185: Chapter 185 Ultimately, it all comes down to improving our core strength.

Xu Qin was completely dumbfounded.

This guy is even meatier than the Soul-Eater Battle Skeleton!

"And..." Xu Qin stared at the [Swarm Instinct] column.

The more of the same kind around, the higher the attack speed and movement speed.

This is a troop type born entirely for quantity!

"Thirty-two million skeletons, 12 in 1, can produce..."

Xu Qin began counting on his fingers.

"That is... two million six hundred eighty thousand Necrotic Beetles!"

Two million six hundred eighty thousand!

If they all stood together, Swarm Instinct would trigger permanently!

Attack speed +30%, movement speed +20%!

Coupled with [Ghost Sprint] and [Wraith Fury]...

750% of 6,800 health points is 51,000 points of piercing damage!

If over two million of them exploded simultaneously...

"Just thinking about it is terrifying~"

Xu Qin clicked on the Resurrection Platform and maxed out the fusion directly.

[Confirm]!

Hum!

The blue light of the Resurrection Platform flared brightly.

Necrotic Beetles poured out from the exit one after another, crossed the Combat Readiness Platform, and ran toward the territory surface.

The grayish-black carapaces reflected a cold light in the sunlight, and the uniform "click-click" sound of their six legs hitting the ground resounded across the entire continent.

Standing on the Watchtower, Xu Qin looked at the overwhelming sea of necromantic insects below, which extended all the way to the edge of his vision.

Two million six hundred eighty thousand.

Combined with the remaining self-destruct legion from before, as well as the Soul-Eater Battle Skeleton and the Bone Dragon...

His total military strength had already exceeded three million.

"Hmm..." Xu Qin rubbed his chin.

He opened the Ore Spirit inventory.

[source crystal essence: 487000]

According to the consumption ratio of 12 pieces strengthening 100 units,

strengthening once required 321,600 pieces of Ore Spirit.

If he wanted to strengthen all two million six hundred eighty thousand Necrotic Beetles to +20...

"Hiss... Six million four hundred thirty thousand pieces?"

Xu Qin looked at that number, his head buzzing.

It was a bit too far off.

"No, we must speed up farming the guardians."

Xu Qin directly opened the command panel.

War Gift was now at 26 times.

That is to say, killing one guardian would yield 26 pieces of Ore Spirit after decomposition.

According to the scale of the previous vein cavity, thirty pits were dug simultaneously, with thirty remains thrown into each pit.

Nine hundred guardians, one round every ten minutes.

Six rounds an hour meant 140,400 pieces.

If it didn't stop for twenty-four hours...

"Three million three hundred sixty thousand pieces."

Xu Qin nodded.

"That means if we farm at full capacity, it will take two days to farm enough for one round of strengthening..."

Thinking of this, his expression grew solemn.

"The journey is long and the task is heavy; we must hurry up."

Xu Qin opened the command panel.

"Tian Ming!"

"Present."

"Take Manniu, Blade Guard, Jackal Hunter, Chuan Yun, Tietang, War Rhino, along with all ranged formations and the Lich Corps, and immediately enter the mineral vein area."

"Open all thirty shafts for me, and fill them up with remains!"

"Chuan Yun and Tietang are responsible for ranged output. The three of Manniu are responsible for holding the front line. The Lich Corps will maintain healing throughout."

"One round every ten minutes, uninterrupted. Twenty-four-hour rotation system. No stopping in between!"

"Yes, Master."

Tian Ming led the six heroes and the ranged legion away quickly.

Xu Qin opened the Troglodyte panel again.

Half went to the outer periphery of the mineral vein to gather wood and stone,

and the other half went to the iron ore belt to mine refined iron.

The materials for upgrading the Lords Hall to level 14 will start being stockpiled now!

The order was issued and completed.

The Troglodyte army dispersed silently and burrowed into the underground passages.

Standing on the Combat Readiness Platform, Xu Qin did not show a relaxed expression.

On the contrary, he felt a lingering fear.

"The opportunity of catching them by surprise is only this once."

"The higher the level of the Star Lord, the more cautious they will be."

Xu Qin was very clear about this.

The reason he could win was because the opponent never expected a level-one Star Lord to dare to take the initiative.

The moment the swarm retreated, Zelga had already exposed a flaw.

And he caught it.

But what about next time?

If he encountered a level-five or level-six Star Lord, those old veterans wouldn't give him any chances.

"At the end of the day, hard power still needs to be improved."

Xu Qin tightened his grip on the scepter and walked towards the inventory.

"There are also the remains of the elite insect generals to deal with."

He opened the treasury and found that column.

[Elite Insect General Remains × 780]

Xu Qin had an extremely deep impression of this thing.

The moment those five elite insect generals appeared on the battlefield, it was difficult even for his self-destructing skeletons to get close.

One hundred thousand health points, area sweep, clearing half the screen with a single slap.

"If they could be used by me..."

Xu Qin rubbed his chin in thought.

How on earth should the 780 remains be distributed most appropriately?

Option one was to directly use 12 remains to fuse into a Bone Beast,

so that 65 could be made.

Option two... was to resurrect them individually and then promote them to heroes.

But if it were Bone Beasts,

the high-health genes of the insect generals coupled with the health-locking passive of Multi-Source Resonance

would make their tankiness absolutely explosive.

But if they were heroes...

Xu Qin opened the hero panel and looked at the promotion slots of the Hall of Valor.

[Current Vacant Promotion Slots: 3 / 12]

To complete the promotion of a new hero, only one promotion slot was needed.

But if a Bone Beast were to be promoted to a hero, it would require 12 promotion slots.

12 slots.

He only had 3 vacant slots right now.

To accumulate 12, the Hall of Valor had to be upgraded to level 21.

"Sigh, wanting to promote Bone Beasts to heroes is truly difficult."

Xu Qin scratched his head in annoyance.

With over three million troops under his command right now, he would be worked to death if he relied entirely on his own command.

If it weren't for heroes like Tian Ming and Longgu holding the line, it would have collapsed long ago.

To be honest, it was really tiring.

"Currently, I still need to get a few more heroes to share the command pressure."

Xu Qin made a decision on the spot.

"Let's resurrect one first and check the skill effects."

He took out an elite insect general remain from the inventory and placed it into the Resurrection Platform.

Blue light surged.

Thirty seconds later.

An undead insect general with a body size of 2.5 meters crawled out from the Resurrection Platform.

Its six articulated limbs supported the ground, and its carapace shimmered with a deep blue light.

The originally orange vitality of the Zerg had been completely replaced by the aura of death.

Xu Qin opened the panel.

[Undead Elite Insect General]

[Level: 45]

[Attack Power: 1420 (Physical - Tear / Pierce)]

[Defense: 486]

[Health Points: 112000 / 112000]

[Command Power: 8000]

[Loyalty: 100 / 100 (Eternal Die-Hard Loyalty)]

[Morale: None]

[Skills:]

[Carapace Sweep (Active): Physical attack within a 15-meter radius, dealing 180% damage of attack power. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

[Insect General Armor (Passive): When taking damage, a 15% chance of complete immunity.]

[Piercing Charge (Active): Charge forward 20 meters, all enemy units in the path suffer 200% piercing damage of attack power. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

After reading, Xu Qin nodded.

"Hmm... Not bad."

Attack power of one thousand four, health of one hundred eleven thousand two hundred, command power of eight thousand.

As a hero, it was mediocre.

Compared to Tian Ming, the potential fell a bit too far short.

Of course, this was inseparable from his own careful cultivation all the way.

Logically speaking, if he had such an elite insect general in the early stage, he definitely would have had an easier time.

But looking at it now...

It was usable, but not stunning.

"If it's fused into a Bone Beast..."

Xu Qin rubbed his chin,

"the fusion of 12 elite insect generals will definitely produce something much stronger than a single individual."

But it required 12 promotion slots.

"Let's just keep them as super soldiers; having one as a hero is enough."