Not only Cao Xing, but Liu Muxue beside him had also heard the system notification. She asked in confusion, "A Xing, I think I gained experience too."
"But I didn't help fight, did I?"
Cao Xing thought for a moment and quickly understood why.
Although Liu Muxue hadn't joined the battle,
she had applied the [Aurora Blessing] effect to both Andrew and Asam, allowing them to deal extra damage.
That meant the system considered Liu Muxue to have participated in the battle as well.
And Cao Xing had applied [Ice Armor] and [Ice Healing], which also counted him as a participant in the battle.
Even Ilena, who was guarding the territory, had empowered the Druid with a BUFF.
Delight appeared on Cao Xing's face. This feature was amazing!
"Muxue, this is great!"
"Now, as long as we recruit enough powerful followers, we can just apply effects to them and leave them to it."
"Then, we can send all those followers out, and we'll level up just by sitting in our territory."
More importantly, this also gave them a better chance of claiming the leaderboard rewards!
Liu Muxue heard him out, and a hint of delight appeared on her face too.
Then she simply stayed by Cao Xing's side.
The two of them watched as the camp became the site of a one-sided slaughter.
Asam charged straight into the center of the camp and faced seven or eight Hunters surrounding him on his own.
There were also two Hunters nearby firing arrows.
But when their arrows struck Asam's armor, two minuscule damage numbers appeared.
[-1]
[-1]
The Hunters' attacks were reasonably strong; at least they could deal a little damage to Asam.
But the damage was far too low.
You could say they'd broken through his defense, but not quite.
The next second, green +10s appeared above Asam's head, one after another.
The Hunters were completely dumbfounded.
How were they supposed to fight like this?
They were dealing less damage than he was recovering. Wasn't that way too unfair?
I'm reporting this! Someone's cheating!
Asam, however, didn't care what they thought.
With 95 loyalty, he put Cao Xing's orders above everything else.
That meant killing every last one of these Hunters.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
He swung Frost Wolf Swordsmanship with fierce, whirling power.
Every sword strike took the life of a Hunter.
Frost Wolf carried him leaping through the camp, constantly changing direction.
Tier 2 Asam was practically unstoppable!
[Your territory member Asam killed Hunter Lv. 4 and gained 40 experience.]
[You gained 20 experience.]
Andrew, meanwhile, was even more terrifying.
He transformed straight into Demolition Form and forcefully overturned tent after tent.
He easily dragged out the Hunters hiding inside and then slapped them to death with a single claw.
Under normal circumstances, Andrew exuded the calm and wisdom of a sage.
But in battle, he was like a raging beast!
"Roar!!"
After a terrifying roar, Andrew pinned down a Lv. 6 Hunter Scout and smashed its head.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue kept seeing the "Gained experience" notification.
Before long, a beam of white light appeared around Liu Muxue.
She had leveled up.
Going from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 was still easy; it only required 100 experience.
But going from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 required 1,000 experience.
Every level after that required an additional 1,000 experience.
Just then, a dark figure suddenly burst out of the tent at the back of the camp.
He seemed to know how dangerous Andrew and Asam were. The moment he left the camp, he sprinted toward the snowy wilderness, with no intention of fighting at all.
Cao Xing glimpsed his attributes.
[Hunter Captain Lv. 10]
[Race: Human]
[Attack: 172-184]
[Health: 1540]
[Skills: Cruel Rend (deals damage equal to 80% of attack twice to an enemy and inflicts Bleed Effect Lv. 1)
Greased Feet (increases movement speed by 30% while fleeing)]
"Whoa, that must be their captain!"
Cao Xing immediately shouted, "Don't let him get away!"
The guy was only a normal Lv. 10 monster, and hadn't even advanced.
But his Greased Feet skill was truly absurd, perfect for escaping.
Just then, Andrew let out a roar.
"Roar!!"
He changed from his human form into a giant bear covered in white fur and charged away like a cannonball.
Boom!
His burst of speed even surpassed that of the Icefield Giant Bear.
It was Andrew's skill, [Giant Bear Form].
Thud! Thud-thud!
The ground trembled continuously.
In [Giant Bear Form], all of Andrew's attributes increased by 30%. On top of that, Ilena's [Snakefolk Frenzy] increased his movement speed by another 20%.
Andrew easily caught up with the fleeing Hunter Captain.
Then, under the captain's horrified gaze,
Andrew roared.
"Roar!!!"
His enormous bear paw came crashing down.
Smack!!
The Hunter leader was instantly crushed into a heap of gore.
A vivid flower, formed from flesh and blood, now lay on the cold snow.
The bloody scene made Liu Muxue's face turn deathly pale.
But she still gritted her teeth and forced herself to accept it.
She knew that if she took part in battle in the future, scenes like this would be common.
Cao Xing heard a system notification.
[Your territory member Andrew killed Hunter Captain Lv. 10 and gained 300 experience.]
[You gained 150 experience.]
Just then, a beam of white light rose from Cao Xing.
[Your level has increased. Current level: Lv. 4.]
[Rewards for this level-up: Strength +2, Agility +2, Spirit +4, Constitution +2]
Cao Xing was delighted. "I leveled up again!"
A surge of energy welled up inside him.
His mind felt clearer, and his body more energetic.
"Woohoo, leveling up feels great!"
Before long, Asam had finished off the enemies on his side too.
The Hunters throughout the entire camp had been killed.
The ground was littered with corpses and severed limbs.
A system prompt appeared.
[You destroyed a Hunter Camp. Territory reputation +50.]
[Warning! Because you completed a high-difficulty extermination, based on an assessment of your strength, you received an additional reward: Phantom Assassin Recruitment Scroll (Blue) *1]
"Huh, another blue recruitment scroll?"
Cao Xing's eyes lit up as he checked the scroll's attributes.
[Phantom Assassin Recruitment Scroll (Blue): Use this scroll to summon a Phantom Assassin with the strength of a Level 20 elite.]
"Holy crap! A Level 20 elite creature-stronger than Andrew!"
Cao Xing's eyes filled with shock, then delight!
Obviously, this recruitment scroll could give his strength another huge boost.
However, he didn't summon the Phantom Assassin right away. Instead, he headed toward the camp with Liu Muxue.
"Let's clean up the battlefield first."
Then the two of them entered the camp.
The scene before them was a mess. Even the bonfire had gone out.
Cao Xing walked up to a Hunter's corpse and was just about to reach for it.
A system prompt appeared.
[Humanoid creature. Cannot be dismantled.]
Cao Xing's mouth twitched.
What did this system take me for? I wasn't going to dismantle it!
This was slander, slander!
Even so, Cao Xing reached out and rummaged through the Hunters' belongings.
[Obtained Hunter Mask (White) *1, obtained Tier One Soldier Training Manual (White) *1, obtained 15 coins]
"A mask?"
Cao Xing looked puzzled, then checked its attributes.
Before you continue