Chapter 378: Swordsman Legion and the Delivered “Nobles” (6200)

When the light dissipated, those longswords vanished accordingly.

99 swordsmen, all uniformly dressed in azure light armor, with cloaks tied around their necks and longswords at their waists, appeared before Cao Xing.

"Star Country Swordsman: Ling / Han / Feng… Reporting to you!"

Cao Xing was amused internally; these swordsmen's names were quite interesting,

all being a single character and quite easy to remember.

He stepped forward and then said solemnly, "Welcome, swordsmen from Star Country."

"I am the lord of this territory; let us once again take up the weapons in our hands and fight with swords raised."

On the field, these swordsmen turned their gazes toward Cao Xing one after another, admiration appearing in their eyes.

One of the Star Country Swordsmen said, "Our new lord, you possess powerful strength."

"I can feel that the magic power within your body is as deep and vast as an iceberg."

"This must be a territory abundant in martial arts."

Cao Xing smiled, "In our territory, there are indeed many powerhouses."

"From now on, you will be uniformly commanded by Xiao."

At the same time, Xiao, holding the [Divine Shadow Sword], stepped forward.

Upon seeing Xiao's appearance and the formidable aura on his body, all the swordsmen were instantly startled.

It seemed they did not expect to see other Star Country Swordsmen here, and moreover, such a powerful existence.

They immediately said respectfully, "Greetings, Grand Swordsman!"

In their Star Country, there were unique rank titles.

Someone like Xiao, who possessed Tier 5 boss-level strength, was called a Grand Swordsman.

If he broke through to Tier 6, he would be a Sword Master.

Xiao waved his hand, "There is no need to salute me; you only need to execute the lord's commands."

"From now on, I will lead you to fight together."

The swordsmen looked at each other and said respectfully, "As you command, I will defend this territory with the sword in my hand!"

Cao Xing also glanced at the skills of these swordsmen.

[Star Country Swordsman: Feng]

[Race: Human]

[Level: Level 27 (Tier 3 ordinary creature)]

[HP: 15744 / 15744 (Pale Tree Blessing)]

[Attack Power: 744 ~ 758]

[Armor: 211 ~ 226]

[Attributes: Strength 235, Agility 273, Spirit 214, Constitution 244]

[Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship Mastery, Eagle Drop Slash.]

(Note: Eagle Drop Slash reduces the hit enemy's armor by Agility * 0.3, and this state can stack up to 3 times)

[Legion Skill: Star Country Sword Formation (All Star Country Swordsmen throw out the weapons in their hands, suspending them in different positions in the air to form a large-scale sword formation with a maximum diameter of 500 meters, reducing the movement speed of all enemies inside the sword formation by 50%; afterwards, the strongest swordsman in the legion jumps into the air, grasps the weapon, and performs 100 consecutive ultra-high-speed slashes on the enemies inside the sword formation! Damage coefficient fluctuates based on the attack power of each weapon, Cooldown: 1 hour)]

(Note: This skill must be completed by 100 swordsmen simultaneously, among whom one swordsman of at least boss level is required to complete the ultra-high-speed slashing action. The more swordsmen participating, the higher the number of slashes will continue to increase, up to a maximum of 500 people.)

(Note 2: During the release of the sword formation, the remaining swordsmen are unable to act. After the slashing action is completed, the swordsman leader will fall into a brief state of weakness due to consuming a large amount of physical strength.)

[Talent: None]

[Bonds: Star Country Swordsman (100 people activated)]

[Satiety: 62]

[Loyalty: 67]

… …

"What the… One hundred ultra-high-speed slashes, so outrageous?"

Cao Xing was instantly surprised!

This was the skill with the highest multi-stage damage he had ever seen.

Although due to spatial reasons, each slash would only cover enemies on a single line, so the entities inside would not all take damage one hundred times.

But if it was dealing with a large-sized BOSS like the Zorma Behemoth, it would be different!

These one-hundred-slash damages were solid and real.

Cao Xing praised, "As expected of an advanced troop type, even these legion skills are so terrifying!"

"It can be said that any legion, if able to gather a hundred-person Star Country Swordsman squadron, when dealing with the Zorma Behemoth, their damage will skyrocket by a huge margin, and they even stand a chance at being first!"

Of course, wanting to be first was not that simple.

The system had also noted that in addition to the 99 ordinary Star Country Swordsmen, a boss-level swordsman was also needed to complete the slashing action.

This alone stumped countless people.

Judging from the current situation, presumably only Cao Xing possessed this condition.

Cao Xing praised, "The attributes of these swordsmen are really good."

However, applying individual buffs to all ninety-something newcomers one by one was also no small problem.

"What a pity, it would be great if there were an item that could turn single-target skills into group ones, or something that reduces the cooldown of single-target buffs…"

But obviously, such items must be extremely precious.

At least he hadn't seen any until now.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing said, "Xiao, you take them to familiarize themselves with the territory first."

"Then go to the training ground and familiarize yourselves with each other's coordination."

"As you command."

With that said, this swordsman led the newly formed Star Country Swordsman legion and left this place.

Here, only Cao Xing was left once again.

He originally wanted to go to the tavern to check out the down-and-out nobles mentioned by Cao Yi.

But what baffled him was that the Centaurs he had sent out still hadn't returned.

"Are there really that many monsters in that grotto? They haven't finished fighting after a whole day?"

Thus, he pressed the communication device on his ear and asked, "Kandaer, has something happened on your side?"

"Bzz… Bzz…"

Moments later, Kandaer's rough voice sounded.

"Reporting to Lord Lord, nothing has happened to us."

"We just got lost in the grotto…" He seemed a bit embarrassed.

Cao Xing was stunned, "Lost?"

"Yes."

Kandaer said dejectedly, "We underestimated the complexity of the passages inside this grotto. After entering one of the passages, we circled around inside it a few times and then completely lost our bearings."

Cao Xing frowned slightly, "Do you need me to bring people over?"

"That won't be necessary."

Kandaer hurriedly said, "Saint Harati is currently drawing a map. We have decided to rest in the passage tonight and continue exploring tomorrow."

"However, it might still take three or four days to fully explore all the passages of the grotto."

Harati at the side also replied, "Please rest assured, Lord Lord, I will lead the Centaurs out."

Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, then do just that. Remember to contact me if you have any problems."

"Understood, strong Lord Lord!"

Both sides hung up the communication.

Then, Cao Xing went straight to the tavern area of the territory.

Pushing open the wooden door of the tavern, a spacious hall instantly appeared before his eyes.

Inside, a faint aroma of wine permeated the air, and the wooden tables and chairs were arranged in an orderly fashion.

Hanging on the walls were some ancient paintings and weapon decorations, and several dim oil lamps hung from the ceiling, their flames flickering.

Coupled with the crackling fireplace.

Cao Xing praised, "Not gonna lie, my tavern really has that kind of atmosphere now."

Sitting at one of the tables in the hall were a few strangers dressed in luxurious long robes.

The clothes on their bodies had various exquisite decorations.

Seeing Cao Xing enter, the bartender Laqi took the lead to say, "Respected Lord of the Territory, good evening."

Hearing Laqi's voice, those down-and-out nobles seemed to react, and they instantly stood up from their chairs with a swoosh.

When they saw Cao Xing's face, the eyes of these four people instantly lit up.

One of the young men in his early twenties, wearing a top round hat, said,

"Oh! This lord, you have finally returned!"

"Do you know? We have waited for you here for a whole day."

Beside him, another middle-aged man quickly interrupted him, "Jasper, how is that any way to speak?"

"This is the lord of this sacred and prosperous territory; his affairs must be very busy."

"Being able to spare time to see down-and-out fellows like us is already our honor."

The young man also seemed to react, slapping his own head.

"You are right, Uncle Wayne, look at this mouth of mine."

These two were singing in harmony.

A faint smile appeared on Cao Xing's face.

Then his gaze looked them over thoroughly.

There were a total of four people here, three men and one woman.

The three men all wore dark yellow luxurious garments with various exquisite patterns on them.

But the decorations on these clothes had also lost their former luster due to weathering over time.

The gold thread patterns at the cuffs and collars were already worn out, some threads were loose, and there were even a few holes in the back and hem.

As for the other woman, she was around thirty years old.

She was wearing a set of blue formal wear, the fabric of which looked to be made of tulle, but now it was covered in wrinkles and stains.

Facing Cao Xing's scrutinizing gaze, the expressions of the four all seemed somewhat nervous.

After all, his strength was getting stronger and stronger now, and a single look could make these ordinary people feel terrified.

"I heard you are down-and-out nobles, which country are you from?"

The middle-aged man said, "Yes, respected lord."

"We come from the distant Kingdom of Esfis."

"I was once a viscount, this is my wife Maggie, and my two nephews Jasper and Kami."

In his tone, there was undisguised pride.

But soon, his expression became dejected as he said, "However, due to certain reasons, our kingdom declined, and the entire country declared bankruptcy."

"The former noble status could not bring us convenience, and instead brought about disaster."

"So we sold all our family property and began to wander around neighboring countries…"

After hearing this, Cao Xing nodded slightly.

Then he continued to ask, "Then you came to my territory, do you want to join or what do you want to do?"

This middle-aged man who claimed to have once been a viscount immediately replied, "Respected lord, we passed by here by chance and saw your territory from afar."

"We were amazed by the scale and prosperity of this territory."

"It has extremely high development prospects, in the future…"

Cao Xing waved his hand, interrupting, "Get straight to the point."

Feeling a trace of Cao Xing's impatience, the middle-aged man chuckled and said, "It's like this."

"We are not prepared to join your territory at present; we would rather cooperate with you."

"Cooperate? How do you want to cooperate?"

"We have stayed in this country for a period of time and conducted in-depth understanding and investigation, finding that commerce here is very prosperous, but investment institutions and the like are very rare."

"For us, this is an undeveloped blue ocean."

"As long as you give us sufficient funds, plus our business acumen,"

"we can soon leverage the commercial system of the entire kingdom!"

Listening to his impassioned speech,

a look of interest appeared on Cao Xing's face, "Oh? Then what do you need me to do?"

The middle-aged man said solemnly,

"We want to borrow a sum of money from you, and then go to the nearby city to invest!"

"With our brains, I am confident that within a year, our assets will double, and the borrowed money will be returned twofold!"

A look of interest appeared on Cao Xing's face, "Within a year, returned twofold?"

"Yes, Lord Lord! We can sign a promissory note, you can rest assured."

"How much startup capital do you need?" Cao Xing continued to ask.

The other party hesitated for a moment, and then reported a number, "15 million crowns, what do you think?"

Cao Xing narrowed his eyes, hesitating.

Meanwhile, the four people opposite him did not urge him and waited silently.

A moment later, Cao Xing seemed to have made some decision.

"Good, I promise you."

Hearing this, expressions of ecstasy instantly appeared on the faces of the four!

They glanced at each other, seemingly not expecting it to go so smoothly.

"That is great, Lord!"

"Please believe me, you will not regret the decision made today."

"Sometime in the near future, you will receive our generous rewards."

The middle-aged man who claimed to be a viscount spoke with fervor, his face flushed and looking very excited.

Cao Xing wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, "Is that so? I am also looking forward to that day."

At this moment, the mature-looking woman dressed in a light blue dress with an hourglass figure suddenly spoke.

"Lord, when can you give us the crowns?"

Hearing this question, the others also looked at Cao Xing with some expectation.

And he continued to smile, "Wait a moment, 15 million crowns is not a small amount; I will have someone bring them over."

The middle-aged man immediately said politely, "Then I will have to trouble you, Lord. Your generosity and decisiveness are admirable!"

When the woman next to him looked at Cao Xing, her face also revealed appreciation, and she secretly cast a flirtatious glance at him.

Cao Xing pressed the communication device on his ear and said directly, "Bring a few people over."

Hearing the order, actions unfolded outside.

Soon, a dozen Ascalon Warriors walked into the tavern.

However, they did not bring the crowns; instead, they surrounded the four people tightly.

The four people in front of them looked at the soldiers with puzzled expressions, then asked, "Lord, what are you doing?"

Cao Xing's face still wore an ambiguous smile.

He directly ordered, "Tie them all up for me."

Hearing these words, the expressions of the four people on the scene changed drastically!

The middle-aged man said anxiously, "Lord, what is the meaning of this act?"

The mature woman next to him also lost her previous flirtatiousness and hastily said, "That is right! Could it be that you want to kidnap us?"

"I warn you, we still have companions in Merlind City. If you kidnap us, he will definitely publicize this matter and let everyone know that your territory preys on the innocent!"

"By then, no newcomers will ever come to your territory again!"

Yet Cao Xing still carried a faint smile, completely ignoring their threat.

Those Ascalon Warriors surrounded the four people tightly and pressed closer step by step!

The four people no longer had their previous composure, their expressions growing increasingly panicked.

They had the heart to run away, but feeling the terrifying aura emanating from these Ascalon Warriors, they had no chance to escape at all.

The warriors directly pinned the four people down and began tying them up tightly.

They struggled wildly, spitting out some threatening words from their mouths.

"Dammit! Why are you treating us like this?"

"Uncle Vane, did I not say these Otherworld Lords could not be trusted? They are just a bunch of madmen without any bottom line!"

"These damned guys, I will definitely make his territory pay a price!"

Until the hands and feet of the four were completely bound.

The mature-looking woman was pinned to the ground, her collar wide open, her plump chest pressing against the ground.

She glared hatefully at Cao Xing, "You will regret this!"

"Earl Winston of Merlind City is my good friend. He will lead the city guards and the knighthood to flatten your territory!"

Cao Xing chuckled, "Alright, stop pretending."

"I know you are not some down-and-out nobles. Your real names are Mark, Goodman, Depsy, and Ouna, right?"

Hearing this, the expressions of the four people on the ground instantly stiffened.

Then, expressions of fear appeared on everyone's faces!

The middle-aged man asked in disbelief, "You… how did you know?"

Cao Xing chuckled, "Not only do I know your names, but I also know that you are professional swindlers."

"You often swindle nobles and ordinary people, and recently you targeted us Otherworld Lords."

"Earl Winston of Merlind City has a bounty out for you, and the bounty for each person is as high as 500,000 crowns, right?"

Every word Cao Xing spoke made the faces of the four people below turn a shade paler.

They also knew that they had been completely seen through by this young man.

"How is that possible… We specifically bought disguise potions from the Swamp Witch… How could you see through them?"

Cao Xing wore a slight smile on his face.

Little rascals, still trying to pull scams in front of me.

You have disguise potions, but I have the Eye of True Sight!

At this moment, after being exposed by Cao Xing, the four of them slumped down as if they had accepted their fate.

The middle-aged man on the ground raised his head and asked, "How are you going to deal with us?"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "You have a bounty of two million on your bodies. Of course I will tie you up and go to Merlind City to collect the bounty."

He never expected that there would be swindlers trying to scam him, and even delivering themselves right to his door.

Isn't this like delivering themselves on a silver platter?

Hearing this, expressions of panic instantly appeared on the faces of the four!

They clearly knew what kind of treatment they would suffer if they fell into the hands of the earl based on what they had done before!

Killing them would be getting off lightly.

The middle-aged man cried out anxiously, "Lord, you cannot hand us over to the earl. I think we can talk!"

"If you are willing to let us go, we are willing to pay you two million crowns in compensation, which is the exact same price as the earl's bounty."

"You do not need to run all the way to Merlind City to deal with that troublesome Earl Winston. What do you think?"

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and shook his head, "No, your companion just threatened me, saying she would give my territory no peace."

"I am a person of rather small courage and am most afraid of threats."

Hearing this, the other three cast reproachful glances at the woman.

As for the woman, tied up on the ground at the moment, she also wore a depressed expression.

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said again, "How about this, we are willing to pay three million crowns to compensate for my companion's rudeness."

"This is much higher than the bounty you would collect!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing narrowed his eyes.

These swindlers were unexpectedly wealthy.

But considering that they might have swindled many people before this, it was normal.

Cao Xing asked, "Can you give it to me right now?"

The middle-aged man replied immediately, "That is right, right now!"

The moment he finished speaking, he realized he had slipped up, and his expression changed drastically!

Yet Cao Xing burst out laughing.

He directly issued an order.

"Search their bodies and search out everything for me."

Hearing this, the soldiers immediately sprang into action.

On the bodies of these three men and one woman, dozens of hands began to grope around continuously.

"Let me go! Do not touch me with your dirty hands!"

"Dammit! I am Ouna, what qualifications do you soldiers have to touch my body!"

The woman still wanted to struggle, but one of the soldiers slapped her across the face, and she instantly quieted down.

Item after item was searched out from their bodies.

Belts, books, small money bags.

They were all worthless things.

Since Cao Xing's order was to search out everything.

The soldiers unhesitatingly reached their hands into the mature woman's dress and began tearing off item after item.

Exquisite lace underwear, tiny panties, perfume, and so on.

The woman looked at the soldiers with a humiliated expression, flames of anger and shame burning in her dual pupils. She stared fixedly at the soldiers, as if she wanted to slice them into a thousand pieces with her gaze.

However, the expressions of those soldiers were very calm, because for them, this was merely executing the Lord's mission.

Just at this moment, a soldier suddenly searched out a leather backpack from the hem of her skirt.

The instant they saw that backpack, not only the woman, but the expressions of the other three changed drastically at the same time!

"No! That is my backpack!"

"Dammit, Ouna, quickly grab it back!"

The woman immediately struggled to get up, wanting to grab the soldier.

However, the soldier directly kicked her away, then respectfully came to Cao Xing's side and handed over the backpack.

Cao Xing took it.

[Obtained: Ice Feather Snow Owl Backpack (Purple)]

…

His eyes lit up instantly!

Just as he thought, these guys had spatial backpack-type props on them.

And it was even a purple backpack with 80 slots of space.

He directly opened the backpack to take a look.

When he saw the large amount of crowns packed inside, his smile instantly widened even more!

"Not bad, not bad, there are actually so many good things."

Cao Xing's face was full of appreciation.

After their backpack was snatched away, the four people on the ground instantly turned ashen-faced.

As if suffering some severe blow, they collapsed limply on the ground.

Holding onto a last glimmer of luck, the middle-aged man tentatively asked, "Lord, you have already obtained all our assets. Can you let us leave now?"

Hearing this, Cao Xing burst out laughing again.

"I will let you leave, but not right now."

"Take them to the dungeon and lock them up with those captives."

He had never said he was going to let them go.

Coincidentally, he was planning to take some time recently to make a trip to Merlind City to exchange the money and shop notes in the backpack.

And by the way, hand these four people over to the earl to claim the bounty.

It could be said to be making a profit on both ends.

…

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