Chapter 269 – Epic Statistics, Moon Crown Giant Wolf

Carrying the batch of Remnant Souls that Sophia had just teleported over, Mu Yuan walked to the Lord Altar and placed them on it. Prompt chimes immediately rang in his ears.

The Lord Altar of a Level 4 territory was several sizes larger than the initial version—a circular platform over ten meters in diameter. Toward the center-back, a stone platform more than a meter high rose, resembling a stone table for offerings. Special containers filled with Unit Shards were placed on this stone platform.

After glancing at the prompt information, Mu Yuan began manual recruitment by category.

Soon, fresh units emerged one after another.

The first group to step down from the altar and line up were over two hundred Human Race units. The vast majority were naturally one-star Militia, but aside from these, there were thirty-six two-star Archers, eleven two-star Sentinels, three one-star Nuns, and one Mage.

Mu Yuan had Lu Liu take this batch of pure newcomers away.

Next, the second group to descend from the altar consisted of over three hundred Undead units, including eighty-five two-star Wandering Souls and nine one-star Skeleton Mages.

The Skeleton Mages were specifically purchased by Sophia under his instruction.

With Tianyuan Territory now abundant in firepower and the Undead Legion following a robust path, they weren’t lacking in magical output. However, once Skeleton Mages evolved to Outstanding one-star, they could Awaken the Advanced skill ‘Death’s Embrace,’ which combined offense and recovery.

Currently, Mu Yuan positioned the Skeleton Mages as—support healers.

Following that were the Elemental units, numbering less than two hundred, primarily composed of Dolai’s kin. Notably, among the Elemental family, there were thirteen newly joined one-star ‘Earth Spirits.’

These were also specifically acquired by Sophia at his request.

Earth Spirits excelled in construction and soil compaction, surpassing many mages skilled in earth magic or earth-specialized creatures like the Earth Rock Dragon.

Previously, Tianyuan Territory had Earth Spirit series units, but after the Great Serpent’s attack, he intensified efforts to acquire more.

Lastly, the Natural and Flying units were even fewer in number than the previous groups.

They were noticeably scarcer than the last batch.

Firstly, the quantity of specified Remnant Souls was less than one-tenth that of Random Remnant Souls; secondly, the drastic changes on Blue Star had caused transportation disruptions.

Currently, urban areas on Blue Star could barely maintain order and peace, with the majority of the Player Association’s forces dedicated to stabilizing, patrolling, and defending various cities.

Areas outside cities had to be strategically abandoned due to limited resources.

After all, Blue Star had less than a month of lifespan left.

Consequently, regions beyond urban areas, uncovered by official forces, had largely become lawless zones, much like the vast wilderness within the Taixuan Alliance.

Monsters outside cities were increasing, and veteran players now dared not venture out alone, requiring teams of three to five reliable companions.

Moreover, some players, taking advantage of Blue Star’s turmoil, turned into raiders.

As a result, major merchant guilds now had to transport goods between cities with sufficient escorts and capable, powerful individuals stationed for protection, just as in the Eternal World.This has led to many merchant guilds only being able to undertake long-distance trips once every few days or even over ten days.

Many small merchant guilds don’t even dare to engage in trade, fearing they might lose both their personnel and assets.

During this period, the recently renowned White River Mu Fei Company has received numerous calls from other companies inquiring whether they accept trade escort missions.

Mu Fei Company indeed possesses such capability—typically having one or two Elite-level players overseeing cross-city transportation is sufficient to ensure safety.

Sophia has recruited several Elite players by now.

They even have top-tier Elite players like Luo Wei and Lin Sushuang.

Their trade interactions with many merchant guilds have also proven the company’s credibility.

However, the company currently lacks sufficient personnel to transport their own goods, let alone spare capacity to earn money from others.

Mu Yuan opened his panel, where statistical data from various major systems appeared one by one.

The Undead faction totaled 5,233 units, with over 60,000 Evolution Points currently remaining.

The Human Race faction totaled 4,399 units; the Elemental faction had 2,046 units; the Nature faction had 1,669 units;

The Flying faction totaled 886 creatures.

As for Epic-tier existences, after the Red Moon Disaster, Lord Mu had evolved and promoted several more.

Within the Undead faction, Bone Six, Bone Eleven, Bone Thirteen, Soul Two, and Soul Four had accumulated sufficient military merits and were promoted.

Within the Human Race faction, Deputy Corps Commander Niu Si of the Garrison Legion, Master Li Erniu, head of the forging department, and two squadron leaders from the archer branch were also promoted.

The Nature faction gained two Treant Lords and one Nature Spirit.

The Flying faction gained… well, some Outstanding-tier Azure Grey Birds and Supreme Azure Grey Birds.

“Now, excluding myself, our Tianyuan Territory possesses thirty-three Epic-tier, infinitely potential fierce generals.”

The newly evolved Polar Star Arrows and Undead Lords indeed performed remarkably, drawing nothing but awe from others. However, having seen many Epic-tier lives, Mu Yuan found these new-generation powerhouses merely passable in his eyes.

The two Polar Star Arrows’ control over their arrows was far less fluid than Seventeen’s.

As for the three Undead Lords, their performance could only be described as more ordinary than Bone Two’s.

Perhaps this is what proper Epic-tier should be like.

He considered dispatching several of these new-generation Epic-tier beings to Blue Star to assist Sophia. Though they were relatively new to the Epic sequence, they were actually veteran employees of the territory, with Bone Six being one of the most senior Ten Skulls.

The two Polar Star Arrow squadron leaders were also figures from the same era as Seventeen.

Ghost Generals like Soul Two and Soul Four, with their high concealment, were equally suitable for deployment to Blue Star.

He immediately filtered out subordinates like the Frost Dragon Sario and the Water Mirror Dragon Tiff.

Of course, the main reason was that most of them had passed their ‘cultural courses’.

Mu Yuan finalized the main candidates for deployment to Blue Star.

The team leader would be the Fox Woman… the witch with fox features, ‘Daisy’.

Since Daisy wasn’t skilled in combat and had no desire to go to the front lines, after discussion, it was decided she would temporarily replace Sophia at the company headquarters. Sophia herself, of course, would go out to negotiate business.

“I won’t undergo evolution,” Daisy said. “Ahem, I have no talent for combat, so I shouldn’t waste such a precious slot. It’s better to leave it for others, like that battle maniac Sickle Moon.”

If she were Epic-tier and an emergency occurred somewhere, wouldn’t she have to step up and fight on the front lines?”No way, not me!”

It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried. Just recently, she had practiced diligently in the training ground for three whole hours and fell down a total of eleven times.

It hurt so much!

If falling down hurt this badly, how much worse would it be to get slashed by sabers or stabbed by spears?

Absolutely not!

Daisy walked toward the Gladiator Arena and arrived at the spectator platform on the second floor.

Inside the arena, which was roughly the size of several soccer fields, two figures were swiftly passing by each other.

One was Xiliu; the other was Sickle Moon.

Xiliu hadn’t entered her Dragon or Dragonkin Mode, fighting only in her most basic form. Even so…

“Boom—”

Xiliu threw a punch.

Sickle Moon crossed her clawed hands in front of her body while simultaneously retreating to dissipate the impact. However, Xiliu’s punch was too fast and too fierce. Even though she managed to deflect most of the force, the remaining power was still overwhelming.

Her hands bent unnaturally, exposing broken white bones, and blood instantly stained half her body.

“Yikes—”

“That would hurt like hell!”

Daisy’s fur stood on end. She felt as if she were in Sickle Moon’s place, experiencing the pain and fear.

She had been injured before—shot by arrows and slashed by swords during her escape years ago—but that didn’t mean she had grown accustomed to it. She hadn’t. She was still terrified.

If she were to suffer such injuries, she’d probably curl up into a ball and might even scream out loud.

At that moment, Sickle Moon merely bared her teeth, her expression growing even fiercer.

She rolled out of the crater, avoiding Xiliu’s follow-up attack, and sprinted along the wall using her paws. But Xiliu showed no intention of holding back. Aside from not using her most powerful skills, she fought without restraint—a sign of respect for her opponent.

Soon after, Sickle Moon, drenched in blood, lay in the cracked crater, unable to get up.

“It’s too terrifying! Fighting is just too terrifying!”

“I really can’t do it!”

Thankfully, she had turned down the Lord’s evolution proposal.

As long as she remained weak, she wouldn’t have to fight.

Sickle Moon, do your best. My fighting spirit rests on your shoulders.

…

“Huh? Evolution? For me?”

Half a day later, Sickle Moon, now fully recovered from her injuries, pointed at herself with her paw.

Her arithmetic skills were poor—even worse than General Dolai’s—but she was well aware that her contribution points weren’t enough to apply for an epic evolution. She was still at least four and a half days short.

How did she know so precisely? She had asked someone, of course.

Isloria had told her.

But now,

“Huh? You’re giving your evolution slot to me? No, no, I can’t accept this. I’ll go tell the Lord to take it back right away.”

“Wait, wait, wait! It’s totally fine!”

Daisy grabbed Sickle Moon.

After some rational analysis and persuasion, Daisy finally convinced Sickle Moon.

The girl was now moved to tears. Daisy turned her face away, forcing an awkward laugh. Could she admit it was because she was afraid of getting hurt?

The evolution site was still inside the Gladiator Arena.

One of the spaces within this magnificent structure had been arranged as the ‘Evolution Grounds,’ equipped with three evolution altars. Depending on the evolver’s needs, different auxiliary materials could be added.

One of the altars was empty. Just yesterday, a Polar Star Arrow had been born there, and the materials hadn’t been replenished yet.

Sickle Moon stepped onto the second altar.There weren’t many spectators, only Daisy and two Town Hall staff responsible for photography… documenting precious visual materials.

Isloria wasn’t present.

She had been tinkering with that batch of damaged equipment since receiving it days ago, forgetting to eat and sleep, even postponing her originally scheduled two-star Epic evolution.

Mu Yuan let her be.

Lord Mu himself wasn’t physically present either, merely observing remotely through his Lord’s vision while extending his hand to point toward Sickle Moon within the venue.

Evolve!

“Ding!”

“Notification…”

“Deduction…”

The notification chimes from the territory interface and messages about Evolution Point deductions were selectively ignored by Mu Yuan.

He focused entirely, concentrating his mind on the flow of Evolution Points.

The Evolution Points resembled flowing streams, though he could barely perceive them yet, only able to utilize them through instinct.

However, Evolution Points weren’t limited to evolution alone.

He hadn’t forgotten how Rakshasa had relied on Evolution Points to survive life-threatening situations when absorbing massive amounts of malevolent Qi.

As a form of power, Evolution Force must have multiple applications and techniques.

“But Evolution Force is too advanced.”

“Like celestial blessings, interface structures, and purification power, it’s a form of Miracle Power.”

“While figuring something out would be beneficial, it shouldn’t be forced.”

The intangible, undetectable Evolution Power passed effortlessly through layers of spatial veils, descending upon Sickle Moon who sat cross-legged but kept looking around restlessly while constantly wagging her large tail.

The moment it landed, the intangible evolution miracle transformed into tangible metamorphic force, causing Sickle Moon’s body and soul to rise like swelling tides.

As expected, a pillar of light surged upward.

But obstructed by the Gladiator Arena, the brilliant light pillar appeared less conspicuous. The operational cost of the automatically functioning Domain Jammer also decreased by approximately 13% compared to before.

Sickle Moon’s figure within the white light remained unchanged.

Tall, curvaceous, with a large tail.

Until the evolution light gradually faded, another notification chime sounded by his ear.

“Ding!”

“Notification: Your unit ‘Witch·Sickle Moon’ has evolved into an Epic lifeform, further sublimating the Witch blood within her, bringing her closer to the source.”

“Notification: Epic one-star lifeform ‘Sickle Moon’ has awakened the skill ‘Battle Intuition’ and terrain skill ‘Bright Moon Illuminates All Rivers’ during evolution.”

Within the Arena’s simulated external space, the sky suddenly darkened.

Under the gloomy night sky, faintly visible were continuous mountain ranges and roaring rivers.

Then, a watery bright moon slowly rose, casting moonlit radiance that illuminated all rivers.

Atop a certain mountain peak, what appeared to be a celestial wolf stood proudly, howling toward the moon.

That was Sickle Moon’s silhouette.

Yet the vision of the bright moon over countless rivers seemed like an illusion, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing completely.

“Notification: Epic one-star lifeform ‘Sickle Moon’ has awakened the Epic Skill ‘Moon Coronet Giant Wolf’ during evolution.”

On the evolution Altar, various not-particularly-valuable Treasures shattered with cracking sounds as their energy depleted.

The incense nearby had only burned halfway.

Sickle Moon opened her eyes, “Awooo~!”

Her eyes remained eyes, her tail remained a tail, yet something seemed different. As if… she were a wolf, a noble Celestial Wolf King.

She seemed to have awakened, yet not completely, existing in a state of semi-awareness.Driven by instinct, she leaped down from the Altar, landing on all fours like a wolf, baring her teeth with a snarl.

Her eyes gleamed with ferocity.

Her hands and feet had transformed into paw-like forms with sharp claws, connected by silvery-white fur at the joints.

Yet something still felt wrong—unnatural. With a sudden, piercing howl that seemed to split the clouds and shatter stones, her body became enveloped in lustrous, thick silver fur, swelling rapidly in an instant.

In the blink of an eye,

a majestic, gleaming, entirely silver behemoth over ten to twenty meters in length materialized on the scene.

On her forehead, a crescent-shaped mark pulsed with light, surrounded by faint silver halos that radiated outward, mirroring the bright moon that had once again risen high in the night sky.

It made her appear otherworldly.

The Moon Coronet Giant Wolf, Sickle Moon, made her debut today.

(End of Chapter)