Recruiting Troops

[System Notification: The story event "Naga Invasion Event" has been triggered. You have accepted the appointment from Neptulon, the Water Elemental King, as a commander of the Water Elemental Legion, leading a large army to fight against the Naga who have invaded the Water Elemental Plane. You will receive corresponding reputation rewards based on your performance in this event.]

Excellent. It allows me to achieve my strategic goals while gaining prestige. This is a worthwhile deal.

When the meeting adjourned and Xiao Yu walked out of the Elemental Council hall, he was incredibly excited.

(Haha, this is awesome! I've got an army of three thousand Water Elemental in one go. It's true that you have to strike when the time is right!) Thinking smugly to himself, Xiao Yu even felt like he was floating as he walked.

Although the army did not belong to him, and he only had command authority, power is always valuable. If used properly, he could use this opportunity to establish a great career.

(Destroy the Hydra? Drive out the Naga? Hmph, that's not my goal.) Xiao Yu thought to himself. His goal was to establish his own power in the Prime Material Plane.

While staying in the Water Elemental Plane was safe, how could one possibly obtain the strongest BOSS if one remained stagnant? Therefore, from the very beginning, Xiao Yu had no intention of easily stopping his conquest.

"Prince Azathoth, wait a moment, don't go yet." A voice suddenly rang out behind him. Xiao Yu turned around and was immediately stunned. Behind him were a Sea Elemental Lords with a 2-skull-level BOSS template, a Water Elemental Elder with a high-level BOSS template, and an Ice Giant with a 1-skull-level BOSS template.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Prince): "Who are you?"

Monari (Sea Elemental Lords): "We greatly admire your courage, Your Excellency, and therefore hope to contribute to this battle. If Your Highness does not mind, the three of us are willing to lead our people to join Your Highness's army to fight against the Naga. Of course, due to certain reasons, we cannot accompany you through the Maelstrom to attack Hydra City, but we will fight alongside you until we pass through the Maelstrom."

Xiao Yu was taken aback for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the three completely different elemental creatures: the sea elemental, the Water Elemental, and the frost giant. He then smiled slightly and said, "You're players, aren't you?"

Actually, it's not hard to guess at all, because even ordinary elemental creatures have their own factions. The most likely explanation for this is that three elements from completely different regions have come together—they are players.

The three guys opposite them exchanged glances, all showing expressions of surprise.

Monari (Sea Elemental Lords): "You're a player too? Really? Then you went to attack the Naga, crossed the Maelstrom, and didn't you know that the Prime Material Plane was killed--" With a thud, the Frost Giant suddenly punched the Sea Elemental Lords, splashing water everywhere.

Monari (Sea Elemental Lords): "Damn it, why did you hit me?"

Azathoth (Water Elemental Prince): "I think he's reminding you not to reveal that elemental beings will truly die if killed in the Prime Material Plane, so that I can be used as cannon fodder."

These words immediately made the frost giant scratch his head in embarrassment; he had indeed been thinking that.

Kukuker (Water Elemental Elder): "So you knew? Then why did you still go!?"

Azathoth (Water Elemental Prince): "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. My goal is to become the strongest boss; how can I do this without taking some risks?"

The three guys seemed to have mixed feelings of admiration, surprise, and schadenfreude. Xiao Yu couldn't help but understand. These three were probably eyeing the reputation gained from the plot events, but they were also afraid of being killed by the plot. When they saw him appear, they felt both regret and schadenfreude. They were surprised to hear that his goal was the strongest BOSS. Many people have this kind of complicated feeling. When faced with a situation, they want to stand out but are afraid of being targeted. When they see others standing out, they feel envious, jealous, and hateful.

Most ordinary people would make the same choice in this situation. Even Xiao Yu himself, if he really had a way out, wouldn't easily take on this task. After all, failure would mean utter ruin. He would probably just like the three people in front of him, hiding in the crowd and watching the show, occasionally being summoned to the Prime Material Plane to earn some small money.

But he had no way out, so he had to take a gamble. However, in the eyes of others, he seemed to be decisive and daring.

Now that the truth had been revealed, the three people on the other side stopped hiding their intentions and went straight to the point.

Typhon (Frost Giant): "Actually, we'd love to get involved in this story event, but the risks are a bit too high. We make our living this way, so we can't act impulsively. How about this: we'll each support you with a small force to boost your strength, and in return, you let us participate in this story event under your name. We can even send troops to help you reach the Maelstrom, but what happens after that is up to you."

Xiao Yu nodded. The three of them had a good idea. Although they wouldn't play the main leading role, they could at least be listed in this plot event and probably get a few hundred reputation points. Plus, they wouldn't have to risk their lives in the Prime Material Plane.

Actually, there is still a slight risk in doing this, because Water Elemental will truly die if they are killed in the Water Elemental Plane. However, given the current strength of the Naga forces in the Water Elemental Plane, this is not a possibility. It's just that the world after the Maelstrom is uncertain.

However, even though he knew what these three people were up to, Xiao Yu couldn't refuse. No matter how much reputation he had, he had to be alive to get it. Three thousand Water Elemental soldiers sounded like a lot, but there must have been quite a few invading Naga as well, otherwise these Water Elemental Lord wouldn't have been so afraid to fight. So, it wouldn't be bad if he could recruit some people to join him.

He's like a gambler now, trying to multiply his stake a thousandfold, aiming for the grand prize. He absolutely cannot lose; one loss and it's game over. So he has to be cautious and maximize his stake. If allocating some reputation points can yield even more, why not?

Azathoth (Water Elemental Prince): "This suggestion is reasonable, but how many troops can you all support me? I'm afraid we need to consider this carefully."

So the four elemental beings began to discuss the matter in the passageway of the Throne of the Tides. After repeated consultations, they finally decided that the Ice Giant would support 20 Ice Priests, the Water Elemental Elder would support 20 Water Priests, and the Sea Elemental Elder would support 20 Sea Priests.

The reason we need priests is mainly because magic-based units play a very important role in large -Legion battles, and the more the better. In comparison, ordinary Water Elemental and sea elementals can only be used as cannon fodder.

In return, the three of them will join Xiao Yu in attacking the Maelstrom, and will remain on this side of the Maelstrom as backup after Xiao Yu enters it. Of course, even if Xiao Yu encounters danger on the other side, they will not go to his aid; they will only pose for him to gain reputation in the story events.

The negotiations were settled, and everyone was quite happy.

Monari (Sea Elemental Lords): "Haha, brother, you're really straightforward! By the way, a few of us recently formed a Boundless Sea Guild,' brother, do you want to join us? We still have some influence in the Great Sea. After this battle, we can team up."

Azathoth (Water Elemental Prince): "No need then. I already have my own monster forces. Let's meet again in three days." With that, Xiao Yu left.

After leaving the Throne of the Elements, Xiao Yu went to receive his Water Elemental army under the guidance of the siren Ashali. However, when Xiao Yu received his troops, he was speechless.

Of these three thousand Water Elemental, most were ordinary template Water Elemental and sea elementals; there wasn't a single boss-level one, and their levels were generally low, mostly only around level twenty, with very few above level thirty.

In the society of elemental beings, those below level 20 are basically considered minors and will not be recruited into the army to fight. Elemental beings between levels 20 and 40 are the main source of the elemental armies in various Elemental Plane. However, although level 20 and level 40 are both considered regular soldiers, there is a huge difference between them. It seems that the Neptulon gave himself is not an elite force.

The only thing that made him feel somewhat gratified was that the thirty-odd siren priests accompanying the army were all elite templates. These elite siren had healing abilities, could cast lightning spells, and could also summon Marine Life to fight alongside them, making them a decent support force. Adding to this the twenty ice siren priests, twenty siren priests, and twenty water siren priests he had previously agreed upon, he had assembled a qualified army lineup.

In addition to the troops he currently commands, he has two other potential directions for deploying troops.

The first is his own the Immortals Legion. His several boss-level Water Elemental should be able to bring some troops with them.

The second is the players around the Throne of the Tides. If he were just an ordinary elemental boss, he wouldn't have much of a chance to recruit players. But now that he's the commander of the Water Elemental Legion, those players are unlikely to miss such a grand spectacle. He can easily attract players to join by showcasing his battle with the Naga.

Over the next three days, Xiao Yu recruited players, took stock of his troops, and waited for his subordinates to gather.

Of the elemental creatures he tamed in the Tower of Amalarui, eleven were from the Water Elemental Plane, including one intermediate boss, three beginner bosses, and seven elite templates.

These elemental creatures are all NPCs, so they can't cheat or shirk their duties. In addition, the binding force of the oath ensures that, except for one ice golem Warrior who couldn't make it due to the distance, all the others arrived on time over the past three days.

They also brought more than 300 elemental troops, which was much less than Xiao Yu had expected. After inquiring, he learned that although these BOSSes had quite a few elemental creatures under their command, not many were above level 20. Those elemental creatures below level 20 were basically not considered Warrior and would not be conscripted. In addition, they needed to leave some behind to guard the base, so they could only bring this many troops.

However, the recruitment of players went much more smoothly than expected.