First Merit (Seeking Support)

This trial star is, after all, only a first-tier star, and the spirit veins it contains are also only first-tier. Although the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk were powerful, they couldn't transcend the first tier and reach the second.

But as long as they are in the same tier, many ants can still bite an elephant. Not to mention, Liang Ji's retainers are not ants, but snakes, pythons.

With Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk retainers, holding Rune Artifact shields to block in front, they entangled and held back the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk. Once deprived of speed and space, the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, no matter how strong, were merely trapped beasts in a cage, waiting to be slaughtered.

Rockets, ice arrows, poison arrows, crossbow bolts, and more rained down from all directions. The scales and bone spurs on the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk's body couldn't block them all. It was like being sliced by a thousand knives, with scales, flesh, and even bones being ripped away piece by piece in the volley of arrows.

Soon, the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk was covered in arrows, bleeding profusely, its body a bloody mess.

Hiss... Roar!

The pain and stimulus of death made it roar, its attacks becoming even more ferocious. Its wings, arms, and giant tail swept and smashed wildly around it. It even used its towering, ferocious body to charge and shove with brute force.

Under the desperate counterattack and charge of the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, the Rune Artifact shields were shattered, and the Half-Dragonfolk, with their brute strength, were knocked to the ground. The sacrifices of the Half-Dragonfolk rapidly increased.

Several, a dozen, dozens, a hundred... At this moment, the entire battlefield, besides the blood, flesh, and bones constantly falling from the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, was filled with the broken corpses of Half-Dragonfolk lying on the ground.

The retainers of the other Star Lords were launching ranged attacks from afar. Before the Half-Dragonfolk ranks were breached, they couldn't even harm them.

However, everyone could see the current danger and difficulty.

"Classmate Liang, hold on! The demonized Feathered Serpentfolk is almost done for!"

"If you can just hold on, you'll get the first merit in this battle! You can choose any treasure or Spirit Stone you want!" Yun Lai shouted from the side.

"Everyone else, use whatever means you have quickly."

As his voice fell, his Cloud Lightning Serpentfolk retainers were the first to reveal their trump cards.

It was a set of special crossbow bolts, marked with blood-red patterns. Dozens of Cloud Lightning Serpentfolk directly committed suicide, pouring their essence blood onto the crossbow bolts.

With a hum, the blood-red crossbow bolts shot into the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk. The bolts exploded, releasing a faint electric light, but they also instantly pierced the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, tearing off large chunks of flesh and bone.

At the same time, the retainers of the other Star Lords also revealed their trump cards, which were mostly various forms of blood sacrifice. By pouring large amounts of retainer essence blood, they activated the power within their bloodlines to unleash their strongest attacks.

Ice, fire, potent poison, dark iron sharpness, shadow erosion, and more erupted with their strongest attacks, instantly piercing the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk in several places, tearing off large chunks of flesh and bone.

Hiss... Roar!

The demonized Feathered Serpentfolk let out another roar, but this time it was a death cry. Under these continuous heavy blows, even at the limit of the first tier, it could no longer hold on. Its wings, arms, and giant tail swept one last time before it fell to the ground like a collapsing mountain or a toppling jade pillar.

Kill!

Up!

Seeing this, the retainers of the surrounding Star Lords rejoiced and charged forward, intending to completely kill and dismember the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk.

Liang Ji, however, ordered his retainer Half-Dragonfolk to step aside and retreat.

After all, he had already secured the first merit, and this great battle had resulted in heavy casualties among his Half-Dragonfolk retainers. Only a little over a hundred remained, so there was no need to continue depleting their numbers.

"Wait..."

At this moment, Zhang Liangpu seemed to have thought of something and spoke out, intending to stop them.

But before he could finish speaking, a muffled explosion sounded. The demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, lying on the ground with no resistance left, actually exploded, sending a large amount of black gas, along with large swathes of flesh, flying out like cannonballs.

At this moment, the retainers near the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, including Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk, suffered heavy damage.

The number of Half-Dragonfolk, which was originally over a hundred, instantly dropped below one hundred.

In the air, Liang Ji, condensed from starlight, couldn't help but frown.

However, it soon relaxed.

Out of more than six hundred retainer Half-Dragonfolk sent on the expedition, fewer than a hundred remained, with over eighty percent casualties!

But these sacrifices were worth it. Not only did he recognize the advantages and disadvantages of his own retainers, but he also saw the gap between himself and the top Star Lord students in Xiūshé City. More importantly, the treasures and Spirit Stones obtained in this trial star would become crucial support for him to cultivate and improve his retainers in the future.

As for the sacrificed retainer Half-Dragonfolk, he could cultivate more on his Natal Star, the Dragon Soul Star, in just one or two thousand years, which was equivalent to only a few days in real time.

Next, the retainers of the various Star Lords no longer engaged in fighting or killing. Instead, as Zhang Liangpu had previously said, they began to search the Feathered Serpentfolk tribe's territory, excavate the Spirit Stones within, and distribute them according to merit.

The appearance of the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk had made them realize that in the eyes of the observing school and education bureau leaders, they had already lost significant points.

By joining forces to kill the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, they had managed to recover some of their lost points.

But if they were to renege on their agreement after the battle and start fighting amongst themselves, then even if they obtained more treasures and Spirit Stones, this trial would likely be a complete failure.

Most of the Star Lords present came from influential and wealthy families, so they did not lack resources like treasures and Spirit Stones. What they valued more was their own performance and their scores in the eyes of the school and education bureau.

Because these scores would be recorded in their profiles and archives, and would affect their chances of entering their ideal academies, Star Palaces, and so on after the college entrance examination.

Liang Ji's retainer Half-Dragonfolk team, according to the agreement, received the first merit and was awarded three Spirit Roots, two Spirit Seeds, and fifteen thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

This was even after the demonized Feathered Serpentfolk had devoured part of the trial star's spirit veins and treasures; otherwise, the harvest would likely have been even greater.

Of course, without the final demonized Feathered Serpentfolk, Liang Ji's retainer Half-Dragonfolk would likely not have been able to achieve the first merit and obtain so many Spirit Stones and treasures.

Only he himself could truly understand the gains and losses, the blessings and curses, involved.

After dividing the treasures and Spirit Stones from the Feathered Serpentfolk tribe's territory, Liang Ji and the others' trial came to an end.

The school opened the star gate, allowing their retainers to return to their respective Natal Stars with the corpses and spoils.

In the Star Lord cultivation courses at the school, it was clearly stated that when a Star Lord's retainers were fighting abroad, they should do their best to bring back the corpses of fallen retainers to their Natal Stars for burial.

The feedback from these retainer corpses to the Natal Star was very little, not amounting to much. Most importantly, when the Star Lord created the underworld on the Natal Star, these fallen retainers would become the best material for recruiting ghost soldiers.

Moreover, doing so would also be beneficial for cultivating the retainers' cohesion, loyalty, faith, and so on, yielding many advantages.

Therefore, in the Star Lord's cultivation and teaching curriculum, these were clearly recorded and guided.

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