Chapter 670: Rewards and Merits
The artillery units advanced again, their roaring thunder echoing across the land.
Surging flames destroyed the densely packed twisted plants.
The remaining small twisted monsters were quickly shredded under the barrage of artillery fire.
Massive golem trucks and mechanical road warriors began to advance, while other units took turns joining the battle.
Rather than calling it a battle, it was more like collecting spoils.
The massive remains of twisted plants could be dismantled into many valuable magical plants and materials.
To the Druids of Bay Territory, these special twisted plants often inspired many breakthroughs.
The Druid Research Institute also had great interest in these twisted plants.
From the transformation processes of these twisted plants, they discovered numerous methods and directions for plant mutation.
Sudden inspirations and transformations offered effective improvements for enhancing and expanding production of Bay Territory's economic plants.
The path Bay Territory walked was truly a road paved in gold.
Every warrior beamed with a bright smile.
Even if they didn't know the exact rewards yet, Bay Territory never disappointed them.
Some soldiers who had withdrawn from the frontline rested and relaxed while joyfully chatting with their comrades:
"Hahaha, good thing we got our chance. Those guys must be regretting it now."
"Heh, serves them right for not training hard and slacking during lessons. If they weren't prepared, of course they got eliminated."
"After this battle, with the merits we earned, we'll definitely qualify for advanced training by high-ranking Professionals."
"With the Lord personally arranging our training plan, we can practically guarantee a breakthrough to high-tier Professionals!"
"This is one of the rare chances we get to be close to the Lord!"
"There's still one more chance in the future—becoming a Dragon Warrior!"
"Of course! Who doesn't want to become a Dragon Warrior? But opportunities are rare right now."
"Becoming a Dragon Warrior means a huge boost in power and income. Sure, it's more dangerous, but you get to live many more years too..."
"That may be, but aside from severely injured or disabled soldiers, no one else is getting in line yet!"
"Who told you that? The Territory has already released news that the threshold for Dragon Warrior transformation has been lowered."
"What news? How come I didn't hear about it?"
"Hehehe, once you accumulate 10,000 contribution points, you can see the benefits available at 50,000 points."
"One of them is that after reaching your natural potential limit, you can apply for Dragon Warrior transformation with a magical consultation and test!"
"50,000 points? That's way too much!"
"Dummy, you're just a mid-tier Professional now. Of course your merit gain is slow. Once you're high-tier, you'll probably hit that threshold right as you max out your potential."
"For those of us with average aptitude, about 4 to 5 years should be enough to qualify."
"The Territory keeps advancing, and the rewards and benefits we get will only grow. No need to worry."
"Haha, if this were another Territory or Kingdom, even if we qualified, they'd block us or ask for favors. Ours is way better!"
"Yeah, with everyone giving their all, how could we not advance quickly?"
"Do you think someday every one of us could become Dragon Warriors? Maybe future transformations will extend lifespan even more."
"It's not just soldiers who can earn merits—others can too!"
"I think it's possible. More power and longer life? Just the thought is exciting!"
"Long live the Lord and Lady Yaya!"
"Idiot, the Lord and Lady Yaya will live forever!"
"Haha, true that!"
These lighthearted chats reflected the sentiments of most Bay Territory soldiers.
Having endured the brutal outside world, they knew just how precious the Territory was.
Some even feared they were dreaming when waking up to the comforts of Bay Territory.
Thankfully, the magical lights, furniture, and the laughter of loved ones grounded them in beautiful reality.
A better life and hopes for a brighter future were the driving force for all in Bay Territory.
Bay Territory's forces advanced swiftly, showing no signs of stopping.
While the Evil Shadow Spirits were tied up by their siege on the Ironbone Tribe and tormented by scorched-earth tactics—
Bay Territory accelerated its own push.
Taking advantage of the twisted monsters' diverted attention, Angela naturally initiated full-speed advancement.
The artillery moved first.
Various large machines roared ahead.
Hundreds of engineering golems surged forward.
Dragon Warriors focused on clearing hidden dangers.
Scouts, guided by Catachan warriors, plunged into the surrounding jungle to probe enemy movements.
Although the Evil Shadow Spirits felt uneasy about Bay Territory's march, they still prioritized dealing with the Catachan Tribe.
After all, Bay Territory had fewer troops. If they took something, the Evil Shadow Spirits could always take it back later.
Bay Territory's military advisors accurately predicted the Evil Shadow Spirits' thinking.
They welcomed intelligent enemies—because intelligence brought patterns that could be exploited.
With the twisted monster army lured away, it would take at least 1 day and 8 hours for them to return.
This was all the time Bay Territory had to act.
Angela had been calculating the distance nonstop!
Outside the Ironbone Tribe battlefield.
Waves of twisted monsters charged through arrow fire toward the walls.
Occasional magical shells struck the crowd, blasting them apart.
Skilled gunners expertly checked their weapons, cleared magical residue, realigned their aim, and fired again after cooldown.
Boom!
A spinning flame shell soared into the air, lighting up Chieftain Robert's face.
His eyes lit up as he instantly grasped the magic cannon's value.
Long range, high damage, easy to use.
A war machine with a beautiful simplicity.
Training an elite archer in the Catachan Tribe took over 5 years and at least 3 high-quality bows.
Those materials, converted, could fund 1 million gold worth of resources for the Ironbone Tribe.
And with that money, you could buy 20 magic cannons!
Robert knew Bay Territory would profit from this, but he didn't care!
If they lost this battle, the Tribe might not survive, so what did it matter?
Bold and decisive, Robert found Da Peng, who was debugging the large teleportation circle.
Without hesitation, Da Peng patted his chest, his flab jiggling, but his voice firm:
"No problem, leave it to me. I can send over 100 cannons with operators right away."
Thrilled, Robert brought out massive amounts of resources for Da Peng to choose from.
Bay Territory wouldn't rip them off, and even if they did, no one would mention it. Why be stingy now?
Da Peng wasn't out to rob them either.
Though the resources looked abundant—
they were but a drop in the bucket compared to the sprawling Catachan settlements and their production potential.
The two sides quickly struck a deeper deal!
Armed with Bay Territory's gear, Ironbone Tribe withstood the monster onslaught.
After half an hour, once things stabilized, Robert quietly slipped off to contact other tribes.
He was going to pull in more "resources" for Bay Territory and Ironbone Tribe.
The nearby Evil Shadow Spirits fretted over the firepower on the walls.
Bay Territory's weapons kept evolving, and they were devastating against twisted monsters.
Worse, since contact had been brief, it would take time to mutate their monsters to counter them.
This was an awkward phase for the Evil Shadow Spirits!
"No matter what, we must take down the Ironbone Tribe."
"Forget the details—send more troops! Drown them!"
"At this rate, we need at least 8 more hours."
"What's Bay Territory doing? Are they going to help Ironbone again?"
"Bay Territory's Wyvern units?"
"They might show up. We can't delay anymore. Prepare early responses."
"Feels like we're being played. Bay Territory is clearly using the Catachan Tribes to wear us down..."
"Either way, we must take this place!"
"No matter what happens!"
Eight hours later.
Several massive tentacles extended from the Catachan jungle, thrashing furiously around and crushing many twisted plants and monsters.
That visible outburst alone was enough to show the fury of the Evil Shadow Spirits.
Not far away, another set of tentacles emerged from the ground, smashing wildly.
Just as they swore to devour the Ironbone Tribe, at least three Catachan tribes had already reported new developments.
They too had received aid from Bay Territory—not only mastering scorched-earth tactics, but also obtaining powerful magic cannons and flame-throwers.
The Ironbone Tribe did endure tremendous pressure under their full assault.
Yet clearly, they could still hold out for some time. Perhaps this was all deliberate, luring them in to buy time for the other Catachan tribes.
Now they were in a bind!
Continue attacking the Ironbone Tribe?
Bay Territory was clearly expanding its influence over more tribes, greatly boosting their combat strength.
If they didn't eliminate the other tribes first—
Once all the Catachan tribes were armed with Bay Territory's weapons and equipment—
Their plan to crush Catachan in one decisive battle would go entirely up in smoke!
At that point, the time, effort, and resources they'd invested would become unbearably costly.
But if they didn't press the attack—
They wouldn't uncover the secret behind the scorched-earth tactics, and everything they'd sacrificed so far would be for nothing.
As they hesitated, the roar of the skies drew ever closer.
Under the venomous glares of the Evil Shadow Spirits, the Wyvern Riders gleefully "played" with the twisted monster army below.
Dozens of dragon breaths rained down, clearing out huge swaths of twisted monsters.
Catachan soldiers on the wall quickly rotated shifts and reinforced the line.
The newly arriving twisted monsters were about to begin their next assault.
Whatever momentum they'd gained before had just been wiped clean.
The Evil Shadow Spirits, stifled beyond belief, had too much pent-up resentment with nowhere to vent.
And Bay Territory had no intention of letting them off the hook—soon came a message that made them furious.
Bay Territory had marched 200 kilometers in a lightning assault on Mount Aso!
Mount Aso!
One of the largest volcanoes in the region.
And it was active!
Most importantly, this volcano was where the Evil Shadow Spirits created their legendary Catachan Demons!
Without it, they couldn't produce any more legendary Catachan Demons in the short term.
Their already stretched elite units and trump cards would take yet another hit.
What's more, the intel coming in only added to their unease.
Bay Territory was actually building a wall around the volcano as they attacked it!
What were they planning?
Bay Territory intended to *occupy* Mount Aso!
If they succeeded, it would cripple the Evil Shadow Spirits' combat power by at least 20%.
And the fact they went straight for Mount Aso clearly meant they had their own goal.
Whatever that goal was, it would surely mean even more bad news for the Evil Shadow Spirits.
Fresh off restoring the incarnation of a legendary Catachan Demon, Gold-Fang recalled the layout at Mount Aso and said without hesitation:
"There are at least twelve legendary Catachan Demons there, nearly a hundred regular ones, plus a huge number of twisted plants and monsters."
"Even if Bay Territory is strong enough to beat or kill them, there's no way they'll come out unscathed."
"Besides, we can order the Catachan Demons to avoid direct combat and hide in their lairs until our reinforcements arrive."
"Then we'll trap Bay Territory's army, with the Catachan Demons striking from within and without…"
Hearing this, though the Evil Shadow Spirits were still uneasy, they could only cling to this reasoning to console themselves.
Carrying the weight of new and old grudges against Bay Territory, the Evil Shadow Spirits decided to split their forces.
One group would attack Catachan tribes that hadn't received Bay Territory's aid, aiming to crush their defenses and population.
The other would gather nearby forces to launch an assault on Bay Territory's army.
Their plan sounded solid—too bad they underestimated Bay Territory's preparations!
Brilliant sunlight bathed Yaya's figure.
Hundreds of massive drakes looked up at her in unison.
"Take this place—rewards will follow!"
The chorus of roars showed just how fired up the drakes were.
They charged after Yaya without hesitation, heading straight for the smoke-belching Mount Aso.
At the very front was Yaya No.1, piloted by Orianna!
In a frenzied charge to awaken the full power of their draconic bloodlines and break past their current limits, the drakes charged like mad!