Merit Point Exchange

The Resistance Army leaders held a discussion regarding the escaped Grand Lord Galandis.

"Our Ambush was so swift, how could Glandis have escaped the city so quickly?" After listening to the argument among the Resistance Army Boss Tier, Bai Xiaowen frowned and asserted, "I think there's a high chance she's hiding, along with her elite guards."

"If this woman is hiding somewhere remote in the North Palace, then when the Imperial Army counterattacks, she and her guards will become a major threat to us, just like Orlan and his men," Grima said.

Everyone agreed. If it weren't for the intelligence provided by Orlan and other Resistance Army spies, and their sabotage of the city gate's winch that prevented it from closing, the Resistance Army would not have been able to breach the fortified city of Northshire so easily.

"We must search North Palace, we must dig three feet into the ground to find her," Grima concluded. "Moreover, Northshire has been ruled by the Empire for too long. Although most of our Viking compatriots still have passion, we cannot rule out the possibility of corrupt forces entrenched there. To be on the safe side, Northshire needs to undergo a bloody operation to become healthier."

That's a very poetic way of putting it; what it actually means is that it needs to be cleaned.

This was an inevitable step. Most of the existing nobles in the Northshire were beneficiaries of the Imperial Army's rule. The arrival of the Resistance Army had infringed upon their interests, and they were bound to harbor resentment towards the Resistance Army. Once the Imperial Army attacked, these nobles who were loyal to the Empire would become a hidden danger.

In particular, the Resistance Army ' regular forces consisted of only 600 men brought by Grima, which was far too weak to defend the entire city and was simply unable to cope with the situation of being attacked from both inside and outside.

Based on this consideration, Bai Xiaowen did not express any objection. He only cautiously stated that the "operation" should not be expanded indefinitely, as causing panic among the people would be detrimental to the Resistance Army's foothold in Northshire.

Guided by intelligence provided by the Resistance Army spies such as Orlan, a group of nobles who supported the Imperial Army's rule were identified. Without trial or review, they were executed directly.

The Viking Volunteer Army soldiers who had distinguished themselves led the Resistance Army to sweep through the civilian areas, and the ethnic tensions that had been building up finally erupted, and this "bloody operation" inevitably began to escalate.

Those Imperials living in Northshire were naturally purged, as were the Wood Elves who resembled the High Elves and the Brownfolk skin color differed significantly from that of the Vikings.

At Bai Xiaowen's suggestion, Grima did not kill these people directly, but instead drove them out of Northshire City.

"Xiao Wen, I've discovered that the Resistance Army aren't exactly good people either," Li Shuyi whispered to Bai Xiaowen Bai Xiaowen, sitting on the steps at the entrance of the North Palace. Their assigned task was to lead a search of the North Palace.

Bai Xiaowen leaned against a marble pillar and slowly said, "Yes, they are a group of racists... Think about Usok's slogan, 'Vikings liberate the Northern Frontier '... Perhaps his blueprint for the Northern Frontier never intended for non- Vikings to live."

Li Shuyi nodded in agreement.

"From a moral standpoint, I don't approve of this purge, but I can't deny its effectiveness..." Bai Xiaowen said. "Our Hero Tier side quest, the surprise attack on Northshire, was completed precisely after the purge began."

Bai Xiaowen spoke while flipping through the task log.

"The Northern Frontier Resistance Army has captured more than 75% of key areas in Northshire."

"B-Tier Hero Side Quest: Raid on Northshire, Completed. Please find Resistance Army Leader Usok or General Grima to submit the quest."

Li Shuyi sighed, "Alright, completing the mission is ultimately a good thing, and we can't worry about everything else."

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "Let's not talk about that... Earlier at the Justice Court, I killed High Justice Hurd. Let's open a Golden Treasure Chest to perk ourselves up first."

As for Judge Costello, although Bai Xiaowen got hit by a bullet, no treasure chest dropped because Kevin dealt over 95% of the damage...

High Justice Hurd's kill rating was B-Tier, and both draw opportunities were given to Li Shuyi. Although Li Shuyi did not Kill Contribution, with Bai Xiaowen's consent, it was still within the Spirit Realm Rules to have some fun Loot Card.

Of course, the two have a permanent team relationship, and even if the items are bound together, they can still trade with each other, so it doesn't matter whether Li Shuyi has any Kill Contribution.

On my first draw, I got a "Justice Emblem", which can be exchanged for 1000 merit points.

On her second draw, Li Shuyi surprisingly drew a Skill Book.

[Edict: Smite Skill Book: Teaches you the Lawful Smite skill (Two-Star)].

Bai Xiaowen glanced at the skill description of Law: Smite. Compared to Feng Zi'ang's "Smite" skill in his memory database, both were holy attribute damage, but the base damage was enhanced, and the bonus was changed from light damage to medium damage, so the bonus coefficient should also be improved.

After all, it was produced by Advanced Boss, so it was naturally extraordinary. According to Feng Zi'ang's account, his Smite skill was obtained by luck from a regular monster.

"Report!"

Two Resistance Army soldiers approached and saluted Bai Xiaowen: "Lord Dio, we didn't find the False Lord Glandis in the North Palace, but we did discover a secret passage!"

"A secret passage?" Bai Xiaowen frowned slightly. "Take me there. Also, please have Grima Gelima come here."

Not long after, in Glandis's dressing room—which was also the entrance to the secret passage— Grima met with Bai Xiaowen again.

Upon meeting, Grima said with a smile, "The Dio brothers made a great contribution to the capture of Northshire City this time!"

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"B-Tier Hero Side Quest: Surprise Attack on Northshire, submitted. Quest completion rate 91% (Excellent)."

"Your reputation with the Northern Frontier Resistance Army has increased significantly; your current reputation level is Revered."

"Based on your contributions in the city capture battle, you have earned 7100 merit points."

Bai Xiaowen casually exchanged several special items for merit points, totaling four:

The "Imperial Silver Medal" obtained from Commander Alberta of the Heavy Knights can be exchanged for 1000 merit points; the "Patrol Token" obtained from Patrol Captain Massa can be exchanged for 1000 merit points; the "City Guard Commander's Token" obtained from City Guard Commander Nazir can be exchanged for 2000 merit points; and finally, the "Justice Emblem" obtained from High Justice Hurd can be exchanged for 1000 merit points.

Including the merit rewards from obtaining Trade Permit, Bai Xiaowen's team has accumulated a total of 13,300 merit points.

"Display the list of merit points redemptions."

Bai Xiaowen's words immediately put Grima had just opened her mouth, into the state of a human ATM.

Bai Xiaowen first exchanged for a bottle of Red Dragon Blood, spending 10,000 merit points, and then spent another 3,000 Merit Points to exchange for a Golden Tier one-handed sword for Li Shuyi.

The list of exchangeable Standard Gold Equipment is quite comprehensive, and they are generally named "Resistance Army Commander's XX". For example, the one-handed sword that you can exchange for is named "Resistance Commander's Sword".

Judging from their names, these equipment items do seem to follow the naming conventions of set items, but in reality, they are quite different.

The Resistance Commander's Sword has no special skills; its only highlight is its high attack power, with an additional 10-20 attack power, which is two or three points higher than the "Redleaf Lord's Glory Sword"!

Compared to Li Shuyi's original secondary weapon, the "Refined Thrust Sword," which had a base attack of 4-10 points, this is more than double the previous level.

After completing the level and completing the final results screen, Li Shuyi's dual swords' damage output will be further enhanced.

"Xiao Wen, is there any need to rush to spend your merit points?" Li Shuyi was certainly happy to get the new weapon, but she still considered the bigger picture. "We still have almost ten days left in the Aaron Plane World, and there will be plenty of battles to come... It would be better to save our merit points and exchange them for more Dragon Blood. I think Dragon Blood is more valuable."

Bai Xiaowen exchanged for three more pieces of food, spending all the remaining merit points, and then said:

"No... This time, I only earned a little over 10,000 merit points in five days by uncovering the Hero Quest of the surprise attack on Northshire. These kinds of quests can't be triggered just by being good at scheming; the right time, the right place, and the right people are all indispensable... Next, we need to shift our focus to Elite Tier challenge quests and investigate the Sealing secrets of the North County Monastery. We probably won't have time to do the faction quests on the Resistance Army side anymore."

After a pause, Bai Xiaowen added, "Furthermore, I have another unfavorable assumption... If we clash head-on with Kevin, our reputation within the Resistance Army could very well collapse, and it might be too late to redeem it. Accumulating so many Merit Points is ultimately worse than not securing them."

Bai Xiaowen exchanged for three Salted Fish...

[Dried Salmon: Food, restores 2 Life Value per second for 30 seconds after consumption.]

This food provides a significant amount of restorative damage, restoring a total of 60 Life Value points. However, it doesn't restore health instantly; the process takes too long, which is a drawback.

After the exchange was completed, Grima returned to normal and spoke:

"Dio, that Glandis must have escaped through this secret passage, right?"

Bai Xiaowen quickly got into character. "It looks right. I just don't know where this secret passage leads..."

Grima immediately ordered two Resistance Army soldiers to enter the secret passage to explore.

Some time later, the two Resistance Army soldiers returned the way they came and reported that the secret passage had two exits: one in the civilian area inside the city and the other outside the city.

"What a cunning bitch," Grima remarked.

Bai Xiaowen said, "The entire city has been searched, but no trace of Glandis has been found. She must have escaped outside the city. However, it's best to destroy this secret passage. Otherwise, if the Imperial Army, they could sneak into the city through the secret passage, which will always be a hidden danger."

Grima agreed wholeheartedly, "I will immediately send men to dig up the earth and rocks to completely seal off the secret passage."

Bai Xiaowen had no doubt about the civil engineering capabilities of the Spirit Realm beings. Just think about how he used bandits as human locomotives to transport supplies back in the Kane Plane...

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and said, "Grima, Northshire City has been captured, and the city shouldn't need me for the time being. I plan to go to North County Monastery to investigate those nuns."

Grima slapped her thigh and said, "That's right, this Monastery is definitely not to be overlooked. I was just thinking of asking you to investigate it, and now that you're willing to go, that would be perfect."

Logically speaking, the Monastery should be a neutral party, not involved in political struggles. But there's a saying: wherever there are people, there are conflicts; and wherever there are conflicts, there are disputes.

The Monastery worshipped the Lord of Light, but what did the Vikings worship? War God Ishtar.

Religious divisions have always been a significant factor in wars within medieval-themed worlds. In the Aaron Plane World, the Imperials' faith in the Lord of Light and the Vikings ' faith in the God of War form a hidden thread of conflict.

North County Monastery was naturally opposed to the Viking Resistance Army.

Bai Xiaowen demonstrated a textbook example of scheming to Li Shuyi. After Grima uttered a sentence, he seized the opportunity and said, "Could you arrange a team of elite troops for me? I can wipe out the Monastery in one fell swoop."

Grima's face showed a troubled expression. "We only brought six hundred men with us. Some brothers were lost in the battle, and the remaining men are already stretched thin defending Northshire... Brother Dio, please understand that Northshire City is of greater importance than North County Monastery, and cannot be lost."

Bai Xiaowen naturally expressed her understanding.

Grima added, "Even Archmage Kevin can't provide support... His spells are very useful in the City Defense."

Grima was unaware of the subtle antagonism between Bai Xiaowen and Kevin. He said this to preemptively block Bai Xiaowen's request. Kevin's area-of-effect spells and single-target kill spells against the Boss Tier were indeed a trump card in the City Defense.

If Bai Xiaowen suggests that Kevin accompany the investigation, it would be difficult for Grima to refuse.

Bai Xiaowen frowned and said, "But I work very well with Archmage Kevin. If he doesn't go, Charlotte and I will be a bit outnumbered."

"I'm sorry, Dio, try your best to get through this..." Grima sighed. "We're short-handed... Go to the Monastery and just secretly investigate the nuns' movements. Try to avoid fighting."

Bai Xiaowen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then... could Master Kevin please give me some invisibility potions and Silence Spell Scroll?"

"This request is indeed reasonable, after all, you went to investigate the Monastery for the sake of the Resistance Army. However, the invisibility potion and the Silence Spell Scroll are the private property of Archmage Kevin. I can try to persuade him, but I can't guarantee whether he will give them to you. Unless you are willing to... transfer the spoils of war that were allocated to you after this battle to Archmage Kevin," Grima said.

The spoils of war refer to the gold, silver utensils, and coins looted after capturing Northshire, especially after occupying North Palace. According to the rules of the Resistance Army, these would be distributed to the meritorious soldiers.

Bai Xiaowen readily replied, "Those gold and silver treasures are of no value to me. For the cause of the Vikings liberation, I even gave up my comfortable life in Volterren. Why would I care about these material possessions? Lord Grima must explain to Archmage Kevin that everything is for the sake of the Northern Frontier, and ask him to make a small sacrifice!"

As soon as Bai Xiaowen finished speaking, she saw Kevin and two other unremarkable Resistance Army leaders approaching. Kevin's face was noticeably dark...