Chapter 2: The First Battle in the Netherworld

Li Mingxing and his men moved silently to the entrance of a cave. Along the way, not a single member of his unit made a noise; instead, it was Li Mingxing and Yin Haitao, unaccustomed to such stealthy movement, who occasionally stumbled over rocks and debris.

From a distance, Li Mingxing spotted several goblins patrolling outside the cave. He immediately summoned the elite thief who had just returned with a report.
“What’s going on? Didn’t you say they only use ordinary weapons?”
“They are using ordinary weapons,” the thief replied, giving Li Mingxing a puzzled look.
Li Mingxing raised his voice, “Those are ordinary weapons? All the knives those goblins carry are forged from refined steel, sharper than your dagger. And look at the goblin at the very back—he’s holding a heavy crossbow, its string made of steel wire, capable of piercing through steel armor. Even you don’t have one of those. If these count as ordinary weapons, then tell me, what’s considered extraordinary?”
“Well, things like laser swords or cosmic cannons would be special equipment,” the thief answered, leaving Li Mingxing speechless.

Having abandoned the idea of acting himself, Li Mingxing addressed his unit. “You handle this. I need to learn how to fight properly.”
At his command, the battle panthers surged forward. Their black hides blended perfectly with the dim underground world, providing natural camouflage. Their speed had also improved since arriving here, now approaching or surpassing the speed of sound. By the time they reached the goblins, the goblins hadn’t even reacted. A few flashes of blood later, all five or six patrolling goblins had collapsed.

As the goblins fell, five elite thieves appeared beside them, deftly catching the bodies and their weapons, ensuring not a sound escaped.
A few battle panthers then lay in wait at the cave entrance, anticipating backup, while one elite thief slipped quietly into the cave to disarm the traps set by the goblins.

Inside, the goblins were still slumbering. Apart from the occasional shrill cries of young goblins, there was little noise.
After waiting outside for a moment, more battle panthers arrived and entered the cave in groups of three. Soon, Li Mingxing caught the scent of blood wafting from within.
The elite thief soon reported back: everything had been dealt with, and it was safe to proceed.
Li Mingxing, seeing this, hurried inside without further hesitation. Though his units were not high-level, as an assassin-type force, they found this nocturnal ambush remarkably simple.
Especially since this time, Li Mingxing had nearly forty battle panthers, while the goblin lair contained just over twenty goblins.

Upon entering the cave, Li Mingxing was once again stunned by the world below. The cave was nothing like the goblin lairs described in novels.
Though garbage littered the area as expected, scattered among the refuse were heaps of weapons—from various blades and swords to composite bows and heavy crossbows, even an old semi-automatic rifle and a box of bullets so rusted they’d gone green.
The goblins who had clung to these weapons now lay dead beside the trash. In one corner, five or six young goblins and three female goblins huddled together, watched by several battle panthers, ready to strike at the slightest movement.

Yet what most embarrassed Li Mingxing was not the carnage, but the fact that upon seeing the ragged, burlap-clad female goblins, their skin so dark it nearly concealed their original green hue, he felt an unexpected stir in his loins.
Startled, Li Mingxing leapt out of the cave, muttering, “Surely I’m not this perverse—I can’t be excited just seeing a female, can I?”
After some reflection, Li Mingxing realized with dismay that his suspicion was true. His “lust dragon” constitution not only enhanced certain abilities, but also cursed him with arousal at the mere sight of any female.

He cried out in distress, “Heavens, if I’d known this, I’d have spent thirty thousand to lose my virginity. I’m still a virgin, and I don’t want to lose it to a monster in this world!”
His lament was meaningless. Once his men had finished cleaning up, Li Mingxing had no choice but to return to the cave.

Unlike Li Mingxing, Yin Haitao had no such troubles. Though he hadn’t fought, he’d learned much from the five elite thieves during the battle and was now busy selecting suitable weapons.
He’d initially eyed the semi-automatic rifle, but one elite thief stopped him, saying, “That thing easily attracts enemies underground, and the ammo is scarce. It’s not particularly useful. If you want to learn ranged combat, I can help you pick a proper heavy crossbow.”
Yin Haitao let go of the rifle and began searching among the daggers and short blades for a weapon that suited him.

Once the battle panthers had reported that the female goblins were dealt with, Li Mingxing found that all the equipment had already been divided among Yin Haitao and the elite thieves. Each wore a piece of old leather armor, some had short bows or light crossbows at their waists.

As for Li Mingxing himself, before him lay over twenty dark coins. He hesitated, then asked, “Are these soul coins? I hadn’t opened the money pouch before, so I didn’t know what they looked like.”
“Yes,” replied an elite thief, pointing to the struggling figures on the coins. “Every soul becomes a coin upon death in this world. Each soul coin’s value varies depending on the strength of the creature’s soul. These twenty coins are worth 337 altogether, a decent haul. You can use them to buy things, or exchange them for experience at a rate of 1:1.5.”
“What about weapons? Have you chosen already?”
“There weren’t any good ones. Some daggers and blades are worse than what we have. We kept a few pieces of wearable leather armor and ranged weapons. As for the gun, it can stay here, along with twenty usable bullets. But we won’t carry them—they’ll be left here temporarily, marked with your seal, so you can retrieve them next time you pass through.”

“Is that possible?” Despite all Raymond had told him about the world below, these details only became clear once inside.
“You just need to claim this place as a barracks. Normally, you can store three to five items in a barracks. If you have a city, you can retrieve items from your barracks through the city’s military post.”
“If that’s the case,” Li Mingxing considered, “let’s turn this place into my barracks.”
“Are you sure?” The elite thief didn’t act immediately, but explained, “As a trainee hero, you can command one field barracks. Zero points of leadership allow for one more. As main hero, you get another. Without a city, you can’t have more. Your followers can each command one field barracks. So altogether, you can have four field barracks. Are you certain?”
Upon realizing he could only have three, Li Mingxing hesitated. “Let’s stay here for a night, see what we gain in ten days. If there’s nothing special, we can turn this place into my field barracks later.”

“That won’t do. We need to deal with the soul stone in the cave quickly. Otherwise, after twenty-four hours, this battle will be for nothing,” said a battle panther, shaking its head.

“For nothing? Why?”
“If the soul stone isn’t handled, after twenty-four hours it disperses throughout the world below, and you won’t get the experience for conquering this cave.”
“Experience? Just like a game,” Li Mingxing laughed.
“Experience is simply a kind of power—it enters your body, strengthening you, or can be infused into your skills to enhance them.”
“Can it strengthen you?” Li Mingxing asked, curious.
“No. We are merely projections and cannot access experience. Giving it to us would be wasted. Your followers, however, can gain experience. If you wish to improve our strength, raise your own or your followers’ strategic attributes—that becomes an aura to strengthen your units.”
“Strategic attributes? How do I check those?”
“That’s your mentor’s job, not mine,” the elite thief replied, not even glancing at Li Mingxing. “Once you get experience, first use it to strengthen yourself or your followers. Otherwise, we won’t always be able to protect you in future battles.”