53: Chapter 53 All Lords, Each Displaying Their Unique Abilities

"From now on, you shall be called Shadow."

Xu Qin looked at the new hero's attribute panel, carefully analyzing the values.

78 Attack Power, plus the 25-point bonus from the Epic weapon, meant the actual panel could reach 103.

A critical hit executes targets below 35% health, and Shadow Leap allows for teleportation and a guaranteed critical hit on a backstab.

Ghost Step provides eight seconds of stealth, and Bone Erosion is a passive that restores health.

To sum it up in one word.

Fierce.

But looking at the flip side, 18 Defense and 320 Health.

An elite monster of the same level could crush him with two slaps.

"In other words, Shadow is a super elite soldier that can level up and wear equipment." Xu Qin summarized, rubbing his chin.

There was no helping it; this guy's role was too clearly defined.

Enter, critical hit, retreat; once the combo is done, he has to slip away.

Without a front line to draw fire for him, he would be dead in a minute.

But this wasn't a big deal.

Tian Ming already had a melee fighter by his side to block blades.

That's right, I'm talking about Blade Guard.

Once he starts mowing down enemies in Musou mode, the new hero can single out key targets.

As for the Bull...

Let it and Jackal Hunter develop for now; when they combine forces, that will be the strongest form.

Moreover, Tian Ming is a ranged mage-type, most afraid of melee units getting in his face.

With Blade Guard clearing mobs, the Shadow Assassin can crouch nearby and single-target.

Enemies would find it hard to touch Tian Ming.

In short, if they want to hit Tian Ming, they'll have to get stabbed by the Shadow Assassin's Shadow Leap first.

"Shadow." Xu Qin spoke up.

The newborn assassin lowered his head slightly, his soul fire flickering.

"From now on, you follow Tian Ming."

"Where he goes, you go. If enemies charge at him, you cut into their backline."

"If enemies attack you, turn invisible and run. Don't get caught up in the fight. Understand?"

Shadow nodded.

...

Two hours later.

On the yellow sand line outside the territory, the mighty Undead Army marched triumphantly in the sunset glow.

After the four vanguards—Tian Ming, Blade Guard, the Bull, and Jackal Hunter—cleared the scattered Erosion Beasts separately, they escorted the Bone Transport Carts loaded with Dark Erosion Crystals back to the city.

Xu Qin stood at the top of the level 4 Graveyard, looking down.

Four carts, each piled to the brim, the dark purple crystals shimmering with an eerie light under the setting sun.

"Count and store them."

After storing them, Xu Qin switched to the command panel to check the total amount of crystals.

[Dark Erosion Crystal: 1640]

"Have I saved up this much already?"

Xu Qin opened the bone workshop.

[Bone Wall Plating: 50 crystals/section.]

There are 16 sections of Bone Wall in the core area, plus 4 watchtowers; 1000 crystals should cover it.

"Prioritize plating the core area." Xu Qin decided immediately.

Because if the Abyss Rift can open a first wave, it will open a second.

Who knows if there will be even fiercer monsters later that might stab their way right to his bedside?

[Consumed: Dark Erosion Crystal × 1000]

Hum!

The humming sound of the bone workshop rang out.

Dark purple energy crawled up along the foundation, covering the surface of the grayish-white bones.

Runes lit up one after another.

Plating complete.

Xu Qin clicked on the attributes of one section of the wall.

[Reinforced Bone Wall · Shadow Plating]

Durability: +30%

Additional Effect: When receiving physical attacks, reflects 20 points of Bone Erosion damage.

Good!

Reflecting 20 points doesn't look like much, but that's only if you ignore the sheer number of Erosion Beasts.

A swarm of Erosion Beasts scratching the wall would take 20 damage per scratch; after a hundred scratches, they'd be dead themselves.

"Survival first."

Xu Qin turned to look at Shadow.

"Right, your equipment."

He opened the Undead Forge interface.

Currently, at level 4, he could only craft Green-grade Fine equipment.

"That will have to do for now."

He selected the [Bone Erosion Armor Set] and started forging.

Clang, clang, clang!

Black smoke billowed from the forge.

After arranging these things,

Xu Qin sat back on the animal hide bed in the corner of the Bone Wall and began issuing orders.

"Tian Ming, Blade Guard, Shadow, you three take one route and continue clearing towards the northeast."

"Bull, Jackal Hunter, you two take one route and head southwest."

"Target: All living monsters within a fifteen-kilometer radius. Clear them all out."

"Also, if you run into iron ore veins or any other ore veins, mark them on the way."

The five heroes acknowledged the order in unison.

Shadow retreated silently into Tian Ming's shadow and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The two armies filed out of the city.

Xu Qin switched back to the regional map, watching the dense blue dots split into two groups and move in different directions.

At the edge of the map, there were still quite a few scattered red dots remaining.

"Grind them slowly."

Xu Qin closed the panel, lay back on the animal hide, and muttered, pillowing his head with his hands.

"Ah, I don't know when the next rift will open. Just lying at home like this is really boring."

He turned over, found a comfortable position, and opened the Human Race chat channel.

"Let's see how the situation is outside first."

The light screen unfolded.

The messages were much livelier than when he last checked, with many newcomers.

No, rather than newcomers, it should be said that these were people who had survived the beginner period.

Moreover, the quality of the content had improved significantly.

Previously, the screen was full of wails like "Help!", "Looking for a team!", or "What do I do now that my troops are all dead?".

But now...

Li Wei · Human Race: "Brothers, the Human Race's defensive towers are truly amazing. I've practically turned this into a tower defense game."

Li Wei · Human Race: "I used the wood and stone I saved up over three days to surround the territory core with three layers of fence walls. I built eighty simple arrow towers behind the walls."

Li Wei · Human Race: "You didn't see it; before the Erosion Beasts could even rush in, they were washed away by crossfire and died super fast."

Irene · Elf Race: "Agreed. I also discovered that the Elf Race's advantage is guerrilla warfare. I had my Archers climb into the treetops and used their range advantage to snipe. Combined with a small number of melee units to plug gaps, the results are good."

Barton · Dwarf Race: "You guys are making it too complicated. I just mass-produced a thousand Musketeers, split them into two rows, relied on low walls, covered the area with three rounds of volley fire, and wiped them out instantly. Simple and brutal."

Barton · Dwarf Race: "Actually, these monsters are easy to kill; the key is whether you have enough resources during the protection period. I worked hard for two days and hoarded 80,000 wood and 20,000 stone. After the Musketeers upgraded to Tier 2, their fire rate and power both went up."

Xu Qin carefully scrolled through the chat history.

He found almost no nonsense; it was all solid information.

Not only that, many new lords also started speaking.

Zorn · Goblin Race: "Tunnel tactics, check it out."

Zorn · Goblin Race: "I dug three tunnels directly to the outskirts of my territory. Goblin Miners are good at digging. When the Erosion Beasts pass by, elite Goblins crawl out from the tunnels and stab them right in the back."

Zorn · Goblin Race: "Although they are weak individually, they are numerous and breed fast. The Erosion Beast clearing speed is average, but my losses are almost negligible."

Iggy · Gnome Race: "I use traps. The Gnome Race is naturally nimble, and the efficiency of making animal traps and lassos is extremely high. I filled the area around the territory with trap zones; once the Erosion Beasts enter, they can't get out."

Iggy · Gnome Race: "Combined with a small number of Musketeers for ranged sniping, it's very stable."

Xu Qin gave a thumbs up to the screen.

It really is like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their own divine powers.

Choosing a seemingly trash race, as long as you utilize their strengths, you can still survive.

None of these lords are pushovers.