Chapter 202 : Increasing Strength! Zhang Xiu Attacks Luoshui!
Chapter 202: Increasing Strength! Zhang Xiu Attacks Luoshui!
Although Hang Yu estimated from the size of the opponent's territory that this invading Lord would not possess an overly powerful foundation, treating the enemy as a weakling was obviously not a wise approach either!
Because during the process of opening new maps—
A Lord would inevitably be affected by some sort of matching mechanism.
A relatively powerful Lord could not possibly unlock a relatively weak map.
As for map level, it generally depended on the level of the map's Abyssal Nightmare Core. If the map's Core Pollution Source had already been absorbed and purified by a Starsea Lord, then the map's level would primarily depend on the Starsea Lord's own level.
Therefore, this Lord was most likely not weaker than Tier 3, yet had not reached Tier 4.
Under such circumstances, whether he would be easy to deal with mainly depended on the strength of his race!
If the race encountered this time was similar in strength to the Dragon-Lizard Tribe from before, Hang Yu believed handling them would not be a problem.
If, however, this race was stronger—or even one of the rare Upper Races—then the difficulty would increase substantially, and there could even be considerable risks involved.
Of course—
Every advantage had its disadvantages.
Lord Wars were not necessarily a bad thing.
Although this competition was extremely cruel—
It also brought opportunities for enormous gains and benefits.
Even if the opponent belonged to a top-tier Upper Race, it was not entirely a bad thing.
While such a race would be much harder to defeat, victory would give the territory's citizens a chance to obtain top-tier talents.
No matter how weak or low-potential a race was—
Theoretically, as long as it continuously won Lord Wars, it could endlessly plunder talents and integrate them into its territory, eventually breaking free from the limitations of its innate racial rank and evolving into a stronger existence.
The most urgent task now was to resolve the immediate problem.
He had to quickly determine the enemy's race and gather intelligence on their territory.
Thus, Hang Yu asked,
“Xiao Ba, how many players are currently active in Wo Niu Mountain?”
Xiao Ba immediately answered,
“Reporting to Master, because the entry requirement for Wo Niu Mountain is Level 5, and nearly all players above Level 9 are participating in the Wan City Day of Ultimate Darkness quest, there are currently approximately eight hundred to one thousand players active in Wo Niu Mountain!”
Hang Yu nodded.
Although these players were rather weak—
At the very least, they were numerous.
He decided to deploy several reconnaissance missions.
The players would investigate the Starsea foreign race approaching from the north.
These players were weak.
Expecting them to cause trouble or casualties to the invading foreign race was practically impossible.
But from another perspective—
That was not necessarily a bad thing.
Precisely because they were low-level and weak, and because they were humans, they could maximize the enemy Lord's underestimation and potentially cause serious misjudgments regarding the territory's true strength.
At present, the most urgent objective was to completely occupy New Wan City!
If he could seize all of New Wan City's territory—
Not only could the Scourge Army be expanded by another one or two times, but he could also absorb New Wan City's population, military forces, talented individuals, and powerful experts.
That would significantly increase the territory's strength.
Conversely—
If he could not conquer Wan City quickly enough, the territory might simultaneously face threats from an enemy Lord, local forces, and even Abyssal forces.
Hang Yu simply did not have enough troops or energy to fight on two or even three fronts at once!
【Abyssal Essence Points -270,000!】
【Ding! You have reached Level 26. Vitality +400, Mana +400, Strength +40, Agility +40, Spirit +40, Willpower +40!】
【Abyssal Essence Points -300,000!】
【Ding! You have reached Level 27...】
【Abyssal Essence Points -330,000! You have reached Level 28...】
【Abyssal Essence Points -360,000! You have reached Level 29...】
【Abyssal Essence Points -390,000! You have reached Level 30. Vitality +400, Mana +400, Strength +40, Agility +40, Spirit +40, Willpower +40!】
Using Abyssal Essence Points—
He raised himself to Level 30.
The total cost amounted to 1.4 million Essence Points.
For Hang Yu—
This amount was merely a drop in the bucket.
After gaining five levels in succession, his Vitality, Mana, and major attributes all increased significantly, pushing his strength to an even higher level.
At the very least, he was now no weaker than most Level 30 Boss Units!
Level 30 was already the peak of Tier 3.
Advancing from Level 30 to Level 31 represented the breakthrough from Tier 3 to Tier 4!
The Essence cost for that single level skyrocketed directly to two million.
Although that sounded enormous—
It was actually nothing significant.
At least for a Lord.
Compared to territorial development and army cultivation, the cost of developing oneself was almost negligible.
Unfortunately—
Although Hang Yu possessed a massive amount of Essence Points—
He still did not meet the conditions required for Lord advancement.
Unless he illuminated his remaining two Tier-3 Lord Talents, no amount of Essence Points would ever allow him to advance to Tier 4.
Moreover, the entire territory's level cap would remain locked.
Only by absorbing more Nightmare Core Pollution Sources could he break through his current tier as quickly as possible.
However, according to the knowledge and case studies he had learned at the Lord Academy—
A Lord's growth speed was not necessarily better the faster it was.
A Lord who focused solely on personal strength while neglecting territorial development was destined not to go far.
The level gap between a Lord and the overall strength of his troops and citizens could not become too large.
Otherwise, he would fail to accumulate a sufficient foundation, and the opponents matched against him would become impossible to defeat.
Everything had to proceed naturally.
One step at a time!
Hang Yu said,
“New Wan City has not yet been conquered, and we've unfortunately encountered a dangerous and unknown Lord War. To be safe, I need a stronger army to improve the territory's overall strength and defensive capabilities!”
Xiao Ba immediately asked,
“Would Master like to summon the Azure Dragon Guard?”
Hang Yu nodded.
Following the numbering sequence of the Azure Dragon Guard—
He instructed Xiao Ba to summon one hundred peak Tier-2 Azure Dragon Guards.
Then—
In a single move, he advanced all one hundred of them to Tier 3.
Advancing from Level 20 to Level 21 required 300,000 Essence Points!
In other words—
Creating one hundred Tier-3 Azure Dragon Guards consumed a staggering thirty million Essence Points!
Hang Yu had gained tremendous rewards from the recent large-scale event.
Yet the territory's total Essence reserves amounted to less than sixty million.
And this single expenditure consumed more than half!
From this perspective—
Although the recent battle's rewards had been abundant, they were still only a drop in the ocean compared to the demands of territorial development.
Of course—
The expense was absolutely worthwhile.
With these additional one hundred Azure Dragon Guards—
Hang Yu now possessed approximately one hundred and thirty Tier-3 Azure Dragon Guards.
Even the most ordinary among them possessed the strength of top-tier elites or even quasi-commander-level combatants!
As for the Eight Original Personal Guards led by Zhang San and Li Si—
They had already reached Level 25.
Their skills and attributes had all been maximized.
Their combat power was no weaker than that of ordinary Commander-Class Abyssal Corrupted!
And this was only the beginning!
After all, Yan Ling of the Forging Workshop had only recently advanced to Advanced Artifact Forging Art mastery.
Over the past two days, she had been occupied with forging Spirit Horses and creating Hang Yu's new Huangtian Demonic Dragon Set.
Once those assigned tasks were completed—
Yan Ling would begin forging exclusive equipment for the Azure Dragon Guard.
The Azure Dragon Guard was already extremely powerful.
If they were equipped with top-quality Tier-3 gear enhanced to high levels—
Their strength would rise yet another level.
The Eight Azure Dragon Guard elites would gradually approach the level of first-rate and second-rate commanders.
Even ordinary Tier-3 Azure Dragon Guards would possess combat power approaching commander level!
Naturally—
The investment involved would not be small.
However, it would not necessarily require spending Essence Points alone.
The territory would gradually acquire more cultivation facilities and training buildings.
These structures could save Hang Yu a considerable amount of resources.
In addition—
Hang Yu planned to further expand the Lord's Guard.
This matter had already been entrusted to Zhou Cang.
He had begun selecting suitable individuals from among the territory's citizens.
Members such as Zhou Ji had already joined the Azure Dragon Guard as reserve candidates.
Unfortunately—
The territory's current population remained limited.
Talented individuals like Zhou Ji—loyal, courageous, and highly gifted—were still relatively rare.
Hang Yu estimated that once the New Wan City region was fully conquered—
This new guard force could officially be established and become another important pillar of the territory's strength.
The Azure Dragon Guard's advancement was complete!
Most of the Scourge Army was currently resting and recovering.
As for Wo Niu Mountain and Wan City—
There was still no new information.
Hang Yu had no intention of wasting time waiting.
He immediately entered the Dao Comprehension Tower.
Recently—
The territory had been short on Essence Points.
Thus, he had refrained from using the Dao Comprehension Tower.
Now, however, the Scourge Army had reached a satisfactory level of development.
His current Essence reserves were more than sufficient.
Furthermore, players continued generating at least four to five million Essence Points every day.
There was no reason to be stingy with investing in himself any longer.
After all—
Only overwhelming strength could stabilize the situation.
No matter how circumstances changed in the future—
He would remain the territory's most important pillar.
Hang Yu firmly believed that with his equipment's advancement, continuous level gains, and constant skill optimization—
His strength would undergo a massive breakthrough.
If previously he had not been confident in defeating Dian Wei—
Then after this round of upgrades and enhancements—
He already possessed the ability to defeat Dian Wei in a one-on-one confrontation!
…………
Meanwhile—
In the real-world city of Yangcheng.
Inside a brand-new luxury office building.
This was the offline headquarters of the War God Hall Legion.
After logging out—
Ye Meng first went to the gym and completed one hundred sets of bench presses.
The weight he used was equal to his own body weight.
This level of training was so intense that even elite professional weightlifters might not be able to endure it!
Yet—
To everyone's astonishment—
After completing all one hundred sets, Ye Meng had not reached his limit.
He did not even feel noticeable fatigue.
His personal fitness coach was nearly shocked speechless.
One had to remember—
President Ye was already sixty-one years old!
Although he had always maintained exercise habits—
He was still fundamentally an ordinary human.
Yet now he was only slightly sweaty and not even breathing heavily.
Unbelievable!
Inconceivable!
A genuine miracle!
“My physical abilities have improved again!”
Ye Meng once more deeply felt how dramatically his body had changed since playing Twisted Three Kingdoms.
This kind of black technology had reached a level completely beyond human comprehension.
Whether for individuals—
Or for humanity as a whole—
This was a once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity!
Ye Meng could hardly imagine what kind of earth-shattering impact this game would have on modern society and the global economy once it entered full Open Beta and expanded worldwide.
Go all in!
All in!
That was the only correct decision.
After a brief workout, Ye Meng quickly lost interest.
Compared to the effects of playing the game—
The gym felt meaningless.
He would rather spend the time managing Legion affairs!
When Ye Meng returned to his office—
A beautiful middle-aged woman in her forties entered carrying documents.
“Old Ye, this is the latest asset transfer contract. It only needs your final signature.”
The woman was named Li Wen.
She was not only Ye Meng's wife—
She was also his most trusted and capable assistant.
Li Wen came from a wealthy scholarly family.
Ye Meng, meanwhile, had once been a poor student from a remote mountain village who studied in the city.
Had his wife not remained devoted and supportive through the difficult years—
The two of them would never have reached where they were today.
Likewise, without the help and guidance of his father-in-law—
Ye Meng would never have built a fortune that had once approached ten billion.
For that reason—
Ye Meng had always been grateful to his wife.
Even now, though his wealth far exceeded that of his father-in-law's family—
And though Li Wen had been diagnosed with a condition preventing childbirth—
He had never abandoned her.
Their relationship remained excellent even after decades together.
Recently—
To raise funds, Ye Meng had sold large quantities of high-quality assets.
He had withdrawn from many highly promising investments.
He had even exhausted every possible form of collateral and bank financing to obtain additional cash flow.
As a result, he had become the subject of ridicule among partners, relatives, and friends.
When they learned—
That Ye Meng was raising cash merely to play a game—
Many became convinced that he had completely lost his mind.
Yet throughout the entire process—
His wife silently supported him.
She never questioned him even once.
Naturally—
Ye Meng was deeply moved.
After all these years—
His greatest asset had never been money.
It was this wife who had never abandoned him and always trusted him.
“Thank you for your hard work, dear. But don't worry. Our investment won't be wasted.”
Holding Li Wen's hand, he said:
“Just wait and see. The people laughing at me now will eventually come crawling back!”
Li Wen merely smiled.
“Old Ye, whatever you want to do, do it wholeheartedly. I've been paying attention to Twisted Three Kingdoms recently too. I believe your judgment is correct. There's no need to care about what outsiders think.”
Having just one person in life who truly understood him was enough.
Ye Meng's resolve became even stronger.
He would build War God Hall into the number-one Legion!
This game was so miraculous that it could even create medical miracles.
Perhaps it could improve his wife's condition.
He hoped she would receive a game qualification soon so she could join him in the game and continue helping him.
“Oh, right, Old Ye!”
Li Wen suddenly remembered something.
“Today we received an invitation from a certain department. According to the contents, the official Twisted Three Kingdoms team is organizing an offline exchange event and is expected to invite you to attend. Do you have time?”
An official invitation?
Ye Meng's heart stirred.
If it was an official invitation—
Then he absolutely had to go!
Not only would it increase his influence—
He also believed that countless people, himself included, were curious about this game.
Perhaps many answers would finally be revealed at this official event.
Returning to his desk—
Ye Meng turned on his computer.
The first thing he did was log into the game's forum.
The Twisted Three Kingdoms forum had already become the most active gaming forum in the nation—
And perhaps even the world.
Although fewer than four thousand players currently possessed game qualifications—
At least three to five million people visited the forum every day.
Most participated as Cloud Players or Lore Enthusiasts.
Due to overwhelming traffic and content—
Several additional sections had recently been added.
News Reports.
Strategy Guides.
Twisted Lore Encyclopedia.
Discussion and Commentary.
And many more.
Ye Meng casually browsed through them.
At present, nearly every discussion revolved around the recent Day of Ultimate Darkness campaign.
Topics involving Dian Wei, Cao Ang, Zhang Xiu, and Jia Xu were especially popular.
Among them—
Dian Wei attracted the most attention.
After all—
His strength was simply too terrifying!
He was the strongest enemy the Scourge Army had ever encountered!
Players generally believed that Dian Wei might trigger major hidden storylines and hidden quests.
This terrifying existence might not necessarily need to be killed.
Perhaps there was a way to cure and recruit him instead.
This theory received widespread support!
After all—
Nothing was impossible in Twisted Three Kingdoms.
Theoretically speaking—
If one could imagine it, it could be done.
Chenxi and Chimera Wraith from Divine Feather Palace had already taken Cao Ang's dropped Pure Gold Talisman Soul Crystal to consult Lord Hang Yu.
The answer they received confirmed that it truly contained a portion of Dian Wei's purified soul.
However—
How to activate the soul crystal.
How to coordinate with Doctor Zhang.
No solution currently existed.
Whether this plan could succeed remained completely uncertain.
Besides that—
The forum was filled with battle analyses concerning the Day of Ultimate Darkness campaign.
Many posts condemned Zhang Xiu.
Others discussed methods of cultivating Black Dragon Warhorses.
There was also other noteworthy player news.
For example—
The overseas player Arthur King officially announced the establishment of the Twilight of the Gods Legion.
This became the fifth successfully established Legion within the Scourge Army and the first Legion founded by overseas players.
As leader of War God Hall—
Ye Meng naturally paid close attention to it.
After all—
Arthur King was likely backed by a major financial consortium.
Another example—
Reliable information suggested that the Forging Workshop could now create Tier-3 Equipment and Blue-Grade Equipment.
Several Tier-3 players were already discussing plans to upgrade and evolve their equipment after breaking through to Tier 3.
Ye Meng had always prioritized equipment development.
Naturally, he intended to invest heavily in this area as well.
There were simply too many posts.
Too much information.
Even if one refreshed the forum twenty-four hours a day—
It would be impossible to read everything.
Fortunately—
He had already assembled an intelligence team consisting of dozens of people.
Their task was to research every piece of news, intelligence, and analysis related to Twisted Three Kingdoms across the internet.
Then they would condense the valuable information into reports.
However—
At that moment.
Several newly trending posts immediately caught Ye Meng's attention.
《Breaking! Nearly All Players Active in Wo Niu Mountain Have Received Investigation Missions Concerning a Starsea Foreign Race!》
《A Starsea Faction Has Apparently Broken Through into Wo Niu Mountain from the North!》
《Massive Breaking News! Another Lord War Has Erupted!》
……
Ye Meng widened his eyes in disbelief.
At the same time—
The closed-beta player chat channels had already exploded.
“Stop asking!”
“It's real!”
“I'm literally leveling in Wo Niu Mountain right now!”
“Same here! I just reached Level 9 and was considering heading to Wan City to fight Zhang Xiu with the veterans. Then several related quests suddenly triggered.”
“Has the enemy's identity been confirmed?”
“No. No information yet.”
“This is bad. We're fighting Zhang Xiu on one side while facing an enemy Starsea faction on the other. Can the territory really handle two fronts simultaneously?”
“What do we do?”
“Where are the veterans? Come up with a plan!”
“The territory absolutely can't fall!”
“Otherwise we're all finished!”
“...”
At that moment, Black-Eyed Rui Ge replied online:
“Everyone, calm down. It's just an invasion by another Lord. Personally, I don't think it's a big deal.”
Midnight Pig Slayer added:
“Yeah. What's there to fear about a Lord War? I actually think Lord Wars are good. Have you forgotten how profitable Starsea units are in terms of EXP and rewards?”
Toasting the Moon said:
“I agree. Starsea Wars aren't necessarily bad. They can actually accelerate the territory's development.”
Ye Li Meng also joined the discussion:
“Hahaha! With the Lord and the Azure Dragon Guard protecting us, there's absolutely no need to worry about the main city! Honestly, I think expanding map by map is too slow. A Lord War effectively opens multiple maps at once!”
Salted Fish Thrust replied:
“That makes sense. I wonder how many maps this enemy Lord controls.”
Chimera Wraith said:
“If the enemy Lord possesses large populations and multiple settlements, we might be able to absorb them all and dramatically increase our territory's population. That would let the Scourge Army expand even further!”
Little Bell added:
“Exactly! Everyone, don't worry. As long as Feather God is here, no challenge is impossible!”
“...”
News of another Lord War erupted across the forums, the internet, and the player community.
The event naturally created enormous pressure and urgency within the Scourge Army.
Fortunately—
After several Legion Commanders and top players stepped forward to reassure everyone—
The panic quickly subsided.
The priority right now—
Was not fighting the unknown enemy Lord.
Since this was a home-field battle—
The Scourge Army could not yet enter enemy territory.
For the next several days, they would be forced into a defensive posture.
Rather than dwelling on that—
It was better to focus on achieving a breakthrough in Wan City.
Just then—
Good news arrived.
The entire Scourge Army was immediately energized.
“Latest report! Several players have been slaughtered near the Wasteland of Death!”
“A large army is currently moving through the Wasteland of Death. Leading it are Zhang Xiu and his Blood Spear Battalion. Their target is definitely Luoshui City!”
“What?”
“He's actually coming!”
“This is exactly what we wanted!”
“Hahahahaha!”
“The Lord really predicted everything!”
“Brothers and sisters, we've rested enough!”
“Everyone log in! Prepare for battle immediately!”
“...”
The Scourge Army assembled once again!
Ye Li Meng, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Little Bell, Toasting the Moon, and the other player leaders immediately gathered their forces and rushed to the Revival Plaza.
The various newly established Legions and player factions quickly assembled as well.
At this moment—
Everything hung by a thread!
And the opportunity to conquer New Wan City had finally arrived!
No matter what happened in Wo Niu Mountain—
As long as the Scourge Army could defeat Zhang Xiu in this operation, counterattack into New Wan City, and successfully seize its cities and population—
Then they would be free to focus entirely on the enemy Starsea Lord.
At that point—
Victory would practically be assured!