Chapter 35

Xia Wanyin nodded. "But none of them are from Hua Country. They're from other countries, and they're very unfriendly."

"Especially this one guy from Ou Country named Gideon."

"He often hangs around nearby and treats other players like prey. Quite a few newbie lords have already fallen victim to him."

At that, an indignant look appeared on her face. "Last time, he tried to ambush me, but I noticed him in advance and drove him off."

"So you need to be careful too."

Shen Xing nodded in understanding. That was important information.

He had always thought he was the only player near his territory, and that running into Xia Wanyin had been an accident.

Now it seemed there were quite a few players in the area, but they all came from other countries.

It looked like he would have to strengthen his territory's defenses when he got back.

After all, there was such an unpredictable threat nearby, and it sounded like he was quite strong.

Granted, the chances of finding someone else's territory in this vast mist were vanishingly small.

But it was better to be safe than sorry.

The two groups continued onward.

They took turns using their [lanterns] to extend their exploration time.

And to Shen Xing's surprise, although Xia Wanyin was blind, her sense of direction in the mist was even sharper than an ordinary person's.

She stayed at the front of the group, occasionally leading them onto a different route to avoid all sorts of difficult terrain.

Shen Xing gazed at her slender figure from behind, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After more than half an hour of travel, Xia Wanyin stopped.

A sacred scene lay before Shen Xing.

Within the dense mist, silver-white light flowed around a separate area several hundred meters across.

At the center of the area stood a towering silver-white tree, radiating a gentle glow.

The entire tree looked as though it had been carved from pure silver, gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Its sky-spanning crown resembled a giant silver umbrella, sheltering the land beneath it and exuding a sacred aura.

Beneath the tree, square plots of wheat were laid out like a chessboard, with stalks of silver wheat growing across them.

Heavy ears of wheat hung from the stalks, and through their husks, he could even see the plump silver grains inside.

Beside the fields stood many hunched figures dressed in coarse linen.

Bent over with watering cans and hoes in their hands, they watered and fertilized the wheat fields.

[You have discovered a special area: the Silver Holy Land...]

"The Silver Holy Land... A place like this actually exists?" Shen Xing's eyes widened as he stared at everything before him in surprise.

"Yeah, amazing, isn't it?"

Xia Wanyin looked delighted, like a little girl who had discovered a treasure. "I was exploring in the mist when I sensed the sacred aura coming from here, even from far away. That's how I found this place."

"Look at that big tree. It's called a Silver Ancient Tree. They say the mist can't enter wherever one grows, and the land around it is suitable for growing plants."

"This world also has Bronze Ancient Trees that can produce large mineral veins, and Golden Ancient Trees, which are the rarest of all."

"Silver Ancient Trees, Golden Ancient Trees..." Shen Xing murmured, repeating the names. It was the first time he had heard of them.

"What about the wheat growing down there, and those workers?" he asked.

"The wheat is called Moonlight Wheat. It's a special crop with a very high yield. They say food made from it can even slightly improve your constitution."

Xia Wanyin replied, "I don't know about those workers. My sister... I couldn't find anything about them on the forum."

Shen Xing nodded in understanding and looked at the fields of wheat, a ripple of emotion stirring in his heart.

The orcs had enormous appetites to begin with, and for now, the supplies gathered on their expeditions were barely enough to keep them fed.

But as he recruited more and more troops, that approach alone would certainly stop being enough.

It was a problem every lord would inevitably encounter as their territory developed.

A powerful territory couldn't focus solely on expanding its military, or it simply wouldn't be able to feed so many people.

Construction, farming, animal husbandry, logistics, and mining all had to keep up.

If he could transplant this wheat to his territory, he would have a stable source of food.

But compared with the crop, Shen Xing was more interested in the workers.

His territory happened to be short of ordinary workers. Both mining and farming needed manpower.

As if sensing Shen Xing's interest, Xia Wanyin asked eagerly, "Well? How about we pull off a raid?"

Shen Xing didn't answer. Instead, he continued to observe the Silver Holy Land.

Beside the workers stood numerous burly humanoid creatures with blood-red eyes and black air emanating from their bodies.

Each held a leather whip in one hand and a leash in the other, with seven or eight Fel Hounds tied to the far end.

[Fallen overseer]

[Level: 9]

[Potential: Elite ★]

[Faction: Weideng Kingdom]

[Attributes: Strength 52, spirit 48, agility 45, constitution 57]

[Skills: Painful Lash, Roar, Release Hounds]

[Talent: None]

[Bond: Fallen Legion (activated)]

[Note: To gain great power, they willingly embraced the mist and became part of it.]

A level-nine, one-star elite monster, slightly weaker than that dretch.

Roughly the difference between someone in the later stages of fifth grade and someone just starting fifth grade.

But there was more than one fallen overseer here, and every one of them looked difficult to deal with.

"They won't be easy to handle..."

Shen Xing assessed the strength of both sides. Even with Xia Wan'an's light elf squad, their chance of winning was less than sixty percent.

Rounded off, that was infinitely close to zero.

It was too dangerous!

Just then, a muffled clopping of hooves came from beneath the giant silver tree.

"Clop, clop... clop, clop..."

Shen Xing looked toward the sound and saw an astonishing sight.

A burly warhorse, almost as large as an adult elephant, came toward them.

Sitting upright on its broad back was a figure over two meters tall, wielding a massive knight's lance.

Both knight and horse wore full suits of silver armor. They looked like a heavily armored tank, their presence imposing.

The sight alone was enough to make one's heart tremble.

[Fallen great tree knight (enhanced)]

[Level: 9]

[Potential: Boss ★]

[Attributes: Strength 176, spirit 135, agility 154, constitution 212]

[Skills: Thorn Thrust, Tree Stump Charge, Dark Shield, Withering and Decay]

[Talent: Fallen Body]

[Bond: Fallen Legion (activated)]

[Note: He was once a noble Silver Moon Knight, but has now become a mindless monster.]

"Damn, there's an expert here too?"

A level-nine, one-star boss, and an enhanced one at that!

A terrifying existence at the peak of sixth grade, on the verge of entering middle school!

And every one of those attributes was over a hundred. Wasn't that a bit too overpowered?

Shen Xing suspected that even if he raised Hellscream to level nine, his attributes might not even reach half those of the great tree knight.

On top of that, there were all those powerful skills and equipment that armed him to the teeth...

He couldn't afford to mess with him. Not at all!

"Spark, have you made up your mind?"

Xia Wanyin asked eagerly, "Let's do it together! We'll split all the loot evenly!"

"Uh..." Shen Xing asked with a somewhat strange expression, "Are you sure we're going to fight that great tree knight and all those overseers around him?"

"Yeah."

"What if we die?"

"Don't worry. I have a stronger partner back at my territory. I'm somewhat confident we can hold that great tree guard off for a while."

Xia Wanyin spoke with confidence. "All you have to do is take out those overseers while I hold the great tree guard off, and then come help me."

"As long as we work well together, we'll have at least a forty percent chance of success."

A forty percent chance of success? How was that any different from courting death?

Shen Xing took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"I think we should go back and play it safe... go back and develop for a while, then come back and set our sights on this place later."

"Ah... How long will that take?" Xia Wanyin looked at him, a little disappointed.

"I don't know, but we definitely can't fight them today."

Shen Xing refused decisively, then glanced at the lantern in his hand. "The lamp oil's almost gone. We need to leave."

Regret showed on Xia Wanyin's face, but she knew he had made up his mind.

She thought to herself that this man was far too cautious. She had even volunteered to take on the most dangerous enemy, yet he still wasn't willing to act.

But her sister had said that only people like him could live longer in the Land of Mist.