Chapter Forty-Nine: The Six Royal Clans

In the early stages, all races are highly resistant to training basic units with firearms. But why is that? Logically, firearms are efficient, yield quick results, require little time investment, and offer a high cost-performance ratio. Training with cold weapons takes much longer to produce a competent soldier; how long before the investment is recouped?

Take, for example, the 150 soldiers under Guo Lang’s command. They are all former military, skilled in handling firearms. If he were to train them with guns, it would be little more than a process of familiarization—perhaps ten days, or even less, before they were combat-ready and formidable.

But what about training an archer? The initial investment is over ten times higher. Each Night Elf archer is equipped with a living wood bow—a bow made from animated timber and strung with the sinew of the Tree of Life. The raw materials are exorbitantly expensive, and the craftsmanship is intricate. To even begin, one must build the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of War, then cultivate personnel dedicated to nurturing living wood and masters skilled in weapon-making. Though little sprites can assist with magic to reduce some steps, much of the intricate work must still be performed by hand, dramatically increasing both time and cost.

Add to this the archery training and necessary nutritional provisions, and it costs at least five hundred energy points to train a single archer from start to finish. In other words, training twenty archers equates to the cost of a Moonwell—an astonishingly high expense!

And what is the outcome? In head-on combat, their effectiveness is not much different from Guo Lang’s gun-armed enhanced soldiers. Attributes, reflexes, and concentration are all similar. You wield a bow, I wield a gun—which is at the disadvantage?

Guns are lightweight, portable, deadly, and suitable for most situations. From every angle, training soldiers with firearms appears more cost-effective. Yet Guo Lang knows the resistance to firearms is not without reason. No matter how difficult the early stage, training cold weapon units is essential.

Only by wielding cold weapons can one advance and grow—this is common knowledge. On the path of biological evolution, firearms are a forbidden tool. They allow the weak to ignore the gulf of power and, by exploiting the weapon’s properties, challenge or even crush their betters. This is the root of why martial arts have declined in his world and in many technological worlds. Decades of diligent training can’t compare to someone with a handgun—what a bitter reality.

Many worlds have seen their drive for evolution strangled by firearms, losing the essence of what it means to be a living being. Even basic units possess evolutionary potential. An archer at level 3, with Heartseeker Shot, can match the effect of a sniper rifle. A 12.7mm sniper rifle has an effective range of two kilometers; a level 3 archer can achieve the same with a bow and arrow. Though the latter is vastly more costly, the meaning behind it is worlds apart!

To abandon cold weapons is to abandon evolution. This was once said by a top player in his previous life. Those who, lacking foresight, chose to develop firearms early on were all trash, and as time went on, they fell ever further behind. Neither oneself nor one’s soldiers should depend on firearms, as it suppresses their instinct to evolve.

Thus, Guo Lang’s initial plan was to build a Tree of War, select the twenty best-performing soldiers, and train them as archers. He also intended to try training Kelly as a Huntress, making good use of the equipment rewards he had obtained.

Next, he would establish the Tree of Knowledge and an armory, encouraging personnel to study various subjects at the Tree of Knowledge—prioritizing alchemy, biological cultivation, biological research, and metallurgy—to facilitate the production of high-quality cold weapons in the early stages.

Finally came the matter of the Hall of Professions. Guo Lang looked at Alice with deep satisfaction. The greatest treasure he had found in this world was this affordable adopted daughter—a true prodigy!

The Hall of Professions, also known as the Hall of Heroes, does not produce ordinary soldiers, but high-level talents with limitless potential. These professions are steeped in tradition and ancient craft and secret arts, enabling individuals to evolve to incredible heights, far surpassing regular units.

Take the Undead Mage from the Undead race, for example. If he masters all the abilities of a basic Necromancer, his power would outstrip a hundred level 3 archers. That is the difference between a hero and an ordinary soldier.

Every race has its own unique professions, and Night Elves are no exception. Generally, players make themselves the first to take up a profession, since it’s rare to encounter a prodigy like Alice, and even when they do, few would put her advancement before their own.

Guo Lang’s original plan had been to build an Assassin’s Hall and convert Alice into a Night Elf assassin. Yet her talent was too extraordinary, and Little Peach’s suggestion kept echoing in his mind. He hesitated, debating whether he should exchange for a vial of royal bloodline elixir for Alice.

Bloodline purity is of utmost importance in the races, though many players don’t realize this early on. If one advances their profession with only a basic bloodline, the options provided by the Hall of Professions are severely limited—many hidden and legendary professions become forever out of reach.

A purer bloodline provides stronger base attributes, a better foundation, and greater potential for evolution. For example, Alice currently has a perfect-stage primary bloodline, almost at the threshold of the second stage. If she transferred professions now, she would likely become a mid-tier Bronze professional, with her agility stat leaping from 8 to a peak of 20. But with royal blood, her starting bloodline would be around 20, and upon transferring, she might immediately be tested and advance to Silver tier, with all attributes breaking the 50 mark—becoming an outright superhuman.

But the investment required is immense! Guo Lang frowned and quietly asked Little Peach, “If I buy the royal bloodline elixir on credit, how many energy points will it cost?”

“100,000!” Little Peach replied excitedly. “You’ve finally made up your mind!”

“So reasonable?” Guo Lang was surprised. He knew the market value—the basic royal bloodline elixir was precious, and 100,000 was fair price. For once, the AI wasn’t overcharging him.

“You’re bold, so I must support you. But daily interest still applies—0.3%.”

It was true—Guo Lang was bold. Anyone else, even with such a prodigy under their wing, would prioritize a resource like the royal bloodline elixir for themselves. But Guo Lang didn’t care; he was confident he’d soon be able to acquire another vial’s worth of energy points. After all, having lived a second life, he had his advantages. For instance, as long as he returned among the first twenty, he’d receive a substantial reward.

“Deal!” Once Guo Lang had thought it through, he didn’t hesitate. “Exchange for one royal bloodline elixir!”

“Yes, Master,” the AI responded. “There are six types of Night Elf royal bloodline elixirs available, each from a legendary royal house of the former Night Dynasty, all of which produced legendary champions: the Moonwalker family of the Priest line, the Nightstalker family of the Royal Assassin line, the Bearmaster family of the Wild Druid line, the Whisperer family of the Wood Spirit line, the Windrunner family of the Night Ranger line, and the Shadowtongue family of the Arcane line.”

Six legendary houses of one race! Guo Lang was moved. Once, the Night Elves had enjoyed their own era of glory. What is a legend? He had never seen one—not in this life nor the last. He’d only read of them in the histories of the races. Legends, it was said, stand closest to the gods themselves—reaching legendary status meant standing at the very pinnacle of the universe.

The six great royal houses of the Night Elves each represented a distinct profession: their rangers split into many schools—beast masters, survivalists, and arcane archers—but only a select few could become Windrunners.

Similarly, not all assassins could become Nightstalkers; that title was reserved for those with ancient lineage and honor, a status only accessible to those of royal blood.

“Exchange for the Nightstalker royal elixir!” Alice was a born assassin; Guo Lang barely hesitated before choosing the most suitable bloodline elixir for her.