This method of exhausting the lives of NPCs of various races lasted for one and a half months. It was only when various heroes and leaders arrived and personally killed all the demons near the Otherworldly Gate that they stabilized their footing nearby. An endless stream of troops passed through the Otherworldly Gate to establish a base.
After the base was established, the expeditionary army reputation was unlocked. The first batch of several thousand players who were over Level 50 entered. They all chose to stay in the expeditionary army base to raise their reputation. Even Lin Xiao was no exception.
The reason was simple. After the opening of the Outlands, the fortress system was unlocked. Any player who raised their Gaia Reputation to Respect and their expeditionary army Reputation to Reverence would have the right to establish their own fortress. They could then use their Reputation and Demonic Imprint to recruit NPC soldiers from the expeditionary army base to nurture.
The so-called fortress was a sub-base. By using Reputation to exchange for a fortress core, players could head to the depths of the Outlands and set down the core to establish a personal fortress. They could then recruit various functional NPCs and combat NPC soldiers.
Functional NPCs referred to various merchants, such as leather armor merchants and forgers, hotels with Hearthstones, flight points that connected other fortresses to the expeditionary army base, general merchants that sold potions, merchants of various spellcasting materials, trainers for learning professions, and even mentors for learning spells.
The newly recruited functional NPCs only had basic functions. However, they could be used to occupy special resource areas or collect resources. They could also be used to upgrade the fortress core and the NPCs, giving them higher abilities. They could also be used to sell special products that were only available in the fortress.
Fortresses were similar to small towns or outposts in games. They could allow players to resupply, transit, and even stay for extended periods of time.
Players had to pay taxes when trading here. This was also one of the sources of income for fortresses. Normally, players would buy or sell goods from NPCs, and one-tenth of the total amount would go to the fortress owner.
The Outlands were also a safe zone for players to rest in. Players could also rent or purchase houses. Players could also store items that they could not carry in their bags in their rooms.
However, this depended on the fortress's strength. After all, fortresses had to be built in dangerous areas. Not only would they have to face the attacks of the Outlands' demons, but they would also have to face the destruction of Nightmare Spawns. Once a fortress was breached, the items stored in the fortress would be gone.
Hence, whether a fortress could attract a large number of players to resupply depended on the fortress's strength.
Hence, ordinary players could not afford to build a fortress. At the very least, one needed a team to construct a fortress, such as a Guild. Very few players would attempt to construct a fortress by themselves.
As for combat NPCs, they naturally referred to all kinds of NPC soldiers, including Elite NPC soldiers of any race. Generally, players who chose NPCs of the same race would have an advantage in terms of recruitment prices and conditions.
These NPC Warriors could also increase their levels through battle. They could also collect resources to forge NPCs to strengthen their equipment. They could even increase their ranks. For example, they could upgrade Normal Soldiers to Elite or even Elite or Leader.
In theory, a small soldier could also become a super powerful hero-level NPC as long as the conditions were met.
However, theories were just theories. Basically, it was impossible for them to become reality.
Lin Xiao was quite interested in this. After discussing it with his girlfriend, he decided to come out and do it alone.
The reason why Lin Xiao was not with the guild was that there were quite a lot of players in the guild who wanted to exchange for the Fortress Core. Everyone could see the future of the Fortress System. Those who could enter Radiant Glory were all elites. It was very difficult for them to submit to anyone. Even though Lin Xiao had previously demonstrated his strength and they had acknowledged that he was very strong now, acknowledging him was one thing. Wanting them to be his underlings was another.
I submit to you, but it does not mean that I want to be your underling.
In addition, people were fickle. If he really wanted a bunch of people to be his underlings, he would not be at ease. Hence, after discussing it with his girlfriend, they decided to simply leave the guild and do it themselves. After all, the cohesion in the guild was just that. He did not expect them to be of help.
The next step was to farm Reputation. He continuously received repeatable missions to kill demons from the expeditionary army. Every time he killed a certain number of demons, he would gain a certain amount of Reputation.
Both he and his girlfriend were Mages. She had chosen her own core race, the Winged Heavens' Wrath. It was a Sub-Legendary race that had mutated from her original core race, the Winged Heavens' Wrath. It was estimated that their template was based on angels, so their appearance was very similar to angels. They were very beautiful and had a very strong spellcasting talent.
There were two types of Winged Heavens' Wrath. They were divided into Silver Winged and Gold Winged. Silver Winged Heavens' Wrath had a stronger Thunder Talent than the Winged Heavens' Wrath, while Gold Winged Heavens' Wrath had inherited the Holy Power of Angels.
Shen Yuexin had chosen Gold Winged Heavens' Wrath. Hence, she had chosen to specialize in Holy, which was equivalent to a combination of Mage and Priest. Her original talent was more towards combat, but after meeting up with Lin Xiao, she had changed her original talent to support. In other words, she was now equivalent to a Priest with a high combat strength.
As time passed, they killed all the demons near the expeditionary army base. The powerhouses from the main plane used spells to transform the barren terrain nearby and built a super-large fortress. Teams of NPC soldiers left the expeditionary army fortress under the leadership of NPC officers and set up outposts nearby.
They served the players as well as opened up new territory and acted as a buffer against the demons' counterattack.
However, if the players wanted to build a fortress, they would have to travel far away from the expeditionary army fortress and head into the depths of this foreign world.
According to the rules, the further the fortress was from the expeditionary army, the more important the location, and the more support they would receive from the expeditionary army. At the same time, there would be a huge bonus when calculating the score in the future. This would force the players to venture into the depths of the Outland.
This was very advantageous for Lin Xiao, who had a level advantage. After spending a few months to accumulate enough Reputation, Merit, and Demonic Marks, they exchanged them for a fortress core and a company of 100 Level 55 NPCs. Five of them were Elite NPCs. After preparing sufficient supplies, they rode on their mounts and left the expeditionary army headquarters that had been developed into a super-large fortress and entered the vast Outland.
Recruiting Elite combat-type NPCs required a green Demonic Mark. The drop rate of this item was extremely low. After so long, they had accumulated less than ten Demonic Marks.
An ordinary Level 55 NPC Warrior only had 3,500 HP, while an Elite NPC had slightly more than 10,000 HP. Their average combat power was slightly lower than an ordinary demon.
This Outland was wreaked havoc by demons and chaotic forces. The energy in the void was extremely violent. Players would receive a negative buff in the wilderness of this world. There was a certain probability of failure when casting any spell. Moreover, the mana consumption and casting time would increase by 50%.
This negative buff would only disappear when the Outland was in an area controlled by the expeditionary army and the Wizard Tower built in the expeditionary army's fortress calmed down the energy in the void.
Therefore, the early stages of the exploration were completely dependent on NPCs sacrificing human lives. The players did not play much of a role. Even Lin Xiao was the same.
Although Level 68 was considered quite high, there were plenty of powerful Demons in the Outlands. Any Level 70 or above Strengthened Elite with a group of underlings could easily chase them around.
A Level 70 Enhanced Elite had at least 100,000 HP. A powerful race like the demons could have 200,000 to 300,000 HP. Their attacks were strong and their spells were powerful. Coupled with a group of minions, the two of them could not fight at all.
It had been almost half a year since they opened the door and left. He had died at least 20 times, which was considered low. Those who were over Level 50 had died hundreds or even hundreds of times when they went to the Outland. The powerful demons made them doubt their lives.
After leaving the expeditionary army's fortress, many players who were clearing out the scattered demons saw them and knew that they were preparing to go out and build a fortress. They all paid attention to them.
At this stage, there were not many players who dared to go out and build a fortress. Most of them were still in the accumulation period.
This company had 100 NPC soldiers. Among the 95 ordinary soldiers, 50 were Warriors, 5 were Stealth Scouts, 10 were Archers, 10 were Mages, 10 were Knights, and 10 were Priests.
Among the five Elites, three were Melee Warriors and two were Mages.
The team's composition was reasonable. Even if they encountered an Enhanced Elite demon, they could still fight … although they would suffer heavy losses.
The five Stealth Scouts were all sent out to check the surroundings, in case they ran into a large group of demons without knowing.
Three days later, Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin ran back to the expeditionary army's fortress with less than a third of their men dead or injured.
They were only 50 kilometers away from the expeditionary army's fortress when they were discovered by a flying demon monster. After killing a few small groups of demons in a row, they attracted the attention of a Level 76 Demon Warlord who personally led an army of demons to encircle them. He had no choice but to leave half of his troops behind and run back with his tail between his legs.
"Not at all."
They were forced to come back just after leaving the expeditionary army's territory. Even if they were lucky enough to escape the next time, it would not be long before they were surrounded and killed by the demons.
Beside him, his girlfriend flapped her golden wings and said, "We need to train an elite team.
"We need to train a team of Elites. At the very least, we need to train a group of Elites above Level 65. Only then will we be able to clear a path."
"I understand."
After returning to the expeditionary army's fortress, he used the remaining Demon Imprint to recruit a new batch of recruits. There was a total of one and a half platoons, and it was the same as before. He left the expeditionary army's fortress again.
However, this time, they did not run out. Instead, they gathered at an outpost called Eagle Mound, which was located west of the fortress. There were a large number of NPCs and other players in the outpost. If they encountered a large number of demons like before, they could escape to the outpost to take refuge. They would not be chased around like before.
Eagle Mound was located on a high ground more than 40 kilometers away from the expeditionary army's fortress. It was surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and there was only one road that circled around the high ground. As long as they guarded the only road and set up an air defense system, they would be able to firmly defend this place.
When Lin Xiao arrived, he happened to see a large group of about 2,000 to 3,000 demons attacking Eagle Mound under the command of a Demon Warlord. Many elite NPC soldiers were guarding the entrance, and a large number of players were squatting on the walls, controlling the crossbows on the walls to launch an attack below.
Inside the outpost, there were two small groups of players leading two small groups of NPC soldiers on standby.
Like Lin Xiao, they were preparing to take the route of a fortress's army. They were also training their troops. When the demons' main force was defeated and retreated, they would take the opportunity to beat them while they were down.
At this time, they could not go up to the high ground. Lin Xiao led his troops to hide behind the outpost, ready to take advantage of the situation at the end.
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