Chapter 471: After the Battle (III)

“How many merits do you guys have?” He Yong suddenly chuckled. “I have fifty-five!”

Hong Yitang flicked a noncommittal glance at him. “I have sixty.”

“What??” He Yong blinked.

Nuh uh, you didn’t kill anyone, so how come you have more than me?

“Merits don’t just come from killing people. I stopped the enemy at the gates, so I received some credit!” Hong Yitang wasn’t surprised by his score. The infrastructure behind the military equipment was very complete, so this kind of outcome was normal.

Li Hao remained silent. He wasn’t about to tell them that his score was higher than theirs. He’d killed quite a few supernaturals on the battlefield, some Solars, and a mid Nova. His score stood at seventy-eight!

Even he was surprised at how his merits were suddenly so high, and he still had no idea what they could be used for. All the same, the high score felt nice.

“The battle to defend the city is at a temporary lull,” a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in their minds. “The supervisory troops have audited everyone’s military achievements. The newly designated Twelfth Troop undertook their first battle with an incomplete roster of personnel. Being brave and ferocious, their merits will be counted at double the rate!”

Li Hao sensed that his merits were immediately doubled! 156! Not only that, but the other two started as well. This was... quite some efficiency.

It meant that the military system was still operational. The supervisors were aware of the happenings. Were the Red Armors in charge of auditing whether merits were being awarded reasonably so that certain problems wouldn’t occur?

“The newly designated Twelfth Troop waged a brave and ferocious battle!” Another line appeared in Li Hao’s mind. “Their people rendered exemplary service to the Battle Heaven Army! Troop leader Li Hao is awarded an additional thirty merits for exceptional leadership! First company leader Hong Yitang is awarded an additional twenty merits for fending off formidable enemies! Soldier He Yong of the first company is awarded an additional ten merits!”

Li Hao’s merits suddenly stood at 186 points. Hong Yitang was first increased to 120 points, then awarded a bonus of twenty to make for 140 points. He Yong now possessed 120 points.

Li Hao scratched his head. So he received an additional reward because he was the troop leader? Not bad! The extra thirty points was the equivalent of killing thirty initial or mid Solars. That was a lot. Although none of them knew what the merits could be used for, surely they were nothing bad. The more the merrier.

Only now did Li Hao have a chance to look at the black dog next to him. Panther was so full that it was burping. Highly excited, it pounced on Li Hao and knocked the young man to the ground. Licking and snuffling his face in a frenzy, the dog left the newly unarmed Li Hao in a state of wordless shock.

Damn! Panth’s gotten so strong!

“Panth, stop!” Li Hao roared. Panther furiously wagged its tail, but stopped. The young man frowned slightly after assessing it. The dog was thinner, but felt much stronger. He couldn’t tell much more because the dog was different from the major monster spirits of Ash Mountain. It didn’t have a ball of light around it!

So... was it a thorough martial master dog? It didn’t have any mysterious power!

“Did you come in with the last expedition team?”

Panther quickly bobbed its head up and down.

“Can you talk? I’ve seen major monster spirits that can talk...”

“Arf arf arf!” Panther shook its head, surprising the young man.

“You’re... not strong enough?” The four monster spirits of Ash Mountain could communicate through thought ripples. Panther couldn’t, which meant that it didn’t count as strong. However, the strength it displayed when pouncing on the young man had been quite significant!

Panther shook its tail without responding, because it didn’t know either what was strong and what was weak. It just knew that when the fights broke out earlier, it would’ve been able to bite a few of those people to death. This Big Beard, for example. The dog felt that it would be able to bite him to death if he didn’t turn into that scary version of himself!

Big Beard was too scary after he transformed—Panther shook its tail. Too scary, it wouldn’t be able to fight the human.

What a pity that the dog couldn’t talk. Li Hao didn’t ask further, he just found it odd that Panther could remain in the ancient city for an entire month. That meant that the dog had gained the city’s acceptance—did it also have a key?

That didn’t seem likely! Then why could it stay here?

“This dog is quite strong,” Hong Yitang transmitted. “Although I don’t know the specifics, its presence is contained within itself to the point where I think it’s a martial master. That’s strange. Monster spirits these days absorb a certain amount of mysterious power, but this dog... has none. That’s so strange!”

He found it very strange, as did Li Hao. So the dog he’d seen in the inner city before really had been Panther. “Panth, did you see the huge battle outside just now?”

The dog quickly bobbed its head up and down.

“Do you think... you can beat me?”

Panther rapidly shook its head! It was a dog, but not a dumb dog. Of course it couldn’t answer any other way. There would be no yummy sword energy for it otherwise! It was starving!

“Then... what about the Silver Armors before they reawaken?” Li Hao stroked his chin. That was peak Solar. He agreed with Hong Yitang that Panther seemed quite strong. Was the dog on par with a Solar?

After some thought, the dog inclined its head! Li Hao drew a sharp breath—that was quite strong indeed! So the dog was either a peak Solar or initial Nova! How had it done that?

“Did you get anything good from the city?”

Panther nodded and looked at the pagoda in the distance. Shivering, it whined as if to say—

I’m not ever going back even if you beat me! That was too painful!

“Not bad!” Li Hao patted it on the head with surprise. “I put my life on the line fighting outside, but I wouldn’t be a match for you if it wasn’t for me melding four auras together. Damn, that’s something!”

The dog was very lucky! Thanks to following him, it drank the first brew from Stellaris and then received benefits from the ruins. Why did it seem like it had better luck than he did? His luck was already decent enough, but the dog’s put his to shame!

“Arf arf arf!” Panther barked and licked Li Hao’s hand. Its tail wagged, as if saying that we’re on the same team.

Me growing stronger is you growing stronger.

The young man didn’t say anything, it was nice that the dog was back. He’d thought that it died or ran away. So it was here all along. However... he still smacked it on the head. “I was fighting to the death outside, but you didn’t come to help even though you were watching from the city walls!”

Panther responded with a look of innocence—it hadn’t dared to join the battlefield. Hong Yitang had been rampaging through it. The dog might’ve been killed by mistake if it went down, it’d been terrifying!

“Let’s set the dog aside for now.” Hong Yitang stood up. “Li Hao, are you interested in paying the barracks a visit? I’m curious as to what the merits can be used for. 140 points is a lot.”

He couldn’t be bothered with the people outside. The Gold Armor seemed to be on the city walls in person to stabilize the situation and collect Black Armors. This was the first day of the ruins’ opening, no one could leave for the moment. They had time to deal with those outside—it’d be nice if the merits could be traded for something nice.

Hong Yitang only had two big pieces of stone left; he couldn’t bear to use them. It was all bastard He Yong’s fault for wasting one of his! Granted, their organs had improved again, creating more power to be deployed in battle.

Li Hao was likewise curious and nodded in agreement. He, too, wanted to see what merits could be used for. Could they be used for a promotion? It might be nice to trade them for a set of gold armor.

Meanwhile, all He Yong was focused on were mysterious power stones. He was too poor at the moment! Hong Yitang would absolutely be the death of him if he didn’t repay his debts. The word of a swordsman was not a joke and Hong Yitang likely just wanted an excuse to end him.

“So the old man earlier is Light Sword?” Li Hao asked curiously as they walked. “I heard that she’s a woman! Also, what’s the story behind the Xus? My information doesn’t have many details on them, so I don’t get why Xu Feng was so arrogant.”

“It’s a bit complicated.” He Yong pursed his lips. “Light Sword is indeed a woman, but there are some issues with her cultivation method. It’s an ancient art of light and sun. Cultivators can change their gender at its peak. But with an abundance of yang and void of yin... she is neither a woman nor a man now! Her joining the Xus likely has something to do with their secrets. Maybe they can solve her problem.

“As for the Xus...” The man thought for a moment. “They’re really something. If it comes down to it, we need to start from when the dynasty was established. Skystar Dynasty received help from three great families when it was founded—the Xus were one of them.

“The patriarchs of the three families were later titled Founder Dukes of the Nation, a title that is hereditary. The Xus possess the Steadfast Duke title and are responsible for the eastern provinces. After the nine ministries forced the royal family to abdicate, the three founding clans also took their places behind the curtain. If not, the eastern provinces would answer to the Xus. The other two clans sit in the west and south. As for us in the north, we are too poor and chaotic thanks to activity from martial masters. A royal prince held down the fort here—the founder of the Skystar Troops!

“After the rise of the supernatural, the Steadfast Duke in the east received many benefits. They are very strong in the eastern region. Xu Feng had a place on the Divine Masters Ranking in the central region because he was always active there. The Xus have a branch in Skystar City and they are the royal family’s ardent supporters. In reality, however, they probably have their own ambitions for independence. The three dukes may not be of one heart with the royal family!”

He Yong reeled off these details like they were precious jewels in his care. “Also, they might be secretly supporting one of the three great organizations! There are many hands in the shadow behind the organization. Since the Xus are in the east, the royal family has wondered if the tyrannical Yama counts them as a backer.

“Therefore, whether it’s the three great organizations, nine ministries, or the royal family, they all show face to the Xus. It wouldn’t do to cause a ruckus in the absence of evidence.”

“I see!” Li Hao replied after a moment. “No wonder he was so cocky. But... I thought they were a family from the ancient civilization. So they’re just a founding family, what are they so arrogant for?”

“......” He Yong found himself at a loss.

You’re... pretty cocky yourself! Is being one of the three founding families of the nation not worthy of lofty pride?