Chapter 24: A Shopping Spree!

After his mental energy fully receded, Mo Xuanyu exhaled softly. As he opened his eyes, he felt as though he had never been in better shape.

It must be noted that the bonuses provided by balancing the four primary attributes were far more powerful than Mo Xuanyu had anticipated.

His current attribute panel was as follows:

Name: Mo Xuanyu
Level: Enlightenment Trial (A)
Strength: 19 points (including 3 points from equipment)
Agility: 18 points
Constitution: 19 points (including 3 points from equipment)
Intelligence: 20 points
Charisma: 21 points
Luck: 1.1 points
God-tier Talent: "Dominion"
...

Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence were all deeply intertwined and inseparable, each influencing the others. 1+1+1+1 did not equal 4; it equaled 5, or perhaps even 10!

If he were to fight the Ring Snake again, Mo Xuanyu was confident he could kill it even without relying on the erosion properties of the Nightmare Moon Blade.

Beyond the standard attributes, Mo Xuanyu paid extra attention to Luck and Soul. This was the first time he had seen an attribute increase by only 0.1 at a time; it seemed that Luck was far harder to improve—and far more precious—than other attributes. As for the Soul attribute, including the bonus from the soul fruit he had consumed previously, it had now reached 20 points. This was a hidden attribute that did not appear on the panel, but it might produce unexpected effects at critical moments.

[Sacred Geometry Notification: Your Charisma has exceeded the upper limit for a Tier 1 Chosen. You will receive an additional attribute reward. Please make your selection below.]

The notification from Sacred Geometry left Mo Xuanyu somewhat puzzled. What exactly were these "additional rewards"? Sacred Geometry quickly provided an answer.

[Additional Attribute Reward: A benefit granted to qualified individuals by Sacred Geometry. The reward you choose will, to a certain extent, influence the subsequent development of your attributes.]

1: Allure +10%. Increases your attractiveness to others; they will be more prone to falling in love with you, experiencing sexual impulses, and being willing to give everything for your smile.
Note: This option is suitable for Chosen with high base appearance.

2: Affinity +10%. Others will be more likely to develop a friendly disposition toward you and be willing to provide you with quest clues and assistance.
Note: This option is suitable for extroverted, social-type Chosen.

3: Leadership +10%. Others will be more willing to listen to your teachings, follow your blade, and walk in your footsteps.
Note: This option is suitable for Chosen who possess both excellent temperament and appearance, as well as a certain degree of political ability.

4: Deterrence +10%. Others will be more intimidated by your gaze and actions, making them more easily conquered by your force and willing to follow you of their own volition.
Note: This option is suitable for Chosen who possess excellent temperament and appearance, as well as high combat power.

Mo Xuanyu gently rubbed his chin, reading through the four options repeatedly. The first one he excluded was Allure. There was no particular reason; he simply felt he did not need a bonus in that area.

Moreover, compared to hoping others would inexplicably fall in love with him and open back doors for him during missions, Mo Xuanyu trusted his Nightmare Moon Blade more. In short, it was unreliable.

The second option, Affinity, seemed like it could help him complete missions more effectively, but to Mo Xuanyu, it lacked initiative and would require him to waste time currying favor with others. Consequently, this option was also discarded.

Finally, he was left to choose between Leadership and Deterrence. Both options maximized initiative, encouraging the Chosen to take proactive action—using their eloquence or force to conquer others. Correspondingly, these two options placed higher demands on the Chosen themselves, unlike the first two, which allowed one to sit back and wait for good things to happen.

"I choose... the Deterrence bonus," Mo Xuanyu finally decided.

[Your Charisma Deterrence +10%.]
[Note: The next additional Charisma attribute reward will be issued when your attribute points exceed 30.]

"It doesn't seem to have changed anything." Mo Xuanyu tilted his head in front of the glass window, failing to see how he had become any more intimidating. But then, he reasoned that this was something only others would perceive, so he stopped dwelling on it.

He then opened the Contribution Point Shop. After redeeming a vial of Ancient Moon River Spring, he had 1,001 contribution points left. Mo Xuanyu wasn't interested in anything else; his eyes were fixed on the Skill Mastery Scroll priced at 9,999. Having temporarily possessed Swordsmanship Mastery, he knew all too well how precious such a scroll was. Furthermore, it was a scroll where one could choose the type—it was simply too tempting.

There was no other way. He would just have to save up.

Mo Xuanyu closed the shop and left the City Hall for the Knights' office building. Seeing him, Mo Xiao brought him dinner. Because it was wartime and the productivity of this world was relatively backward, the meal was not sumptuous. Even as a deputy commander, Mo Xuanyu only had dry bread and a bowl of mushroom and chicken soup. Oh, and some dried meat strips, but Mo Xuanyu tried biting into one and gave up; it was simply too hard on his teeth.

"Teacher, a letter arrived from Carmen," Mo Xiao said, walking into the office and handing the letter to Mo Xuanyu.

Mo Xuanyu opened the letter and read its contents. As the commander-in-chief of this campaign, Carmen was busy coordinating the gathering of armies from various major cities and could not reach the front line in the short term. The task he had assigned to Mo Xuanyu was to hold the Moon River defensive line as best he could. As long as they could block the first wave of the Allied Army's offensive, reinforcements would pour in from the rear.

"Gather all the officers... never mind, I'll go myself. You notify Fals; if he has business, tell him to find me at the front line." While instructing the guards in the office, Mo Xuanyu brought Mo Xiao with him, preparing to head to the defensive line to meet with the officers there.

"Teacher, your coat." Mo Xiao caught up with him, draping the coat over Mo Xuanyu's shoulders. "The temperature has dropped outside; it's very cold."

"Is that so? Thank you." Mo Xuanyu put on the coat and gave him a gentle smile. Mo Xiao looked a bit nervous, following closely behind Mo Xuanyu.

Mo Xuanyu walked out of the building. The night sky over the main city was pitch black, and snowflakes drifted down like stardust; the whole world seemed to have entered winter overnight. He caught a snowflake, watching it slowly melt into a water droplet on his glove.

Mo Xiao went to the nearby stable to fetch two horses. When he looked back at Mo Xuanyu, his breath hitched. Amidst the falling snow, Mo Xuanyu’s newly changed military uniform was pure and holy, his azure eyes shimmering with a hint of contemplation, making one wonder what he was thinking about.

Mo Xuanyu returned to his senses, blinked, and looked at Mo Xiao in confusion. "Is something the matter?"

Mo Xiao’s earlobes turned red. He shook his head hurriedly, trying to shake the chaotic thoughts from his mind, and led the horses to Mo Xuanyu’s side.

Mounting their horses, the two spent about half an hour reaching the front-line positions. The officers in the camp were waiting outside their tents for his arrival, saluting Mo Xuanyu as he sat atop his horse. Their etiquette was not exactly standard, but their movements were crisp and decisive, carrying an air of grim determination. It was worth mentioning that these men were not the noble officers from the Royal Capital, but elite soldiers who had fought their way up from the ranks of commoners, living side-by-side with death. They were not good at words, only at killing and fighting. The soldiers under their command were filled with murderous intent, their eyes firm and unafraid of death.

"Time is short, let's go inside and talk." Mo Xuanyu returned the salute from his horse, then dismounted and walked into the tent with the others. He shook the snow off his body and sat at the head of the table. A bearded officer picked up a boiling kettle from the side and asked, as if they were old friends, "Would you like a cup of hot tea, sir? The winter at the Moon River is quite cold."

"That would be fine, thank you." Mo Xuanyu accepted, taking the detailed files on the legion and their logistical reserves from another officer to review. The Moon River Guard Legion had a total of about 50,000 men, including about 3,000 line infantry equipped with muzzle-loading muskets and about 1,500 cavalry equipped with longswords and horses. The remaining infantry, numbering about 40,000, were equipped with various weapons, with the rest being logistics and medical personnel.

"Why is the number of cavalry so low?" Mo Xuanyu looked up and asked the officers. According to the legion's configuration for the main city of Moon River, the number of cavalry should have been at least 2,000. After all, the Sun King had invested a significant amount of money here.

The bearded officer placed the brewed black tea by Mo Xuanyu's hand, shook his head helplessly, and sighed. "I'm sorry, sir. If it were half a month ago, we would indeed have had 2,000 of the strongest and bravest cavalry on the continent."

The bearded man pursed his lips, seemingly recalling the events that had transpired. "But... after those supernatural beings from afar joined the battlefield, our cavalry regiment suffered heavy losses during an engagement with the Free Commune."

The bearded man stood up, took a large object from a box nearby, and placed it on the table, saying indignantly, "It was this! I've never seen such a terrifying weapon in my life! Our soldiers were like eggs in front of it—shattered at the slightest touch!"

Mo Xuanyu looked closely, his beautiful brows furrowing with concern. Good heavens, it was a brand-new Maxim-Tokarev light machine gun.

Now Mo Xuanyu didn't need to guess; it was clearly the arrival of the Chosen that had caused the heavy losses for the cavalry regiment. Usually, Chosen rarely purchased firearm-type weapons because the physical and spatial laws of each world differed to varying degrees. A firearm from this world might simply explode if taken to another. Buying new, compatible weapons in every world was a drain on one's wallet. This was why most Chosen opted for cold weapons or staffs, as these had better adaptability.

However, there were many Chosen, and there would always be those who loved to study thermal weapons—people who could pull a PPSh submachine gun out of their pocket at a moment's notice. Facing such high-tech opponents, Mo Xuanyu wasn't without options; there were talents in the opposing camp, and his side wasn't lacking either.

He said to the officers present, "The Knights' Order also recruited a group of people from afar who were eager to make a name for themselves not long ago. I believe they should be quite proficient in this regard."

When the bearded man and the other officers heard this, they were delighted. "Really? Then hurry and bring them to the legion!"

Mo Xuanyu smiled slightly. What he had just said was essentially an attempt to issue a mission for his own side's Chosen. Once the officers and the others learned that they too had powerful supernatural beings, Sacred Geometry would naturally issue a mission to all the Chosen.