Chapter 7

"By the king's command, you have rendered meritorious service by offering the sacrifice!" To Zhou Tian's disappointment, although the half-orc leader was one of the strongest bosses in the beginner village, it was clear that its intelligence was still not very high. Upon seeing Zhou Tian, it spoke in a very stiff manner and then placed its weapon on Zhou Tian's shoulder.

Before Zhou Tian could recover from his disappointment, when the half-orc leader's weapon landed on his shoulder, he immediately received a large amount of information.

First, a large amount of experience was transmitted from the half-orc leader's weapon to Zhou Tian. With that experience, Zhou Tian directly gained the energy to evolve again.

At the same time, the half-orc leader, using its power as a boss, actually bestowed the title of Half-Orc Warrior upon Zhou Tian. This meant that even without considering the strength gained from the subsequent evolution, the half-orc leader's action alone was enough to make Zhou Tian a small boss.

After becoming a Half-Orc Warrior, Zhou Tian's mind suddenly received additional information. For example, only after becoming a Half-Orc Warrior did Zhou Tian realize that although the half-orcs appeared to be an independent force, they were actually the weakest of the vassal forces under the Blood Moon Sect. By becoming a Half-Orc Warrior, he was also registered under the Blood Moon Sect.

One could say that before becoming a Half-Orc Warrior, Zhou Tian was merely cannon fodder among the monsters. It was only after becoming a small boss that he truly became one of the many subordinates under the Blood Moon Sect. After truly becoming a part of the monster group, Zhou Tian discovered that, in this world, monsters were not much weaker than players.

Players level up by defeating monsters, and their strength is determined by their level, the skills they have learned, and the quality of their equipment and techniques.

In contrast, although monsters have a different system, they also have a 'leveling' system.

When ordinary monsters are 'born,' they are like those beast slaves, differing in race and strength but all serving as cannon fodder.

Then, through battles with players and NPCs, monsters can gain experience and evolve, just as Zhou Tian had experienced. Ultimately, through racial evolution or acquiring various innate abilities, any monster can become a powerful boss.

As for ordinary monsters, if they are fortunate enough to become a boss, regardless of their strength, even if they cannot defeat a high-level monster, as long as they have that title, they are destined to gain a new special ability.

The greatest special ability of a boss is to command lesser monsters. After becoming a Half-Orc Warrior, Zhou Tian's mind received information about the area he would occupy in the half-orc territory. The prompt also informed him that if he wished, he could control the ordinary half-orc warriors at that moment.

In other words, the biggest difference between ordinary monsters and bosses in this world is not in strength but in this commanding ability. The strength of ordinary monsters is determined by their own capabilities, while a boss, if they have a large number of subordinates, can completely overwhelm opponents who are stronger than them, even if their own strength is weak.

Players aside, they are the biggest bug in this world. Compared to the other two groups in this world, while their own strength is important, the weight of a boss is largely determined by the size of their territory and the number of their subordinates.

After fully absorbing the information in his mind, Zhou Tian couldn't help but smile.

His own strength was the only reliance to deal with the threats from players, but the power in his hands was the best choice to deal with NPCs. The thought of one day becoming a commander filled Zhou Tian with excitement. After calming down, he bid farewell and left the half-orc leader's residence.

After walking for two to three hours, Zhou Tian finally found his 'territory' based on the information in his mind.

"Although I knew I was a newcomer and wouldn't get a good territory, this is just too disappointing!" When Zhou Tian arrived at his 'territory' and understood the specific situation, even though he had been mentally prepared, he still found it hard to accept.

Speaking of territory, Zhou Tian's territory was not small, and compared to the average territory of a Half-Orc Warrior, it was already quite good. However, due to its remote location, his territory was quite weak.

Under the same conditions, the number of half-orc warriors under Zhou Tian's command was only one-third of the original region. This meant that, in terms of power, Zhou Tian, even as a Half-Orc Warrior, might be even weaker than one-third of his former superior's power.

Faced with this situation, Zhou Tian naturally felt some resentment. However, after complaining a bit, he accepted the result. After all, the half-orc warrior had probably spent a long time building up that power, and Zhou Tian was just a 'newcomer.' It was only natural that his power would be weaker. Instead of complaining about his weakness, he should think about how to quickly expand his power.

Generally speaking, there are several ways for a boss to expand their power.

The most common method is to accumulate slowly. After a territory has a lord, the higher-ups will send a certain number of troops each month. As long as Zhou Tian controlled the number of half-orc warriors under his command from dying too much, the number of troops in his hands would naturally increase over time.

Of course, Zhou Tian would not choose that method. After all, Zhou Tian was not an ordinary monster; he was a human in a monster's skin. With his plans in mind, he would not be content with such slow development. Therefore, after discarding the most common method, Zhou Tian's only choice was to earn merit.

Just as before, Zhou Tian's killing of many NPCs led the half-orc warrior to promote him from a beast slave to a half-orc warrior. After Zhou Tian killed several players, the half-orc leader directly promoted him to a Half-Orc Warrior.

Similarly, as long as Zhou Tian performed well, whether by killing NPCs or players, if the higher-ups saw his performance, they would reward him. His own strength would improve, and with the help of the higher-ups, the power in his hands would naturally grow.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Tian decisively took action.

Because most of the monsters below were not very intelligent, they were always at a disadvantage in battles with NPCs. Generally, unless NPCs or players took the initiative to attack, ordinary monsters would rarely provoke their enemies without orders from above.

However, Zhou Tian was different. If there was a profit to be gained, he would not let it slip by.