Ding! Congratulations! You have repelled the second wave of attacks from the Hell Devil! Your post-battle reward will increase by +30%!
You have received a stage reward—20,000 dinar.
Tip: Downtime on the battlefield is not considered combat, so you can upgrade your soldiers now.
Tip: You have soldiers that can be upgraded.
Then, as the Holy Tree Knight Order and Swadian Heavy Cavalry completed their pincer charge, the three hundred-man square formations composed of Medium Devils immediately collapsed.
Or rather, they were completely crushed by the pincer charge.
It was like a roaring flood.
After sweeping away everything.
What remained was the mess and corpses on the battlefield.
At this moment, the Holy Tree Warhorses and Swadian Warhorses were casually trampling on the bodies of the Medium Devils lying haphazardly on the ground.
Both the Holy Tree Knight Order members and the Swadian Heavy Cavalry, riding on horseback, held their lances in reverse grip, leisurely thrusting them downwards.
With a soft ‘thud’.
They perfectly plunged their long lances directly into the bodies of the Medium Devils lying on the ground.
They even precisely pierced the necks of these Hell Devil.
As the lance twisted.
It directly Poke a large hole through the necks of these Hell Devil, some even having their spinal cords pierced and shattered.
It was a scene of utter annihilation, even when delivering the finishing blows!
Shen Mu, standing on the city gate, was very satisfied with this.
Looking at the surrounding Kujit Steppe Bandits and Steppe Bandit Elites, who were still using their long spears, Nomadic Bows, and Nomadic Scimitars to slaughter the Lowly Devils that had been routed and scattered.
Shen Mu’s lips curved slightly.
The situation was now under control.
So, the rest could be left to his generals.
He should deal with more important matters.
After all, in this seemingly post-battle cleanup downtime, he really couldn't waste time.
Every second was extremely important!
God knows when the third wave of attacks would begin.
Shen Mu certainly didn't dare to waste it casually!
“Open the upgradable soldier interface.”
Shen Mu’s thought communication system.
Immediately, a new dialogue box refreshed on his retina.
Current upgradable soldiers:
① Steppe Bandit × 115, costs 100 dinar per person to upgrade to ‘Steppe Bandit Elite (Tier 4 Horse Archer)’.
11500
② Swadian Light Infantry × 100, costs 100 dinar per person to upgrade to ‘Swadian Infantry (Tier 4 Heavy Infantry) / Swadian Heavy Cavalry (Tier 4 Heavy Cavalry)’.
10000
③ Vigia Recruit × 1000, costs 20 dinar per person to upgrade to ‘Vagir Light Infantry (Tier 2 Infantry)’.
20000
④ Holy Tree Cavalry × 50, costs 500 dinar per person to upgrade to ‘Holy Tree Knight (Tier 5 Mithril Heavy Cavalry)’.
25000
…
Even Shen Mu’s expression became slightly subtle as he looked at the content of the dialogue box that appeared on his retina.
It couldn’t help but be subtle.
Because at this time, he found that the total dinar required for all his upgradable soldiers had reached 66,500 dinar.
And Shen Mu’s current dinar balance was exactly 65,057 dinar.
There was still a difference of 1,500 dinar.
“I’m really speechless.”
Shen Mu pursed his lips at this moment, feeling a bit helpless, but he still communicated with the system to confirm the Mount & Blade Soldiers he was about to upgrade:
“Upgrade 100 Steppe Bandits, 100 Swadian Light Infantry, 1000 Vigia Recruits, and 50 Holy Tree Cavalry.”
In other words, Shen Mu changed the original plan of upgrading 115 Steppe Bandits to only upgrading 100.
And the upgrade cost for the remaining 15 Steppe Bandits was exactly 1,500 dinar.
It directly offset the difference.
‘Buzz!’
As Shen Mu confirmed, white data streams once again surged from his brow.
They seemed to transform into data chains, entwining around the mount & blade units that were supposed to be upgraded, forming light shields like eggshells.
Then, within a dozen seconds, these Mount & Blade Soldiers began to evolve from body to soul.
And these Mount & Blade Soldiers were directly transferred to the Mount & Blade World, undergoing over a decade of training and practical experience, ultimately leading to the birth of these advanced units.
That is, the Steppe Bandit Elites.
Swadian Heavy Cavalry.
Vagir Light Infantry.
And the final 50 Holy Tree Cavalry upgraded into Holy Tree Knights!
Shen Mu smiled as he looked at these soldiers who had completed their promotion.
Because he knew that these were the new Mount & Blade Soldiers he had obtained through fighting to support fighting, who had completed their promotion, undergone a qualitative change, and were akin to a complete transformation.
From combat power to combat experience to fighting techniques, everything was powerfully transformed.
“It’s a pity that those Vekia Archers haven’t been upgraded, perhaps they haven’t experienced enough battles.”
Shen Mu’s eyes showed a hint of regret at this moment.
After all, if the Vekia Archers were to upgrade, they would become Tier 5 Vigia Sharpshooters, capable of shooting far and accurately, and also forming an endless rain of arrows through continuous shooting.
They could be said to be top-tier ranged archers.
But thinking about it, it’s understandable; for these Vekia Archers to upgrade from Tier 4 to Tier 5 Vigia Sharpshooters, they would certainly require a significant amount of combat experience.
After all, from Tier 1 to Tier 4, one only needs to upgrade steadily step by step.
But from Tier 4 to Tier 5, that is a qualitative leap in upgrading.
According to Shen Mu’s estimation, the combat experience required to go from Tier 4 to Tier 5 could be comparable to the experience from Tier 1 to Tier 4.
This also explains why Tier 5 units are absolute ace units; they are absolute aces that can bring a combat advantage just by appearing on the battlefield.
Their combat power is extremely strong.
This is why Shen Mu’s eyes showed a hint of regret.
He knew very well that if there were more Vigia Sharpshooters now, then the Hell Devil would probably face a more deadly rain of arrows if they tried to attack again.
The gap between Tier 5 ace units and Tier 4 elite units is quite significant.
The biggest example is the Holy Tree Knights evolved from the Holy Tree Cavalry.
At this moment, the members of the Holy Tree Knight Order in this world, besides the 110 Holy Tree Knights, only had the remaining 100 Holy Tree Forest Guardians.
The ordinary Tier 1 Holy Tree Forest Guardians and the top-tier Tier 5 Holy Tree Knights.
Of course, these two unit types are not comparable.
By comparing the Holy Tree Cavalry from before with the current Holy Tree Knights, one can easily discern the difference between the two.
Not only are the Holy Tree Knights, both rider and horse, fully equipped with chain plate armor, but they are also magical equipment mixed with mithril.
This also created an absolute gap in combat power.
Especially against evil.
For example, now.
When slaughtering the Hell Devil, the Holy Tree Knights, as newcomers, could effectively inflict fatal damage on the Hell Devil.
In contrast, the Holy Tree Cavalry needed more skill and more luck to kill a Hell Devil.
This was most evident during the pincer charge just now.
The Holy Tree Knights relied on their magical equipment to achieve good killing effects against the Medium Devils.
Compared to the Swadian Heavy Cavalry who pursued them from behind.
The damage inflicted by these Holy Tree Knights on the Hell Devil was basically a one-hit kill as long as they hit a vital spot.
Although this also had the advantage of magical equipment, as mithril naturally provides a bonus to damage against evil, it also attributed to these Holy Tree Knights having reached their current peak position through countless battles, possessing the combat experience and skills.
“Now everything is moving in a better direction.”
Shen Mu’s face was also very satisfied at this moment, smiling as he looked at the Holy Tree Knights who had completed their transformation, feeling a bit more at ease.
After all, his strength had significantly improved.
Then he looked at the new 100 Swadian Heavy Cavalry and the 100 Steppe Bandit Elites next to them.
They all looked quite capable and powerful.
Shen Mu’s lips curved more and more.
He was truly happy.
The Tier 4 Swadian Heavy Cavalry, both rider and horse, were still equipped with heavy chainmail, their charging combat power was self-evident.
This was Shen Mu’s confidence.
“It looks like it’s already 3 AM.”
Shen Mu estimated the time and found that it was already 3:00 AM, and it would be light in about three more hours.
However, the current time slot also had a relatively obscure name.
The darkness before dawn.
The darkest moment before daybreak.
“And the death spirit rules of these Hell Devil around here haven’t dissipated yet, which means those Hell Devil haven’t given up on the idea of continuing to attack my location.”
Shen Mu looked at the several huge Hell Rules runes still floating in the sky around him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He could vaguely sense some malice directed at him within those Hell Rules.
Or rather, the malice from the Hell Rules towards any non-Hell creature.
“Hmm? Wait?”
However, as Shen Mu looked up at those dark red runes, a peculiar expression appeared on his face.
Because at this moment, he suddenly saw that those dark red runes had dimmed.
As if they were light bulbs that had lost power.
They slowly began to flicker with alternating bright and dim light, then gradually faded completely.
Finally, the flickering dark red light gradually retracted back into the tunnel of the Su Family Village Station.
It was clear that the Hell Rules, which had extended from the Su Family Village subway station by two individuals, had lost the additional power supporting their invasion of the Blue Star World and began to retreat along the path they came.
Or rather, the Hell Rules had admitted defeat for tonight and did not intend to continue invading this area of the Blue Star World at 3 AM.
Then they returned the area to complete darkness, and the gray mist that spread with the darkness.
The death spirit rules appeared in this area again.
“Something’s wrong! We need to go back to the castle!”
At this moment, Aleron, who had experienced the darkness of the death spirit rules before, clearly noticed the darkness and gray mist spreading again as the dark red light receded.
And according to the special situation where a considerable number of Undead Monsters would appear when darkness and gray fog permeated before.
Aleron immediately called out to the Holy Tree Knights around him, the Swadian Heavy Cavalry led by Lezalit, and the Kujit Steppe Bandits led by Bestour, urging them to charge into the gates of New Rivadin.
At this moment, darkness had just fallen, and the gray mist had not yet fully permeated. Within it, dark red light occasionally flickered, as if the remaining Hell Rules were still repelling the death spirit rules. They took advantage of this opportunity to all rush into the gates of New Rivadin.
They returned to the outer walls of New Rivadin, which were already lit with bonfires and protected and enveloped by Mount & Blade Rules.
He counted the number of Mount & Blade Soldiers he led.
After confirming there were no casualties.
Aleron, Lezalit, and Bestour then came together to Shen Mu's side at the top of the outer city gate.
"Lord Shen Mu."
The three of them bowed respectfully to Shen Mu.
"Hmm, very good."
Shen Mu also nodded at this time, praising them with great satisfaction: "I saw your heroic fighting figures, very good."
The previous battle was indeed quite good; their heroic fighting indeed repelled the two waves of Hell Devil' attacks.
And there were no casualties among the Vigians, Kujits, or members of the Holy Tree Knight Order.
It was indeed quite impressive.
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Shen Mu."
The three of them humbly lowered their heads and thanked him again.
However, Shen Mu turned around at this moment, looking at the darkness and gray fog that had reappeared and enveloped the entire world outside.
His brows furrowed slightly.
"Lord, is this what they call the death spirit rules, once again occupying this Blue Star World?"
Lezalit asked at this moment.
Of course, it also represented the question of Bestour beside him.
When they arrived, they only witnessed these so-called death spirit rules when it had just gotten dark.
But they had not truly seen the Undead Monsters that appeared within these death spirit rules.
Then the Hell Rules and Hell Devil came.
Speaking of which.
These two generals from the Mount & Blade World were indeed quite curious about the Undead Monsters under the death spirit rules.
"Hmm, now it's the night occupied by the death spirit rules."
Shen Mu nodded.
He also briefly explained to these two newly arrived generals what death spirit rules were and what Undead Monsters were.
This brought a look of surprise and eagerness to try on the faces of Lezalit and Bestour.
Especially as they listened to Shen Mu's explanation.
These two evil faction generals couldn't help but reach for the hilts of their knight's swords and Nomadic Scimitars.
Clearly, after hearing Shen Mu's explanation, they somewhat wanted to rush out and test the quality of those Undead Monsters with their own martial prowess!
Especially after the Hell Rules dissipated and the dark red light disappeared, indicating that those Hell Devil no longer dared to launch further attacks.
This left these two evil faction generals with some regret.
Especially after the fighting spirit that had warmed their entire bodies now had nowhere to be released.
They felt even more eager to try and vent.
"Alright, your most important task now is to comfort the soldiers after the battle and let them rest first."
Shen Mu, however, saw that these two looked like they didn't want to stay here and still wanted to take their troops out to cause trouble.
The corner of his eye couldn't help but twitch slightly.
Evil faction generals were just like this; they wanted to cause trouble as soon as they were idle and were quite fanatical about fighting.
And they were even more enthusiastic about the wealth, power, and prestige gained after the battle.
Compared to the good faction generals who preferred stable, step-by-step development, these evil faction generals were truly a bit too energetic.
"We understand."
Of course, since Shen Mu had already given the order, these two evil faction generals could only bow their heads in submission.
Then, after another salute, they turned around and, according to Shen Mu's command, went to comfort their Kujit Steppe Bandits and Swadian Heavy Cavalry, instructing them to begin resting simply in the outer castle area.
The enemy had been dealt with.
The city gates were now closed again.
The Vagir Light Infantry on the city walls had also resumed holding torches, patrolling, or standing guard.
A good Garrison Defense System had been formed.
The city walls were placed under strict supervision.
"Aleron."
Shen Mu turned to Aleron at this moment, the highest martial artist and knight in the good faction: "The city wall here will be your responsibility. You'll continue to work hard tonight; don't let anything happen on the wall."
"Please rest assured, Lord Shen Mu, I will diligently guard this city wall!" Aleron immediately nodded.
"Hmm."
Shen Mu also nodded with satisfaction upon hearing Aleron say this.
Then he turned and returned to the inner part of the castle.
To the main castle building on the hill.
"Hoo."
Shen Mu let out a sigh of relief.
He sat on his main castle seat at this moment, looking at the Swadian Light Infantry who had also followed in as guards.
Shen Mu waved his hand, signaling them to stand in their places and not make any more disorderly footsteps.
He needed quiet for a while now.
So the Swadian Light Infantry stood obediently on both sides, and even if someone walked, they did so lightly, trying not to make any sound.
They looked extremely disciplined.
And just outside, 20 Holy Tree Knights also walked over at this time, also moving lightly and silently.
Then they stood not far from Shen Mu, holding their long spears and resting their hands on the knight's swords at their waists, acting as personal guards to protect Shen Mu.
This was also a duty that these Holy Tree Knights had spontaneously organized.
Shen Mu was quite satisfied with this.
At this moment, he indeed wanted some quiet.
There was no other way; after just experiencing a bloody battle, Shen Mu had not yet emerged from that state of combat.
It was that tense, excited state, where adrenaline secretion prevented him from calming his emotions in a short period.
Shen Mu understood this state.
Therefore, in the quiet, looking at the dark night outside, he, sitting on the lord's main seat, calmly closed his eyes.
He even leaned his back against the cold chair back, slowly relaxing and beginning to doze.
This was to restore his spirit.
And to analyze things in his mind.
"Logically, there should have been a third wave of attacks, but the Hell Devil didn't launch it."
Shen Mu pondered in his heart: "Could it be because this time, the number of Hell Devil I killed was simply too many, causing those Hell Devil to feel fear?"
Thinking about how he had repelled those Hell Devil in two consecutive waves.
It was almost as if he had annihilated their entire army.
The corners of Shen Mu's mouth also curved slightly.
It had to be said, this was the absolute combat power that his Mount & Blade Soldiers could possess.
But the corner of his mouth that had just curved up now pursed again.
"But after a full day tomorrow, I might have to face more devil attacks."
Shen Mu thought of the coming night.
Indeed, tonight, he had repelled waves of enemy attacks.
But what about the nights to come?
There were still who knew how many Hell Devil in the subway tunnels and in Angang Street.
It truly made Shen Mu's heart involuntarily grow heavy.
"I didn't expect there to be so many Hell Devil in this suburban area of Long City."
Shen Mu turned his head to look out the narrow ventilation window.
The pitch-black night.
His face also showed some solemnity: "Especially the north bank of Xiao Long River, I really don't know how far the Hell Devil' erosion of Angang Street has progressed."
He was quite unfamiliar with Angang Street.
It could even be said that due to the obstruction of Xiao Long River, even though Shen Mu now occupied Bali River Street in Long City.
He was still helpless regarding Angang Street on the north bank.
After all, even if Shen Mu now had a complete castle to place, he wouldn't dare to place it in the unfamiliar Angang Street.
God knew what the situation was like there.
Even if he did place it, it would be a wasted opportunity to set up a castle.
It would have a crucial impact on his future development.
Of course.
The current problem was that there were no extra villages or castles/towns that could be placed.
The previous village had already merged with the two New Rivadin villages to become the current Vikia Castle.
So, without extra villages or towns/castles, thinking about these things now was just idle speculation with no practical use.
It would be better to focus on how to develop New Rivadin, the castle, and continue to defend against future invasions by Hell Devil.
But as Shen Mu was deep in thought, a faint warmth suddenly emanated from his Holy Tree Suit.
It made him alert.
"Evil presence!?"
Shen Mu's expression changed slightly, and he stood up directly from the main seat of the lord's hall.
"Something's happening!"
And right beside Shen Mu, the Holy Tree Knight who had originally come to be on alert and appointed as a personal guard immediately took a few steps forward, protecting him within, and loudly rebuked towards the main entrance of the lord's hall: "Come out!"
They clearly discovered that something seemed to be just outside the main entrance of the hall.
At this moment, Shen Mu narrowed his eyes slightly and also saw a gray phantom suddenly flickering at the main entrance, and with bursts of gray mist and darkness, it permeated in a special vortex form.
And a figure completely shrouded in black gauze, with a female silhouette, also appeared there.
Then, she slowly spoke:
"So it's Lord Shen Mu. I apologize for disturbing you. It's because Mistress Isabelle detected the aura of the Hell Rules brought by the Hell Devil, so she sent me to investigate what happened here."
From her voice, it seemed she knew Shen Mu.
And Shen Mu also recognized the figure completely shrouded in black gauze, with a female silhouette.
The maid from the Vampire faction in that large Shopping Mall!
