59: Chapter 59 The Eve of the Final Offensive

Xu Qin opened the command panel and pulled up the bottom level of the Combat Readiness Platform.

This level was the designated standby area that Xu Qin had allocated for the scout units, the Skeleton Sand Rat and the Skeleton Vulture.

"Sand Rat squad, all units deploy!" Xu Qin waved his hand.

The gangway of the Combat Readiness Platform opened, and hundreds of Skeleton Sand Rats scurried out from the Floating City, scattering into the forest clearing before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Current intelligence was still insufficient; the military strength of the three target lords was based entirely on visual estimation and guesswork.

This would not do; he had to investigate thoroughly.

Otherwise, striking blindly might result in failing to secure an S-rank rating.

Xu Qin switched to the perspective of the Sand Rats and followed their field of vision.

The forest clearing and the gentle slopes around the perimeter of the target territory all appeared perfectly normal.

Yet, Xu Qin continued to watch every feed with unblinking focus.

Half an hour later, the first batch of battle reports began to trickle back.

Xu Qin opened the battle report panel and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Just as he had feared, this seemingly ordinary little territory was actually far from simple.

The forest surrounding the territory was hidden with dense traps.

There were spike pits, tripwires, and camouflaged holes that could swallow someone several meters deep with a single step.

Soon, the report from the Sand Rat scouts yielded a figure that left Xu Qin stunned.

Within just one kilometer of the territory, there were over a thousand traps of various sizes.

"That's more like it~ How could an opponent who survived the newbie protection period be a fool?"

However, this was not the biggest discovery.

Because what stunned him even more was underground.

Only after the Sand Rats burrowed into the soil did they discover that the area beneath the territory was completely hollow.

Over a dozen massive Underground Spaces were interconnected, with the deepest points reaching dozens of meters down.

A network of underground passages spread out in all directions, with at least seven or eight exits scattered everywhere.

The passages were filled with dense clusters of red dots.

They were soldiers.

Xu Qin did a rough count and couldn't help but lick his lips.

As it turned out, the three or four hundred miscellaneous troops on the surface were nothing.

The thousands of red dots hidden underground were the true main force.

At the same time, the species information popped up.

Troglodytes.

"So it's this bunch of ground rats." Xu Qin leaned back in his bone chair, suddenly enlightened.

No wonder they could withstand that wave of Erosion Beasts.

This territory sat on so many resource points—iron mines, timber forests, and stone quarries piled right at the doorstep—so supporting so many troops was effortless.

With over a thousand Troglodytes tucked away in their holes, they could just burrow underground to play guerilla warfare whenever Erosion Beasts arrived.

Combined with the traps, as long as they survived the first wave, those scattered Erosion Beasts could be easily dealt with.

"They certainly have plenty of tricks up their sleeves." He clicked his tongue.

"I almost got fooled by this shabby appearance."

Indeed, had he not gathered enough intelligence and simply stubbornly driven the city over, the Skeleton horde would have lost more than half its number upon rushing into that trap-filled forest.

However...

Xu Qin's gaze followed the dozen or so underground exits on the map, finally resting on a safe gap that the Sand Rats had mapped out on the perimeter.

A plan slowly began to take shape.

The underground passages were the Troglodytes' lifeline and their retreat route.

The traps were their shield.

Yet in his eyes, these two things could be used against them.

He already had a plan for exactly how to fight.

The rest was just waiting for the dead of night to launch the final assault.

"Ground rats, eh." Xu Qin stroked his chin.

"I must let you experience what it means to be unable to escape even if one digs three feet into the ground."

5:30 PM.

The command panel chimed.

[Hall of Valor upgrade complete!]

[Hall of Valor - Level 5]

[Hero slots expanded: 5 / 5]

[New promotion slot unlocked.]

Xu Qin's eyes lit up.

The fifth hero slot he had been waiting for so bitterly was finally unlocked.

Finally, he could obtain the ranged hero he had been planning for two days.

Xu Qin picked one from the converted batch of Skeleton Elf Archers and brought it to the Hall of Valor.

[Promote]

Hum!!! Above the Altar of Valor, the obelisk emitted a ghostly glow.

A Skeleton Elf Archer, following Xu Qin's instructions, stepped onto the promotion slot.

It faced Xu Qin, knelt on one knee, and revealed the Soul Energy Longbow hanging from its shoulder.

"Five thousand Soul Energy, five hundred bones, twenty-five Magic Crystal Shards, and five hundred meat."

"Promote."

Boom!

Beneath the bone seat, ghostly blue fire surged forth, enveloping the archer entirely.

After about a minute, the flames dissipated.

[Hero promotion successful!]

[Undead Elf Archer - Hero]

Level: 1 (0 / 500)

Attack: 38 (Physical - Piercing / Ranged)

Defense: 12

HP: 160 / 160

Range: 40 meters

Loyalty: 100 / 100 (Eternally Loyal)

Morale: None

Hero Trait: [Hunting Commander: Can lead up to 500 Undead units to operate independently. The ranged Undead units under its command gain +3 additional Attack and 10% increased Range.]

Skills:

[Magic Multi-Shot (Active - Area): Draws the bow to fire five Soul Energy arrows at once, covering the area in front in a fan shape, with each arrow dealing 35 Shadow damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

[Tracking Arrow (Active - Single Target): Fires an auto-tracking Soul Energy arrow that is guaranteed to hit the target, dealing 180% of Attack damage and marking the target for 3 seconds. During this time, all ranged damage received by the target is increased by 20%. Cooldown: 14 seconds.]

[Eagle Eye (Passive): Targets within range cannot avoid attacks by using terrain as cover. Attacks have a 10% chance to deal double damage upon hitting.]

[Precision Volley (Active - Command/Area): Orders all ranged Undead within the command range to lock onto a single area and fire simultaneously for 3 seconds. During this time, the attack speed of all ranged Undead is increased by 40%. Cooldown: 30 seconds.]

Xu Qin finished reading the panel and nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, this is it!!!"

"Multi-Shot to carpet the ground, Tracking Arrow to pick off targets, and Volley to reap the harvest. A specialist in breaking through defenses."

"From now on, you shall be called... Chuan Yun!"

Xu Qin took out a set of Bone Erosion armor he had prepared long ago from his inventory and put it on Chuan Yun.

The moment the bone armor covered its body, the three-piece set effect lit up.

"Although you are only level one." Xu Qin patted Chuan Yun on the shoulder.

"But you are lucky; you've caught up with a siege war right after promotion."

"I believe in you, keep it up!"

Chuan Yun's skeletal fingers tightened around the bowstring as a response.

After promoting the hero, Xu Qin took the opportunity to upgrade every hero's skills as well.

Since the Hall of Valor was level five, the skill enhancements had to be brought to the maximum limit.

Then, he unlocked all the new skills for each hero.

Tian Ming learned [Mind Lash].

[Mind Lash (Active - Single Target): Ignores the target's physical armor and deals pure damage directly to the target's soul, 130 points each time, with a 2-second silence effect. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

"A good skill." Xu Qin nodded repeatedly.

"This skill is specifically for dealing with those hard-shelled turtles that stack defense."

As for the Bull, it learned [Undying War Body (Passive)].

[Undying War Body (Passive): When taking fatal damage, becomes immune to death for 3 seconds. During this period, Defense is doubled, and 5% of maximum HP is restored every second. Can only be triggered once per battle.]

"Hmm, now my tank has truly become undying."

Next, Jackal Hunter learned [Shadow Rift Assassination], Blade Guard learned [Fatal Block], Shadow learned [Thousand Shadow Soul Devour], and Chuan Yun learned [Bone Blade Arrow Rain], [Piercing Arrow], [Wind Walk], and [Soul Quiver].

I won't go into detail about the specific skill effects here; they will all be revealed in battle.

The entire army was ready for battle.

Xu Qin looked up at the sky.

The setting sun sank, and the horizon of the desert burned into a dark red.

"The sky has darkened." He stood up.

"Prepare for war!"