Chapter 72: Elite Archer

"Ascalon Archer, Renice Hawkeye, reporting to you."

Cao Xing met her sharp gaze and said solemnly,

"Welcome, Renice Hawkeye."

"Let us build a glorious territory together!"

This time, Cao Xing's rhetoric didn't seem to have much effect.

Upon hearing the word 'glory', Renice's expression became somewhat despondent.

"Respected Lord, the Kingdom of Ascalon has fallen, and my glory has vanished…"

Hearing this, Cao Xing felt a bit awkward.

He didn't know that the Kingdom of Ascalon had fallen.

These words were like picking at Renice's scab.

At this moment, Liu Muxue gently walked up to Renice, took her hand, and said, "Renice, while past glory is indeed worth pursuing, what's more important is to cherish everything in the present."

"Are you willing to reclaim your glory together with us?"

Hearing this, Renice raised her cyan eyes, nodded, and said, "I am willing."

Then, she said gratefully, "Thank you, beautiful Lord."

Liu Muxue turned around and gave Cao Xing a warm smile.

Cao Xing was amused. He hadn't expected Liu Muxue to have a knack for this, and couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.

Seeing that Renice was gradually regaining her fighting spirit,

Cao Xing then said as usual, "Then Renice, please accept the blessings we are about to bestow upon you!"

Renice did not refuse and nodded her head.

Cao Xing raised his staff and cast three buffs in succession: [Ice Armor Technique], [Ice Healing Art], and [Frost Armor].

Then, Liu Muxue also cast [Aurora Blessing] and [Blessing of Courage] in turn.

Added to that were Ilena's [Scale Armor] and [Snakeman Frenzy].

A total of seven permanent status buffs were applied.

Everyone could feel that the aura on Renice had clearly grown significantly stronger.

Her body froze in place.

Just like the other newly joined members, her face was filled with intense shock.

Then, she bowed slightly and said respectfully to Cao Xing, "Thank you for your blessing, my Lord. Your power shines as bright as the stars."

At the same time, a system prompt appeared in Cao Xing's ear.

[You have helped territory member Renice Hawkeye increase her strength. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 74.]

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

Only then did he begin to check Renice's attributes.

[Ascalon Archer: Renice Hawkeye]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 12 (1,099/30,000)]

[HP: 3,460 (Equipment Bonus)]

[Attack Power: 312–331]

[Armor: 107–114]

[Attributes: Strength 144, Agility 157, Spirit 141, Constitution 140]

[Skills: Weakness Strike (Aims at the enemy's weak point, dealing critical damage),

Wind-Chasing Arrow (Shoots a high-speed arrow, dealing 135% damage to the enemy),

Eye of the Hunt (Activates the Eye of the Hunt state for the next ten seconds, increasing critical strike rate by 30%, accuracy by 20%, and granting the ability to see through illusions)]

[Talent: None]

[Bond: Archer (When there are 3 or more archers in the party, critical strike rate increases by 10%; when there are 10 or more, critical strike rate increases by 20%)]

[Satiety: 76]

[Loyalty: 74]

…

Cao Xing nodded. "Not bad."

As an elite archer, Renice's strength could be said to be highly formidable.

Now, everything was ready.

After asking Nive about the approximate location where she got separated from her older sister, Cao Xing nodded.

Nive asked softly, "My Lord, do you need me to go along with the team?"

Cao Xing shook his head. "No need. I already know the location. Leave the rest to us."

Nive had little combat capability, and besides, they were going to open the Goblin Treasury this time, where they might encounter some trouble.

Therefore, he wouldn't bring her along.

Cao Xing looked at his followers below and shouted, "Move out!"

"Target: Borealis Mountain Range!"

Dabai was the first to raise his head and let out a long trumpet.

"Moo—"

Assam and Andrew turned around and walked out into the snow.

The three robots followed behind.

The group set off in a grand manner.

Cao Xing still left Ilena behind to guard the territory; after all, she could level up just by sitting in the territory.

Additionally, Cao Xing left behind a Ground-Drilling Robot to assist with mining and defend the territory.

Mechanical creations like this didn't have experience bars anyway, so it made no difference whether he brought it or not.

Under the watchful eyes of the territory's residents, Cao Xing's group quickly disappeared into the vast snowfield.

…

Meanwhile,

in another corner of the snowfield.

A group of Survivors was gathered in a certain camp.

There were actually as many as forty or fifty people.

They seemed to be discussing something.

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a black padded coat stood in the middle of the group and said, "Let me explain the plan for this operation to you once more."

"Once we reach those coordinates, we'll observe the situation first and send Xiaohou to scout."

"Then, once Xiaohou sends the signal, we'll all charge up together."

"Is that clear to everyone?"

The other Survivors responded one after another, "Understood!"

A younger-looking Survivor nearby said, "Boss Ji Jun, don't worry!"

"Among our group, quite a few brothers already have recruited creatures—Level 5 Wild Boar Warriors, Level 7 Ascalon Monks."

"Brother Huang Wen is even more exaggerated. He actually has a Level 8 Elite Assassin!"

"With us included, we have at least sixty-odd people!"

"As long as that Cao Xing dares to show his face, we can trample him to death with just one stomp each!"

After this Survivor finished speaking, the other members of the Sanying Association on the field also showed relaxed smiles.

Because what he said was indeed true.

At the current stage, so many Survivors combined with powerful recruited creatures made for a highly formidable force.

The middle-aged man wrapped in the black padded coat also nodded and said, "Be that as it may, we still need to be careful."

"This time, it's a battle to establish the prestige of our Sanying Association. We need to let those fellows know that even in this world, the Sanying Association is not to be trifled with!"

The Survivors on the field nodded one after another.

Soon, they set their plan into motion.

Their target was precisely the coordinate point given by Cao Xing.

…

Meanwhile, after traveling for over ten minutes, Cao Xing had already left his territory about eight kilometers behind.

Behind them was a trail of footprints.

Especially Dabai—with his thick elephant hooves, every step he took left a massive footprint.

As Cao Xing advanced, he opened the [Gale Snowfield Map].

It marked various terrains, along with several locations marked with red 'X's.

As Cao Xing passed one of the marked locations, he saw a frozen lake.

Before they could even get close, Sarah quickly warned, "My Lord, we cannot go any further."

"That lake is the territory of a terrifying creature. If we disturb it, we will be easily torn to shreds and swallowed whole."

Cao Xing was stunned for a moment, then without hesitation, he led his people to take a detour.

Later, he understood that these marked locations were all occupied by terrifying monsters.

From then on, he also tried his best to avoid these areas.

The group continued forward. After traveling several kilometers through the vast, boundless snowfield,

Cao Xing discovered a blazing bonfire in a patch of snow, with a few simple buildings next to it.

Liu Muxue said, "Axing, that looks like another Survivor's territory."

Cao Xing took a look. In addition to the Lord's Cabin, an Arctic People's Cabin had also been built.

The camp bonfire had begun to take shape, looking like it had been upgraded to level three or four.

The level of development of this territory was actually quite decent compared to other Survivors.

However, the Survivors inside had already gone out, leaving only a few Arctic People gathering resources near the territory.

Cao Xing shook his head. "Let's go."

For now, he didn't want to have any contact with other Survivors.

Furthermore, he still had to search for Nive's sister, so he couldn't afford to waste time here.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The tracked robot advanced at full speed.

The other followers were also running, either on their two legs or four hooves.

Rumble!

They bypassed several high mountains and forests along the way.

After advancing almost thirty kilometers, a continuous mountain range blocked the path of Cao Xing and his group.

A system prompt appeared.

[Borealis Mountain Range has been discovered]

[Map Description: The Borealis Mountain Range is covered in snow year-round and is inhabited by creatures of various races, such as Snow Monsters, Troglodytes, Snow Trolls, and more.

In addition, the Borealis Mountain Range contains rich mineral deposits and some unique plants.]

After reading the map description,

Cao Xing understood that this mountain range was likely a high-level area, and there might be many powerful creatures inside.

Therefore, he needed to be cautious.

Sarah suddenly revealed herself and reported again, "My Lord, about one kilometer to the right, there is a small path leading into the mountains. We can enter from there."

Cao Xing nodded, then led his team to the place Sarah had mentioned.

Among a dense forest of silver firs, a mountain path about two to three meters wide appeared.

There were even tire tracks on it; it was clear that another convoy must have passed through here not long ago.

Assam, riding his Frost Wolf, was the first to step into the mountain range.

Cao Xing and the others followed behind.

As soon as they stepped into the mountain forest, strange, monkey-like cries constantly echoed in their ears.

"Oh! Oh oh oh!"

"Woo~~~"

Liu Muxue grabbed Cao Xing's sleeve in slight fear.

Assam turned around and explained, "My Lord, those are the cries of Troglodytes, a race of creatures with low intelligence."

"As long as we don't go near their territory, these Troglodytes won't attack us."

Cao Xing nodded. "Good, let's keep moving forward."

This time, he wanted to first head to a place in this mountain range called [Mount Trolo] to search for the whereabouts of Nive's sister, Juliette.

After that, they would go deeper into the mountain range to open the Goblin Treasury.

Creak! Creak!

The tracked robot continued to roll forward…