Counting the Spoils, Breakthrough!

Shen Xing and Xia Wanyin shared a single lantern, and the two teams continued to advance through the fog.

Soon, they arrived at the place where they had encountered the wandering merchant earlier.

Guided by Xia Wanyin, the group arrived at a ruin and saw Garrett sitting silently under a stone pier, waiting.

The other person was still wearing a black cloak, his face hidden under the hood, and was leading a pack animal that was neither horse nor cow.

"Pioneer, you've arrived."

Sensing their presence, the wandering merchant slowly raised his head, his pale face still bearing that mysterious smile.

"Have you received my late wife's belongings?"

Shen Xing nodded, then took out a string of pearl beads from his backpack, which still bore traces of bright red blood.

Upon seeing the bracelet, Garrett's eyes widened slightly, a complex expression flashing in his pupils.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, tentatively asking, "Did you... kill that Naga?"

Upon hearing this question, the two remained silent for a moment.

"Kill him," Shen Xing said.

Garrett's expression shifted slightly, his deep gaze sweeping back and forth between them, as if he were investigating something.

Shen Xing met his gaze calmly, showing no sign of emotion.

After a moment, Garrett chuckled, "Good riddance. You truly are Pioneer who keep their promises."

After saying that, he walked to the pack animal, opened the box, took out a bulging package, and handed it over.

"Thank you for helping me retrieve my deceased wife's belongings; this is the promised reward."

Garrett bowed slightly, performing a standard curtsy.

Xia Wanyin remained expressionless, but a hint of disgust flashed across her face.

Shen Xing nodded expressionlessly and put the package into his backpack.

[Mission successfully completed: Blackwater Last Wish]

[Quest Rewards: Drum of Invigoration (Gold), Unknown Treasure Map *1, Soul Stone *500...]

[Garrett the Wandering Merchant's Favorability +30]

"Thank you both for your help. I'll take my leave now."

Garrett smiled, then added mysteriously, "Perhaps we'll have another chance to meet later."

After saying that, he turned around, led his pack animal, and gradually disappeared into the thick fog.

After waiting a moment, Shen Xing turned around and said, "Let's go back too."

"Um."

Xia Wanyin responded softly, snapping out of her reverie.

They relit the lanterns and hurried toward their territory.

After walking for a while, Xia Wanyin suddenly asked.

"Shen Xing, do you think that wandering merchant noticed that we didn't kill the Naga priest?"

"They should have noticed."

"Huh?" Xia Wanyin exclaimed in surprise, "Then he gave us so many mission rewards?"

Shen Xing smiled and shook his head, saying, "This matter is not simple; there may be some secrets hidden behind it that we are unaware of."

"What that Naga priest said might not be true. After all, more than ten years have passed, and there must be many unknown details in between."

"The relationship between the two sides may be more complex than we imagine."

He paused, then shook his head and said, "But who cares? We got the reward and weren't cursed."

Xia Wan nodded slightly; for them, this was indeed the best outcome.

Yes, Shen Xing did not kill the Naga priest; he didn't want to be cursed for no reason.

He just wanted her to take off the pearl bracelet so he could go back and report.

After all, they've been working hard for several days; they can't just go back empty-handed, can they?

As for whether this pearl bracelet is related to the key to some sacred site, that's none of their business.

The holy site is inanimate, but people are alive. There are countless ways to prevent others from entering.

Moreover, the Naga priest readily agreed, clearly having considered this as well.

He didn't ask the wandering merchant why he had been cheated; he only wanted his due reward and didn't want to get involved in these grudges.

"Alright, let's start distributing the rewards now."

Shen Xing glanced at the items in his backpack and proposed a distribution plan. "We'll split the 500 Soul Stone in half, and each of us will choose one from the Drum of Invigoration and the Treasure Map. Is that alright?"

Since the task was completed by the two of them together, the reward should naturally be split equally.

However, Xia Wanyin shook her head and said, "I only need half of the Soul Stone; the other two treasures are yours."

"After all, you were the one who took down those two Boss One Star; I didn't even have to do much..."

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let's split it 50/50. As an ally, I won't take advantage of you."

"You've deployed more troops than I have this time. Without your Light Spirit Legion's support, I'm sure I'll suffer significant losses."

He paused, then added, "Besides, this isn't the first time we've teamed up. We might team up again in the future, so even close brothers should keep clear accounts."

Any stable relationship must be based on the principle of equal and fair distribution of interests.

"All right..."

Seeing that he had already said so, Xia Wanyin stopped refusing. "Then... I'll choose the treasure map, okay?"

"A treasure map... are you sure?" Shen Xing asked rhetorically.

After all, compared to the treasure map, the [Drum of Invigoration] is clearly more valuable.

The former is a genuine gold-quality treasure, with an astonishing value.

The latter, however, requires finding the location where the treasure is buried based on clues on the treasure map.

Even if you find the treasure's location, you might still face a series of trials, battles, and more.

Moreover, even if you manage to obtain the treasure, the final reward might not be as good as the Drum of Invigoration.

"Yes, I'll choose this one."

Xia Wanyin nodded without hesitation, secretly resolving that she would find Shen Xing to explore the treasure together once she found its location.

"OK."

Shen Xing didn't stand on ceremony with her and handed her 250 Soul Stone and a parchment scroll.

Xia Wanyin accepted the reward; the rewards for this mission were now officially distributed.

During their journey, Shen Xing couldn't wait to take out the war drum.

The entire war drum is about 60 centimeters in diameter. The drum body is made of some kind of dark red hardwood, and the drumhead is a taut piece of ancient animal hide.

[Drum of Invigoration]

[Quality: Gold (Rare)]

[Type: Legion Treasure]

[Treasure Effect ①: Warsong of Courage (Strikes the war drum, increasing the attack power and movement speed of all friendly units within 500 meters by 25%]

This effect is a permanent aura; as long as the war drums continue to be played on the field, the aura will not disappear.

[Treasure Effect ②: Warsong of Fear (Each strike will cause a sonic impact on enemies within a range of (Agility*2) meters, causing their morale to continuously decline, and even causing them to flee.]

If a unit skilled in musical instruments wields the war drums, the 'Fear' effect is doubled.

Lasts 60 seconds, cooldown 5 minutes.

(Note: Listen to the drums of war; they are the heartbeats of the soldiers and the death knell of the enemy.)

"Outrageous! No wonder it's a treasure of the Golden Legion. Its attributes are like an old lady walking the runway—it's too supermodel-worthy!" Shen Xing exclaimed in admiration.

The power of this war drum is self-evident; just one [Warsong of Courage] can significantly increase the attack power of all friendly units.

In large-scale legion battles, it can unleash unimaginable power.

The later [Warsong of Fear] is even more outrageous, and can even come with a crowd control effect.

"However, to unleash the full power of this war drum, we need to find someone to play it."

"That's not difficult at all. Just evolve an Elite orc and have it do the drumming."

Shen Xing put it into his backpack with satisfaction.

Although this mission was fraught with difficulties, the rewards were substantial.

After four days of monster hunting, I've amassed a large amount of Soul Stone and other resources, and now I've also obtained a powerful Golden War Drum.

Of course, the difficulty level is also incredibly high.

The final wave of enemies alone, with two level 9 Boss One Star appearing simultaneously, plus two or three hundred Dark Naga, is not something an average novice lord can handle.

What's more, this mission was fraught with danger; if Shen Xing hadn't been Mind's Eye, he would have been in serious trouble.

Fortunately, Lord Shen used his extraordinary wisdom and strength to solve all the problems.

Chapter 56: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Breakthrough!

A dozen minutes later.

The two teams gradually separated and returned to their respective territories.

"Call..."

Orange-red flames illuminated a patch of sky in the mist, where rows of small wooden houses stood side by side.

Having just survived a great battle, the orcs stepped into the firelight, their bodies instinctively relaxing.

At this moment, Gorehowl walked to Shen Xing's side and handed him the pack on his back. "Boss, here, take this."

"What's this?"

"These are spoils we collected by the river; we were thinking of giving them to you when we got back," Gorehowl replied.

Shen Xing was slightly taken aback, then realized, "You're pretty shrewd, kid."

The situation was quite chaotic at the time. Although Shen Xing had the orcs clean up the battlefield, no one remembered the spoils of war.

Gorehowl will be handed over to Shen Xing once we return to our territory, so there's no need to divide it equally with Xia Wanyin.

Damn it, who says orcs aren't Mind's Eye? These guys are shrewd as Mind's Eye.