Chapter 9: The Crusade Against the Corpse Demon!

The secret skills.

They could be regarded as special techniques of the Hermit Ranger profession. Not only were the learning requirements demanding, in addition, 100% effect could only be exerted when holding the specialty weapons.

Each weapon had its own secret skill.

Such as Red Moon, which corresponded to a set of sword techniques called [The Nineteen Rays of Moon].

As the name suggested, there were a total of nineteen stances in this secret skill.

Roger had only learned the first stance.

The learning requirement for the second stance was LV10, which he had not fulfilled for the time being.

But Roger was not in a hurry.

Anyway, he also had not obtained enough [Chivalry Points].

The so-called chivalry point was what needed to be paid to learn the secret skills of Hermit Ranger.

Chivalry points were similar to experience points, but they could not be obtained simply by killing monsters.

According to Roger's observation, it seemed that chivalry points could only be obtained by resolving some specific events.

For example, standing up for injustice.

After these kinds of deeds, he could get a chivalry value of about 1 to 3 points.

Another example would be to kill a monster that had been causing disasters to an area, relieving the creatures from suffering.

After such kinds of deeds, he could receive a chivalry value of about 6 to 10 points.

This was Roger's speculation: Since the profession of [Hermit Ranger (Xia Yin)] had the word "Xia**", his deeds might have to fulfil the definition of "chivalry (Xia)" in order to get chivalry points.

As for the specific amount of chivalry points obtained, it probably depended on the size of the beneficiary group of the chivalrous feat.

So, if he wanted to get more chivalry points, he would have to do some high-risk tasks.

This was in contrast to Roger's low-key style, so the chivalry points he had accumulated so far were pitifully few.

Fortunately, after killing the Red Tide Corpse Queen, he had been rewarded with 9 chivalry points.

Before this, he had already accumulated 2 chivalry points. After deducting the 5 points needed to learn the [Rays of Moon], only 6 points were left.

Now, Roger was faced with a difficult choice——

Green Beetle Sword and Violet Wind Bow respectively corresponded to two secret skills: [Cloud Mist Footwork] and [Superior Breathing Technique].

　　...

[Cloud Mist Footwork]

[Rating: A (Footwork that reaches the acme of perfection)]

[Details: Learning the 1st tier of Cloud Mist Footwork can increase dodge by 2 points (total 13 tiers)]

[Consumption: 5 chivalry point / 1st tier]

　　...

[Superior Breathing Technique]

[Rating: A+ (Breathing technique to help in concentration)]

[Details: Learning the 1st tier of superior breathing technique can increase concentration by 2 points (total 9 tiers)]

[Consumption: 6 chivalry point / 1st tier]

　　...

To be fair, he wanted to learn both.

Dodge and concentration were both attributes that were difficult to improve and were very important in combat.

Unfortunately, his chivalry points were not enough.

After weighing his options over and over again, he finally chose [Cloud Mist Footwork].

For Roger, his priority had always been skills that could save his life.

He tried the Cloud Mist Footwork in the yard, but he couldn't really see the effect.

After all, the improvement on dodge was difficult to observe with the naked eye, even the Qi Divination Technique was no exception.

"I wonder how many dodge points the Cloud Mist Footwork would provide."

"If the dodge points can be increased to the max, coupled with my full magic resistance, wouldn't no one else be able to hurt me?"

At this moment, Roger's thoughts ran wild.

　　...

Two days later.

At dawn, near a farm outside Tongma Town.

One followed by another, numerous figures spontaneously approached the hanging pumpkin lantern, and finally, more and more people gathered there.

They were all fully armed and equipped with all the needed supplies.

They appeared extremely excited, but they all restrained their desire to talk to each other.

They were the first batch of members of the monster crusade team after the reorganization!

At the same time, they also represented the strongest combat power that Tongma Town could assemble!

　　...

Dorothy, wearing a delicate leather armor, stood amidst the crowd, carefully counting the number of people.

Behind her stood an unsmiling middle-aged man.

Although he appeared a bit old, the huge two-handed broadsword behind him clearly showed that this warrior from the Gem City was not easy to mess with.

He was Uncle Terry that Dorothy had mentioned.

Not far away, at the edge of the crowd.

Roger wore a cloak commonly used when walking in the wild, and hid most of his body under the cloak, revealing only a portion of his face.

At the beginning, many people looked at him curiously.

But soon, the attention of these young adventurers had been attracted by the young and beautiful captain.

Roger liked this feeling of being ignored.

At the same time, he was also satisfied with Dorothy's choice to give a low-key start to this expedition——

Kane's failure last time resulted in suspicions about the monster Corpse Demon.

Someone even suggested a terrifying theory that the Corpse Demon might have an ally in the town.

Although Roger didn't believe in this, it was still better to stay low-key rather than attracting too much attention.

There were indeed many pairs of eyes scrutinising the newly formed team in the town.

"Everyone is here!"

Dorothy put away the namelist and glanced over the adventurers one by one.

Her voice was clear and firm. "In this crusade, the team consists of 35 people. Among them, three are vanguards, 19 are support personnel, and 13 are the main force of the crusade."

"I can't guarantee that everyone will come back alive, I only promise that when we come back, we will bring back the corpse of the Corpse Demon!"

"For Tongma Town!"

"For the innocent residents who died in the hands of the Corpse Demon!"

"For Kane!"

"Target: Southern Mine."

"Set off!"

There was no unnecessary inspiring speech, no tedious mobilization process, but just a few sentences laying out the facts before everyone.

The residents of Tongma Town had been deeply troubled by the Corpse Demon, so there was no need for much nonsense.

All the adventurers who participated in the crusade team came with the realization that they might die!

Everyone clenched their fists tightly, gathering the two fists together and touched them lightly, and then set off in a troop.

At the forefront was the vanguard team that consisted of three scouts.

They would be rushing to the southern mine as quickly as possible, and go deep into the territory of the Corpse Demon to provide intelligence support for the main force of the crusade.

Then there was the support team.

The support team composed of 19 experienced adventurers would follow in the footsteps of the scouts, and later, enter the first large-scale monster gathering area in the southern mine: Dwarf Mountain.

They would wipe out the community of inferior dwarves that had been entrenched here for a long time and establish the first support base for the main force.

When the main force arrived at the base, they would get a good supply and a good rest on the raised hill.

After that, it would then be the time for the 13 members of the main force to show their skills.

In their plan, they would cut off at the fastest speed the [Bone Outpost] that the Corpse Demon had arranged south of the Dwarf Mountain, and then wait for the scouts' information.

In the end, they would choose a favorable terrain to fight against the Corpse Demon and its skeleton soldiers in a final battle!

Only Roger, Dorothy and Terry were eligible to see this battle plan by the Lord's Mansion in advance.

To be honest, the Lord's Mansion had indeed been planning carefully for a long time for the battle today.

"Hope everything will go smoothly."

Mixed among the crowd, Roger didn't walk fast.

As the main force, they must preserve their strength.

About two hours later, they completely left the territory of Tongma Town and set foot on the edge of the southern mine.

At this time, a huge wave of dark clouds drifted from the south.

The Qi Divination technique showed nothing abnormal.

However, Roger felt an inexplicable anxiety in his heart.

　　...

*T/N: Xia, translated as "Ranger" in this book, literally means "chivalrous" or "a chivalrous martial arts expert who travels around and helps those in need". Other possible translations could be "knight-errant", "vigilante" or "hero". In the context of this sentence it refers to the quality of being "chivalrous".