Cao Xing glanced at the Frost Wolf, Winter, beside him.
It was also a level 10 creature and met the advancement requirements.
As long as it advanced to the second tier as well, all of his recruited creatures, aside from Ilena, would be second-tier!
So, he handed the Heart of Strength to Assam too.
"Assam, go. Let your Winter complete its advancement as well. A powerful knight needs a powerful mount to unleash his full combat strength."
Hearing this, Assam tremblingly accepted the crimson crystal from Cao Xing's hand.
He looked at Cao Xing gratefully and said no more.
Instead, he turned and went straight to the Frost Wolf, Winter.
"Winter, accept the power bestowed by the lord!"
"Let us swear to defend the lord's glory to the death!"
With that, he tossed the strength crystal over.
The Frost Wolf, Winter, seemed to know that it was something that could make it stronger.
The instant Assam threw the crystal down, it opened its jaws and bit down on it.
Crack!
The sound of shattering crystal rang out as formidable power surged through its body.
In an instant, Winter's aura began rising at a terrifying rate!
Cao Xing saw that its already sturdy limbs had grown another two sizes thicker.
Not only that, its body was rapidly expanding as well!
It shot up from its original three meters in length to nearly four meters.
Roar!
A terrifying howl echoed through the cave.
Simply standing there, this savage giant wolf exuded an intense sense of oppression!
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction again.
Then came the final reward: the Spider Staff (Blue).
This was the first blue piece of equipment Cao Xing had obtained, and he was greatly looking forward to its attributes.
Spider Staff (Blue) Quality: Fine Attack: 31–37 Additional Effect ①: Spirit +10 Additional Effect ②: Beginner Mana Amplification (When launching a magical attack, there is a 40% chance to increase this attack's magic damage by 10%) Additional Effect ③: Demon Spider Command (Summons 5 level 10 first-tier Demon Spiders to assist in battle. The Demon Spiders last 60 seconds. Effect cooldown: 300 seconds)
Relic maiden?
After reading the equipment description, joy appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.
"So this is blue equipment? It's so strong!"
Not only did it add 10 points of Spirit, it also came with an effect that summoned Demon Spiders.
He immediately equipped it, and his Spirit increased by a large amount.
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.
Then, looking at Assam and the others, he ordered, "Search the cave. See if you can find any treasures."
Having received the order, Assam and the others immediately got to work.
A few minutes later, Sarah discovered something in a corner of the cave.
"There's a treasure chest here."
Cao Xing's heart immediately leaped with joy upon hearing that, and he walked over.
Sure enough, in a corner of the cave, beneath an area covered in spiderwebs, a white treasure chest was hidden.
"Nice, another Silver Chest." Cao Xing said happily.
After cutting through the spiderwebs, a system prompt appeared.
An unlocked Silver Chest has been discovered. Open it?
Cao Xing directly selected open.
Clang!
Silver Chest successfully opened. Obtained Noble Backpack (Green) ×1 Obtained Railway Crafting Blueprint ×1 Obtained Medium Shelter Construction Blueprint ×1 Obtained Large Rations ×12 Obtained Medical Kit ×3
"Oh? A backpack dropped? And there's even a railway crafting blueprint?"
Joy appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.
"Not bad at all. This way, I can make more rails and connect all the mines near my territory."
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction and began checking the backpack and the other shelter blueprint's attributes.
Noble Backpack (Green) Backpack Capacity: 40 slots Additional Effect: Charm +4 (Note: Charm is a hidden attribute and will not appear on the status panel.) Medium Shelter Construction Blueprint Area: 40 square meters Population Capacity: 6 Additional Effect: Provides health regeneration to friendly units resting inside, restoring 0.5 Health per second. Construction Requirements: Stone ×120, Wood ×240, Iron ×20, Beginner Elemental Crystal ×5 Railway Crafting Blueprint: At a Blacksmith Shop, materials can be consumed to forge one section of rail. Length: 1 meter. Requirements: Iron ×8, Level 1 Blacksmith Shop
A backpack and two blueprints—this was quite a good haul.
Cao Xing happily equipped the backpack.
Then he looked at the Silver Chest on the ground again.
Dismantle opened Silver Chest ×1?
"Yes."
Dismantling successful. Obtained Mithril ×10.
By now, Cao Xing had looted nearly everything in this Cave Demon Spider den.
At that moment, Cao Xing's gaze turned to the large cocoons wrapped in spiderwebs overhead.
He suddenly asked, "Muxue, do you think there might be any treasures inside these cocoons?"
"Hm?" Liu Muxue looked puzzled.
After thinking for a moment, Cao Xing directly said, "Assam, knock these cocoons down for me."
Following the order, Assam slashed out with a frosty sword aura.
With a thud, a white cocoon fell to the ground.
Cao Xing walked up to the cocoon, then looked at the druid beside him. "Andrew, help me peel it open."
Andrew looked somewhat hesitant. "My lord, this is desecrating the corpses of the dead..."
"But if it is your command, Andrew is willing to carry it out."
He swung his claws twice, and the cocoon was peeled open.
Then, a pale human face was revealed inside.
"It's actually a human?"
Everyone was somewhat surprised by the sight.
Cao Xing bent down and searched the body, discovering an emblem marked with flower petals and a longsword, along with some coins.
Obtained Cartel Family Crest ×1 Obtained Coins ×72
Cao Xing checked the crest's attributes.
Cartel Family Crest (Accessory) Quality: Common Equipment Effect: Strength +1, Agility +1
Cao Xing nodded. Although it did not add much in the way of attributes, it was an accessory and did not occupy an equipment slot, so it was better than nothing.
Then, Cao Xing had all the other large cocoons knocked down as well.
Inside, they found many corpses, including both Mole People and humans.
From these corpses, Cao Xing obtained a total of 17 Iron Ingots, 452 Coins, 6 Beginner Elemental Crystals, and 11 family crests.
The profits were quite good.
At that moment, Cao Xing looked at the druid beside him, whose face bore a trace of guilt.
"Andrew, this is not desecrating the dead. It is helping them return to the earth."
"Only by freeing them can the souls of the dead find release."
"Now, bury all of their bodies in the land you love most."
Cao Xing's tone was solemn, as if he truly meant it.
Upon hearing this, Andrew's furrowed brow immediately relaxed.
He placed one hand over his chest and respectfully bowed. "So this was the lord's intention. Forgive Andrew's ignorance for misunderstanding your meaning!"
System prompt: Your actions have moved Andrew. Loyalty increased. Current Loyalty: 88.
Cao Xing nodded, secretly delighted.
These guys just loved hearing pretty words.
Then, they spent about ten minutes dealing with the corpses.
Seeing that there was nothing else left to search in the cave, Cao Xing continued giving orders. "Return the way we came and head into the other passage."
"As you command, my lord."
The four powerful second-tier creatures followed Cao Xing's orders and began retracing their steps.
Thud, thud, thud!
The advanced Frost Wolf's footsteps were heavy, and its presence was imposing.
Its heavy footfalls echoed throughout the mine.
Before long, they returned to the previous fork in the road.
This time, everyone would head into the passage on the left.
The four recruited creatures still walked in front.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind, continuously collecting the rails on the ground and scattered ores.
Rail ×1 Rail ×1 Mana Stone ×3
Before you continue