Cao Xing nodded to himself. Only by showing his strength could he make his subordinates more loyal to him.
The same principle applied in any world.
He looked at Asam beside him, then took a scarlet crystal from his backpack.
This was the [Lesser Heart of Strength] he had obtained when he killed the bear just now.
[Lesser Heart of Strength: Can only be obtained from certain powerful creatures.] [Item effect: Allows survivors or territory members who have reached level 10 to advance. After advancing, all attributes increase by 100%.]
In the Icebound Era, the gains from each advancement were tremendous.
At least a 100% increase to attributes.
Without relying on other means, fighting enemies of a higher tier was extremely difficult.
And Asam was already a level 10 creature, so he met the requirements to advance.
So Cao Xing tossed him the [Heart of Strength].
Asam caught it instinctively. Then, gripping the crystal brimming with power, he stared at it in astonishment.
He asked in disbelief, "Lord, can you really give me such a precious Heart of Strength?"
Cao Xing nodded. "Asam, you proved your courage and resourcefulness in this operation. I think you deserve even greater strength."
"So please accept this Heart of Strength. Let's build an even more prosperous territory together!"
Asam was moved to tears. He pounded his chest with one hand, stood upright, and said excitedly, "I would gladly give my life for you, Lord!"
["Asam" has been moved by your actions. Loyalty increased. Current loyalty: 95 (Ready to lay down his life).]
Seeing the notification, Cao Xing was overjoyed.
Once loyalty reached 90 or higher, these soldiers became completely devoted. Even if you told them to go to their deaths, they would carry it out without hesitation.
That meant there was even less reason to worry about Asam betraying him.
As everyone watched,
Asam crushed the Heart of Strength right in front of Cao Xing.
"Crack!"
The sound of shattering glass rang out, and Asam absorbed a cloud of red mist.
To everyone's astonishment, Asam's aura rapidly surged, reaching a terrifying level in the blink of an eye.
A system notification appeared.
[Your territory member, Asam, has advanced. All attributes increased by 100%.]
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Asam's attributes after his advancement.
[Frost Wolf Knight: Asam (Tier 2)] [Race: Human] [Level: 10 1722/10000] [Health: 2040] [Attack: 274~289] [Armor: 24~27] [Attributes: Strength 114, Agility 108, Spirit 96, Constitution 102] [Hunger: 72] [Loyalty: 95]
"Good, good, good!"
Cao Xing looked at Asam's stats with satisfaction.
Without a doubt, this boost had brought about a qualitative leap in his strength.
Ilena watched Asam's transformation with envy.
Noticing her expression, Cao Xing said, "Ilena, keep up the good work. Once you reach level 10, I'll find you a Heart of Strength too, so you can advance to Tier 2."
Ilena's narrow, serpentine eyes widened at once. She looked at Cao Xing excitedly and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Lord!"
"Ilena would give everything she has for you, Lord!"
["Ilena" has been moved by your words. Loyalty increased. Current loyalty: 85.]
Sure enough, her loyalty had risen again.
Cao Xing was delighted. A good lord knew how to make promises of future rewards.
Then Cao Xing checked the two rewards for being the first to kill the Snowfield Thunder Bear.
[Icefield Druid Recruitment Scroll (Purple): Use this scroll to summon a powerful level 15 Elite Druid!] (Note: Although the Icefield Druid is powerful, he also needs a tremendous amount of food every day. Make sure you have enough food~)
Seeing the notification, Cao Xing's pupils suddenly contracted.
Damn!
A level 15 elite monster!
That was incredibly powerful!
The Snowfield Thunder Bear's tremendous fighting strength just now made it clear how terrifying a level 15 elite monster could be!
If Cao Xing hadn't had a powerful weapon like [Barrett], all of them together wouldn't have lasted half a minute against the Snowfield Thunder Bear.
However, the system had also warned him that this "Icefield Druid" had an enormous appetite.
Ordinary survivors might not even be able to afford to feed him.
Cao Xing continued to check the other reward.
[Lesser Elemental Arrow Tower Blueprint: Allows you to build a defensive arrow tower in your territory.] [Attack: 213~247 (20% chance to deal an additional 45 points of elemental damage)] [Attack interval: 1 shot every 2.5 seconds] [Maximum range: 600 meters] [Armor: 20 points] [Durability: 2000/2000] [Footprint: 12 square meters] [Building height: 15 meters] [Required construction materials: Wood*300, Stone*200, Iron*50, Lesser Elemental Crystal*10]
After reading the Elemental Arrow Tower's stats, Cao Xing was delighted all over again.
Good grief, it had over 200 attack power. A single shot could kill a level 5 creature like Ilena. This was another powerful weapon!
Even Asam, before advancing, might have been shot dead before he reached the tower in a one-on-one fight.
After all, it had a range of 600 meters.
And the materials needed for this Elemental Arrow Tower weren't complicated. He could easily build them in batches.
The only troublesome part was the [Lesser Elemental Crystal] listed at the end.
This item only dropped from powerful creatures like the Snowfield Thunder Bear, or could be found in treasure chests.
But with the [Market] available, that wasn't a problem for Cao Xing.
Cao Xing was sure that no matter how rare this material was, with such a large number of survivors, plenty of them would have obtained it.
After checking over his spoils, Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.
Although the battle had cost him five Barrett Bullets, the rewards were astonishing.
It was a bumper harvest.
And that wasn't all. There was one more reward he hadn't dealt with yet.
Cao Xing looked at the massive corpse before him.
[Snowfield Thunder Bear Corpse (Blue): Can be dismantled.]
Cao Xing clicked dismantle.
Then a flash of white light enveloped the Snowfield Thunder Bear's body, which was as large as a small truck.
When the light faded, a mountain of fresh bear meat appeared on the spot, along with an enormous bear pelt, a pair of paws, and a pile of bones.
[Fresh Bear Meat (Blue)*1215] (Bear meat containing great power. On first consumption, Strength +2 and Constitution +2.) [Complete Snowfield Thunder Bear Pelt (Blue)] (A complete bear pelt with excellent cold resistance. After being made into clothing at a sewing shop, it can also provide a certain amount of armor.) [Snowfield Thunder Bear Paw (Purple)*2] (A precious trophy. It is said that the nobles of Avalon specifically collect these bear paws. They can be sold for a handsome price.) [Snowfield Thunder Bear Gallbladder (Blue)*1] (A gallbladder with powerful effects. After consuming it for the first time, you permanently gain 200 health. Remember to cook it before eating~) [Snowfield Thunder Bear Bones*172 (Blue)] (The bear's bones are extremely hard. You can have them processed at the Blacksmith to make Spears or other weapons.)
"No way! More than a thousand units of bear meat?"
Cao Xing was stunned. At that rate, it came to a full six thousand units of food!
And what was the most important thing?
The most important thing was that this bear meat could increase attributes!
A full two-point boost to Strength and Constitution.
For those with warrior classes, that meant nearly four more points of attack power, forty more health, and one point of armor.
This was when the survivors were most short of food, and this was meat that increased their attributes, too!
If he put it up for trade on the [Market], Cao Xing was sure it would trigger a buying frenzy among the survivors.
He could almost see a huge fortune hurtling toward him. Even Cao Xing's breathing grew a little rapid!
Before you continue