NOVEL NEXT Chapter122-Casualties in the Summoned Troops
Five days had passed since the battle.
Within the Valoria Palace, the system panel buzzed once again, signaling the completion of a new batch of summoned troops.
Another thousand Elemental Assassins, five hundred Doomsday Warriors, and five hundred Mountain Shieldbearers had been created and were now awaiting orders.
With the assistance of the four provincial defense armies, the Imperial Knights' 800,000-strong cavalry swept across the land, clearing out the remaining resistance from factions like the "Cloud Tower" and the "Crimson Cult."
Large amounts of rare metals, exotic equipment, and ancient scrolls were continuously loaded onto carts, escorted by heavy guards, and transported to Eryndor City.
The absolute power displayed by the Doomsday Warriors and Elemental Assassins during their operations had greatly intimidated all the nefarious elements in the four provinces, stabilizing the tumultuous hearts of the populace.
However, the four provinces were vast, and the 800,000 cavalry could not clean every corner in such a short time.
They still relied on the governors and city captains to issue orders and coordinate with local defense forces for assistance.
In the depths of his palace chambers,
Aurek slowly opened his eyes, a brief flash of golden light flashing in his pupils.
"One million one hundred thousand points still hasn't allowed me to break through to Master Rank. It seems that the accumulation required this time is far beyond what I imagined."
Aurek thought to himself.
Clearing out the large factions in the four provinces was a huge feat, but their combined strength was still not as strong as that of the Manhattan Legion. Despite this, the total points earned so far had amounted to 210,000.
Such a colossal influx of points still hadn't allowed him to take that critical step toward reaching Master Rank—the accumulation needed for this breakthrough was truly extraordinary.
[System Notification: Destroyed the Holy Sword Alliance and killed a large number of enemies. Points +550,000]
[Doomsday Warrior Casualties: 25]
[Elemental Assassin Casualties: 75]
...
!?
A sudden prompt appeared on the system panel, causing Aurek's eyes to narrow.
It seemed that the golden-armored commander and Violet Thunder had successfully completed their mission and wiped Sword City from the map.
But these casualty numbers...
This was the first time since the formation of the summoned troops that there had been casualties.
[The core energy of the fallen summoned troops has returned to the Emperor's Scepter, awaiting their next rebirth.]
The system message coldly explained.
Aurek understood that as his summoned troops faced increasingly stronger enemies, including Master Rank opponents, casualties were inevitable.
Now, he himself was on the verge of entering Master Rank and fully understood the dangers of that realm.
However, the fact that the fallen troops could be reborn from the creation pool was a surprising bonus.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that most of the fallen Elemental Assassins were of Expert Rank, with only a few Hero Rank elites suffering losses.
The haul from this operation was still immense.
The points accumulated were more than enough to push him into Master Rank.
The Holy Sword Alliance, as a Grade Seven force, had far deeper roots than the Manhattan Legion. The members of the guild were of a higher average level, providing far more points than anticipated.
[System Detected: Sufficient points for Emperor's Scepter upgrade.]
[Upgrade the Emperor's Scepter?]
[Yes]
With his points ready, Aurek wasted no time and chose to upgrade the Emperor's Scepter.
[Emperor's Scepter upgrade successful!]
[Doomsday Warrior upgraded to Level 5, can now summon 200 units per day.]
[Next upgrade required points: 1.3 million.]
[Mountain Shieldbearer upgraded to Level 5, can now summon 200 units per day.]
[Next upgrade required points: 1.5 million.]
[Note: Level 5 Mountain Shieldbearer "Sacred Shield Barricade" stacking limit increased to 1000 layers.]
Since the Bloodblade of Killer Guild had broken into the palace, Aurek had learned firsthand the unparalleled defense of the Mountain Shieldbearer.
A thousand layers of "Sacred Shield Barricade"... even a peak Master Rank attack might be unable to break through, offering a massive defense boost to the palace's security!
As for the enormous points required for the next upgrade, Aurek was not surprised.
The empire had countless enemies.
He never worried about where the points would come from!
The Emperor's Scepter upgrade cost a total of 630,000 points.
Current resources:
Points: 528,900
All he needed now was to defeat the Sky-reaching Tower, Chaos Apostle, and the Blackcrow family.
With the remaining factions in the four provinces cleansed, gathering the points needed for the next Emperor's Scepter upgrade was hardly a challenge.
The strategic advantages and absolute power offered by the three summoned armies were already enough to shock the world.
Aurek was eager to see what powerful new summoned troops would emerge from the next upgrade of the Emperor's Scepter.
"Having taken care of the Holy Sword Alliance, next comes Sky-reaching Tower, Chaos Apostle, and the Blackcrow family!"
"However, after this battle, they must have already received news and are preparing defenses."
"With casualties among the summoned armies, eliminating these more prepared factions will likely be more difficult."
Aurek fell into deep thought.
After some contemplation, he decided to increase his forces and ordered a thousand more summoned units of various types to join.
Furthermore, the number of Mountain Shieldbearers had risen to 800, and half of them would be sent along.
It was crucial to completely eliminate all threats around Eryndor City before the Firstfall Festival and create a secure buffer zone.
Especially those factions that dared to target the Imperial Knights—those had to be completely eradicated to prevent future trouble.
But he did not immediately mobilize the troops.
Even with the golden-armored commander personally assisting, casualties had occurred. The Master Rank opponents within a Grade Seven force were numerous, and their strength was likely even greater.
He decided to wait.
He would wait until the newly summoned Hero Rank Doomsday Warriors and Hero Rank Mountain Shieldbearers joined the army before launching the attack.
Stronger troops would effectively reduce casualties, perhaps even achieving a zero-casualty mission in eliminating these factions.
With that, Aurek focused his mind and prepared for his breakthrough.
Over five hundred thousand points were enough to propel him into Master Rank and even allow him to climb several levels within that realm!
...
In the grand hall of Valoria Palace,
The palace was under heavy guard, with not a bird in sight.
The massive and imposing forms of the Mountain Shieldbearers formed the outermost line of defense.
Meanwhile, the Elemental Assassins merged with the gaps between light and shadow, with only the faintest, cold killing intent giving a warning to anyone daring to approach.
Everything was arranged to ensure that no disturbance would interfere with Aurek's breakthrough.
Having accumulated a solid foundation for his imminent entry into Master Rank, Aurek began his ascent.
Fifty thousand points surged into the swirling energy vortex within him—the sea of origins known as the "Core."
This sea expanded uncontrollably, reaching the limits of what his mortal body could handle.
More refined energy began to repeatedly temper his limbs and bones, following an ancient cycle, filling every node of potential power within his being.
At the same time,
A strange phenomenon occurred above Valoria Palace.
The thunderclouds churned like a boiling sea of lead, with lightning as thick as an ancient silver dragon tearing through the sky, leaving behind twisting rifts in space!
The residents of Eryndor City were all shaken by this great cosmic force and turned their gazes toward the palace, seeking the source of this anomaly.
However, Overthunder—the three-eyed Thunder General, like a cold and solemn deity—stood firmly at the palace gates.
Simply by being there, his overwhelming aura was enough to suppress any probing thoughts, whether from mortals or those hidden in the shadows!