32: The monthly exam shows all kinds of people, and the shadow blade is unsheathed!

As Su Jin's fingertip tapped lightly, the chat window for the [Regional Channel] opened on the virtual light screen before him.

"Damn it! This wave of monsters! All the arrow towers I just built were torn down! Heavy losses!"

"Damn, half my farmland was destroyed, many of my people died, and more than half my soldiers were casualties. I can't live like this!"

"Is there any expert who can tell me? If I only have the Lords Manor and a few soldiers left, how should I develop!"

"Hang in there, brother above! I'm barely holding on myself. Third-tier monsters are swarming, and there's a huge fourth-tier one too. This siege is too fierce!"

"Sigh, this damned place, the difficulty is getting higher and higher…"

"It's not that bad, is it? The monsters have only just reached the city walls, and soldier casualties aren't high. Are you guys just too weak......."

"Go to hell! It's easy for you to say! Do you think everyone is as lucky as you?"

"Exactly! If you're so brave, state your territory's name, and we'll find a chance to visit your doorstep for a tour and some learning!"

"What are you putting on airs for? You probably just got lucky and didn't encounter any powerful monsters. Wait until the next siege, let's see if you can still laugh then!"

...

Watching the channel descend into chaos, with all sorts of complaints and curses flooding the screen, and no useful information left, Su Jin exited.

Compared to his own almost negligible 'losses,' the channel was a scene of utter tragedy.

"Tsk, it seems this 'monthly exam' was quite difficult for most people," Su Jin said with a smile.

There's no harm without comparison. Now it seems his development speed has far outstripped the first tier.

Stone Rock watched his Lord staring blankly at the air, motionless for a long time.

He scratched his head and said in a muffled voice, "Lord, what should we do next?"

"Nothing for now. You all go back and continue resting, strengthen your guard, and don't relax," Su Jin replied, closing the regional channel.

After Stone Rock's figure disappeared.

With a thought, he retrieved the metal page he had obtained from the cave from his Lord's space. It was still cool and smooth to the touch, and the mysterious patterns on it seemed clearer than before in the afterglow of the setting sun, subtly flowing with an indescribable rhythm.

Ever since Liora and the other Elves had visited, this metal page would occasionally emit an extremely faint glow, almost imperceptible if not observed closely.

"Elf…" Su Jin ran his fingers along the edge of the page, deep in thought. "Could this thing be related to the Elf? Or rather, related to the 'world book' they mentioned?"

He tried to probe it with a wisp of mental power, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, with no reaction. He then tried to mobilize a bit of [Lord's Power], carefully touching the metal page.

This time, there was a slight difference.

The unreadable patterns on the surface of the metal page seemed to come alive, emitting an extremely dim glow that flickered like breathing. A faint, ancient, and obscure stream of information tried to surge into Su Jin's consciousness, but it was extremely blurry, fragmented, and completely unreadable.

"Buzz…"

After a barely audible hum, the faint glow receded, and the metal page returned to its previous state, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

"Interesting," Su Jin raised an eyebrow. Although he didn't get any substantial information, this reaction at least proved two things: first, this metal page was indeed a treasure; second, the Lord's Power was effective on it, but perhaps his current strength or authority was not enough to fully activate it.

"A fragment of the world book?" Su Jin guessed, putting it away for now. This item had an air of mystery about it, and perhaps it would become an important opportunity in the future.

After dealing with the metal page, Su Jin turned his attention to the victory rewards from this monster siege—the two random territory construction blueprints.

He first took out the first blueprint, a parchment scroll emitting an ordinary white light.

[Territory Construction Blueprint (Random)]

Su Jin didn't hesitate, choosing to use it directly.

[System Notification: Obtained Building Blueprint: Advanced Arrow Tower (Normal) * 1.]

[Advanced Arrow Tower: Possesses greater range and higher defense than a normal arrow tower, and can accommodate more archers.]

"Hmm, not bad, better than nothing," Su Jin nodded. While not a surprise, an Advanced Arrow Tower would always be useful for strengthening territory defense.

Next, he took out the second blueprint.

This blueprint also emitted a white light, appearing unremarkable.

Su Jin's gaze sharpened, and the "∞" rune on the back of his left hand felt slightly warm. He didn't use it immediately, but instead tried to expend the evolution points accumulated over the past few days, guiding the power of the rune towards this blueprint.

"Sublimation!"

An invisible fluctuation spread out, and the blueprint scroll in his hand was instantly enveloped in a layer of faint golden light. The light flowed, and the patterns on the scroll began to undergo a wondrous transformation; its originally ordinary material also seemed to become heavier and more mysterious.

The light dissipated, and a brand new blueprint appeared in Su Jin's hand, emitting a faint silver glow.

[System Notification: Blueprint Sublimation successful! Obtained Special Building Blueprint: Shadow Veil (Silver - Lower Tier) * 1.]

[Shadow Veil: Special building. Once constructed, it can recruit special reconnaissance and stealth units—'Shadows'.]

[Shadow (Silver - Lower Tier): A silent blade lurking in the shadows, proficient in reconnaissance, infiltration, and assassination. Skills: Shadow Walk (Melds into shadows, greatly reducing presence), Fatal Strike (A surprise attack from stealth deals extra damage), Shadow Jump (Can short-distance traverse between shadows)]

"Here it is!" Su Jin's eyes lit up, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Just when he needed it most, he had been lamenting the lack of specialized reconnaissance and infiltration units, and this Ascended blueprint directly provided him with "Shadows."

Such a Silver-Lower Tier special unit's value far exceeded that of ordinary soldiers, especially in terms of intelligence gathering and targeted elimination, where its role was irreplaceable.

"Shadow Veil… Build immediately!" Su Jin chose to build without hesitation.

A silver light flew from the blueprint, merging into a quiet corner of the territory near the edge. The ground trembled slightly, and a low building, entirely black, without any windows, seemingly made of solidified shadows, rapidly rose from the ground, silently blending into the surrounding environment. If one didn't look carefully, they might even overlook its existence.

[Shadow Veil construction complete. Recruitable Unit: Shadow (Silver - Lower Tier). Recruitment Cost: 10,000 Soul Coins / unit. Current Recruitable Quantity: 0 / 10 (Refreshes weekly)]

"Ten thousand Soul Coins each?" Su Jin's mouth twitched as he looked at the recruitment price.

This price was truly not cheap. The monster siege had earned him over two hundred and ten thousand Soul Coins, which seemed like a lot, but recruiting all ten "Shadows" would cost nearly half of that.

As expected of a Silver-tier special unit, its worth was different.

"But… it's definitely worth it!" His eyes firmed. There was a reason for its high price.

Information was priceless, especially in this dangerous world.

He desperately needed professional scouts to survey the surrounding area, especially Greystone Keep.

According to the scouts Huo Jun had previously sent out, Greystone Keep was the Goblins' most important stronghold near Nigu Forest, but because the Humans' status was too low among the Goblins, the scouts had difficulty getting close. With 'Shadows,' everything would be easily resolved.

"Let's get two first to see," Su Jin decided. Soul Coins were one issue, but he also needed to verify the specific abilities of these "Shadows" and see if they were truly as powerful as described.

Moreover, sending two for initial reconnaissance to gather some basic information, and then deciding whether to send more based on the situation, would be a more prudent approach.

As his will commanded, twenty thousand Soul Coins were instantly deducted from his Lord's panel.

Two blurry black figures flashed within the Shadow Veil, then silently appeared before Su Jin, kneeling on one knee, their movements perfectly synchronized, like ghosts merged with the environment.

"Very good," Su Jin nodded in satisfaction. He observed the two new units, then said,

"From now on, your target is Greystone Keep to the south."

"Ascertain all the circumstances there."

"Yes, Lord," the two "Shadows" responded in unison, their voices low and hoarse, as if coming from the shadows in the corner.

Their figures then blurred again, and in a few flickers, they vanished into the shadows, as if they had never appeared.

Now, he just had to wait for news.......

Su Jin looked in the direction the 'Shadows' had departed, filled with anticipation.......