Second main troop type (13)

The Goblin Shaman did not die peacefully, to the point that Mu Yuan hadn't even had time to check what grade this rare-rank Shaman actually was.

Still, it couldn't have been too high.

The highest among the surrounding Great Goblins was only level six, so he decided to treat the Goblin Shaman as level seven.

"Level seven. That's actually quite advanced—it's stepped into the 'Late Apprentice' realm, and a Shaman is a powerful rare one-star troop. Truly terrifying."

But apparently, it wasn't that terrifying?

Under Deathbone's cannonball-like bone spear throw, let alone a level seven Shaman, even a Professional-grade Shaman wouldn't survive a direct hit.

After all, Shamans are squishy.

Great Goblins, on the other hand, are meaty. When a Skeleton Soldier's blade struck them, it couldn't cut deep before getting stuck in their knotted muscles.

So, the other Skeleton Soldiers chased after them and slashed as well.

Under a flurry of blades, the last two red-eyed Great Goblins fell, dying just as unpeacefully as their Shaman.

As the overlord of a two-to-three-kilometer radius, the Goblin Camp's battle, though noisy, drew few monsters daring to investigate.

Their fear of the goblin tyrants was etched into their bones.

Even if some reckless beasts did come, drawn by the scent of blood, they were merely more souls beneath Deathbone and the other skeletons' blades.

Mu Yuan began tallying the battle spoils.

Aside from the unexpected Goblin Shaman, the number of other goblins matched his earlier estimate—several dozen in total.

Having killed dozens of monsters in one go, his gains were naturally abundant.

Deathbone, along with Bone Two and Bone Three, who had developed a bit of intelligence, worked like little bees, picking up scattered Soul Sand and delivering it to his hands.

Because this battle had taken down quite a few high-grade troops—five Great Goblins and one Goblin Shaman—a fair number of Remnant Souls had dropped.

It was a glorious victory.

The Soul Sand, fine as gravel, piled up before him, slowly coalescing into a single beautiful fragmented gem.

"Soul Sand: 101.5g"

And the Remnant Souls...

"Three Random Remnant Souls, and two Goblin Remnant Souls... what a pain. But surprisingly, a three-star Remnant Soul dropped."

"Remnant Soul (Great Slime)"

"Description: Using this Remnant Soul guarantees a 100% recruitment of the Common three-star troop, Great Slime."

"The evolved form of a slime, the Great Slime."

"Somewhat similar to the skeleton line—ordinary slimes are also weaklings, synonymous with frailty—but the Great Slime is quite capable, a standout among three-star troops. It has a massive body and tonnage, able to both tank and control—meaning it uses its weight to suppress enemies for hard crowd control."

"Plus, slimes are, rounding up, noble elemental beings."

A long time ago—meaning a day or two ago—Mu Yuan had already considered his future main troop choices.

He had a bit of evolution ability, so he needed to specialize in a troop line, not just recruit a Skeleton Soldier here and a Musketeer there.

But focusing solely on the skeleton line wouldn't work either. A single troop type had too many limitations and obvious weaknesses, easily exploited.

"Ranged troops like Archers are highly practical, especially in siege defense. Unfortunately, Archers are two-star troops, and their ranged nature drives up Remnant Soul prices, not much cheaper than three-star ones."

"And to leverage my evolution ability, I need to focus on quantity, because the Evolution Points from Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Soldiers aren't much more than from Little Skeletons... After these days of study, the evolution rule is clearly—quantity breeds quality."

Like a whole clan pooling resources to elevate one or two emperors.

In that case, Mu Yuan needed cost-effective troops, and Little Skeletons were one of them.

"Not only that, but I also have to consider daily troop maintenance."

Most troops are flesh and blood. Humanoid troops like Archers and Female Musketeers, aside from lacking intelligence, are identical to real humans in appearance and internals.

They need daily food intake and adequate rest. Without it, their condition deteriorates, leading to combat decline, and in severe cases, even death.

In a sense, troops are delicate goods. Players not only command them in battle but also must carefully maintain and nurture them daily.

Thus, even Whale Players don't buy Remnant Souls recklessly. They might afford to buy them but not to sustain them, or sustain them but not manage them.

And the more of a Whale Player someone is, the more they crave troops with self-awareness, which can share many burdens. However, while a Whale Player might buy rarer troop Remnant Souls, they can never buy troops with self-awareness.

That can only come from luck.

Or maybe from cheating?

Looking at the data, slimes seem to only need leaves for nutrition, making them incredibly easy to raise—quite fitting Mu Yuan's requirements.

The only pity is that slimes lack ranged attack capability and can't fly.

Still, with its massive size, a Great Slime might serve as a mount? A mattress?

As for the last of the legendary three wastes, the goblins... Mu Yuan shook his head. No goblins—ugly, rejected.

Pocketing the Remnant Souls and Soul Sand, Mu Yuan didn't leave.

This is the goblin camp. Besides these "monster drops," there was plenty of valuable loot—like the wooden spears from the Goblin Spearmen.

Deathbone had already gathered those spears while collecting Soul Sand. They were an important strategic weapon reserve.

He had realized that ranged attacks were safer and more reliable than close-quarters combat.

If he could kill an enemy from ten thousand meters away, wouldn't that be pretty damn safe?

But how to locate and kill an enemy from ten thousand meters away—that was the problem.

Deathbone fell into deep thought.

Under the escort of Bone Two and Bone Three, Mu Yuan cautiously moved forward.

He also directed Bone Six to scout ahead, checking for traps or any goblins that hadn't fully died.

He wasn't afraid of death—he was just being cautious.

"Great Goblins rely purely on fists to fight. They have no equipment except a ragged leather loincloth. I don't think much of that unit."

"But this Goblin Shaman..."

The Goblin Shaman's body was nowhere intact, but fortunately, Deathbone had thrown himself at the shaman's torso. The crooked Skull Staff the shaman had been holding was undamaged, lying discarded to the side.

The staff's main body looked like a withered branch, with several fist-sized skulls hanging from it, likely bloody trophies the goblins had stripped from somewhere.

Was this really a treasure?

But when he picked it up, Mu Yuan's eyes lit up. Shaman, oh shaman, I misjudged you. You're a good monster.

"Shaman Staff (Rare)"

"Description: A crudely made, ugly staff with a lingering stench of rot, but not bad in practicality. Slightly enhances the wielder's mental strength and mental recovery speed, and comes with the 'Fireball Spell' skill."

This wasn't Standard Equipment—it was a treasure with special abilities.

But... wasn't Fireball Spell a skill the shaman itself possessed?

Mu Yuan switched to the Tai Xuan Forum to look up information and found that the skills a Goblin Shaman could have were 'Bloodthirst Technique,' 'Hound Wolf Summoning,' and 'Witch Doctor Technique.'

As for which skill a shaman actually had, that depended on the individual. Different individuals had different skills. Some rare individuals might even awaken skills outside these three, or have no skills at all—a blank slate.

"The Shaman Staff stinks, it's a bit dirty, and it's an attack-type item. I probably won't manifest it into the real world to use. Selling it now isn't ideal either... I wonder if Deathbone and the others can use it? The undead also have mental strength. In theory, there's no problem using it. Skeletons aren't afraid of stench. At first glance, it seems quite fitting."

Thinking this over, Mu Yuan walked into the goblin camp.

The environment inside was worse than outside, more disgusting—like a massive slaughterhouse. All kinds of bones and body parts were scattered everywhere. If he had been there in person, Mu Yuan figured he'd have thrown up last night's dinner.

Even now, sitting in front of his computer, separated by an entire world, he still felt sick.

These goblins were disgusting.

But only the goblins were disgusting. The treasures they had plundered were innocent. For the sake of world peace, Mu Yuan had to pack up those innocent treasures and save them from their suffering.

"Prompt: Obtained 33.6g of Soul Sand."

"Prompt: Obtained several Common materials."

"Prompt: Obtained equipment 'Protective Talisman (Common).'"

"Prompt: Obtained special item Stone (Rare)."

By the time Mu Yuan returned to his territory, the sky over Baijiang City had completely darkened.

He did a quick tally. The Soul Sand he had gathered today exceeded 200g, and he had obtained over ten Remnant Souls. It was a day of sudden wealth.

"Not bad. After working hard all day, it wasn't for nothing."

Mu Yuan grabbed the last handful of melon seeds, took a gulp of iced Sprite, and ended the day's labor.

1/3, three chapters today. The remaining two will be updated in the morning and afternoon. Please collect and follow. If you could throw in some Monthly Tickets or recommendation tickets, that'd be even better. A new week has arrived, and this little nobody wants to climb the new book rankings too.