Life-Sacrifice Evolution, Let Me See Your Limit!

[Recruitment requirements: Soul Stone ×10, fire of the Afterglow ×10]

[Upgrade requirements: Soul Stone ×180, Vinar Silver Coin ×150, Black Crystal ×20]

"Since this isn't the initial territory, there's no free first batch of recruits. That's understandable."

"But what the heck is this [fire of the Afterglow]?"

Shen Xing stared at the last unfamiliar material, puzzled.

As usual, he opened the official forum and searched for information on it. He soon understood.

Like [Black Crystal], [Fire of the Afterglow] came from resource points in the wild.

All he needed to do was find an [Afterglow Sacrificial Tower] and light it, and it would produce the material at regular intervals.

"This material seems pretty important too. Not only can it serve as the soul fire for recruiting creatures, but it can also replenish a lantern's oil in the wild, extending exploration time."

"Besides that, you can crush it in battle to set yourself alight and clear abnormal statuses."

"All in all, it has plenty of uses."

After thinking it over, Shen Xing made a plan.

"Time to start a new day of exploration. For the beast-eared girls—no, to make the territory bigger and stronger!"

Chapter 24: Life-Sacrifice Evolution, Let Me See Your Limit!

When Shen Xing wheeled himself to the village entrance, he saw that Hellscream had already assembled five orcs in formation, ready to go.

He had to admit, after their special training, the orcs had become much more disciplined. They no longer stood crookedly as they used to.

Just as Shen Xing was about to set out, a figure appeared behind him.

"Boss, Gorehowl requests permission to fight!" Gorehowl came over at a brisk pace on his worg.

Hellscream frowned slightly, apparently displeased that he had taken matters into his own hands.

Shen Xing wasn't surprised. He knew this guy had just broken through and was eager to show off his strength.

But now wasn't the time. Someone needed to stay behind and guard the territory.

So Shen Xing gave him a lecture about how important defending the territory was, entrusted him with the weighty responsibility, and so on.

Gorehowl stood there in a daze, realizing how demanding his task was. He thumped his chest and swore to defend the territory to the death!

Then the straightforward orc went off to drill with the other troop types.

Having dealt with his battle-hungry orc underling, Shen Xing waved his hand. "Move out."

The lantern was lit, the fog receded, and the small party headed into its depths.

This time they headed south, since Plague Village, which they had discovered last time, lay due west.

Shen Xing planned to get a general grasp of the terrain around his territory first.

The thick fog limited visibility, making it impossible to investigate every corner.

But that was fine. The game's built-in [minimap] would help record what they found.

It was worth mentioning that places they explored would briefly be revealed on the map, only to be covered in fog again once they left.

But the minimap would retain the general outline of the area.

For example, if Shen Xing discovered a forest, some tree silhouettes would appear on the map.

If he found a mountain, an image of a mountain rising through the fog would appear.

That was pretty good. Without the minimap, 99 percent of the lords in this world could forget about exploring in the fog.

After all, not everyone had a superb sense of direction and could find their way through the fog.

They continued onward like this for nearly an hour.

They encountered two or three waves of monsters along the way, but their lord dealt with them all using his world-shaking wisdom.

Ding! Soul Stones +35, silver coins +27, souls +15.

Thanks to the Lost Ones for the resource gift packs.

Half an hour later, the party stopped exploring.

A great, pitch-black river stretched across the black earth, blocking their path.

"Splash~ splash~"

The black water surged in rolling waves, and even the spray was as black as ink.

Fog covered the river. With the lantern's limited range, they couldn't see exactly how wide it was, but it looked vast.

"A river this big... I wonder if there are fish in it?" Shen Xing leaned back in his wheelchair, thoughtful.

"My lord, there's a stone stele over there." Hellscream suddenly pointed into the distance.

Following his direction, Shen Xing spotted a stone stele half-buried in black mud at the edge of the firelight.

They approached and saw several words carved into it.

[Blackwater River: 172 to 324 meters wide. A falling feather cannot float; a flying bird cannot cross.]

"'A falling feather cannot float; a flying bird cannot cross...'" Shen Xing murmured. "Sounds like dead water. So we can't cross for now."

A little disappointed, he had no choice but to lead the party along the riverbank, hoping to find something.

Thud, thud... thud, thud...

The orcs' feet pressed into the muddy black earth, leaving a trail of footprints.

There was no telling how many kilometers long the Blackwater River was. Even the sand on its banks was black.

Among the sand and gravel, however, he saw some weathered shells and the remains of buildings.

"Shells? So there are living things in this river. There might even be fish."

Shen Xing's eyes lit up slightly. "Does that mean I can come fishing here later?"

He made a mental note of the spot, planning to make a simple fishing rod later and come back to show off his superb fishing skills.

As he thought about that, the party continued onward.

The lantern's orange-red glow illuminated the area within twenty meters, while the sound of rushing water filled their ears.

After traveling another two or three hundred meters, they suddenly spotted several dark shapes lying on the riverbank.

The orcs immediately raised their weapons and readied themselves for battle.

When the figure carrying the lantern approached, they got a clear look at the dark shapes.

They had human upper bodies, a pair of fish barbels hanging from their chins, and fish tails for lower bodies, covered in glossy black scales.

[Dark Naga Warrior (deceased)]

Nagas... And they looked strong when they were alive. Who killed them? Shen Xing wondered.

Hellscream stepped forward, crouched down, and examined them carefully. "My lord, judging by their injuries, they must have died recently."

"There are also strong traces of light-element aura lingering around the wounds. There must have been quite a few of their opponents."

Light aura?

Could there be another light-aligned force nearby?

Or... other players?

At that possibility, Shen Xing suddenly felt a sense of danger.

For now, he didn't really want to interact with other players in the game.

After all, unlike in reality, where all pioneers were subject to the law and the authorities, and if they dared run amok using their in-game abilities, stronger pioneers would come out and teach them a lesson...

In the game, there were no laws governing them.

Shen Xing had previously read on the forum about pioneers whose territories were too close together and who had come to blows over resources.

There were also high-level lords who deliberately went into the wild to search for other lords' territories and wipe them out without mercy.

Why would they do that?

Because there was profit in it, of course.

An initial troop nest could sell for tens of thousands of yuan, and a lantern for another twenty or thirty thousand. Add in all sorts of other materials, and the proceeds would amount to at least over a hundred thousand yuan.

According to rumor, some lords abroad had even formed underground organizations dedicated to doing just that.

I don't know who they are yet, but if they could kill Dark Nagas, they must be fairly strong.

It's better to leave for now and not make contact with them so soon.

Shen Xing quietly made his decision, then ordered, "Get ready to head back. Take these Dark Naga corpses with us."

Don't get the wrong idea. He wasn't taking the corpses back to replenish their food supply.

After all, these Dark Nagas were humanoid creatures. Even if they weren't human, it was still a little off-putting.

Shen Xing just thought the scales on their lower bodies were good material. Scraped off, they could probably be made into fish-scale armor.

Several orcs crouched down and each hoisted a Dark Naga corpse onto a shoulder, their tail fins draping limply over the orcs' backs.

Just then, a gentle voice suddenly came from the thick fog behind them.

"You'd better not touch those corpses."

"Who's there!?"

All the orcs immediately stopped what they were doing and gripped their battle-axes tightly, wariness appearing in their eyes!

A short distance away, a point of yellow light approached at a steady pace, instantly dispersing the thick fog.

A moment later, an exploration party carrying a lantern appeared. It was slightly larger than theirs.

The light from the two lanterns met and mingled, and Shen Xing got a clear look at the party.

More than a dozen Light Spirits stood at the front, their entire bodies radiating light. They were creatures without physical bodies, made purely of the light element.

Two or three of the Light Spirits had unusual forms and carried longbows and longswords made of light. They looked like elite-class advanced troops.

In the middle of the party, a tall young woman in a long dress of coarse white linen slowly stepped forward.

Her plain skirt trailed along the ground, her figure was graceful, and her face was like the bright moon.

"And you are?" Shen Xing could tell that this woman was a player, just like him.

She was also stronger than he was. Not only did she have three elite troops, but her personal level had reached level eight.

"Hello! My name is Wanyin, Xia Wanyin."

The woman in the white dress introduced herself, a friendly smile on her face, though her eyes stared blankly into the distance.