]
[Talent: None]
[Bonds: None]
[Note: A solitary black wolf. It seems to have been starving for many days.]
...
’A Level 4, Three-Star black wolf... this is a bit tricky.’
Shen Xing scanned its attribute panel. Its Agility alone was a high 27 points, almost rivaling that of Hellish Roar after his [Sacrificial Evolution].
Although his side had the advantage in numbers, he feared they would still suffer casualties if they actually fought.
He was tempted to retreat, but the black wolf had already bared its fangs. A pair of eerie, green eyes stared them down, clearly not planning to let them go.
’I’ll just have to rely on tactics.’
A thought flashed through Shen Xing’s mind, and he quickly issued his command, "Hellish Roar, flank it. The rest of you, hold the front."
ROAR—!
The black wolf had completely lost its patience. Its limbs suddenly tensed, and it shot forward like a black bolt of lightning!
It tackled one of the Beastman Infantry to the ground on the spot. Its massive, bloody maw opened wide, clamped down on the soldier’s shoulder, and began to tear ferociously.
It completely ignored the other three Beastmen hacking and smashing at its back, refusing to release its grip.
The savage nature of the wolf was on full display.
The bitten Beastman Infantry was no pushover, either.
The pain ignited its battle lust. With its still-free right hand, it swung its Stone Axe and began smashing it frantically against the black wolf’s head!
Amid the wild swings, one of the blows happened to strike the black wolf’s eye.
AWOOO!
Reeling from the pain, the black wolf finally released its jaws.
Seeing their chance, the other Beastman Infantry immediately swarmed it, their three Stone Axes descending from all directions.
The black wolf was now enraged, and it viciously swiped its front paw, sending out a gleaming arc.
—Sharp Claw Sweep!
One of the Beastman Infantry was sent flying, three bloody gashes deep enough to expose bone carved across its chest. It nearly rolled out of the light cast by the Horse Lantern.
Its fury unabated, the black wolf activated [Pounce Bite] again, tackling another Beastman Infantry.
A Level 4, Three-Star beast versus Level 2, One-Star Beastmen—it was like a father beating his son. The gap in power was just too immense.
Just as it opened its massive jaws, preparing to snap the Beastman’s neck with a single bite, it suddenly sensed the sharp sound of wind coming from its rear flank.
An instinct for danger prompted it to halt its attack and prepare to pull back to create some distance.
But at that exact moment, a large, invisible hand appeared out of thin air above its head and slammed down hard.
BANG!
The black wolf’s head was slammed downward, its gaze momentarily losing focus.
Although the blow didn’t cause much damage, it left the wolf briefly stunned.
In that instant, a green shadow shot forward like a gale.
The Iron Axe in his hands chopped down decisively, letting out a piercing shriek as it slammed viciously into the black wolf’s neck!
SQUELCH!
The Iron Axe embedded itself deep in the wolf’s flesh, slicing through its black mane and the muscle beneath, nearly chopping the dog’s—no, the wolf’s—entire head off!
Although it wasn’t an instant kill, the blow was undeniably fatal.
The black wolf’s head hung half-severed from its neck, blood gushing from the wound like a spring.
It staggered a couple of steps, its body swaying, before it finally collapsed, unwilling to accept its defeat.
THUD...
The heavy corpse slammed onto the black ground, bursting into several glittering items.
...