Kill ten steps and see the king! (6200)

Six consecutive notifications appeared.

At this moment, Cao Xing hadn't yet reacted to the changes in the royal palace.

Suddenly seeing the battle notifications, he fell into a state of confusion once again.

"Huh? Bing Lan is fighting someone?"

"The information above shows that the enemies… are Watchers."

Cao Xing's expression instantly turned serious.

Based on the question marks in the battle info, it indicated the enemies were at least level 90, at least Tier 10 creatures.

And there were six consecutive ones, meaning the enemies besieging Bing Lan were six Tier 10 Hero-level creatures!

This was quite a formidable force!

However, Dragon Speaker, as an existence invincible below Legendary, was no joke.

So Cao Xing wasn't worried at all about whether she could defeat the enemies.

Even if the enemies were more numerous and higher level than her, Bing Lan could still crush them.

After all, Tier 10 creatures as monstrous as the Valkyrie corpse couldn't be found just anywhere.

Meanwhile, high above the mountain range, the eight Hero-level creatures were still in fierce combat.

Today, however, Bing Lan seemed to have activated a "burst mode"!

She swung the Ice Crystal Blade in her hand, instantly unleashing four or five sword beams!

Several damage numbers exceeding 100,000 appeared above the heads of those who approached!

They looked at Bing Lan in shock, finding it hard to imagine how she had become so powerful!

What these people didn't know was that when Dragon Speaker first joined Cao Xing's territory, she already had 34,000 attack power.

After becoming a Mutated Commander, it went directly to over 40,000.

Coupled with the 4-level increase and Cao Xing's series of buffs, she could easily deal over 100,000 damage with a single sword strike!

Seraphis, beneath her, was also continuously breathing dragon breath.

"Whoosh!"

The dragon breath, carrying extreme ice properties, shot out like a raging torrent.

Wherever it passed, the air was instantly frozen, and even the distant mountain peaks were covered in thick ice in an instant.

Three of the Watchers couldn't dodge in time and were hit by the dragon breath, immediately feeling their movements stiffen.

A bad premonition suddenly arose in their hearts!

They knew that at their level, even a momentary delay was fatal!

Sure enough!

Seeing the target frozen, Dragon Speaker's figure instantly vanished from the dragon's back and appeared directly behind one of them.

She thrust her longsword fiercely toward his heart.

"Pfft!"

[ – 1,635,225! ]

Weak point attack!

Critical Hit!

A damage number exceeding one million appeared.

(PS: Weak point attacks can deal 2~20 times damage depending on attack intensity.)

This person spat out a mouthful of blood!

This strike caused him extremely severe trauma!

In the critical moment, he broke free from the dragon breath's freezing in an instant and tried to flee.

But just then, Bing Lan suddenly curled her longsword, and her whole body began to rotate at high speed.

"Whoo—whoosh—"

A strong hurricane suddenly appeared.

The six surrounding people were all sucked in by this hurricane, and tearing damage began to appear above their heads.

[ – 134,667 ]

[ – 196,734! ]

[ – 146,751 ]

[ – 142,766 ]

The health of the six plummeted!

Beside them, the Crystal Dragon Seraphis was also continuously casting dragon magic.

The six Watchers were suppressed by her and forced to retreat steadily!

This battle lasted for five or six minutes.

After all, Hero-level creatures had very high health!

Bing Lan fought six alone, showing her invincible style.

The blue and white coat she wore was stained with streaks of blood—some from the enemies, some from her own.

At this moment, both sides had suffered significant damage, and their health had reached an unhealthy level.

Even the dragon scales of Seraphis had mottled scars.

Yet, Dragon Speaker still stood calmly in place.

Because of the Eternal Power, her lost HP began to recover at an extremely fast speed.

However, the six Watchers opposite stood in place, no longer daring to launch an attack easily!

Having fought until now, they deeply felt how terrifying the current Dragon Speaker was.

It was an all-around strength, with almost no weaknesses.

Among the Watchers, an aged voice sounded.

"Leave, we can't take this woman down."

"Go back and report to the Council of Elders, let them send more powerful existences to deal with her!"

Hearing this, although everyone was somewhat unwilling, they knew there was no way to deal with Dragon Speaker today.

"Retreat!"

After saying this, the six quickly fled behind them.

However, how could Dragon Speaker let them escape easily?

Her gaze instantly locked onto one of them—the one who had been rude to her earlier.

The next moment, her figure disappeared.

When she appeared again, she was already in front of him.

This bloody figure looked at Dragon Speaker in shock, seemingly surprised by her movement speed.

At this moment, Dragon Speaker's eyes were cold, and her heart held only endless killing intent.

"Hum!"

A tremor passed through the air.

In that instant, Dragon Speaker slashed out five or six swords on the spot.

"Pfft!"

The blood curtain was broken, revealing the pale face of a Western man.

"You… you can't kill me…"

However, Dragon Speaker ignored him completely!

She thrust her longsword again.

Several more swords were stabbed out, with some aimed at his forehead.

Then they went straight into his brain.

"Pfft!"

[ – 694,376 ]

[ – 1,367,449! ]

The man looked at the longsword on his forehead in disbelief, while also feeling his consciousness rapidly dissipating.

At the end of his life, he murmured.

"This… how is this possible…"

"I actually… died at your hands…"

"Pop!"

The sound of something bursting seemed to occur!

A mist of blood instantly spread in the air.

Then, a corpse fell toward the sky.

The other five Watcher members stared blankly at this scene.

After they reacted, a chill welled up from the bottom of their hearts.

"She killed Cedric!"

"Damn it, I'm going to slaughter her!"

However, hearing this, Dragon Speaker's cold gaze swept over and locked onto this person.

A crisis of death enveloped his heart.

They were already in a low-health state; if they were closed in on by Dragon Speaker now, they would end up falling on the spot just like that man!

Seeing Dragon Speaker's figure disappear again, a terrifying pressure struck like reality.

One of them exclaimed: "Let's go!"

At this moment, everyone lost their will to fight and fled frantically behind them.

In the blink of an eye, the five of them had fled without a trace.

Seeing them all flee, Dragon Speaker did not continue to pursue.

She returned to the dragon's back and then calmly flicked the ice sword in her hand.

"Seraphis, go down and pick up that guy's corpse."

"Woo—"

At this moment, the dragon raised its head high, making a response.

It also seemed very happy!

Compared to being hunted and fleeing for a while some time ago, this battle could be said to be a moment of triumph.

Not only did she defeat the enemy, but she also avenged herself directly, which was truly satisfying for the dragon!

The next moment, Seraphis turned into an arrow leaving the bow and rushed downward instantly.

Meanwhile, Cao Xing also heard a system notification.

[Your territory member: Dragon Speaker Bing Lan killed Watcher: Cedric lv93, Tier 10 Commander-level creature. Experience gained: 1,023,000 (Pale Lead bonus)]

[Combatants gained experience: 511,500]

[Your territory member: Dragon Speaker Bing Lan has leveled up, current level 89]

[This level up gained attribute increases: Strength +212, Agility +247, Spirit +186, Constitution +193, Attack +1000, all skill damage +10%, skill effects +10%…]

Seeing this prompt, Cao Xing knew he didn't need to worry about Dragon Speaker.

Sure enough, after she slew this enemy, no more battle information appeared.

Clearly, the enemies had been scared away by Dragon Speaker's powerful combat strength.

"Not bad, she actually slew a Hero-level creature…"

"I wonder if this woman knows to bring the drops back to me."

Cao Xing thought happily.

"But… looking at this battle situation, she must have found that dragon."

"In other words, it won't be long before Dragon Speaker returns."

"Next, my territory will have Dragon Speaker and her dragon, two Hero-level creatures, plus the Level 100 Valkyrie Malenina."

"If anyone below Legendary meets me, wouldn't they die no matter how many come?"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing felt even better.

Then, he hugged the Dark Elf and the Priest of Light in his arms and comfortably entered dreamland.

After these two emergencies, there were no other situations tonight.

The night passed quickly.

The next day…

[Survivors please note, you have arrived at the 13th day of the development period. The second wave of monster sieges will start at 00:00 tomorrow. Please be prepared to respond.]

[Weather forecast: Today, the area near Eternal Frost Main City will usher in a light snow, with a temperature of -61°C ~ -70°C, not suitable for going out.]

Upon hearing the prompt, Cao Xing suddenly opened his eyes.

"Is the monster siege tomorrow?"

"I originally thought I wouldn't be able to make it back to the territory before the second wave of sieges."

"But the old King is back, so I can go directly to him today to ask for the authority of the teleportation array."

"Then I can teleport back directly."

This kind of teleportation array was of course not one-way.

Since he could teleport back, he could naturally teleport away.

However, people from the Eternal Frost Main City side needed his permission to use the teleportation array to enter Cao Xing's territory.

Meanwhile, Cao Xing saw a message sent by Liu Muxue.

Liu Muxue: "A-Xing, good morning. Let me tell you about what happened in the territory recently."

"Early this morning, Bing Lan returned, and she brought back her dragon, and that Griffin is also intact."

"In addition, Elisa and Herlie also returned to the territory yesterday afternoon. They seem to have some different discoveries."

"Renice also returned yesterday morning."

"That's the current situation, everything is fine in the territory."

Seeing Liu Muxue's message, a gentle smile appeared on Cao Xing's face.

"I didn't expect the people I sent out to all return to the territory on the same day."

"It seems that after getting the teleportation array authority today, I have to go back quickly."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing gently lifted a corner of the quilt, revealing two graceful bodies, one white and one black, inside.

He gently woke up the two beauties by his pillow.

"Time to wake up."

Hearing the Otherworld Lord's voice, Sarah and Isabelle opened their eyes simultaneously.

Then, one on the left and one on the right, they hugged Cao Xing's arms, appearing somewhat reluctant to get up.

"My Lord, can we not rest a little longer?" Isabelle asked, lowering her head shyly.

Cao Xing turned his head and patted her on the head.

"We need to go to the palace today, and we can't keep the Ice Crystal King waiting too long."

Isabelle's beautiful eyes fluttered; she knew the importance of this matter.

Then she gradually released Cao Xing's arm.

Sarah, on his left, did a roll, quickly climbed out from under the covers, and got dressed in a very short amount of time.

Soon, the three of them finished washing up and walked out of the room.

The group gathered in the hallway.

Aside from the Qi Queen Victoria and the bard Gwyneth, Tian Jing was also there.

Everyone greeted each other.

"Good day, My Lord."

"Morning, Boss!"

Cao Xing nodded slightly in acknowledgment and then said,

"Today, Sarah, Assam, Braum, and Isabelle will come out with me."

"Victoria, you continue to stay at the tavern with Gwyneth."

This Qi Empress possessed the support skill [Qi Surround], allowing her to share experience points even without fighting.

Therefore, Victoria's level had reached level 70 several days ago.

Moreover, as a Commander-grade creature, both her support and combat abilities were very strong.

During the last battle against the Remnant Valkyrie, it would have been much easier if he had brought her along.

However, this time, they were going to see the Ice Crystal King, not to participate in a battle.

So there was no need to bring everyone.

Cao Xing continued, "And Tian Jing, you wait here for me as well."

"If everything goes smoothly, we can return to the territory today."

Tian Jing replied, "Understood, Boss!"

The Qi Empress beside them also responded softly.

Then, Cao Xing looked at Gwyneth beside him.

She was still holding her lute, wearing a hat that half-concealed her natural beauty.

She waited quietly on the side, with no discernible thoughts in her eyes.

Cao Xing said, "This time, although I didn't find a way to restore your voice, don't be discouraged."

"I will continue to search, and I believe it won't be long before you can speak again."

Gwyneth nodded gently, then made a gesture.

Victoria translated, "She says she is not in a hurry and expresses her gratitude to you."

Cao Xing said no more.

After arranging everything, he took Braum and the others and left the tavern.

As soon as they stepped onto the street, a fierce cold wind whistled past.

It quickly sapped the heat from their bodies, making them shiver uncontrollably.

Ever since the Battle of the Oracle, the temperature of the entire world had begun to drop.

Cao Xing didn't know if it was because of the death of the Crystal Dragon.

Furthermore, the forecast for today indicated there would be a light snowfall.

However, the "light snowfall" in this world was comparable to a heavy blizzard on Blue Star.

Snowflakes drifted down continuously from the sky.

Before long, everyone's heads and shoulders were covered in a thick layer of snow.

They proceeded all the way toward the palace.

In the morning, there were very few people in the Eternal Frost Main City.

In such cold weather, unless it was necessary, everyone basically reduced going out.

They soon arrived at the palace in the center of the main city.

Before they even reached the palace gate, two figures were waiting on the road.

They appeared to be two palace guards.

Upon seeing Cao Xing and his group, the two guards stepped forward respectfully and said,

"My Lord, General Kero asked me to wait here for you."

"He said to bring you inside once I saw you."

Cao Xing felt amused.

This Kero was quite thoughtful in his arrangements.

"Fine, lead the way."

Having said that, they followed the two soldiers into the palace.

Just like the last time they came, it was basically unimpeded.

The group headed toward the central area of the palace, passing through several gates along the way.

Come to think of it, the last time Cao Xing came to collect his rewards, he only used the side entrance and hadn't truly entered the core area of the palace.

Cao Xing was somewhat curious about what was inside.

After passing through three magnificent gates in a row, a vast plaza appeared before them!

Strange, snow-white plants were distributed in an orderly fashion in every corner.

On both sides of the plaza, many strangely shaped ice sculptures served as decorations.

And in the central area stood a huge statue carved from ice!

This statue was very tall, at least a hundred meters high.

It depicted a king wearing battle armor and a brilliant crown.

His posture was upright, his head held high, and he exuded an aura of majestic kingship.

In his hand, he gripped a sword that symbolized power.

At this moment, set against the backdrop of the swirling snow falling from the sky, this statue looked like a king in the storm, filled with a majestic aura.

One of the guards said, "Lord Cao Xing, please wait here for a moment. Another group will come to take you over shortly."

Cao Xing nodded slightly; he was somewhat accustomed to this kind of thing.

He continued to wait on the spot.

At this time, the snowfall in the sky was getting heavier.

Before long, everyone's heads were covered in a thick layer of snow.

However, with a surge of magical aura from Cao Xing, all the snow vanished without a trace.

After waiting for less than three minutes, a squad of Ironwall guards clad in black heavy armor, all no lower than level 40, arrived in front of Cao Xing.

Then they asked politely, "Excuse me, are you Cao Xing?"

"That's me."

"Very well, Lord Cao Xing, please follow me."

After a brief exchange, these heavy-armored soldiers led them straight across the plaza.

Then they entered through a side gate and arrived in front of a relatively secluded building nearby.

Then, one of the heavy-armored soldiers said, "Lord Cao Xing, please go in."

"General Kero and His Majesty are both waiting for you inside."

"However, your attendants cannot go in with you. They can go wait in the lounge nearby."

He pointed to a small house next to this mansion.

Cao Xing looked at Assam and the others.

"It's snowing right now, so don't wait here."

"Go to the lounge; I will call you if I need anything."

Assam glanced at the small house; it was not far from the room where Cao Xing would be.

If anything happened, they could rush over at the fastest speed.

So he said respectfully, "Understood."

Having said that, they walked toward the small house nearby.

As for Cao Xing, he pushed open the mansion door in front of him.

"Creak!"

As soon as the door opened, waves of warmth greeted him.

Inside was a room with an antique, classical feel.

Carved beams, wooden floors, and some rustic furniture.

In the depths of the room, three figures sat quietly.

In addition to General Kero, whom he had met yesterday, there was an old man with white hair and beard and a solemn expression.

Although his aura was decaying, he still radiated a heroic spirit!

He sat upright on a large chair, his back straight, looking dignified and solemn.

Clearly, this was the Ice Crystal King, the figure at the very pinnacle of power in the entire kingdom!

Cao Xing sighed inwardly, "Although I've always heard that this King was old, I didn't expect him to be this aged."

"However, the lifespans of these powerful individuals are very long. Judging by the aura on him, holding on for another dozen years or so shouldn't be a problem."

He didn't pry into the old King's information because he knew without thinking that it would just be a bunch of question marks.

Furthermore, doing so would be somewhat rude.

These powerful individuals were extremely sensitive to various auras.

Besides Kero and the old King, there was a young man standing to the side.

He seemed somewhat uneasy, standing behind the King with his head lowered.

From time to time, he curiously lifted his head to glance at Cao Xing.

Cao Xing didn't know his identity.

He walked directly over and said solemnly,

"Greetings, Your Majesty the King!"

He did not kneel; he only bowed slightly.

The old King did not speak but fixed his gaze on Cao Xing, sizing him up.

The atmosphere in the room felt somewhat silent.

Neither Kero nor the young man dared to speak.

After a moment, the old King said slowly,

"I've long heard that you Otherworld Lords are all bold and daring, and now it seems that reputation is well-deserved."

Cao Xing knew he was referring to the fact that he hadn't knelt upon seeing the King.

However, he still didn't make any move to do so.

Even Kero couldn't help but want to remind Cao Xing.

The old King didn't seem to mind, instead waving his sleeve and saying,

"Sit."

Cao Xing looked at the stool next to Kero and then walked over and sat down calmly.

Kero sat rigidly; beside the old King, he had lost his usual composure and was acting like a rookie soldier.

The old King picked up a cup of hot tea from the table and asked first, "I heard you gathered 140,000 Honor Points and exchanged them for my Legendary dagger?"

"Yes." Cao Xing nodded slightly.

Hearing this, the old King sighed.

"Sigh… General Kero is still too honest."

"He doesn't know that you Otherworld Lords haven't seen much of the world yet, and usually treat even Gold-tier weapons as treasures."

"If it were me, I definitely would have sent you packing with a few Epic pieces of equipment."

"Now, the kingdom has lost another Legendary weapon…"

Hearing this, Kero, who was beside him, immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Especially after hearing that he had caused a loss to the kingdom, he was so scared that his face turned pale.

The atmosphere in the room became tense again.

The old King changed the subject and laughed, "However, what's given is given."

"It saves me from being laughed at by the nearby Orchid Kingdom and the Ostia Palace."

Cao Xing's mouth twitched, and he said, "Your Majesty is joking…"

Even Kero beside him couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he knew the old King was joking, it was still hard not to feel nervous.

"I heard you want the teleportation array access for our Eternal Frost Main City?"

"And you also want the locations of all the Church of Light strongholds we control?" the old King asked again.