Chapter 153: Special Equipment, Shadow Cloak!

"Do you think you can get away?" A smile played on Cao Xing's lips.

Under the bonus of Queens Will, his subordinates had a movement speed far faster than the Hunters.

They hadn't charged far out of the Black Smoke Storm.

Andrew and Xierda, transformed into their giant bear forms, intercepted the group of Hunters.

At the same time, Cao Xing was still directing them to attack.

"Blot, the third Hunter on the left is about to drop, throw a Black Smoke Impact."

"Renice, the second one on the right, put two arrows into him."

"Andrew, slap the Hunter in front of you; he's already low on health."

Hearing Cao Xing's command, the three executed it without hesitation.

Swish! Swish!

Bang!

Attacks struck one after another. The three Hunters looked at the wounds on their bodies, their health finally depleted, and they collapsed.

[Your territory member: Blot Brimstone killed Hunter Believer Lv27, gained experience: 540]

[Combatants gained experience: 270]

[Your territory member: Renice Eagle Eye killed Hunter Believer Lv28, gained experience: 560]

[Combatants gained experience: 280]

[Your…]

…

The three looked at Cao Xing, their eyes filled with admiration.

Blot remarked while fighting, "Lord, your commands are as timely as ever."

The group of Hunters, however, hated Cao Xing to death.

Each of them glared at him with venomous eyes.

Of course, Cao Xing simply ignored their gazes.

As the battle progressed.

More than half of the Hunters had been killed or wounded.

Even that Hunter Captain had been beaten down to his last third of health.

Mind you, it had been less than two minutes since the battle began.

At this moment, the Hunter Captain gasped. He realized he had run into a tough opponent this time.

He shouted, "Come out quickly, I need support here!"

Hearing his cry for help.

A middle-aged man's voice came from among the Hunters currently fighting Sarah inside the village.

"Take a group and support Yuray."

"The rest of you, follow me and take down this Dark Elf woman!"

The next moment, over thirty Hunters dressed as militiamen rushed out, including two with Elite-level auras.

Added to the Hunters already fighting Sarah inside the village, the number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Hunters in this village was likely over a hundred.

Cao Xing nodded secretly, "These guys actually stationed so many Hunters here; it seems this village is very important to them!"

Moreover, the key point was that the Hunter map didn't even mark the location of this village.

This suggested two possibilities.

Either this village was occupied by the Hunters later.

Or this village was quite important.

Regardless of which it was, it didn't stop Cao Xing from deciding to take this village.

Pfft! Pfft, pfft!

Great Ice Spear and Ice Cone spells shot over, each causing decent damage.

[- 573]

[- 632]

At this moment, Cao Xing's seven generals, plus one Mammoth, were also besieged by the group of Hunters.

However, their attacks landed on Assam and the others, and after multiple reductions, they only caused two or three hundred damage.

Furthermore, the next moment, outrageous recovery numbers of +237, +237 appeared above Assam and the others' heads.

No matter how they attacked, the health bars simply wouldn't go down.

The group of Hunters looked bewildered, finding it completely unbelievable!

"Damn it! Are these guys unkillable monsters?"

"It's no good, our attacks aren't working on them!"

The Hunter Captain asked, "Where is our Assassin squad?"

"They are dealing with that Dark Elf inside with the Priest."

The Hunter Captain's eyes were filled with confusion, "One Dark Elf is holding up so many of you, and even the Priest can't take her down?"

"Yes, this Dark Elf woman is very strong; even the Priest is being suppressed by her!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing laughed.

She was worthy of being the top expert under his command.

Sarah was terrifyingly strong; a single assassin suppressing a group of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Hunters.

Among them was even a Hunter Priest of unknown strength.

She was just too fierce!

At this moment, the battlefield on Cao Xing's side was also very relaxed.

Even when facing a siege, Assam and the others weren't panicked in the slightest, and they cut down the Hunters one by one under their swords.

"Pfft! Pfft, pfft!"

The corpses on the ground gradually increased.

Seeing that the number of surrounding Hunters was gradually decreasing, the group of Hunters once again showed anxious expressions.

It seemed the Hunters inside had also sensed the unfavorable situation outside,

four or five figures rushed out from within.

Cao Xing glanced at them; it was the Hunter Assassin squad he had encountered once before at the Fanglong Camp.

They possessed Tier 3 Elite-level strength.

Seeing reinforcements arrive, the Hunter Captain's eyes filled with hope, and he said, "A few assassins, go and kill that Otherworld Lord!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three Elite assassins charged toward Cao Xing's side.

Just then, Xierda flicked her tail, and a hunting net firmly trapped one of the assassins.

Assam was about to abandon the enemies in front of him and run over to protect Cao Xing.

But Cao Xing said, "Let them come over, let us handle it."

Hearing Cao Xing's command, although the recruited creatures still felt a bit uneasy, they faithfully executed the order.

The two Hunter assassins showed expressions of disdain.

They could sense the strength of Cao Xing and Liu Muxue.

Both were Tier 2 creatures.

One of them was even a squishy mage.

Daring to let two Tier 3 Elite assassins get close to them was simply asking for death!

They didn't hesitate in the slightest, pouncing toward the two like hunting leopards!

One in front, one behind; one attacked Liu Muxue, the other attacked Cao Xing.

Two flashes of cold light streaked by.

But Cao Xing didn't dodge or evade, letting the assassin's attack land on him.

However, this blow only shattered a layer of Cao Xing and the others' Holy Shield.

Crack!

Liu Muxue was equally calm, taking the opportunity to slash down with her sword.

[- 378]

Although the damage was weak, it successfully forced the opponent back.

The other Hunter assassin saw the Holy Shield on Cao Xing and looked surprised.

But he quickly reacted, snorting coldly, "Hmph! Let's see how many layers of shields you have!"

His short blade slashed down again without hesitation!

And just then, a curve appeared on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

"Although I don't have many layers of Holy Shield, I have other things."

"Let me show you my big baby."

The next moment, a pitch-black metal barrel suddenly appeared in his hand.

It was the ancient weapon obtained from opening a treasure chest the day before yesterday—the Mastiff Shotgun.

"Bang!"

Cao Xing pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The Hunter assassin only felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen.

The next moment, a terrifying impact force arrived, and he was sent flying backward.

[- 115]

[- 117]

[- 153]

[- 132]

…

Eight damage numbers floated up.

At close range, the Mastiff Shotgun dealt full damage.

The Hunter assassin fell onto the snow a few meters away, looking bewildered.

He touched his stomach and found it a bloody mess.

If it weren't for the amazing physique of the transcendents in this world.

Just that one shot would have blown his stomach apart on the spot.

Cao Xing held the shotgun, blew the heat off the muzzle, and then made a provocative gesture toward the Hunter.

The Hunter was instantly enraged and charged at Cao Xing again.

"Hmph! Do you think you're invincible just because you're holding some weird thing?"

"Today, I'll show you what a real assassin is!"

At this moment, the Hunter assassin's gaze was as sharp as an arrow, shooting out a startling cold light!

He disappeared into the shadows, and only a cold voice rang out.

"Decades of swinging my sword as if it were one day, my blade has severed the throats of countless prey."

"Only by stepping over countless blood and bones can one become the true King of Assassins!"

"Let you witness my ultimate strike!"

In the snow, a flash of cold light suddenly erupted silently.

And with lightning speed, it instantly struck toward Cao Xing.

Fast! Fast to the extreme!

This blade even made Assam and the others unable to help but glance over.

Bang!

The cold light stopped abruptly, and the next moment, the assassin in the shadows was sent flying backward.

The assassin's eyes filled with a bewildered expression.

Cao Xing said speechlessly, "What kind of King of Assassins?"

"Do you know the saying, within seven steps, the gun is fast and accurate."

Eight damage numbers appeared above the Hunter assassin's head.

He was severely injured on the spot.

Seeing this scene, Assam and the others felt relieved.

They knew that with Cao Xing's power, he could already easily deal with this level of assassin.

Not only that, because the Mastiff Shotgun only had a one-second attack interval.

Cao Xing could blast back the assassin next to Liu Muxue while blasting back this Hunter assassin.

Then, the two assassins launched attacks time and time again with frustrated faces.

Whenever they tried to come over to assassinate Cao Xing, Cao Xing would give them a blast.

Although there were occasional misses, they were all blocked by Liu Muxue's shield.

Just like that, the two Hunter assassins couldn't get close to Cao Xing at all.

Not only that, the battle at the village entrance was also nearing its end.

The Hunters' corpses kept falling.

Only a few elite Ranger Assassins and the Ranger Captain remained, still struggling to hold on.

At this moment, the two assassins currently tangled with Cao Xing also realized the situation was looking grim.

They had just intended to rush back to provide support.

A dark shadow also swiftly rushed out from the village.

It was none other than Sarah.

Behind Sarah followed a large group of Rangers, among whom was a masked black-robed priest.

The black-robed priest spoke in a muffled voice: "Catch that Dark Elf woman!"

"She has been hit by my poisoned throwing knife and is already injured!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing immediately checked Sarah's status.

[-114] [-127] [-163] +273

Negative damage numbers kept appearing above her head, followed by a +273 recovery number.

Furthermore, Sarah's HP had already dropped to one-third.

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing immediately ordered: "Dabai, go intercept those Rangers and support Sarah."

"Moo—"

Upon hearing the order, Dabai charged out directly.

Thump! Thump-thump!

The enraged Mammoth instantly arrived beside the group of Rangers.

Then, it raised its front hooves and unleashed a Mammoth Stomp!

"Boom!"

After a terrifying impact sound, a stun icon appeared above all the Rangers' heads.

Sarah also seized the opportunity and quickly returned to the team.

Without needing Cao Xing to say more, Liu Muxue immediately cast a Purification and a Holy Heal on her.

+855

A healing number nearly breaking one thousand appeared.

It is worth mentioning that after applying the buffs, Cao Xing had already traded the Kingdom Holy Ring to Liu Muxue for her to equip.

That was why the healing output was so high.

At the same time, the negative status effects on Sarah disappeared, and her HP recovered significantly in an instant.

From here on, it wouldn't take long for her to fully recover her HP.

Sarah said apologetically: "I am sorry, Lord, I accidentally stepped into those Rangers' traps."

Cao Xing shook his head; he did not blame Sarah.

As an assassin not specialized in frontal combat, holding off dozens of Rangers for such a long time on her own was already quite impressive.

Having recovered, Sarah took a deep breath and pounced out again like a fierce tiger.

Swish!

This time, she locked onto the black-robed priest.

The Shadow Blade in her hand slashed down repeatedly.

The black-robed priest raised his longsword, struggling to parry.

Clang! Clang, clang!

The sound of the short blade colliding with the longsword rang out.

The black-robed priest retreated continuously, suppressed unilaterally by Sarah.

The situation on other battlefields was the same.

Even though the enemy's numbers were several times that of Assam and the others, it was of no use.

The group of Rangers could only watch as the number of their teammates constantly dwindled.

A moment later, the black-robed priest blocked Sarah's attacks while cursing: "Damn it! If it weren't for the High Priest being away on business, none of you guys would escape!"

Cao Xing replied speechlessly: "Then go ahead and make him come back."

After saying this, he directly entered the [Demon Transformation] state.

And Andrew also entered [Moonkin Form].

Both of them transformed into long-range bombers.

Wicked Fire, Moonfire, and Starfire bombarded continuously.

Bang! Bang, bang!

[-754] [-781] [-802] [-653] [-542]

Andrew's damage was significantly higher than Cao Xing's.

This Druid's level had also reached the level cap of 20.

Compared to when they were in the Ascalon tomb, his damage had seen a qualitative improvement.

As the two of them exerted their power.

The death rate of the Rangers accelerated even further.

Three minutes later.

Only the Ranger priest and two elite assassins remained, struggling to hold on.

However, their HP had reached a dangerous level.

As Renice fired an arrow, one of the elite assassins died instantly.

Then, the other elite assassin was also eroded to death by Hilda's Blood Poison.

The group slowly walked over and surrounded the black-robed priest.

He also knew that he no longer had any chance.

"You guys, just wait until the High Priest returns; he won't let you off!"

Cao Xing couldn't be bothered with him.

He directly had Sarah end the opponent's life with one strike.

[Your territory member: Sarah successfully killed the Ranger Black-Robed Priest Lv30, a Tier 3 Boss-level creature, gaining Experience: 3000]

[Combatants gained Experience: 1500]

[You destroyed a Ranger hidden camp, Reputation +500]

…

"Not bad, not bad, there's even a 500 Reputation reward."

Cao Xing clapped his hands and said: "Clean up the battlefield, then follow me into the village."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately took action.

A few minutes later, Assam and the others collected everything on the ground and handed it to Cao Xing.

First, there was a wave of equipment.

[Obtained: Fighter Dagger (Purple)]

[Obtained: Ranger Priest Mask (Purple)]

[Obtained: Intermediate Heart of Strength * 2]

[Obtained: Primary Heart of Strength * 5]

[Obtained: Ranger Elite Soul * 3]

[Obtained: Silk Inscription Backpack (Blue) * 1]

[Obtained: Cunning Dagger (Blue) * 5]

[Obtained: Black Rock Greatsword (Blue) * 2]

[Obtained: Standard Soldier Dagger (Green) * 56]

[Obtained: Standard Soldier Longbow (Green) * 7]

[Obtained: Arrow (White) * 372]

[Obtained: Shadow Cloak (Special Equipment) * 47]

[Obtained: Coin * 5317]

…

Besides these, there were seven or eight small and medium Attribute Books.

Cao Xing nodded, "Not bad, the equipment from these guys all dropped, and besides the blue backpack, there are also two Intermediate Heart of Strength."

"However, it is a bit of a pity that the black-robed priest didn't drop a soul."

But it didn't matter; the items dropped by these Rangers were already quite good.

After all, just the two Intermediate Heart of Strength could allow at least two of his max-level creatures to break through to Tier 3, causing their strength to surge significantly.

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and gave the two Intermediate Heart of Strength to Andrew and Assam, respectively.

They were Cao Xing's first batch of summoned creatures and had already reached the Die-hard level.

The two solemnly took the palm-sized Heart of Strength and expressed their gratitude to Cao Xing.

Then, they crushed the Heart of Strength.

A burst of powerful energy surged into their bodies.

The transformation from Tier 2 to Tier 3 was not as rapid as from Tier 1 to Tier 2, so the two of them would need some time.

Taking advantage of this time, Cao Xing checked the attributes of the purple equipment he had obtained.

[Fighter Dagger Lv20 (Purple)]

[Quality: Rare]

[Attack Power: 273 ~ 298]

[Attached Effect ①: Strength +10, Agility +10]

[Attached Effect ②: Battle Stance (Upon entering combat, increases block chance by 20%)]

[Attached Effect ③: Fighter (When weapons clash, there is a 30% chance to disarm the enemy.)]

(Equipment Description: Aim for the timing, knock away the enemy's weapon, then pierce their heart — Fighter: Willy Bachman)

…

Cao Xing thought to himself: "This weapon is more suitable for combat-oriented melee classes, but Assam already has the Ancient Rapier."

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing gave this weapon to Liu Muxue.

Although the attributes on it were not suitable for her, it was still much stronger than the Level 10 [Ice Crystal Sword (Blue)] she was holding.

Then, Cao Xing looked at the attributes of that blue backpack again.

In this world, spatial items were relatively rare, usually only obtainable from treasure chests, and the probability was very low.

Up until now, Cao Xing had only dropped one [Noble Backpack], which had a capacity of 40 slots.

[Silk Inscription Backpack (Blue)]

[Backpack Capacity: 80 slots]

[Attached Effect: Strength +5, Agility +5]

(Equipment Description: A backpack inscribed with magic runes, possessing a slight attribute boost beneath its gorgeous exterior.)

…

"It actually has a capacity of 80 slots!"

Cao Xing was delighted.

Although his current backpack capacity was almost enough, who would complain about having too much storage space?

Thus, he equipped it directly.

Since every survivor lord could only equip one backpack, he gave the replaced [Noble Backpack] to Liu Muxue.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

As for the other equipment, such as the [Cunning Dagger] and [Black Rock Greatsword]

They were all blue-tier equipment, so there was no need to look at them.

Because none of Cao Xing's subordinates could use these weapons.

Those green-tier standard daggers and longbows were Level 15~20 equipment; once those Ascalon soldiers leveled up in the future, they could be equipped with them.

At this moment, Cao Xing noticed a new piece of equipment, the Shadow Cloak.

According to the system notes, this was a piece of special equipment.

He checked the attributes of this item.

[Shadow Cloak (Special Equipment)]

[Quality: None]

[Attributes: None]

[Equipment Effect: After equipping, it can hide your aura, making it impossible for non-friendly units to detect your strength. The effect disappears after being attacked and is ineffective against entities 10 levels higher than yourself.]

(Equipment Description: A type of cloak for hiding identity developed by the Church of Light, imbued with the faint power of a Red-Robed Bishop.)