Chapter 6: Discovering a Wild Coal Mine

【Snake-Person Priest: Ilena】

【Race: Serpentfolk】

【Level: 5, 132/4000】

【Health: 480】

【Attack Power: 51~54 (Weapon Bonus)】

【Attributes: Strength 21, Agility 17, Spirit 18, Constitution 24】

【Skills: Scale Armor (Can provide an additional 10 armor points to self or allies, 90-second cooldown).

Serpentfolk Frenzy (Grants a frenzy effect to self or allied units, increasing movement speed by +20% and attack speed by +20% for 60 seconds, 120-second cooldown.)】

【Talent: Ice Bloodline (Allows for longer survival in extreme weather)】

【Hunger: 67】

【Loyalty: 68】

...

"Damn... such powerful attributes, truly worthy of a Level 5 creature!"

Cao Xing was extremely surprised.

And most importantly, Cao Xing saw Ilena's two skills: 【Serpentfolk Frenzy】 and 【Scale Armor】!

These two skills were actually buff-enhancing skills.

Combined with his SSS-level talent, they were equivalent to a permanent increase of 10 armor points!

(For ease of calculation, 1 point of armor offsets 1 point of attack power).

For ordinary creatures like the Polar People, 1 point of strength is roughly equal to 2 points of physical attack power.

(Depending on the profession and racial talent, the attack power added by strength varies, ranging from 1.5 attack power to 3 physical attack points for 1 point of strength.)

In other words, except for Da Zhuang, the attacks of the other Polar People would even have difficulty causing effective damage to Cao Xing.

From this, it is clear how terrifying the boost provided by this skill is in the early stages.

And the other skill, 【Serpentfolk Frenzy】, which increases movement speed and attack speed by 20%, is an even more terrifying percentage-based enhancement skill.

At this moment, Cao Xing felt like he had truly struck gold!

Suppressing his excitement, Cao Xing said, "Ilena, cast the Serpentfolk Frenzy skill on us first."

In this world, he naturally had to seize every opportunity to increase his strength.

Ilena flicked her crimson tongue and said, "It would be my pleasure, my Lord~"

As she finished speaking, Ilena raised her spear, and a ball of red energy gathered on it.

Then she pointed her spear, and a ball of energy landed on Cao Xing.

Instantly, Cao Xing felt a surge of hot energy within him, significantly increasing his attack speed and movement speed.

【Successfully cast 【Serpentfolk Frenzy】, talent 【Eternal Power】 has taken effect, this skill has become permanent...】

Seeing this prompt, Cao Xing excitedly clenched his fists.

It really works!

At the same time, Ilena raised her spear again, and a ball of white energy landed on her body.

Cao Xing felt as if an invisible layer of scales had appeared on his body.

【Successfully cast 【Scale Armor】, talent 【Eternal Power】 has taken effect, this skill has become permanent...】

This layer of scales was very hard and smooth,

And it only appeared when under attack.

In other words, in normal times, Cao Xing was no different from a regular person.

Cao Xing said excitedly, "Great, great, this way, my defense has increased significantly!"

After the skill cooldown ended, Cao Xing had Ilena apply both states to himself and Liu Muxue respectively.

After the prompt for the talent activation.

Ilena also discovered that the power within her body did not disappear as before, but remained permanently.

She was a little puzzled, and then when Cao Xing cast a permanent 【Ice Therapy】 on her, Ilena understood the reason.

"My Lord, your power is truly vast and unfathomable; it will remain within me forever."

Cao Xing's expression was a little strange.

Why did that sentence feel weird...

Shaking his head, Cao Xing began to think about other matters.

This frenzy skill can increase speed by 20%.

In other words, if it could be applied to all four Polar People, it would increase their work efficiency.

So, Cao Xing asked, "Ilena, can you continue to cast skills?"

Ilena gently shook her head, "My Lord, these skills consume my spirit, I need some time to recover."

Cao Xing nodded.

Then, he looked at the four Polar People working in the distance.

At this time, Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang were each jogging over with a bundle of processed wood on their backs.

San Zhuang and Si Zhuang were carrying several stones.

The sight of the four little dwarves striding forward and running in the snow felt somewhat comical.

Then, when they placed the materials near the Campfire, they would automatically disappear, and system prompts appeared one after another.

【Wood +5】

【Wood +5】

【Stone +3】

【Stone +3】

...

Cao Xing calculated that the round trip time for the four of them was about ten minutes.

There was still an hour and a half until dark.

This meant that before dark, they could collect a maximum of 90 wood and 54 stones for Cao Xing.

"I need more labor now, but only one Polar Human Cabin can be built."

"To recruit more Polar People, the Polar Human Cabin must be upgraded."

"A Level 2 Polar Human Cabin can recruit 4 more Polar People, which can significantly increase work efficiency."

"But similarly, these Polar People will consume more food and occupy my population limit."

Cao Xing glanced at his population.

【Population: 8/50】

(Level 1 Lord's maximum population limit is 50, which can be increased by upgrading the Lord Cabin.)

Just then, San Zhuang strode forward with his short legs and ran to Cao Xing's side.

"My Lord, I have something to report to you!"

Cao Xing looked at San Zhuang, "What is it?"

San Zhuang replied, "Where Si Zhuang and I were collecting stones, we found a small coal mine about three to four hundred meters to the front right."

"However, it seems there are two Snow Wolves guarding it, so we didn't dare to approach."

"I was worried that those Snow Wolves would pose a threat to our camp, so I specifically came to report to you, my Lord!"

Hearing the words 'coal mine', Cao Xing's eyes instantly lit up.

It is important to know that coal is a higher-grade energy material than wood; it not only burns longer but also emits more heat.

If he could occupy the coal mine, he could save a lot of wood to build other facilities.

Cao Xing quickly asked, "What is the strength of those Snow Wolves, and do you know how many there are?"

San Zhuang nodded, "We observed for a while and only saw two Snow Wolves so far."

"The strength of these Snow Wolves feels a little stronger than that viper."

After hearing this, the joy on Cao Xing's face became even more pronounced.

Two Snow Wolves, according to San Zhuang, are a little stronger than the Snowfield Viper, which means they are probably Level 3 to 4 monsters.

Before summoning Ilena, Cao Xing really wasn't sure he could deal with them.

But now, he could try to occupy that coal mine first.

So, Cao Xing nodded and said, "San Zhuang, well done!"

"Tonight I will give you and Si Zhuang a piece of snake meat as a reward!"

Hearing that there would be snake meat to eat tonight, little stars almost appeared in San Zhuang's eyes.

He nodded excitedly and said, "Thank you for your generosity, my Lord, San Zhuang will do his best to contribute to you!"

After speaking, San Zhuang continued to stride with his short legs and went to collect stones.

Liu Muxue also heard their conversation and asked nervously, "A Xing, are we going to fight?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Yes, the coal mine is an important resource point, the sooner we take it down the better."

Some fear appeared in Liu Muxue's eyes, but she still bravely said, "I will fight with you."

Cao Xing did not refuse.

Although the Snow Wolves were strong, Liu Muxue had already been buffed with three permanent buffs.

Both her defense and recovery capabilities had been greatly enhanced, and with the Level 5 Ilena, dealing with two Snow Wolves should not be a problem.

However, before the battle, he could also use some items to increase combat power.

Cao Xing took out a purple poison sac from his backpack.

【Snowfield Viper's Poison Sac (Green)】

【Effect: Apply to weapons to add 'Level 1 Poisoned' status to the next 15 attacks.】

【Remaining uses: 10 times.】

Cao Xing applied the poison effect to Ilena's trident and Liu Muxue's ordinary stone axe.

A faint purple light attached to their weapons.

After completing these preparations, Cao Xing nodded and said, "Then, let's set off now."

After speaking, he raised his plain wooden staff and walked towards the snow.

Ilena, holding her trident spear, walked at the very front.

Her snake-like body twisted on the snow, leaving a clear trail.

And Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind her.

Shhh... shhh shhh...

The further they got from the Campfire, the thicker the snow on the ground became, almost reaching their ankles.

Waves of coldness swept over them.

It took about four minutes to reach the place San Zhuang mentioned.

There, as expected, was a dark mine entrance, and next to the mine, a pile of mined coal was stacked.

【Small Coal Mine: Special Resource Point】

【Remaining exploitable resources: coal*1754, stone*754, soil*5360】

【Current Status: Cannot be occupied】

...