Cao Xing took out a pile of jungle boar bones, tusks, and human-faced tree bark from his backpack.

These materials are all dropped by monsters above level three.

It is possible to create third-level equipment, that is, equipment above level 20.

In addition, there are many materials dropped by elite and boss-level creatures, which can be used to make a lot of blue and even purple equipment.

Seeing the pile of materials on the ground, Harold's eyes showed a little surprise.

"My Lord, it seems that you have gained a lot from this trip!"

"With so many materials, if I can forge them all, I will most likely be able to become a senior forger."

Cao Xing smiled again, "That's great, Harold. All these materials are now at your disposal. Please use them to your heart's content."

At this point, he warned: "However, with so many materials, it may take a long time to make."

"When you feel tired, you can just take a rest or read a book. You don't have to force yourself to work so late."

Harold replied, "I know. Thank you for your concern, Lord!"

"Let me first see what I can do with the materials that the Lord brought today."

"Okay, take a look first."

Harold picked up a pile of materials from the floor, looking at them and nodding.

At the same time, there was a flash of thought in his eyes.

It seems to be thinking about what these materials can be used to make.

After a moment, he already had the answer in his mind.

"My Lord, let's do as we did yesterday. All the animal bones should be used to make light armor."

"These tusks are used to make spearheads or short swords."

"As for these tree barks, to be honest, this is the first time I've seen this kind of material..."

Cao Xing smiled.

It was normal that Harold had never seen one. After all, creatures like the man-faced tree were rare on this continent.

In other words, apart from the Witch Forest, you can hardly see any human-faced trees anywhere else.

Harold thought, "These human-faced tree barks are most suitable for making leather armor."

"I sensed the breath of life on it, so it should be good."

Cao Xing nodded, because the system introduction on the bark of the human-faced tree also said that it was used to make leather armor.

At this time, Harold continued to ask: "I wonder if the Lord has the blueprints. If not, I will forge it freely according to the knowledge in my mind."

After hearing this, Cao Xing thought for a moment.

To craft equipment in the blacksmith shop, you naturally need blueprints.

But as I said before, this is the real world.

Those blacksmiths had come into contact with a lot of equipment during this period, and they already had a lot of drawings in their minds.

So they can create it from the memory in their mind.

The two drawings he just received were both second-level.

It would be a bit of a waste to use these third-tier materials to create second-tier equipment.

So Cao Xing said, "Harold, just build it according to your own ideas."

"As you command, Lord!"

At this time, Cao Xing took out another bunch of vines.

From green-grade tough vines, to blue-grade tough vines, to purple-grade elder vines.

Adding up, there are almost 7,000 of them!

Cao Xing could only transfer it to the storage box next to the blacksmith shop.

Otherwise, there would be so many vines that the entire blacksmith shop wouldn’t be able to fit them all.

Looking at the vines in the storage box, Harold's eyes showed surprise again.

He tried to pull it, but found that even with his second-level strength, he couldn't break even the most ordinary tough vines.

Harold was shocked and said, "What a strong vine!"

"My Lord, did you kill a tribe of dryads?"

Cao Xing smiled and shook his head, "Not really. This vine and that bark are made from the same kind of living thing."

"Harold, do you think these vines can be used to make catapult hooks instead of ropes?"

Harold said excitedly, "Sure! With these vines, the Elastic Hook will be more resilient and can even catch stronger monsters!"

After hearing this, Cao Xing was delighted. "Very good. Then you can put the other equipment aside tomorrow and make a large number of catapult claws first."

Cao Xing planned to give each of these Ascalon warriors, wild boar warriors, and archers a [Ejection Hook].

This stuff is good stuff.

Especially when dealing with large beasts, hundreds of catapult claws can be shot out to trap the opponent tightly.

The combined strength of more than a hundred second-level Ascalon warriors can even drag third- and fourth-level bosses, or even boss-level creatures!

Then Cao Xing can output with confidence.

Harold nodded. "Okay, lord. But making the catapult hook still requires a lot of copper..."

"Just use it with confidence, Harold."

"But it's already late today, you should remember to go to bed early."

Harold said excitedly: "Thank you for your concern, Lord. I will be ready to rest immediately!"

Cao Xing collected all the equipment and arrows made by Harold.

[Obtain: Light Bone Armor (Green) *65]

[Obtain: Light Bone Armor (Blue) *7]

[Obtain: Plate Armor (Green)*11]

[Obtain: Plate Armor (Blue) *3]

[Obtained: Arrows*300]

After finishing all this, Cao Xing left the blacksmith shop.

…

I looked at the time and it was already past eleven o'clock in the evening.

Cao Xing thought to himself, "It's time to rest. We can talk about it tomorrow."

After saying that, he pushed open the door of the lord's hut.

Then I went to the bathroom on the first floor.

Cao Xing saw a black mechanical device here, and next to it was a large water storage tank containing a large amount of hot water.

This is the [Magic Water Storage Device], and Duan has built it today.

Cao Xing took a hot bath happily.

Then he exclaimed: "This thing is so convenient. Now we don't need to heat water for bathing ourselves."

After taking a shower, Cao Xing went straight to the second floor of the lord's cottage.

At this time, Liu Muxue still had her bright big eyes open, as if waiting for Cao Xing to come back.

As a survivor, she naturally saw the bustling chat channel and knew that Cao Xing was busy trading with other survivors until now.

When she saw him come in, Liu Muxue had a gentle smile on her face.

"Thank you for your hard work, Xing. Come back and rest. It's warm in the quilt now."

Then she took the initiative to lift the quilt and patted the pillow next to her.

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

After saying that, he took off his clothes and got into the quilt.

In the warm lord's cabin, the two of them slept in each other's arms...

…

The next day...

At about eight o'clock, Cao Xing and Liu Muxue woke up at the same time.

Several system prompts appear.

【All survivors, please note that you have passed the third day of the official period. 】

[Because there are already 100 survivors who have reached level 10 in your region, the level ranking list has ended. 】

[Seven days after the official launch, there will be the first small-scale merger of ten nearby regions into one region, and a new round of updates will be launched. Please be prepared...]

【Weather forecast: Moderate snow turning into light snow today, not suitable for going out. 】

…

Seeing this series of system prompts, Cao Xing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

Liu Muxue at the side asked in confusion: "Ah Xing, what is the merger?"

As a woman who doesn't play games much, Liu Muxue doesn't quite understand the meaning of the merger.

Cao Xing explained: "It means that people from several regions are merged into one region, so we can go to farther places."

"I guess the system saw that a lot of people died in each district, so it launched this update."

After hearing this, Liu Muxue's eyes showed realization.

She asked softly, "Will the merger have any impact on us?"

“It should have an impact.”

Cao Xing replied: "The merger will have both advantages and disadvantages for us."

"The good thing is that with more people, there will be more resources in the market."

"The downside is that because there are so many people, it can lead to a mix of good and bad people, which can lead to conflicts."

"But I checked the world channel. The survivors in other regions probably don't have territories that have developed to the same extent as ours, so the impact won't be that big."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Liu Muxue's face.

She also knew that their territory development was far ahead of other survivors.

At this time, Cao Xing handed the three Aurora Knight skill books that he had traded last night to Liu Muxue.

After seeing the skill book in her hand, Liu Muxue didn't say much.

Instead, he put his arms around Cao Xing's neck and gave him a kiss.

Cao Xing touched her head and said, "Learn the skill book, and then we'll get up."

"Uh-huh."

Liu Muxue clapped her hands and clicked on learning all three skill books.

Like Cao Xing, Liu Muxue also took two or three minutes to absorb all the memories this time.

Then, the two of them put on their clothes, washed up briefly, and pushed open the door of the lord's cottage.

call--

A cold wind blew.

It was still snowing outside.

Just as the weather forecast said, it is still snowing lightly today and it is not suitable to go out.

"Ah Xing, it's still snowing. We can't go too far today."

Cao Xing replied: "It doesn't matter, we don't have anything urgent to do anyway."

"We can use this opportunity to refresh the status of those Ascalon soldiers."

Brushing up the status for more than a hundred people is a huge project and takes a lot of time.

Of course, the returns are also very high.

More than one hundred soldiers with various permanent states, combined with the bondage skill: Fearless Charge, are extremely ferocious!

In addition, Cao Xing also plans to use up the 106 Boar Warrior recruitment scrolls in his backpack today to form a Boar Warrior Legion.

Then you have to redeem Hearts of Strength, redeem Golden Treasure Chests, and so on.

These are things to do.

Therefore, even if they don't go out today, they are still very busy.

After listening to Cao Xing, Liu Muxue nodded and said, "Well, I will try my best too!"

The two walked out of the lord's cabin together.

Same as before.

Citizen Cao Yi led the polar men and waited in an open space in the center of the territory.

When they saw them coming, they all bowed to them.

"My Lord, I wish you good health."

"Madam Lord, you are as beautiful as a fairy emerging from the dust, becoming more beautiful day by day."

Cao Xing has become accustomed to the greetings from these subjects.

Then he called Cao Yi over directly.

"Cao Yi, look at the weather today, can we still continue to mine resources?"

The lord Cao Yi replied respectfully, "Of course it is possible, Lord."

"Most of our people work in mines, so they won't be disturbed by the wind and snow."

"As long as the snow is cleared from the tracks, it will be operational."

The polar man Da Zhuang echoed, "That's right! Lord, we polar men work regardless of wind or rain!"

Cao Xing said, "Very good, then you can continue to mine resources today."

"Cao Yi, take a group of people to lay the track near the forest. I will send people to clear out the monsters inside."

"As you command, Lord!"

After saying that, Cao Yi took Da Zhuang and the others out.

Although it was still snowing outside, it still couldn't stop their enthusiasm for work.

"Kandar, Kandar, take a few imperial soldiers to the forest we found yesterday and eliminate the monsters."

"If you are in danger, remember to contact me immediately through the communication device on your ear."

The two centaurs straightened their bodies and nodded at the same time: "As you command! Lord!"

"The Centaurs are about to show off their skills again!"

After saying that, they also walked out of the territory with several soldiers.

Then Cao Xing looked at the polar man Duan.

"Duan, I left twenty polar men behind today because your mission is more important."

A serious expression flashed across the resolute face of the polar man Duan. "My Lord, please give me your orders!"

"Duan will do his best to complete the task you assign."

"very good."

Cao Xing continued, "Your task today is to first upgrade the 10 Elemental Arrow Towers to the intermediate level, then upgrade the Cowshed to the intermediate level, and upgrade the Campfire to level 15."

"Prioritize upgrading the Alchemy Workshop to intermediate level."

"In addition, we also need to build buildings such as training grounds, hot springs, and medical rooms."

"Oh, and we need to upgrade all our toilets to mid-level as well."

"There are many tasks. It doesn't matter if you can't complete them. You can do them one by one."

Duan carefully wrote down every task Cao Xing gave him.

Then he replied solemnly: "As you command! Lord!"

Other polar people are also very energetic.

"Don't worry, Lord. We will do our best to complete your task!"

Cao Xing nodded, "Very good, then you can get to work now."

After receiving the order, all polar people and staff had jobs.

At this time, Cao Xing fell into deep thought.

Because he was thinking about something.

That is, should we spend 100,000 Ice Dragon Marks to exchange for 100 Primary Power Hearts, so that all Ascalon soldiers can break through to the second level...

Although I had an idea last night, I was still reluctant to do it.

After all, 100,000 Ice Dragon Marks are enough to exchange for an Ice Dragon Gold Treasure Chest.

There is a high probability that golden items will appear in the golden treasure chest.

After thinking for a moment, Cao Xing decided to change!

In comparison.

One hundred second-tier Ascalon soldiers provide a greater boost than one golden treasure chest.

Furthermore, it was the Ice Nest period now, the sooner they could break through, the better, and they would all be able to reach level 20 very soon.

Thinking of this, Cao Xing shouted directly: "All Ascalon soldiers, assemble!"

After hearing Cao Xing's call.

Less than thirty seconds.

All the Ascalon soldiers came to Cao Xing and formed neat and orderly lines.

The qualities of a soldier are clearly on display.

They looked at Cao Xing, their new lord, with fiery eyes.

Cao Xing first took out the dozens of first-level green and blue equipment from his backpack.

Although Harold didn't make that many first-level equipment yesterday.

But Cao Xing had killed monsters before and got a lot of first-level armor.

All together, it barely totaled 102 sets.

Cao Xing said, "Come and get your new equipment. There are some excellent-grade armors in there, which will be randomly selected."

"But it's not a big difference."

Hearing this, all the Ascalon soldiers came over one by one, took off their standard imperial armor, and put on new light animal bone armor.

It took them three minutes to change into their equipment.

At this moment, this group of soldiers put on a set of light animal bone armor, which made them look less serious and more savage.

But they could all feel that these new armors could protect them better.

On the battlefield, a good set of armor can greatly reduce the casualty rate.

At this moment, there was a look of emotion in the eyes of the Ascalon soldiers.

"Thank you, Lord!"

"You are truly a good lord who cares about your subordinates."

Then, hundreds of loyalty improvement messages appeared in front of Cao Xing.

The loyalty of these Ascalon soldiers increased by 2~3 points.

A smile appeared on Cao Xing's lips.

When the faction favorability is close, the loyalty will increase quickly.

At this time, an Ascalon soldier named Carliss stood up and said, "Lord! Please tell us what we should do today!"

"We can't wait to go out and fight!"

Other Ascalon soldiers also echoed, "Yes, with the Lord's blessing, we feel that we are getting stronger every day!"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Don't worry, your current levels have already reached a bottleneck, so today's task is to continue to improve."

After saying that, he directly opened the [Dragon Shop], then found the Primary Heart of Power and started redeeming it.

A system prompt appears.

[Do you want to consume Ice Dragon Mark*87000 to exchange for 87 Primary Power Hearts? ]

Cao Xing killed a lot of monsters yesterday and got 15 primary hearts of strength, which saved him 15,000 ice dragon marks.

He nodded directly, "Yes."

【Redemption successful.】

The next moment, the number of Ice Dragon Marks in Cao Xing's backpack decreased by 87,000, while the number of Primary Power Hearts reached 102.

Then, Cao Xing took out all the Hearts of Power and placed them on the brick slab in front of him.

Seeing so many red crystals on the ground, the pupils of the Ascalon soldiers on the field suddenly shrank!

"These are... items that will allow us to level up."

"Gods, there are so many?"

Their eyes were filled with intense disbelief!

Even the most dull-witted person knows how precious the value of so many hearts of power is.

Their lord must have paid a lot behind the scenes.

For a moment, all the Ascalon soldiers had an expression of emotion in their eyes.

Cao Xing said directly: "It's still the same as before. Everyone come and line up to receive these Hearts of Power, and then advance directly."

The Ascalon soldiers looked at each other.

The next moment, they knelt on one knee and swore loudly: "Thank you, my generous and merciful Lord!"

"Ascalon's glory will continue in you!"

At this moment, Cao Xing heard a lot of system prompts again.

[Due to your generosity, the loyalty of your territory member: Amado has increased. Current loyalty: 87]

[Due to your generosity, the loyalty of your territory member: Dewight has increased. Current loyalty: 86]

[Because of you...]

Cao Xing's expression remained unchanged, but he was already feeling happy.

The loyalty of these Ascalon soldiers has all been raised to above 85.

There are many of them with scores above 90!

This wave is not a loss!

Then, Cao Xing watched them line up one by one to receive the Heart of Strength.

Under Cao Xing's command, they directly used these props to start advancing.

The next moment, auras that were more powerful than before rose from them.

The scene of hundreds of soldiers breaking through the second level is still quite shocking.

Feeling the sudden surge in power of these soldiers, Cao Xing's lips curled up.

After all, last time in the Witch Forest, Cao Xing witnessed the Ascalon Legion led by Duke Palatine attacking in full force.

That strength and momentum are at their maximum!

Cao Xing was extremely jealous when he saw this!

So he wanted to have his own Ascalon Legion!

…