Chapter 254 - 157: Re-entering the Dragon Tomb, Sweeping Straight Through

Chapter 254: Chapter 157: Re-entering the Dragon Tomb, Sweeping Straight Through

’Good. The total number of combat units in my territory is about to break one thousand.’

’More than three hundred of them are Elite Level or higher, making up almost a third of my entire force.’

’I even have more than ten Extraordinary units. The quality of these soldiers is quite formidable!’

Shen Xing was pleased.

To those Expert or even Master-level Lords, this number of troops might be nothing to speak of.

But for a newcomer who had been in the game for less than two months, it was already a terrifying force.

Even some Extraordinary Lords who had been developing for two and a half years might not possess the foundation he currently had.

’Next, I need to decide on the troop allocation.’

Shen Xing mulled it over. ’That Dragon Tomb is huge, and there are a lot of monsters inside.’

’To be safe, I need to go all-out this time.’

’In that case, I’ll leave one hundred Skeleton Archers, fifty Wolf Cavalry, and all the Tree-man Warriors behind to defend.’

’I’ll take all the other soldier types with me and try to flatten the Dragon Tomb in one fell swoop.’

At Shen Xing’s command, the one hundred Skeleton Archers and fifty Wolf Cavalry swiftly broke away from the main force and returned to their patrol posts.

The remaining seven hundred-plus combat units gripped their weapons.

This was the largest-scale campaign in the territory’s history, and their eyes burned with a fierce, eager desire for battle.

However, Grand Lord Shen still felt it wasn’t enough.

He opened the territory’s building interface, found the Beastman Barracks, and began recruiting.

[Consume 3,000 Soul Stones, 3,000 Vinar Silver Coins, and 10,000 Food to recruit 1,000 Beastmen (Normal ★)?]

...

"Yes."

As he clicked confirm, a massive amount of resources was consumed.

His Food reserves in particular took a huge hit. More than eighty percent of the nest egg he had painstakingly accumulated was gone in an instant.

But he didn’t feel the sting. He knew this Dragon Tomb was no simple matter, and he needed to be fully prepared to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

’Resources can be gathered again, but you only get one life.’

At that moment, the Beastman Barracks, with its crude and imposing style, erupted with an unprecedented light that illuminated nearly half the territory.

Immediately after, the entire barracks began to tremble violently, and the wooden doors were smashed open from the inside.

CLATTER CLATTER...

One by one, Green-skinned Orcs carrying Stone Axes streamed out of the barracks.

In the blink of an eye, they had completely packed the entire street.

A thousand Green-skinned Orcs marched mightily toward the Outer City District to assemble.

As they passed through the city gates, they looked like a green tide surging over a dam—a truly immense and powerful sight.

Even the other soldiers couldn’t help but look on in shock at the scene.

As for why Shen Xing summoned so many Level 1 Beastman grunts... well, the reason was obvious to those in the know.

When Hellish Roar activated his [Desperate Melee] ability, the death of each Beastman increased the All Attributes of all other Beastmen by 1%. The buff could stack up to a maximum of 600%—a cap that had recently increased by another 100% after he evolved into a Leader.

What was even more ridiculous was that this buffed state would last until the end of the battle.

Therefore, this horde of Beastmen was meant to be cannon fodder.

Of course, one shouldn’t think of this as cruel or inhumane.

As mentioned before, apart from a few special Beastmen like Hellish Roar and Blood Roar who were born with intelligence, other common soldier types were in a muddled, dazed state right after being recruited, completely lacking self-awareness.

They didn’t know what death or fear was; they would only faithfully carry out their Lord’s commands.

They could be understood as war machines forged from flesh and blood, and nothing more.

Even the veteran soldiers understood the Lord’s intentions, but they showed no reaction. It all seemed perfectly normal to them.

Just then, two notifications flashed before his eyes.

[Ding! Your territory’s population has reached 90% of its capacity. Please monitor your population growth.]

[Ding! Your territory’s soldier type: Beastman count has exceeded 1,000. Activating Thousand-Man Bonds: Green-skinned Tide.]

[Green-skinned Tide: When all Beastmen are deployed, they sweep across the battlefield like a tide. Movement speed increased by 50%, and all attacks gain an additional 20% knockback Effect.]

...

’Huh? There’s even a thousand-man Bond? This bonus is pretty damn strong!’

Shen Xing was surprised.

He had previously thought that Bonds maxed out at the hundred-man level, but he never expected a thousand-man tier.

’Does this mean there might be ten-thousand, hundred-thousand, or even million-man Bonds later on?’

The thought briefly crossed his mind, and he decided to check the forums after the Dragon Tomb mission was over.

’This Bond came at the perfect time. It’ll give the Beastmen another big boost in combat power. Even Hellish Roar and Blood Roar will benefit from the bonus.’

Shen Xing glanced at his territory’s population again.

[Territory Population: 2048/2200]

...

’Only a little over a hundred population slots left? No wonder the system warned me that my population was almost full.’

Shen Xing mused in a low voice.

The territory’s population cap was determined by the Campfire’s Level.

His territory currently had a Level 4 Large Campfire, which provided 2,200 population, while a Level 5 one would provide 2,500.

It was worth noting that it wasn’t a one-to-one ratio of one soldier to one population slot; it was based on strength.

The higher the Potential and the stronger the unit, the more population slots it occupied.

For example, the two Tier Two Heroes in his territory took up 20 population slots by themselves.

Boss Level soldier types occupied 3 population slots, Elites took 2, and normal soldier types took 1.

’But it’s fine. This batch of Beastmen are most likely cannon fodder anyway. Once they’re spent, a lot of population slots will free up, so I don’t need to worry about it.’

After he finished his troop boom, the Communication Crystal in his pocket began to vibrate slightly.

He took it out, placed it by his ear, and heard Xia Wanyin’s energetic voice.