Chapter 131: Clearing the Four Great Temples! (6000)

"Let's go, hurry over and take a look!"

Following Cao Xing's order, the team swarmed over.

Outside the main gate, Cao Xing saw that the [Holy Sword Temple] was already in complete chaos.

A large number of Soul Eaters were frantically attacking those coffins.

They were forcibly dragging the undead inside out and then starting a buffet mode.

The screams of the undead rang out continuously.

"Ah!! It's those damn Soul Eaters!"

"Heavens, how did this group of evil creatures get in? Where is the captain?"

"Lord Duke! Save us!"

"Don't bite my body! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Listening to the painful cries of the undead, anger appeared in Renice's eyes.

Her hand gripping the bowstring trembled slightly; it seemed she could no longer hold back from attacking the Soul Eaters.

However, without Cao Xing's order, she did not dare to act rashly.

Meanwhile, Cao Xing was quickly observing the situation on the field.

The attention of the Soul Eaters was entirely drawn to the coffins; for them, the undead were a rare delicacy in this world.

Therefore, they did not notice Cao Xing and his team at the entrance.

After observing for a while, Cao Xing breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, only a small portion of the coffins have been opened; most of them are still sealed."

"It seems Ascalon's seal is quite effective!"

"If I can rescue the remaining undead, that should count as me completing the mission, right?"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing quickly scanned the strength of this group of Soul Eaters.

They were about the same as the Soul Eaters in the Shield Temple, with a large number of Tier 3 ordinary monsters, a few Tier 3 elites, and one boss.

The only difference was that there was one more elite monster.

Cao Xing did not recklessly charge in; he still planned to use the previous tactics.

"Renice, Hilda, attack the Soul Eaters and lure them to the corridor."

"Sarah, keep an eye on the timing and distract the elites and the boss."

Having been ready and waiting, Renice received the order and immediately fired an arrow.

"Whoosh!"

[-683!]

This arrow hit the back of one of the Soul Eaters.

However, that Soul Eater was busy with its companions, frantically gnawing on the body of an Ascalon undead.

"Hiss hiss!!"

After being attacked, the Soul Eater snuck a glance at Renice.

However, to Cao Xing's surprise, the Soul Eater actually ignored Renice's attack and buried its head back into gnawing.

Seeing this, Renice was infuriated, and her ample chest rose and fell continuously.

"Damn Soul Eaters!"

Renice pulled back her bowstring again and fired arrows in succession.

"Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!"

Meanwhile.

As Hilda hatched a swarm of Blood Spiders, they rushed over and exploded frantically.

The Soul Eaters were stained with Blood Poison, and the terrifying burning sensation seemed to seep into their marrow.

The aggro of a portion of the Soul Eaters was finally drawn toward them.

Boom! Rumble!

A large number of Soul Eaters charged toward them.

Cao Xing quickly ordered, "Retreat, retreat into the corridor!"

The team quickly withdrew.

Then, Braum and Assam firmly blocked the entrance of the corridor.

However, what surprised Cao Xing was that only a portion of the Soul Eaters rushed over this time, about twenty or so.

Those few elites and the boss did not come over; they were busy "eating"!

This greatly reduced the pressure on Assam and Braum.

Even Sarah could follow along and output damage from the shadows.

Swish!

[-4173!]

At the same time, Andrew switched to his White Bear form, blocking the Soul Eaters' charge while attacking.

For everyone, this battle held no pressure.

In less than two minutes, the Soul Eaters began to fall.

[Your territory member: Assam killed Soul Eater Lv26, gained EXP: 520]

[Combatants gained EXP: 260]

[Your territory member: Braum killed Soul Eater Lv25, gained EXP: 500]

[Combatants gained EXP: 250]

[Your…]

The kill notifications began to flood the screen.

Six minutes later, the battle here ended.

More than twenty Soul Eaters were all killed by them.

Although their battle was intense, it still did not attract the other Soul Eaters.

Cao Xing chuckled, "These Soul Eaters are way too serious about their meal."

Of course, he couldn't drag it out too long, otherwise, if the undead inside were eaten up, the mission would fail.

He quickly ordered, "Renice, Hilda, go lure another batch over."

The two women obeyed, quickly walked out of the corridor, and launched an attack on the Soul Eaters in the temple.

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

Arrows were fired one after another.

The two women attracted another twenty-plus Soul Eaters.

This time, two Elite Soul Eaters followed, rushing toward the group with great momentum.

However, with Sarah's intervention, she quickly lured these two Elite Soul Eaters away.

Braum and Assam, like two gate guardians, blocked all the Soul Eaters outside.

Coupled with Andrew and Liu Muxue rotating in, they were under no pressure at all.

Cao Xing said happily, "This kind of battle is so easy!"

Seven minutes later, the battle here also ended.

And on Sarah's side, she had already taken down the two Elite Soul Eaters alone.

The EXP from the twenty-plus Soul Eaters and the two Elite Soul Eaters allowed Assam to level up to 14.

At this moment, there were only the last twenty-plus Soul Eaters in the temple, plus one boss and one elite.

Cao Xing still did not charge in directly, continuing to use the corridor tactics.

The Soul Eaters inside seemed to have realized that the number of their companions was decreasing significantly.

"Hiss!!!"

The yellow-skinned Soul Eater boss opened its large mouth and let out a hiss, waking all the Soul Eaters up.

They all abandoned the coffins before them, moved their thick hind legs, and charged toward Cao Xing and his team!

Thump! Thump, thump!

Dense footsteps rang out.

Seeing this, without needing Cao Xing to say more, Sarah silently appeared behind the boss.

She threw [Stifling Dagger] directly at it.

Pfft!

[-2814]

The boss-level Soul Eater felt the pain and glared at the culprit in the corner with vicious eyes.

Then it limped toward Sarah.

Seeing that Sarah wanted to lure the aggro of the other Elite Soul Eater, Cao Xing said directly, "Sarah, just handle this boss; leave the others to us."

Now, their overall strength had skyrocketed; even adding a Tier 3 elite was no problem.

After receiving Cao Xing's order, Sarah nodded and then lunged directly at the boss Soul Eater.

Meanwhile, a large number of Soul Eaters, including an elite-level creature, charged toward them.

"Braum, be careful, there's a big guy in there this time!" Cao Xing warned.

Braum turned his head and laughed, "Don't worry, Lord, no one can break through Braum's defense!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Soul Eaters lunged over and unleashed claw attacks.

"Hiss!"

Braum entered the [Indestructible] state, holding his shield with both hands, like an unshakeable wall!

Bang! Bang, bang!

[-137]

[-129]

[-184]

With a series of violent sounds, Braum stood firm, not retreating a single step!

Meanwhile.

Andrew entered [Moonkin Form] again.

A scorching aura appeared in his palms, "Well of the Moon Goddess, grant me strength."

"Moonfire!"

A burst of flame exploded suddenly.

[-637]

[-544]

[-582]

A field of damage numbers soared.

Immediately after, Andrew began chanting Starfire.

Bang!

Starlight exploded, splashing up another damage number.

These two skills were used alternately.

Bang! Pop!

Starfire and Moonfire exploded one after another; Andrew's output capability was off the charts!

Additionally, Hilda's Blood Poison had covered the entire area at the entrance.

All Soul Eaters that were stained would take damage equal to 100% of Hilda's attack power every second.

The damage numbers above their heads began to flood the screen frantically.

Five minutes later.

Cao Xing's side hadn't finished the battle yet when a system prompt appeared.

[Your territory member: Sarah Blade Dance killed Soul Eater Breaker Lv27, Tier 3 boss-level creature, gained EXP: 2700]

[Combatants gained EXP: 1350]

…

Cao Xing was stunned and laughed, "I didn't expect Sarah's side to finish the battle first."

But thinking about it, it was normal.

After all, Sarah was a Tier 3 leader, suppressing the opponent in terms of rank.

Even with a level gap, with her powerful BUFFs, it was enough to crush a boss-level Soul Eater.

As Sarah finished the battle on her side, she quickly came over to Cao Xing's side and joined the fray.

"Swish! Swish, swish!"

A few slashes later, terrifying damage appeared.

Three minutes later, the last Elite Soul Eater fell.

A white light appeared on Renice's body, and she also leveled up to 16.

Thus, all the Soul Eaters in the [Holy Sword Temple] area had been killed by them.

Cao Xing nodded with satisfaction and ordered, "Everyone, clean up the battlefield."

"Renice, come with me."

After saying this, Cao Xing took Renice and headed straight into the temple; he was going to open the coffins of the other Ascalon undead.

Inside the temple, there were still some severely wounded Ascalon undead.

They seemed to know that it was Cao Xing and his team who saved them.

Plus, with Renice soothing the emotions of these Ascalon undead, the hostile situation from before did not occur.

Cao Xing quickly unlocked the seals on the coffins one by one.

A large number of Ascalon undead crawled out, looking with confusion at the chaotic scene in the temple and the destroyed gate.

At this time, Renice walked over and explained everything to them as usual.

Upon receiving confirmation from those injured undead, these new undead also believed Renice's words.

All the Ascalon undead bowed to Cao Xing and his team and quickly left the temple.

A system prompt appeared.

[Mission progress updated.]

[Mission to go to the Four Great Temples, Shield Temple, Holy Sword Temple completed, current progress: 2/4]

…

Cao Xing nodded, "From entering the dungeon until now, about an hour has passed."

"If everything goes according to plan, within two hours, I should be able to finish the mission for this dungeon."

He glanced at the countdown overhead.

[Time until nightfall: 6 hours 42 minutes…]

Cao Xing nodded. "The remaining time is more than enough for me to clear this dungeon and then go flatten Fang Long's camp."

Meanwhile, after finishing cleaning up the battlefield outside, the others began skillfully searching the temple for the burial accessory bags inside the coffins.

As for Cao Xing himself, he went straight to the center of the temple, next to the statue holding the holy sword.

At the foot of the statue, Cao Xing saw a silver object.

"As expected, there is a Silver Treasure Chest here too!"

Cao Xing felt a surge of joy and clicked to open it immediately.

[Silver Treasure Chest opened successfully.]

[Obtained: Magic Pattern Python Water Boots (Purple) * 1]

[Obtained: Multi-Shot Skill Book (Blue) * 1]

[Obtained: Medium Book of Life * 2]

[Obtained: Medium Resource Pack * 1]

[Obtained: Intermediate Elemental Crystal * 1]

…

"Huh? It actually dropped a purple piece of equipment?"

You have to know, although there is a chance to get purple equipment from a Silver Treasure Chest, the probability is very low, almost less than 10%.

So his luck this time was not bad at all.

Then, he checked the equipment attributes.

[Magic Pattern Python Water Boots Lv10 (Purple)]

[Quality: Rare]

[Armor: 5 ~ 7]

[Attached Effect ①: Agility + 5, Spirit + 5]

[Attached Effect ②: Agile Footsteps (Running speed increased by 20%)]

[Attached Effect ③: Python Assault (At the moment of attacking, there is a 50% chance to increase Agility by 20 points.)]

(Equipment Description: "I didn't mean to steal your equipment, I mean… uh… your shoes are very beautiful" — Admiral Colinda Dema.)

…

Clearly, the attributes of these boots were quite good.

With running speed increased by 20%, plus [Queens Will] and [Queens Halo], his movement speed had increased by nearly 100%.

Cao Xing put them on immediately.

In an instant, a cold sensation appeared on the soles of his feet.

"Hiss! A bit cold!"

Cao Xing gasped.

This kind of leather boot definitely couldn't compare to snow boots in terms of warmth.

But it didn't matter; Cao Xing could wear two pairs of shoes at the same time.

Putting the snow boots over the [Magic Pattern Python Water Boots] would keep him warm while still allowing him to enjoy the defense of the water boots.

Of course, doing this would only grant the bonus effects of one piece of equipment.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, his subordinates had also finished cleaning up the battlefield.

They successively came to Cao Xing's side and handed him the items in their hands.

Cao Xing collected them all, and a system prompt appeared.

[Obtained: Ascalon Undead Burial Accessory Bag * 37]

[Obtained: Ascalon Undead Captain's Burial Accessory Bag * 2]

[Obtained: Ascalon Undead Lieutenant's Burial Accessory Bag * 1]

…

Cao Xing felt a surge of joy. "Oh? There's even an Undead Lieutenant's Burial Accessory Bag. This thing should be able to drop even higher-level items, right?"

This made him look forward to it even more.

Then, there were the items dropped by the Soul Eaters.

[Obtained: Soul Eater Breeder Elite Soul * 1]

[Obtained: Soul Eater Peak Breaker Boss Soul * 1]

[Obtained: Large Hook Claw (Purple) * 2]

[Obtained: Sharp Hook Claw (Blue) * 8]

[Obtained: Keen Hook Claw (Green) * 93]

[Obtained: Wraith Dust * 154]

[Obtained: Intermediate Book of Life * 2]

[Obtained: Medium Book of Strength * 3]

[Obtained: Medium Book of Chaos * 4]

[Obtained: Medium Book of Agility * 2]

…

Another huge wave of materials had been acquired.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

However, this time, the three elite Soul Eaters only dropped one elite soul.

So, Cao Xing called Renice over and tossed the boss soul to her.

"Renice, use it. I hope you can successfully break through."

Renice took the soul in her hands, a complex expression appearing in her eyes.

Then, she clenched her right fist, placed it against her chest, and bowed deeply to Cao Xing.

"Thank you for your cultivation, Lord, you have allowed me to find new glory!"

"Renice Hawkeye swears to follow you forever!"

She swore solemnly, and a system prompt appeared.

[Due to your generous gift, your territory member: Renice Hawkeye's favorability has increased. Current Loyalty: 100]

(Loyalty has reached its maximum value; you can now issue any command to her.)

Cao Xing felt a surge of joy. "Very good, Renice's loyalty is also maxed out."

"With this, I have my fourth subordinate with 100 loyalty!"

At this moment, Cao Xing looked at Renice. Her bending posture revealed that deep cleavage and a patch of snow-white skin beneath her leather armor.

He couldn't help but admire it in his heart.

"This woman is just like Sarah; she doesn't look that big when fully dressed, but I didn't expect her to be so well-endowed."

Cao Xing coughed twice, then looked at Renice and said, "No need for such formalities, so use it now."

Renice nodded, then, without hesitation, pressed the ball of soul into her body.

Everyone else was also waiting silently on the side, feeling a bit expectant themselves.

However, after more than a minute.

The aura gradually rising from Renice's body came to an abrupt halt, as if it had jammed, and then quickly dissipated.

This situation indicated that Renice's breakthrough had failed this time.

She looked dejected, then knelt on one knee before Cao Xing. "Lord, I have failed and let down your expectations. Please punish me!"

"Whatever the punishment, Renice is willing to accept it!"

Looking at this valiant woman kneeling on the ground with a face full of self-reproach.

Cao Xing walked forward and held her shoulders.

The moment she felt Cao Xing's palms make contact with her body, Renice's shoulders trembled.

As a combatant who had always been fighting on the front lines, Renice had never had such contact with a member of the opposite sex.

In fact, she would instinctively repel such contact.

However, for some reason, this time when Cao Xing grabbed her arms, not only did she not repel him, but she also felt her heart racing.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

Renice blushed to the roots of her ears and could even hear her own heavy heartbeat.

At this moment, Cao Xing's words pulled her thoughts back.

"Renice, are you listening?"

Renice snapped to her senses and quickly said, "Ah? Oh, sorry Lord, I was distracted."

Cao Xing looked strangely at the flushed woman in front of him and continued to comfort her, "I meant, it doesn't matter if you fail a breakthrough once."

"Anyway, we still have to go to other temples, and we should encounter other boss-level creatures, so we will find new souls then."

"Rest assured, I will definitely help you break through; don't be dejected."

Listening to Cao Xing's comforting words, a warm current seemed to flow through Renice's heart.

For a woman like her who only dealt with the bow and arrow in her hands, this was an unprecedented experience.

So much so that she couldn't help but gaze at Cao Xing's face, somewhat dazed.

Cao Xing noticed that in Renice's eyes, there seemed to be the same look that Sarah had when she looked at him.

At this moment, Cao Xing seemed to realize something.

"Ahem!"

He quickly coughed twice and ordered, "Let's go, continue to the next target, Torch Temple!"

Renice also suddenly snapped out of it and quickly resumed her usual combat posture.

For them, Renice's failure was just a small interlude.

The team continued to move forward.

It took about ten minutes, and they successfully arrived at the location of the [Torch Temple].

The situation here was similar to the [Holy Sword Temple].

The [Advanced Magic Energy Gate] had already been opened, and more than half of the coffins inside had been forcibly opened by the Soul Eaters.

But fortunately, there were still dozens of coffins left for Cao Xing that hadn't been opened.

Everyone followed the same procedure.

Luring the Soul Eaters inside out in waves.

It took about half an hour to kill all the monsters here.

Then, Cao Xing walked over as usual and unsealed all the coffins.

The undead inside, also under Renice's explanation, understood what had happened in the underground palace.

After expressing their gratitude to Cao Xing, they left the Torch Temple.

The system prompt appeared again.

[Task progress updated.]

[Go to the Four Great Temples: Shield Temple, Holy Sword Temple, Torch Temple. Task completed. Current progress: 3/4]

…

Cao Xing nodded. "Very good, only one last temple left, and I can complete the Four Great Temples task."

"Then, it's off to the Kasha Kingdom Cathedral to see how powerful that legendary demon is."

Meanwhile, the other subordinates also handed over various spoils and burial accessory bags to Cao Xing.

And Cao Xing once again harvested a total of over thirty burial accessory bags and two Soul Eater souls.

One was the [Soul Eater Burrower Elite Soul], and the other was the [Soul Eater Giant Strength Boss Soul].

Cao Xing continued to give the boss-level soul to Renice, thinking to himself, "I don't believe it. With a success probability of over 35%, plus my Luck +10 attribute, could I really fail consecutively?"

Renice solemnly took it and pressed it into her body.

The metamorphosis from elite to boss requires a certain amount of time.

Cao Xing came to the statue in the center of the temple as usual and, sure enough, saw another Silver Treasure Chest.

He clicked to open it directly.

[Silver Treasure Chest opened successfully.]

[Obtained: Intermediate City Wall Construction Blueprint]

[Obtained: Guard Greatsword (Purple) * 1]

[Obtained: Ice Armor Skill Book * 1]

[Obtained: Medium Resource Pack * 1]

[Obtained: Intermediate Elemental Crystal * 2]

…

"Huh? Purple equipment again? It seems my Luck +10 attribute wasn't added in vain!"

Cao Xing laughed, then took a look at the attributes of this Guard Greatsword.

[Guard Greatsword Lv10 (Purple)]

[Quality: Rare]

[Attack Power: 68 ~ 75]

[Attached Effect ①: Strength + 10, Constitution + 5]

[Attached Effect ②: Guard (When using a blocking action, reduce incoming damage and knockback effects by 20%)]

[Attached Effect ③: Sweep (When swinging the greatsword, based on the strength judgment of both sides, cause a knock-up effect on units with lower strength than you)]

(Equipment Description: "The best defense! Is to knock up all enemies" — Lieutenant Assam Callahan.)