Chapter 509

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Those enemies, numbering less than six thousand units, repeatedly thwarted their five waves of attacks, ultimately sacrificing seventy thousand troops. This amounted to one-fifth of the grand army they had deployed, and among them were elite troops painstakingly nurtured by guild members.

Even Zunon himself had sent two squads of elite troops, each comprising a thousand four-tier 6-star soldiers, into the fray. However, without exception, they all met their demise. Reflecting on the resources spent to cultivate these two squads, even Zunon, who was accustomed to vast resources, couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

One member cautiously spoke up, “Guild Leader, to eliminate so many elite troops, including your two squads of four-tier 7-star soldiers, it’s highly likely that Ji Chen’s army is on a different level from ours, possibly… fifth-tier troops.”

The mention of fifth-tier troops caused everyone present to catch their breath.

If fourth-tier troops represented high-tier intermediate units, then fifth-tier troops undeniably belonged to the upper echelons.

At this level of troops, recruitment consumed not ordinary resources, but rather more valuable and rarer exotic resources.

The resources required to sustain a fifth-tier unit were equivalent to dozens of fourth-tier units.

In other words, only extremely wealthy and powerful individuals could afford to maintain fifth-tier troops, typically limited to native aristocrats.

Yet this player called Ji Chen had somehow managed to maintain six thousand fifth-tier troops?

Who was he exactly?

The bounty only provided his name and approximate location, revealing nothing about his background, identity, or strength.

After today’s disastrous failure, these proud guild members couldn’t help but ponder who Ji Chen really was. A player of such immense power couldn’t remain anonymous for long.

“Motherfucker, we got played by those bastards,” one member suddenly cursed under his breath.

Others understood whom he was cursing. The Kingdom of Bass certainly knew that a player named Ji Chen was no ordinary adversary, yet they hadn’t disclosed what he had done in Feiguang City or the extent of his strength.

It was fine that the Kingdom of Bass didn’t inform the others, but how could they not inform the Wasteland Guild and treat them like outsiders?

They felt like the Bass Kingdom was treating them like dogs, making them bite anyone whom they pointed at.

For a moment, many Wasteland Guild members harbored a sense of resentment.

Zunon evidently thought of this too but forcibly suppressed it for the time being.

He said in a deep voice, “Regardless, we must eliminate Ji Chen. This is the task our Wasteland Guild needs to accomplish now. If we wait any longer, other guilds will arrive.”

Members nodded one after another. This bounty was essentially a prerequisite for attacking Feiguang City. If they couldn’t even complete this task, it would be difficult to proceed with what lay ahead.

Moreover, with seventy thousand troops lost to Ji Chen today, letting him go would be unacceptable. They couldn’t stop here.

Zunon looked at the members, who all wore expressions of deep resentment.

People’s hearts could still be swayed.

He continued, “Tonight, let’s set up camp on the grassland nearby. Well launch our attack early tomorrow morning.”

One member voiced their concern, “It’s so close; won’t Ji Chen launch a night raid?”

Zunon shook his head, “It’s unlikely. Remember, even though we’ve suffered some losses, we still have over three hundred thousand troops.

A few thousand fifth-tier troops, even if they’re as powerful as you say, will struggle to make a significant impact against our overwhelming numbers. If fifth-tier troops can defeat ten four-tier troops, can they defeat a hundred?

Moreover, on the flat grasslands, my heavy cavalry isn’t just for show.”

Upon hearing this, many members nodded in agreement, their faces showing acknowledgment.

Zunon’s elite troops included those five squads of heavy cavalry, two of which were the only fifth-tier squads in the Wasteland Guild.

They were at the fifth-tier four-star level.

Several months ago, the entire Wasteland Guild had dedicated significant effort to complete a lengthy and complex task, which they had finally obtained these fifth-tier squads from a noble in the Kingdom of Bass.

Zunon regarded them as the troops capable of turning the tide.

Heavy cavalry was invincible on the flat terrain of the grasslands, and no fifth-tier unit dared to face the terror of massed heavy cavalry charges.

Ji Chen? Hmph! He would pay dearly for his actions!

“Lord, the enemy is retreating.”

Alice hurriedly entered, her voice gentle and pleasing.

Ji Chen nodded. The sky was getting dark, and since there had been no renewed attacks for such a long time, it seemed the enemy had no intention of fighting in the dark.

“Where have their troops retreated to?” Ji

Alice shook her head.

“It seems they don’t plan to leave. They’ve already started cutting wood, setting up camps, and constructing fortifications on the grassland behind the high ground.”

Ji Chen paused for a moment and then smiled.

It seemed the enemy was not giving up easily, and they were putting in maximum effort for the bounty.

But he also knew that the enemy guild had already suffered significant losses by deploying tens of thousands of troops in the abandoned town. Their sunk costs were mounting, and they were likely unwilling to give up before reaching the threshold they could bear.

The greater the losses, the stronger the urge to go all-in, just like those solo players who realized their mistake only after they had exhausted their last drop of blood.

Although the Ocean Crown squad achieved a remarkable victory today, there were still some losses.

It had to be admitted that an army with a commander was more difficult to deal with than mindless sea beasts.

Despite the Ocean Crown squad’s overwhelming strength, well-coordinated enemy attacks had caused them some trouble.

So far, there were more than eighty Naga Guardians killed, over a hundred Dragon Blood Murlocs, and about two hundred other unit casualties, totaling around three hundred casualties, roughly one-fifth of the losses.

A significant portion of these casualties had been heavily injured by the precision iron bolts from the heavy crossbows, then dragged to their deaths by the enemy troops surging in like a tide. Others were unable to evade the precise attacks and were killed by the barrage of arrows and abundant spell damage provided by the aerial reconnaissance from the giant eagle archers.

Thinking about this, Ji Chen shook his head slightly.

It seemed that the current strength of the Ocean Crown squad was not sufficient to ignore the troubles these people brought.

He once heard from the Elven Martial Officer, Black, in Maplewood City that the sixth-tier soldiers, beyond the fifth tier, began to possess something that ordinary-tier soldiers didn’t have—soldier bloodline abilities.

In fact, units that could reach the sixth tier were definitely advanced units, most of which possessed powerful bloodlines.

These bloodlines either originated from ancient powerhouses, were part of some lineage, or were derived from certain exotic creature bloodlines. Without exception, they all had special abilities far surpassing fifth-tier units.

For instance, according to the information Ji Chen picked up from casual discussions, the sixth-tier Elven troop known as the Horned Eagle Marksman had a unique mount called the Horned Eagle. This majestic bird traced its lineage back to the Ancient Horned Eagle, the guardian beast of the Elven tribe. This heritage had been carefully preserved by generations of druids, who consistently nurtured these descendants with their bloodline.

The Elven sharpshooters who rode them also had pure bloodlines, all descending from the ancient Elves without intermarriage or intermingling with other races.

The combination of these factors resulted in the Horned Eagle Marksman, a unit with a sixth tier and seven stars.

As for their bloodline ability, Black hadn’t concealed it, as the battle power of Elven mainline units had long ceased to be a secret.

The bloodline ability of the Horned Eagle Marksman was to enter a “focused state” both for the rider and the mount, greatly increasing the rider’s reaction speed and firing rate. The specific increase was at least ten times or more over the base values. The Horned Eagle mount also greatly improved its flight speed and responsiveness, at times even rivaling that of dragons.

But the terrifying part was that only a few units had these powerful bloodlines that matched their combat strength.

It could be said that units without strong bloodlines would likely never reach the sixth tier in their lifetime. While there might be many types of fifth-tier units, the drop-off was staggering from the sixth tier onwards.

Even more terrifying was the fact that after Ji Chen had upgraded all his mainline units to the fifth tier in the last upgrade, there was still a large expanse of fog in the unit talent tree, hinting at something more beyond..