A Mighty Army, All Troops Attack!

A flood of complaints immediately appeared beneath the post.

Wo Nai Da Kaozi: "Forget all that crap. I've been playing this damn game for over half a month, and my troops are already level 9, but I haven't managed to raise a single elite troop. Is that something I should be worrying about?"

Turkey-Flavored Crispy Rice: "Exactly. This game is too hard, and raising potential is even harder. There's no way that could happen."

Wang Jiahao: "Heh, before you complain about the game being hard, take a look at yourselves. Have you put in enough effort? Have you played seriously?

"I've only been playing for a week, and I've already raised an elite two-star troop. I didn't think it was that hard."

Seeing how confidently he spoke, the other players figured Wang Jiahao had to be a hidden expert.

They all left comments beneath his post, asking the expert for advice and guides.

Wang Jiahao replied in the thread: "Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you how.

"An ordinary soul only costs twenty thousand on the market right now, and an elite soul costs a hundred thousand. Even with the chance of failure, you can get an elite by throwing a few hundred thousand at it.

"Spend a few million, and you can even raise a whole squad of elite troops. That's enough to let you slaughter any god that stands in your way in the early game."

After hearing his so-called method, the comments beneath the post erupted in curses.

"Get lost, you pay-to-win dog!"

"I thought he was an expert, but he turned out to be a clown!"

"Damn it! If I had a few million, would I need you to tell me that?"

Shen Xing looked through the comments and roughly understood why this had happened.

To use an analogy, a troop was a little fish, and Soul Stones were its food.

The little fish grew strong by constantly consuming food.

Potential was the environment of the waters it lived in, determining how much the little fish could grow.

If an ungrown little fish was suddenly thrown into dangerous waters, it would probably die before it could mature.

The analogy wasn't entirely apt, but that was roughly the idea.

For most players, having potential exceed their level simply wasn't a problem they had to worry about.

But Shen Xing's situation was somewhat unusual.

Thanks to his Life-Sacrifice Evolution talent, he got one free advancement every day, and it was guaranteed to succeed.

That was how he had managed to raise an Elite Three Stars troop in just a few days.

And the other players?

To raise their troops' potential, they had to kill stronger monsters and painstakingly save up soul fragments, and there was still a chance the breakthrough would fail.

For most novice players, having an ordinary three-star troop at this point was enough to put them among the best.

"Still... my Life-Sacrifice Evolution doesn't just let me break through the rank cap. It seems it can also break through a troop's potential cap."

"After all, according to the forum, green-skinned orcs can only reach Elite Three Stars at most, but I can keep raising his potential..."

"It's just that I need to raise Hellscream to level 9, the first-rank limit."

"Looks like this talent is even more powerful than I imagined."

Shen Xing put the thought aside and decided not to risk improving Hellscream for now. He would raise his other troops instead.

As long as he had enough resources, going from level 4 to level 9 wouldn't take long anyway.

So he called Gorehowl over and used Life-Sacrifice Evolution to advance him to elite two-star.

But whether it was because his aptitude was inferior to Hellscream's or for some other reason,

this evolution raised his attributes but didn't activate a new skill.

It didn't make much difference, though. As a wolf rider, Gorehowl could effectively be counted as two combat units.

One-on-one, hardly any troops of the same rank could match him.

Daily quest: evolution 1/1

Next, Shen Xing took his squad and continued exploring around the territory.

Several hours later, the squad returned with a full haul: dozens of Soul Stones and silver coins.

Shen Xing first spent 30 Soul Stones and 30 pieces of black iron to upgrade the arrow towers.

Then he looked at the green dots on the minimap and the surrounding terrain, lost in thought.

"Based on our scouting over the past two days, we've found quite a few dangerous areas near the territory."

"Plague Village is due west, about two kilometers away."

"About three kilometers to the south, the Blackwater River stretches across the land for who knows how many kilometers, and creatures like dark naga live in it."

"To the east is a seemingly endless mountain range. I haven't gone in, but the roars coming from inside are enough to make my legs go weak."

"Oh, right. I don't think I have legs to go weak."

He pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Sigh... I'm still not strong enough. Even with two elite generals and seven or eight ordinary two- and three-star orcs, I'm only a tiny bit stronger than the other novice players."

"But in this dangerous world, that's still not enough."

"I've decided. I'll lie low for a few days and develop like crazy, then amaze... no, crush my enemies."

Next, he distributed the Soul Stones as usual and called it a day.

The next day was his fifth day in the game.

[Ding! Your arrow towers have successfully reached level 2. Penetration and firing speed increased!]

Shen Xing looked up at the village entrance. The two arrow towers had grown from four meters tall to over five, and they looked noticeably more imposing.

"Once I save up some more resources and build a wall around the place, my territory will be much safer."

He nodded in satisfaction, then called Gorehowl over and used Life-Sacrifice Evolution to complete his daily quest.

"Hum~"

A red light enveloped the orc and wolf, and both began to transform rapidly.

Gorehowl's limbs grew longer and leaner, and red battle markings appeared on his back, giving him a wild air.

However, no wolf-claw totem mark like Hellscream's appeared between his brows.

An object resembling a tool kit appeared on the back of his riding wolf.

[Evolution successful! Gorehowl has successfully advanced to elite three-star.]

[This evolution: all attributes increased by 10%, agility +10.]

[Skill activated: Ensnare]

"Excellent, excellent. Now I have two Elite Three Stars troops in my territory."

He had built up a territory like this after only six days in the game. His rate of progress was terrifying.

Aside from the big spenders, most players were still working toward getting an ordinary three-star troop at this point.

In a good mood, he opened Gorehowl's status panel and checked the new skill.

[Ensnare]

[Skill effect: throw an extremely durable wire Ensnare at a target, trapping it in place for 2-4 seconds. The target cannot move during this time, but can attack and cast spells.

Hit rate against flying units increased by 30%.

Cooldown: 65 seconds.]

(Note: I'm going to net you and kick your ass hard with my size-45 sweaty foot!)

This skill was also powerful, and it was a control skill to boot. It could prove immensely useful at certain times.

After his breakthrough, Gorehowl was eager to fight. Looking at Hellscream in the distance, he called out passionately, "Oh! Hellscream, come fight me!"

"Let's use our strength to prove who the territory's greatest warrior is!"

Hellscream ignored him and walked straight up to Shen Xing. "My lord, two waves of monsters attacked the territory last night. We dealt with them both."

"But... one of the waves was unusual. They carried the aura of plague, and they seemed to come from that village we visited last time."

"Oh? Them?"

Shen Xing's heart stirred. He knew the monsters Hellscream spoke of had come from Plague Village.

He just hadn't expected them to find his territory so quickly.

Was it because he had killed that vulture last time and taken its corpse away, and they had come for revenge?

"My lord, I'm already a level 6 three-star warrior. The strongest monster in that village is only elite two-star."

Hellscream said confidently, "Please let me lead the troops into battle. I'm ninety percent sure I can take them down!"

"Only ninety percent?"

"Ninety percent... isn't enough?" Hellscream was stunned.

"No, that's too dangerous."

Hellscream: "?"

Chapter 26: A Mighty Army, All Troops Attack!

After developing over the past few days, the territory's strength had undergone a transformation.

If Hellscream led the orc squad into battle, they would most likely be able to take down all of Plague Village.

If they brought Gorehowl, who was also Elite Three Stars, their chance of victory would exceed one hundred percent.

But it was still too dangerous.

After all, the monsters in this world were all sneaky bastards. No one could guarantee that an even more terrifying monster wasn't hiding in there.

"Hellscream, you need to understand one thing: no one can keep winning forever."

Shen Xing began earnestly instructing him. "Even if we go into battle this time with only a ten percent chance of losing,"

"we might win once, and win again, but what about the third or fourth time? Sooner or later, we'll come unstuck."

"So before we deal with an enemy, we have to be fully prepared."

"A ninety percent chance of victory is the passing mark. A hundred percent is barely acceptable. Only a chance above one hundred percent is worth making a move."

Hellscream listened intently. The blue markings between his brows glowed with the light of wisdom, and his pupils trembled, as though he had been deeply shaken.

"No one can keep winning forever... I see. Is this the true way to command an army?"

He nodded solemnly. "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, my lord!"

Shen Xing was somewhat puzzled. He had no idea what Hellscream had understood.

Next, as usual, they carried lanterns into the mist and explored for three hours, gathering plenty of resources.