175: A forced march at a cost

The sun slowly rose from the east.

The gate of Cloud Mist Peak Pass was wide open.

The Allied Forces were streaming out of the gate.

In the sky, the Dragon King, transformed into a Pearl Dragon, spewed boiling steam clouds, clearing the way ahead.

Below, a huge, elongated mass of dense fog slowly stealthily moved along the path forged by the steam clouds.

This sight made the unaware Gnolls think that a nearly thousand-foot-long tail was following the steam clouds.

For a time, they did not dare to advance.

Inside the mist, two tall Treants walked at the very front.

Behind them were Water Elementals and bears.

On both sides of the team, every twenty to thirty feet, there was either a Water Elemental or a Forest Wolf Spirit.

Lion Black was at the head of the team, the Kedas City Lord was in the middle, and Burning Flame Kewenruide was at the rear.

The path opened by the Dragon King was full of Gnoll corpses.

Although not as dense as before at the northern foot of Cloud Mist Peak, there were still many.

There were also many animals, insects, and plants from the forest that were accidentally killed.

The boy opened his hand and collected most of the edible animals and Gnoll corpses into his system space.

On one hand, it was to increase military rations, and on the other, to clear the path for the team behind.

When they encountered scattered Gnolls that had not yet died, Lion Black's flying sword and the weapons of those around him would strike.

Every hour, the officers and soldiers from the middle and rear sections would rotate to the front, assisting Lion Black in clearing the path.

They first headed south, continuously walking in the direction of the stream.

The pass behind them had not closed.

After the Allied Forces left, Gnolls gradually broke in.

What awaited them were only invisible force fields and the Dragon King's avatar, which would shuttle back and forth every so often.

The Dragon King controlled the force fields, eliminating all Gnolls that entered the trap.

However, after some time, the trap would again be filled with new Gnolls.

The Allied Forces walked for over two hours without encountering any Gnolls attacking the mist from the outside.

The Allied Forces, rushing for speed, could not eliminate 100% of all living enemies encountered in the mist.

These few dying Gnolls, still bearing weapon wounds, still proved to their companions that there were other enemies within that thick white mist.

Soon after, Gnoll spellcasters began to attempt throwing spells into the mist.

Earth Wolf Spirits rushed into the mist, and the Allied Forces had to stop to deal with them.

No sooner had they dealt with one wave than a more powerful wave of Demon Hounds surged in.

There were also 'Acid Arrows' and 'Fear Spells,' 'Plague Mist' and 'Corrosion Field.'

New types of spellcasters appeared among the enemies.

The most threatening was still the 'Corrosion Field.'

Although most spells were thrown onto open ground.

But as time passed, with the appearance of more enemy spellcasters, the Allied Forces began to suffer casualties.

Lion Black and his comrades knew that once the Allied Forces stopped advancing, they would become entangled with an endless horde of Gnolls, and their thousand-strong army would only face total annihilation.

Lion Black had no choice but to expand the mist's coverage, enveloping areas with many enemy spellcasters within the dense mist maze.

Then, he had the martial arts experts within the Allied Forces quickly eliminate these spellcasters.

They fought as they walked, helping up injured comrades, carrying the bodies of their companions, and continuing to advance.

In the afternoon, by the stream.

The Allied Forces stopped to rest.

The Dragon King began to breathe dragon fire around the semicircular outer edge of the mist.

The mages of the Allied Forces also began to cast spells, summoning more Animal Spirits or Elemental Creatures to help defend.

The forest allies once again set traps and magical vines at the edge of the mist, helping the Allied Forces guard the temporary rest camp.

When they set off again, tens of thousands of Gnolls had surrounded the mist once more.

Lion Black took out a Pearl worth over 500 gold coins from his Qiankun Ring as a spell component and activated the 'Dragon Soul Awakening' spell on the Dragon Might Scepter.

A phantom of an adult Pearl Dragon was summoned again.

It would assist the Allied Forces in battle for 10 minutes.

In less than 1 minute, the enormous dragon breath steam cloud extinguished tens of thousands of Gnolls in the vicinity.

Among them were many spellcasters.

Even the Dragon King temporarily avoided its edge, flying to the other side of the stream to deal with the few Gnolls there.

The Allied Forces once again marched westward.

The appearance of the adult giant dragon, though only for 10 minutes.

But it not only cleared a large area around the mist; intimidated by the Dragon Might, the distant Gnolls dared not approach for a time.

The marching speed increased again.

It was more than an hour later before Gnolls gradually began to tentatively approach the mist.

The morning's fight-as-you-go state resumed.

Under the setting sun, the Wizard Shack and walls built by the Allied Forces by the stream were ready, and Lion Black and many mages began to quickly draw magic runes.

In less than twenty minutes, they completed the drawing.

This was followed by five hours of guarding.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, and the Allied Forces could finally enter the new outpost to rest.

Today, the Allied Forces had lost over 20 officers and soldiers who could not be resurrected.

Many of those who survived had increased their professional levels.

The Halfling priest, after suffering severe corrosive damage, miraculously recovered.

His priest level instantly rose by four levels, and he was now a Level 7 Intermediate Priest.

Angel, Green, Koudor, Grom, and Edeline, among others, all increased their professional levels by one.

Many Flame Fist soldiers also increased their warrior professional level by one.

Three militiamen from Eileen Village advanced to Level 1 Warrior.

Holy Knight attendants John Cherning, George Clark, and the handsome young man Auf Tanden, from the refugee camp, also advanced to Holy Knight Level 1.

At this newest magical outpost, Lion Black, in front of all the Allied Forces, after they recited the Oath of the Crown, took out three holy emblems and bestowed them upon these three individuals.

The system compiled the attribute panel information for these three individuals as follows:

[Name]: John Cherning

[Loyalty to Lord]: Lion Black

[Citizen Loyalty]: 100

[Race]: Human

[Gender]: Male

[Alignment]: Lawful Good

[Age]: 20

[Place of Origin]: Gorebest

[Background]: Farmer, Knight (Noble)

[Profession]: Paladin (Oath of the Crown)

[Professional Level]: 1

[Attributes]: Strength 13, Dexterity 12, Constitution 13, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10, Charisma 13

[Defense Level]: 3

[Health Points]: 12 / 12

[Zero-Level Hit Value]: 15

[Damage]: 1 to 8 (Greatsword)

[Skills]: Divine Sense, Lay on Hands

... ...

[Name]: George Clark

[Loyalty to Lord]: Lion Black

[Citizen Loyalty]: 100

[Race]: Human

[Gender]: Male

[Alignment]: Lawful Good

[Age]: 19

[Place of Origin]: Gorebest

[Background]: Farmer, Knight (Noble)

[Profession]: Paladin (Oath of the Crown)

[Professional Level]: 1

[Attributes]: Strength 13, Dexterity 12, Constitution 13, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 11, Charisma 14

[Defense Level]: 3

[Health Points]: 12 / 12

[Zero-Level Hit Value]: 15

[Damage]: 1 to 8 (Greatsword)

[Skills]: Divine Sense, Lay on Hands

... ...

[Name]: Auf Tanden

[Loyalty to Lord]: Lion Black

[Citizen Loyalty]: 98

[Race]: Human

[Gender]: Male

[Alignment]: Lawful Good

[Age]: 25

[Place of Origin]: Gorebest

[Background]: Refugee

[Profession]: Paladin (Oath of the Crown)

[Professional Level]: 1

[Attributes]: Strength 16, Dexterity 12, Constitution 14, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 12, Charisma 17

[Defense Level]: 3

[Health Points]: 13 / 13

[Zero-Level Hit Value]: 15

[Damage]: 1 to 8 (Greatsword)

[Skills]: Divine Sense, Lay on Hands

... ...

John and George's attributes were average, reaching the entry level for a Holy Knight.

This Holy Knight, Auf Tanden, had very high Strength and Charisma attribute values.

At 25 years old, his future was limitless.

Once he leveled up to a certain degree, his attribute values would increase significantly.

It was also very possible for him to gain multiple legendary attributes in the future.

Thus, the Young Duke now possessed four Holy Knights.

At the same time, a system message reminded Lion Black: 'System Quest - Black Panther Fortress Paladin Order' completed.