I'm building the perfect territory in the mist.

Chapter 24: Sacrifice for Evolution, Let Me See Your Limits!

When Shen Xing pushed his wheelchair to the village entrance, he saw Hellscream leading five orcs in a fully armed formation.

And you know what? After some special training, these orcs became much more disciplined, and their posture was no longer as crooked as before.

Just as Shen Xing was about to set off, a figure came from behind him.

"Boss, Gorehowl requests to join the battle!" Gorehowl rode over quickly on his dire wolf.

Hellscream frowned slightly, seemingly displeased that Hellscream had acted on his own initiative.

Shen Xing wasn't surprised, knowing that this guy had just broken through and was eager to show off his strength.

However, now is not the time; someone needs to stay and guard the territory.

So Shen Xing gave him a lecture, explaining how important the defense of the territory was, and entrusted him with important responsibilities, blah blah blah.

Bloodhowl stood there stunned, realizing the difficulty of his mission, and patted his chest, vowing to defend the territory to the death!

Then, this straightforward orc led the other units to train.

After assigning tasks to his warlike orc underling, Shen Xing waved his hand and said, "Let's go."

The lanterns were lit, the fog dissipated, and the small group walked into the depths of the fog.

This time they headed south because the diseased village they discovered last time was due west.

Shen Xing planned to thoroughly familiarize himself with the terrain surrounding his territory before proceeding.

Although visibility was limited due to the dense fog, it was impossible to explore every corner.

But no problem, the game's built-in minimap feature will help you remember.

It's worth mentioning that the places they've explored will be briefly revealed on the map, only to be covered by a layer of fog again after they leave.

However, the minimap will record the approximate outline of that area.

For example, if Shen Xing discovers a forest, some tree shadows will appear on the map.

If he discovers a high mountain, there will be a picture of mountains shrouded in mist.

This is quite good. Without this mini-map feature, 99% of the lords in this world would have no chance of exploring in the fog.

After all, not everyone has a super strong sense of direction and can find their way in the fog.

And so they proceeded for nearly an hour.

They encountered two or three waves of monster attacks along the way, but the lord resolved them all with his extraordinary wisdom.

Ding! Soul Stone +35, Silver Coins +27, Soul +15.

Thank you to Lost One for the resource pack.

Half an hour later, the team stopped their exploration.

A dark river stretched across the black land, blocking their path.

"Splash~ Splash~"

The black river water surged and churned, creating waves that were so deep they were as black as ink.

The river was shrouded in mist, and because the lantern's illumination range was limited, it was impossible to see exactly how wide it was, but it was estimated to be quite extensive.

"Such a big river, are there any fish in it?" Shen Xing leaned back in his wheelchair, lost in thought.

"My lord, there's a stone tablet over there," Hellroar suddenly pointed to a spot not far away.

Following the directions, sure enough, at the edge of the firelight, we saw a stone tablet half-buried in the black mud.

They approached and saw several words engraved on the stone tablet.

[Blackwater River: The river is 172 to 324 meters wide; even fallen feathers cannot float, and flying birds cannot cross it.]

...

"Fallen feathers don't float, and flying birds don't cross..." Shen Xing murmured, repeating, "It sounds like stagnant water, which means we can't cross it for the time being."

He was somewhat disappointed, but he had no choice but to lead his team along the riverbank to see if they could find anything.

Tap tap... tap tap...

The orcs' footsteps pounded on the muddy, black earth, leaving a trail of footprints.

This black river is so long that it's impossible to know how many kilometers it is, and even the sand on its banks is black.

However, in the gravel, he saw some weathered seashells and building ruins.

"There are seashells here. It seems there are living things in this river, maybe even fish."

Shen Xing's eyes lit up slightly: "So, does that mean I can come here to fish from now on?"

He silently memorized the location, planning to get a simple fishing rod later and then come back to show off his superb fishing skills.

With these thoughts in mind, the group continued onward.

The orange glow of the lantern illuminated an area of ​​20 meters in radius, and the sound of rushing water filled the air.

After advancing about two or three hundred meters, we suddenly saw several dark figures lying on the riverbank.

The orcs immediately drew their weapons and went into battle.

As the figure approached with the lantern, the full appearance of these dark figures became clear.

They have human upper bodies, a pair of fish whiskers on their chins, and fish tails covered with shiny black scales.

[Dark Naga Warrior (deceased)]

...

"The Naga...and they seemed to be very powerful when they were alive. Who killed them?" Shen Xing wondered to himself.

Hellscream stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully examined them: "My lord, judging from their injuries, they should have been dead not long ago."

"There is still a lot of residual light elemental energy at the wound site, so the enemy must have been quite numerous."

A ray of light?

Could there be other forces of light in this area?

Or perhaps... other players?

Thinking of this possibility, Shen Xing suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

He's not really keen on interacting with other players in the game right now.

Unlike reality, all pioneers are subject to laws and official constraints. If you dare to use your abilities in the game to act recklessly, there will be stronger pioneers who will teach you a lesson.

However, in games, this is not subject to legal control.

Shen Xing had previously seen on the forum that some pioneers' territories were too close together, leading to bloody conflicts over resources.

Some high-ranking lords would specifically venture into the wilderness to find other lords' territories and then mercilessly annihilate them.

Why do you think we should do this?

Of course, it's because it's profitable.

An initial troop nest can sell for tens of thousands of coins, a lantern can sell for twenty or thirty thousand coins, and with all sorts of other materials, the profit can be at least a hundred thousand coins.

It is said that in foreign countries, some lords have established underground organizations that specialize in doing this kind of thing.

"We don't know who the other party is yet, but they must be quite strong to have been able to kill the Dark Naga."

"It's best to leave here for now and avoid contact with them so soon."

Shen Xing made a decision in his heart, and then ordered, "Prepare to return and take these Dark Naga corpses with you."

Don't get me wrong, he took the body back, not to replenish his food supply.

After all, these Dark Naga are humanoid creatures, and even if they are not human, it's still a bit unsettling.

Shen Xing just thought that the scales on their lower bodies were of good quality and could probably be scraped off to make fish scale armor.

Several orcs crouched down, each carrying a dark naga corpse on their backs, its tail fins limply resting on their backs.

Just then, a soft voice suddenly came from the thick fog behind them.

"You'd better not touch these corpses."

"who!?"

All the orcs immediately stopped moving, gripped their battle axes tightly, and looked on with vigilance!

Not far away, a point of yellow light was approaching at a steady speed, instantly dispelling the thick fog.

Immediately afterwards, an exploration team, slightly larger than them and carrying lanterns, appeared.

The lights from both sides touched and blended together, allowing Shen Xing to clearly see what the team looked like.

A dozen or so light sprites, radiating light from head to toe, stood at the forefront. They were creatures without physical bodies, composed purely of light elements.

Two or three of the light elves had a unique form, wielding longbows and longswords of light, and looked like elite-level advanced units.

In the middle, a tall girl wearing a white linen dress slowly walked out.

Her white dress trailed on the ground, her figure graceful, her face as bright as the moon.

"Who are you?" Shen Xing realized that this woman was a player, just like him.

Moreover, the opponent is stronger than us, not only has three elite units, but also has a personal level of 8.

"Hello, my name is Wanyin, Xia Wanyin."

The woman in the white dress introduced herself with a kind smile, but her gaze was vacant as she stared into the distance.

Shen Xing was slightly taken aback, not expecting the other party to tell her his real name.

"Hello, Spark."

The player named Xia Wanyin seemed thoughtful, knowing that he hadn't given his real name, but he didn't care.

"You just said we can't take the Naga's corpse because it's your spoils of war?" Shen Xing asked directly.

She clearly killed these monsters. If the other party wants to take them back, then let her have them; it'll save us from causing more trouble.

"It's not because of that, it's because these corpses will cause you trouble."

"trouble?"

"Yes, didn't you see their racial information? These are Dark Naga."

Xia Wanyin explained softly, "This race is very vengeful, and they have an extremely keen sense of smell. If they know that a member of their race has died, they will follow the scent to find the location of their enemy."

"There are many Dark Naga in this river, and even some second-tier transcendent beings. We can't provoke them easily."

Shen Xing was startled; he really didn't know that.

Thinking to himself how close he had come to disaster, he quickly ordered the beastmen to throw the corpses down.

"Thank you for reminding me," he said sincerely.

"You're welcome. I'm the one who killed those Dark Naga."

Xia Wanyin wore a gentle smile, but her eyes were vacant: "I was worried that the body hadn't been properly disposed of, so I came back to check. Luckily, I made it in time."

Shen Xing noticed that although she was talking to him, she was looking to the other side, and her pupils were white.

Then, realizing something, he asked, "Are you blind?"

"Yes, why?" Xia Wanyin replied matter-of-factly.

"It's nothing, just a bit of a surprise." Shen Xing's expression was strange. "I didn't expect blind people to play this game."

"Is that strange? You're also a person with a disability, and you still play this game, don't you?"

Shen Xing's expression became even stranger, and she even began to doubt whether Shen Xing was truly blind.

"Hehe." Xia Wanyin seemed to have seen through his thoughts and let out a crisp laugh: "Although I can't see, my senses in this world are much more acute than those of a normal person."

Shen Xing remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, then cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll be going now. Thank you again."

Xia Wanyin could sense Shen Xing's wariness towards her, so she didn't say anything and walked in the opposite direction with the lantern.

As the two flames separated, she suddenly said, "Spark, you're the first Chinese player I've met in the game. Here's a few bonus messages for you."

"Go about 500 meters to the left and you'll find the Tower of Afterglow."

"Then walk 300 meters to the right and back, there is another [Black Crystal Tower]."

Shen Xing paused, nodded to her, and then disappeared into the depths of the thick fog.

Xia Wanyin led her team, dragging the corpses of the Dark Naga, in another direction.

After traveling some distance, she suddenly remembered something: "Oh dear, I forgot to remind Mr. Starfire to be careful of the nearby lords."

"There are also several lords from other countries in this area, and they seem quite unfriendly."

"However, Mr. Xinghuo seems very cautious, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Xia Wanyin pondered for a moment, then continued walking towards the river.

...

...

Sitting in his wheelchair, Shen Xing directed the team while simultaneously logging onto the forum on his phone to search for information about the Dark Naga.

He didn't completely believe what Xia Wanyin said; he was simply outmatched at the time, so he tried to avoid conflict.

The investigation revealed that what she said was true; the Dark Naga are indeed a very vengeful race.

Shen Xing was somewhat surprised, not expecting the other party to actually be a good person.

"She looks like she's been in the game for a short time, just like me, but she's very strong."

"Furthermore... Light Elves are not a unit that ordinary players can obtain. Because they are not part of the starting unit, they can only be obtained with a small probability in certain elemental areas."

"It seems that Xia Wanyin is not simple."

"But... are the locations of those two resource points she mentioned accurate?"

With some doubt, Shen Xing walked towards the target point.

When he arrived at a ruin covered in dust, he was stunned again.

Before them stood a white tower about four meters tall, seemingly made of marble.

[The afterglow of the memorial ceremony at the pagoda has been extinguished]

[Effect: Can be relit by touching the lantern, periodically generating 'Ember Flame' for the territory]

[Efficiency: 4 hours / 1 Afterglow]

...

"There really is a Sunset Sacrifice Tower. How did she discover it?" Shen Xing was even more surprised.

He carried the lantern and went forward to light it.

At the base of the tower, in an area resembling a shrine, a white flame slowly ignites.

A green dot reappears on the minimap, indicating that the [Twilight Sacrifice Tower] has become his resource point.

Based on the calculation that one [Ember of the Night] is produced every 4 hours, this is equivalent to a production of 6 flowers per day, which is quite good.

Shen Xing was both surprised and delighted, and then, following the location the woman had indicated, he continued to advance several hundred meters to the right and rear.

On the desolate plain, a black obsidian-like [Black Crystal Tower] stands silently.

Upon seeing this building, Shen Xing was even more surprised.

As mentioned earlier, exploring in the fog is very difficult.

To give an example, imagine you're placed on a plain; you can see all the surrounding scenery at a glance.

However, if you are in the fog, you need to spend several times, or even dozens of times, more time exploring, and you may not even be able to explore every corner.

"This Xia Wanyin... has a big secret!"

However, Shen Xing quickly came to terms with it.

After all, I have the incredible talent of [Sacrifice Evolution], so it's normal for other players to have their own opportunities.

Moreover, it seems that Xia Wanyin has no ill intentions towards me.

After setting the Black Crystal Tower ablaze, Shen Xing returned to his territory and took stock of the supplies.

Distribute the Soul Stones to raise all orcs to level 5.

Since we've used up our exploration time for the [Lantern] today, and the campfire is still being upgraded, there's not much to do for the time being.

Shen Xing also logged off early, then discussed things in the game with Qin Lang and the others, and also went to the forum to catch up on various kinds of knowledge.

The next day was also the fourth day since entering the game.

[Your territory building: Campfire has been successfully upgraded to level 3!]

Shen Xing opened his eyes and immediately saw that the campfire in front of him had undergone a huge change.

What started as a small fire has grown into a large bonfire with a diameter of one or two meters.

The blazing flames illuminated an area of ​​tens of meters around them, greatly increasing their range of activity.

"Excellent! The illumination range of the level 3 campfire has increased dramatically from 50 meters in diameter to 80 meters, expanding the territory area several times over."

In addition, Shen Xing's talent ability [Sacrifice Evolution] has also been deactivated and can be used again.

He's definitely still planning to let Grom Hellscream continue to evolve.

After all, this orc is already an elite ★★★ level powerhouse. If he advances to the next level, he will become a leader ★.

Just like the transition from ordinary to elite, the transition from elite to leader is also a significant qualitative change.

"In that case... let's continue to enhance Hellscream."

"Sacrifice your life for evolution, let me see your limits!"

With a thought, Shen Xing activated his innate ability again on the orc warrior not far away.