15: Chapter 15 Silver Treasure Chest?

The tiger claws slammed into the Rock Armor Soldiers, emitting a dull, thunderous boom as stone fragments flew! The power of the rare black iron 5-star monster far exceeded that of wild wolves. Every pounce left deep cracks on the Rock Armor Soldiers, and some were even knocked back half a step by the immense force, with fine cracks forming on their rocky skin. Yet, the Rock Armor Soldiers gritted their teeth, refusing to retreat a single step, holding their ground firmly!

"Heavy Armor - Break Formation!" Just as the variegated tiger's old strength was spent and its new strength had yet to form, and its body paused slightly from striking the Rock Armor Soldiers, Lin Feng seized the opportunity and roared!

Leading from the front, the silver spear in his hand transformed into a brilliant silver gleam, thrusting forward with an indomitable momentum! The other Heavy Armored Spearmen simultaneously unleashed their strongest attack skills, [Spear of Breaking Formation] or [Thrust]!

Countless spear shadows flashed past like venomous dragons emerging from their den, precisely piercing the tiger's abdomen, shoulder blades, and other areas exposed by its attack on the Rock Armor Soldiers!

Lin Feng's spear, in particular, displayed the [Spear of Breaking Formation]'s ability to ignore a portion of defense to its fullest extent. It actually pierced directly through the tough fur of the lead variegated tiger, burying itself several inches into its body! Blood instantly sprayed out!

"Archer Corps, focus fire on the injured targets!" Lin Yin's calm voice was like a stabilizing force.

The Moon Shadow Archers fired arrows in rapid succession, specifically targeting the variegated tigers that had been wounded by the spears and whose movements were restricted, especially their massive maws opened in pain and their eyes exposed while dodging the spear tips!

The tiger pack fell into a terrifying killing trap: in front was an unbreakable (in the short term) rock barrier, where every attack was met with swift counter-Thrusts; from the sides and above came precise and vicious arrows, attacking only the weak points; wanting to retreat, they found that the Moon Shadow Archers' arrows had blocked their path.

The battle was intense yet brief. These few rare-quality variegated tigers, facing Lin Tian's higher-quality, well-coordinated, and tactically focused mixed troop, had the advantage in level but were beaten into total submission.

In just two minutes, the seven variegated tigers crashed to the ground under the barrage of spears and arrows.

Seeing its companions die tragically, the last one went berserk, desperately swatting away a Rock Armor Soldier with one claw, and turned to flee. However, its path was blocked by a predictive three-star volley from Lin Yin, and Lin Feng seized the chance to deliver a swift Thrust, piercing its neck from the side and ending the battle.

"Phew... that was close." Lin Tian looked at the shocking new cracks and claw marks on the Rock Armor Soldiers, feeling lingering fear. "It's fortunate that the Rock Armor Soldiers can slowly repair themselves, otherwise these few hits would have been a huge loss. Lin Yan, take the brothers to the back to activate their recovery skills. For now, those who are heavily injured and need recovery should just protect the Archers."

"Yes, my Lord." Lin Yan's voice remained steady, but his slight panting revealed the immense pressure he had just endured.

The results were glorious! The remaining dozen or so injured tusked wild boars tried to flee, but were targeted in the legs by the Moon Shadow Archers. In the end, they couldn't escape, were caught up to by the soldiers, and were all slaughtered on the spot.

With the experience gained from this higher-level battle, the initial 11 soldiers were already close to black iron 4-star, and the six soldiers from the second Fusion batch had all successfully promoted to black iron 3-star!

The third batch of sixteen soldiers recruited last night had all collectively risen to black iron 2-star! The 61 soldiers recruited at noon had not yet leveled up, but they were not far from it.

What made Lin Tian so pleasantly surprised that he almost jumped up was—Ding! Ding! Two pleasant, crisp sounds, accompanied by a soft silver light, appeared beside the corpse of the lead tiger that Lin Feng had pierced to death first, and beside the corpse of the black iron 6-star variegated tiger. Each had a treasure chest emitting a hazy silver glow! [Silver Treasure Chest x 2]

"I... holy cow!" Lin Tian rubbed his eyes, simply unable to believe it. "It... it dropped? And two of them? Silver Treasure Chests?! Lin Tian, I actually have a day like this? Is this the moment my luck finally turns around?"

He carefully touched the treasure chests, and after confirming they could be picked up, he happily stored them in his lord's space. "No rush to open them yet, I'll save up some luck, wash my face when I get back, and then open them!"

Good luck seemed to follow one after another. In the subsequent clearing, the team successively dealt with thirty normal-quality black iron 3-star Magic Eye Rabbits, five elite-quality black iron 5-star Venomous Vipers that were lurking and ambushing, and three rare-grade black iron 6-star Heavy Armored Bears that were thick-skinned and possessed astonishing strength.

Just after killing those two Heavy Armored Bears, Lin Tian heard a crisp and pleasant "swish-swish" sound behind the giant tree hollow where they had been resting.

Pushing aside the dense vines, a small river about three meters wide, with water clear to the bottom, came into view! The water was crystalline, shimmering in the noon sun, and one could see the smooth pebbles and swimming small fish at the bottom.

"A water source! I've found a water source!" Lin Tian was overjoyed. "Great! Getting water will be convenient from now on! And this river seems to flow from deep within the jungle; who knows, there might be other good things upstream!"

It was already three o'clock in the afternoon. The team, carrying a rich haul of spoils—a large amount of beast meat, hides, materials, and those two tantalizing Silver Treasure Chests—began their journey back.

Although they had experienced several fierce battles and the soldiers were slightly exhausted, everyone's face was beaming with high morale and the joy of the harvest. Lin Tian's steps were even lighter, and he was even humming an off-key tune.

"A big haul in the morning, opening treasure chests in the afternoon, life is good!" He optimistically calculated. "However, those three 'Bear Bosses' still have to come for their 'shift' tonight... I must hurry and become stronger before they go 'berserk' again!"

It was only three-twenty in the afternoon when Lin Tian led his troop, which had expanded to 94 people, back to the territory in a grand procession.

In just a few hours of clearing operations, the efficiency was astonishing. Monsters and large beasts within a five-hundred-meter radius centered on the territory had been basically wiped out.

The results were not only reflected in the expansion of territory but also more intuitively in the changes in the soldiers' aura. After continuous battles and energy absorption, all the soldiers' levels had increased:

The initial 11 "veteran" Fusion units had firmly stepped into black iron 4-star, their aura composed and steady, vaguely resembling elite squad members.

The 6 soldiers from the second Fusion batch had all promoted to black iron 3-star, becoming a reliable backbone force.

The 77 soldiers recruited and fused last night and this afternoon also gained experience while following in battle, with the lowest reaching black iron 2-star. Among them, the 16 fused this morning were close to the 3-star threshold, while the 61 Militia had just stepped into 2-star.

As for Lin Tian himself, thanks to the growth in strength of all his soldiers, his lord level also rose accordingly, successfully promoting to black iron 4-star, with his physical strength, reaction speed, and even mental power all enhanced.

"Not bad efficiency!" Lin Tian stood at the entrance of the territory, watching his soldiers who, although slightly tired, were in high spirits, and nodded with satisfaction. "Well done, warriors! Pile the spoils over here!"

Soon, the corpses of various beasts and monsters piled up into several small hills on the open ground. The scent of blood filled the air, yet it also radiated the joy of a "bountiful harvest."

"Potential threats around the water source must be eliminated; we cannot waste time." Lin Tian quickly issued orders. "Lin Yin, Lin Yan, the two of you take one team, 47 people in total, with the unit types matched proportionally. Lin Feng, you lead the other team alone, also 47 people in total. Using the newly discovered river as the center, conduct a search and clearing operation outwards, focusing on driving away or eliminating monsters that might threaten the safety of the water source. Remember, do not go too far from the water source, and make sure to return to the territory safely before the sun sets!"