After obtaining a lot of useful information, Richard closed the [Forum Chat].
Surfing the internet was too time-consuming.
Without hesitation, Richard brought the 14 mummies to the edge of Twilight City.
The first-class village was not big, and there were no city walls outside. Every place led to the desert.
It was noon. From afar, the yellow sand looked like golden sand under the sun.
The heat wave was coming.
Richard looked down. The ground of the territory was paved with stones, and a step away, there was yellow sand everywhere.
The dividing line was very clear, as if there was a special rule separating the two sides.
After careful observation, Richard found a transparent shield in front of the dividing line. The shield was like an upside-down bowl, protecting Twilight City.
Richard understood.
This was the shield of protection mentioned on the [Forum Chat].
He extended his right hand.
The moment Richard touched the shield, the system notification sounded.
[Ding~ Do you want to leave Twilight City?]
[The shield of protection would provide a month's protection time. After leaving, the shield of protection would break in a week.]
[Note: The shield of protection is a product of the rules. It cannot be broken.]
If Richard was afraid of death, he could stay in the territory for a whole month without worrying about his safety.
But if he left, the time would be shortened to seven days.
It had to be said that this had indeed hit the heart of many people.
However, it was also a huge trap.
The initial development time was so precious. To enjoy a month of safety here was equivalent to wasting a month.
Without hesitation, Richard stepped out of the shield.
He did not feel anything when he passed through, as if the shield did not exist.
Richard did not care about anything else. He looked at the few resource points marked on the system map and thought to himself.
With the information provided by Karu, he could occupy all the resource points around the territory.
From the map, these resource points were only 20 minutes away from Twilight City.
"The logging field is on the west side of Twilight City, less than 10 minutes away. The quarry is in the northwest, about 15 minutes away. The resource points that are suspected to be iron mines are in the northeast, about 20 minutes away..."
Richard was dumbfounded.
"Let's start with the nearest logging field."
Richard carefully compared the system map and identified the target of the operation.
A rustling sound could be heard.
With his leather boots, Richard stepped into the yellow sand. Fine sand flowed through the instep. It brought a bit of heat.
When Richard raised his foot, the sand fell again and returned to yellow sand. Only irregular footprints were left on the spot.
Within a kilometer of Twilight City, the field was flat. There were also rolling sand dunes a kilometer away.
The boundless yellow sand could not be seen at a glance. It was simple and desolate.
The hot wind mixed with a little sand blew on the face. It could make one's mouth dry.
The desert had always been the symbol of the Forbidden Land of Life in the hearts of ordinary people.
However, Richard had the talent of a Desert Lord. Walking in the desert did not give him the slightest bit of pressure. On the contrary, he felt quite relaxed.
It was as if a fish had returned to the water.
There was no need to mention the mummy.
[Racial Talent: Increases stamina and recovery rate by 50% in the desert.]
This inaccessible death zone was their home.
Richard had 4 mummies scout ahead, and he was protected by 10 mummies.
But as soon as he stepped a kilometer out onto the sand dunes, the mummies ahead got excited.
They turned their heads and gestured to Richard.
What was interesting was that the mummies' mouths were sealed, and they could not speak.
They could only tell the information through their limbs.
Richard did not delay and immediately climbed up the sand dune with 10 mummies.
From a high vantage point, about 400 to 500 meters away, there was a tree-shaded forest growing in the sand.
The shadows of the trees swayed and were indescribably green.
That lively scene formed a sharp contrast with the desolation of the surrounding desert.
Through the branches, one could vaguely see that there seemed to be some wooden buildings inside.
[Logging Field]
[Level: Small]
[Reserves: 20,000 units]
[Maximum Output: 2,100 units per week]
[Capacity: Minimum of 2 people -- Maximum of 10 people.]
[Description: Ordinary resource points. After occupying it, it can be built into a small logging field.]
"Small-scale logging fields?"
"20,000 units of reserves?"
"2,100 units per week?"
Richard narrowed his eyes slightly.
In this way, as long as they occupied this logging field, they could get 300 units of wood every day.
He immediately became interested and sped up with the mummies.
However, when they approached the logging field, they suddenly heard a terrifying roar coming from inside.
'Whoosh!' 'Whoosh!'
Then, twenty to thirty figures rushed out from the 5 to 6-meter-tall forest.
Richard stopped and looked over.
These monsters, which suddenly appeared, had heads that were as ferocious as jackals, and their eyes were emitting a terrifying green light.
Their bodies were covered with thick gray hair that was as tough as armor.
They curved their backs and stood with one hand on the ground. Their sharp claws left scratches on the ground.
When they ran forward, they would use both hands.
They opened their mouths wide, revealing their sharp canine teeth, and their saliva drew long lines in the air.
[Desert Gnoll]
[Level: 1]
[Potential: Normal 2-stars]
[Skill: Brutal (F-rank) -- Once it attacks, its anger will swallow its reason, and it will become fearless until it kills the enemy.]
[Race Talent: Has a keen sense of smell.]
[Fetters: When the number of gnolls is greater than 10, strength increases by 10%. When the number is greater than 20, strength increases by 20% (Activated).]
[Description: Be careful of your throat.]
The number of gnolls that suddenly appeared exceeded 30, and the fetters that increased strength by 20% were also activated.
Their aura was fierce.
When Richard saw this scene, he was not afraid, but he became very excited instead.
His mummies were Elite-level 1!
"Attack!"
With a wave of his hand, 14 bandaged mummies charged forward.
The mummies let out a terrifying roar from their throats. Their open claws could tear through steel. Their aura was bloodthirsty, and their empty eye sockets without eyeballs were extremely terrifying.
Their running speed did not slow down because of the bandages all over their bodies.
In just a few breaths, the mummy had fought with more than 30 gnolls.
"Roar!"
A gnoll pounced on the mummy and directly bit the mummy, wanting to end the undead that terrified them.
The mummy used its arm that was wrapped in thick bandages to block the attack and ruthlessly smashed a gnoll's head.
A gnoll whimpered and took a few steps back. It almost fell to the ground.
However, the bestiality in its blood was completely aroused. With a roar, it rushed forward and bit the mummy's arm with its huge mouth.
Then, its head shook crazily, trying to tear the mummy in front of it with its sharp teeth.
[Body of Death (E-rank) -- No fear of pain, no fear of death, and immune to poison, plague.]
The mummy could not feel pain or fear at all.
When the gnoll bit, the mummy's sharp fingers that could tear through steel pierced directly into the gnoll's abdomen.
[Sharp Claw Tearing (E-rank) -- Finger sharpness increased by 30%. Sturdiness increased by 30%.]
Blood spurted out.
The gnoll's blood stained the bandage on the mummy's arm.
The gnoll let out a mournful howl. Under the excruciating pain, the skin on its body started to turn faint blue.
At the same time, its strength rapidly decreased.
[Corpse Bandage (E-rank) -- Reduces physical damage by 30%. The bandage carries plague. The infected person will enter a weakened state, and all stats will be reduced by 20%. If they are not treated, they will gradually die.]
After the gnoll was stabbed by the mummy's sharp fingers, not only did it not stop, but it even pulled hard.
The gnoll's abdomen seemed to have been slashed by a razor. It was as if the zipper of a coat had been pulled open.
It was a bloody mess.
Amidst the intense pain, an extremely brutal gnoll still did not give up on attacking.
Its two sharp claws were still fiercely attacking the mummy.
The bloody smell of the frenzied battle immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding gnolls.
The eyes of the monsters that were running suddenly turned scarlet, and they pounced on the mummy.
The mummy was held back by the gnolls, and there was no time for it to dodge. It was directly drowned by seven or eight gnolls.
The bandages on its body kept breaking, and some parts of its shriveled body were revealed.
But in this situation where the mummy was certain to die...
The gnolls that launched the attack suddenly let out a scream, their bodies suddenly turned a faint blue, and their strength decreased rapidly.
They retreated as if they had been electrocuted.
The mummy, who had just been surrounded and killed, felt as if its entire body was flowing with yellow sand.
Meanwhile, the sharp claws of the gnolls that were attacking the mummy seemed to have pierced into the sand.
They could only feel a slight obstruction piercing through their opponent's body. After the gnolls left, the mummy's body returned to its original state.
Not only did they not cause any damage to it, but the attacking gnolls were instead infected by the plague, and their physical strength rapidly weakened.
[Sand Transformation: D-rank. It reduces 99% of physical damage. It can devour yellow sand to recover from injuries. It can last for 5 minutes. (Cooldown Time: 2 hours).]
Without magical damage, within 5 minutes, the mummy standing on the sand would be immortal.
The sharp five fingers solidified in the sand, tearing apart the two gnolls that were still unwilling to bite it.
After this scene appeared, the fate of these gnolls was determined.
Although the gnolls fought fiercely, the mummies were even more overbearing.
Even if the mummy didn't use the sand, it could still suppress the opponent with its mighty strength. After using the sand, the mummy was invincible.
One after another, the gnolls were pierced through the heart and had their throats slit by the mummies...
The battle only lasted for a minute or two before it ended.
When the last gnoll fell, the system notification rang out.
[Ding~ Your troop has eliminated a group of gnolls and obtained victory in a small-scale battle. You have obtained 34 experience points.]
Richard, who was supervising the battle from the rear, was in a great mood.
This was the combat strength of an elite soldier. Facing an enemy that was several times stronger than their own, they slaughtered all of them without suffering any damage.
Richard glanced at his level.
[Level: 1(34/100)]
His leveling progress had visibly increased by a large margin.
The bigger reward was that after exterminating the gnolls, he would be able to occupy this resource point.