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Fang Yuan had read a book introducing the heroes of the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield.
The book opened with a question on its very first page.
What was the most important attribute of a hero?
When Fang Yuan had seen that question, the answer that had popped into his mind was spell power, then attack power, and finally he had changed it to skills.
All of these were the most important attributes determining a hero's strength.
But after Fang Yuan finished reading the book.
Only then did he realize he had been wrong.
On the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield, to a lord!
There was only one attribute that had to be watched at all times.
That attribute was loyalty!
Because once loyalty was low, a hero's initiative would suffer.
When carrying out a mission, they might knowingly lead their soldiers into a trap to die.
And if it fell below thirty points, they would develop the intent to betray.
That was extremely fatal to a lord.
By contrast, high loyalty could ensure that a hero acted on their own initiative.
When encountering danger in the wilderness, they would take the initiative to assess the situation and choose the optimal solution.
When the lord encountered danger, they would step forward to protect him.
Once loyalty reached 90 points, they would even take the initiative to share the knowledge they possessed.
This could be seen from Lilith's performance.
And if loyalty reached 100 points, they would obey the lord's orders absolutely.
Even if the lord ordered them to die, they would go without hesitation.
However, such an order would bring endless trouble afterward.
If the hero sent to die survived, their maximum loyalty would be reduced by half from then on.
Moreover, recovering loyalty after it had fallen was harder than ascending to the heavens.
Almost no lord dared to do this.
Therefore, on the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield, lords valued heroes' loyalty far more than attributes such as skills and spell power.
Many lords worked desperately to keep their heroes' loyalty above 80.
They worked even harder than they did when fawning over the Goddess.
Yet even so, opposing factions or various events would often lower a hero's loyalty.
Thus, many lords began researching ways to lock a hero's loyalty in place.
In the end, their research produced only one possible method.
That was the highly mystical act of opening one's heart to them.
In short, they had to treat them as real people and use love to influence them.
Although it was highly mystical and had a very low success rate.
People still succeeded from time to time.
Of course, this usually required enormous material and financial resources to succeed.
And now!
Fang Yuan looked at Breni, the bishop of the Demon Cult kneeling before him.
"If those lords knew that I had actually mastered a second method capable of locking a hero's loyalty."
"And that the method was this simple."
"They would probably go insane."
"Speaking of which, this only happened because of a fortunate coincidence."
"It would be nearly impossible for other lords to replicate."
"After all, they would first need a high-tier wondrous item with a story, and the hero recruited through that wondrous item would have to belong to the same race but a different faction."
"And I happened to know something about this hero's past deeds."
"All these conditions had to be met before it could be triggered."
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan had to sigh once again. His luck truly was not bad.
Just then.
The Demon Bishop Breni, who had been pulled out of the River of Time by the power of the civilization flame and had completed the condensation of her body, suddenly spoke.
"Lord."
"I sense the presence of cavalry from my cult in the northeast!"
Fang Yuan was slightly surprised when he heard this.
"You can sense them from such a distance?"
Breni nodded and said.
"I am a bishop of the Spirit Flame Cult. I have a powerful mental connection with the believers under my command."
Fang Yuan's eyes immediately lit up when he heard this.
"Could this be a kind of tacit understanding between an Orange Hero and their matching army?"
"Or perhaps a skill?"
"Right, I haven't checked Breni's skills yet."
Fang Yuan gazed at the Demon Bishop and moved his mind.
Through the Lord's Mark, he manifested Breni's attribute panel.
Name: Demon Bishop Breni Level: LV1 (0/7000) Quality: Orange Potential: One Star Carried Wondrous Item: Demon Bishop's Lance Attack: 700 Health: 7000 Stamina: 7000 Loyalty: 100 (Infinitely loyal to you and will never betray you.) Skills: Grasp of Demonic Flames, Demonic Contract, Demonic Flame Aura, Soul Rebirth.
After seeing Breni's attribute panel, Fang Yuan showed slight surprise.
"Her attributes aren't particularly high."
But when he saw her loyalty, Fang Yuan understood.
He muttered to himself, "There are gains and losses in everything."
He immediately turned his attention to Breni's skills.
There were only four skills, which was within his expectations.
Most Orange Heroes had this number.
After all, he could not expect every hero to be like Christian, a mutated Orange Unit whose initial skill count was five.
However, judging from the specific effects of her skills, Breni's abilities were quite good.
Grasp of Demonic Flames was a skill that combined damage and control.
It could inflict demonic flame damage on up to ten targets, while the movement of units caught in its grasp would also be restricted.
Demonic Contract allowed her to sense other units that had signed the same contract.
When Breni acted together with these units, she could gain substantial attribute bonuses.
Demonic Flame Aura was a hybrid skill that increased defense, shields, and magic resistance while also inflicting demonic flame damage on targets.
The final skill, Soul Rebirth, was relatively overpowered.
If a unit that had signed a Demonic Contract died nearby.
When Breni used this skill, she could instantly revive it for fifteen minutes.
During those fifteen minutes, the revived unit would gain a 100% increase to its attributes.
At first glance, doubling the attributes did not seem like much.
But as Breni leveled up, this attribute bonus would grow larger and larger.
If it reached tenfold!
Then, before a battle began, they could launch a sacrificial assault.
Send the Demon Knight Order to their deaths, then revive them!
Units with tenfold attributes, full health, and full mana would appear on the battlefield.
Fang Yuan imagined that scene.
"Beautiful!"
"I can't bear to look!"
After examining Breni's skills, Fang Yuan had already made up his mind.
"She!"
"She is the commander of Valley Garrison!"
"With Breni stationed there, supported by the Demon Bishop's cavalry regiment."
"The northeast would have an impregnable Military Territory!"
"It would also serve as a forward base for me to continue expanding northeastward."
With that thought, Fang Yuan immediately issued an order to Breni.
"Breni, I appoint you as the military commander of Valley Garrison in the northeast."
"Go and take up your post immediately!"
Breni struck her chest with her hand.
"I swear to protect the lord's territory to the death."
Then she mounted her warhorse and left the main city.
Watching Breni leave.
Fang Yuan began planning his next move.
"A single fixed garrison of the Golden Flower Family already brings such enormous profits."
"If I continue northeast and find the Golden Flower Family's Pioneer Territory."
"Wouldn't the profits be~"
Fang Yuan immediately grew excited.
With a thought, he appeared inside the Lord's Hall.
"Someone, bring Lilith here."
"We need to discuss the next expansion plan."
Just as the order had been issued.
A flurry of urgent messages came through the Lord's Mark.
Fang Yuan opened it.
His face immediately lit up with delight.
"The fat sheep I've been waiting for has finally come knocking!!!"
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