Chapter 82

Cheng Yang had already used two bottles of life potion, which allowed his health to remain above 70%. In this final moment, the demonized beast did not unleash any powerful moves. Although the black bear was extremely agitated, it was powerless to change the situation.

When Cheng Yang rushed to the base of the altar, an ice ball shot out, knocking the black bear off the altar. The giant creature roared furiously at Cheng Yang and then raised its massive paw to swipe at his chest.

This creature's size was undoubtedly intimidating; it could be said to be the largest demonized beast Cheng Yang had seen since his rebirth. Of course, in terms of length, it was still far behind the black water crocodile.

Cheng Yang's attack speed was nearly 10% faster than before. As the creature charged over, another ice ball shot out, hitting it in the face and reducing its health to below the danger line.

However, the black bear had already reached Cheng Yang's side, and its massive paw struck his left shoulder, instantly sending him flying.

Faced with this situation, Cheng Yang was quite conflicted. After all, he was a mage, naturally inferior to warriors in terms of strength, and there was a significant difference between him and physical attack-type demonized beasts.

Once a mage is hit and sent flying, if they do not adjust their position properly, they might lose an opportunity to attack. Similarly, if a warrior uses their shield improperly when facing a mage's attack, they can only passively take the hits.

Fortunately, Cheng Yang had very rich combat experience. As his body flew up, he spun his feet in the air and then quickly landed on the ground.

But trouble came at this moment. There was no space on the ground, and his feet landed on the back of a steel-haired wild boar. The creature immediately started to shake violently, making it impossible for Cheng Yang to stand.

At this point, if Cheng Yang used ice spikes to clear the surrounding demonized beasts, he would be caught by the black bear again and sent flying. With no choice, he had to use the momentum to bounce off and continue looking for the next landing spot.

Cheng Yang's speed was much faster than the black bear's. After he darted out, the black bear had just started to chase him. As he landed, another ice ball shot out, striking the black bear's chest again.

The black bear let out a惨叫, and its massive body collapsed like a mountain. Two unfortunate demonized beasts nearby were also affected, though they did not die, they were seriously injured.

In the instant the black bear fell, the entire group of demonized beasts paused. Cheng Yang seized this opportunity, leaping over four meters high and landing directly on the top of the altar.

Standing on the altar, Cheng Yang felt a sense of stability. This three-meter-high altar was beyond the reach of first-stage demonized beasts.

Essentially, this altar now bore the mark of the Cheng family. Cheng Yang's excitement was indescribable. After a long howl, he began a large-scale slaughter of the demonized beasts below.

Ice spikes continuously fell, taking the lives of one demonized beast after another. Although occasionally some mid-stage first-stage demonized beasts managed to climb onto the altar, they were all eliminated by Cheng Yang's ice balls.

After more than ten minutes, the mana potions in Cheng Yang's backpack were depleted, and all the demonized beasts on the open ground were eliminated.

Seeing the last demonized beast fall to the ground, Cheng Yang let out a long breath. This outpost would now be his.

Cheng Yang immediately jumped down from the altar, placed his hands on it, and whispered softly:

"In the name of Cheng Yang! I claim this altar!"

As he spoke, a faint white light shot out from the stone and entered Cheng Yang's body. He felt a deep connection with the stone.

At the same time, four beams of light shot out from the ground, quickly forming four virtual statues. In a short time, these virtual statues solidified, looking exactly like the four main profession statues in Luofeng Village, only slightly smaller.

A voice sounded in Cheng Yang's ear: "Congratulations on successfully claiming the Xianghe Village outpost. Since you are already the lord of Luofeng Village, please choose one village as the central village."

"Friendly reminder: The central village is the core outpost of the territory, and all other outposts are subordinate. Once the central village is chosen, it cannot be changed. If more than 70% of the subordinate outpost managers declare independence, the territory will be dissolved, and the lord will lose control over the subordinate outposts."

Cheng Yang had heard about the concept of a central village in his previous life. In simple terms, it was the headquarters of the entire territory, equivalent to a provincial capital or a national capital. However, since Cheng Yang's territory was still at the village level, calling it a provincial capital or a national capital would be an exaggeration.

"Set Luofeng Village as the central village." Cheng Yang made the decision without hesitation. He had no reason not to choose Luofeng Village as the central village, as it had the highest level and its own territory attributes, which not every outpost had.

The voice sounded again: "Main city set successfully. Xianghe Village outpost has become a subordinate outpost of Luofeng Village. Please designate the mayor and deputy mayor of Xianghe Village within one hour and set the corresponding permissions. Otherwise, the rules will automatically randomly select the mayor and deputy mayor of Xianghe Village, and they will have all the management permissions of the territory."

Cheng Yang couldn't help but complain. Fortunately, he was well-prepared; otherwise, determining the candidates within an hour would have been a real headache.

Cheng Yang knew this was a very troublesome rule. Once the rules randomly selected the candidates, the lord could not change them or their permissions, unless the selected mayor and deputy mayor died. In that case, the decision would be final.

What benefits did claiming a subordinate territory bring? Cheng Yang wasn't very clear, but he knew one thing: the lord's exclusive ability, Divine Favor, although weakened, was still retained in the subordinate territory.

Divine Favor (Pseudo): For every three levels the outpost increases, the outpost manager will have the opportunity to enhance their strength by one minor rank.

Compared to the exclusive ability of Luofeng Village, the effect of Divine Favor was undoubtedly weakened threefold. Cheng Yang could have let someone else claim the Xianghe Village outpost, allowing them to enjoy the full lord's exclusive ability. However, he did not plan to do so. Whether it was selfish or short-sighted, he had already made this decision. After experiencing the apocalypse in his previous life, he did not want anything to be out of his control in this life.

Of course, some might suggest letting Yu Kai or Liu Hao become the lord of Xianghe Village and then transferring or reclaiming the outpost after it reached a higher level. This way, the benefits would be gained, and Xianghe Village would still be under Cheng Yang's control.

But if the gods left such a large loophole, they wouldn't be called gods.

Speaking of these rules, it's important to mention the advantages and constraints of being a lord. The greatest advantage of a lord in terms of personal strength is the exclusive ability, Divine Favor. After the territory increases by one level, the lord's personal strength can be enhanced by one minor rank. Over time, the lord's strength would be the strongest in the entire territory.

However, while enjoying this right, the lord is also subject to significant constraints. If the lord loses the territory, their lord status will disappear, and all the benefits they gained from the lord status will be lost. The most obvious is the strength enhancement from Divine Favor.

This rule is very harsh. It reduces the lord's strength based on the number of times they gained strength from the lord status. For example, if someone gained two Divine Favor permissions and reached the high-level apprentice stage, and then after half a year of hard training, they finally broke through to the peak apprentice stage, but then lost the territory and their lord status, they would directly fall from the peak apprentice stage to the mid-level apprentice stage. Imagine the effort required to go from mid-level to high-level compared to high-level to peak, which is a multiple difference.

Therefore, while the lord gains high benefits, they also bear greater risks, a path where success or failure is the only outcome.

In contrast, the subordinate outpost manager, although enjoying the advantages of Divine Favor, is subject to fewer constraints. First, as long as the outpost is not completely destroyed, the benefits the manager gains will not disappear, regardless of whether they are reassigned or the outpost is occupied by another force.

These rules were verified in his previous life, which is why Cheng Yang made this cautious decision.

For the mayor and deputy mayor of Xianghe Village, Cheng Yang had already made his decision, which is why he brought Liu Hao today.

Cheng Yang had always been grateful to Liu Hao, even though it was a matter from his previous life and did not happen in this life. Deep down, he still considered Liu Hao his brother. This feeling was slightly deeper than his feelings for Yu Kai and Niu Bing.

Of course, Cheng Yang would not openly discuss these matters. In the future, Luofeng Village would have more than one subordinate outpost, and the difference would only be who became the manager of the subordinate outpost first.

Liu Hao was undoubtedly the mayor of Xianghe Village. As for the deputy mayor, it would be Cai Chengtian, a deputy captain in Liu Hao's team. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, one of the first refugees rescued by Cheng Yang and his team from Huimin Town.

PS: Request for recommendations and collections. This is the second outpost. Is the development a bit slow? Hehe...