Repairs Complete, Territory Population +1

Everyone focused their attacks on the Burrowing Robot, and a third of its durability was gone.

At the same time, green +22 recovery numbers appeared above Frost Wolf Winter's head as it took hits.

Its health was recovering rapidly.

The rest of the battle was no longer in doubt.

A dozen seconds later.

A plume of black smoke rose from the Burrowing Robot,

and it changed from Burrowing Form back into its upright form, letting out a dejected voice.

"Robot... defeated..."

[Your territory member Sarah Blade Dance killed Burrowing Robot lv15 and gained 150 experience points]

[All combatants gained 75 experience points...]

The combatants included not only everyone on the scene, but also Ilena, who was currently inside the territory.

Cao Xing laughed again.

"I feel like Ilena should be level 6 by now, right?"

Nearby, Liu Muxue saw Sarah's graceful attack and formidable strength, and couldn't help praising her.

"Sarah... you're amazing!"

Hearing Liu Muxue's praise, Sarah nodded slightly. "I'm honored to have earned your appreciation, beautiful Lord."

Cao Xing rolled his eyes.

That woman hadn't reacted at all when he praised her.

But she was so happy when Liu Muxue praised her.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing walked over to the wrecked Burrowing Robot.

[Molemen Technology: Burrowing Robot (Destroyed)]

[Can be dismantled into Lesser Energy Core*1, Iron*120, Copper*41, Mithril*27, Mana Stone*6]

[Or repaired using Iron*100, Mithril*10, Mana Stone*5. Once repaired, the Burrowing Robot will become a friendly unit, and you can give it simple orders.]

Seeing the second option, Cao Xing's eyes lit up.

"Huh? It can become a friendly unit?"

Cao Xing had already witnessed the Burrowing Robot's formidable attack power. In a one-on-one fight, Frost Wolf was no match for it.

Besides, this thing could also be used to mine. It was practically a multipurpose robot.

Cao Xing checked the materials in his backpack.

[Iron*1723]

[Mithril*133]

[Mana Stone*164]

"Good thing I picked up quite a lot of these materials along the way. I have more than enough to repair the Burrowing Robot."

So Cao Xing immediately clicked repair.

[Repairing...]

"Clank! Clank!"

The sound of machinery turning rang out.

At the same time, the wrecked robot seemed to spring back to life.

The parts of its body that had been attacked had their iron plating hacked open, exposing the electronic components inside.

As the various materials were fed in, repairs began rapidly, and it was restored to its original condition in no time.

A system notification appeared.

[Repair successful. You lost Iron*100, Mithril*10, Mana Stone*5. You gained Burrowing Robot*1. Territory population +1]

Cao Xing froze. "This thing counts as a population unit too?"

He thought about it, then paid it no mind.

After all, he still had plenty of room in his population limit.

At that moment, the Burrowing Robot stood up again.

"I am a... robot..."

"Master... please give your orders..."

Seeing this, Sarah, Andrew, and the others turned curious gazes toward it.

They seemed puzzled as to how the creature they'd just knocked down had gotten back up.

Cao Xing glanced at the Burrowing Robot's status.

[Molemen Technology: Burrowing Robot]

[Level: 15]

[Attack: 237-250]

[Armor: 115-124]

[Durability: 100/2000]

[Maximum movement speed: 30 km/h]

[Energy consumption: 1 Mana Stone/30 days (low-power standby mode), 1 Mana Stone/1 day (high-power combat mode)]

[Skills: Burrowing Form, Drill Ejection]

Its other attributes were the same as before.

Now that it had become a friendly unit, Cao Xing could see its energy consumption and movement stats.

"At low power, it only uses one Mana Stone a month. That's pretty energy-efficient."

Moreover, the Burrowing Robot they'd just repaired had very low durability.

Just as Cao Xing was about to restore its durability,

he suddenly sensed a dangerous presence rapidly approaching.

Asam's senses were exceptionally sharp. He instantly drew his longsword and warned them, "Lord, be careful!"

At the same time, numerous pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness.

Thud... thud...

Whirr! Whirrr!

Dozens, then hundreds, of footsteps charged toward Cao Xing and the others at once, accompanied by the sound of machinery turning.

Andrew and Sarah's expressions turned serious, and they both prepared for battle.

When Cao Xing looked over,

a huge group of Molemen appeared, armed with knives, spears, swords, and halberds.

Among them were also several robots two to three meters tall.

Cao Xing swept his gaze over them and saw the monsters' attributes.

[Molemen Archer lv11]

[Health: 1760]

[Attack: 133-135]

...

[Molemen Soldier lv7]

[Health: 640]

[Attack: 54-59]

...

[Molemen Technology: Bulldozer Robot]

[Level: 15]

[Attack: 377-394]

[Armor: 134-139]

[Durability: 2500]

[Skill: Bulldozer Form (Activate the bulldozer blade and enter excavator form, increasing movement speed by 20%)]

[Skill: Reckless Charge (Advance at full power, flatten all enemies in front of you, deal 130% heavy damage to enemies along the way, and have a 50% chance of knocking them flying.)]

Besides the Bulldozer Robot, Cao Xing also saw a Tracked Robot with tank treads, as well as another Burrowing Robot.

"Damn... did we kick a hornet's nest?" Cao Xing exclaimed in surprise.

More than a hundred Molemen had surrounded them, along with three powerful robots.

Even Cao Xing felt the pressure.

But when he thought of how strong Sarah and the others were, he felt reassured.

His recruited subordinates weren't pushovers.

After receiving multiple buffs, their survivability and endurance had improved by leaps and bounds.

They were more than capable of handling the situation in front of them.

So Cao Xing immediately gave his orders. "Asam, come protect us!"

"Andrew, Sarah, Winter, attack!"

At that moment, the three powerful Tier 2 Creatures received their orders and charged forward without hesitation.

Faced with the sight before her, Sarah felt no fear. Instead, she looked quite excited.

She licked her red lips and murmured, "My prey is nearby. Now, let the hunt begin!"

The next moment, she slipped directly into the darkness.

Andrew also entered [Giant Bear Form] without hesitation.

"Roar!!!"

A Frost Wolf, a white bear, and a mass of shadows swiftly charged into the Molemen army and attacked.

The two sides clashed.

"Boom! Rumble!"

Andrew and the Frost Wolf, two massive creatures, leaped straight into the ranks of Molemen and swung their claws.

[-372]

[-8]

[-234]

[-8]

[257]

[-8]

A whole string of damage numbers appeared.

The Molemen were swept away in droves.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

They were slammed against the walls of the mine, letting out screams.

Just then.

Several Tier 2 Molemen Archers in the distance attacked at the same time.

"Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!"

The sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out as they struck Andrew and the Frost Wolf, triggering two layers of armor.

[-54]

[-93]

The damage wasn't particularly high.

The other Molemen could only deal ten or twenty points of damage at most.

Seeing this, Cao Xing felt reassured.

With their recovery abilities, they could survive this kind of encirclement with ease.

"Roar!"

Andrew was now completely berserk.

He swung his millstone-sized paws, smashing the heads of the low-level Molemen one after another.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The Frost Wolf beside him wasn't as terrifying, but it could still kill a Moleman in two or three swipes.

On top of that, Sarah kept swinging her Phantom Shadow Blades from the shadows.

Molemen fell one after another.

Notifications of experience gained kept appearing.

Meanwhile, Asam faithfully guarded Cao Xing, protecting him and Liu Muxue.

Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing Andrew and the others are strong enough."

"Seeing so many Molemen appear all at once really gave me a bit of a scare."

Cao Xing glanced at the Burrowing Robot, which had just been repaired. Since it had only 100 durability left, he hadn't let it join the fight.

He tried casting Ice Healing on it.

A system notification appeared.

[Ice Healing cast successfully. Eternal Power has taken effect, and this skill has become permanent.]