Chapter 109 - 86: Hellish Roar Evolves Again, Mirror Image Killing Array

Chapter 109: Chapter 86: Hellish Roar Evolves Again, Mirror Image Killing Array

"This drop rate is pretty high. I got a complete Soul, plus an Advancement Material."

"The two items together are worth over five million."

Shen Xing marveled internally. ’As expected of an Extraordinary Level monster.’

’If a few more of these show up, I’ll be financially independent in no time.’

But aside from these spoils, there was one special item.

Shen Xing took it out. An ancient, torn-in-half manual appeared in his hand.

He glanced at its Attributes.

[Diary of the Evil Eye Experiment (Fragment)]

[Type: Book]

[Diary Content: Click to view]

[Effect: Can be read. After completing it, increases Spirit Attribute by 1-3 points.]

[Reading Time: 3 hours, 12 minutes (Reading time can be accumulated in segments)]

...

’This diary... contains a lot of information.’

Lost in thought, Shen Xing read through the diary’s contents once more.

After a moment, he stored the diary back in his backpack, planning to study it more carefully later on the forums with some background information.

"Everyone, clean up the battlefield and check the traps."

"All units, on high alert. Be ready to face more enemies."

Shen Xing commanded in a low voice. He had a premonition that the appearance of this Evil Eye was just the beginning.

As the gray rain continued to fall, the monsters in the Fog would grow increasingly frenzied. Soon, more and stronger creatures might assault his territory.

The Soldier Types moved quickly, clearing the battlefield and filling in the deep craters.

Just as Shen Xing was wheeling himself back toward his territory, he suddenly glimpsed a furtive figure at the Firelight Edge.

Its huge body was curled up, wings half-spread to cover its head, squatting on the ground doing who knows what.

"Fried Chicken, what are you doing?" Shen Xing wheeled himself up behind it and asked out of the blue.

"CHIRP!" Startled, Fried Chicken shuddered. It quickly turned and shook its head, as if to say it hadn’t done anything.

But its bulging cheeks and the swallowing motion in its throat gave it away.

Shen Xing narrowed his eyes and glanced behind it.

This was where the Black Moon Knight Order had fought the group of Lost Ones. The ground was still littered with mangled corpses.

However, the number of bodies seemed a little off.

A sudden realization dawned on Shen Xing. "You... were you just sneaking a snack?"

"CHIRP..." Fried Chicken shook its head, then nodded.

The corner of Shen Xing’s mouth twitched. "These monsters have all been corrupted by the Fog. Aren’t you afraid of getting a stomachache?"

"CHIRP CHIRP... (They... taste bad...)"

Fried Chicken took a step back, revealing the body of an Evil Dog where it had been standing—pitch-black and the size of a calf.

"You’re saying the Lost Ones’ corpses taste bad, so you only eat the Evil Dogs?"

"CHIRP CHIRP!" Fried Chicken nodded emphatically.

Shen Xing grew thoughtful. ’If it were eating the Lost Ones, I might have stopped it. After all, those monsters look far too human.’

’But if it’s just eating Evil Dogs, that’s fine.’

"Go on, eat. You don’t have to be sneaky about it."

"WHEE~"

With its master’s permission, Fried Chicken happily flapped its wings and circled Shen Xing once.

Then, it eagerly snatched up an Evil Dog corpse from the ground. With one open of its mouth and a tilt of its neck, the body vanished.

It was swallowing them whole, one after another, like they were little snacks.

CRUNCH. Tasted like chicken.

The more Shen Xing watched, the stranger it seemed. ’Why does it feel like none of the creatures in this world are normal?’

’Still, this is a good thing.’

’The little guy is a bottomless pit, and I was just worrying about where to get food for it.’

’Now it has its own personal buffet right here in the Fog.’

Shen Xing wheeled himself back into his territory.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Xia Wanyin.

"Shen Xing, how are things over there? My territory just ran into a really strong monster, a Level 9 Boss! It scared me to death!"

Shen Xing read the message. ’Looks like the monster assaults from the Fog really have gotten more intense.’

’But an Extraordinary Level Boss appeared here, while she only got an Apprentice Level one.’

’Could it be that the attacking monsters scale with the territory’s strength?’

After thinking for a moment, Shen Xing replied.

Then he opened the forums.

Sure enough, there were numerous posts about Fog Monsters rampaging and the difficulty spiking.

"Widespread Rainfall in the Land of Mist. Experts Advise Players to Limit Outdoor Activity and Focus on Territory Defense."

"Damn it all! I just finished my wall, and two Extraordinary Level monsters came and blew half of it down! Fucking beasts!"

"Holy shit! That Evil Eye’s ability is disgusting. It turned into a little girl to try and lure me in. Good thing my will is made of steel."

"The last time we had anomalous weather on this scale was ten years ago. Tens of thousands of Lords died that time. Looks like a lot more territories are about to be wiped out..."

"..."

...

Shen Xing skimmed through the posts. Everyone was discussing the rain in the Land of Mist and the monster rampages.

No one was talking about what was happening in the real world.

But as he gazed out the window at the endless gray drizzle, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

He sent a message to Xia Wanyin: "Is it raining over there?"

She replied quickly. "What are you talking about? Our territories are so close. If it’s raining by you, of course it’s raining by me!"

"I mean is it raining in the city you live in," Shen Xing asked.

"Oh, that. No," Xia Wanyin said. "It seems a little overcast and the air is humid, but it’s not raining yet."

Shen Xing had a realization. ’So I was just overthinking things?’

After a moment’s thought, he decided not to dwell on it.

’Anyway, if the sky falls, the people in charge will handle it. We still have the Anomaly Handling Bureau, after all.’

’If there was a real problem, they would have been the first to react.’

’And Shen Xing was just an ordinary player. He couldn’t change a thing.’

He put his glasses back on, his vision switching back to the game.

Shen Xing looked up at the mini-map.

The yellow dot representing Hellish Roar was still out exploring, having traveled about six or seven kilometers.

New terrain markers had appeared on the map: a forest, some ruins, and the outlines of a few houses.

’Hellish Roar has gone pretty far this time. I wonder if it’ll discover any special areas.’

Shen Xing muttered to himself.

Just then, a terrifying aura erupted from the center of his territory.

It was like a dormant volcano erupting, sending a powerful heatwave rolling out.

He looked back to see a red-haired figure slowly rising from within a blaze, surrounded by tangible flames that formed a fiery hurricane.

However, with a gentle wave of her hand, all the flames dissipated, receding into her body.

[Your territory Hero: Reina Yanet has successfully advanced to Tier Two! Level cap increased to 19!]

[Advancement Bonus: All Attributes +100%]

[Talents: Flame Aura and Flame Domain effects enhanced.]

...

A satisfied smile spread across Shen Xing’s face. Now, his territory had two Extraordinary-Level combatants.

As was his custom, he checked Reina’s new Attributes.

[Hero: Reina Yanet]

[Level: 9 (Tier Two)]

[Potential: Boss ★]

[Detailed Attributes: Click to view]

...

’The jump from Tier One to Tier Two is really insane. Her Spirit Attribute has already shot up to 450.’

’It’s a shame she refuses to use her Flame Power. With a Spirit Attribute that high, imagine the damage a single Fireball could do.’

Shen Xing sighed, feeling a bit disappointed.

Without using Magic Power and relying purely on close combat, she was only slightly stronger than an average Tier Two Elite.

And that was only because her breakthrough to Tier Two had given all her Attributes a massive boost. Otherwise, she’d be weaker than an Elite of the same tier.

Not that it mattered. After all, Shen Xing only wanted her for her [Flame Aura] Effect.

And after this advancement, it had improved significantly.

Its range had increased to 1,500 meters, and the Fire Attribute Damage bonus was up from 20% to 30%.

Add the reduced Skill Cooldown Time on top of that, and what more could he ask for?

Shen Xing was already imagining it: if he could get his hands on a hundred Hellfire Seeds, he could raise an Inferior Demon Legion a hundred strong.

’A single bombing run from them... and probably no creature below Tier Three could survive it.’

At the same time, Reina, having adapted to the surging power within her, walked gracefully toward him.

"I have successfully advanced. Please give me my orders."

Shen Xing didn’t beat around the bush. "Next, you will lead a squad of Black Moon Knights to explore the northern part of the territory."

"It’s a mountain range. There may be powerful monsters inside, so if you’re not confident, just scout the perimeter."

He paused, his expression turning serious. "When you encounter monsters in the Fog, I don’t care if you use your sword or use Magic."

"I have only one request: come back safely."

Hearing his last words, Reina’s pupils trembled slightly, and a flicker of emotion crossed her eyes.

"Yes. I will definitely come back safely."

She nodded solemnly, then turned with determination and led a squad of Black Moon Knights out of the territory.

Afterward, Grand Lord Shen personally oversaw the territory, absorbing Soul Stones to increase his own power while fending off monster attacks from the Fog.

He did a quick tally.

Ever since that gray rain started falling, a wave of monsters would attack the territory every 3 to 5 hours, a much higher frequency than before.

But by the same token, more monsters meant more materials.

Also, apart from the Evil Eye in today’s first wave, no more Extraordinary Level monsters had appeared.

It made sense when he thought about it. If an Extraordinary Level monster showed up in every wave, the difficulty spike would be outrageous.

Even Shen Xing would have to focus all his efforts on defense, let alone other Lords who would stand no chance.

「Night fell.」

The drizzling rain gradually became a steady patter of gray drops, landing on the roof of the wooden cabin with a soft TAPPING sound.

It looked like it was starting to come down harder.

[Your territory building: Windmill Mill has been successfully constructed...]

[Your...]

Two notifications flashed past. Shen Xing, who had been absorbing Soul Stones, slowly opened his eyes.

’The mill is finished. Next, I’ll grind all the Moonlight Wheat in my backpack into flour and take it to the Food Processing Plant.’

He quickly wheeled himself to the fields outside the walls.

He then took out over a thousand kilograms of wheat at once, piling it inside the mill.

He then had Monday bring some men over to sort through it, setting aside the plumpest grains for seeds and sending the rest to the millstone.

Monday immediately complied, getting to work with his men.

Two hours later, Hellish Roar and Reina returned to the territory, one after the other.

They brought back a total of over four hundred Soul Stones and Silver Coins, along with some other resources.

Counting the monsters from today’s assault waves, his total earnings for the day exceeded 800 Soul Stones.

’This monster rampage might be a disaster for ordinary players, but for powerful territories, it’s actually an opportunity to quickly gather resources.’

Shen Xing mused, then combined all the Ordinary Soul Fragments he had collected, using them to raise the star-level of the Beastmen and Skeleton Archers in his territory.

Now, there were no longer any ordinary One-Star soldier types in his territory. They were all at least Two-Star, or even higher.

「The next day.」

Grand Lord Shen woke early and put on his glasses.

Today was his 20th day in the game.

First thing in the morning, he eagerly found Hellish Roar to use his daily Sacrificial Evolution.

He had a feeling this upgrade would be a big one.

Brimming with anticipation, he opened the talent panel.

[Use ’Sacrificial Evolution’ to raise the Soldier Type ’Hellish Roar’ to Boss ★★★?]

[This will require sacrificing 100 agility.]

...

"Evolve!"

A red light shot down from the sky, landing on the figure seated atop a massive boulder.

Hellish Roar suddenly shuddered, feeling an explosive power surge through its body.

Its pair of pitch-black wings spread instinctively, rapidly expanding until its wingspan reached an astonishing four or five meters.

Blue patterns flowed across the wing membranes, and with each beat, tangible sparks of Hellfire flickered into existence, making for a magnificent sight.

[Your Soldier Type: Hellish Roar’s Potential has successfully been raised to Boss ★★★!]

[Advancement Bonus: All Attributes +10%, agility +100]

[Advanced Skill Activated: Mirror Image Killing Array]

[Bloodline Skills Activated: Demon Wings (Passive), Wind of Calamity!]

...