3: Chapter 3 First Battle

Looking at the refreshed 11-man squad (4 Rock Armor Soldiers, 4 Iron-Armored Spearmen, 3 Archers), Lin Tian rubbed his hands excitedly. "What's the difference between this talent and a cheat? Eternal Continent, here I come!"

Visualizing scenes of thousands of troops galloping, he almost drooled. He quickly wiped his mouth and refocused.

Lin Tian composed himself and turned his gaze toward the unknown jungle outside the protective shield. He knew the seven-day novice protection period was a precious buffer; if he couldn't win, he could retreat behind this safe barrier in time.

As a Lord, he discovered he could Inspect targets no more than one major rank higher than himself. This convenient inspection panel undoubtedly reduced the risk of dying at the start due to ignorance. It seemed the rules of the Eternal Continent weren't entirely cold and heartless.

He carefully examined the location of his territory—a vibrant yet danger-filled jungle.

Compared to the unlucky souls in the chat channel wailing about being randomized into vast deserts or polar wastelands, finding water and basic materials here would be much easier. It was a blessing in disguise.

As far as he could see, the beasts and monsters around his territory didn't seem dense, and their levels were generally low. However, he didn't dare be careless. Who could guarantee that no stronger predators were lurking in the depths of the jungle?

"Caution first," Lin Tian muttered to himself, then began positioning his troops. He ordered the four Rock Armor Soldiers to act as mobile fortresses at the very front, with the four Iron-Armored Spearmen following closely behind, responsible for support and burst damage. The three Archers were placed at the edge of the protective shield so they could retreat to the safe zone at any time.

The team formed a compact formation and began advancing slowly toward the part of the jungle where he had previously noticed rustling sounds.

Sure enough, just as the team stepped less than ten meters outside the shield, the nearby bushes shook violently. Five gray figures lunged out with a foul wind—a pack of wild wolves appeared. Lin Tian's gaze sharpened as he activated his Lord ability, and a concise status panel appeared before him:

[Mutated Wild Wolf - Potential: Common]

[Level: black iron 1-Star]

...

[Mutated Wild Wolf - Potential: Common] [Level: black iron 2-Star]

"The levels aren't high, but there are many of them, and they look half-starved..." Lin Tian felt slightly relieved but remained fully focused on commanding the battle.

Battle broke out instantly!

The black iron 2-Star alpha wolf let out a low howl. The five hungry wolves shot forward like arrows from a bow, simultaneously lunging at the Rock Armor Soldiers at the front of the formation.

Their eyes gleamed with a sinister green light, and saliva dripped from their fangs. Their sunken bellies showed they had been hungry for a long time, and they actually mistook the "rocks" in front of them for food, lunging forward to bite.

"Rock Armor Soldiers, activate all skills and hold the line!" Lin Tian ordered.

The leading Rock Armor Soldier gave a low growl. His grey-brown rocky skin instantly shimmered with a faint luster, as if he had truly become one with the earth.

This was the effect of activating both the Rock Body and Immovable as a Mountain skills! The hungry wolves' claws and teeth bit fiercely into the rock armor, but only left shallow white scratches, making a tooth-grinding "creak" sound.

Specifically, the black iron 1-Star hungry wolves could barely break through the defense. Only the alpha's teeth could manage to gnaw off a few stone chips, causing slight damage, but the Rock Armor Soldiers remained as steady as boulders, not retreating a single step.

This perfectly proved the overwhelming defensive advantage of Rare-potential units over Common-quality wolves at the same level.

"Good chance! Iron-Armored Spearmen, Thrust!" Lin Tian seized the moment when the wolf pack's attack faltered and their movements stalled.

The three Iron-Armored Spearmen moved at the command, their spears thrusting out suddenly as the cold light on the tips surged! The Thrust skill made their attacks lightning-fast and doubled their power.

At the same time, several foot-long pale gold spear glows erupted from the blades, tearing through the air and striking the wolf pack first.

"Puchi!" "Awoo!"

The spear glows hit first. Two black iron 1-Star hungry wolves at the very front were slashed with deep, bone-visible wounds, rolling on the ground in agony. Immediately after, the Iron-Armored Spearmen's following spears accurately pierced the wolves' bellies, ending their lives. This tacit cooperation and powerful skill effects made Lin Tian's eyes light up.

"Archers, free fire! Prioritize picking off injured targets and those trying to flank us!"

Upon receiving the command, the three Archers' eyes instantly turned sharp. The Eagle Eye skill activated naturally, making the wolves' movement trajectories appear much clearer in their vision.

Calmly drawing their bows and nocking arrows, their Precision Shot ability made the arrows seem as if they had eyes, specifically targeting weak spots like the wolves' eyes and throats.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" A wooden arrow accurately pierced the eye socket of a wolf trying to sneak attack an Iron-Armored Spearman from the side, and the wolf collapsed. Another arrow pierced the neck of a wolf slowed down by a spear glow.

In the blink of an eye, only the black iron 2-Star alpha remained of the five wolves. Seeing the situation was dire, it whimpered, tucked its tail, and turned to flee into the depths of the jungle.

"Trying to run? Not a chance! Archers, stop it!" Lin Tian wouldn't let it go. Three arrows formed a triangular pattern to block the alpha's retreat. Although the alpha nimbly dodged two, the last one nailed firmly into its hind leg.

It stumbled, its speed greatly reduced. An Iron-Armored Spearman stepped forward quickly and ended this encounter with a clean, decisive Thrust.

The battle over, Lin Tian ordered the soldiers to drag all the wolf corpses back within the territory. He reached out to touch a wolf corpse, and a prompt immediately appeared: [Collect?]

"It really is convenient—one-click collection!" After Lin Tian confirmed, the harvest list appeared: Obtained Wolf Pelt x5, Wolf Meat x25, Low-grade Spirit Crystal x6 (the black iron 2-Star alpha contributed 2 crystals). All were stored in the Lord's Space Bag (every Lord has a 2-cubic-meter Space Bag).

Counting the rich harvest from the first battle and looking at the three special units who were unharmed despite the fight—only having some scratches and wolf blood on their rock armor—Lin Tian was filled with confidence. "This talent is simply made for conquering this continent! Next, it's time to spam troops and snowball!"

Although clearing this wave of wolves didn't directly level up the units, Lin Tian keenly felt that they were very close to breaking through that threshold. There seemed to be some faint energy in the air converging toward the warriors.

He estimated in his mind: "Two more battles like this, and everyone should be able to reach black iron 2-Star."

While thinking about it, his movements didn't slow down at all. After quickly collecting the loot, he returned to the Recruitment Altar without pause.

"Now that I have some resources, I need to continue expanding my advantage!" He threw in the harvested Spirit Crystals again. Lights flashed in succession, and six figures appeared. This time, the luck was quite balanced: three males and three females.

Looking at the six newly appeared Militia members—who still looked haggard but had a hint of hope in their eyes—Lin Tian rubbed his chin, his gaze sweeping between the male and female soldiers as he calculated quickly.

"Hmm... Female Rock Armor Soldiers?" An image immediately popped into his head: a female soldier who should have been light and agile, covered in heavy rock, making a dull "thud-thud" sound with every step. When she punched an enemy down in battle, her rocky fists might even have fragments of the enemy's weapons stuck to them.

"This style is really... a bit too bizarre." Lin Tian couldn't help but laugh. "Forget it, I'm counting on the female soldiers to maintain a flexible and cool image."

He continued thinking: "Female Iron-Armored Spearmen? That would be quite heroic—silver armor and long spears, they'd definitely look cool charging. But in a complex environment like the jungle, the weight and noise of iron armor might become a burden..."

As he thought, an even more ridiculous scene popped into his mind: a fused female Rock Armor Soldier girl sitting by the camp to rest. When she stood up, she didn't control her strength well and crushed the wooden stool beneath her into a pile of splinters, then just stood there with an innocent look.