The Demon Spider Staff and the Silver Treasure Chest

Cao Xing glanced at Frost Wolf Winter beside him.

It was also a level 10 creature, meeting the requirements for advancement.

As long as he advanced it to Tier 2 as well, then all the recruited creatures under his command, except Ilena, would be Tier 2!

So he handed the Heart of Strength to Asam as well.

"Asam, go. Let your Winter advance too. A powerful knight needs a powerful mount to bring out his combat strength."

Hearing this, Asam tremblingly took the crimson crystal from Cao Xing's hand.

He looked gratefully at Cao Xing and said no more.

Instead, he turned and went straight to Frost Wolf Winter.

"Winter, accept the power bestowed by the lord!"

"Together, let us defend the lord's honor to the death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the Heart of Strength over.

Frost Wolf Winter seemed to know that this was something that could make it stronger.

The moment Asam tossed the crystal down, it opened its jaws and bit down.

Crack!

The sound of the crystal shattering rang out, and powerful energy surged through its body.

In an instant, Winter's aura began to grow at a terrifying rate!

Cao Xing saw that Winter's already sturdy limbs had grown twice as thick.

That wasn't all; its body was rapidly growing larger too!

It went from three meters long to nearly four.

"Roar!"

A terrifying roar echoed through the cave.

Just standing there, the savage giant wolf gave off an intense sense of pressure!

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction again.

Then came the last reward: the [Demon Spider Staff (Blue)].

This was the first blue piece of equipment Cao Xing had ever gotten as a drop, and he was very eager to see its attributes.

[Demon Spider Staff (Blue)]

[Quality: Fine]

[Attack: 31-37]

[Bonus Effect ①: Spirit +10]

[Bonus Effect ②: Lesser Mana Amplification (When making a magic attack, there is a 40% chance to increase the magic damage of that attack by 10%)]

[Bonus Effect ③: Spider Command (Summons 5 level 10 Tier 1 Demon Spiders to fight for you. The Demon Spiders remain for 60 seconds. Effect cooldown: 300 seconds)]

...

After reading the equipment description, delight appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"So this is what blue equipment is like? It's so strong!"

Not only did it increase his Spirit by 10, it also came with an effect that summoned Demon Spiders.

He equipped it right away, and his Spirit increased considerably.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

Then he looked at Asam and the others and ordered, "Search the cave and see if you can find any treasures."

At his command, Asam and the others immediately set to work.

A few minutes later, Sarah found something in a corner of the cave.

"There's a treasure chest here."

Cao Xing's heart leaped with joy, and he walked over.

In a web-covered area in the corner of the cave, there was indeed a white treasure chest hidden away.

"Would you look at that, another Silver Treasure Chest," Cao Xing said happily.

After cutting through the webs, a system prompt appeared.

[Discovered an unlocked Silver Treasure Chest. Open it?]

Cao Xing clicked to open it.

Clang!

[Successfully opened the Silver Treasure Chest.]

[Obtained Noble Backpack (Green) *1]

[Obtained Rail crafting blueprint *1]

[Obtained Medium Shelter construction blueprint *1]

[Obtained Large Ration *12]

[Obtained Medical Kit *3]

"Oh? A backpack dropped? And a blueprint for making rails?"

Delight appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"Excellent. Now I can make more rails and connect all the mines near my territory."

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction and began checking the attributes of the backpack and the other shelter blueprint.

[Noble Backpack (Green)]

[Backpack Capacity: 40 slots]

[Bonus Effect: Charm +4]

(Note: Charm is a hidden attribute and will not appear on the status panel.)

...

[Medium Shelter Construction Blueprint]

[Occupied Area: 40 square meters]

[Capacity: 6 people]

[Additional Effect: Provides allied units resting inside with health recovery, restoring 0.5 health per second.]

[Construction Requirements: Stone *120, Wood *240, Iron *20, Lesser Elemental Crystal *5]

...

[Rail Crafting Blueprint: Can be used at a Blacksmith to spend materials and craft one section of rail]

[Length: 1 meter]

[Required: Iron *8, Level 1 Blacksmith]
...

A backpack and two blueprints were all quite good.

Cao Xing equipped the backpack with satisfaction.

Then he looked at the Silver Treasure Chest on the ground again.

[Disassemble the previously opened Silver Treasure Chest *1?]

"Yes."

[Disassembly successful. Obtained Mithril *10]

By this point, Cao Xing had almost completely cleaned out everything in this Cave Spider's lair.

Just then, Cao Xing looked up at the large cocoons wrapped in webs on the ceiling.

He suddenly wondered, "Muxue, do you think there might be any treasures inside these cocoons?"

"Hm?" Liu Muxue looked puzzled.

Cao Xing considered it for a moment, then said, "Asam, help me knock these cocoons down."

Asam obeyed and slashed at them with a Frost Sword Aura.

Whoosh!

A white cocoon fell with a thud.

Cao Xing went over to it, then looked at the Druid beside him and said, "Andrew, help me open the cocoon."

Andrew hesitated. "Lord, this would be a desecration of the bodies of the dead..."

"But if it is your order, Andrew is willing to carry it out."

He swung his claws twice, quickly peeling the cocoon open.

A pale human face was revealed inside.

"Could it actually be a human?"

Everyone was surprised by the sight.

Cao Xing bent down and searched the body, finding a crest marked with petals and a sword, as well as some Coins.

[Obtained Cartel Family Crest *1]

[Obtained Coins *72]

Cao Xing checked the attributes of the crest.

[Cartel Family Crest (Accessory)]

[Quality: Common]

[Equipment Effect: Strength +1, Agility +1]

Cao Xing nodded. The stats it added weren't much, but since it was an accessory, it didn't take up an equipment slot. It was better than nothing.

Then Cao Xing knocked down all the other large cocoons.

Inside, he found many corpses, both Molemen and humans.

From the corpses, Cao Xing collected a total of 17 Iron Ingots, 452 Coins, 6 Lesser Elemental Crystals, and 11 clan emblems.

The haul was pretty good.

At that moment, Cao Xing looked at the Druid beside him, who wore a somewhat guilty expression.

"Andrew, this isn't desecrating the dead. It's helping them return to their roots."

"Only by freeing them can the souls of the dead find release."

"Now, bury their bodies in the land you love most."

Cao Xing spoke with great solemnity, as if he truly meant it.

Hearing this, Andrew's furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

He placed one hand over his chest and bowed respectfully. "So this was the Lord's intention all along. Forgive Andrew's ignorance for misunderstanding you!"

A system prompt appeared.

[Your actions have moved Andrew. Loyalty has increased. Current Loyalty: 88]

Cao Xing nodded, secretly pleased.

These guys just loved hearing this sort of high-minded talk.

Then they spent about ten minutes dealing with the corpses.

Seeing that there was nothing left to search in the cave, Cao Xing continued giving orders. "Go back the way we came and head down the other passage."

"As you command, my lord."

The four powerful Tier 2 Creatures followed Cao Xing's orders and began retracing their steps.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Frost Wolf's steps were heavy after its advancement, its presence imposing.

Its heavy footsteps echoed throughout the mine.

Soon, they returned to the fork in the path.

This time, everyone was heading down the passage on the left.

The four recruited creatures still walked in front.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind, continually collecting the Rail and scattered ore from the ground.

[Rail +1]

[Rail +1]

[Mana Stone +3]