ca-book Chapter 11: Capture the Mine, Upgrade the Campfire
Chapter 11: Capture the Mine, Upgrade the Campfire
The orange light from the disc player dispersed the mist within a ten-meter radius, illuminating the enormous wolf carcass on the ground.
Hellscream's battle axe dripped with blood, and he stood on the spoils dropped by the black wolf, exuding a chilling aura of killing intent.
"Help the wounded up and treat their injuries immediately," Shen Xing ordered in a deep voice, sitting in his wheelchair.
The beastmen who were still able to move quickly sprang into action, helping their injured companions to their feet and providing them with emergency treatment.
This battle will be quite difficult, given the significant level difference.
If other players were to take over, even if they ultimately win, their troops would suffer heavy losses.
However, Shen Xing used [Hand of the Void] in conjunction with Hellroar's flanking attack to deliver a fatal blow.
It's already quite impressive that they managed to take down the black wolf at the cost of only injuring two orcs.
At the same time, Shen Xing's gaze returned to the spoils on the ground.
Besides a pile of soul stones, there was also a scroll that glowed with a dark green light.
He sent his orc infantry over to pick up the items.
[Received: Soul Stones * 5]
[Obtained: Warg Recruitment Scroll (Common ★★)]
...
"A two-star recruitment scroll? And a wild beast at that? Sounds good."
Shen Xing was satisfied and prepared to have the beastmen carry the black wolf's carcass back.
After all, these are spoils of war. Wolf meat can be used to supplement food, wolf skin can keep warm, and other materials may also be useful.
When he looked away and returned to the black iron ore vein in front of him, it was now marked as "capable".
Should we seize the small black iron ore vein?
"Yes."
A flash of light appeared in the mine before them, and a notification appeared.
[Conquest successful! You can now send workers to mine black iron here.]
...
After the occupation was completed, Shen Xing led the orc squad into the mine.
The space inside was small and filled with the stench of wild animals. Rusty mining tools and mine carts were scattered on the ground.
He accepted everything without hesitation, putting all of these things into his backpack, thinking he might need them someday.
After walking along the narrow passage for more than ten meters, we reached the end.
At this moment, Shen Xing's gaze fell on a corner of the mine, and his eyes lit up.
There was a pile of junk there, most of it rotten, but there seemed to be some good stuff in it.
After rummaging through the items, I put everything that was usable into my backpack.
[Received: Bone Fruit *1]
[Received: Black Iron * 74]
[Received: Level 1 Arrow Tower Blueprint *1]
[Obtained: Phantom Clone Scroll (Blue) *1]
[Obtained: Crossbow (Blue) *1]
[Received: Arrows*12]
...
Looking at the pile of spoils information flashing before his eyes, Shen Xing was secretly delighted.
But seeing that the lamp oil on the lantern was almost gone, he had to suppress his excitement and return to his territory first.
The eerie green lights moved through the mist, like a submarine deep in the ocean, quiet and lonely.
A dozen minutes later.
On the edge of the dilapidated village, several figures emerged from the mist and stepped into the area of firelight.
The warm firelight brought waves of comfort, making people feel relaxed subconsciously.
"I'm back."
Shen Xing first scanned the inside of the village and saw that it was no different from when he left, which reassured him somewhat.
It seems that no monster attacks occurred in the village during the time they went out to explore.
At this moment, the five green-skinned orcs who remained behind were lying sprawled out by the campfire, snoring loudly.
Shen Xing was speechless. He had led his men out to risk their lives, while they were sleeping soundly in their territory.
However, this is the nature of orcs, especially since these are a group of newly recruited orcs with an intelligence level similar to that of a three-year-old child.
"Bang!"
Hellscream slammed the massive wolf carcass to the ground, also waking the orcs who were sleeping by the campfire.
"Lao...Lao Da...is back..."
They quickly got up from the ground, staggered over, and lined up in a row.
When these orcs looked at the wolf carcass on the ground, their pupils suddenly dilated, and saliva uncontrollably dripped from the corners of their mouths.
Even the orcs around Shen Xing were getting restless, and the sound of them swallowing their saliva could be heard constantly.
Orcs are carnivorous creatures, and they can quickly recover their strength and injuries by eating meat.
The food the system had previously rewarded them with was just coarse flatbread, which didn't suit these guys' tastes at all.
Seeing the bloody flesh now is like a goblin seeing a naked saint.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Are you worried about not having enough to eat?" Shen Xing glanced at them speechlessly.
Faced with the lord's gaze, the orcs lowered their heads sheepishly and scratched their heads in embarrassment.
"Get to work, butcher the wolf carcass and divide the meat," he instructed. "Be careful not to tear the fur, and be very careful."
Upon hearing this, the beastmen's eyes lit up: "Bravo, Boss!"
As soon as he finished speaking, seven or eight orcs pounced on the wolf carcass on the ground and began to rummage through it.
Shen Xing pushed his wheelchair to the vicinity of the campfire, preparing to take stock of the spoils.
This exploration trip was very fruitful.
Next, we need to consume these spoils and improve our strength.
As usual, let's count the quantity first.
Soul Stones *61
[Vinnar Silver Coin] *58
[Broken Soul] *25
[Complete Dim Soul] *1
...
"Sixty-one Soul Stones can not only upgrade all Orc infantry to level 3, but also have enough left to upgrade buildings."
To survive in the Misty Lands, buildings are just as important as units; you have to master both.
For example, the core building of the territory, the campfire, can be upgraded to not only expand the range of the firelight but also unlock more buildings.
There's also the Orc Barracks. Once upgraded to 'Normal ★★', the Orcs recruited will all be two-star, saving you a lot of resources.
"Let's upgrade the campfire first, since our territory is too small right now."
Shen Xing made a decision and then opened the building interface.
[Consume 5 Soul Stones to upgrade the 'Campfire' to level 2?]
"Yes."
[Upgrading in progress, estimated time: 2 hours 32 minutes...]
With a flash of light, 5 Soul Stones were deducted from the backpack.
The bonfire in front of us is gradually expanding on its black base, and the flames are burning even more fiercely.
"Two and a half hours? That's not too long."
He then took out 20 Broken Souls from his backpack and clicked to combine them.
"Buzz..."
The two fragmented points of light gradually converged and transformed into two complete clusters of light.
In this way, Shen Xing will have 3 complete Dim Souls, which is equivalent to 3 opportunities to upgrade the star level.
"My [Sacrifice Evolution] will be usable again in a few hours."
"Let's give this opportunity to Hellscream again, since he's already reached 'Normal Three Stars,' and the next step is to advance to 'Elite★.'"
"According to what's said on the forum, the improvement from normal to elite level is huge."
"As for these three complete souls... let's give them to one orc and see if we can create another three-star one."
Shen Xing had a plan in mind, and then looked at an orc not far away who was clutching his shoulder.
"You, come here."
The orc infantryman who was singled out immediately came over.
"Law... big..." He also imitated Hellscream's manner of flattery, but his pronunciation was still a little unclear.
Without wasting any words, Shen Xing directly handed him the two [Dim Souls].
The orc's pupils widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "Leave... prison..."
"Alright, alright, hurry up and absorb it," Shen Xing interrupted directly.
The orc nodded sheepishly, then raised his large, fan-like hand and forcefully slapped the soul into his chest.
As the ball of light merged with him, his aura surged dramatically in a short period of time.
Muscles begin to bulge, and the body continues to grow taller.
Amazingly, even the injury on my shoulder began to heal and scab over quickly, leaving only a few scars in no time.
[Advancement successful! The potential of one of your Orc Infantry has been increased to "Common ★★"!]
[Attribute boosts gained from this evolution: Strength +4, Spirit +2, Agility +3, Constitution +4]
...
This success was expected, after all, the success rate of breaking through from one star to two stars is as high as 85%.
If this fails, then I'm incredibly unlucky.
However, an unexpected incident occurred when the orc continued to fuse with the second soul.
With a tremor in his body, the rising energy abruptly stopped.
"I...I...failed..." The orc lowered his head in frustration, somewhat unable to look the lord in the eye.
Shen Xing was also somewhat taken aback, but didn't pay much attention.
The probability of a two-star unit breaking through to a three-star unit is 75%. Hellscream has already succeeded once, so it's normal that this orc infantry unit failed to break through.
"It's alright, keep breaking through." He took out the last complete soul fragment and handed it over.
The orc infantryman raised his head, his eyes filled with intense gratitude.
"The... prison... orcs... will definitely... succeed!"
It took a deep breath and once again slammed its soul into its chest!
His aura surged, his muscles bulged wildly, and the stone axe in his hand transformed into an iron axe.
[Advanced successfully! Potential has been increased to 'Normal ★★★'!]
[Learned a new skill: Heavy Strike]
[Heavy Strike: Unleash a powerful strike with all your might, dealing massive damage to a single enemy. There is a 35% chance to deal double damage and a 15% chance to deal triple damage. Cooldown: 25 seconds]
...
"A heavy blow, an explosive skill?" Shen Xing pondered.
As the talent description states, [Sacrifice Evolution] will change the evolution direction of your units based on the attributes you sacrifice.
Therefore, Hellscream activates [Wind Walk], taking an agility-based approach.
This orc infantry is a pure strength-based unit, so it activates a skill that leans towards burst damage.
But in terms of combat power, Hellscream is far stronger than this orc infantryman.
After all, he gained an extra 10 points of agility, making him almost twice as fast as others of the same rank.
"Boss... I feel... full of power!"
The evolved three-star orc was full of excitement, and his speech became much more fluent.
"Very good." Shen Xing smiled with satisfaction: "From today onwards, your name will be Bloodhowl."
"Bloodhowl..." the orc repeated softly, nodding excitedly, "I like this name, thank you, boss!"
After digesting the soul, Shen Xing looked at the other spoils in his backpack, this time an ancient parchment.
The outline of a tower is drawn in black lines above.
Arrow Tower Blueprints
[Level: 1]
[Area: 13 square meters]
Attack frequency: 1.5 seconds/attack
[Attack range: 100 meters]
[Effect: Automatically fires arrows, dealing piercing damage to Tier 1 creatures.]
[Construction Requirements: 10 Soul Stones, 10 Vinar Silver Coins]
[Note: Arrow towers with automatic attack capabilities can be built in the fog of war and remain unaffected by its erosion.]
...