Vassals' First Showing (Please Support)

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Feathered Serpentfolk in the air struck first, their arrows streaking down at astonishing speed.

"Raise shields!"

Below, Chi the Sixth gave the order. The Half-Dragonfolk raised their great shields one after another, protecting both their own formation and Peng Yue's team from the incoming arrows.

As for Fang Xiaohan's team, they had long since scattered and stealthily entered the Medicine Mountain ahead.

After several rounds of crisp clangs, most of the Feathered Serpentfolk's arrows were blocked by the shields. A small number struck the Half-Dragonfolk or Ice Soul Serpentfolk, but were largely stopped by armor and scales. Some were injured, but none died.

"All these Feathered Serpentfolk have the Wind Attribute. Their attacks are fast, and their arrows are fast too, but they are only ordinary arrows, not Rune Arrows. Their power and lethality are limited!"

"Two volleys will be enough to bring them down!"

Before Peng Yue had finished speaking, her Vassals—the Ice Soul Serpentfolk who seemed forged from ice—had already acted. A thousand archers split into two groups, drawing their bows and firing in succession at the Feathered Serpentfolk in the sky.

The bows and arrows in their hands were carved with exquisite runes. Whenever an arrow hit a Feathered Serpentfolk, freezing energy burst forth, turning them rigid with ice and sending them plummeting from the sky. Even arrows that missed exploded in midair, unleashing vast waves of cold in all directions. Most Feathered Serpentfolk who had narrowly avoided the arrows were still frostbitten by the chill and fell.

Without question, the bows and arrows wielded by Peng Yue's Ice Soul Serpentfolk Vassals were Rune Artifacts as well.

Rune Masters had already been cultivated among her Vassals.

The Feathered Serpentfolk in the air attacked quickly and had already fired ten volleys, yet the damage they caused was less than what Peng Yue's forces had inflicted in two.

That was the gap between equipment and skills.

On the path of spending money, there was always someone even stronger.

At this moment, screams rang out from all across the Medicine Mountain. The Shadow Serpentfolk who had infiltrated it were carrying out wholesale assassinations, slaughtering the fallen Feathered Serpentfolk.

Liang Ji suddenly felt that, with two big spenders at his back, perhaps he could simply lie down and coast through this trial?

But before the thought had even faded, a series of crashes and thunderous booms suddenly erupted from the Medicine Mountain ahead. More than a dozen giant pythons burst out, hot on the heels of several Shadow Serpentfolk.

Shadow Serpentfolk darted around the giant pythons, their daggers and spike blades stabbing continuously into the beasts' bodies, yet they found it difficult to inflict much damage. Instead, the aggravated pythons thrashed and rolled, sending Shadow Serpentfolk who could not evade in time flying, badly wounded.

These giant pythons were clearly tamed beasts raised by the Feathered Serpentfolk in the Medicine Mountain to guard the mountain and the Pill Room. They were enormous, thick-skinned, and immensely strong.

"Liang Ji, save us!" Fang Xiaohan hurriedly cried from the side.

"Kill!"

At the foot of the Medicine Mountain, Chi the Sixth had already raised his battle axe high. With one command, he led the Half-Dragonfolk team in a charge.

These giant pythons were all five to six meters long and half a meter thick, their scales and armor heavy, their brute strength formidable. Like armored vehicles charging wildly about, they were difficult for Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk to harm.

But Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk were likewise thick-skinned and monstrously strong. More than a dozen surrounded each giant python, bracing their shields against it to trap it in place. Then great axes came chopping down one after another, and within moments, the giant pythons were hacked into pieces.

"Amazing!" Fang Xiaohan watched from the side and exclaimed, "Liang Ji, your Vassals haven't cultivated any bloodline techniques or skills yet, have they?"

"No." Liang Ji shook his head.

"The base qualities of your Vassals are just too good. Generally speaking, defense and strength aren't the strong suits of Half-Demon Snake People Vassals. Those are the specialties of Vassals like Half-Demon Elephantfolk and Whale People."

"But Liang Ji, I think your Vassals could try developing in this direction."

"I know the school has an inheritance called the 'Snake Barbarian Scripture.' If Vassals cultivate it, they can form a 'Barbarian Body,' becoming impervious to blades and spears, with unmatched brute strength!"

"It suits your Vassals very well. You should consider it."

Fang Xiaohan offered her advice from the side.

"The Snake Barbarian Scripture is indeed quite good."

Peng Yue, beside them, also nodded in agreement—a rare occurrence.

Liang Ji's heart stirred at their words. Both of them had backgrounds and connections behind them, and they had seen far more than he had. Since they both approved of it, the Snake Barbarian Scripture truly seemed worth looking into.

He smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I'll give it a try when the time comes."

At this point, Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk had searched the entire Medicine Mountain and the surroundings of the Pill Cloud Hall atop the mountain. They drew out several more giant pythons, all of which were surrounded and killed by Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk teams, chopped into several sections.

Some surviving Feathered Serpentfolk were either assassinated by Shadow Serpentfolk or startled into flying into the air, only to be shot down by the icy rune arrows of Peng Yue's Ice Soul Serpentfolk.

In less than an hour, the three teams of Vassals had thoroughly taken this Medicine Mountain and Pill Room.

With two spendthrift teams and one mutated team, the entire process had involved little difficulty or casualties.

The three teams then began looting the various Spirit Roots in the Medicine Mountain, as well as Earth Element, Water Element, and Wood Element Spirit Seeds that had been refined into the mountain.

There was also a pill furnace, several Pill Recipes, and some medicinal pills in the Pill Room atop the mountain. Unfortunately, they found no skill inheritance for training Vassal alchemists, which would have been the most valuable prize.

The Vassal teams of Liang Ji and the other two gathered their spoils in the Pill Room, preparing to divide the loot.

Just then, a streak of light shot up into the distance and burst in the sky like fireworks.

"Enemy sighted!"

The Shadow Serpentfolk under Fang Xiaohan immediately issued a warning.

Although they were here collecting spoils, the Shadow Serpentfolk had still dispatched several teams to keep watch over the surrounding area. The rising firework of light was the alarm sent by one of those patrol teams.

They had no time to divide the spoils. The three teams immediately regrouped, setting up defenses around the Medicine Mountain and preparing to meet the enemy.

At the same time, the Shadow Serpentfolk teams on watch continuously sent back more detailed information about the enemy.

This time, the enemies were not the native Feathered Serpentfolk of this trial star, but the teams of other Star Lords participating in the trial.

Even so, there was no agreement in this kind of trial forbidding battles between the Vassals of different Star Lords. Therefore, for treasures, resources, and the like, when Star Lord teams from different groups encountered one another, there was a high chance that they would clash and fight.

Even the schools encouraged such clashes and battles. They could temper the Vassal teams of Star Lord students while allowing the schools to better observe each student's Vassal forces. Why not?

After all, even if a Star Lord student's Vassal team suffered devastating losses, all it took afterward was a few days and several thousand years of reproduction on their Natal Star for them to recover.

For Star Lords, Vassals—especially low-tier Vassals—had never been something to fear losing or sacrificing. On the contrary, if repeated losses and sacrifices could give their Vassals better training and improvement, that would be an even greater and more important gain.

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