161: Chapter 161 The Conflict Begins

There were those crying poverty and asking for help, those showing off their gains, those arguing and bickering, and others, just like him, silently lurking and gathering intelligence.

Lin Tian's finger slid slowly, his gaze lazily scanning over the majority of meaningless spam and bragging.

Suddenly, a message filled with obvious anxiety and the tone of a discovery caught his attention.

"Brothers, I'm panicking! I caught a lone Minotaur today, and it can actually communicate with us in our language. You'll never guess what happened!"

"I think... I'm right within the territory of something called the Minotaur Kingdom! That Minotaur even said they were 'citizens of the kingdom'! What the hell..."

Replies appeared quickly beneath the message.

"Minotaur Kingdom? I wiped out a small tribe of a few hundred people the day before yesterday. They were all black iron and Bronze, really weak; my Excellent-grade troops handled it. This thing has a kingdom?"

"Don't be careless, upstairs. I have a low-level Rare 'Fierce Eagle'. I sent it out to scout the day before yesterday when I had nothing to do, and it flew over five hundred kilometers south. Guess what I saw?"

"A super-large Minotaur tribe with a scale of at least one hundred thousand! That formation, that aura... I slipped away immediately. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice me. Just thinking about it now makes me terrified. (shivering emoji)"

"Synthesizing the information from several brothers, it seems the situation is a bit grim. Our new area has likely really fallen into the actual control or sphere of influence of an indigenous force, the 'Minotaur Kingdom'. I suggest all lords increase vigilance, strengthen scouting, and develop in a low-key manner."

"Holy crap! Kingdom-level force? Doesn't that mean we're dancing on their turf? We're doomed, we're doomed!"

"A tribe of one hundred thousand... excuse me, I'll just honestly farm my land. I hope Minotaurs don't like vegetarians."

The Regional Chat Channel boiled over for a while because of this topic, with a mix of various guesses, worries, and bragging.

But after all, most lords had limited strength, and their activity range was narrow. Except for the few who possessed flying scouting troops, it was difficult for others to provide more valuable intelligence.

Lin Tian watched silently, his finger gently rubbing the rim of his cup.

This information confirmed some of his guesses and gave him a more intuitive understanding of the Minotaur Kingdom's actual control range and grassroots density.

It seems that encountering Minotaur tribes is not an isolated case in this area.

His own annihilation of the Split-Hoof Tribe might have just been the first to detonate this potential conflict, and in the most intense way possible.

"That's fine, let them have some sense of crisis, so they don't spend all day wasting energy on internal strife in the channel."

Lin Tian curled his lip and closed the noisy channel.

That was all the valuable information; the rest was just noise.

He raised his head and looked out the window.

The night was deep and everything was silent; only the light of torches from patrolling soldiers on the distant city walls, like stars, moved rhythmically in the darkness.

Time, like fine sand in an hourglass, quietly slid toward the critical point of midnight.

At this very moment, a voice from the depths of the void, carrying ancient vicissitudes and mysterious power, boomed in everyone's mind like a great bell.

The familiar voice of the Heavenly Dao System's will carried unquestionable majesty and temptation.

"First, congratulations to you all for being able to survive until today in this cruel survival competition."

The voice was calm, yet it contained a sense of indifference and compassion while overlooking the world.

"The strong never complain about their environment. And I shall grant you a 'surprise'. A list of treasures that will make everyone drool."

"A total of one hundred types of items, and whatever you seek is among them. Now, allow me to display this priceless treasure one by one."

As the voice fell, a brilliant light screen appeared out of thin air before everyone's eyes.

Countless messages scrolled like a waterfall, each entry radiating an alluring luster that made people unable to help but pause and stare.

Designated Complete Five Elements Law Crystal × 1 (1600 Points): After redemption, you can designate any one of the Five Elements Law Crystals, an item manifesting sufficient law power.

Designated Five Elements Law Crystal Fragment × 1 (800 Points): Incomplete Law Crystal fragments, but they still contain pure law energy.

Troop Potential Upgrade Card (Epic to Legendary) × 1 (1000 Points): An ancient card engraved with complex runes, with characters on it flickering with a faint golden light.

Following that, there were Troop Potential Upgrade Cards from Epic to Legendary, Upgrade Cards from Excellent to Epic, and then Upgrade Cards from Rare to Excellent... each one represented an opportunity to leap across ranks and reshape combat power.

substitute puppet × 1 (500 Points): A palm-sized, crudely made but lifelike wooden doll, with an eerie smile on its face.

Troop Quantity +100 Card × 1 (500 Points): A card depicting a massive troop totem, with a note on the side saying "Consume 100 points to permanently increase troop capacity by 100", limited to below God-level.

All Levels +1 Card × 1 (500 Points): An ancient card engraved with "All-Member Growth", limited to below Platinum-level.

...

Basic Resource Gift Pack × 1: A treasure chest filled with various basic resources. After opening it, it is piled full of food, wood, stone, ore, gold coins...

The dazzling list of treasures, like a Pandora's box, instantly ignited the fire of desire in everyone present.

Some had eyes shooting out sharp glints, greedily scanning every reward; others were calculating carefully, evaluating which treasures were most worth redeeming; and still others silently clenched their fists, their eyes flashing with desire and determination.

The Heavenly Dao System's will truly understood the human heart.

While making the promise, it also clearly stated the conditions for redemption, without any ambiguity.

"The cost of redemption is very simple, and that is Attack Points."

The voice sounded again, carrying a trace of unquestionable authority.

"Killing or subjugating a lord with Common-grade troops grants 1 point; a lord with Elite-grade troops is 2 points; a lord with Rare-grade troops is 4 points; Excellent is 8 points, Epic is 16 points, Legendary is 32 points... and so on."

"Action is better than just being tempted; strike first to gain the advantage, strike later and suffer."

This sentence, like a magic spell, echoed in everyone's ears.

"Everyone, are you tempted?"

The voice carried a hint of mockery.

"Opportunities are fleeting; first come, first served!"

As the voice fell, an invisible force, like a spring breeze brushing past, instantly spread across the entire Eternal Continent.

All individuals possessing lords, whether hiding in deep mountains and forests or active in cities, were touched by this sudden news.

The Regional Chat Channel instantly exploded!

Messages rolled frantically like a tide, scrolling so fast it dazzled the eyes.