Chapter 357 – Organization Establishment

The greatest advantage of the Night Crow Servants lies in ‘Collective Black Crow Vision Sharing’.

Your crows are my crows, and my crows are your crows.

This model is not unfamiliar to Mu Yuan. Prior to this, his Black Crows and Sophia’s Black Crows could already achieve complete sharing. However, this was a relatively rare special circumstance, as he had loaded Sophia’s template, and thus all the Black Crows he created were Sophia-branded crows, naturally allowing for shared use.

Under normal circumstances, achieving seamless communication between different units is not that easy, let alone collective vision sharing. The Asuns, who possess the divine skill of ‘Vision Sharing’, can only transmit their vision to one specific ally, unable to allow a hundred people to view the same vision simultaneously.

The Night Crow Servants can do just that.

Moreover, a single Night Crow Servant can create over a hundred observation points, surpassing the Asuns by miles in terms of vision acquisition.

Times have changed; the intelligence Asuns have withdrawn from the battlefield.

“My previous idea was to find suitable units with reconnaissance abilities and gradually evolve and cultivate them. My evolution power is now complete and not restricted by unit systems, so cultivating suitable intelligence units is only a matter of time.”

However, a matter of time is a significant problem.

What he lacks most is time.

Even if he could evolve units with advanced abilities in ‘disguise’, ‘infiltration’, ‘observation’, and other aspects, it would still be difficult to evolve a strategic method like ‘collective vision sharing’.

“Take the Cold Moon City Lord, for example; she possesses the strategic talent to reclassify as the Moon Sword Immortal, and she seems to gain some combat power enhancement from the Moon Sword Immortals under her command.”

“Sophia gains vision enhancement.”

The latter is more valuable.

Mu Yuan’s household is not without other heroes who possess reclassification abilities. Back in the Festival Grounds, the hero ‘Holy Light High Priestess Windsor’ had the strategic talent to reclassify into the Nun Unit.

However, units like the Nun are not difficult for Mu Yuan to obtain; it’s merely a matter of money. The Night Crow Servants, on the other hand, are hard to come by.

With powerful vision expansion and sharing capabilities, as well as considerable stealth abilities, the Night Crow Servant unit can be said to have maxed out the technical points in reconnaissance. In contrast, perhaps the Night Crow Servants are somewhat lacking in combat ability.

Mu Yuan doesn’t see this as a problem.

Lacking combat skills? Combat talents? Just evolve them.

If one evolution isn’t enough, do two.

He no longer lacks high-tier or epic-tier units; he only lacks certain very rare units with unique abilities.

“As a rare three-star unit, the reclassification conditions for the Night Crow Servant are quite stringent, but… our Tianyuan Territory now has thirty thousand residents. Even if only a very small number of them meet the requirements, reclassifying several dozen Night Crow Servants probably isn’t a problem.”

“Sophia can also screen from the assassin-type units within the human category.”

“According to the description, only a few among the assassin-type units meet the requirements, but as the assassin units’ tier and rank improve, they naturally become more likely to fulfill the reclassification requirements for the Night Crow Servant.”

Mu Yuan pondered.Within his Tianyuan Territory, there were also a small number of assassin-type military units. Common three-star ‘Assassins’ and ‘Assassins’, rare one-star ‘Shadow Assassins’, and rare three-star ‘Shadow Assassins’. Among them, several Shadow Assassins had already cultivated to Tier 1 Level 8 or 9.

Selecting suitable individuals from the military units for class change could form combat effectiveness more quickly.

However…

“Elites originating from military units, even after awakening self-awareness, most remain rather simple-minded.”

Just like Seventeen.

Scouts often venture deep into dangerous territories, requiring sufficient judgment. Otherwise, a single misstep could easily lead to death.

Someone as simple-minded as Seventeen, no matter how powerful, isn’t suitable for such missions.

Of course, Seventeen and other officers had only awakened self-awareness for less than a year. As these officers and elites gain more experience, they would naturally become more shrewd.

People develop through experience.

If selecting from among the territory’s residents, particularly those with rich experiences and knowledge, they could indeed become effective more quickly.

“Sophia’s class change talent isn’t limited to our own residents. This power can also be bestowed upon ‘outsiders’. Although outsiders who undergo class change become Night Crow Servants rather than Tianyuan Territory military units, making them less reliable, using this method to create a group of ‘peripheral personnel’ is acceptable.”

“Moreover, Sophia can utilize the Black Crow vision created by all the Night Crow Servants she has transformed. With this ability, the peripheral personnel won’t escape control.”

Not far away, the Hero Mark on Sophia’s forehead gradually faded.

She opened her eyes, her entire being now carrying faint traces of mysterious, ethereal charm.

Her Hero aura could enhance concealment abilities and night capabilities, perfectly suited to herself. Her overall capabilities had naturally improved significantly as well.

Furthermore, she possessed a Hero-exclusive weapon.

「Night’s Crown」

「Ability ①: This exclusive weapon possesses Advanced Toughness and Advanced Resistance, while moderately boosting Sophia’s Mental Energy and concealment abilities.」

「Ability ②: Night’s Crown can split into up to three innate Black Feathers. Sophia can shape these innate Black Feathers into her own Incarnations. The Black Feather Incarnations possess 60% of Sophia’s base capabilities and can use feather-type and night-type skills. Simultaneously, within a certain range, Sophia can instantly swap positions between her Black Feather Incarnations and her true form.」

「Note: Current swap range is 3.36 kilometers (dependent on Mental Energy); as Sophia’s tier increases, the number of innate Black Feathers can also increase.」

「Ability ③: In night environments, the effects of Ability ① and the swap range of Ability ② are doubled.」

Sophia’s Hero-exclusive weapon seemed, somewhat ridiculously powerful.

Especially in terms of survival.

“Sophia’s true form can instantly swap positions with her Incarnations at any time, meaning she can essentially teleport 3.36 kilometers with a single thought. If she positions all three Incarnations appropriately, she could relocate over ten kilometers away in the blink of an eye.”

“Moreover, in night environments, Sophia’s maximum teleportation distance doubles, reaching approximately twenty kilometers! And night environment… anytime, anywhere, is night environment for Sophia. She can always receive this amplification blessing.”

This was truly a tailor-made exclusive weapon!Otherwise, the Eternal World has long days and short nights, with limited time shrouded in darkness.

With such teleportation abilities combined with stealth, even if targeted by multiple Legendary Realm experts, Sophia could easily escape.

He had previously considered sending Sophia deep into the Wilderness to investigate Jackal Fang’s situation and gather information about enemy Legendary Realm experts, but was concerned about her safety—after all, Sophia couldn’t run nearly as fast as Asun.

Now, with Night’s Crown, her safety was assured.

At that moment, Sophia was studying her exclusive equipment.

With a thought, a black feather drifted from Night’s Crown. Then one feather became two, two became three, three became countless. Countless black feathers fluttered and scattered, revealing a bright-eyed girl with pearly teeth, dressed in black clothes and skirt—identical to Sophia except without the crown.

Standing beside Sophia’s true form, she looked like a reflection in a mirror.

“Good morning, Boss~”

Having understood the territory’s situation and circumstances over the day, Sophia naturally had no objections to her new appointment from the boss.

This was a weighty trust indeed!

The boss had said that the intelligence agency was one of the top three most important departments in the entire territory.

The future of this department now rested in her hands.

Though the entire intelligence agency currently consisted of just her, Sophia, as a lone commander—without even a name yet—it didn’t matter. When she went to Blue Star to establish her company before, hadn’t she also recruited employees entirely on her own?

Starting from scratch was something she was very familiar with.

“Let’s start by screening qualified talents from our own territory first.”

Countless black crows flew out from around Sophia, spreading throughout Tianyuan Territory.

…

After entrusting Sophia with the important tasks of establishing the intelligence agency and investigating the northern regions, Mu Yuan stopped paying attention.

Sophia’s reliability was second only to Deadbone and Isloria, truly requiring no further instructions from him.

Several hours later,

「Prompt: Your Hero Sophia consumed 1500g of Soul Sand, transitioning citizen ‘Gray Blade’ into a Night Crow Servant.」

「Prompt: Your Hero Sophia consumed 1500g of Soul Sand, transitioning citizen ‘Rose’ into a Night Crow Servant.」

「Prompt: …」

In the newly established intelligence agency headquarters in South City of Tianyuan Territory.

Over a dozen men and women—some alluring, some fierce-looking—were watching with delight as power surged through their bodies.

These were the first batch of Night Crow Servants selected by Sophia.

Also the most compatible and capable group.

Most of them weren’t ordinary people.

Gray Blade was one of them.

He was a Peak first-tier assassin who had once served as a black glove for important figures in a certain city, until the city’s destruction turned all past glories into smoke.

He had somehow found his way to this city called Tianyuan, becoming an ordinary citizen here.

Gray Blade had once been a minor expert himself—his notorious reputation had made many minor nobles tremble in fear. Of course he wasn’t content with being just an ordinary citizen in Tianyuan Territory.

He wanted to climb step by step, step by step to the peak!

But the Lord’s military units weren’t recruiting soldiers from outside, and his self-recommendation failed. Later, he heard the security team was hiring with quite good benefits, so Gray Blade applied.

However, despite his considerable strength giving him an advantage in the security team’s assessments, he still failed the interview.【Interview Question: If citizen A beats up citizen B for no reason, causing minor injuries, how should this be handled?】

【Gray Blade’s Answer: Execute citizen A.】

To this day, Gray Blade still couldn’t figure out why he had failed the assessment.

Was the examiner deliberately targeting him?

He seethed with intense fury for a moment, but didn’t dare to ask—after all, the captain of the security team conducting their interview was a Peak second-tier expert.

Later, Gray Blade found a relatively well-paying job—tightening screws at a factory. With hand speed, precision, and endurance far surpassing ordinary people, he earned a decent wage by the end of each day, enough to live quite comfortably. Yet, he remained unsatisfied.

The money he earned was more than enough for a carefree life, but insufficient for enhancing his strength.

Until today, a Black Crow flew before him and asked if he desired power, if he wished to advance further.

And so Gray Blade came.

“This… this is power! Such formidable power!”

Though he remained at the Peak of first-tier, he could clearly feel that his strength, speed, and spirit had all significantly increased. Moreover, he had Awakened several new skills through some mysterious means.

What tremendous power this was!

He looked ahead at the figure shrouded entirely in black robes, whose appearance and form were indistinguishable, then knelt on one knee, offering his utmost loyalty.

Among the crowd, Rose was also a ‘minor expert’ at the Peak of first-tier.

She came from an assassin organization, proficient in various assassination techniques.

But she knew well that assassination skills had their limits. As an ordinary three-star ‘Assassin,’ even if she honed her skills to their Peak, at best she could only assassinate a second-tier expert.

In Tianyuan City, there were always others more powerful. Even within the security team, dubbed the ‘Third-line Corps’ or ‘Militia Corps,’ there were many stronger than her.

Moreover, above the security team were the Garrison Legion and the Patrol Corps. And above the Garrison Legion were the various main combat corps.

Rose deeply understood that assassins had their limits.

So today, she underwent her second job change.

Night Crow Servant!

A noble, rare three-star class!

Of course, the price was swearing undying loyalty to the Lord and carrying out missions for the territory. She didn’t mind. She had always been an assassin who followed orders, a Saber to be wielded wherever needed.

Sophia was completely enveloped in black robes, not revealing even a hint of her features, only letting faint glimpses of her gaze through as she assessed her first batch of trusted aides.

After all, the department had changed.

Intelligence operatives needed to hide in the shadows, so as their leader, she naturally had to conceal her identity even more, becoming a master of the night who lurked in the darkness, hunting those who moved within the shadows.

…That’s how it was always portrayed in the novels and anime she’d read.

A low, neutral voice emerged from beneath her hood.

“I have bestowed power upon you. Now begins the hunt of the night.”

“Do not disappoint me, nor our Lord.”

“If you perform exceptionally, you may obtain even greater power in the future.”

“Go now, and let the name of night resound across the land.”

This grand promise was eagerly swallowed by Gray Blade, Rose, and the other newly appointed Night Crow Servants.

Because this promise was tangible and visible.

As long as they worked hard, their future was promising. After all, their territory was one guarded by a Dragon.

Whoosh~

A slender blue Dragon soared over the territory, drawing countless gazes filled with awe and reverence.The working dragon Tiff slightly raised her neck, circled around the South District of the territory twice and a half with an expectant heart, then landed on the evolution grounds of the Iceheart Lotus Platform.

She held no doubt about the Lord’s great power.

She could personally witness how her fellow dragon Uta climbed step by step to the peak.

Of course, Uta was too relentless—Tiff admitted she couldn’t match that, truly couldn’t. Fighting and killing were far too demanding for a dragon. Fortunately, the Lord was merciful, allowing her to avoid the front lines and earn the contributions needed to bask in glory simply by working shifts, even around the clock.

Today, Tiff experienced the radiance of baptism for the first time.

「Notification: Your unit ‘Water Mirror Dragon · Tiff’ has evolved into an Epic 2-Star lifeform and awakened the Epic Skill ‘Water Mirror Reflection’.」

(End of Chapter)