Chapter 294 – Help Us, Your Excellency Seventeen

Outside the southern city walls, hundreds of monster corpses lay strewn across the ground—some bisected at the waist, others pierced through by arrows.

Lu Liu pulled his Fearless Spear-Shield out of the massive body of a creature over ten meters tall, frowning as he surveyed the surroundings.

Although the invading monsters had all been eliminated peacefully without a single escapee, some farmlands and Arrow Towers had already been damaged. The suburban areas he had previously swept clean and tidied up were once again left in disarray after the monsters’ intrusion.

The straight southern dirt road was now imprinted with numerous paw marks from the monsters; the surrounding ground was pitted and scarred, littered with flames and acidic fluids spat out by the creatures; further away, more monsters could be heard roaring as they approached…

Looking at the pockmarked land, Lu Liu desperately wished he could immediately grab a shovel and rolling stones to smooth out the damaged ground.

But he couldn’t—there was no time now.

More monsters were coming.

And the task assigned to him by the Lord was clear: not only must he completely eliminate every monster in sight without letting any escape, but he also had to keep the commotion to a minimum, avoiding any loud explosions or disturbances.

Though Lu Liu couldn’t stand the uneven ground, the Lord’s mission took priority. He charged forward, singled out several powerful monsters, and thrust his spear through them with precise strikes.

Mu Yuan stepped out from the southern city gate, frowning at the field of monster corpses.

As expected, the types of monsters were still those commonly found in the Eternal World, including but not limited to goblins, Gnolls, kobolds, and others.

Yet they were somewhat different from the monsters he had encountered before.

Mu Yuan crouched down and peeled back the fur of a giant wolf. The smell of blood assaulted his senses as he stared at the bloody skeleton and said, “This is a giant wolf at the Peak of Professional Tier.”

“Huh?”

After a long pause with no follow-up, Dolai expressed confusion.

So what?

What’s the problem with that?

Xiliu nudged Dolai with her elbow. “In the wild, giant wolves are just low-tier monsters. It’s rare for them to grow to the Peak of Professional Tier.”For ordinary three-star tier creatures like these, players might have a chance to develop them to the Peak of Professional Tier, but the premise was that veteran players would scrimp and save to raise the giant wolves, feeding them precious breakthrough Materials.”

But wild monsters…

The giant wolves they had encountered before were mostly at the Apprentice Rank, often not even reaching the Peak of Apprentice Rank. Here, over a dozen giant wolves had advanced to Professional Tier.

“Oh, so that’s how it is—” Dolai suddenly understood.

As expected of the Lord, he immediately identified the core issue, gurgle!

The goblins’ Ranks were also generally higher. Even the ordinary one-star tier, naturally hunched and scrawny little goblins showed visible muscle definition on their bodies.

He took out an illumination tool and shone it into the peacefully closed eyes of the goblins. Sure enough, their eyeballs were filled with bloodshot veins that spread across the entire eye like spiderwebs.

“Leave the task of researching the differences between these monsters and earlier ones to me,” Isloria said as one of her Incarnations arrived. After glancing at the scene, she declared with enthusiasm (scratched out) and full responsibility, “I’ll dissect them all thoroughly and uncover every one of their secrets.”

She licked her crimson lips.”Then, I’ll leave this side to you.”

Lord Mu said to Lu Liu and Isloria.

Next, he formed an exploration and pioneering team. The team’s general was naturally Deadbone, with core members Dolai, Xiliu, Red Robe, and Sario.

Dolai primarily served as the transport captain.

Xiliu possessed Dragon’s Might and Hunter’s Instinct—at times her intuition functioned as the best tracking radar or disaster avoidance radar.

Otherwise, before coming to Tianyuan Territory, how could Xiliu—just a lone wanderer at Second-Order Elite Tier—have survived so easily in the wilderness?

Sario possessed ice and Dragon’s Might abilities. Dragon’s Might could both suppress and execute enemies without causing major disturbances, making it an excellent skill for dealing with weaker foes.

Red Robe, with her illusion and trapping abilities, served a similar purpose.

This was a ‘stealth-style’ exploration.

He was grateful that he had previously learned about the Pioneer Group’s general information and understood what kind of enemies and environments the lords faced, allowing him to make more cautious preparations.

The exploration method of charging headfirst into monster tribes and slaughtering their way through—as they had done before—could be fatal in truly uncharted territory.

After all…

…

As the pioneering team stepped beyond the territory’s boundaries, the surrounding environment showed noticeable changes.

The trees were tall, their roots tinged with brownish-red, and there might be monsters hidden among the canopies and mountain rocks, watching them.

Mu Yuan extended his hand, and black crows flew out from his sleeves.

His own role was reconnaissance support.

Scout falcons weren’t ineffective—they could still help commanders grasp the overall situation through aerial surveillance and vision sharing. But in such a perilous environment, sending scout falcons out too far… while possible, would be quite costly in terms of falcon casualties.

Mu Yuan had already dispatched a few high-rank Tianqing Grey Birds and Taiqing Grey Birds to cautiously explore the surroundings.

His team, however, was heading straight south.

The setting sun cast its evening glow, painting the entire sky crimson, yet the scene wasn’t magnificent or beautiful. Instead, it reminded people of recent days when crimson mist covered the sky with red clouds, equally chilling to behold.

Under the evening glow, the entire forest appeared increasingly deep red, with strands of crimson light filtering through the leaves like blood flowing between heaven and earth.

Advancing through the twilight, Mu Yuan traveled ten kilometers south, twenty… sixty kilometers.

Soon, they moved beyond the conventional detection range of the Eye of Tianquan.

He slowed his pace somewhat.

“There are several troublesome monster groups along the way.”

Though they hadn’t formed camps or tribes, he judged that these groups of hundreds of monsters were no weaker than ordinary monster tribes.

He could tell at a glance that there were elite-tier monsters among them, and possibly even stronger ones hidden within.

He didn’t investigate closely, nor did he engage these monster groups.

“Leave these monsters for Rakshasa and Uta to handle. We shouldn’t waste time.”

He needed to go further.

Of course, even though they used various means to conceal their presence and hide their forms, they inevitably encountered some monsters along the way. Sometimes when large groups of monsters blocked their path, Mu Yuan didn’t want to waste time and effort taking long detours.

“Go, Sario.”

The mark on the back of his hand glowed, and a thirty-meter-long frost dragon cast its shadow over the land.

Simultaneously, vast Dragon’s Might descended upon the area.Before the monsters could even let out a howl, their fates were sealed as their necks were seized.

Immediately after, Red Robe shook her bell.

One by one, elite undead soldiers emerged from the Lord’s Mark and charged toward the monsters.

In less than a hundred seconds, they had completely cleared out this batch of monsters.

Without drawing the attention of any monster hordes in this region.

The stealth operation continued.

…

At the same time, beyond the borders of the Taixuan Alliance, many lords were frowning with worry.

They were all lords whose territories had encountered unexpected situations during the Fusion period.

Red Leaf Territory.

Lord Zhou Ye gazed at the drastically changed landscape, feeling a chill run through his body despite it being the dead of winter.

“Now that there’s no Taixuan Forum for communication, being trapped in the wilderness would truly leave us with no one to turn to. Fortunately, I, Old Zhou, am clever enough to have spent a fortune before the Fusion to purchase a communication pearl, with the contact being an intelligence agent from First Hand Commerce. I’ve directly tapped into First Hand Commerce’s intelligence network.”

To be precise, it was the First Hand Commerce · Stone Ridge Town Intelligence Network.

But for him, he only needed information about the Shiling Town region anyway; information from other areas would be useless to him.

At this moment, the lingering echoes faded, and the glow of the communication pearl dimmed.

“Good news: our territories haven’t shifted too dramatically, at most a few hundred kilometers.”

“Bad news: migrating north by a few hundred kilometers is still fatal for small territories like ours!”

His Red Leaf Territory was already a few hundred kilometers away from Stone Ridge Town; this was effectively doubling the distance.

Fortunately, Stone Ridge Town had also migrated north during this Fusion disaster, just like his Red Leaf Territory. This was unfortunate for Stone Ridge Town, but for him, it was indeed a stroke of luck.

Besides Stone Ridge Town, many other territories in this region had also been forced to migrate north.

“If only my Red Leaf Territory had suffered, I’d be done for. But now that there are many fellow sufferers, we can still band together for warmth.”

His first instinct was to send elite troops south to confirm Stone Ridge Town’s location.

Only then could he feel slightly more secure.

But upon second thought, he realized it wouldn’t work.

“My Red Leaf Territory is located deep in the Wilderness, and it’s extremely dangerous outside. In just this short time, many monsters have already attacked the territory. Trying to cross hundreds of kilometers to reach Stone Ridge Town now would be incredibly difficult.”

He had conducted pioneering explorations before and knew all too well how treacherous the land was just a hundred kilometers north of his territory.

Reaching Stone Ridge Town would be even harder.

“Moreover, Stone Ridge Town’s exact location is uncertain. If I want to band together for warmth, heading north or northeast would be more appropriate—I should find Brother Mu!”

“His territory is closest to my Red Leaf Territory. No matter how much it shifted north, it probably didn’t move too far. Brother Mu Yuan is a top-tier expert; if I can cling to his coattails, I can survive this disaster period.”

“Plan perfected!”

Objective: northeast of the territory, advance.

…

Hundreds of kilometers away, Stone Ridge Town.

Town Chief Cui Long had already figured out his situation.

Perhaps they had migrated more than just a few hundred kilometers north. Over the years, he had ventured hundreds of kilometers into the Wilderness and had seen the world with the Pioneer Group’s experts, yet the surrounding mountain ranges looked entirely unfamiliar to him.

It was likely that Stone Ridge Town’s displacement was farther than imagined.

Currently, the Alliance’s focus was entirely on refugee resettlement.”Before the Alliance can free up their hands, I still have to rely on myself. The silver lining in this misfortune is that the Crimson Disaster Month has just ended, and many lords and advanced players are still lingering in my Stone Ridge Town.”

This line of thinking was somewhat inappropriate.

But the presence of these powerful individuals had significantly increased the overall strength of Stone Ridge Town.

Town Chief Cui Long put on his overcoat and went to the railway tracks outside the city walls on the south side of the town.

Many players had gathered here, craning their necks to look into the distance.

“The railway tracks are broken. Stone Ridge Town has indeed undergone a massive displacement, and our current location is unknown.”

“Damn, so we’re stranded on an isolated island now?”

“Please no, I still have three beautiful wives back in Boulder City!”

“Buddy, can you give me their address?”

“Stop joking around, Town Chief Cui, think of something quickly!”

Cui Long walked over, radiating the aura of a Third-Order expert. His face remained calm and composed, and though his voice wasn’t loud, it quickly spread, soothing people’s nerves.

“Stone Ridge Town has indeed undergone some minor displacement, but there’s no need to panic. We have already made contact with the Alliance, and in a few days, we will receive reinforcements from them, and the railway tracks will be repaired.”

“However, before the Alliance reinforcements arrive, Stone Ridge Town still needs everyone to work together to overcome the current difficulties.”

Returning to the town, Cui Long sent invitations to various lords and mercenary group leaders to hold a meeting at the town’s command center.

The Fishing Old Man had already returned to his hometown, and currently, the person with the highest status in the town was the Mad Blade City Lord.

Many people turned their gazes toward the Mad Blade City Lord.

The Mad Blade City Lord remained expressionless.

But inwardly, he was panicking.

The higher the rank of lords and players, the more they understood Stone Ridge Town’s predicament—it was like walking on thin ice.

For now, it was relatively safe, but if an accident were to occur, they might not have the strength to withstand it.

He, the Mad Blade Lord, was just an ordinary veteran lord and couldn’t shoulder such a heavy responsibility. Moreover, the current player strength in Stone Ridge Town was less than half of what it was during the Crimson Disaster Month.

Senior Fishing Old Man wasn’t here.

The Fourth-Order experts under the old senior weren’t here either.

It seemed that he, Mad Blade, was the strongest in Stone Ridge Town. But he didn’t want to be the strongest.

“There is still one more expert.”

Town Chief Cui suddenly thought of something.

Mad Blade also had a sudden inspiration, thinking along the same lines.

“There are still the commerce guild experts.”

“I remember First Hand Commerce stationed a Peak Third-Order expert in our Stone Ridge Town, and there might even be stronger individuals hidden among them.”

“However, I’m certain there’s still one more.”

This was said by Mad Blade, and after speaking, he looked at Town Chief Cui.

Cui Long indeed knew more than Mad Blade. After the meeting concluded, Town Chief Cui brought a few of his trusted generals and headed toward the outskirts of the town.

This was the leased territory area.

Various commerce guilds or territories rented areas here, some large and some small. Some merely used the ordinary three-story buildings constructed by Stone Ridge Town, while others had built grand and exquisite towers and pavilions themselves.

Town Chief Cui carried gifts and arrived at a rather unremarkable-looking leased territory.

He knocked on the door, intending to pay a visit to Your Excellency Seventeen.

Unlike Mad Blade, who only knew of her as an expert with godlike archery skills, Town Chief Cui was clear about Your Excellency Seventeen’s identity—she was from Tianyuan.

One of the great generals of Tianyuan Territory!

As far as he knew, Tianyuan Territory had four supreme heavenly kings.

The Most Ancient Hero, the Blue-haired Girl; Giant Spirit God Lu Liu; One-Punch Martial Maniac Uta; Omniscient Arrow God Seventeen!

And probably not much weaker, the ‘Daughter of Stars, Isloria’.Seventeen’s archery skills were divine, capable of matching several or even a dozen Mad Blade City Lords in defensive battles. The mere thought of such a powerhouse residing within Stone Ridge Town sent Town Chief Cui Long’s sense of security soaring.

Moreover, visiting Your Excellency Seventeen meant an opportunity to connect with Tianyuan Lord.

He dared not underestimate this Lord in the slightest.

Even if his experience was shallow and his main forces relatively weak, possessing the Four Heavenly Kings alone ensured Tianyuan Lord’s overall strength was formidable.

For his Stone Ridge Town, Tianyuan Territory represented a powerful external ally.

They absolutely had to establish contact.

Cui Long soon met with Your Excellency Seventeen.

Fortunately, unlike most titled powerhouses who were aloof, she agreed to intervene when powerful monsters attacked.

Unfortunately…

“What? You can’t reach His Excellency Tianyuan?”

“Yes.” Seventeen sighed.

When she first lost contact with her Lord, she had been utterly panicked, completely at a loss.

After all, she was just a baby who had awakened her self-awareness barely over half a year ago.

How could she possibly know what to do?

Thankfully, her Lord had left her a Brocade Sack containing 361 contingency plans for unexpected situations and loss of communication.

She meticulously reviewed them, memorizing every word verbatim.

She couldn’t claim full comprehension, but she had committed every character to memory flawlessly.

Thus, Seventeen’s confusion decreased -1-1-1 while her composure increased +1+1+1.

She had mentally prepared for Town Chief Cui’s visit.

So despite being a socially anxious baby with her ‘diplomat’ Daisy absent, inwardly flustered, she maintained an outwardly unshakable calm.

This was the facial control of an epic lifeform.

Witnessing this, Town Chief Cui marveled with admiration.

‘As expected of Your Excellency Seventeen, truly possessing the bearing of a General.’

‘I wonder where Tianyuan Lord managed to recruit Your Excellency Seventeen.’

‘To be able to recruit and attract Your Excellency Seventeen and the other Heavenly Kings, Tianyuan Lord must possess extraordinary charisma.’

This wasn’t something one could simply emulate.

Tianyuan Lord’s achievements were entirely unreplicable.

That said, Your Excellency Seventeen demonstrated even greater general-like poise and composure than he had imagined.

After all, he hadn’t anticipated that Your Excellency Seventeen had lost contact with Tianyuan Lord.

This suggested that the situation in Tianyuan Territory might also be precarious.

At this realization, Cui Long’s heart grew heavy.

“I know my request may be inappropriate, but I still hope that without sufficient clues, Your Excellency won’t recklessly venture deep into the Wilderness. I hope you can garrison Stone Ridge Town. We will spare no effort to uncover any information related to Tianyuan Territory.”

If Your Excellency Seventeen insisted on charging into the Wilderness to find Tianyuan Territory, he couldn’t and wouldn’t stop her.

Seventeen was puzzled. Why would she go deep into the Wilderness?

She didn’t understand, but maintaining her composed facial control, she still exuded the aura of a powerhouse.

“I will remain in Stone Ridge Town.”

Because according to the Brocade Sack, her Lord had instructed her to stay in Stone Ridge Town.

What to do next would depend on circumstances and which contingency plan from the Brocade Sack applied.

“On behalf of all Stone Ridge Town, I thank Your Excellency. Should you require anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Soon, Cui Long took his leave.

Seventeen rubbed her slightly stiff cheeks, then retrieved the gifts Town Chief Cui had stored in her storage Bracelet.

“A large batch of Soul Crystals.””Large quantities of cultivation assistance treasures.”

“And a batch of military preparedness supplies.”

“Hmm…”

Seventeen flipped through the entries in the Brocade Sack, “Oh right, cultivation.” She called over the others, distributed the supplies, and then went off to cultivate by herself.

Wait, she needed to go cultivate at the Outstanding-grade cultivation ground in the town center.

Town Chief Cui had invited her, and the Lord had said it was permissible.

So off she went.

…

Somewhere in the Wilderness, Mu Yuan gazed southward into the deep, dark night.

“The incident was sudden. The Brocade Sack I left with Seventeen only contains three hundred and sixty-one contingency plans. I hope it will be sufficient.”

5K…

(End of Chapter)