God-level Hero

The so-called Heroic Legion referred to the main hero going into battle and appointing a batch of vice heroes to help lead the troops. Essentially, having many soldiers required having many generals.

For instance, if the main hero brought Long Spear Soldiers and archers into battle, the commander could appoint a vice hero to lead the Long Spear Soldiers, thus forming the Heroic Legion. Of course, another vice hero could also be appointed to lead the archers. The commander could have as many vice heroes as tactical positions available.

The hero's value lay in their strategic attack and defense attributes affecting the entire army. That is, however many strategic attack and defense attributes the hero had, the troops would add that to their own attack and defense. When there was more than one hero in the team, the strategic attack and defense took the highest as the standard.

For example, if the commander's strategic attack and defense were higher than all the vice heroes, then the entire army took the commander's as the basis. Similarly, if the main hero's skill level was higher than all the vice heroes, it was taken as the basis. Of course, the personal attack and defense of a vice hero would still stack with the commander's strategic attack and defense.

If a vice hero had an attribute, like defense, higher than the commander, then the defense of the troops led by the vice hero would use the vice hero's basis. In other words, the vice hero's attack, defense, and skills only applied to the troops they led.

Thus, the basic point of forming a legion was to have the capabilities of vice heroes complement the main hero. A warrior-type main hero with high attack and defense would, of course, recruit a magic-type vice hero. Conversely, a magic-type hero with low attack and defense must recruit a vice hero with high attack and defense.

Meanwhile, players could appoint a vice hero with outstanding attack and defense attributes as the commander. In this case, the army's attack and defense skill bonuses would rely on the vice hero acting as the commander. This way, a Magic-type player only needed to focus on cultivating one vice hero with attack and defense skills. In practice, Magic-type players often appointed vice heroes as commanders.

Another critical value of vice heroes was their ability to directly stack Command Power with the main hero, allowing more troops to be led.

Therefore, even if players encountered an NPC vice hero in a tavern with garbage attributes and skills, but with astonishingly high Command Power, they were still worth cultivating! Soldiers in numbers ruled all.

Speaking of NPC heroes in taverns, it's crucial to mention that players couldn't form Heroic Legions with other players. Otherwise, two buddies could team up, one focusing on attack, the other on defense, and be invincible, and the game's developers wouldn't make any money! Players could only form groups, where your troops were yours, my troops were mine, and we only shared experience points, equipment, and tasks.

Thus, vice heroes could only be NPCs!

Vice heroes were akin to the rare pet in typical online games! However, finding a great general was not as easy as finding a multitude of soldiers; recruiting vice heroes was no simple task, demanding certain player prestige and money. Even a trash vice hero could qualitatively increase the number of troops a player could lead! Of course, vice heroes also needed experience points, so recruiting them was an art.

As for top-tier vice heroes, particularly stunning female ones, they drove players mad with enthusiasm!

Vice heroes were divided into three tiers: ordinary heroes, Epic Heroes, and Legendary Heroes. Ordinary heroes were level 1 to 20 NPCs that the system periodically generated in city taverns, some with rare abilities and, though minimally likely, even God-level abilities. These NPC heroes had no past or background, as if given away with a prepaid phone card.

Epic Heroes, on the other hand, were extraordinary, with their tales and legends on the Hero Continent. They appeared with high levels, sometimes even with industries. Recruiting them as vice heroes was extremely difficult. However, sometimes Epic Heroes had seemingly ordinary abilities, with their value lying in their high levels and related Kingdom backgrounds.

Then there were Legendary Heroes, whose abilities defied logic and were incredibly powerful, often being nationally renowned generals or local Lords. These heroes were nearly impossible to recruit. However, players could temporarily be vice heroes under them by completing tasks. Currently, Da Fei was experiencing such a situation.

Observing the various skill buffs stacked on himself, Da Fei could already imagine how his attack and defense had risen!

Da Fei opened the attribute bar and, despite being prepared, was dumbfounded!

—Attack 60, Defense 63, Damage 7-9, Attack Speed 12, Move Speed 12, Health 40, Morale 6, Luck 5.

What the heck! Was this attack and defense meant to blind new players? Da Fei's basic attributes were:

—Attack 9, Defense 3 (personal defense 3), Damage 5-7, Attack Speed 10, Move Speed 10, Health 38, Morale 1, Luck 0.

Which meant, Renior had 60 attack, 60 defense! (The commander's attack and defense still stacked with the vice hero's personal attack and defense.)

And there was Master-level Attack Skill! Master-level Defense Skill! Master Leadership Skill! Master Level Luck Skill! This was insane! Although he wasn't sure what level of hero Renior was, he was at least an Epic Hero, as a character worth mentioning in the game's historical records!

Then, with the 60 attack bonus, Da Fei's damage of 7-9 increased by 300%, resulting in 28-36! Then, with the Master-level Attack Skill increasing by 60%, the final damage would be 44-57!

The guy suddenly improved to the angel's basic standard, turning decay into magic! What a terrifying presence the angel, with 50 basic damage and 30 attack, was in his hands? He always thought the Master-level Crossbow Cannon's late-game damage was overpowered, but truly, in the late game, the Crossbow Cannon's 600 HP just didn't suffice! Of course, in legion mode, Da Fei's Crossbow Cannon damage still counted only as his personal skill attribute and wouldn't be enhanced by the main hero; otherwise, every vice hero with a Crossbow Cannon would be terrifying.

And yet, such a powerful hero was defeated by Duke Makar, so what kind of overpowered being was Duke Makar? Was his Epic Quest meant to oppose this being? A joke, right?

Startled, Da Fei asked, "Captain, how strong is Duke Makar?"

The skeletal eye sockets flickered violently like a candle in the wind, "In the world of the dead, his name is akin to a Forbidden Curse. As the dead, I dare not even speak his name, or I will become his slave!"

Da Fei jerked in shock, "What the heck is he, the Death God?"

The skeleton solemnly replied, "Below the Death God, above the deceased!"

Da Fei was astonished, "The Death Lord!" The Death Lord's specialty was exactly like the top hero currently valued at a $1,000,000 account!

The skeleton nodded, "Correct! He is the Death Lord! A living Death Lord! It seems you know something about him?"

Da Fei hastily pulled out Juan's diary to show him, "I found this among Juan Sebastian's relics! He was the only survivor of the incident; he didn't become a zombie! He recorded everything from that day!"

The flame in the skeleton's eye sockets shook enormously, "Juan! I regret not heeding his words back then, leading to a huge mistake! When our ship's hull ruptured, all the sailors went to unload cargo from the cabin to salvage it, and we were poisoned! I was ultimately no match for him, defeated in his hands. He placed a curse on us, the deceased, in revenge. Adventurer, what is your plan?"

So the compartment was emptied by them! As a skilled player, Da Fei naturally knew the story had taken a new turn. After all, Juan's body was hidden so cunningly, how could general players find it? A hidden scenario must have a hidden task!

Da Fei immediately said, "Juan's dying wish was for me to avenge him, to expose Makar's scam; I will certainly carry on his will, uphold justice!"

In that instant, a fierce cold flame enveloped the skeleton entirely!

Renior laughed heartily, "I always thought I was a fearless man, an adventurer willing to explore the most dangerous places. But in death, I felt the insignificance of my soul. I became cowardly due to the curse's torment. I no longer cared about life, wishing only to remove the curse and die peacefully, even ascend to Heaven! But now I have changed my mind. I will fight to the end, seek revenge! Adventurer, Juan's last wish is now mine; I will assist you!"

—System Prompt: You have accepted the Epic Quest "Conspirator on the Great Sea Route" sub-quest "Captain Renior's Revenge"!

—Newbie Tip: Sub-quests are not mandatory to complete, but completing them greatly benefits the main quest.

Da Fei was suddenly astonished! Could it be that he was about to recruit an Epic-level Undead Hero?

Absolutely! How could they give him an Epic Quest to fight an impossibly strong hero and not provide an Epic Hero to balance the scales, right?

Renior continued, "But before that, I must, at any cost, destroy the curse barrier on the island; otherwise, my soul is forever trapped here. Starting now, I will focus wholeheartedly on breaking the barrier, which may take one or two days, during which many enemies will surely be alerted and come to attack me. I will have no time to spare; adventurer, your task is to protect me, prevent any enemy interference!"

—System Prompt: The trial mission "Assist the Captain in Battle" will start in 30 seconds. Players are to hold off the enemy's advance until the destruction ritual is completed!

Da Fei was taken aback! Damn! So you can't join the battle? It's up to me alone to defend, even as a small fry! However, with how I've been enhanced, ordinary enemies aren't much to behold! Anything below level 4 troops, I take down with one strike! Brother, let's do this!

What if he failed? Da Fei didn't bother to dwell on it, much like how he never worried about not winning the lottery. After all, Da Fei was already a failure in the real world, so failing a few more times in the game was nothing.

With time still available, Da Fei quickly consumed food and drink from the newcomer package to replenish full stamina. Five days had passed in the game, right? Blood Sea Wave's fresh water should almost be gone by now. Da Fei had picked all his fruits; was he thirsty now? Haha!

—System Prompt: Trial mission starts in 10 seconds.

At this moment, Renior walked to the center of the deserted island, as the cold flame engulfed the sword and pierced it into the ground. A shockwave roared outward, and thunder echoed across the grey sky over the island, as the surrounding grey-black sea churned in waves.

—System Prompt: The trial mission has begun! Good luck!

A red dot blinked on the mini-map as a four-legged skeletal fish crawled onto the beach.

A creature never seen before! Not described on the official website! Certainly, the undead species in the Undead Realm were as numerous as surface world insect species, many unseen.

Da Fei instantly charged forward at the dog-sized skeletal fish and jabbed! −45! Killed in one blow! Yay!

—System Prompt: You have obtained incomplete information on a Nether Sea Bone Servant!

—System Prompt: You killed a Nether Sea Bone Servant, gaining 50 experience points!

Fifty experience points?! Da Fei immediately opened the information bar.

—Nether Sea Bone Servant:

Small-sized Undead creature.

Attack: ?

Defense: 10

Health: 45

Damage: ?

Attack Speed: 8

Move Speed: 5

Special Skill: ?

Experience: 50

Special Skill: ?

This health and defense were at the normal level 4 troops' standard! Of course, starting at level 4, troop experience fluctuated greatly, and couldn't be measured by levels one, two, or three regular units. Essentially, the difficulty coefficient decided the points; the more skills, the stronger the skills, the higher the health, the higher the points. Elite forms often had one more special skill, making double the points normal. As for bosses, those couldn't be calculated by standard logic.

And the first soldier was already such an existence. What else would follow?

At that moment, another bone servant emerged on the beach from behind the island. Without hesitation, Da Fei rushed over.

(Asking for recommendations!!!!!!)