Chapter 57 - 52: Conquering the Black Water River, Subjugating the Female Naga

Chapter 57: Chapter 52: Conquering the Black Water River, Subjugating the Female Naga

After taking stock of his forces, Shen Xing was about to log out of the game when he suddenly felt something stir in the pouch at his waist.

He took it out and saw it was the black river clam he had picked up that afternoon.

He held it up in front of him and examined it closely. Its appearance was unremarkable, with nothing special about it.

’Whatever. I’ll just keep it in a bucket of water. If I get a craving for it someday, I’ll crack it open.’

Shen Xing went to the well, had a Beastman draw a bucket of water, and then casually tossed the river clam into it.

He took off his glasses, and his vision switched back to his rental apartment.

Lord Shen, having had a busy day, stretched and decided to reward himself. He opened up a "yellow" app that offered in-home services.

After browsing it for a long time, he ordered a cup of milk tea.

More than half an hour later.

Shen Xing held the milk tea in one hand, gazing out at the night scenery from his wheelchair. It had a certain charm to it.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated lightly a few times. A text message had arrived.

Zhou Zheng: "The Foggy Void Realm is opening in two days. Get ready."

Seeing the message, Shen Xing nearly spilled his milk tea.

Several messages also flashed in the group chat at that moment.

Loves Playing with Coriander: "Holy crap, did you guys see Zhou Zheng’s message? The Secret Realm is opening in two days!"

I Eat and Eat: "Saw it. Weren’t we supposed to have half a month? Why so soon?"

Loves Playing with Coriander: "I don’t know! This is so unfair to us. We’ve only been in the game for half a month!"

After his initial surprise, Shen Xing quickly collected himself and typed, "Something must have happened over at Bright Moon Bay Park."

"Didn’t Zhou Zheng say last time that the global concentration of Mist Energy is rising, causing Secret Realms to form faster?"

The other two in the group chat went silent for a moment, probably off to check the forums for information.

A moment later, Loves Playing with Coriander replied: "Sure enough, it’s just like Shen Xing said. That Secret Realm formed ahead of schedule."

"Are you guys confident? There are a lot of experts this time, and we’ve been in the game for such a short while. We’re at a huge disadvantage."

I Eat and Eat replied nonchalantly: "Confident or not, are you really planning to compete with them for the rankings?"

"We’re lucky just to have a spot. We can just go along for the ride. It’d be great if we can get some materials or treasures, but it’s no great loss if we don’t."

Loves Playing with Coriander was silent for a bit, then replied: "You’re right. We’ll just muddle through for some rewards. Competing for ranks is for those top players."

"I heard the strongest batch of genius players have two or three Elite Three-Star units under their command. The gap is too big."

Shen Xing watched their discussion, lost in thought.

’The strongest geniuses only have two or three Elite Three-Star units?’

’In that case, with the four or five Elite Three-Star units in my territory, plus Hellish Roar who’s about to break through to the Boss level, can’t I just steamroll everyone?’

Loves Playing with Coriander then tagged Shen Xing, consoling him: "@Shen Xing, don’t be discouraged. It’s normal that we can’t compete for the rankings since we weren’t prepared this time. We’ll just try harder next time."

Seeing him stay silent, Qin Lang thought he was feeling down.

A strange expression appeared on Shen Xing’s face as he played along, replying: "You’re right. We should just aim for some rewards."

"Those experts actually have so many Elite Three-Star units. That’s terrifying. We’re no match for them at all."

Qin Lang sent a few agreeing sticker emojis.

Next, Shen Xing logged into the Pioneer forum and clicked on the local city section. As expected, he saw many players had made posts.

They were all complaining that the Secret Realm was opening too suddenly and that they weren’t ready yet.

Seeing that everyone was in the same boat, Shen Xing felt relieved.

After finishing his milk tea, he lay back in bed and slept soundly.

「The next day.」

At nine in the morning, Shen Xing logged on right on time.

The territory hadn’t changed much today.

After all, he had been focusing on grinding mobs for Soul Stones these past few days, wholeheartedly dedicated to improving his soldier types’ strength. Territory construction had to be temporarily put on hold.

"Lord, there is something I must report to you."

Hellish Roar approached with a serious expression and got straight to the point. "We’re almost out of Food in the warehouse."

"Almost out of Food?"

Shen Xing was stunned for a moment, but he quickly understood. It wasn’t entirely unexpected.

After all, the territory’s population had increased significantly recently.

The Skeleton Archers and Inferior Demons were fine; feeding them some Dusk Fire or Broken Soul Fragments was enough to sustain their daily activities.

But the dozens of Beastmen were all absolute gluttons, eating three times as much as a normal person.

Add to that the twenty-some Slave Laborers at the Lumberyard and quarry, who also consumed a lot of Food each day.

The supplies gained from exploration were nowhere near enough to cover the expenses.

"How many more days can we last?"

"About five days."

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. I’ll solve the Food problem. Go and get ready; you’re coming out with me in a bit."

"Yes."

Hellish Roar acknowledged the order and quickly went to the village entrance to prepare.

’Five days... that should be enough time.’

Shen Xing gazed at the resources in his territory, contemplating. ’After I deal with that Dark Naga and then conquer the Silver Holy Land, I should be able to get a lot of Food.’

At the same time, his phone vibrated lightly in his pocket again. Another message had arrived from Xia Wanyin.

Take Her Eyes With You: "Shen Xing, I’m ready! Are you online?"

Shen Xing replied: "I’m online. You can bring your people over."

"Okay."

Then, Shen Xing waited in his territory for Xia Wanyin to arrive and meet up.

A dozen or so minutes later, a cluster of white dots rapidly approached on the minimap.

When Xia Wanyin arrived at the territory, Shen Xing stared at the lineup of soldier types behind her, completely dumbfounded.

At the forefront was a group of Light Elf swordsmen holding longswords and burly Light Elf Shield Guards, numbering no fewer than thirty.

Each Light Elf was at least Level 5 and radiated a strong Power of Light, like a troop of walking lightbulbs.

What surprised him even more were the Light Elf Archers gathered around Xia Wanyin. There were at least twenty of them, and more than half were Elite Level.

In total, she had brought over fifty soldier types, with Elite Level units making up a third of them.

The sheer caliber of this force was self-evident.

"These... are your main soldier types?" Shen Xing asked, muttering.

"That’s right! It took me a ton of resources to train them!" Xia Wanyin’s tone was a little smug.

Shen Xing glanced at her. "You brought so many troops. What about your territory?"

"I left a few troops back at the territory. The defense should be fine," Xia Wanyin said, still wearing a gentle smile.

’A few?’

’More like a "few" hundred, I bet.’

Shen Xing could tell that this woman probably had a significant background in the real world, or in other words, was extremely wealthy.

After all, she had thrown around a Scroll worth over a hundred thousand, and had specifically cultivated so many Elite Light Elves. The resources spent were simply unimaginable.

’Could it be... a rich lady is right here by my side?’

"Rich lady—I mean, Wanyin, let’s get ready to move out."

Shen Xing said no more. Although the strength of the troops she brought was somewhat beyond his expectations, it also meant their chances of success were much higher.

"Okay." Xia Wanyin nodded, looking eager to start.

Next, Shen Xing began selecting the soldier types for this operation.

In the end, he decided to take all eleven Inferior Demons to form a bombing squad.

He added ten Skeleton Archers for ranged support and twenty Beastmen to act as the vanguard.

This included his two great generals, Hellish Roar and Blood Roar.

Back in the territory, Dahou and Black Arrow, two Elite Three-Star powerhouses, remained. Along with a dozen or so Beastmen and Skeleton Archers, this was more than enough for defense.

Then, Shen Xing spent 20 Soul Stones and Black Crystals to upgrade the Horse Lantern to Level 4.

[Horse Lantern]

[Level: 4]

[Effect: Can disperse Fog in a 50-meter radius and provide illumination.]

[Duration of Continuous Burning: 4 hours]

[Upgrade Requirement: Campfire Level 5, Soul Stone x40, Black Crystal x40]

...

The Level 4 Horse Lantern’s illumination range surged to a 100-meter diameter, and its duration was extended to 4 hours.

Now they would have more room to maneuver during combat.

At this moment, forty-one combat units followed behind Shen Xing, each one menacing and brimming with fighting spirit!

Xia Wanyin was surrounded by nearly fifty Light Elves. The aura of Light they naturally emitted was enough to illuminate the area for over ten meters around them.

"Move out!"

Shen Xing raised his arm and shouted, "We’ll flatten the Black Water River and conquer the Female Naga!"

"WAAAAAAGH!!"

The force of over ninety strong marched majestically into the Fog, heading straight for the Black Water River.