Chương 12: Guild Territory

"Okay, that's pretty damn strong!" One skill awakening, and his damage jumped by 10% outright. With this kind of output, wouldn't leeching EXP be a whole lot easier?

"Now that's what I call a proper skill!" Xiao Chen was pretty satisfied with the skill he'd just awakened. He still had eight regular class skill books he could use.

"Still need another 1, 600 gold, though!" After enjoying the moment, Xiao Chen got back to grinding Tier-4 dungeons. His old party had disbanded, but that wasn't a big deal. He could just form a new one. At Level 36, finding a party was incredibly easy. Xiao Chen opened his panel, thinking he might be able to find a stable party through the guild.

Right then, a special announcement popped up in the guild channel:"Tianxing Guild has expended 1, 000, 000 Contribution Points to establish a Tier-1 Territory -- Tianxing Village -- at coordinates (316, 425)."

"Tianxing Guild has expended 400, 000 Contribution Points to construct a Tier-1 Village Wall."

"400, 000 Contribution Points expended. Four Tier-1 Defensive Towers constructed!"

"Territory Mine generating."

"Territory Life Spring generating."

"Territory Mana Spring generating." Reading through this flood of notifications, Xiao Chen could barely believe his eyes.

"Guild territory?" Tianxing Guild had grown incredibly fast this year, but Xiao Chen never expected they'd actually be able to establish a territory. In Tiannan City, only five or six guilds had territories. And after building that Tier-1 territory, the guild's Contribution Points were basically wiped out.

"Was it really that urgent to establish a territory?" Xiao Chen checked the guild's coordinates. It was twenty li from Tiannan City's north gate. High-level monsters roamed everywhere out there. Could they actually defend it? Xiao Chen looked at the guild member rankings. The top players were already in their seventies.

"You can't hold a territory without Level 100 players." If Xiao Chen knew that, the guild leadership definitely knew it too.

"Right -- Tianxing Guild doesn't have any Level 100 powerhouses, but Tiannan City does." If high-level monsters attacked, the city's strong ones should sortie out.

"Hope this territory thing actually works out." The better the guild developed, the better it was for Xiao Chen.

"Building a guild territory... that's gonna change things, right?" As Xiao Chen was mulling this over, announcement after announcement rolled in.

"All Awakened above Level 30, report to the guild territory immediately for siege defense!"

"Join a raid group, assemble at the North Gate, and proceed to the guild territory together."

"All participants in siege defense will be rewarded 100 Gold!"

"Everyone must work hard to earn guild Contribution Points and upgrade the territory level as quickly as possible."

"Having a territory benefits all Awakened. Please give it your all." Well, if they needed him for siege defense, then no Tier-4 dungeons for now. Xiao Chen joined a raid group and hurried toward the North Gate. The territory was twenty li from the North Gate. Without a powerhouse escorting them, the journey would be dangerous. When Xiao Chen joined the group, the headcount had just broken ten thousand -- meaning the guild had over ten thousand Awakened above Level 30.

Large numbers of guild members were being transported out in waves. Xiao Chen joined a hundred-man squad and set off immediately. The one leading them to the territory was actually Chen Zhan, that fearsome Berserker. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! The whole way was swarming with Level 30-40 mobs. Chen Zhan carved a path through them with twin axes.

"Once we reach the territory, do not wander off alone."

"Monster waves will keep coming nonstop. Could go on for decades."

"If we can hold out for one month, that's a victory."

"By then the teleportation array to Tiannan City will be finished, and the territory will be safe."

"Rely on the defensive towers and the walls for defense. HP and MP regeneration inside the territory is much faster."

"Don't worry about high-level monsters attacking -- everything's been arranged."

"Today five guilds are establishing territories at the same time. The monsters won't be able to react all at once. Seize this chance to get inside the territory."

"Getting in later will be much harder." When Xiao Chen heard this, something felt off.

"So... if the territory can't be held, they won't be able to get back to Tiannan City?" The moment that thought crossed his mind, Xiao Chen felt an urge to run. One hundred gold reward. Yeah, no way that was easy money. Halfway through the march, leaving the group wasn't an option anymore -- without protection, he'd be devoured by endless monsters instantly. An hour later, they finally reached their destination. Tianxing Village. A small settlement spanning roughly a hundred mu.

When Xiao Chen arrived, monsters were already swarming the walls. Several powerhouses inside the territory came out to meet them. Everyone worked together to carve a path into Tianxing Village. The newly spawned village was incredibly crude. Aside from the wall and four defensive towers, most of the area was empty. At the center, two bubbling springs gushed forth -- the so-called Life Springs.

"Ding -- You have entered guild territory. HP +1, 000, Attack +200, Defense +100." Seeing such a massive buff, Xiao Chen felt a bit more at ease.

"You are receiving the buff from a Tier-1 Life Spring. HP regenerates at 10 per second."

"You are receiving the buff from a Tier-1 Mana Spring. MP regenerates at 10 per second." Beyond the territory buffs, Xiao Chen was also receiving dozens of raid-wide auras and skill buffs. That made him feel even more secure. His attack power had actually reached 9, 000, and his HP had broken past ten thousand.

"Wang Zhen, you guys made it?" The moment he entered the territory, Xiao Chen sent messages to the Storm Squad members.

"Yeah, we're on the north wall, fighting monsters climbing over!" Well, this siege defense was definitely dangerous if monsters were already scaling the walls. After joining the party, Xiao Chen saw that Wang Zhen and the others were positioned mid-wall.

"Why aren't you under the defensive towers?"

"Those spots got taken ages ago. Captain, get over here fast, we can't hold much longer!" Wang Zhen and the rest were Level 35 now. Xiao Chen wasn't actually that much stronger than them.

"On my way!" Xiao Chen sprinted to the wall and saw Awakened and monsters battling across its entire length. Some monsters had already climbed over, only to be cut down by defenders.

"Damn, most of them are Level 40-50 mobs. How are we supposed to hold this?!" Xiao Chen had some regrets. Maybe he shouldn't have come today? Well, too late for that now. The moment Xiao Chen mounted the wall, he drew his bow. Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! (-8, 613) (-9, 126) Level 30 mobs went down in one shot -- pretty satisfying. Level 40 mobs were a lot harder to kill. Soon, Xiao Chen spotted the Storm Squad struggling to hold their ground. Just like the first time he'd met them, the group was barely hanging on.

These monsters hit harder and had way more HP than standard trash mobs. If Wang Zhen's team didn't have three tanks, they'd have been wiped already. Three tanks, each holding aggro on a Level 42 Black Giant Python. This was a monster Xiao Chen had never seen before. Stygian Anaconda -- LV42 -- HP: 76, 000 -- Attack: 1, 600 And this was just a regular mob. With that much HP, the fight was a slog.

The three melee fighters weren't just dealing with those three Level 40+ monsters -- they also had to handle wave after wave of other mobs. Without all these buffs, his teammates would've been done for.

"Higher-level monsters, huh? Nice!" At least the EXP gain would be incredible. Xiao Chen summoned Little Strong first.

"Little Strong, stand behind Wang Zhen and DPS." With all the buffs, Little Strong's stats were looking solid. With three tanks holding the front line, he wasn't dying easily. And even if he did die, no big deal -- just resummon him in an hour.

"Whoa, Captain, your skeleton got way stronger!"

"Getting stronger is normal. Wang Zhen, watch your back!"

"Son of a-- it ambushed me!" Even as he spoke, Wang Zhen took a hit to the head and lost a third of his HP.

"Focus on fighting, stop talking!" Xiao Chen's output was higher, but he couldn't turn the tide instantly. He unleashed 【 Fivefold Shot 】 combined with 【Armor-Pierce Arrow】 -- the damage was solid.

"-9, 268""EXP +160 (+40)" This damage output stunned his party members.

"Captain, how'd you get so much stronger in just half a year?"

"Damn it, ambushed again!" Xiao Chen was speechless. Could they please focus on killing monsters? Still, his damage output was noticeably higher than the rest of the party -- by a good margin.

"Used a skill book, that's all." Xiao Chen found a position further back and targeted five Level 40+ monsters at once. No defensive tower in the middle here, so Xiao Chen could serve as a mini defensive tower himself. Once he settled into a steady rhythm, the effect was solid. Thanks to his presence, the defensive pressure across the surrounding few dozen meters eased considerably.

"Every attack comes with bonus EXP. This leveling speed is even faster than grinding Tier-4 dungeons." Not only was his EXP climbing fast, his Contribution Points were skyrocketing too.

"Maybe in a few months, I'll have enough Contribution Points to buy a skill book." Little Strong was also outputting tirelessly, occasionally summoning a horde of mini-skeletons. The territory's fast MP regeneration didn't affect Xiao Chen much, but it massively boosted Little Strong's efficiency at summoning phantoms. While farming mobs, Xiao Chen also hand-crafted a magic grenade now and then.

"Ding -- You have killed an Abyss Demon Snake. Kill Count +1, Serpent Gall +1, Copper Coins +200." Nice drops -- actually a Black Iron-grade material. One Serpent Gall sold for five hundred copper!

"Ding -- You have received 100 Gold from raid distribution." The guild's siege defense reward had arrived. That was a hefty payout. Xiao Chen immediately bought 100 regular Undead Core Crystals and had Little Strong absorb them.

"HP +100, Defense +20""HP +80, Defense +10" At first, each crystal gave a stable amount of HP. But as time went on, the gains diminished. After consuming 90 crystals, the regular ones became completely useless. To keep improving, he'd need Black Iron-grade crystals. Black Iron Undead Core Crystals were way more expensive -- he couldn't afford them right now. Having absorbed ninety Undead Core Crystals, Little Strong's power increase was obvious.

【Undead Skeleton -- Grade: Black Iron -- Level: 36 HP: 9, 800 -- Attack: 621 -- Defense: 250 Skill: Summon】 With all the buffs stacked, Little Strong's HP reached 13, 000 and his attack broke past 1, 000. Three tanks in front, three healers watching his back -- Little Strong didn't die once, becoming a remarkably steady source of damage. Those mini-skeletons had 20% of Little Strong's stats, and together they could actually soak up some damage.