Level Up

Richard had walked away just like that, but this left Layton and Hogan in a dilemma. If they did not pursue and attack, they would have nothing to do. But if they did, Richard’s army was as mobile as a group of horse bandits. The Bloodstained Lands were so vast, how could they ever catch up?

……

As he walked on the red earth of the Bloodstained Lands, breathing that familiar, acrid air, Richard felt like he had returned to the time when he was being chased by Red Cossack all over the place.

Even now he did not know who that enemy was. He only knew it was the one person outside of Sinclair who left him that suffocated. They had backed him into a corner with a group of unorganised horse bandits, unlike Sinclair who relied on sheer power to crush her enemies. It was thanks to that pack of wolves that his ability to direct and control the battlefield had grown rapidly.

As he stepped onto this red land, Richard felt the Archeron bloodline deep within him stirring in anticipation. It was calling out to him ferociously, thirsty for blood and destruction, bewitching him to destroy all the enemies in his path as he moved forward.

The army advanced in silence. Behind approximately 400 desert warriors and a hundred barbarians was a square formation of 120 throwers led by four elites. Within was a supply caravan of ten light carriages fully loaded with food and water.

The troops were moving at a normal soldier’s jog. This was considered fast for a normal army, but it was only average for Richard’s soldiers. This little disparity grew particularly obvious the longer a war stretched on.

As they all marched on, Richard was sat upright on his warhorse and moving in tandem with his troops. His horsemanship had grown to great heights by now, to the point that he was a rare presence among mages.

However, Norland’s grand mages usually had their own unique mounts. And even without one, a pacifying spell could tame the most aggressive of horses. Faelor’s mages were quite inferior in that regard. Magic was still grand and extravagant, and it seemed unthinkable to use it for convenience. Personal enjoyment came about through ordinary methods.

Faelor’s great mages used carriages when in an army, having high demands for their comfort during the march. They could not match up to Richard’s mobility at all.

Richard was connected to the broodmother’s mind as they advanced. She had been in deep slumber all this while, in the midst of advancing to level 5.

“Master, I finished digesting all the magic crystals you sent. I finished levelling up, you can choose what aspects you want me to adjust.” She sent a large amount of information through their link. Having advanced to level 5, the broodmother’s mind had grown more powerful and she could communicate far more clearly with him. The range of their communication had increased from 200 kilometres to 300 kilometres.

Richard’s spirits were lifted greatly by the news, and he went through the information he received.

It seemed like level 5 was a watershed. The broodmother had acquired many special abilities, one of which was to analyse her advancement. The creation of Phaser had played a crucial role in this evolution, contributing almost two-thirds of the key constituents she needed to advance on her own.

She also listed a few essential factors that would contribute to her advancements. Divinity from a god, divinity from an ancestral soul, the power of a divine soul, powerful creatures, elemental items, magic crystals, so on and so forth. The regular food she ate contributed almost nothing to what she needed. The list showed that the growth from just creating combat drones had decreased substantially as well. Given current circumstances, she would need five or six years to advance if she created combat units continuously day and night.

The new level also came with great personal growth for the broodmother. Her acid spray could now travel upto twenty metres, harming even the most poisonous of lizards. The venom she produced from her own body now was only slightly inferior to Sinclair’s manticore at full strength, and her mind flay had been strengthened significantly.

She could defeat most people at level 14 one-on-one. Nobody under the saint level could do anything to her, and even if they could she never battled alone.

The only disadvantage was that her mobility dropped again, back to ten kilometres an hour. This was because she grew in size once more. The broodmother was currently ten metres tall, and a whopping sixty metres long. This was a huge monster, larger even than some giant dragons.

The broodmother also added several new species of combat units. Richard felt like a particular species of poisonous bat was something he urgently needed. It was an aerial combat drone that had great speed, powerful venom, and could be manufactured in great numbers. She could create as many as thirty every day, albeit only two if they were elites. Richard’s eyes were set on these elite bats.

The elite bats were about level 8 in power; common beasts could not match up to them in the least. Moreover, their vision was particularly more acute than the ordinary bats. These elites could also be given an additional boost, giving them night vision, but then only one could be spawned per day.

However, even a single one would make for an irreplaceable spy. This was because elite drones could sustain a mental connection with him, transmitting anything they saw or heard. These elite bats weren’t strong of mind, only able to communicate over 30 kilometres, but a permanent scouting range of thirty kilometres was extremely formidable.

Richard thus had the broodmother create four elite bats, before creating two more with night vision. He then continued browsing through the information.

After advancing to level 5, the broodmother could upgrade herself once more. This included additional defence, magical protection, magic resistance, increased speed, and enhanced range and damage from the acid spray. She could even develop flying spikes that could be shot hundreds of metres away. This way, her personal combat power would be strengthened to its maximum. However, if there was a choice Richard would prioritize additional capabilities in drone creation.

Just as he was pondering over this, the broodmother spoke up in his mind, “Master, you might want to consider upgrading the worker drones or creating a combat drone of your own.”

Richard grew intrigued, looking through the two sections of information that she had mentioned once more.

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