Chapter 185: Counting the Spoils, Burning the Camp!

After opening the storage chest, a pile of acquisition notifications appeared.

"So many new items!"

Excitement appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

He couldn't wait to start checking the attributes of these items.

The first one was that orange-quality book.

On it, written in gilded, bordered font, was "Advanced Assassin's Manual."

The signature on the side was not Montra, but another nameless assassin.

[Advanced Assassin's Manual (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Item Effect: Contains the life story of a nameless assassin, including his various assassination techniques and insights. By continuously practicing the techniques in the book, one can master the various assassination skills of this nameless assassin.]

[Learnable Skills: Advanced Assassination Techniques, Shadow Dash, Assassin's Code, Shattering Shadow, Phantom Flash, Instant Prison Shadow Kill.]

[Reading Requirements: Assassin, Thief, Prowler, Killer, and other assassination-type classes.]

[Time Required to Read: Unknown]

(Note: Depending on individual talent and effort, the time required to learn the various skills recorded inside varies. Only through diligent practice can one become a true Assassin King!)

Seeing the description of this item, Cao Xing was instantly stunned.

"Huh? This is actually a manual that allows people to learn various advanced skills!"

Of the six skills recorded in this book, the white-robed priest had already learned the first five, and their attributes were extremely powerful.

As for the last one, [Instant Prison Shadow Kill], it was likely an even more advanced skill.

Even that white-robed priest hadn't comprehended it.

Clearly, the value of this book was immeasurable.

It was no wonder its quality was marked as orange.

To any assassin or killer, it was a priceless treasure!

But unfortunately, this thing had restrictions; it required a killer or assassin-type class to learn.

Besides that, one also needed to carefully study the knowledge in the manual and practice day after day to learn the skills inside.

It was very convenient for Survivors like them.

After obtaining these skill books, they could learn how to use the skills with a simple clap of their hands.

However—

Regardless, the value of this book absolutely exceeded the tens of thousands of kilograms of food from before.

And this was almost tailor-made for Sarah!

If this powerful dark elf assassin learned any of the skills inside, she would receive a significant boost.

"As expected of an orange-quality item, it's too powerful!"

With excitement, Cao Xing began to check the second item, which was a training barracks blueprint.

[Shadow Killer Training Barracks Blueprint]

[Blueprint Effect: Can build a training barracks in the territory, training ordinary non-class residents into Shadow Killers, who can learn Basic Assassination Techniques, Shadow Stealth, and other skills.]

[Area: 124 square meters]

[Durability: 1800]

[Construction Materials Required: Stone * 300, Wood * 150, Iron * 100, Refined Iron * 50, Mithril * 20, Shadow Crystal * 5]

[Construction Time: 17 hours 32 minutes]

"A barracks that can train Shadow Killers?"

Cao Xing's train of thought became active again.

"If I have this training barracks, can I train a batch of Shadow Killers and then have them learn that Advanced Assassin's Manual?"

"Although the various skills in this manual have very high requirements."

"But as long as one person learns one of the skills, it's a profit."

"By then, I could even use this manual to train a powerful team of killers!"

Through the combination of this blueprint and the manual.

Cao Xing seemed to see a different development model again.

However, these still needed time to be put into practice.

Moreover, building this barracks required a material he hadn't seen before, [Shadow Crystal].

Thus, Cao Xing clapped his hands together, clicked to learn the blueprint directly, and continued to check the next item.

[Lia Medina's Transformation Potion: Special Item]

[Potion Effect: After use, can transform into a creature you have previously encountered, mimicking the target's strength, aura, etc. The transformation effect lasts for 60 minutes.]

(Note: The potion can only mimic the aura of creatures up to Tier 5 and will be seen through by entities 20 levels higher than you.)

"Transformation Potion? This is good stuff!"

Cao Xing thought to himself, "However, this transformation shouldn't count as a buff, right?"

"If it gets amplified by Eternal Power and I permanently turn into another creature, that would be a huge problem!"

But regardless, the effect of this potion was still significant, and it might come in handy at certain times.

He put it into his backpack.

He continued to check the second potion.

[Lia Medina's True Sight Potion: Special Item]

[Potion Effect: After consumption, gain the True Sight Eye effect for the next hour, allowing you to see through enemy disguises, transformations, stealth, etc.]

(Note: This potion can only see through the disguise effects of entities up to Tier 5.)

"Interesting, these two potions are a set, right?"

"Drink the Transformation Potion, and you can mimic someone else's aura."

"Drink the True Sight Potion, and you can see through the disguises and transformation effects of certain entities."

Cao Xing chuckled and then continued to check the next item.

[Livia Cherry Beer: After consumption, instantly restores 300 HP and increases Agility by 15 for 300 seconds, with an 80% chance of entering a drunk state.]

(A type of beer beloved by lonely powerhouses. Selling it in the territory tavern has a chance to attract some Prowlers or Rangers to your territory.)

There wasn't much to say about this; it was a consumable of the same type as [Champion's Spirits] and [Rose Red Wine].

It just attracted Agility-type heroes instead.

Cao Xing continued checking.

This time, it was several pieces of hind leg meat emitting a chill.

[Frost Moose Hind Leg Meat (Gold)]

[Hind leg meat containing the aura of ice. First consumption increases Ice-type attacks by 5%.]

(Note: The Frost Moose is a very rare magical creature with immense magical power. It is said that they can breathe a Frost Breath that freezes everything.)

"Damn… Gold-quality beast meat. This is my first time encountering this."

"This Frost Moose hind leg meat actually increases damage by a percentage; isn't that effect too powerful?"

Clearly, the value of this item was very high. It only took 100g to take effect, and with 8 pieces here, that was a total of 80 servings!

Cao Xing could not only eat it himself but also give it to other subordinates in the territory who possessed Ice-type abilities.

For example, the two Dragon Blood Warriors, or Frost Archers like Elisa and the others.

A 5% increase in Ice-type damage was still extremely powerful.

Naturally, Cao Xing wouldn't sell such precious beast meat.

Keeping it to improve his own strength was the most important thing.

At this moment, Cao Xing still had two items left in his hand.

They were a list and a square box, respectively.

He first checked the description of this list.

[Black Robed Priest List: Contains some of the Black Robed Priests that Montra had contacted, along with their identities, and secretly recorded the names of these people.]

[Name: Kulin Kurtz (Eternal Frost Main City, Kulin Pharmacy Merchant)]

[Name: Marathia Glass (Merlind City, Baron's Wife)]

[Name: Tasid Cotton (Eternal Frost Main City, Kingdom Garrison Third Legion, Lieutenant General)]

[Name…]

After reading through the long list of dozens of names, a look of shock appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

"I didn't know until I looked, but seeing it is shocking!"

These dozens of people covered various major towns and industries throughout the Ice Crystal Kingdom.

From potion merchants to noble relatives, from knights to knight commanders…

Among them, the one with the highest rank was a general named Tasid.

Cao Xing sighed, "It seems that the Ice Crystal Kingdom has almost been infiltrated into a sieve by the Light Church!"

One had to know that this list only contained some of the Black Robed Priests that Montra had contacted.

For the Light Church, this was likely just the tip of the iceberg of their massive influence.

At this moment, Cao Xing pondered, "The name Tasid seems somewhat familiar…"

He recalled for a moment in his mind, then suddenly started in shock!

"I think I remember!"

"Back then in the underground prison of that village, Lieutenant Declan, whom I rescued, said that they were sent out to investigate by General Tasid."

"Oh no! It turns out their own boss was the biggest mole; no wonder Declan and his men were all exposed!"

This also made Cao Xing feel a hint of crisis.

The Light Church's infiltration ability was truly terrifying.

To think they could even convert a high-ranking official of that position into a member of their church!

Cao Xing felt more and more that his actions today were correct!

At his current rate of development, the Light Church would notice him sooner or later.

And Cao Xing's actions today could be said to have significantly delayed that time.

"It seems that the Light Church has grand designs."

"In the near future, these conspiracies might erupt, and when that happens, they could impact the entire kingdom and also affect us Survivors."

"With my current power, I cannot make any impact on such a massive force. Even though I have killed quite a few White-robed and Black-robed Priests recently, it is nothing more than a minor annoyance to them."

Cao Xing knew this clearly; he did not feel inflated because of the successive victories.

Moreover, through these analyses, Cao Xing also made up his mind.

That was to continue playing steadily and gradually improve his own strength and that of his territory.

Then, when these crises erupt, he would possess the power to protect himself.

Thinking of this, he put all these things away.

Then, a square box appeared in his hand.

This was also the last item in this storage box.

[Montra's Treasured Box]

[Item Info: It seems to contain something extremely important to Montra.]

"That White-robed Priest's treasure? Could it be something good?"

Looking at the item description, a trace of curiosity arose in Cao Xing's heart.

Even Liu Muxue curiously leaned her head over.

He slowly opened the box.

And when they saw what was inside, their faces instantly turned pale, and they felt a wave of chills!

Beside him, Liu Muxue almost couldn't help but vomit on the spot!

Clack!

Cao Xing shut the box immediately and cursed under his breath, "Damn it, this Montra is truly a pervert…"

Inside this box was a human head.

A woman's head.

She didn't know how long she had been dead, but in the low-temperature environment of this world, she still maintained a lifelike expression, as if she had just died.

Thinking back to Montra's character description, Cao Xing roughly understood the identity of the woman in the box.

He was just about to throw the box away, but after thinking for a moment, he sighed.

"Forget it, let's find a place to bury it after we go out; she is also a pitiful person."

After doing this, Cao Xing searched the basement again.

After confirming there were no omissions, he took Liu Muxue and Tong Chuchu and left the place.

When they came out.

He saw that Assam had already finished cleaning up the battlefield.

Hundreds of Hunters' corpses were piled together, and the equipment on them had also been stripped off.

At the same time.

Three elite Ascalon Warriors walked over to report, "My Lord, we have carefully searched every corner, including the hidden basement and cabinets, searching two or three times. We have confirmed there are no omissions!"

"In these rooms, we found a dozen or so Hunters hiding, but they have already been executed on the spot!"

Cao Xing nodded, "Very good."

Sarah walked over silently and reported, "That secret passage has been found, right behind the large rock at the edge of the cliff."

"I checked it once; there are no other Hunters in the secret passage."

Cao Xing nodded again.

Then, Assam also walked over, "My Lord, the battlefield has been cleaned up, and the bodies of those Hunters have all been piled together."

"And all the items that dropped from them have been collected. Please take a look!"

Upon hearing this, excitement flashed in Cao Xing's eyes.

This time, they had taken down nearly six hundred people; it was hard to imagine how many items could be dropped!

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and collected all the loot on the ground.

First was the equipment dropped by the four leaders and one chieftain.

[Obtained: Silent Blade (Gold) * 2]

[Obtained: Boots of Swiftness (Purple)]

[Obtained: Cruel Gloves (Purple)]

[Obtained: Believer's Square Hammer (Purple)]

[Obtained: Shadow Demon Twin Blades (Purple)]

[Obtained: Deep Staff (Purple)]

Five Purple pieces of equipment! Two Golden assassin daggers!

Obviously, this haul was huge.

Then, there were the weapons from the elite Hunters and ordinary Hunters.

[Obtained: Assassin's Blade (Blue) * 11]

[Obtained: Stone-Crushing Greatsword (Blue) * 12]

[Obtained: Sandalwood Longbow (Blue) * 6]

[Obtained: Church of Light Standard Weapons (Sword, Axe, Spear, Bow) * 437]

[Obtained: Arrows * 4172]

After this, Cao Xing's territory's arrow reserves would receive a huge replenishment.

Next were some Souls, Hearts of Strength, and various attribute books.

[Obtained: Montra's Shadow Soul * 1]

[Obtained: Black-robed Priest Soul * 3]

[Obtained: Elite Hunter Soul * 18]

[Obtained: Advanced Heart of Strength * 1]

[Obtained: Intermediate Heart of Strength * 6]

[Obtained: Primary Heart of Strength * 52]

[Obtained: Large Agility Book * 1]

[Obtained: Medium Attribute Books * 28]

[Obtained: Small Attribute Books * 172]

One Chieftain Soul, three Leader-level Souls, plus eighteen Elite Souls!

If these resources could be digested, Cao Xing's strength would see a huge improvement!

However, Cao Xing did not check them right away.

Because he needed to hurry up and finish cleaning the battlefield.

He looked at Assam and said in a serious tone, "Have the bodies of our soldiers who died in battle all been found?"

Hearing this question, Assam was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "They have all been found."

"There are five casualties in total."

"Two Kaishan Empire soldiers, one Empire archer, and two Wild Boar tribe warriors."

Hearing this death toll, the people on the scene said nothing.

After all, in a large-scale battle like this, and with the enemy's level and numbers generally higher than theirs, it was impossible not to have casualties.

Being able to achieve only five deaths, a near 1:100 casualty ratio, was simply a miracle.

Cao Xing sighed, "These fallen soldiers are all heroes of our territory."

"Wrap their bodies in cotton clothes, then carry them back to the territory."

Assam nodded solemnly, "Understood! My Lord!"

After they wrapped up the bodies of the five fallen soldiers.

Cao Xing ordered, "Now, everyone prepare to return!"

"Andrew, take some men and burn this place down."

Upon hearing the order, everyone sprang into action.

Andrew took a few soldiers and threw torches into every corner of the camp.

The flames gradually rose, slowly devouring the entire camp.

And under the reflection of the firelight, Cao Xing and his group gradually left the camp…

Ten minutes later, Cao Xing returned to the top of the Great Rift and successfully reunited with Rabb and the others.

Cao Xing said, "Everyone, follow me. Rabb, you and your men follow at the back of the formation and erase our marching tracks."

The Wild Boar Warrior Rabb nodded, "Understood! My Lord!"

Then, Cao Xing led over a hundred people along the Great Rift, changing direction as they advanced.

Not only that, he deliberately took a detour of over twenty kilometers.

During this time, they passed through mountains, frozen rivers, and forests.

It took them over two more hours before they started heading towards the direction of the territory.

And not long after Cao Xing and his group left.

This large Church of Light camp was already burning with sky-high flames.

A shadow was still lurking near the secret passage.

It was Sarah, who had been instructed by Cao Xing.

At this moment, she had entered the deep [Phantom Invisibility] state, and coupled with the Shadow Cloak, her aura was concealed to the extreme.

Since Cao Xing left, she had been standing here quietly waiting for over an hour.

Watching the raging flames rise into the sky and the tongues of fire spread throughout the entire camp.

She still maintained the same posture, motionless.

A moment later, Sarah noticed that a floorboard in the open area of the camp was suddenly lifted.

A masked Hunter with terrified eyes crawled out.

Looking at the camp engulfed in flames and the pile of burning corpses, he couldn't help but exclaim!

"My god! High Priest Montra is dead, and everyone in the camp has been slaughtered!"

"It's hard to imagine that this was actually done by an Otherworld Lord and his subordinates."

"I must report this immediately!"

After saying this, the Hunter came to behind a large rock at the edge of the cliff; he intended to leave the Great Rift through this secret passage.

And not long after he entered the secret passage.

The Hunter suddenly felt a pain in his back, and a dagger stabbed straight into his body.

Pfft!

Before he could even make a sound.

Two Shadow Blades slashed down silently.

[- 3766]

[- 3172]

[- 5733!]

[- 3154]

[Dagger of Impairment] plus three consecutive slashes caused over ten thousand damage.

At the same time, [Shadow Bloom] recorded the previous damage and then detonated it directly!