Chapter 322: Reinforced Walls, The Second Assassin! (5400)

After speaking, Yaskin hung up the communication.

Cao Xing walked along, lost in thought about related matters.

It was clear that a mature territory naturally needed its own business model.

After all, no business was as profitable as real estate.

This was a business with massive returns that could generate continuous profit.

Just like the shop Yaskin rented, the annual rent alone was 150,000 crowns.

And in all of Merlind City, there were countless shops like that.

One could imagine that, over the course of a year, the amount of crowns earned just from collecting rent would be a massive figure.

And most of this money fell into the city lord's pocket.

It wasn't just the money from the shops.

As the city lord, he also had income from various taxes.

Commercial taxes, trade taxes, and so on…

The wealth-gathering ability of a prosperous city was far more terrifying than that of a baron.

If Cao Xing could own such a city, he really wouldn't have to worry about money and these resources anymore.

Shaking his head, these were all very distant matters.

As the saying went, one must eat one bite at a time and take one step at a time.

Currently, it was more important for Cao Xing to improve his own strength.

When his strength was sufficient, he would naturally possess all these things.

As he thought, he had already arrived near the [Intermediate Mage Tower].

Then, he called out the old mage, Tyren.

Ever since this old mage was summoned, he had been staying inside the Mage Tower.

The accumulation of experience had allowed him to reach level 30, and today, he had officially broken through to the 4th rank.

At this moment, upon seeing him, the old mage Tyren bowed respectfully, "Respected Lord, good evening."

Cao Xing nodded slightly and then said, "Mr. Tyren, have you been getting used to your time in our territory?"

A gentle smile appeared on the old mage's face, and he exclaimed, "Lord, just as I said before, this is a magical territory."

"For all mages, it is a holy place, and I have become very accustomed to living here."

"Moreover, up until now, we haven't made any contributions to the territory, yet you, Lord, have not only let us use the Mage Tower without restriction but have also helped us improve our strength."

"I truly feel a bit ashamed…"

Speaking of this, a look of guilt appeared in Tyren's eyes.

These Earth Mages were currently still growing; after learning more skills in the Mage Tower, they could possess stronger combat capabilities.

Therefore, they hadn't really been needed much in the past.

Cao Xing shook his head, "Old Mr. Tyren, no need to be ashamed; aren't I coming to find you for work now?"

Hearing this, Tyren's expression immediately brightened. He quickly gripped his staff and said excitedly, "Lord, please feel free to give your orders; I will surely do my utmost to fulfill your request."

Cao Xing smiled, "It's nothing major; I'm just preparing to have you cast the high-level spell 'Rock Barrier' on our territory's walls."

This skill could significantly enhance the wall's armor and durability, but it required consuming a large amount of mana.

Previously, Tyren was only a 3rd-rank leader, but now that he had broken through to the 4th rank, his mental power had also surged significantly. It was time for him to play his part.

Although his territory's walls were only half-built, Cao Xing just wanted to test this skill.

Hearing this request, Tyren replied respectfully, "I am very happy to be of service, Lord!"

After speaking, he and Cao Xing went together to the edge of the territory.

Looking at the half-built wall, Cao Xing asked, "Mr. Tyren, if you release it with full power now, about how many meters of the wall can you cover?"

This high-level spell was not fixed; the spell area was determined by the mana invested by the user when casting the skill.

The old mage observed for a while, then said, "After this breakthrough to the 4th rank, my mental power has increased significantly. If I exhaust all my mana at once, I can cover about 30 wall segments, which is about 300 meters in length."

Hearing this, Cao Xing did a quick calculation in his mind.

This high-level spell had a 30-minute cooldown. At 300 meters per cast, it meant it would take at least 11 hours to cover the entire territory's walls.

However, the walls weren't finished yet, so it wouldn't take that much time.

Moreover, Cao Xing's main goal wasn't to know how much time it would take for the old mage Tyren to cast the spell on all the walls.

It was to test whether this skill could be amplified by [Eternal Power].

Changing from 10 minutes to permanent?

Thus, Cao Xing said directly, "Let's give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Tyren also raised his staff directly.

As he uttered some obscure and heavy syllables.

The next moment, the soil in the land ahead began to rise rapidly!

Then, a large amount of soil covered the walls, and it quickly became dry and solid, as if wrapped in a layer of earthy-yellow shell.

In the blink of an eye, an earthy-yellow wall was built.

Not only that, but Cao Xing also noticed that the thickness and height of the wall had been greatly increased.

From the original 4 meters high and 1 meter wide, it quickly increased to 8 meters high and 2 meters wide!

This area had already exceeded that of a high-level wall.

A moment later, Tyren finished casting the magic.

30 wall segments had all surged in size significantly!

And he looked as if his mana had been completely drained, his face somewhat pale.

At this moment, Cao Xing was also waiting excitedly.

Finally! A system notification appeared.

[Your territory member Tyren · Rock Speaker successfully cast [High-Level Spell · Rock Barrier], wall armor increased by 400 points, durability increased by 40,000 points, lasting 10 minutes. Affected by the talent [Eternal Power], this status has become permanent…]

(Note: Under the permanent status, the Rock Barrier is solidified onto the wall. When the Rock Barrier's durability decreases, mages can consume a portion of mana to repair the wall and restore durability.)

(Note 2: If the Rock Barrier is shattered, it requires mages to consume a large amount of mana to restore it again.)

(Note 3: If the Rock Barrier along with the covered wall segment is shattered, the magic effect disappears…)

…

Seeing the system notification, a strong sense of joy immediately appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

"Haha! It really works!"

In this way, the old mage Tyren only needed to cast it once on everything, which was equivalent to significantly reinforcing all the walls, greatly increasing their defensive capabilities!

However, Cao Xing also saw the system notification that although this layer of Rock Barrier was permanent, if the durability decreased or if it was broken, it would still require mana to repair it.

But thinking about it, it was normal.

After all, after ordinary walls were damaged or destroyed, it also required workers to consume materials and time to rebuild them.

And now, consuming mana directly could repair them, which in disguise saved Cao Xing a large amount of resources.

Cao Xing said with a smile on his lips, "The Eternal Power talent is truly convenient!"

"It just so happens that those Earth Mages usually have nothing to do. In the future, when encountering a siege, just let them focus on repairing the walls below; it will be even harder for the enemy to break through."

Besides this, another point that caught Cao Xing's attention was that the previous skill description said it increased armor by 300 and durability by 30,000.

Now it had actually become 400 armor points and 40,000 durability points.

Cao Xing glanced at Tyren's attributes and found that his skill values had indeed changed.

Soon, he understood the reason.

This was likely because Tyren had broken through to the 4th rank, and his control over the power of Earth Elements had become stronger, so the values of various skills had also been enhanced.

This was not bad; if this Earth Mage continued to become stronger in the future and rose to the 7th or 8th rank.

By then, casting [Rock Barrier] again would cause the wall's armor and durability to increase by several times or more!

Safety greatly increased!

A smile curved on Cao Xing's lips.

At the same time, he also noticed the old mage Tyren's pale complexion.

He took out a few drops of [Superior Tree Sap] from his backpack.

"Old Mr. Tyren, let's replenish some mana first."

The old mage's eyes carried a thoughtful look; he naturally felt the powerful mana contained in those few drops of sap in Cao Xing's hand.

He accepted it respectfully.

After drinking just one drop, he felt his mana value instantly recover by more than half.

The color returned to his pale face.

The old mage Tyren exclaimed, "Lord, what is this thing that actually has such a good effect?"

Cao Xing smiled, "A kind of tree sap; I'll give you a few more drops later."

Having verified that this skill could exist permanently, Cao Xing's mood became excellent.

Tyren said respectfully, "Thank you, Lord!"

"Then I will rest for a while, and then continue to cast the high-level magic to strengthen our walls."

Cao Xing shook his head and said, "No need, you go to the Mage Tower to rest first."

"Get your energy back; tomorrow you will come out with us."

Hearing this, Tyren was slightly startled.

It seemed he didn't expect that Cao Xing would actually take him along tomorrow.

It wasn't really a surprise; on the contrary, he was even more delighted.

Because this meant that Cao Xing had already recognized him, and he could also contribute to this territory.

"As you command, Lord."

"I will go back to the Mage Tower now to prepare."

Cao Xing nodded slightly, then watched as the old mage walked briskly and excitedly back into the Mage Tower.

A smile also curved on his lips.

Then, Cao Xing returned to the central area of the territory.

Although the harvest from this time had already been fully digested.

However, he still had one thing left to do.

That was to use the recruitment scroll he had obtained from that encampment.

Arriving at the open space outside the residential area, Cao Xing took out the scroll, which was entirely black but edged with gold.

[Use: Tier 4 Leader-level Assassin Recruitment Scroll?]

[Note: Upon use, a random race Tier 4 assassin-type creature will be summoned…]

…

"Random again?"

"Last time it was random, and I summoned Hilda, the Blood Spider Queen. I wonder what it will be this time?"

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and clicked 'Yes'!

Instantly, a surge of intense black mist rose before Cao Xing.

"Whoosh!"

The gushing black mist was almost condensing into a solid form.

He faintly saw an invisible shadow flowing within the black mist.

Then, a short figure appeared.

And while the black mist had not yet dissipated.

In an instant—

A flash of cold light struck fiercely toward Cao Xing!

At this moment, Cao Xing's gaze turned slightly cold.

"Interesting. A subordinate who actively attacks me right after being summoned?"

"This is the first time I've encountered this!"

Cao Xing felt no fear whatsoever.

He raised his staff, and an ice wall radiating intense cold appeared out of thin air before him.

With his current mental power, casting these low-tier spells was almost instantaneous.

"Crack!"

The opponent's weapon slashed against the ice wall, leaving behind a trace of shadow aura.

However, the durability of Cao Xing's [Ice Wall] was nearly thirty thousand.

It would take the opponent a significant amount of time to hack through this ice wall.

And that amount of time was enough for Cao Xing to finish them off!

The opponent was not stupid either; failing the first strike, they immediately vanished from the spot.

But what they didn't know was that Cao Xing possessed the Eye of True Sight.

He could clearly see a black shadow moving rapidly, preparing to approach him from behind.

In the blink of an eye, it arrived within ten meters behind Cao Xing.

If it were an ordinary mage, having an assassin sneak up this close would have already caused panic!

But Cao Xing was a Tier 5 mage; in terms of level, attributes, and every other aspect, he completely crushed this assassin.

In an instant!

Cao Xing strode out and dashed over a dozen meters away at an even faster speed.

The figure froze in place for a moment, appearing somewhat bewildered.

How could there be a mage who runs faster than an assassin?

Before the black shadow could react, a huge hexagram magic circle suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

"Freeze!"

Intense cold air gushed out!

"Whoosh!"

Strangely, the figure flashed again and actually escaped the control range of Cao Xing's [Extreme Ice Bloom].

Seeing this, the corners of Cao Xing's mouth curled into a smile, "Interesting. This life-saving technique is quite formidable."

But he remained completely unruffled.

He immediately unleashed an [Ice Breaking Flying Blade], aiming it at the ground.

"Bang! Bang, bang!"

The ice spheres smashed into the ground, and a large number of ice shards exploded outward!

This skill turned directly into an area-of-effect damage attack!

The black shadow was unable to dodge in time and was struck by several ice shards.

Then, several damage numbers appeared above their head.

[-6546]

[-6632]

[-6753]

…

Cao Xing's attack power had now exceeded seven thousand; even mere splash damage was too much for these Tier 4 creatures to handle.

The black shadow gave a muffled groan.

Just as they were about to flee again.

At that moment, three massive ice blocks appeared above her head.

[Harold Iceberg] was ready to strike.

Cao Xing's voice, filled with an implied threat, rang out.

"If you move another step, you'll be smashed into meat paste."

Hearing this, the black shadow seemed to sense the death threat looming overhead.

She also knew that if the man before her wanted to, she would already be dead.

A moment later, the shadow aura on the opponent dissipated.

Appearing like a phantom in the dark night, a head of ink-black long hair spilled freely over her shoulders, with a few strands gently swaying in the breeze, and she wore a hat on her head.

Beneath the hood, Cao Xing saw a pair of pointed beast ears peeking out playfully from between the strands of hair; they were fluffy and twitched slightly from time to time, as if sensing the slightest movement in the surroundings.

She was only about 1.2 meters tall, wearing a set of black tight-fitting leather armor, with a flat chest—a standard airport.

Cao Xing froze, then asked in confusion: "Uh? A beast-ear girl?"

This beast-ear girl's facial features were similar to a human's, except her pupils were green.

Cao Xing chuckled and said: "Tell me, why did you attack me?"

The beast-ear girl crossed her arms over her chest and then turned her head away.

"I just wanted to test how capable the lord I am to pledge my loyalty to is."

"I didn't really want to attack you. Look, I was even using a tree branch as a weapon."

After speaking, she extended a small, furry hand and shook the dry tree branch in it.

Naturally, Cao Xing also knew that the other party didn't really intend to kill him.

When she launched the attack on him just now, he hadn't sensed any killing intent.

Otherwise, Cao Xing wouldn't have spared her but would have finished her off directly.

He continued to ask: "So now, what do you think of my strength?"

The beast-ear girl assassin before him lifted her chin slightly and said with a haughty expression.

"Not bad. I have roamed the continent for hundreds of years, and you are the first mage to remain so calm after I got close to you, and even be able to counterattack."

"Since that's the case, it wouldn't be unacceptable for me, Herlie Feiying, to pledge my loyalty to you."

Cao Xing laughed upon hearing this: "Sorry, I haven't decided yet whether I want to accept you into my territory."

Hearing this, a look of embarrassment and anger flashed across the beast-ear girl's pretty face.

"What is that supposed to mean! Back in the day, I was the renowned Goddess of Assassination; the entire continent had heard of my name!"

"You're actually still considering whether or not to take me in!"

Cao Xing nodded.

"Your strength is very poor, and your combat awareness is very weak. You couldn't even defeat me, a mage."

"If an assassin from my territory were to make a move, you wouldn't even last a single strike before being slain on the spot."

"With your level of strength and combat awareness, I simply cannot rest assured in entrusting you with any tasks."

Cao Xing's words were mocking the beast-ear girl's weak strength.

He already had experience dealing with such arrogant beings.

First, suppress them with strength, then belittle them until they are worthless, crushing their self-confidence.

Then, make them willingly submit.

Hmm… commonly known as gaslighting…

This beast-ear assassin named Herlie Feiying said with a suffocated expression: "It's clearly because you, this mage, are too abnormal!"

"I don't believe there is an assassin stronger than me in this territory!"

"I am the strongest!"

However, before she could finish speaking.

A shadow arrived silently by Cao Xing's side.

Then, a figure emerged; it was none other than Sarah.

"Lord, I felt the fluctuations of a battle here just now. Did you encounter something?"

Her tone was somewhat worried, and at the same time, she locked her gaze onto the short figure on the ground.

And when Sarah's gaze locked onto her, this beast-ear girl assassin named Herlie Feiying was instantly struck with fear, as if stared at by a terrifying venomous snake, and she didn't dare to move a muscle!

Cao Xing smiled and shook his head, "It's nothing, Sarah. It's just our new member who wanted to test her lord's capabilities."

"She even said that there was no assassin stronger than her in this territory."

Hearing this, a look of realization appeared in Sarah's eyes.

At the same time, the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.

And the beast-ear girl assassin, upon seeing Sarah's expression, was instantly scared pale!

But she still gripped her weapon tightly, with an unyielding expression on her face.

At this moment, Sarah gripped the twin daggers in her hands, which signified that she had entered combat mode.

In an instant, her figure vanished from the spot!

An invisible shadow rushed toward the opponent.

Meanwhile, the beast-ear girl also braced herself; a surge of black mist emerged from her body, blurring her figure.

That is how battles between assassins are; there is simply no need for much communication.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept by, as if darkness were flowing.

The beast-ear girl was stealthing in the darkness, pricking up her ears to listen carefully to the movements around her, but she felt nothing.

She didn't even have the feeling of being watched.

However, this was precisely what was most terrifying.

This meant that the opponent's stealth and assassination techniques were far superior to her own.

The beast-ear girl was just about to create some distance.

Suddenly, she felt a terrifying chill coming from behind!

Although she knew this strike was terrifying, she still did not want to retreat!

"Hmph! To say that I, Feiying, couldn't even take a single strike—that's impossible!"

She raised the short blade in her hand, turning around to launch a counterattack.

However, the next moment, she saw that the dagger suddenly changed its angle, like a nimble snake, wrapping around her wrist.

"Clang!"

They made contact!

The next moment, the dagger in the beast-ear girl's hand dropped directly to the ground.

And Sarah's Silent Blade was already pressed against her throat!

…

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