Chapter 229 : Overseas Forces
Chapter 229: Overseas Forces! Jia Xu's Talent Skill Exposed!
Blue Star.
White Eagle Federation Intelligence Bureau.
"Based on all the intelligence we've gathered..."
"This game from Daxia is far more than just a virtual reality game."
Investigator Smith reported, "It contains no fewer than eighty-six revolutionary technological breakthroughs spanning key fields such as artificial intelligence, the metaverse, cloud computing, and more. The simultaneous emergence of so many revolutionary breakthroughs within such a short period is, theoretically speaking, impossible."
White Eagle Intelligence Director Joseph wore a grave expression upon hearing this.
"But it did happen. And it appeared in a game that wouldn't easily attract attention. Does that make any sense?"
"It obviously doesn't!"
Investigator Smith said, "First of all, whether these technological approaches can even be realized remains in the experimental and verification stage even in our country. There is no reason why the people of Daxia could suddenly achieve simultaneous breakthroughs without any warning, much less do so merely to create an ordinary game."
Director Joseph asked, "Recently, a group of old men in Congress proposed a bill to ban this game. Their reasons are that it is suspected of illegal business operations and is also bringing cultural infiltration from Daxia. What do you think?"
The number of Twisted Three Kingdoms players...
Was still under ten thousand.
Players outside Daxia accounted for less than twenty percent.
Yet its influence had already surpassed that of any game in history.
In the White Eagle Federation alone, eight million people had already pre-registered. The countless images, videos, and lore studies produced by the game had reached and influenced an audience more than five times larger than the number of Cloud Players.
The study of Twisted Three Kingdoms lore had swept across the globe.
It was rapidly becoming popular throughout the Western bloc, including the White Eagle Federation.
Especially among young people between their teens and forties.
Everyone had begun studying the history, geography, and culture of the Three Kingdoms. Many influential YouTubers were already making a living by creating Twisted Three Kingdoms lore content.
The influence of this trend could no longer be underestimated.
"No, absolutely not. Those politicians are merely pandering to public opinion for publicity. They have no idea how serious this really is!"
Investigator Smith said, "Twisted Three Kingdoms not only contains at least eighty known technological breakthroughs, but according to our investigation, these may only be the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface could lie many more completely unknown technologies—perhaps even technologies that modern science cannot explain."
Joseph's expression changed.
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
Smith gave an example.
"We've already contacted numerous players both domestically and across Europe. We discovered that after becoming Twisted Three Kingdoms players, not only had their health improved dramatically, but even their physical constitutions had become noticeably stronger."
"There are also many discussions and personal accounts on the game forums documenting the same phenomenon."
"This isn't an isolated case. Nearly every player has experienced it."
"Although the Daxia authorities have already provided a theoretical explanation, claiming that the game's unique virtual reality technology regulates and improves motor nerves, muscle growth, and endocrine function..."
"We think that's complete nonsense!"
Smith paused before continuing.
"I now have strong reason to question the origin of this game and the ultimate purpose behind its release. They may be trying to conceal some earth-shattering secret!"
"Banning the game at a time like this would be completely irresponsible. It may sound unbelievable, but the significance of this game exceeds all imagination."
"We need to continue investing resources and conducting long-term investigations."
"The best approach is to cultivate our own players!"
It was just a game.
Was it really worth taking this seriously?
As the head of the planet's largest intelligence organization, Joseph had witnessed countless bizarre and inexplicable events throughout his life.
Yet this situation had genuinely left even him at a loss.
Afraid Joseph still wasn't taking it seriously enough, Smith added,
"Even setting everything else aside, from a purely commercial standpoint, this game possesses limitless potential. Once its scale and influence become large enough, it could easily create an industry worth trillions of dollars."
Joseph nodded.
"Very well, Smith. I understand your point. Since this game is so important, we should take more proactive measures as soon as possible. We'll do as you suggested—cultivate our own players to facilitate our research and uncover the truth."
Smith immediately replied,
"Our people have already begun contacting players. Among those outside Daxia, the one most worthy of attention is a young man named Alex."
"His in-game ID is 'Arthur King.' He is currently the Legion Commander of the fifth largest legion in the Calamity Army, the Twilight of the Gods Legion. Unfortunately, it may already be too late to recruit him."
Joseph asked,
"Why?"
Smith answered,
"Alex is originally a foreign student from France. European security agencies have already made contact with him, and several major European financial conglomerates have invested heavily in him."
Joseph frowned deeply.
Although the White Eagle Federation and the European Union shared close ties, allowing the former to exert tremendous influence over the latter, traditional European powers led by France could never be completely controlled by the White Eagle Federation.
It seemed this player known as "Arthur King" would likely become Europe's representative.
The Twilight of the Gods Legion he had established possessed tremendous potential.
In the future, it would probably become the number one legion in Europe.
Joseph said unhappily,
"So those slow, decaying old Europeans actually moved ahead of us? This is a major failure on our part!"
Smith quickly reassured him,
"There's no need to worry. It's not too late to respond, and I've already identified several promising candidates."
With that, he promptly produced a dossier.
It contained a list of players from the White Eagle Federation.
Smith introduced them.
"I believe Captain Lucas is our best candidate."
John Lucas.
Game ID: Black Lord.
A newly joined Level 1 player.
He was already forty-two years old in reality.
Former Delta Force assault team leader.
Not only was he an elite special forces soldier who had undergone rigorous selection and training, but more importantly, he was a patriot fiercely loyal to the White Eagle Federation.
After reading Black Lord Lucas's dossier, Joseph was extremely satisfied.
If this man could be recruited by the department to investigate the truth behind the game, there could hardly be a better choice.
"Spare no effort in cultivating this Black Lord!"
Joseph added,
"But we cannot do it in our own name!"
Smith immediately replied,
"I'm certain major financial conglomerates such as Rockefeller and Morgan will be interested in this brand-new project. After all, it may contain the ticket to the next era—and that's exactly what they've been searching for."
………………
Luoshui Main City.
Inside the Lord's Hall.
Hang Yu swept his gaze across the latest batch of new players.
Quite a few of them deserved special attention.
Although they were pitifully weak at the moment, with most still struggling against the nearby Snake-Tailed Mountain Chickens, their future potential was extraordinary and well worth anticipating.
After withdrawing his gaze,
He began reviewing the territory's current resource reserves.
The current stockpile of the territory's primary resources was as follows:
——
Available Abyssal Magic Crystals: 58,000
Tier-One Materials and Tier-One Material Essence: 2.201 million units
Tier-Two Materials and Tier-Two Material Essence: 250,000 units
Tier-Three Materials and Tier-Three Material Essence: 32,000 units
Available Abyssal Essence Points: 71.9 million
……
The above was only an overview.
Taking Magic Crystals as an example—
The territory actually possessed at least 300,000 Magic Crystals in total, yet fewer than 60,000 were counted here.
Hang Yu's calculation method was:
Total Territory Magic Crystals − Scheduled Expenditures − Uncollected Magic Crystals = Available Magic Crystals
The scheduled expenditures referred to Magic Crystals that would soon be spent.
The largest portion naturally went toward expanding the barracks and recruiting new troops.
Sixty Tier-Two Barracks plus the recruitment of nearly twelve thousand soldiers would require a total expenditure of 350,000 Magic Crystals and 144,000 Tier-Two Material Essence.
Since this military expansion would not be completed all at once, recruitment would proceed gradually at 1,150 soldiers per day.
This not only reduced financial pressure on the territory but also prevented players from becoming overcrowded and competing for too few monsters.
Recruitment had only reached the fifth batch so far.
There were still over one hundred thousand Magic Crystals yet to be spent.
Since those funds were already committed, they naturally were not included in the available resource statistics.
Besides that,
Players themselves also possessed a considerable quantity of Abyssal Magic Stones and Abyssal Magic Crystals.
Especially during this territorial war, players had slain thousands of soldiers from the Foreign Tribes.
The total amount of Magic Crystals circulating among the civilian population of the territory had already reached well over one hundred thousand.
Part of that amount had already been turned in.
The remainder,
Which had not yet been collected,
Was also temporarily excluded from the financial calculations.
Overall,
Although recent income had been enormous,
The territory's finances remained extremely tight.
Aside from military expansion and recruitment,
There were simply too many expenditures.
For example,
The territory had recently constructed an Enlightenment Tower, purchased multiple Scout Towers and Barrier Towers, upgraded the Forging Workshop, Alchemy Workshop, and Territory Canteen, and recruited dozens of new employees.
Although these expenses were nowhere near as large as expanding the barracks or recruiting new troops,
They still represented a significant outlay.
The fact that any Magic Crystals remained at all was already quite fortunate.
To solve the shortage of Magic Crystals,
Hang Yu reserved only a small portion of the territory's medicinal pills for internal use.
Everything else was placed on the Trading Market for sale.
It was estimated that this would recover sixty to seventy thousand Magic Crystals.
In addition,
The Magic Crystals currently held by players also needed to be collected as quickly as possible.
With these two additional sources of Magic Crystals,
The territory's reserves would reach approximately two hundred thousand,
Allowing the Lord's Hall facilities to undergo their next upgrade.
As for materials?
The statistics above
Had all been converted into white-grade units as the standard for calculation.
For example,
Suppose the inventory contained ten thousand white-grade materials, one thousand green-grade materials, and one hundred blue-grade materials.
Since one blue-grade material could be dismantled into ten portions of green-grade Material Essence,
And one green-grade material could be dismantled into ten portions of white-grade Material Essence,
The total would therefore equal thirty thousand units of materials.
This method of calculation could not accurately reflect the true value of the stored materials. After all, a single high-quality high-tier material was worth far more than merely ten times that of a low-tier material—even a hundredfold difference was perfectly normal. However, it did provide a fairly accurate representation of the scale of the inventory.
Although Hang Yu possessed the Scourge Army's tenfold drop rate, and the Scourge Army could farm monsters at incredible speed thanks to their fearlessness of death and ability to revive endlessly, the territory had simply not existed long enough. Its foundation was still lacking.
The reason there were currently so many materials...
Was that more than half of them had come from New Wan City's century-long accumulation.
Although the quantity of these materials seemed enormous, they would be consumed very quickly once put into use. Besides constructing various facilities, more than ten thousand players would soon require massive amounts of materials to forge and enhance their equipment.
As for Essence...
The current Essence income was quite impressive.
The five thousand-plus new recruits alone, although the vast majority were below Level 5, still contributed around four million Essence every day.
As time passed,
And as the players continued leveling up,
This number would certainly continue to increase.
The roughly four thousand veteran players currently generated even more Essence.
If the territory remained in a constant state of war, with battles like today's occurring regularly, earning tens of millions of Essence in a single day would be effortless.
However, while income increased,
Expenses also increased.
Hang Yu not only returned part of the Essence to the players through quests and various rewards to encourage their enthusiasm,
But many territorial items also consumed the territory's Essence reserves.
For example, the Enlightenment Tower Recharge Voucher.
To put it bluntly, these items were simply Essence vouchers designated for specific services. The Essence players consumed inside the tower did not come from nowhere—it all came directly from the territory's stored Essence.
The fact that Hang Yu could cultivate the players at maximum efficiency while still retaining more than seventy million Essence for himself was already an excellent outcome.
Even so,
This Essence could not be spent carelessly.
The territory's current Essence deficit was still quite substantial.
Setting everything else aside, merely cultivating the 230 new Azure Dragon Guards represented an enormous expenditure.
Raising each ordinary soldier from Level 1 to Level 21 required approximately 780,000 Essence.
If they were also to be equipped with a sufficiently powerful and compatible skill system, it would cost at least several hundred thousand more Essence per person.
That did not even include the consumption of attribute-enhancing medicines or the forging of top-tier equipment.
Every single Azure Dragon Guard had been built through an overwhelming investment of resources.
That was why they possessed such formidable strength.
The amount of Essence currently in Hang Yu's possession was nowhere near enough to cultivate all 230 new Azure Dragon Guards.
Fortunately,
The territory possessed cultivation facilities such as the Training Tower.
This could significantly reduce the amount of Essence required.
Hang Yu began drafting and refining the territory's latest development plans based on its current resources.
Just then,
He suddenly sensed something.
"Jia Xu has arrived!"
Jia Xu teleported into Luoshui with several Azure Dragon Guards.
The powerful Lunar Yin Wraith warlock soon appeared before him.
Jia Xu bowed respectfully to Hang Yu.
"My Lord, in accordance with your instructions, the integration of the New Wan City Region has now been preliminarily completed. The Black Tiger Guard and the Iron Eagle Guard are currently being organized."
The integration of New Wan City's manpower had already reached its initial completion?
The efficiency was truly astonishing.
Before Hang Yu could even ask for a report—
"My Lord, please examine these."
Jia Xu instructed an Azure Dragon Guard to present several thick volumes.
They contained detailed records covering New Wan City's population registry, government officials, military forces, arsenal inventories, various resource outputs, resource reserves, cultivation techniques, skills, and much more.
The data was comprehensive.
The contents were exceptionally detailed.
Jia Xu then summarized the report.
"The New Wan City Region currently has a total population of 368,952."
"There are 28,526 troops available for integration, including the various city defense legions, family guard forces, cultivators of the Extreme Yin Sect, and others."
After listening to Jia Xu's explanation,
And reviewing the accompanying data,
Hang Yu quickly gained a clear understanding of New Wan City's current military strength.
These twenty-eight thousand-plus high-quality combatants were all at least Level 8 or 9.
Each had received professional training and had fought against Abyssal invasions for many years.
Every one of them was immediately deployable.
Their distribution was as follows:
15,451 Tier-One combatants at Levels 8–10.
8,532 Tier-Two combatants at Levels 11–15.
3,115 Tier-Two combatants at Levels 15–20.
928 Tier-Three high-level combatants above Level 20.
Every one of these Tier-Three troops was at least an Elite unit.
Excluding Jia Xu,
There were approximately fifteen individuals possessing Commander-class foundations and strength.
According to Hang Yu's plan,
He intended to establish three major defensive guard forces for the territory.
The Azure Dragon Guards would number 500.
The Black Tiger Guard would recruit 1,000 members.
The Iron Eagle Guard would initially recruit 10,000 soldiers before eventually expanding to 20,000.
Among them,
The Azure Dragon Guards would serve as the territory's core elite guard.
They would primarily protect the main city, serve as the Lord's personal guards, or be stationed at strategically important locations.
Each one represented the territory's highest-tier combat power,
Essentially serving as the Lord's personal emissaries.
The Black Tiger Guard ranked only below the Azure Dragon Guards.
They could be regarded as the Azure Dragon Guards' reserve force.
Their primary duty would be to garrison important regional cities.
They would serve as commander-level officers selected from the most trustworthy and elite native inhabitants.
The Iron Eagle Guard was the weakest of the three forces.
However,
It would also be the largest.
It would function as the territory's regular army,
Whose primary responsibilities would be assisting the Azure Dragon Guards and Black Tiger Guard in maintaining order and participating in warfare.
Following Hang Yu's instructions,
Jia Xu had already completed the integration of New Wan City's military forces.
The formation of the Black Tiger Guard and Iron Eagle Guard would soon be complete.
But Jia Xu's accomplishments did not end there.
He had also brought Hang Yu two gifts.
The first gift consisted of a massive quantity of materials and production resources.
After conversion, they amounted to approximately:
500,000 units of Tier-One White-Grade Materials,
60,000 units of Tier-Two White-Grade Materials,
and 5,000 units of Tier-Three White-Grade Materials.
Although Hang Yu had emptied the stockpiles throughout New Wan City when he first took control,
It was obvious that this was not the entirety of New Wan City's wealth.
Jia Xu had swiftly reorganized the local noble families and various factions.
Through a series of methods,
He persuaded these families to voluntarily contribute their resources for the development of the territory.
And that was not all.
Jia Xu presented Hang Yu with a second gift.
It was an enormous chest filled with black tokens.
"These are Soul Tokens crafted by the Extreme Yin Sect."
"They seal a portion of a person's spirit and soul within them."
"Now, the leaders of every major force throughout New Wan City, as well as the principal figures of the Extreme Yin Sect, have all voluntarily demonstrated their loyalty in this manner."
So that was how it worked.
As long as these Soul Tokens remained under his control,
Anyone who dared harbor disloyal intentions could be erased instantly.
Hang Yu expressed his approval of Jia Xu's capabilities.
However,
His chosen path was one of benevolent kingship.
He could not rely solely on authority without also granting rewards.
"You've done well."
"These Soul Tokens will be temporarily stored in the main city."
"The territory is currently undergoing rapid development, so this Lord shall also accept the resources that the various families and factions have 'voluntarily' contributed."
Hang Yu paused before continuing.
"However, this Lord rewards merit and punishes wrongdoing fairly."
"I will not simply accept these resources without compensation."
"Every faction or individual who has contributed resources shall receive the appropriate amount of Contribution Points according to the established regulations."
This way,
No one lost out.
The territory gained resources.
The factions and individuals of the New Wan City Region received Contribution Points.
These Contribution Points were extremely valuable.
They could be used to purchase a wide variety of territorial services,
Including, but not limited to,
Blessing Point teleportation,
forging,
alchemy,
the Skill Tower,
the Enlightenment Tower,
and even the Training Tower.
For many native inhabitants,
Using Contribution Points wisely represented an opportunity to change their destiny.
Once completely bound to the territory in this way,
They would naturally have no reason to harbor any ulterior motives.
Besides purchasing the territory's powerful services,
Contribution Points also served another important purpose—
Posting quests to command the Scourge Army.
As long as a quest passed Xiao Ba's review and was successfully published,
The Scourge Army would willingly brave life and death to complete it.
Once these native inhabitants realized the true value of Contribution Points,
Jia Xu would no longer need to coerce or manipulate them.
They would likely begin voluntarily offering any valuable resources they possessed to the territory in exchange for even more Contribution Points.
They might even proactively engage in farming,
Animal husbandry,
Mining,
Research,
Forging,
And manufacturing,
Contributing to the territory's development in order to earn additional Contribution Points.
This was precisely the difference between the path of hegemonic rule and the path of benevolent kingship.
Jia Xu immediately cupped his fists.
"My Lord is truly wise!"
Hang Yu said,
"Wenhe, although you have not served this territory for very long, you have already fully demonstrated your ability and value, and have rendered tremendous service."
"This Lord shall now restore your physical body."
There was no time to waste.
Not only had Jia Xu eagerly awaited this moment,
Hang Yu himself had also looked forward to it for a long time.
He took out the Scroll of Genesis.
As a Blue High-Grade rare consumable,
It required immense magical power to activate.
A weaker lord would have been unable to use such a treasure even if they had obtained it.
After expending nearly ten thousand points of mana,
He successfully used the scroll to summon the Genesis Formation.
Following Hang Yu's instructions,
Jia Xu stepped into the formation.
The formation immediately activated.
After roughly a quarter of an hour,
His physical body had been completely reconstructed.
The entire process proceeded without the slightest mishap.
Not long afterward,
Having changed into the prepared robes,
Jia Xu formally appeared before Hang Yu in his restored state.
His appearance had changed very little.
He still possessed white hair and crimson eyes.
Combined with his remarkably handsome face,
His features remained almost androgynous.
However,
Much of his previous gloomy and sinister aura had disappeared.
Hang Yu immediately examined Jia Xu's information.
————
Name: Jia Xu
Level: 25
Race: Human
Tier: Tier Three
Base Attributes (excluding skill bonuses):
Health: 5,000
Mana: 15,000
Strength: 750
Agility: 1,000
Spirit: 3,050
Willpower: 1,750
Talents:
Eternal Poison Strategist
Unfailing Calculation
Mastermind of Chaotic Warfare
Aptitude of a Master Strategist
Talent of the Three Excellencies
Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Disaster
Insight into Human Nature
Self-Healing
Skills:
Extreme Yin Demonic Codex (Blue Cultivation Technique)
Extreme Yin Puppet Grand Art (Blue Cultivation Technique)
Demon-Sealing Curse Chains (Blue)
...
Essence: 0 / 270,000
【Eternal Poison Strategist】
Purple Fate Talent
Effects of all Necromancy, Curse, Shadow, Mental, and Soul-type skills +220%.
This talent can further awaken and evolve as the user's tier increases.
【Mastermind of Chaotic Warfare】
Blue Fate Talent
All control-type skill effects +150%.
Controlled units gain +30% Attack.
Cooldown of control-type skills -50%.
【Unfailing Calculation】
Blue Fate Talent
All spell-type skill effects +25%.
Mana consumption -15%.
Cooldown -15%.
【Aptitude of a Master Strategist】
Purple Aptitude Talent
At the current tier, every level grants:
Health +100
Mana +500
Strength +10
Agility +20
Spirit +70
Willpower +50
Essence required to train all spell-type skills -70%.
Success rate of achieving Enlightenment for spell-type skills below Purple Grade +50%.
【Talent of the Three Excellencies】
Blue Aptitude Talent
At the current tier, every level grants:
Health +100
Mana +100
All four primary attributes +20.
【Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Disaster】
Green Aptitude Talent...
【Insight into Human Nature】
Green Aptitude Talent...
————
Although Hang Yu had long known that Jia Xu possessed extraordinary talents and aptitude,
Seeing the detailed information in full
Still left him deeply shocked.
Two Purple talents.
Three Blue talents.
That was truly outrageous.
No wonder Jia Xu was so overwhelmingly powerful.
Even if he served purely as a combat unit,
His value alone was already astonishingly high.
Hang Yu could not help wondering—
What kind of Fate Skill would Jia Xu awaken after receiving the Starsea Mark?
(PS: This bonus chapter was released for supporter Nuanyang1314. The remaining two bonus chapters will be released over the coming days.)