The fog is over, people from the kingdom are coming! (5000)

Cao Xing saw the damaged ground in the territory, as well as those few collapsed lighthouses and watchtowers.

It was clear that the creatures in the fog seemed extremely furious, but due to some rule restriction, they could not forcefully break into the rooms and could only take it out on these buildings in the territory.

Fortunately, everyone stayed obediently in their rooms and did not suffer any harm.

Cao Xing took a deep breath, then said in a deep voice: "Everyone assemble."

Hearing Cao Xing's command, thousands of people in the entire territory walked over one after another.

Then, in about three minutes, the assembly was complete.

Cao Xing did not speak, but instead swept a glance across the crowd.

The fog disaster that lasted for eleven days did not take away a single person in the territory.

This also made him feel quite satisfied.

"Very well, everyone has pulled through the crisis together again."

Hearing this, the old man Cao Yi took the lead in saying: "The gods will protect this sacred land, my Lord."

The other staff members also closed their eyes one after another, offering pious prayers.

For them, every time they survived a natural disaster, it was a new birth, equivalent to living once again.

Everyone's face carried a sacred radiance.

A moment later, Cao Xing said: "Starting today, the work in the territory will return to normal."

"Cao Yi, lead the staff to continue upgrading the city walls and building arrow towers."

"Du An, lead a portion of the Arctic People to repair the damaged ground in our territory, as well as those collapsed arrow towers and watchtowers."

"Da Zhuang, lead all the goblin laborers to the magic energy crystal mine dozens of kilometers away to gather more resources, and I will dispatch a few Centaurs to protect you."

"Other staff members, everything remains as usual."

The hundreds of staff members on the field were momentarily startled, then replied loudly one after another.

"Understood! Great Lord!"

With those words, they dispersed according to their respective teams.

More than two thousand combatants still remained in place.

After eleven days of recuperation, everyone was already fully prepared and eagerly impatient to plunge into battle.

Cao Xing commanded: "Today, Commander Bjorn and Xiao, each of you lead a legion out to deal with those enhanced Ice Nest Monsters."

"Everyone else, continue to strengthen patrols near the territory!"

"Yes!"

The crowd dispersed one after another.

Including those core combatants, they also dispersed one after another.

At this moment, Cao Xing walked to the buffer zone of the territory, came beneath those collapsed arrow towers, and conducted some research.

He squatted down and observed carefully.

He found that beneath these collapsed buildings, pools of dark purple marks were left behind,

looking like the traces left by the splattering body fluids of certain creatures that were crushed when the buildings fell.

On the bases of those arrow towers, there were also densely packed tiny tooth marks, as if they had been frantically gnawed on by a swarm of creatures, making one's scalp tingle slightly just looking at them.

A contemplative look appeared in Cao Xing's eyes: "That is to say, this group of creatures in the fog is similar to the commotion we heard; they are small in size yet extremely aggressive creatures."

"And their numbers are huge!"

Of course, these were only Cao Xing's guesses, after all, no one had truly seen the monsters in the fog.

A moment later, he shook his head, "Forget it, there's no need to think so much. What I need to do now is develop the territory and enhance my strength."

"I hope that when the next fog disaster arrives, I will have enough strength to protect myself!"

"If that fellow still dares to harbor designs on my territory's members, even if it's a deity, I will make him pay the price!"

A hint of coldness surfaced in Cao Xing's eyes.

"Now, I will go use the tavern's recruitment and the Shining Throne together."

Soon, he arrived near the territory's tavern and used the recruitment function, which was available once every three days.

[Recruitment successful. Recruitment information has been sent to creatures within 150 kilometers surrounding the territory.]

It is worth mentioning that as his reputation value continued to grow, the tavern's recruitment range also skyrocketed from the original 50 kilometers to 150 kilometers.

Now, every time he used the recruitment function, quite a few newcomers would basically join.

Afterwards, Cao Xing headed to the Lords Castle and used the 'Shining Nova' special effect on the [Shining Throne].

"Hum!"

Along with a beam of light rapidly rushing thousands of meters into the high sky, it descended toward a certain region in the southwest.

On the minimap that had already returned to normal, a pitch-black area was rapidly illuminated.

Cao Xing glanced at it; this region was called [Vara Ruins], and it was roughly seventy to eighty kilometers away from the territory.

Following the old routine, he called over the Centaur Harati and handed the exploration task over to this saint.

Harati pressed her right hand against her cuirass, concealing her fair chest, and then slightly bowed.

"The Centaurs will fulfill your command, respected Lord."

Then, she gripped the weapon in her hand, summoned a hundred Centaurs, and left the territory.

The "clop, clop, clop" sound of horse hooves faded away into the distance.

After Harati left, Cao Xing took out the [Tyrant's Skull (Orange)] and glanced at the location of the [Lloyd Tomb] marked on it.

After entering the coordinate position on the minimap, the map's location changed once again, displaying a dim area on it.

If he didn't look he wouldn't know, but a look gave him a huge shock!

This region was actually a full five thousand plus kilometers away from him!

It had already exceeded the territorial range of the Ice Crystal Kingdom.

"Good grief, so far away?"

"Unless riding the Gryphon King, just traveling on the road alone would take two or three days!"

Just as Cao Xing was preparing to send Assam out to explore this region, he suddenly discovered a different place.

He gradually zoomed in on the minimap, then dragged the map, and in the bottom right corner saw an endless stretch of icebergs connected into a white line.

It showed that this line was called [Ice Crystal Kingdom Border].

Dragging further down to the bottom right along the border region, one could see a white city.

This was the place he had once visited—the Eternal Frost Main City!

Cao Xing chuckled and said: "That is to say, I can first use the teleportation array to go to Eternal Frost Main City, and then heading to this Lloyd Tomb will shorten the distance by quite a bit."

Speaking of Eternal Frost Main City, Cao Xing thought of the matters regarding the Old King over there.

"I wonder how the discussions between the Old King and Krow are going, and when they plan to start dealing with the Church of Light."

Just as he was thinking this, a system prompt appeared.

[Ice Crystal Kingdom Lieutenant General: Krow Brunson applies to use the teleportation array to enter your territory. Do you agree?]

Cao Xing was slightly stunned, and then a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"This is truly speaking of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives!"

"This fellow Krow has finally arrived!"

Thus, he directly clicked 'Agree', and then briskly headed toward the fourth-ring region of the territory.

At the same time.

Beside the territory's industrial zone, there was a large teleportation array with a diameter exceeding ten meters.

This teleportation array began to emit a strong light.

"Hum, hum!"

A pillar of light soared straight into the sky, attracting the attention of quite a few people.

A robust human figure was faintly visible within it.

When the pillar of light completely dissipated, a spirited figure wearing white battle armor and wearing a greatsword at his waist appeared.

It was precisely the Kingdom Lieutenant General—Krow Brunson.

He saw Cao Xing waiting beside the teleportation array at a glance, and immediately strode forward to say.

"Lord Cao Xing, we meet again!"

Cao Xing also smiled and nodded, saying: "General Krow, trust you have been well."

Krow looked around the surrounding territory and then said: "This fog disaster is unimaginably huge, deserving to be called the largest fog disaster we have experienced in a century."

"His Majesty the King was even worried whether your territory would suffer any damage."

"From the current look of it, it doesn't seem to have suffered any impact."

Cao Xing nodded and said: "It is indeed unimaginably large. Over the past dozen days or so, we have all been trapped in the territory."

"Fortunately, the resources in our territory were sufficient, so we barely managed to cope with this fog disaster."

Changing the subject, Cao Xing asked: "That's right, General Krow, regarding the matter we discussed last time, how did the discussions go?"

This general did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "My coming here this time is precisely under the King's decree to talk with you about the subsequent actions."

"His Majesty the King said—"

Before Krow finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cao Xing.

"Let's go to the tavern to talk." He chuckled and said.

This general seemed to understand something as well, and nodded saying: "Alright."

With those words, Cao Xing led Krow toward the second-ring region of the territory.

Walking all the way, Krow's gaze occasionally looked around, a look of admiration appearing in his eyes.

As a kingdom lieutenant general, although he usually visited quite a few powerful territories, some of those territories even refreshed his understanding.

But Cao Xing's territory still gave him a refreshing feeling.

Kro sighed in admiration, "Lord Cao Xing, I didn't expect that you guys have been in this world for less than five months, and your territory already has such a scale."

"This is almost catching up to the territories of those major lords in the center of the Western Continent."

Hearing this, a look of doubt appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"Oh? General Kro means that there are still many powerful territories in the center of the Western Continent?"

Kro nodded slightly, "Yes, but they are not Otherworld Lords, but territories built by some powerhouses in this world."

Cao Xing became interested, "Is it convenient to talk about it? General Kro."

"Of course."

Kro slowly said, "I think you should know that in the center of the Western Continent, there is the capital of the Human Empire, which is also the place where the power of the human race is most prosperous across the entire continent."

Cao Xing nodded, he did know about the Human Empire.

"And in the center of the continent, there are still many human powerhouses."

"They have extremely strong strength and social status, generally being a certain noble or the offspring of a noble."

"Under the empire's policies, they will go out after reaching adulthood and choose to establish their own territories."

"The existence time of these territories ranges from several years to several thousand years."

"And the longer a territory exists, the larger its scale will be, and the stronger its strength will be."

"The scale of some powerhouses' territories is even hundreds or thousands of times larger than the Eternal Frost Main City!"

"In some territories, it is said that there are even Legendary powerhouses."

After hearing this, a look of shock also appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

This was the first time he heard about these things.

A territory has existed for thousands of years, and is even more massive than the Eternal Frost Main City!

How many populations can live inside, and how many troops are there?

This kind of scale cannot even be called a territory; it can even be regarded as a small country.

At the same time, Cao Xing also realized that there was still a huge gap between his territory and the territories of the true powerhouses in this world.

And this also made Cao Xing somewhat yearn for the Human Empire region in the center of the continent, thinking about when he could go and explore it.

After all, these massive territories that have existed for thousands of years must have many things worth learning from!

As they talked, the two of them arrived in the tavern.

Pushing the door open and entering.

Cao Xing took Kro to casually find a table and sat down.

The bartender Lachi also seemed to see that this officer's identity was extraordinary.

Thus, he took out the best wine at the bottom of the box—Knight Adam Castle Reserve Pinot Blanc!

"Pop!"

The cork at the mouth of the bottle was unscrewed.

The rich aroma of wine gradually diffused in the tavern, causing Kro to involuntarily take a few deep breaths.

Then, the bartender Lachi poured a glass for each of the two.

Kro took a sip and then exclaimed in praise,

"Good wine!"

Cao Xing wore a smile on his face, "Lachi, you go out first."

"General Kro and I have some things to discuss."

"Yes, respected Lord." Lachi bowed slightly, and then respectfully left this place.

Soon, only he and Kro were left in the tavern.

Cao Xing took the initiative to speak, "General Kro, is it time for action?"

The general opposite swallowed a glass of wine, and his expression did not change at all.

Then he nodded solemnly and said, "Lord Cao Xing is right, the action can already be launched."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Cao Xing's face.

Because he had been waiting for this day for a long time!

At this time, Kro continued, "However, before the action, His Majesty the King asked me to ask you a question—"

"Ask away."

Kro said, "For this operation, besides dispatching eleven Masters together on your side to deal with the Church of Light headquarters,"

"do you still have surplus strength to deal with other strongholds?"

Cao Xing seemed to realize something, and confirmed, "What do you mean?"

General Kro nodded, and then said, "I'll be blunt, Lord Cao Xing."

"The strongholds of the Church of Light that we hold in our hands, big and small combined, add up to nearly forty."

"This time, His Majesty the King is prepared to resolve the tumor of the Church of Light all at once!"

"Not only flattening their headquarters, but also clearing out the vast majority of their branches and strongholds completely!"

Hearing this number, Cao Xing's heart was also slightly startled.

Although the Church of Light had a massive influence, a full forty strongholds definitely constituted the vast majority of their forces,

not to mention that there were important locations like the headquarters among them.

If they could really be completely wiped out, it would definitely cause heavy losses to the Church of Light!

And more importantly, Cao Xing had an S-rank quest—Uprooting.

By then, the progress would also surge by a huge margin!

Not to mention reaching 100% directly, over 70% was still achievable.

Thinking of this, a smile had already appeared on Cao Xing's face.

At this time, General Kro changed the subject.

"However—Lord Cao Xing, you also know that currently, the vast majority of our Ice Crystal Kingdom's military forces, as well as many Tier 7 powerhouses, are held back by the Velen Kingdom at the border."

"To deal with these strongholds, we need to dispatch a large number of elite troops, as well as Master-level powerhouses."

"If too many troops are mobilized, it might arouse the suspicion of the Velen Kingdom side, thereby startling the snake."

"Therefore, if your side can help deal with a few strongholds, we can mobilize fewer people, and the probability of the operation's success will also increase a lot."

Cao Xing understood the other party's meaning.

But he did not agree immediately, instead asking, "How is the strength of these strongholds?"

Kro pondered for a moment, then replied, "Among them, according to the scale of each stronghold, the remaining forces guarding them vary."

"Not counting those grunt soldiers below Tier 5, in each stronghold, there is at least one leader of Tier 6 or above stationed."

"If it is some important stronghold, there will even be Tier 7 Overlord-level creatures comparable to me stationed there."

After listening, Cao Xing sighed inwardly: The influence of the Church of Light is indeed massive!

Calculated on the basis that every stronghold has a Master-level creature, that's at least more than forty Masters here.

Coupled with the combat power at the border, and other undiscovered strongholds,

the Master-level powerhouses of the Church of Light could easily exceed a hundred, presumably.

Of course, the strength of these Masters is also uneven.

After all, as long as they have the potential of a Tier 6 Leader-level or above, they can be called Masters.

Among them, there are also Commanders, Overlords, etc., with huge gaps.

However, whether it is a leader or a commander, as long as they can be wiped out, it is no small benefit for Cao Xing!

After all, those souls and Master-level Hearts of Power are relatively scarce resources.

If possible, he even wanted to directly flatten all these strongholds by himself.

But obviously, this is not very realistic.

After all, his territory's military forces have no way to deal with so many strongholds at the same time.

And once it fails, the Church of Light will definitely withdraw quickly, and then the losses will outweigh the gains.

Seeing Cao Xing hesitate, Kro thought he was hesitating, so he said, "If Lord Cao Xing's side has no surplus strength to deal with other strongholds, it doesn't matter."

"We can ask our allies for help, letting a portion of Masters from the Orchid Kingdom come and help."

"Of course, this will have certain risks."

Cao Xing did not speak, but silently calculated his own combat power in his heart.

According to the situation of these strongholds mentioned by Kro,

Cao Xing's side could casually send out a Master, and then lead a squad of a hundred people to overthrow it at the fastest speed.

However, his main target was to deal with the Church of Light headquarters.

The headquarters side would need at least eleven Masters.

The Master-level powerhouses that Cao Xing could deploy, not counting those pets, were still eighteen.

That is to say, with his current territory strength, he could crush eighteen strongholds simultaneously.

However—previously Herlie and the others also discovered an important place.

It is said that besides an important Church of Light resource point there, there were also three strongholds.

That is to say, there must be at least four Tier 6 or higher Leader-level creatures leading four legions to act simultaneously here.

Then, three or four powerhouses still need to be left at home to garrison.

Therefore, Cao Xing said, "General Kro, besides the eleven powerhouses to deal with the headquarters, I can also deal with ten strongholds."