Snakefolk Priestess: Ilena Race: Snakefolk Level: 5 132/4000 Health: 480 Attack Power: 51–54 (Weapon Bonus) Attributes: Strength 21, Agility 17, Spirit 18, Constitution 24 Skill: Scale Armor (Can provide herself or an ally with an additional 10 Armor. Cooldown: 90 seconds.) 4 Snakefolk Berserk (Grants herself or an allied unit the Berserk effect. For 60 seconds, Movement Speed +20%, Attack Speed +20%. Cooldown: 120 seconds.) 5 Talent: Iceblood Lineage (Can survive longer in extreme weather.) 2 Hunger: 671 Loyalty: 68
"Damn... those are some ridiculously powerful stats. No wonder she's a level 5 creature!"
Cao Xing was astonished.
More importantly, Cao Xing had noticed Ilena's two skills: Snakefolk Berserk and Scale Armor!
Both of them were buff-type enhancement skills.
Combined with his SSS-rank talent, that was equivalent to permanently gaining 10 Armor!
(For ease of calculation, 1 point of Armor negates 1 point of Attack Power.)
For ordinary creatures like the Polar People, 1 point of Strength was roughly equal to 2 points of physical Attack Power.
(Depending on class and racial talents, Strength granted varying amounts of Attack Power. One point of Strength could provide anywhere from 1.5 to 3 points of physical Attack Power.)
In other words, apart from Dazhuang, the other Polar People would struggle to deal any effective damage to Cao Xing.
That showed just how terrifying the boost this skill provided in the early stages was.
As for Snakefolk Berserk, which increased Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 20%, it was an even more terrifying percentage-based enhancement skill. 4
At that moment, Cao Xing truly felt as if he had struck gold!
Suppressing his excitement, Cao Xing said, "Ilena, cast Snakefolk Berserk on us first."
In this world, he naturally had to seize every opportunity to increase his strength.
Ilena flicked out her crimson tongue and said, "With pleasure, my lord~" 2
As soon as she spoke, Ilena raised her spear, and a mass of red energy gathered around its tip.
Then, with a point of her spear, the energy landed on Cao Xing.
In an instant, Cao Xing felt a scorching energy surge through his body, greatly increasing both his attack speed and movement speed.
Snakefolk Berserk cast successfully. The talent Eternal Power has taken effect. This skill has become permanent...
Seeing the notification, Cao Xing clenched his fists excitedly.
It worked!
At the same time, Ilena raised her spear again, and a mass of white energy fell upon herself.
Cao Xing felt as though an invisible layer of scales had formed over his body. 4
Scale Armor cast successfully. The talent Eternal Power has taken effect. This skill has become permanent...
The layer of scales was extremely hard and smooth.
Moreover, it would only appear when he was attacked.
In other words, Cao Xing looked no different from an ordinary person most of the time.
Cao Xing said excitedly, "Good, good, good! With this, my defense has increased tremendously!"
After waiting for the skills' cooldowns to end, Cao Xing had Ilena apply both buffs to himself and Liu Muxue as well.
After the notification that his talent had activated—
Ilena also discovered that the power within her body did not fade away as it had before, but remained permanently.
She was somewhat confused, but after Cao Xing cast a permanent Ice Healing Technique on her, Ilena understood why.
"My lord, your power is truly vast and unfathomable. It will remain within me forever." 8
1st Floor...
Cao Xing's expression turned a little strange.
Why did that sentence sound so weird... 1
Shaking his head, Cao Xing began considering other matters.
This Berserk skill could increase speed by 20%.
In other words, if he could apply it to all four Polar People, their work efficiency would increase.
So Cao Xing asked, "Ilena, can you continue casting skills?"
Ilena gently shook her head. "My lord, these skills consume my spiritual power. I need some time to recover." 3
Cao Xing nodded.
Then, he looked toward the four Polar People working in the distance.
At that moment, Dazhuang and Erzhuang were each jogging over with a bundle of processed wood on their backs.
Sanzhuang and Sizhuang, meanwhile, were carrying several stones.
The sight of four little dwarves pumping their legs as they ran through the snow was strangely comical.
After they placed the materials near the bonfire, they automatically disappeared, and system notifications appeared one after another.
Wood +5 Wood +5 Stone +3 Stone +3
Cao Xing did some calculations. It took the four of them about ten minutes to make a round trip.
There was now an hour and a half until nightfall.
That meant they could gather at most another 90 Wood and 54 Stone before dark.
"I need more laborers now, but only one Polar People Hut can be built."
"If I want to recruit more Polar People, I can only upgrade the Polar People Hut."
"A level 2 Polar People Hut can recruit four more Polar People, greatly improving work efficiency."
"But likewise, those Polar People will consume more food and take up more of my population limit."
Cao Xing checked his population.
Population: 8/50 (A level 1 territory has a maximum population limit of 50. The population limit can be increased by upgrading the Lord's Hut.)
Just then, Sanzhuang ran over to Cao Xing on his short legs and said—
"My lord, I have something to report to you!"
Cao Xing looked at Sanzhuang. "What is it?"
Sanzhuang replied, "Sizhuang and I discovered a Small Coal Mine roughly three to four hundred meters ahead and to the right of where we were gathering stones." 2
"However, there seemed to be two Snow Wolves guarding it, so we didn't dare approach."
"I was worried those Snow Wolves might pose a threat to our camp, so I came to report it to you, my lord!"
The moment he heard the words "coal mine," Cao Xing's eyes lit up.
Coal was a higher-grade energy material than wood. Not only did it burn longer, but it also gave off more heat.
If he could take over the coal mine, he could save a great deal of wood to build other facilities.
Cao Xing hurriedly asked, "How strong are those Snow Wolves? Do you know how many there are?"
Sanzhuang nodded. "We watched for a while and only saw two Snow Wolves so far."
"Those Snow Wolves felt a little stronger than that venomous snake."
After hearing that, the joy in Cao Xing's eyes deepened.
Two Snow Wolves, slightly stronger than the Snow Viper according to Sanzhuang—that meant they were probably level 3 or 4 monsters.
Before summoning Ilena, Cao Xing truly would not have been confident in dealing with them.
But now, he could find a way to seize that coal mine first.
Thus, Cao Xing nodded. "Sanzhuang, good work!"
"Tonight, I'll reward you and Sizhuang with some snake meat!"
At the mention of snake meat for dinner, stars practically shone in Sanzhuang's eyes.
He nodded excitedly. "Thank you for your generosity, my lord! Sanzhuang will do everything he can to contribute to you!"
After saying that, Sanzhuang scampered off on his short legs to continue gathering stone.
Liu Muxue had heard their conversation as well, and she asked nervously, "A-Xing, are we going to fight?"
Cao Xing nodded. "Yes. The coal mine is an important resource point. The sooner we take it, the better."
Fear appeared in Liu Muxue's eyes, but she still gathered her courage and said, "I'll fight alongside you." 3
Cao Xing did not refuse.
Although the Snow Wolves were powerful, Liu Muxue had already received three permanent buffs.
Both her defense and recovery abilities had greatly improved. Together with the level 5 Ilena, dealing with two Snow Wolves should not be a problem.
However, before the battle, he could still use some items to increase their combat power.
Cao Xing took a purple venom sac from his backpack.
Snow Viper Venom Sac (Green) Effect: Apply to a weapon to inflict the "Level 1 Poisoned" status with the next 15 attacks. 2 Remaining Uses: 10.
Cao Xing applied the venom to Ilena's trident and Liu Muxue's ordinary stone axe. 4
A faint purple glow now clung to their weapons.
After making these preparations, Cao Xing nodded and said, "Then let's set out now."
With that, he raised his plain wooden staff and headed into the snow.
Ilena walked at the very front, holding her trident spear.
Her serpentine body twisted across the snow, leaving behind a clear trail.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind her.
Rustle... rustle... 4
The farther they moved from the bonfire, the thicker the snow on the ground became, nearly reaching their ankles.
Waves of cold washed over them.
After about four minutes, they arrived at the place Sanzhuang had mentioned.
Sure enough, there was a pitch-black mine entrance there, with a pile of mined coal stacked beside it.
Small Coal Mine: Special Resource Point Remaining Mineable Resources: Coal x1754, Stone x754, Soil x5360 Current Status: Cannot be Occupied
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