Chapter 186: Returning in Triumph, Rewarding Merit!

[ – 12056 ]

A massive damage number exploded!

This Hunter assassin, who possessed Tier 3 Elite-level strength, was taken out in one combo by Sarah!

Before his HP hit zero, he tried with his last ounce of strength to turn his head and take one last look at the attacker.

However, Sarah snapped his neck directly.

He probably never imagined until his death that there was still an assassin lurking in the shadows, and such a powerful one at that!

After finishing him off, Sarah dragged his corpse to the side.

Then, she entered stealth mode again, waiting silently.

It wasn't until she confirmed that the fire had completely engulfed the camp and there were no survivors left that Sarah departed from the scene…

…

At ten o'clock in the evening.

Cao Xing led the army back to the vicinity of the territory.

Sarah also returned to the ranks silently.

Through the communication device in his ear, Cao Xing already knew the situation in the camp.

There was actually one survivor hiding!

But fortunately, he had made multiple preparations, and now all potential threats were cleared away.

At this moment, the territory's iron gate opened.

A dozen Wild Boar Warriors, high-spirited and vigorous like triumphant soldiers, stepped into the territory with great momentum.

The villagers also walked out of their houses one after another.

They all knew that Cao Xing had taken people out to fight tonight.

And it was the first time he had led so many soldiers into battle.

Therefore, these villagers all wanted to know the outcome of this battle.

Or rather, what the casualties were.

And when they saw that most of the faces were present, joy appeared on their faces.

However, they also saw the few corpses carried by the soldiers, and their expressions suddenly stiffened…

Cao Xing slowly spoke at this moment: "As you can see, we won this battle."

"But at the same time, we suffered some casualties."

"This is a sad thing, and it is also due to my lack of ability…"

Hearing this, the Wild Boar Warrior Rabb said excitedly: "Lord! You do not need to be sad or blame yourself."

"We, the warriors of the Wild Boar tribe, take pride in battle; death is merely returning to the embrace of the Beast God!"

Beside him, the Ascalon Elite, Yaskin, also spoke.

"That's right, Lord. Dying on the battlefield is our glory as soldiers."

"Moreover, this time, we achieved unprecedented results."

"This is the most miraculous battle I have participated in since I enlisted."

"With the sacrifice of five people, we wiped out a cult organization of nearly six hundred people. This is simply a miracle-like great victory!"

Yaskin's words were recognized by everyone.

Even the Light Priest Isabelle, or the Blood Spider Queen, knew how astonishing tonight's battle was.

But Cao Xing shook his head and said: "I know, compared to the results achieved tonight, the deaths of these five warriors seem insignificant."

"But they are not cold numbers; they also have their own names and identities."

"They are my villagers!"

"We cannot just lightly forget these fallen heroes!"

Hearing this, the group of Ascalon soldiers and Wild Boar Warriors were stunned.

No one had expected that Cao Xing would attach such importance to the sacrifice of these five people.

"Lord…"

Assam seemed to want to say something.

But Cao Xing shook his head.

"Tomorrow, we will hold a funeral for these heroes and designate a Hero's Tomb area in the territory."

"From now on, whether it is staff or our warriors."

"As long as they sacrifice their lives for the territory, they will be buried in this area."

"As long as our territory exists for one day, they will be remembered for one day! If our territory exists for a thousand years, they will be remembered for a thousand years!"

After Cao Xing finished speaking, all the villagers on the scene stood in awe, and a warm current seemed to surge in their hearts.

Especially those Ascalon soldiers, even had tears in their eyes.

Before this, they had never imagined that they could receive such treatment.

After all, they were just a bunch of very ordinary unit types.

One only needed to grab a few strong-bodied people from the commoners, train them a little, and they could join the battlefield.

In this world, the lives of ordinary soldiers are worthless.

Even if they die on the battlefield, they won't receive too much attention.

In a large-scale war, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people die.

For these soldiers, at best, a little pension is given to their relatives.

That is only the treatment available in those powerful empires.

More often, after dying, they are just buried on the spot, and then one day dug up by those starving beasts, with not even a corpse left.

However, their Lord actually gave these departed people such solemn treatment.

In this cold world, they felt for the first time the respect they should receive as human beings.

At this moment, Assam, with tears in his eyes, was the first to kneel on one knee.

"It is our honor to fight under your leadership!"

"I seem to understand the meaning of being sealed in the different space back then; it was to allow me to meet a Lord like you!"

"Willing to shed every last drop of blood and sweat for the Lord!"

Assam was also promoted step by step from an ordinary knight by Cao Xing.

He had more feelings than anyone else and had a deeper affection for this territory.

So, there was a tremor in the tone of this resolute knight.

The emotions of the entire territory's members were stirred up.

Hot tears flowed from their eyes.

"Willing to give everything for the Lord!"

At this moment, system prompts flooded the screen!

[Because of your words and deeds, you have moved territory member: Rabb. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 91]

[Because of your words and deeds, you have moved territory member: Hilda Bloodkiss. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 83]

[Because of your words and deeds, you have moved territory member: Isabelle Gospel. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 81]

[Because of your…]

Whether it was those Arctic People, the Tree Spirit race, or the Wild Boar Warriors and Ascalon Warriors, everyone's loyalty skyrocketed by a large margin!

Even the most difficult ones, Hilda and Isabelle, also increased by a segment.

However, the system prompts were not over yet.

[Because you are the first Lord in the entire server to have 100 territory members with loyalty over 90! You have obtained the personal title: Noble Lord]

[Noble Lord: Personal Charisma +50, and increases the probability of persuading wild rangers or wild units to surrender or join the territory by 30%]

(Title Description: Through strong personal charisma, you have conquered your villagers. Whether hypocritical or sincere, at least you have given your villagers a sustenance in their eyes and a belief in their hearts. If you can keep it up, being hypocritical for a lifetime is noble.)

…

Seeing the system prompt, a strange look appeared on Cao Xing's face.

Building a Hero's Tomb was just a whim of his.

He didn't expect the effect to be surprisingly good; not only did the villagers' loyalty rise greatly, but he also obtained his first title.

It's just that Cao Xing felt the description on this title was a bit strange…

But whatever.

This doesn't hinder the fact that the effect of this title is really fierce!

It actually added 50 points of Charisma, and a 30% probability of persuading enemies to surrender or recruiting rangers!

Combined with the tavern recruitment function, the effect is outstanding!

Cao Xing was secretly delighted.

In fact, he still had a golden blueprint in his hand called [King's Altar], which was said to be able to resurrect fallen heroes.

But these few fallen soldiers were just ordinary creatures.

Cao Xing didn't know what the resurrection range of the King's Altar was.

So he didn't give this group of villagers hope for resurrection.

At this moment, the Light Priest Isabelle walked out gracefully. "You are a Lord with noble character. In this territory, I seem to have seen what the Holy See once pursued."

"On behalf of the Holy See, I express my deep respect to you."

Cao Xing looked at this woman and nodded silently.

The Holy See really had a great influence on her.

But it doesn't matter; sooner or later, Cao Xing would be able to raise her loyalty to 100.

At that time, wouldn't she be at his mercy?

Ahem! Getting carried away!

At this time, Cao Xing straightened his expression.

Then, looking at the excited villagers, he continued: "The sacrifice of heroes certainly makes us feel sad."

"But it is precisely because of everyone's heroic fighting that we won a great victory in this battle!"

"And, we have also obtained a large amount of resources!"

After saying this, Cao Xing gave Liu Muxue a look.

Then, the two of them directly took out tens of thousands of catties of grain from their backpacks and piled them directly on the stone floor of the territory.

Seeing the bags of grain piled up like a small mountain before their eyes, everyone's pupils shrank!

Because this grain was found in the basement.

So they didn't know that Cao Xing had such a harvest!

The scene of so much food piled together was truly shocking.

Dahua exclaimed directly: "Gods above! I just told the Lord yesterday that the territory's food was running out."

"As a result, the Lord brought back so much food today!"

"Heavens! You are truly an omnipotent Lord!"

Dahua's eyes were filled with strong admiration.

A system prompt appeared.

[Because of your actions, you have moved territory member: Dahua. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 100]

(Loyalty is full; the other party will now unconditionally execute your orders.)

…

As an old employee of the territory, Dahua's loyalty increased directly to 100.

And those soldiers, the Wild Boar Warriors, certainly understood the importance of food!

This almost determined how far a territory could go!

The tears in everyone's eyes were diluted by surprise.

Assam said excitedly, "These food supplies are enough for our territory to eat for several months!"

Cao Xing nodded and said, "That's right. Through these supplies, our territory will be able to develop even better."

"This is also one of the gains from this battle."

"Da Zhuang, work hard tonight. Take some people and move these food supplies into the basement."

However, hearing this, Da Zhuang said excitedly, "Lord, we are not tired at all! We have endless strength to move food!"

"Haha! Well said! We Arctic People love moving food the most!"

After speaking, these Arctic People began to work.

In fact, Cao Xing could have simply placed them directly into the basement without needing Da Zhuang and the others to exert much effort.

But surface work was also necessary.

After all, some things could not be reflected on the system panel.

For example, morale, the emotions of the territory's residents, and so on.

Seeing so much food, they would have more hope for the territory.

Whether fighting or working, they would be more efficient.

Cao Xing continued, "Besides these supplies, we have also obtained other resources. These resources can allow us to improve our strength."

"Now, let the rewarding based on merit begin!"

Hearing this, all the combatants on the field became excited.

They all looked at their lord with expressions of anticipation.

Cao Xing's gaze swept across the crowd, and then rested on that group of Wild Boar Warriors.

"Rabb."

Hearing Cao Xing call him, Rabb walked over excitedly.

"Strong Lord, I am here!"

Cao Xing said, "Today, your Wild Boar Warrior squad obeyed commands and performed meritorious service in killing the enemy, so I have decided to reward you with three Elite Souls to help your tribe's warriors break through."

"At the same time, I will reward you with a new weapon."

After speaking, Cao Xing took three Elite Souls from his backpack, as well as a pair of pitch-black twin blades that emitted a faint black aura.

This weapon was called [Shadow Demon Twin Blades], a Purple-grade weapon.

Cao Xing hadn't checked the specific attributes yet.

But among his residents, only this group of Wild Boar Warriors could use twin-blade weapons, so he simply gave it to him.

At this moment, Rabb accepted the items Cao Xing gifted him with trembling hands and thanked him respectfully.

"Thank you, strong and generous Lord!"

Then, Rabb turned around, looked at three of the Wild Boar Warriors, and said loudly,

"You three killed the most enemies tonight, so these three souls are for you first!"

"Remember, this is an opportunity the Lord has bestowed upon us to become stronger!"

The three Wild Boar Warriors were immediately excited.

They didn't expect that fighting bravely would have such rewards!

For a moment, they also took the souls with trembling hands.

Then they said respectfully, "Thank you, powerful Lord!"

"Long live the Lord!"

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Rabb's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 100]

(Loyalty is full. Now the other party will unconditionally execute your orders.)

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Derek's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 94]

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Miles's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 91]

[Due to you…]

Four system notifications regarding loyalty increases appeared.

Rabb, who was at the chieftain level, had even reached 100 loyalty.

Cao Xing looked at the group of Ascalon Warriors again.

"I have also seen your heroic performance today!"

"So I have decided to bestow upon you 10 Elite Souls as a reward for the soldiers who killed the most enemies this time!"

"Of course, those who haven't broken through, don't be anxious. As long as you perform well, there will be plenty of opportunities to break through in the future."

"Yaskin, come here to collect them."

At this moment, the elite Ascalon Warrior, Yaskin, walked over with an excited expression and accepted them respectfully.

He also distributed these souls.

The next moment, ten notifications of loyalty increases appeared!

The loyalty of these Ascalon soldiers all increased to over 95!

Among them, three soldiers even reached 100 loyalty!

Then, Cao Xing looked at the two new members, the Dragon Blood Warriors.

"Jonard, Josent."

The two Dragon Blood Warriors with resolute faces and holding long spears stepped forward at the same time.

"Respected Lord, your subordinates are here!"

"Although you have only just joined, your performance today has already gained everyone's recognition."

Cao Xing was right; today, the two waves of [Ice Dragon Spear · Break] from these two Dragon Blood Warriors at the start truly stunned everyone.

It could be said that it was thanks to this burst of power from the two of them that the momentum of the Hunter squadron was directly scattered.

Although they were only Elites, their formidable combat ability did not even lose to some chieftains.

Cao Xing said, "I will also reward you with two souls. This will allow you to possess even greater power!"

After speaking, he took out two chieftain-level souls.

The two Dragon Blood Warriors accepted them with similar excitement.

As a warrior race, their desire for power far exceeded Cao Xing's imagination.

"You are not only a powerful Lord but also an excellent leader. Even in our Norn Clan, a leader like you is extremely rare!"

Josent on the side also echoed, "Yes, we wish so much that during the Dragon War back then, such an outstanding leader had appeared to help the Saintess share the pressure. If that had happened, we wouldn't have fought so difficultly…"

The two of them had moved expressions in their eyes.

Two system notifications appeared.

[Due to your generous gift, your territory member: Jonard's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 86]

[Due to your generous gift, your territory member: Josent's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 87]

…

Meanwhile.

Cao Xing called Braun and Hilda over.

Then he took out two Intermediate Hearts of Strength.

Looking at the red crystals in Cao Xing's hands, Braun was so excited that the muscles on his upper body were shaking wildly!

"Aha! Braun is also going to break through to Tier 3 and become a powerful warrior!"

"Mom will definitely be happy for Braun, haha!"

Hilda on the side was also very happy; she had long wanted to break through to Tier 3.

She had always been suppressed by Isabelle, which made her feel extremely aggrieved.

At this moment, under her lavender eyeshadow, Hilda's pair of dark green compound eyes looked at the red crystals in Cao Xing's hands with some uncertainty.

She asked tentatively, "Can you really give it to me?"

Cao Xing laughed, "Of course, I promised you."

Hearing this, a curve appeared at the corner of Hilda's mouth.

At this instant, the smile of this enchanting woman was like a purple demon flower in full bloom, beautiful beyond compare.

It even made Cao Xing slightly stunned.

Obviously, Hilda possessed beauty that did not lose to Isabelle and Liu Muxue.

It was just a completely different style.

But soon, she turned back to an expression of disdain.

"Tch! This Queen doesn't care for your charity!"

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Hilda Bloodkiss's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 89]

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Braun Ironwall's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 100]

(Loyalty is full. Now the other party will unconditionally execute your orders.)

…

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