Chapter 149: Summoning the Ascalon Legion!

Everyone was fully prepared, waiting for the battle to begin!

However, the newly joined Dwarf, Harold, and the Half-Giant, Putana.

The eyes of these two newcomers held a hint of worry.

They had assumed that since this territory was so powerful, it shouldn't encounter any danger.

Yet, on their very first day, they heard the news that there would be a large-scale battle at night.

Although Cao Xing told them not to worry and didn't ask them to participate in the battle, they still felt uneasy in their hearts.

Cao Xing noticed the unease on their faces, but he didn't say anything more.

At times like this, only by demonstrating powerful strength would they be able to set their minds at ease.

Then, he checked the levels of Elisa and that group of Imperial Soldiers.

[Frost Archer: Elisa]

[Level: 10 0/10000 (Tier 1 Common Creature)]

…

[Imperial Soldier: Rakid]

[Level: 10 0/10000 (Tier 1 Common Creature)]

…

After a day of fighting, they had all leveled up to 10.

But because they lacked the Primary Heart of Strength, Elisa's experience bar was full, and she couldn't gain any more experience points from killing monsters.

Cao Xing thought to himself, "It seems I need to go to the Dragon Shop and exchange for a few Hearts of Strength to help them advance."

"Otherwise, if we fight the Ice Nest Monsters next, those experience points will be wasted."

Thus, Cao Xing checked his material reserves.

[glacier shard * 8221]

[Ice Dragon Mark * 27293]

…

"Not bad. With my current Ice Dragon Mark reserves, I can exchange for 27 Primary Hearts of Strength."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing opened the Dragon Shop directly and clicked exchange.

A system notification appeared.

[Consume: Ice Dragon Mark * 9000 to exchange for Primary Heart of Strength * 9?]

…

"Spending nearly ten thousand Ice Dragon Marks all at once… I'd have to kill dozens of monsters in the Ice Nest to drop this many."

"I hope tonight's battle will make up for my losses."

Although it stung a bit, Cao Xing still clicked exchange.

The next moment, 9 bright red crystals appeared in his backpack.

Then, Cao Xing distributed all these crystals.

Elisa held the crystal in her hand, her small mouth slightly agape, and exclaimed, "Lord, is this a reward for Elisa?"

Cao Xing nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, today you have all proven yourselves with your actions."

Hearing this, Elisa jumped up in excitement.

"Thank you, handsome and generous Lord!"

Including the other Frost Archers, the Imperial Soldiers also respectfully said, "Thank you for your gift, Lord!"

[Due to your generous gift, Territory Member: Elisa's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 92]

[Due to your generous gift, Territory Member: Rakid's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 84]

[Due to you…]

A series of system notifications appeared.

The loyalty of these people all increased by 6 to 10 points.

Elisa had already surpassed 90 loyalty.

At the same time, they all crushed the Hearts of Strength on the spot and absorbed the power contained within.

The next moment, several powerful auras rose from their bodies.

And Cao Xing heard the notifications that they had successfully advanced.

"Very good. Advancing from Tier 1 to Tier 2 has no probability of failure."

"Now, I have nine more Tier 2 warriors."

Cao Xing felt much more confident!

As for the newly joined Giant, Putana, and the Dwarf, Harold, they looked at these newly advanced soldiers with some surprise.

They also understood the value of the Hearts of Strength.

Seeing Cao Xing take out so many all at once, they couldn't help but be surprised by his generosity and wealth.

After breaking through, little Elisa clenched her small fist and said excitedly, "By the Moon Goddess! I feel terrifyingly strong right now!"

"I can knock my father down with one punch!"

"Haha! Father can never lecture me again!"

Hearing this, Old Mel in the crowd instantly darkened his face.

He walked straight over, grabbed Elisa by the ear, and gave her two solid knocks on the head.

Hearing the crisp sound.

Elisa clutched her head and exclaimed, "Ah! Father, why are you here!?"

Old Mel said angrily, "Why am I here? You tell me why I'm here!"

"You just said I couldn't lecture you, and you were going to knock me down with one punch?"

"It really makes me furious!"

As Old Mel spoke, he continued to knock on Elisa's head. The 'thump, thump, thump' sounds kept occurring.

"Wuwuwu… don't hit me… don't hit me…"

"Father, please spare me…"

Although Elisa's stats were much higher than Old Mel's, she didn't dare to truly resist and could only let Old Mel lecture her in front of everyone.

The other territory members couldn't help but chuckle when they saw this scene.

At this moment, Elisa scanned the crowd and suddenly had an idea.

She ducked, broke free from Old Mel's control, and quickly hid behind Cao Xing, grabbing his arm and putting on a pitiful expression to ask for help.

"QAQ, Lord, save me!"

Cao Xing was amused by this little girl.

So he said, "Old Mel, let Elisa off today. I still need her to fight in a while."

In this territory, the person Old Mel respected most was naturally Cao Xing.

Hearing Cao Xing speak, Old Mel nodded and bowed slightly.

Seeing that she had escaped a disaster, Elisa patted her small chest and let out a sigh of relief.

At the same time, she quietly looked at Cao Xing's profile, and unconsciously, it seemed that some other emotions had grown.

[Because you protected Elisa, her loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 96]

Cao Xing was taken aback and turned his head to look at Elisa.

He happened to meet that pair of clear and beautiful blue eyes.

The next moment, Elisa's face turned bright red in an instant.

She quickly let go of Cao Xing's hand and turned to walk aside.

Meanwhile, Braum stood together with two Centaurs and said excitedly, "Lord, when does the battle start? Braum can't wait anymore!"

The Centaur also chimed in, "Kantor too! I want to use my mace to smash those guys' heads!"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Wait a moment, we still have some new members."

"New members?" Everyone looked on with puzzled expressions.

Cao Xing didn't explain, then checked his backpack.

Yesterday, that group of Ascalon undead gave him over a hundred recruitment scrolls.

He gave ten to Ji Xinyue, and Cao Xing still had 102.

But because these one hundred plus people were too many, the resources consumed by just eating every day would be a huge number.

So Cao Xing didn't summon them immediately.

But now, it was possible to use these scrolls and have them participate in the battle together.

Thus, without hesitation, Cao Xing clicked summon on all 102 recruitment scrolls!

In an instant, the sky trembled. Rumble!

All the territory members couldn't help but look up. Then, they saw meteors, like a meteor shower, falling in front of Cao Xing.

Hum! Hum! The meteor shower kept falling, the starlight dazzling.

After these meteors landed, they quickly transformed into Ascalon soldiers wearing standard armor and holding standard short swords.

"For the glory that has passed, to inherit the will of the dead!"

"Ascalon Warriors: Portcas / Kent / Yankarlo…"

"Reporting to you!"

Then, a hundred-man army appeared directly in front of Cao Xing!

There were too many names; he couldn't possibly remember them one by one.

So, Cao Xing said collectively, "Brave warriors from Ascalon, welcome to our ranks."

"Let us forget the past and work together to build a territory full of glory!"

At this moment, that group of Ascalon soldiers looked at Cao Xing with strange expressions on their faces.

Because when they looked at Cao Xing, they always felt a sense of familiarity, or rather, closeness.

At this time, an Ascalon soldier stepped forward and said, "Lord, I don't know why, although this is our first time meeting, I always feel that your aura is very kind."

Another soldier also nodded and said, "That's right, I have the same feeling."

"I feel that this is a good Lord."

"Haha! I also trust my gut; this must be a good Lord!"

These soldiers gave Cao Xing a very high evaluation upon their first meeting.

Cao Xing smiled; he also knew the reason for this.

This was likely because his favorability with the Ascalon faction was [Intimate].

You know, even if Cao Xing wandered into the territory of those Ascalon undead now, he wouldn't be attacked. He was basically considered one of their own. Therefore, when these soldiers looked at Cao Xing, they felt very close to him.

Cao Xing nodded and said, "Actually, I have already had some contact with you Ascalonians."

"Before this, I rescued Duke Baradin and the Ascalonian undead in an entire underground palace."

Upon hearing this, the group of soldiers all had looks of astonishment in their eyes.

Seemingly aware of their confusion, Cao Xing recounted his experience in the underground palace.

Of course, he slightly embellished the process to highlight the danger, and he described the battle with that demon as perilous.

The group of Ascalon soldiers listened to Cao Xing's account while holding their breath.

Upon hearing that they had finally killed the demon after much hardship, all the Ascalon soldiers couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the looks they gave Cao Xing were filled with respect and admiration.

Then, over a hundred soldiers knelt on one knee simultaneously and said, "To dare to fight such a powerful demon, you truly are a kind and brave Lord!"

"On behalf of all Ascalonians, we thank you!"

The next moment, a series of system notifications appeared.

[Due to your heroic deeds, your territory member: Kent's loyalty has increased, current loyalty: 67]

[Due to your heroic deeds, your territory member: Hercules's loyalty has increased, current loyalty: 65]

[Due to your…]

The loyalty of these Ascalon soldiers all increased by a few points, reaching over 60.

Cao Xing chuckled. Is this the charm of language? It seems his storytelling ability is not bad at all!

Then, Cao Xing glanced at their attributes.

[Ascalon Soldier: Kurt]

[Race: Human]

[Level: Level 7 1124/7000 (Tier 1 Common Creature)]

[HP: 640/640]

[Attack: 74~79]

[Armor: 24~27]

[Skills: Basic Swordsmanship Mastery (When using sword-type weapons, attack power increases by 10%, attack speed increases by 10%), Moon Slash (Slashes out two crescent attacks, the first moon ray deals 147% damage to the enemy, the second remnant moon deals 133% damage, cooldown 45 seconds)]

[Bond Skill: Fearless Charge (All Ascalon soldiers charge forward. During the charge, movement speed increases by 100%, armor increases by 50%, attack power increases by 50%, and there is a higher chance to knock enemies into the air, cooldown 5 minutes)]

[Talent: None]

[Bond: Ascalon Legion! When the number of Ascalon soldiers acting simultaneously reaches 5 or more, attack speed increases by 20% (Activated). When the number of soldiers reaches 10 or more, attack power increases by 20% (Activated). When the number of soldiers reaches 50 or more, armor increases by 20% (Activated). When the number of soldiers reaches 100 or more, the Fearless Charge skill will be additionally activated (Activated)]

Seeing the bond introduction of this Ascalon soldier, Cao Xing was immediately shocked.

"Good heavens! The Legion skill has been activated by me!"

"This Fearless Charge skill is so fierce!"

Movement speed, attack power, and armor all skyrocketed by a huge margin!

One can imagine that with the addition of Cao Xing's various status buffs, combined with [Fearless Charge]. The scene of this group of Ascalon soldiers charging on the battlefield would be terrifying!

Once they grow up, they will crush all obstacles for him!

However, thinking of this, besides anticipation, Cao Xing also had a headache.

With so many Tier 1 soldiers, just the Heart of Strength alone would require over a hundred…

Currently, the only way to obtain a large amount of Heart of Strength is through the Dragon Shop.

In there, a basic Heart of Strength costs 1000 Ice Dragon Mark each.

In other words, if Cao Xing wants to upgrade all these soldiers to Tier 2, he needs at least 100,000 Ice Dragon Mark!

"Damn… 100,000 Ice Dragon Mark is enough for me to exchange for a Gold Treasure Chest."

"However, if I can upgrade so many people to Tier 2, it would be worth it."

Of course, that is assuming Cao Xing has that many Ice Dragon Mark.

Meanwhile, the residents saw so many people appear all of a sudden, and their eyes were filled with shock.

The two Centaurs were the first to react, shouting: "Haha! We have many more companions."

"That's right, Kantor, this batch of companions seems to be of decent quality!"

Looking at so many people, another headache was placed before Cao Xing.

Although he has the [Eternal Power] talent, all status skills have cooldown times.

Moreover, after Cao Xing and others release multiple skills in a row, their mental energy will be exhausted.

To fully buff these 102 soldiers, it is estimated that one night is not enough.

"Sigh, sometimes having too many subordinates is also a trouble." Cao Xing sighed.

If other Survivors knew about his troubles, they would probably roast him to death.

After all, at the current stage, it is considered pretty good for those Survivors to have a few ordinary recruited creatures under their command.

"Muxue, Hilda, Blot, you guys come over first and apply group status buffs to our new members."

In Cao Xing's territory, only these three have group BUFFs.

One skill can allow friendly units in the nearby area to enjoy the bonus, simple and easy.

After receiving Cao Xing's order.

Liu Muxue raised her long sword and cast [Blessing of Courage] on this group of Ascalon soldiers.

With Liu Muxue's mental energy now almost breaking through 200, it is equivalent to everyone gaining nearly 300 attack power!

What kind of concept is this?

You have to know, even a Level 10 Tier 2 creature has an attack power of about 200~300.

The attack power of all soldiers has increased several times over!

Then, there was Hilda's [Queens Will].

As well as Blot's [Resonance Totem].

At this moment, over a hundred soldiers all felt that their strength had received a terrifying bonus!

The group of Ascalon soldiers said in shock: "To be able to increase our strength by so much, it is truly terrifying!"

The Centaur next to them said proudly: "Hey! Scared, right, recruits? Let me tell you, this belongs to our Lord, a unique power!"

The Ascalon soldiers did not refute, nodding in agreement one by one: "What a magical power!"

"It is our honor to be able to fight for such a great Lord!"

Then, a series of system notifications for loyalty increase appeared again.

The loyalty of all soldiers reached over 70!

A look of joy appeared on Cao Xing's face.

[Eternal Power] is as useful as always.

Then, he loudly said: "All combat personnel, listen up!"

The next moment, the combat personnel in the entire territory all looked solemn.

"Next, Assam, Andrew, Braum, Renice, and Blot, each lead twenty Ascalon soldiers to form five squads."

"You must defend the five directions of the territory respectively and stop the attack of the Ice Nest Monsters."

Since Cao Xing's city wall is circular, and to facilitate resource extraction, he opened a total of five gates.

So five squads can almost defend all directions.

And everyone was ready for battle immediately.

Including those Ascalon soldiers, they did not have any extra emotions because they had to fight right after coming out.

As soldiers, fighting is their primary duty.

Everyone quickly divided into squads.

Cao Xing continued: "All archers, return to the watchtowers and provide fire support for our combat personnel."

"The others form a reserve squad. If you see anywhere that cannot hold on, or where Ice Nest Monsters have rushed to the city wall, go support immediately."

"Do you all understand?"

At this moment, all combat personnel said in unison: "Understood!"

Meanwhile, the five primary iron gates inside the territory opened.

The five squads quickly walked out.

And just as Elisa was about to lead people to climb up to the watchtower, Cao Xing suddenly thought of something.

Then he handed the [Ancient Weapon · Triple Sniper Rifle] to her.

Elisa, holding this sniper rifle that was over a meter long, looked very petite.

Cao Xing simply told her how to use it, then said: "It's okay if you don't know how to use it, try practicing a bit."

"If arrows run out, use this weapon to attack."

"Mm-hm! Thank you, Lord!"

Elisa nodded, then holding the sniper rifle, she quickly climbed up to the ten-meter-high watchtower.

Everyone arrived at their combat positions and got ready.