"AWOO!"
The Warg cried out in pain, its entire head smashed downwards.
Its eyes reddened as it violently raised its head, as if trying to find its attacker.
However, when it saw Hellish Roar’s nearly two-meter-tall, burly frame and his explosive muscles...
Its expression instantly changed from that of a ferocious wolf to a docile husky.
"How dare you... disrespect the boss. You’re looking to die!"
But Hellish Roar didn’t care if it was a wolf or a dog. Daring to offend Shen Xing was an unforgivable sin.
He grabbed the Warg by the neck, and his iron-like fists rained down on it!
The Si Dong Fist... no, the Beastman Iron Fist fell again and again.
His left fist dealt heavy damage, and so did his right.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
The Warg shrieked endlessly under the assault, fangs and blood flying through the air.
"AWOO! AWOO!"
It desperately wanted to fight back, but the difference in strength was too vast for it to break free.
"Alright, stop."
Only when his boss’s voice sounded from behind did Hellish Roar stop his barrage and toss the Warg to the ground.
Shen Xing wheeled himself closer and saw the beast lying on the ground, on the verge of death, yet its lupine eyes still held a trace of defiance.
Shen Xing wasn’t surprised. Beasts were ferocious by nature, especially a Two-Star Warg like this one.
’It’s obviously impossible to make it submit with just one beating.’
"Blood Roar, this one’s yours. Go ahead and break its spirit."
From a short distance away, Blood Roar immediately responded in a loud voice, "No problem, Boss!"
"I love playing games with beasts."
He stared at the dying Warg on the ground, a strange, eerie light glowing in his yellow pupils as saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Feeling Blood Roar’s gaze, the Warg on the ground suddenly trembled, a bad premonition rising in its heart.
Blood Roar eagerly ran over, dragged the Warg, and ducked into a small wooden cabin nearby.
As for what happened inside, no one knew.
All that could be heard were Blood Roar’s excited shouts and the Warg’s miserable, piercing howls, echoing endlessly through the village.
Shen Xing averted his gaze and took out an irregular, walnut-sized, jet-black stone from his backpack.
’According to the guides on the forums, we Lords can also absorb Soul Stones to increase our Level.’
’The attribute increase is small, but it can still slightly boost my Constitution.’
He channeled a sliver of Spiritual Power to make contact with the stone in his hand.
[Do you wish to absorb Soul Stone x1 and raise your character Level to Level 2?]
[This absorption will take 10 minutes and 32 seconds...]
...
’Ten minutes, not bad.’
Shen Xing clicked "Confirm." Wisps of grayish-white Energy surged from the Soul Stone and drilled into his body.
He felt a warm current flowing through his meridians, continuously nourishing his body.
Ten minutes later, a system notification appeared.
[Absorption successful. Your Level has been raised to: Level 2]
[Attribute bonus received: Power +1, Spirit +1, agility +0, Constitution +1]
...
’Just one point for each attribute. The increase really is small.’
Shen Xing sighed to himself. Feeling his body after leveling up, there seemed to be no change.
Then, he spent another half an hour absorbing two more Soul Stones and smoothly leveled up to Level 3.
[Your Level has been raised to Level 3]
[Attribute bonus received: Power +1, Spirit +2, agility +0, Constitution +2]
...
’The attribute increase is a little better this time.’
Shen Xing wanted to continue leveling up, but he found that going from Level 3 to 4 not only required absorbing three Soul Stones, but the time had also increased to two and a half hours.
He had to temporarily abandon the idea.
He had to seize the time to lead the Beastman Infantry to explore the Fog, gather more resources, and increase their strength.
’If the monsters get stronger tomorrow, maybe... uh, actually, it doesn’t seem to matter much.’
’With a heaven-defying Talent like Sacrificial Evolution, plus one free use per day, I just need to keep strengthening Hellish Roar to handle most crises.’
Of course, a powerful territory can’t rely solely on its top combatant.
The overall combat power needs to keep up as well.
"Hellish Roar, take five Beastmen and come with me to explore," Shen Xing ordered succinctly.
With Blood Roar in the territory, plus two Arrow Towers providing fire support, defense shouldn’t be a problem.
"Yes, Boss!"
A few minutes later, Hellish Roar assembled with five Beastmen at the village entrance.
Shen Xing stood at the edge of the Fog and took out the Ancient Horse Lantern from his backpack.
[Do you wish to consume Soul Stone x2 to upgrade the ’Horse Lantern’ to Level 2?]
"Yes."
A flash of light passed. The appearance of the ancient lantern in his hand didn’t change much; it just looked newer, as if the rust on its surface had fallen off.
[Horse Lantern]
[Level: 2]
[Effect: The light can disperse the Fog in a 10-meter radius and provide illumination.]
[Duration of Continuous Burning: 3 hours]
[Upgrade Requirement: Level 3 Campfire, Soul Stone x10]
...
’Very good. The Level 2 Horse Lantern’s illumination range has tripled, and its duration has doubled.’
Shen Xing nodded in satisfaction. "Now I can explore without worry."
With everything ready, he once again led the Beastman Legion and slowly advanced into the depths of the Fog.
...
...
「Half an hour later」
Shen Xing returned to the vicinity of yesterday’s Black Crystal Tower.
Fortunately, this Sacrificial Tower hadn’t been destroyed by the monsters in the Fog and was still emitting light.
And after a full day of production, it had provided Shen Xing with 5 units of Black Crystal.
After a short rest, they proceeded in a straight line along another route.
They explored for over half an hour and were attacked by two more waves of monsters, both a combination of Lost Ones and Evil Dogs.
Shen Xing also discovered another problem.
’It’s not just that the monsters attacking the village have gotten stronger, but even the monsters wandering in the Fog seem to have become much more powerful.’
He opened the forums and did a search, discovering that many new players encountered the same situation in the early stages of the game.
It was just that the increase on their end was smaller; the monsters were only Level 2 or 3.
[Obtained: Soul Stone x24]
[Obtained: Shattered Soul x11]
[Obtained: Vinar Silver Coins x14]
Although exploring in the Fog was a bit oppressive, the feeling of constantly accumulating resources was quite nice.
"Boss, I smell a peculiar fragrance."
After walking for a while, Hellish Roar once again noticed something unusual, his nose twitching in the air.
"Oh? What did you find this time?"
Shen Xing was a little surprised. Not only was Hellish Roar a powerful combatant, but his nose was also more sensitive than a dog’s. He truly was worthy of being his number one fighter.
As he carried the Horse Lantern and advanced about twenty meters to the northwest...
The firelight dispersed the surrounding dense Fog, revealing the black ground.
Right now, a completely decayed humanoid corpse lay on the ground, its Race unknown.
And in the area between its eyebrows, a white plant was growing.
On it grew a walnut-sized fruit with a wrinkled surface.
"Huh? This fruit is..."
Shen Xing recognized it. This was the Brain Fruit that Qin Lang had mentioned yesterday, one of the fruits that could cure cerebral palsy and cerebral infarction.
SNAP!
Hellish Roar grabbed the stem, snapped it, and respectfully handed it to Shen Xing.
[Brain Fruit]
[Quality: Green]
[Effect: After consumption, increases Spirit by 3-5 points and increases Casting Speed by 5%.]
[Note: Fruits of the same type can take effect a maximum of 3 times.]
...
’Good stuff. It increases Spirit by at least 3 points. My Spirit is only at 9 right now, so that’s a one-third increase.’
A thought stirred in Shen Xing’s mind, and he swallowed it directly.
Compared to the texture of a Bone Fruit, the Brain Fruit was a bit softer, like a ripe tomato.
One bite, and it instantly burst with juice.
After eating the fruit, Shen Xing glanced at the Horse Lantern. Half of the oil was left, meaning he still had an hour and a half of exploration time.
Without delay, he continued to command the squad forward.
Over the next stretch, they once again encountered two or three waves of monster attacks.
At the same time, they obtained quite a few resources and also picked several fruits.
Specifically: Bone Fruit x2, Blood Fruit x1.
According to the trading prices on the forums, these fruits were worth at least fifty or sixty thousand.
’Shen Xing marveled to himself that he had become a man who could earn a five-figure income in a single day.’
Of course, in the early stages of the game, unless a player was desperately short on cash, almost no one would sell these resources.
After all, this game was too dangerous. The slightest difference in Attributes could determine the outcome of a battle.
And the outcome of a battle, in turn, would affect the development of the entire territory, potentially leading to a total collapse.
There’s an old proverb: For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the battle was lost, for want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
In short, the early game is all about accumulating advantages.
Amass your resources and bide your time.
Just then, Hellish Roar stopped again, a grave expression appearing on his rugged face.
This time, even without his warning, Shen Xing sensed something was wrong.
A village had appeared in the churning Fog ahead.
Not the kind of village a Novice Lord would have, but a small, pitch-black mountain village.
There was no Campfire to be seen inside, yet it remained untouched by the Fog, like a "hidden paradise" existing independently within it.
That was the most bizarre part.
"Boss, I feel a very uncomfortable presence," Hellish Roar said, his expression grim as he stared ahead.
’If even the territory’s number one combatant feels uncomfortable, it means this village is far from simple.’
Shen Xing pondered for a moment before deciding, "Let’s go investigate. If something’s not right, we pull back."
After all, this place was too close to his own territory. If there was truly some terrifying existence inside, it would be a ticking time bomb.
So, he had to gather intelligence in advance and figure out how to deal with it.
As they slowly approached, they finally got a clear view of the entire village.
Black earth, black buildings, as if they had been scorched by fire.
The wooden houses lay there one after another, like pitch-black coffins.
[You have discovered a special area: Sickness Village...]