Chapter 69: Harvest (Please Keep Reading!)

Chapter 69: The Harvest (Please Follow!)

Boom!

A mushroom cloud bloomed atop the hillside.

Several boulders shattered into dust, along with the orcs hidden within—every last one dead.

The Shadow Servant’s body had also been destroyed.

Only after all was still did Li Wei step cautiously from the shadows into the battlefield.

"Hmm? There was another supernatural being here. Good thing I was careful—would’ve walked right into their stronghold."

"The intelligence gathered by the Shadow Servant is inadequate! How could such a critical detail be missed?"

"Shadow Servant, emerge."

Li Wei channeled a sliver of spiritual energy to nourish the Nightmare Core within him, restoring its form.

A faint blue figure slowly materialized.

"Gather the spoils."

While the Shadow Servant combed the battlefield, Li Wei retrieved a recording crystal, capturing the ruined outpost in vivid detail.

Soon, the loot lay piled before him.

"This... is what you call spoils?" Li Wei held up a tattered beast-hide, riddled with holes, and glared at the servant.

"Don’t pick up trash."

He tossed aside the damaged items, keeping only what was useful.

The Shadow Servant stood silently by, watching.

Seven soldier insignias of orc footmen, and one badge belonging to a first-rank orc squad leader.

A few metal weapons—nothing more.

"Orc supernaturals are truly destitute. Only this blade has any real value."

Li Wei ordered the Shadow Servant to carry the loot back toward Frostsand City.

Clang!

The servant managed two blades—but the third slipped from his grasp.

Li Wei stared at him. The servant stared back, utterly innocent.

"Even Lin Daiyu could lift more than you."

Muttering, Li Wei considered abandoning the haul—too much trouble if the servant couldn’t carry it.

Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.

"The Shadow Servant's weakness stems from lacking a proper host body—without it, he cannot wield the Nightmare’s power."

"What if I create a vessel for him? That would solve everything."

"Invisible Armor!"

Li Wei cast the spell upon the servant.

Arcane light shimmered across the figure, cloaking it in an invisible suit of armor.

"Now, pick them up."

This time, the weapons stayed firmly in hand.

A smile crept across Li Wei’s face.

"Excellent. Even without possessing a living host, the Shadow Servant can now hold his own in battle."

"A low-tier first-rank nightmare may not be powerful, but clad in invisible armor as a living shield? Not bad at all."

"Shadow Tendrils!"

He directed the servant to absorb traces of shadow essence, further masking its presence.

Master and servant set off toward Frostsand City.

The Shadow Servant melted into Li Wei’s own shadow, wrapped around the bundle of weapons trailing behind.

If one listened closely, they might hear the faint clink of metal brushing against stone with each step.

Frostsand City, Military Training Hall.

Li Wei submitted the recording crystal and reported mission completion.

"Outpost on the eastern hillside of Frostsand City destroyed. Eliminated one orc squad leader and seven orc soldiers. Mission evaluation: Perfect."

"Reward: 50 Merit Points. Bonus for eliminations: +17 Merit Points."

Li Wei received a magical card inscribed with the number "67."

These cards functioned similarly to enchanted scrolls—though while scrolls allowed both rewriting and transmission of text, the cards permitted only content alteration.

Mission evaluations for outpost destruction ranged from lowest to highest: Failure, Pass, Good, Excellent, Perfect.

Failure yielded no reward.

Pass: Outpost destroyed, but garrison not eliminated—40% reward.

Good: Outpost destroyed, over half the orcs slain—60% reward.

Excellent: Outpost destroyed, over half slain plus first-rank squad leader killed—80% reward.

Perfect: Outpost destroyed, entire garrison wiped out—100% reward.

After securing the merit card, Li Wei took the Shadow Servant to a general goods shop within the city.

Clatter!

A heap of weapons crashed onto the counter before the shopkeeper.

"Boss," Li Wei asked, "buy weapons?"

The shopkeeper nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course!"

He inspected the pile. "Common-grade arms—all crude, save this one slightly finer blade. These must be taken from orcs. Only orc blacksmiths forge such rough workmanship."

He turned the squad leader’s knife in his hands, muttering critiques.

Setting it down, he declared: "One silver per common weapon, five silvers for the fine one—total twelve silvers. Sell?"

"Sell."

The shopkeeper handed over twelve silver coins.

Li Wei pocketed them, then scanned the shop’s wares.

During wartime, prices soared.

A stick of calming incense, once ten silvers, now cost twenty—one hundred percent increase!

"Shopkeeper, five sticks of calming incense, please."

Fecia called out as she stepped into the general store.

"Oh? Levi, you're here shopping too?"

Fecia blinked in surprise upon spotting Levi inside.

"I'm here to sell," Levi replied.

"To sell?" Fecia cast a curious glance at him. "Sell what?"

"Just some useless clutter."

Seeing that Levi was disinclined to elaborate, Fecia did not press further.

She fished out a gold coin, handed it to the shopkeeper, and took the five neatly wrapped sticks of calming incense.

The two of them walked out of the shop one after the other, Levi glancing at Fecia with a silent sigh of admiration.

"What a wealthy woman!"

Fecia carried a defensive magical artifact and a second-tier magic scroll on her person.

Combined with her exquisite mage robes and the staff in her hand, she was practically dripping with gold.

"Heading back too? What a coincidence!"

Fecia offered a bright smile as she noticed Levi walking alongside her.

Levi remained silent.

Where else would he go if not back?

"Mm," he grunted.

Fecia had not given up on recruiting Levi into the Castellan’s manor, and her chatter flowed without pause along the way.

Cold Sand City was not particularly vast, and they soon arrived back at the entrance of the lodge.

The sight of the building brought a sigh of relief to Levi; he would finally have some peace and quiet.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, Fecia turned and said, "Levi, if you find the time, you're welcome to come by my room. I’m in 204."

"If you have nothing to do late at night, we could always explore the mysteries of magic together."

Fecia cast a meaningful look at Levi, gave a knowing smile, and turned to head up to the second floor.

Levi watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning to make his own way upstairs.

He knew full well it was a honey trap.

Fecia was undeniably beautiful with a fine figure, possessing a natural grace.

Regrettably, Levi harbored no improper desires toward her.

Back in his room.

Levi had barely sat down when he felt his magic badge vibrate.

He pulled it out and discovered that his contribution points had increased by one.

"Mission completed, contribution +1."

Levi smiled faintly and put the magic badge away.

Contribution points were as good as currency; naturally, the more, the better.

In the afternoon, Levi remained within the city to cultivate, practicing his spells to grind experience.

Having acquired the transcendent trait of Mana Mastery, his offensive power now far surpassed his current level.

His defense, however, was constrained by the inability to store charge, showing no significant improvement.

At present, he possessed the attack power of a second-tier mage but the defensive capabilities of a first-tier mage.

Levi intended to first raise the level of his Invisible Armor spell to bolster his defenses.

If the potential for the Invisible Armor's future defensive growth proved too limited, he would know to find a new defensive spell sooner rather than later.

After six hours of meditative cultivation, Levi opened his eyes to find that night had already fallen.

"There simply isn't enough time!"

The Shadow Servant brought over food for Levi to eat.

Levi contemplated his schedule and planned his time while eating his dinner.

Tomorrow is Tuesday, the moment that decides fate, please keep reading!!!

(End of Chapter)