Mercenaries

Chaos Tide.

The tide was about to recede.

Miracle City closing countdown.

The adventurers were still wanting more.

Black Stone Hammer King said, "Damn it, Checkpoint Mode is actually this hard. We underestimated the Lord's deviousness!"

Pig King said, "Yeah, that thick-browed, big-eyed guy turns out to be full of bad intentions too. We have to unite and teach him a lesson. We can't let this Lord look down on us adventurers!"

"That's right!"

"But I'm out of energy today!"

"I'm coming back tomorrow. No matter how much time it takes, I absolutely won't give up until I clear the checkpoint!"

"Exactly. We'll fight again tomorrow. We have to win back our honor!"

"Still, the Raging Tide Secret Realm is so much fun, and today's haul was pretty good too!"

"This Dungeon has everything except enough capacity. I've seen plenty of people discussing it on the forums already. I'm worried that if it gets overcrowded tomorrow, we might not even get in. We should demand that the Lord expand the Dungeon as soon as possible!"

"..."

As the adventurers discussed among themselves.

They suddenly received a notification.

Ding! Mission triggered!

Mission Name: Territory Expansion!

Mission Details: Miracle City will conduct its first external expedition and plans to recruit 18 Mercenaries. Adventurers, please sign up enthusiastically!

Mission Reward: 5 Contribution Points!

"Huh?"

"Miracle City has issued a territory mission!"

"What? Just 5 Contribution Points? How stingy! Is he treating us adventurers like workhorses?"

"Nobody pay attention to him. We can't encourage this bad behavior!"

"That's true enough."

"Then why are you running so fast?"

"Obviously! There are only 18 slots. If we don't run, how are we supposed to grab one? As long as we get Contribution Points, we're guaranteed entry tomorrow!"

"Damn it, you despicable bastard! Take my Whirlwind Sweep Kick!"

"..."

This was Qi Ji's first time issuing a Dungeon mission, and the reward could be called exceedingly stingy. Yet in less than three minutes, dozens of adventurers had eagerly signed up.

Why?

With Contribution Points.

They could bid for entry into the city tomorrow.

Five Contribution Points might not have been much, but they were enough to edge out adventurers with none!

The adventurers' enthusiasm.

Exceeded Qi Ji's expectations.

In the end, he had to select the eighteen adventurers by lottery.

These adventurers would be transformed into Mercenaries at the territory's Mercenary Camp, becoming Miracle City's temporary unit type. Once the Chaos Tide receded, they could serve as Miracle City's Combat Power for exploring the outside world.

And this would be the territory's first exploration beyond its borders!

Dungeon Lord was Qi Ji's favorite game in his previous life. Although the game's content covered only the Chaos World and revealed very little about the surface or underground regions, ten years of gaming experience and knowledge were enough to let him grasp much intelligence in advance.

This place was called Gloomy Valley.

His decision to build the Main City here had naturally come after carefully weighing the pros and cons.

Gloomy Valley and its surrounding regions were not only especially suitable for growth and development, but also concealed many opportunities. Seizing them in time could bring enormous benefits.

Therefore.

The sooner they explored outside.

The better!

Qi Ji had eighteen Zombie Soul Essences.

At most, he could recruit eighteen adventurer Temporary Workers.

Whether they were Temporary Worker Mercenaries or properly trained regular units, Soul Essence was an indispensable core material.

However.

Training a regular army was damn expensive!

Dungeon regular forces were generally divided into two types.

The first involved directly summoning corresponding territory monsters by consuming Soul Essence, requiring the basic building, Monster Camp.

The advantage was that they could be summoned at any time and commanded like one's own limbs, striking wherever directed. The disadvantage was that they were expensive to maintain. Moreover, territory monsters themselves lacked intelligence, had no growth potential, and could not carry out complicated missions.

The second was Contract Adventurers. Territory Soul Essence was branded onto adventurers, allowing them to permanently gain the abilities of corresponding monsters. This required the basic buildings, Essence Soul Altar and Warrior Camp.

The advantages were extremely low maintenance costs, growth potential, and intelligence, allowing them to carry out more complex missions. The disadvantages were their overly strong personalities and unstable obedience. Moreover, adventurers could only bind to and use the power of one Dungeon, so earning their complete loyalty was no easy task.

Neither option.

Was particularly convenient at present.

Qi Ji did not intend to recruit a regular army for now.

He had already built a Mercenary House. By investing the corresponding Soul Essence, along with Mental Strength and Soul Crystals as energy, he could create corresponding temporary unit types for the territory.

They might be Temporary Workers.

But they were incredibly convenient for daily use and disposal.

You are transforming Mercenaries. This transformation will consume Zombie Soul Essence ×18, Mental Strength ×90, Soul Crystal ×90. Continue? Yes/No!

Transforming each Zombie required 5 Mental Strength and 5 Soul Crystals.

This transformation could only last one day. If they did not die, the Soul Essence could be recovered and reused.

Though not cheap, it was convenient. Before he had regular unit types, these Temporary Workers were the best choice for expanding the territory and exploring the outside world!

Zombie Soul Essence.

Could transform more than a dozen types of Common Zombies.

Without hesitation, Qi Ji chose Riot Zombies.

There were considerable differences in performance among different Common Zombies, so their transformation costs also varied, ranging from 2 Mental Strength to 5 Mental Strength.

Riot Zombies were a special type of Common Zombie.

Though they were not mutated Special Infected, they had been riot-control personnel before infection and came equipped with a full set of riot gear, including Anti-riot Helmets, riot armor, and Riot Control Batons. Their performance was extremely formidable, so naturally they cost more.

Five minutes later.

Eighteen fully armed, ferocious-looking Zombies emerged from the Mercenary Hut. Though they were merely the best among mediocre choices, eighteen Riot Zombies were enough to form a respectable fighting force. At least at this stage, they were not weak!

Pig King said, "Damn it, what the hell did you turn me into? Am I even still a Zombie?"

Sleeping in the Wind said, "Looks like even among Common Zombies, some are exceptionally strong!"

Irritable Little Chicken said, "Hahaha! With this equipment and a Zombie's physical abilities, I feel like I could take down five or eight burly men without a problem!"

"This is fun, this is fun!"

"So this counts as an extra benefit!"

"..."

When the Chaos Tide had completely receded.

The scene outside Miracle City gradually became clear.

The Zombies controlled by the adventurers walked out of the Dungeon.

"Wow, is this the underground world near Miracle City?"

Cat MeowMeow was a newbie adventurer who had never participated in a territory event like this.

Streams of energy in every color formed vortices across the sky, like a wildly distorted, ultra-fantastical oil painting.

The surrounding landscape consisted mainly of rugged, eerie, dark, silent forests. A winding stream threaded through them, while distant mist surrounded the land like a dark-red curtain.

Meanwhile.

Qi Ji was inside the Lord's Mansion.

Using the interface, he opened a clear overhead view.

The interface resembled the perspective of a Real-Time Strategy game, like high-definition Drones filming from low altitude. He could also switch to the first-person perspective of any unit.

He could observe their movements in real time.

And issue commands at any moment.

According to Qi Ji's understanding of Gloomy Valley, there were no especially high-level magical monsters nearby. However, not far from Miracle City, there was a small village where a Dark Races settlement was lurking.

And that was the target this time.

The territory's first battle was about to begin!

A mature Dungeon needed not only to harvest adventurers, but also to constantly expand its territory, thereby creating more Secret Realms or opening connections to more adventurer city-states.

Though the scale of this battle was not large, as Miracle City's first step forward, it carried tremendous significance!