Meet the Lord of Orlan again, and get information about ancient ruins. (5600)

Cao Xing glanced at the time.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the teleportation array had a six-hour cooldown time.

If he rushed to Eternal Frost Main City now, he could rush back again tonight.

"However, I still have something to do before that."

"Digest that Commander-level soul, and let the Holy Light Priest Isabelle break through to the Commander-level."

"Also, that [Hero's Heart] needs to be given to Muxue so she can advance to Tier 8."

"In this way, the values of Muxue's various support skills can be strengthened once more."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing entered the Mage Tower.

He familiarly pushed open a meditation room. This was also the meditation room frequently used by Isabelle.

At this moment, this Holy Light Priest was still in a meditative state.

Upon seeing Cao Xing, Isabelle suddenly opened her topaz-like eyes, and the power of holy light flashed away.

Then she stood up and said respectfully, "Respected Lord."

Cao Xing nodded slightly, took out a bright soul from his backpack, and then said,

"Catch this, Isabelle."

The Holy Light Priest instinctively reached out to take it. After feeling the aura contained within this soul,

a joyful smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Thank you."

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Use it and see if you can smoothly break through to Commander-level."

Although Isabelle had a Dark Witch form, which was a Commander-level creature,

she rarely used that form.

Moreover, compared to that, as a Holy Light Priest with supportive abilities, holding the Holy Scripture of Light, she actually helped Cao Xing much more than her Dark Witch form.

If Isabelle's Holy Light form could also transform into the Commander-level, it would greatly boost both her support and combat abilities!

Meanwhile, Isabelle held the soul in her hand as a cluster of gentle holy light power drifted out,

enshrouding and wrapping around the soul.

In the blink of an eye, all the power contained within the soul was absorbed.

Along with a strong burst of holy light power from her body, the entire meditation room was directly filled.

Not only that, but this wave of holy light also leaked out from the cracks, illuminating the entire Mage Tower to appear incomparably sacred.

"Hum!"

Compared to the commotion when Hilda broke through to Commander-level, Isabelle's was no less impressive.

The entire territory was filled with holy light.

System prompts appeared.

[Your territory member: Isabelle Gospel has successfully transformed into a Tier 7 Commander-level creature. Learned new skill: Revelation · Hymn]

[Revelation · Hymn: Condenses the power of holy light to cause a friendly unit to immediately recover 100% of its HP and block the next attack. Cooldown: 3 minutes]

"Good grief, instantly refilling HP? That's a bit overpowered!"

"And there's also an attack-blocking effect afterwards. Combined with three layers of Holy Shield, that makes a full 4 attacks!"

Most importantly, this skill has a very short cooldown of only 3 minutes, allowing it to be used multiple times in a single battle.

Cao Xing was extremely satisfied with this Commander-level skill.

"Not bad, Isabelle. Your breakthrough has made our territory members even more survivable."

A gentle smile also appeared on the face of the Holy Light Priest as she softly said, "Thank you, Lord, for making my power of holy light even more abundant."

At this moment, Cao Xing seemed to remember something and asked, "Isabelle, are all the Holy Light Priests in your Holy See adept at healing-type abilities?"

Hearing this question, she gently shook her head and said, "Besides Holy Light Priests, the Holy See also has combat-oriented Holy Knight Generals, Inquisitors, and so on. Of course, the most powerful ones are still the Legendary-level Saint Light Sages."

"They not only possess powerful combat capabilities, but their healing abilities are even more prominent."

"I once saw with my own eyes a Saint Light Sage take action to save a Hero-level creature that was already terminally ill and had little time left."

A look of contemplation appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

He had indeed heard from the Old King before that Legendary Saint Light Sages possessed extremely powerful healing abilities, capable of even reattaching severed limbs.

If there was a Saint Light Sage in his territory, not only would the territory's strength be greatly enhanced, but its survivability would also skyrocket.

However, trying to cultivate a Legendary Saint Light Sage was too difficult…

No… maybe there is hope!

Cao Xing thought to himself, "According to what the Dragon Speaker said, I have already fulfilled one of the three conditions for breaking through to Legendary."

"Next, I just need to obtain a Heart of Legend and raise Isabelle's level to 100, and I can begin the breakthrough!"

"Naturally, the hardest of these two is the Heart of Legend, which requires killing a Legendary creature to obtain."

"However… I also hold the inheritance of a Legendary mage, which seems to be of the light element as well. Perhaps there's hope there?"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing made up his mind that he would go and explore that Legendary mage's inheritance as soon as possible next!

Thus, he looked at Isabelle beside him and said,

"Continue to adapt to the power within your body. I'm heading out first."

"Alright, Lord." Isabelle responded softly.

Carrying a pleasant mood, Cao Xing came outside the territory.

"Next, there is still one last thing that needs to be digested."

That [Hero's Heart].

Liu Muxue was the best candidate to use it.

As the Aurora Knight in the territory who possessed the most status skills—and whose status effects would grow along with her attributes—if she could break through to Tier 8, she would definitely bring a huge enhancement to all territory members!

Thinking of this, Cao Xing quickly entered the Lords Castle, then found Liu Muxue and handed that [Hero's Heart] to her.

"Muxue, try to see if you can break through."

Looking at this dark red Heart of Power, a look of joy also appeared on the Aurora Knight's face.

"Alright, Ah Xing, I will succeed!"

The woman said firmly, reached out with both hands to take it, and directly shattered it.

"Crack!"

The pure power was absorbed by her.

In a split second, the entire room was filled with gorgeous Auroras!

Not long after, the Aurora spread out of the Lords Castle, filling the entire territory.

Looking at the gorgeous scene before them, the territory members felt as if they were immersed in an Aurora, and they couldn't help reaching out to touch it.

This time, Liu Muxue's breakthrough was also quite smooth.

Just a few minutes later, all the Aurora power was absorbed back into her body, and the aura on her body surged by a huge margin accordingly!

[Your subordinate lord: Liu Muxue has successfully transformed into a Tier 8 creature. Base attributes increased by 100%, skill attack range increased by 100%]

(Note: After a Survivor breaks through to a Tier 8 creature, every level-up will similarly grant a 1,000-point attack power bonus, as well as a 10% increase in skill coefficients…)

"It was a success!"

Cao Xing's spirit instantly lifted, and he felt overjoyed!

Meanwhile, Liu Muxue, who had just completed her transformation, also wore a happy smile on her face.

At this moment, the two looked at each other, and expressions of gratification appeared on both of their faces.

Cao Xing did not know whether Liu Muxue was the first Survivor in the entire server to break through to Tier 8.

But he could be certain that across all four major regions, probably no one was faster than her.

Carrying an excited mood, he took a look at Liu Muxue's attributes after her transformation.

[Survivor: Liu Muxue]

[Race: Blue Star Human]

[Level: Level 70 (Tier 8 Aurora Knight)]

[Detailed Attributes: Click to view]

After reading the panel information, the smile on the corners of Cao Xing's mouth could barely be suppressed!

"Good grief, this is truly a bit overpowered!"

"Her mental attribute after breaking through directly rose to over seven thousand!"

"Converted down, 'Aurora Blessing' can add 5,700 damage, and 'Blessing of Courage' can increase attack power by nearly 11,000!"

"Plus, she also has a Blessing of Power skill. With all these skills added on, even a Level 1 Arctic People could be enhanced by her to the extent of Tier 6!"

Cao Xing exclaimed in amazement!

Furthermore, after becoming a Hero-level creature, there was an even more outrageous enhancement.

That was that every subsequent upgrade would not only additionally increase attack power by 1,000 points, but also raise skill values by 10%.

What kind of concept was this?

To give an analogy, Liu Muxue's [Blessing of Courage] could originally increase physical and magical attack power by Spirit * 1.5.

After a 10% increase, it became increasing attack power by Spirit * 1.65 = 11,756.

Equivalent to gaining over a thousand points of extra attack power for every subsequent level up, coupled with the group-wide [Blessing Halo of Nessa].

This was the overpowered nature of Hero-level creatures…

Especially for a support-type hero like Liu Muxue, it was equivalent to a qualitative change.

Looking at it this way, just how terrifying would a Legendary-level support class be?

A support of this level—just a single blessing would be enough to instantly grant a mortal Tier 6 or even Tier 7 combat power, right?

This also made him look forward even more to the day when Liu Muxue could break through to Legendary in the future!

Cao Xing said with satisfaction, "Muxue, wait a while and re-apply status buffs to the warriors."

"I have something to do and need to make a trip to the royal palace. You should rest first tonight."

Hearing that Cao Xing was going to the royal palace alone, a hint of worry appeared on Liu Muxue's face,

but she also knew that the Old King valued Cao Xing greatly right now, so he wouldn't encounter any danger going to the royal palace.

Thus she nodded gently, "Alright, Ah Xing, go ahead."

Afterwards, Cao Xing turned around, walked out of the Lords Castle, and called Yaskin over.

"Please give your instructions, Lord," the Ascalon captain said respectfully.

Cao Xing said, "Yaskin, you haven't rested for long since you just came back."

"However, I have another task for you now."

The Ascalon captain immediately turned solemn. "It is my honor to serve the Lord!"

"Please feel free to give your orders!"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "It's nothing major."

"Next, you should first take dozens of Ascalon Warriors, then pilot four goblin airships to the Eternal Frost Main City, and just wait near the south city gate."

"If you set out now, you should arrive in about two or three days."

"After arriving, contact me using the communication device in your ear."

Yaskin did not ask about the purpose of piloting the goblin airships, but instead straightened his posture.

"Understood, respected Lord, I will set off right away!"

Soon, the Ascalon captain walked toward the buffer zone of the territory and called over sixty Ascalon Warriors, dividing them into four teams.

Cao Xing having him fly the goblin airships to the Eternal Frost Main City was naturally prepared for Bai Zhi.

After all, he had promised her previously to exchange them using airships.

Since someone gave him such a precious skill book, Cao Xing would naturally keep his promise.

Since the goblin airships could not move through the teleportation array, this was the only way.

After arriving, Cao Xing would go directly to the Eternal Frost Main City via the teleportation array, and then hand over the operation permissions of the airships to Bai Zhi in person.

"Buzz——"

The sound of propellers rang out one after another.

The four goblin airships gradually flew into the sky and disappeared into the horizon after a short while.

As for why there were four instead of five.

It was naturally because Cao Xing still had one parked near the south city gate.

Lord Cao remembered his assets very clearly.

After Yaskin and the others set off, Cao Xing thought to himself, "Next, I also need to make a trip to the Eternal Frost Main City,

to discuss the matter of borrowing money with the Old King."

Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that it was not dark yet, he quickly came to the fourth-ring area of the territory.

And then directly stepped into the teleportation array.

A flash of light appeared before his eyes, and after the familiar teleportation screen.

A system prompt appeared.

[You have arrived at the Eternal Frost Main City…]

Looking at the familiar buildings before him.

Cao Xing familiarly stepped out of the teleportation array and leisurely strolled around the royal palace.

Upon seeing Cao Xing, the patrolling soldiers not only did not stop him, but instead slightly saluted him.

Cao Xing also nodded slightly in return.

After the soldiers left, he quickly arrived at General Kro's residence.

At this moment, the burly general was talking with someone in his mansion.

Opposite him sat a powerful figure.

Cao Xing also knew this person; it was none other than City Lord Oran whom he had saved back in Lake Doron City.

Seeing him enter, General Kro and City Lord Oran simultaneously cast their gazes over.

Especially Oran, whose eyes showed various complex emotions when looking at Cao Xing.

There was surprise, astonishment, and emotional sentiment…

Before Cao Xing arrived, he and Kro had a conversation here.

Upon learning that this Otherworld Lord was the demon who caused a ruckus in Lake Doron City and saved him, he didn't believe it at first.

Until Kro said that this Otherworld Lord pulled out the Holy Scripture of Light in that battle, he was completely convinced, and his heart filled with even more emotion.

At the same time, he thought about visiting his territory in the future to express gratitude for his rescue.

As a result, before he even took action, Cao Xing came over himself.

Kro's voice interrupted City Lord Oran's thoughts.

"Lord Cao Xing, you've come to the royal palace again so quickly. Have the matters on your territory been handled?"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "I wouldn't visit unless I needed something, General Kro. This time I've come to trouble you with another matter."

The general immediately and readily said, "Feel free to speak. As long as it is within my power, I will definitely do my utmost to help you accomplish it."

Kro appeared very easy to talk to.

A smile also appeared on Cao Xing's face, and then his gaze turned to the side towards City Lord Oran.

The other party spoke up proactively.

"We meet again—" City Lord Oran said with emotion.

Cao Xing nodded slightly, "We meet again. I wonder if City Lord Oran still remembers the promise you made back then?"

At this moment, City Lord Oran's mouth twitched, and he also confirmed that Cao Xing was that demon.

After all, after being saved back then, he had made a vow: 'No matter what happens in the future, he will do his utmost to help Cao Xing.'

He nodded and said, "Of course I remember, this promise is still valid."

Cao Xing laughed heartily.

Kro also knew their relationship and interjected, "Alright, Oran, whatever you have to say can wait.

For now, let Lord Cao Xing explain what help he needs from me."

The city lord on the side closed his mouth.

Cao Xing nodded slightly and then explained the purpose of his visit to him.

After hearing this, Kro was slightly stunned, and then smiled and shook his head.

"I thought it was some major matter; it turns out to be just borrowing money—"

Cao Xing replied somewhat helplessly, "Yes, my territory has just developed for a short time, and various infrastructure cannot keep up yet, so we are lacking quite a bit in funds and food right now."

In fact, Cao Xing's territory's development was already prosperous enough. The reason it couldn't keep up was because his combatants' strength had skyrocketed too fast.

"No problem, Lord Cao Xing, I will go report to His Majesty the King right now."

Kro readily said, "A few hundred million crowns is still not a problem for His Majesty."

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you."

The general waved his hand, stood up quickly, and said, "Then you two catch up here first, I'll be right back."

With that, he left the mansion, leaving only him and City Lord Oran behind.

Cao Xing casually found a chair and sat down.

Oran at the side looked at him and said with emotion, "I really didn't expect that the demon I encountered back then

would actually have grown to such a height."

"And now has even become an ally of the Ice Crystal Kingdom."

Cao Xing laughed heartily, and then asked, "City Lord Oran, how do you have time to visit the Eternal Frost Main City today?"

The city lord replied, "It's still because of the matter of Lake Doron City."

"After this city was blood-sacrificed last time, all the residents and soldiers in the city were buried there,

and it is basically equivalent to a ruined city."

"However, His Majesty the King said that this city is close to Lake Doron, which has rich aquatic resources and many mineral veins around it, making it an important city, so he asked me to redevelop it."

"But wanting to develop such a large city requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and right now I'm just a commander without an army."

"That's why I ran to the main city, preparing to borrow a batch of troops from His Majesty the King—"

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing immediately became amused.

He didn't expect City Lord Oran's purpose to be quite similar to his.

Oran continued, "I heard that Lord Cao Xing's territory has developed well, and now there are already over twenty Master-level powerhouses."

"I am ashamed to fall short—"

Cao Xing shook his head, "It's nothing, they are just Masters, not even Heroes. We are still far from being a truly major power."

"That's right, City Lord Oran, is that Lost Royal City you mentioned last time—which contains resources that allow people to break through to the Hero-level, magic potions that greatly enhance combat power, and so on—true?"

"Of course it's true!" The city lord replied without hesitation.

At this time, he seemed to realize something and asked, "Is Lord Cao Xing planning to head to that Lost Royal City recently?"

Cao Xing did not deny it either, "Yes. Right now, many Masters in my territory are waiting to break through to Heroes. To make them break through, a large amount of resources is needed, so I can only go there and take a look."

There were still about seventeen days left until the third round of monster siege.

That should be almost enough time for him to lead people there and back.

However, City Lord Oran shook his head and said, "Lord Cao Xing, I'm afraid you won't be able to go anytime soon."

"Huh? Why?" Cao Xing asked in confusion.

"Because it's not time for it to open yet."

The city lord explained, "The Lost Royal City opens three times a year, opening once every three months, and each opening lasts for a month."

"Normally, the city gates are tightly closed, and even Legendary powerhouses cannot force their way in."

"Calculating the time, the last opening was about a month ago."

"In other words, if you want to go in, you still need to wait two months."

A look of regret appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

Because this was the only place he mastered that could allow these Masters in his territory to break through to Heroes on a large scale.

He thought to himself, "Two months? By then, I reckon the Blood Legion would have already appeared."

"It seems I still have to find other ways to enhance strength."

At this time, City Lord Oran whispered, "Lord Cao Xing, according to intelligence passed on by a friend of mine,

they explored a secret high tower in that Lost Royal City last time, and there seemed to be Legendary-level fluctuations inside."

"This place might be another discovery comparable to the ancient colosseum!"