Chapter 147: The Dwarf Who Loves Knowledge, the Blacksmith Is in Place
Cao Xing took a quick look at the attributes of the two people in the snow.

[Mixed-blood Mercenary: Putana Carson]

[Race: Giant/Human]

[Level: Level 17 (Second Order Elite Creature)]

[HP: 6860/6860]

[Attack power: 454~491]

[Skill: Great Axe Mastery (When using a great axe weapon in battle, increase the strength by 20% and the critical strike rate by 10%)

Shield Breaker (Swinging a great axe to cause 188% of the enemy's heavy damage. If attacking a unit holding a shield, the attack will be increased by 50%, and there is a 30% chance to knock the enemy's shield away. The cooldown time is 40 seconds)
Savage Dance (Swing a giant axe, causing itself to spin at high speed, causing continuous 120% damage to all enemies around, lasting for 5 seconds, with a cooldown of 3 minutes. After the skill ends, there is a 30% chance of causing itself to be stunned for two seconds)]

[Talent: Half-Giant Bloodline (Health increased by 20%, Defense reduced by 30%)]

(Introduction: Putana, who has half-human and half-giant blood, is not welcomed by both sides and has a bad childhood.)
...

【Knowledge Seeker: Harold Iceberg】

[Race: Dwarf]

[Level: Level 15 (Second-order common creature)]

[HP: 4140/4140]

[Attack power: 252~277]

[Skill: Frost Hammer (Harold's attack is accompanied by frost power, causing an additional 20% elemental damage to the enemy.)
Iceberg Smash (Concentrates the power of frost and gathers it on the weapon, causing 155% of the heavy damage to all enemies in front, and there is a 50% chance of freezing them for 1 to 3 seconds)
Intermediate Forging Mastery (With rich forging experience, you can forge more advanced equipment and speed up forging by 20%)]

[Talent: Craftsman (When forging equipment, the success rate increases by 10%)]

(Introduction: A dwarf who is also disliked by his tribe. He only has books and knowledge in his eyes.)
...

Two second-level creatures!
However, when Cao Xing saw the dwarf's skills, his eyes suddenly lit up!
Good guy!
This person is actually a talent with intermediate forging skills.

This means that Cao Xing finally found a blacksmith!

At this moment, he couldn't help but sigh.

[Land of Hope] This territory title is really powerful!

The first recruitment brought in a second-level elite and an intermediate blacksmith.

At this moment, the giant-like woman looked at Cao Xing and said loudly, "Are you the lord here?"

Cao Xing nodded.

"Yes, I am Lord Cao Xing. What are you two here for?"

"We heard the voice of the wind spirit, and it told me that you were recruiting people here, so we wanted to come here and take a look."

Hearing this, Cao Xing said happily: "Do you two want to join my territory?"

The giant woman shook her head and said, “Although we need a place to stay, before that, we need to observe the strength of your territory.

"If your territory is too weak, we will not join."

Cao Xing nodded, this was also normal.

Aboriginal people like these have their own thoughts.

If they are some survivors of level six or seven, the entire territory has no defense facilities and the territory's strength appears very weak.

Even if we attract people here, these natives will probably run away after just one look.

Therefore, if you want to keep people, you or your territory must be strong enough.

At this time, the giant woman said stubbornly: "Of course, if you are like other lords and despise my half-giant blood and think I am a freak, I can leave immediately."

However, after hearing this, Cao Xing opened the door directly.

Bang!

Seeing this scene, even the half-giant woman Nana was a little surprised.

She didn't expect that Cao Xing would be so decisive. He opened the door without even asking their identities.

If someone with bad intentions rushed into the territory at this time, it would be a big trouble.

However, what she didn't know was that Cao Xing had a system panel that allowed him to directly see their attributes and strengths.

Besides, he had finally met a blacksmith with forging skills, so there was no way he could let them go.

"You two, it's quite cold outside in the snow, so you better go in first and talk."

"You can take a closer look at my territory and then decide whether or not you want to stay."

Cao Xing had a friendly smile on his face.

There was a dazed look in the half-giant woman's eyes, as if she was a little bit unbelievable.

After a moment, the half-giant woman sighed and said, "You are the most straightforward lord I have ever met."

After saying that, she led the dwarf Harold in.

The next moment, they both felt a warm breath coming towards them.

Like other newcomers, they were surprised at how warm this territory was when they came in.

The half-giant Putana looked puzzled and muttered quietly, "It's strange, why is this territory different from other territories?"

"Even in the baron's territories we visited before, except for the lord's mansion, the rest of the place was extremely cold."

The dwarf next to her saw at a glance the huge furnace in the center of the territory, which was four meters high and more than one meter in diameter.

The dwarf whispered, "Putana, the heat of this territory seems to be provided by that furnace."

“This is such a magical place…”

Hearing this, Putana's eyes also showed a look of realization.

Cao Xing smiled and said, "You two, go sit in the tavern first."

Putana nodded.

Then Cao Xing began to lead the way.

The giant woman, holding the dwarf's hand, followed Cao Xing.

This picture looks like a mother holding her son's hand.

As they walked, they looked at the buildings in Cao Xing's territory.

Nodded from time to time.

You know, the scale of Cao Xing's territory is very good even among the indigenous people.

And as they entered the tavern.

The heat provided by the heating pipes came in waves.

Putana and the dwarf Harold, who were wrapped in thick cotton clothes, showed surprise on their faces.

“What a warm pub…”

"Yes Putana, we haven't felt this kind of heat in years!"

In this extremely cold world, warmth is a luxury.

There are many lives that have never experienced temperatures above zero degrees from birth to death.

Cao Xing turned around and said, "This is the infrastructure of our territory. Every citizen has the same living environment in their house."

"Also, they have thick blankets to sleep on at night, so they can spend the cold winter nights comfortably."

Hearing this, the two of them looked respectful.

The dwarf Harold said solemnly: "You are truly a lord who cares about his subordinates!"

At this time, Laci, who had changed into formal clothes, was standing at the bar.

After seeing Cao Xing.

Lachi said respectfully: "My Lord, you are here."

Cao Xing nodded and said, "Mix two glasses of strong liquor for our guests."

"Yes, your Excellency."

After saying that, Laci turned around and opened the wine cabinet.

Seeing this, the giant woman Putana said, "Wait a minute."

"How much do you charge for drinks here? Don't ask for an exorbitant price and try to rip us off. We won't pay!"

She seemed very smart. Years of wandering outside had made this giant woman not easily trust others.

However, Cao Xing smiled and shook his head again, saying, "No money, just consider it as my treat."

Hearing this, Putana and the dwarf looked at each other and said nothing more.

A few minutes later, Lachi brought over two glasses of prepared liquor.

The rich aroma of wine wafted away.

The dwarf next to him couldn't control himself and just picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

Then he exclaimed: "Gods, this is actually Vizima Champion Liquor, what a rich aroma!"

Putana next to him also took a sip, with admiration in her eyes.

"My Lord, you have a prosperous domain and fine wine. Thank you for your hospitality."

Cao Xing smiled and said, "You're welcome."

"I am Lord Cao Xing, nice to meet you."

The giant woman and the dwarf blacksmith replied at the same time.

"Wandering Mercenary: Putana!"

"Dwarf Harold, we are also very happy to meet you."

Cao Xing nodded and continued to ask, "Have you two been living in the Snowstorm Plains?"

After a glass of wine, the two men's attitudes became more moderate.

Putana shook her head and said, "We come from the southern continent, which is where the giants and dwarves mainly live. It is also our hometown."

"Because of my half-giant identity, I am not welcomed by my giant tribe, and humans also regard me as a monster. Only Harold does not look at me strangely."

"And Harold was also ostracized by his own people."

"So, Harold and I resolutely decided to leave the tribe and take the goblin airship. It took many years to travel from the southern continent to the western continent."

At this point, Putana's face turned a little grim. "But it's really hard to cross a continent. We experienced a lot of bad things along the way. We were separated and reunited several times." "We even almost died."

"But the only thing that makes me feel lucky is that we got married during our wandering."

Having said this, Putana showed a happy smile on her face.

"My husband Harold is a man full of wisdom. Many times during our journey, it was his knowledge that led us out of danger."

Hearing this, the dwarf next to him felt a little embarrassed.

"Putana... I'm not as powerful as you say..."

Cao Xing smiled and said, “Mr. Harold has a deep temperament and indeed looks very talented.”

Harold became even more embarrassed, "I'm not good at fighting, and I don't like fighting."

"Because of this incident, I was ostracized by other dwarves."

"In my life, there is only forging, reading, and Putana."

Hearing this, Cao Xing was thoughtful.

This is also a dwarf who likes reading.

And last night, he found more than sixty ancient books from the bags of burial objects.

I wonder if this will attract this dwarf?

Cao Xing decided to give it a try.

The next moment, he took out all the books.

A small mountain of books appeared on the table in front of him.

Harold exclaimed, "Gods! So many books?"

He pounced on it instantly like a drunkard seeing fine wine.

"Healing and Nursing, Alchemy, The King's Women... Oh my god, these are all books I haven't read."

He clutched two books, disbelief in his eyes.

"My Lord, are you also a person who loves knowledge?"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Of course, in my hometown, there is a saying that knowledge is power, and we all attach great importance to knowledge."

Harold was immediately filled with respect after hearing this.

Cao Xing saw the eagerness in his eyes and said, "Mr. Harold, I love knowledge and reading books just like you."

"Also, I will bring back more books and build a library of our own in the near future."

"And with your help, I'm sure the progress will be much faster."

"So, I hope you can stay and help me build a territory full of knowledge together."

Hearing this, Harold's eyes showed a strong excitement!

He looked at the giant woman next to him and asked tentatively: "Putana, let's stay."

"This territory is very safe, and the lord is very far-sighted."

"Plus, the Snowstorm Plains has become increasingly unsafe recently, with hunters and icebrood monsters wreaking havoc."

"I know you hate cluster life, but we really need a place to settle down..."

Putana also knew that what Harold said made sense.

It's not a good idea to keep wandering like this.

But as mentioned before, years of wandering life have made her not trust anyone easily.

Putana looked very conflicted.

At this time, Cao Xing said: "In my territory, you can give full play to your talents."

"Mr. Harold can concentrate on forging and studying, and Ms. Putana only needs to assist in the defense of the territory and go hunting with me during the day."

"And I will provide you with a warm and safe place to live."

Hearing this, Putana's eyes lit up, and she confirmed: "My husband, doesn't he need to fight?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Yes."

At this moment, Putana said directly and solemnly: "We are willing to join your territory, Lord Cao Xing."

After hearing this, Cao Xing also laughed and then sent them the recruitment information.

[Recruitment successful: Putana Carson and Harold Iceberg have joined your territory, territory population +3]

Since Putana is an elite creature, it will occupy 2 populations.

Cao Xing stood up and said, "Welcome to join us, Putana, Harold. Let us work together to build a territory that is equal and full of knowledge."

The two of them also stood up.

Putana bent down slightly, while Harold stood on a chair.

Then they saluted Cao Xing at the same time.

"Thank you for letting us join the territory. We will make good contributions to the territory!"

Cao Xing nodded, then looked at their loyalty. The two of them had just joined and both had over 60 points.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, a strong sense of joy appeared in his eyes!

With his rhetoric and skills, he finally managed to keep the two natives!
Next, all I have to do is raise their loyalty and the blacksmith position in my territory will be secured!

With a blacksmith, you can make equipment in batches.

These equipments can arm the legion and enhance the combat capabilities of the newcomers.

The most important thing is that Cao Xing still has more than a hundred Ascalon warrior recruitment scrolls in his hand!
The weapons and equipment for these more than one hundred people have been found!

However, since Putana and Harold had just joined, Cao Xing decided to let them adapt for a while before assigning them work.

"You two, please take a rest in the tavern first."

After hearing this, the two nodded.

Cao Xing walked straight out of the tavern.

...

Time passes slowly.

By noon, four or five ice nests had already crashed near the territory.

"Boom! Boom!"

The banging sounds continued.

After these ice nests fall, many ice nest monsters will hatch and rush towards the territory.

Then, Elisa would excitedly lead the tree spirit archers to rush forward to deal with the ice nest monsters.

Although she only has the strength of the first level, she is more aggressive in fighting than those second-level warriors.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue, on the other hand, were sitting in the territory and upgrading.

After a while, a white light appeared on Cao Xing's body.

[Your level has been upgraded, current level: Level 14]

[Attributes gained from this upgrade: Strength +3, Agility +4, Spirit +7, Constitution +6]

……

Not long after, upgrade prompts for Ilena, Hilda, Blot and others appeared one after another.

Cao Xing was delighted. "This ice nest is great. It's like an experience pack delivered to your doorstep!"

"If the frequency is higher, I can probably reach level 20 in a day or two!"

He stood on the city wall, watching Elisa leading a team of frost archers below, shooting ice nest monsters one by one.

The boar warrior and two mage apprentices next to them were also constantly attacking.

After a quick glance, I found that the levels of the ice nest monsters have generally increased to level 6~8.

It is estimated that in two or three days, the second-level ice nest monster will appear.

However, for Elisa and others who have a lot of status on their bodies, even if they encounter a second-level ice nest monster, they can deal with it.

Cao Xing discovered that every time Elisa killed a wave of ice nest monsters.

He would take people to recover the arrows in the snow and pick up the items dropped by the ice nest monsters.

Cao Xing glanced at the quivers on them and thought, "The arrow reserves in the territory are still relatively small. With more and more archers, they are almost not enough."

"It just so happens that I have a blueprint for making iron arrows. I can ask Harold to make a batch of arrows tomorrow."

In this regard, the mage profession is better. There is no need to consume arrows and you can fight directly by concentrating magic power.

Of course, the mage's mental strength is a problem. After fighting for a period of time, he will feel mentally overdrawn and need to rest and recover.

Generally speaking, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

And as Elisa and others continued to fight.

After a while, the fighting outside ended.

Just as Cao Xing was preparing to move around and join the battle.

Just at this moment, the wizard's apprentice Ellie came over timidly.

She was holding a small wooden staff, wearing a wizard's hat, and her wizard apprentice robe was dragging on the snow. She looked at Cao Xing cautiously.

But the wizard's apprentice was too timid and didn't dare to talk to him actively.

So Cao Xing asked, "Aili, what's the matter?"

"I...I, I..."

After a moment, Ellie said, "We just killed an elite Icebrood outside."

"Then... a new thing fell from it..."

……

(End of this chapter)