Chapter 230: Visit from the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce, A Shocked Hilton (6000)

Cao Xing paused for a moment after hearing this, then smiled, "Good."

Upon hearing Cao Xing's agreement, the two women were overjoyed and respectfully took their leave.

Looking at the last two Leader-grade souls remaining in his backpack, Cao Xing thought to himself, "Next, it's time to fulfill my promise."

Before leaving two days ago, he had promised Ilena that he would help her breakthrough to the Leader-grade.

However, when Cao Xing arrived at her residence, he did not find the snake woman.

After pondering for a moment, he activated the communication device on his ear.

"Ilena, where are you?"

"Splish, splash…"

A sound of water came from the other side.

A moment later, Ilena said softly, "Lord, I am taking a bath in the hot spring."

"Do you need me to do anything? I can come over right now."

Hearing this, Cao Xing was stunned.

His hot spring had not been built for long, and he hadn't even had a chance to experience it yet.

He hadn't expected Ilena to have already gone to soak in it first.

Therefore, Cao Xing said, "No need, I'll come to you."

Upon hearing this, Ilena's soft laughter came through the earpiece, "Okay~ I'll wait for you, my dear Lord."

Cao Xing soon arrived at the location of the [Hot Spring Hall] and pushed the door open to enter.

At this moment, the Hot Spring Hall was filled with steam.

Cao Xing walked straight to the women's bath and asked, "Ilena, are you inside?"

The person on the other side chuckled, "Lord, I am the only one in the bath, you can come in directly."

Cao Xing didn't say anything more after hearing this. He pushed the door open and entered.

In the bath ahead, Cao Xing saw the upper body of a beautiful woman, leaning against the water's surface.

A tail covered in white scales was constantly swaying on the water's surface.

It was Ilena.

Her upper body was wearing only a simple white silk undergarment, which, now soaked by the hot water, accentuated the rounded contours of her chest.

Seeing Cao Xing, Ilena's long, narrow eyes crinkled with joy.

She said softly, "Lord, the temperature of the blizzard over the past two days has been too low."

"Our Snake Person race has a relatively low body temperature, and if this continues, it will affect my physical activities, so I came to soak in the hot spring."

Hearing this, Cao Xing nodded in realization.

"Splash…"

The sound of water rang out. A long, white-scaled snake tail broke through the surface.

Then, Ilena twisted her body and slowly swam up from the hot spring.

"Lord, is there anything you need from me?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Of course, it's a good thing."

After speaking, he took out the Leader-grade soul from his backpack.

Ilena looked at the soul in Cao Xing's hand, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Oh! It's another higher-level soul~"

"Lord really remembered me…"

Cao Xing smiled, "Use it to breakthrough, Ilena."

The snake woman in front of him said respectfully, "Okay, my dear Lord~"

After saying that, she pressed the soul into her body.

However, this time, Ilena's breakthrough seemed to have failed, and a look of frustration appeared in her eyes again.

But it didn't matter; fortunately, Cao Xing had prepared a second one.

Ilena also looked at Cao Xing with eyes full of love.

Cao Xing comforted her and signaled for her to continue the breakthrough.

Ilena nodded slightly, then pressed the second soul into her body.

This time, she did not fail.

Instead, an eerie aura rose from Ilena's body.

[Your territory member: Ilena has successfully advanced to a Tier 3 Leader-grade creature, base attributes increased by 30%, learned new skills: 'Summon Frost Shadow', 'Shapeshift']

…

Seeing the system prompt, Cao Xing wondered, "Oh? A breakthrough to Leader-grade actually grants two skills?"

"This 'Summon Frost Shadow' is understandable, but what is 'Shapeshift'?"

He checked the attributes of these two skills.

[Summon Frost Shadow: Chant a spell to summon a phantom of the Legendary Great Serpent 'Frost' to assist in battle. The 'Frost Phantom' attributes are 150% of Ilena's, and it possesses skills such as 'Snow Shadow Raid', 'Frost Wild Dance', and 'Snow Constriction'. Duration: 120 seconds, Cooldown: 10 minutes]

(Note: The 'Frost Phantom' is formed from a portion of the Legendary Great Serpent's divine power, possessing Leader-grade strength of the same tier.)

…

"Frost?"

This was the first time Cao Xing had heard this name.

Clearly, this great serpent must be an extremely powerful existence, after all, it is a Legendary-grade creature.

Even if it was just summoning its phantom, it was already very powerful!

Ilena's previous three skills were all status-type skills.

This time, breaking through to Leader-grade, she finally gained a combat skill, which was quite good.

Then, Cao Xing looked at the second skill.

[Shapeshift: After the Snake Person race breaks through to the Leader-grade, they activate more of their bloodline power, allowing them to transform into a human form or Snake Person form at any time.]

…

"Damn, a transformation skill?"

Just as he was feeling surprised.

Cao Xing saw that Ilena in front of him had already begun to use the [Shapeshift] skill.

Her long snake tail gradually shortened, and the scales gradually disappeared.

Then the snake tail split, turning into two slender and fair human female legs.

However, her thighs were still covered with a few white scales, highlighting her identity as a member of the Snake Person race.

But this did not hinder Ilena's overall beauty; on the contrary, it added a touch of unique charm.

Ilena looked at her body, a look of surprise appearing in her eyes.

"Oh! I really have turned into a human body!"

"I heard the chieftain say before that some Snake Persons have a chance to awaken their bloodline power during evolution, allowing them to transform. I didn't expect it to actually be possible!"

"That's great!"

At this moment, this beautiful woman was barefoot, jumping excitedly on the edge of the bath.

However, what she didn't notice was that she had just transformed.

It was equivalent to her lower body being completely naked…

Cao Xing's gaze shifted downward.

He saw the smooth skin…

And a snow-white mound…

Cao Xing couldn't help but exclaim, "Hmm… it's really white… the shape is also perfect…"

And Ilena seemed to have noticed Cao Xing's gaze.

Not only did she not feel shy, but she also proactively pressed herself against him.

She placed her hands on Cao Xing's neck and said softly, "Lord, now, Ilena can finally do the things you like with you~"

Hearing this, the curiosity that Cao Xing hadn't fully released with the two mage maidens rose again.

"Rip…"

He directly removed the simple white undergarment from Ilena's body…

A expanse of white softness was revealed.

The two embraced.

Rolling on the clean floor of the Hot Spring Hall.

The rising steam made their gazes increasingly blurred.

Cao Xing felt the heavy breathing of the beautiful woman in front of him.

Then, he took the final step.

Accompanied by a cry of surprise from Ilena.

A pair of jade legs instantly tensed up.

Having done this immediately after her first transformation, she seemed a bit unaccustomed to it.

She bit her lower lip lightly, and a trace of pain appeared between her brows.

At this moment, Cao Xing only felt a strong chill attacking his whole body.

And after the chill, there was incomparable softness…

He looked at Ilena in surprise.

He had never expected that the body of a Snake Person would feel like this…

It was a completely different sensation.

Both cool and soft…

And Cao Xing also noticed the pain between Ilena's brows, then asked.

"Ilena, how are you feeling? Do you want to rest for a moment?"

At this moment, Ilena seemed to have adapted to this state.

Her brows gradually relaxed, and then with eyes full of love, she shook her head and said, "No need, Lord…"

"You can just do as you like…"

Hearing this, Cao Xing did not speak.

Instead, he launched another attack.

"Mm… mm…"

"Lo… Lord…"

Accompanied by Ilena's cries of surprise.

She also gradually adapted to the rhythm.

Time passed slowly.

The entire Hot Spring Hall was filled with Ilena's charming voice.

…

Meanwhile. In the endless Gale Snowfield.

A group of figures was pulling a convoy of carriages, walking through the thick snow.

The snow on the road was so deep that even the carriages would get stuck in it.

A group of guards in the front was trying their best to clear the snow, opening a path for the carriages to pass.

These carriages were entirely black, and there was a lion head logo on them.

It was the convoy of the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce.

And in front of the team, there stood a short and fat figure.

At this time, a guard from the Shire race walked over and said, "Lord Hilton, the carriage is stuck again. This is the 7th time a carriage has gotten stuck today."

"At the current speed of progress, we might not be able to reach our destination before dark."

Hearing this, a solemn look appeared in Hilton's eyes.

"Go and cooperate with the others to push the carriage out first."

"Then you go to the front to shovel the snow and help clear the path for the convoy."

At this moment, a guard captain with Tier 3 Elite strength said, "Lord Hilton, why don't we stay in that abandoned village for a few more days and wait for the snow to melt a bit before coming out? Why must we take the risk to come and find that Lord?"

Hilton shook his head after hearing this.

Then he sighed and said, "I would also like to stay for a few more days."

"But you have to know, for so many of us, the supplies we need to consume every day are a huge number."

"Before we came out this time, we didn't expect a blizzard to arrive, so we didn't bring much food at all."

"Now our reserves are only enough to support the caravan for a day and a half at most, and that's even with rationing."

After hearing Hilton's explanation, this Shire guard captain's eyes also showed some solemnity.

In order to save space and reduce the load, the caravan indeed would not carry too many supplies.

Anyway, they have been doing business in the Gale Snowfield for years and are very familiar with the terrain here; there are many places where they can replenish resources.

However, the sudden bad weather disrupted everyone's plans.

Hilton continued, "I checked the map, there are three villages near us, the closest one is Hoge Village."

"But in this weather, by the time we reach Hoge Village, it will probably be late at night, and there can be no accidents on the road."

"So, to be safe, we can only go to find that Lord first, hoping he can give us some help."

The guard captain pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Lord Hilton, forgive my bluntness, although that Chosen Lord has decent strength."

"But I think that with their territory, they might not be able to withstand the impact of this blizzard."

"Moreover, the power of dragons has also been raging in the Gale Snowfield recently, and the territories of many Chosen Lords have already been swallowed up."

"I estimate… this one is also highly likely to be the same…"

Hearing this, a solemn look appeared in Hilton's eyes.

This possibility exists, and the probability is high.

After all, in their impression, Cao Xing and these Blue Star Survivors are all weak.

When they met last time, although Cao Xing's territory was decent in scale, it was far from becoming a powerful territory.

Hilton pondered for a moment, then puffed out his fat belly and said.

"There's no other way, we can only take it one step at a time."

"I hope this Lord Cao Xing can survive this snow disaster…"

Next, the entire caravan began to act with full effort.

They began to shovel the snow vigorously along the way, and some people were pushing the carriages from behind.

It could be said that for every distance they traveled, they had to stop for a while.

After nearly an hour of arduous travel, they were finally nearing the vicinity of Cao Xing's territory.

At this moment, Hilton felt a bit apprehensive.

"Almost there, we're almost at Lord Cao Xing's territory!"

"I hope his territory managed to hold out."

As they drew closer, everyone saw the towering city walls, along with various Elemental Arrow Towers and watchtowers standing like a forest.

At this moment, a look of bewilderment appeared in the eyes of the entire Black Lion Chamber of Commerce caravan.

"By the gods… what is going on here?"

"How did Lord Cao Xing's territory become like this?"

"Did we take the wrong path?"

A flurry of questions popped into Hilton's mind.

Although he was quite certain that his location should be correct.

However, these unfamiliar buildings before his eyes still made Hilton doubt himself.

Not just Hilton, but the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce guards also had intense shock in their eyes.

The Shael guard captain said: "Don't tell me… this is that Otherworld Lord's territory!"

"I swear in the name of the Khan, this absolutely cannot be real!"

"Exactly, how long has it been since we last left?"

"How could this Otherworld Lord have built such a complete and large-scale territory in just over ten days?"

A look of uncertainty also appeared on Hilton's fat-filled face.

He said slowly: "Regardless of whether it is or not, let's go over and take a look first."

With apprehensive gazes, they began to slowly approach the territory.

Meanwhile, inside the hot spring pavilion in the territory, two figures were snuggled together, soaking in the hot spring.

At this moment, Ilena had reverted to her snake-person form, her long snake tail swaying on the surface of the water.

Since Cao Xing planned to take people to the Witch Forest that night, he didn't have much to do during the day.

Just then, a system notification appeared: [Black Lion Chamber of Commerce: Hilton is requesting to visit your territory. Do you agree?]

Seeing the system notification, Cao Xing first had a blank look in his eyes, followed by a look of surprise and joy!

"Haha! This old guy Hilton has finally arrived!"

Cao Xing had been waiting for this day for a long time.

After all, he had prepared a large amount of resources in his storage box, which were of astonishing value.

It was a pity to just keep these resources sitting there without converting them into strength.

Now, a caravan was finally passing by his territory again.

He wrapped his arm around Ilena's slender waist and kissed her beautiful face.

"Ilena, I have something to take care of."

"You keep soaking."

The beauty before him nodded slightly and said with affection in her eyes: "Alright, my dear Lord."

"You go ahead…"

Cao Xing quickly climbed out of the hot spring, dried his body, and put on a clean set of undergarments.

After putting his equipment back on, Cao Xing directly 'accepted' Hilton's visit request.

After coming out of the hot spring pavilion, he headed quickly towards the direction of the territory gate.

From afar, he saw a group of tall cat-headed creatures surrounding a caravan of carriages, slowly approaching the territory.

This group of cat-headed creatures was naturally the familiar Shael race.

From the markings on the carriages, Cao Xing could tell at a glance that this was the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce.

At this moment, he also saw a short, stout merchant walking at the front of the procession, wrapped in a thick cotton coat with a potbelly.

Looking at that familiar figure, Cao Xing said happily: "Haha, it really is that old guy Hilton!"

He quickly opened the city gate and came out into the snow.

For the sake of the Lord's safety, Assam, Braum, and two Centaurs followed behind him.

The two sides made contact, both with looks of excitement in their eyes.

Cao Xing smiled and said: "Lord Hilton, we meet again."

Hilton also said excitedly: "Yes, we meet again!"

"I didn't dare to believe it at first, that this was really your territory. I almost thought I had taken the wrong path!"

"Lord Cao Xing, what exactly happened during the time after we left?"

"How did your territory suddenly undergo such earth-shaking changes?"

Hilton's voice grew louder, and everyone could hear the surprise contained in his tone.

Cao Xing could naturally understand his current feelings.

After all, no one could imagine that just over ten days ago, this territory only had a few lonely buildings, yet now it already had the prototype of a war fortress!

Cao Xing chuckled: "Lord Hilton, that is a long story."

"You can understand it as a unique ability exclusive to us Chosen Lords."

Upon hearing this, a look of realization appeared in Hilton's eyes.

"So that's how it is. You Chosen Lords do indeed possess some miraculous powers."

Hilton sighed with emotion: "To be honest, Lord Cao Xing, we have traveled through most of the Gale Snowfield during this time and have seen many Chosen Lords' territories."

"But no one's territory has the scale of yours!"

"This has truly surprised us."

Cao Xing smiled, then looked at the caravan behind him.

At this moment, those guards looked a bit disheveled, their armor stained with mud.

The carriages had also suffered quite a bit of damage, with several wheels already flattened.

Cao Xing asked: "Lord Hilton, looking at you like this, did you encounter any trouble?"

Hearing this, Hilton's face carried a touch of bitterness.

He sighed and then explained their recent experiences to Cao Xing.

After listening to Hilton's account, Cao Xing understood their plight.

He smiled and comforted him: "Lord Hilton, don't be sad. After all, it is very difficult for human effort to contend with such forces of nature."

"You have had a hard journey. Now, let me take you into my territory to rest for a while and repair your carriages by the way."

Hearing this, a look of gratitude immediately appeared in Hilton's eyes.

To be honest, they were indeed exhausted from the journey.

Hilton was just about to agree.

However, he looked somewhat uneasily at the arrow towers in Cao Xing's territory.

Before this, they felt that Cao Xing's territory was relatively weak and could be entered at will.

But now, times had changed. With the power of this territory, it was enough to easily crush their caravan.

Furthermore, once they entered the territory, if Cao Xing had any ill intentions, they would be like turtles in a jar.

The entire caravan would have no possibility of escape.

Even those Shaels were a bit afraid to enter.

However, after pondering for a moment, Hilton seemed to have made a certain decision.

"Alright, then I will trouble Lord Cao Xing."

Those Shael guards' expressions changed, but they didn't say much.

After all, in this caravan, everything was decided by Hilton.

Then, over a dozen carriages and dozens of Shael guards gradually entered Cao Xing's territory.

The territory residents who were building the territory also looked at the caravan with curious eyes.

However, everyone just took a glance and then refocused their attention on their work.

When the territory gate closed and the caravan's carriages drove onto the bluestone ground, Hilton gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

Because he discovered that those arrow towers did not attack them.

Other soldiers were also continuing to do their own things.

Even those Shaels saw Blot in the territory.

They were of the same Shael race, and it seemed they were also members of the [Black Smoke Legion].

As Blot reached out his right hand, slowly raising it above his head to give them the legion's greeting gesture, these Shael guards directly let go of their wariness.

Cao Xing did not know their internal thoughts.

In fact, if he really wanted to deal with these people, he wouldn't need to go through so much trouble.

The moment they entered the territory's range, they basically had no chance of escaping.

Hilton's caravan gradually calmed down.

Then, they couldn't help but look around at this miraculous territory.

And when they saw the rows of residential buildings, taverns, training grounds, and other structures, the astonishment in their eyes could no longer be concealed.

Even those Shael guards couldn't help but exclaim.

"By the Khan! The facilities in this territory are too comprehensive!"

"Yeah, before, from the outside, we could only see the prototype of the territory. Now that we've come in, we realize that the prosperity of this territory is simply beyond imagination!"

Meanwhile, they also noticed the group of powerful Ascalon soldiers and the Wild Boar Warriors.

As a race that reveres war, the Shaels could naturally clearly feel the terrifying aura emanating from the bodies of those warriors!

"My god! Is this Lord Cao Xing's army?"

"What is the background of these soldiers? Why is the aura on every one of them so ferocious, comparable to the centurions of our Black Smoke Legion!"

"What a fierce aura!"

At this moment, all the Shaels looked at each other, and all saw the shock in each other's eyes.

They understood now.

If this Lord wanted to take action against them, there was no need to invite them into the territory; he could have just wiped them all out outside the territory!

Even Hilton had been completely stunned.

Everything before his eyes had completely exceeded his imagination!

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