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After a winter of training, the strength of the Snow Wolf Guard has significantly improved. With my deeper research into the Golden Bell Shield and battle aura, I naturally applied the results to these guards. Relying on the Nine Yin True Qi and Tiger Essence Qi, I forcibly transformed the newly recruited Snow Wolf warriors. After further training, their strength has reached the level of Bronze Warriors, and my recreated Golden Bell Shield technique has given them the defensive power of heavy scale armor. Fortunately, since most adult Snow Wolves need to support their families, the recruits were all young werewolves nearing adulthood, making their bodies highly malleable, thus achieving such results.

As for the original three hundred disciples, they have generally reached the level of Silver Warriors, with over twenty advancing to Gold Warriors. The retrained Golden Bell Shield technique has also enhanced their bodily defense to rival that of heavily armored knights. Unfortunately, the step from warrior to Sword Hero still requires some innate talent and insight. So far, only the guard captain Ankara and deputy captain Oswili have advanced to Sword Hero.

Regarding equipment, after continuous efforts, we have finally ensured that each member has a piece of demonic beast leather armor, though whether it is Hydra leather or Minotaur leather cannot be guaranteed. The weapons, however, are excellent—each member wields two "Snake Kiss" scimitars made from Hydra teeth, a "Wind Chime" composite reinforced short bow crafted from snake bones and tendons, and a "Magic Mirror" kite shield made from Hydra's dorsal scales. Additionally, I have imparted the foundational martial arts techniques of "Nine Yin White Bone Claw," "Heart-Crushing Palm," and "Sunset Sky Bow."

In the Nine Yin Manual, only these three techniques are easy to learn and powerful in their early stages. It seems that Huang Chang, when leading troops against the Demon Sect, must have suffered greatly at the hands of the Five Elements Banner forces on the battlefield. Compared to the flames of the Fire Banner and the poison water of the Flood Banner, the arrows of the Metal Banner, the vine-armored warriors of the Wood Banner, and the earth-sinking troops of the Earth Banner had the greatest impact on the battlefield. Thus, Huang Chang created these three martial arts to train a group of elite soldiers to challenge the Demon Sect again. However, this wish was left unfulfilled due to the passage of time, and the techniques were recorded in books as history, allowing me to arm a force of werewolves capable of both close combat and long-range archery in another world.

To prepare for the approaching Xilin Mercenary Corps, I dispatched five hundred of my guards, divided into twenty squads, to intercept and eliminate the enemy scouts along the way, ensuring that the enemy remains unaware of the situation at Qingcheng Fortress, preventing them from retreating and joining forces with Basten's regular army out of fear.

A series of battles allowed me to test the combat effectiveness of the Snow Wolf Guard. In just a few days, the scouts and cavalry of the "Iron Cross" mercenary group have been severely weakened, and the thieves and spies of the "Red Scorpion" have suffered heavy casualties, hiding within their ranks. My guards, however, remain unscathed, demonstrating a significant difference in combat capability.

Meanwhile, the core of the Xilin Mercenary Corps is embroiled in heated arguments.

"Bitch, order your men to go scout ahead. Another squad of my scouts has gone missing today. Send your thieves to find out what happened to them. Don't hide like turtles in the ranks!"

"Turtles? You're the iron-shelled turtles. Riding horses and wearing armor, yet you're still being toyed with by werewolves. All you do is shift responsibility. Do you expect my men to run across the desert and race against werewolves? You might as well give them a quick death. I despise men like you who can't take responsibility!"

"Bitch, you've gone too far. I..."

"Watch your mouth. Even if you had ten thousand gold coins, you wouldn't get through my door!"

Xilin, like his brother Basten far away, is equally frustrated. His hastily assembled five-thousand local troops are woefully inadequate, with most not even reaching the Black Iron Warrior level and having no real combat experience, only handling local security. Now, bringing them out is merely for show, relying instead on the forces brought by the two mercenary leaders. Though similarly numbered at around five thousand, the mercenaries are mostly at the Bronze level, experienced in battle, and well-equipped, making them ten times stronger than the local troops. Despite knowing that there are true bosses behind them and that future profit distribution will be complicated, Xilin chose to recruit them for assistance.

However, he never anticipated the intense conflict between these two factions. Regardless of the underlying power struggles, they simply don't get along. Members of the "Iron Cross" come from the Radiant Temple's rejected warriors, serving as an outer circle of the Temple, participating in small and medium-sized wars to expand their influence and meet the Temple's interests. Most members still follow the Temple's rules, hoping one day to be recalled based on their merits.

The "Red Scorpion," on the other hand, is a mercenary organization hired by the four upstream nations of the Red River. They primarily protect merchant caravans but also engage in robbery, assassination, and slave capture. Their members come from various backgrounds, with mixed morals and records, including their leader, "Scarlet Scorpion Queen" Naiomi, who engages in transactions with many nobles. The self-proclaimed believers of the "Iron Cross" naturally disdain associating with the "Red Scorpion," while the "Red Scorpion" views the "Iron Cross" as religious charlatans masquerading as mercenaries. Thus, both sides are constantly at odds, with the "Red Scorpion" using the "Iron Cross" as shields and the "Iron Cross" treating the "Red Scorpion" as cannon fodder, neither willing to suffer losses.

"All right, both leaders. It seems the werewolves are trying to prevent us from reaching the 'City of Fallen.' However, they likely have limited forces, so they use these tactics to instill fear and delay our progress, buying them time. This also suggests they cannot hold the entrance to the swamp passage. Therefore, we should push forward and reach the 'City of Fallen' before anyone else."

"But isn't that too dangerous?" Naiomi asked reluctantly.

"Leader Naiomi, Leader Tie Bato, I hereby promise that the mercenary group with the greatest contribution in this campaign will become the contracted guard for the new city and enjoy a ten percent share of the swamp trade route's profits permanently."