Advancing to three stars

"Those of you who got a D-rank rating and only received two soul stones are out of luck. See if you can make up for it with skill."

After reading the guide, Shen Xing closed the forum, now with a general idea of what to do.

"So, early on, I should focus on improving my initial troops. Once I have plenty of resources later, I can think about upgrading buildings and recruiting new troops."

He glanced at the resources in his inventory, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "Compared to the other newbies, I'm quite well stocked."

"How about... raising all ten orc infantrymen to level 2?"

That would be an extraordinarily lavish lineup. After all, the number of new players who had earned an S-rank rating on the first wave could be counted on one hand.

He had twelve [Soul Stones]. If he used ten to level up his troops, he would have two left in reserve.

Shen Xing pondered for a moment before finally making up his mind.

He called all ten orc infantrymen over and gave each of them a [Soul Stone].

"Praise... boss!"

The mohawked orc held the soul stone in both hands, his bell-sized yellow eyes full of excitement.

The other orcs let out excited growls as well. They all knew this treasure could make them stronger.

Shen Xing was amused. The mohawked orc really was a little smarter than the other nine—he even knew how to flatter him.

"Good. Starting today, your name is Hellscream."

"Hellscream... like... this name!" The mohawked orc happily waved his stone axe, nearly hitting the orc beside him.

Shen Xing smiled and waved his hand, indicating that they could start absorbing the stones.

The ten orcs immediately gripped the pitch-black, palm-sized soul stones in their hands and closed their eyes.

Wisps of grayish-white energy seeped out and were absorbed into their bodies, their auras slowly growing stronger.

Leveling up troops at this early stage was fairly quick, but it still took a little time.

It was worth mentioning that lords could also raise their levels by absorbing soul stones.

The improvement was just very small. The boost from level 1 could hardly even be felt, and it was nowhere near as immediately effective as improving troops.

What was more, lords couldn't raise their star rating, which represented their potential.

So the game was mainly about developing troops.

I'll wait a little longer. First, I'll concentrate my resources on maxing out my troops and make the most of my early advantage.

Shen Xing put the thought aside, opened his inventory again, and took out something else.

With a turn of his right hand, an old-fashioned brass lantern appeared in his palm. It was fairly heavy.

This was the main tool lords used to explore the fog.

[Lantern]

[Level: 1]

[Effect: Its light can dispel fog within a radius of 5 meters.]

[Burn time: 1.5 hours (after it burns out, return to camp and bring it near the campfire to restore it naturally)]

[Upgrade requirements: level 2 campfire, Soul Stone ×2]

[Note: A relic from an ancient era, capable of dispelling fog.]

"A five-meter radius, and it only burns for an hour and a half. That's a little tight."

Shen Xing considered this. It meant that when he went out exploring, he would also have to keep an eye on the [Lantern]'s remaining burn time.

Otherwise, if it went out in the fog, it would be GG for him.

[Level up successful! Your 'Orc Infantryman Hellscream★★' has reached level 2. Strength +3, spirit +1, agility +3, constitution +2]

[Level up successful! One of your 'Orc Infantrymen★' has reached level 2. Strength +4, spirit +1, agility +1, constitution +2]

[Level up successful...]

While Shen Xing had been studying the panel and the lantern, all ten orcs had finished absorbing their soul stones.

Pale green smoke rose from their skin, and the muscles in their arms swelled.

Previously around 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall, they had all grown another five centimeters and now gave off a fierce aura!

They were still green-skinned, but they had evolved from "potatoes" into "large potatoes."

As mentioned before, the improvement from level 1 to level 2 was quite obvious for troops. Their strength had increased by at least 3 points, and their other attributes had risen a fair bit as well.

"Rooar!" Hellscream raised his stone axe high. "Orc... full of strength!"

The other orcs clenched their fists and howled, giving vent to their excitement at their increased strength.

Shen Xing watched, amused, and said to Hellscream, "Show me your strength now that you've leveled up."

"Yes... boss!"

Hellscream strode over, grabbed the wheelchair's armrests with his two large, rough hands, and suddenly hoisted it into the air.

"What are you doing?" Suspended in midair, Shen Xing looked down at the fanatical green face.

"Reporting, boss... showing... strength..." Hellscream replied honestly.

"..." Shen Xing was speechless. "I meant show it some other way. I didn't tell you to pick me up."

"Oh." Only then did Hellscream put him down, grinning foolishly.

The big green brute then turned and walked over to a huge black boulder at the village entrance.

The boulder was half buried in the ground and looked to weigh at least two or three hundred kilograms.

He wrapped his two thick arms around it, strained with his back and waist, and, with a low growl, yanked it out of the earth.

"Rumble..."

The boulder was thrown several meters away, shaking his wheelchair.

Shen Xing nodded repeatedly as he watched. With that kind of strength, wouldn't a blow from his axe leave someone black and blue?

"Very good. Your strength really has increased quite a bit."

He took ten [Broken Souls] out of his inventory and combined them.

The ten grayish-white soul fragments floated up at once, rearranging and fusing in midair into a ball of dim white light.

[Dim Soul]

[Type: advancement item]

[Effect: Raises the potential of one common-grade troop: common★ → common★★ (85% chance of success), common★★ → common★★★ (70% chance of success)]

"Hellscream is already a two-star troop. The chance of using this soul to evolve him again is 70%, which is pretty high."

Without hesitation, Shen Xing gave the complete soul to Hellscream.

Since he had decided to develop his troops properly, he naturally had to devote all kinds of resources to them.

As Shen Xing watched expectantly, the ball of white light merged into Hellscream's body, and a fierce, primal aura spread out.

He had a feeling that the increase in strength from star ratings seemed far more staggering than the increase from levels!

Chapter 9: Advancing to three stars

"Rrgh... rrgh..."

Light surged as Hellscream let out a subdued growl, his voice carrying an almost human ferocity.

His muscles swelled again, and he grew to over 1.7 meters tall.

Even more astonishingly, his equipment changed too.

The stone axe in his hand gradually transformed into a black iron axe.

A set of beast-hide shoulder guards appeared out of thin air on his shoulders, with several beast fangs hanging from them. He looked imposing.

[Advancement successful! 'Hellscream''s potential has risen to common★★★!]

[Attribute increases from this evolution: strength +6, spirit +4, agility +7, constitution +5]

[Weapon: 'Crude Stone Axe (white)' → 'Orc Iron Axe (green)']

[Skill awakened: Wind Walk]

"Advancing can improve equipment quality too, and he even awakened a new skill!"

Shen Xing's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly checked the new skill's detailed description.

[Wind Walk: Upon activation, immediately increases movement speed by 50% and guarantees a critical hit on the next attack.

Duration: 12 seconds. Cooldown: 75 seconds]

"Strong. Hellscream was already incredibly fast. If he activates [Wind Walk] too, won't he practically fly?"

Pleased, Shen Xing looked at the big green brute beside him. "Same as before. Show me your strength."

"Yes... boss!"

Hellscream's answer seemed smoother than before, and his movements were more agile too.

Holding his iron axe, he strode over to the huge black boulder on his thick legs.

His arm muscles bulged, veins protruding like earthworms crawling beneath his skin.

He raised his stone axe and brought it crashing down with enough force to split metal and shatter stone!

"Clang-"

A piercing clash of metal rang out.

The moment the iron axe struck the surface of the boulder, sparks and stone chips flew.

When Hellscream pulled his weapon back, a crack appeared across the surface of the boulder, which weighed several hundred jin.

With a crash, the whole boulder split apart on the spot!

Shen Xing's eyelids twitched wildly as he watched, his heart filling with delight.

Compared to when he was two-star, Hellscream's strength had undergone another qualitative leap.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could now easily take on seven or eight one-star orc infantrymen of the same level by himself.

Everything was ready. Next, they could officially begin exploring beyond the village.

"Form up!"