Conquering the dwarf tribe and reaping a high drop rate made Xiao Mo very excited.
Killing the dwarf chieftain and reorganizing the dwarf tribe yielded a full five hundred Immortal-Demon Stones.
The requirement to upgrade the [Immortal-Demon Reincarnation Pool] to level four was directly fulfilled by one-tenth.
There were also two Soul Crystals, a blueprint, and a set of top-tier equipment.
These Soul Crystals were naturally the dwarves' stored possessions.
Wild magical beasts wouldn't directly drop equipment, but they had a chance to drop Soul Crystals.
Humanoid intelligent beings wouldn't drop Soul Crystals, but they could drop equipment.
However, calling the dropped equipment as such was more akin to picking up scraps.
This was because when humanoid intelligent beings were killed, their used equipment and weapons did not disappear.
But what was the tier of that top-tier equipment?
He remembered that after high-level equipment came King-tier equipment; how could there suddenly be top-tier equipment?
His question was soon answered by the information interface.
[The regular equipment tiers on the Primeval Continent are divided into Low-level, Mid-level, High-level, King-tier, Saint-tier, Demigod-tier, and God-tier...]
[Top-tier equipment does not belong to the regular equipment category; it is situated between High-level and King-tier.]
[This type of equipment is special in that it can store a certain amount of spiritual energy and release specific skills.]
[Therefore, top-tier equipment's tier exceeds High-level, but it is still somewhat inferior to King-tier equipment.]
[However, after being forged and reinforced with special techniques, it has a chance to be promoted to King-tier equipment.]
"So that's how it is!"
Upon seeing this information, Xiao Mo suddenly understood.
To put it plainly, this top-tier equipment was sub-King-tier equipment.
It possessed the special characteristic of spiritual energy skills, exceeding High-level equipment, but it was still short of King-tier equipment.
Yet, this type of equipment had a high chance of being reinforced and forged into King-tier equipment.
However, forging High-level equipment into King-tier equipment was not generally easy.
One was half a step away, the other was a large step away.
The gap between the two was clearly evident.
After understanding top-tier equipment, Xiao Mo began to anticipate the dropped blueprint.
The blueprint dropped from killing the Iron-Backed Azure Wolf King last time was a High-level building blueprint.
He wondered what type and grade the blueprint dropped this time would be.
However, the blueprint was currently in the hands of the Immortal-Demon Squad.
It would only be revealed after the Immortal-Demon Squad brought it back and it was identified.
But Xiao Mo felt that the grade of the blueprint dropped this time would certainly be no lower than the previous one.
After all, this blueprint was dropped after killing a peak ninth-tier lord.
There was a high probability of dropping some kind of rare blueprint!
Thinking of this, Xiao Mo's mood instantly cleared.
Humming a little tune, he went to the pavilion of the city.
Sitting on the reclining chair, he eagerly browsed the transaction records on the [Myriad Races Trading Platform].
In the trading area, there were still some lords with high-level and top-tier troops who were heavily purchasing refined iron.
They were all preparing for the high-level equipment auction that evening.
High-level equipment was still very attractive.
Even top-tier lords found it difficult to encounter this type of equipment.
After all, only by killing intelligent beings of at least eighth-tier commander level or higher did one have a chance to drop high-tier equipment.
The Immortal-Demon Squad, despite killing four dwarf commanders, had only managed to drop one set of high-level equipment; the rest were mid-level equipment.
Furthermore, with the current strength of these lords, hunting an eighth-tier commander-level creature was an extremely difficult task.
Even some powerful top-tier lords were only at a fifty-fifty win rate against peak seventh-tier elites.
Facing an eighth-tier commander-level creature, their current strength was even more stretched, and they might very well be wiped out.
It was precisely because of this that the auction for high-level equipment had such high popularity.
It attracted the attention of almost all lords who possessed high-level and top-tier troops.
They all wanted to obtain high-level equipment!
Only by obtaining high-level equipment could they have some assurance of safety after the protective shield disappeared.
If their safety was not guaranteed and they died in the upcoming beast tide, it would not be worth it.
It was predictable that the auction that evening would be very lively.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mo's lips curved into an excited smile.
The more people competed to buy high-level equipment, the more he would earn.
The more he earned, the closer he would get to upgrading his territory and building the [Immortal-Demon Sacred Hall].
Of course, he felt exceptionally excited!
Afterwards, Xiao Mo closed the trading platform and shifted his attention to the [World Chat Channel].
No one in the chat channel was discussing the celestials in the Endless Abyss region anymore.
Now, the most discussed topic among all lords was almost the same.
All topics were related to 'the last day of the beginner period', 'the disappearance of the protective shield', 'the beast tide crisis', and so on.
This was actually quite normal.
The celestials in the Endless Abyss region were merely the words of one lord; it was uncertain if it was true.
Furthermore, even if it were true, finding and killing them was another matter entirely.
And it was in the Endless Abyss region, which was ultimately somewhat vague and ethereal.
But the end of the beginner protection period and the beast tide crisis concerned the lives and fortunes of billions of castle lords.
When personal interests were truly at stake, how could it not be taken seriously!
[The beginner protection period ends tonight.]
[That's right, our environment will become increasingly harsh!]
[I don't know if we can withstand the beast tide; I'll be satisfied if we can.]
[Nonsense! Even if we successfully withstand the beast tide, we cannot slack off! There will be countless crises later!]
[Brothers, always remember, our enemies are not only the monsters outside, but also many native forces of the Primeval Continent!]
[Exactly! The higher our castle level, the more native forces will target us! Whether they are friends or foes is yet to be determined!]
[Come on! They are almost all enemies! These native forces hate us, the visitors from other worlds, to the bone!]
[This is indeed the case! They call us evil creatures from other worlds!]
[The concepts of these native forces are completely different from ours! We will definitely not coexist with them!]
[Conflicting concepts and perceptions have predetermined that only one party can survive between us and the native forces!]
[Precisely! The winner takes all! Only the ultimate victor can stand at the peak of the continent and rule this world!]
[The victor will rule this world!]
...
Looking at the posts and opinions of these lords on the [World Chat Channel].
Xiao Mo also deeply agreed.
The Immortal-Demon Squad had already engaged in two wars with native forces.
From these two wars, he could ascertain the attitude of these native forces towards them, the "evil creatures from other worlds."
Whether it was the Torren Tribe's Minotaur tribe or the dwarf tribe, their attitude towards the Immortal-Demon Squad was one of intense animosity.
There could be no peace between the two sides.
Only war!
The weaker Torren minotaurs preferred to die rather than surrender.
The naturally peace-loving dwarf tribe also fought valiantly in the face of war.
From these two events, it was evident that only war could resolve the issue between territorial forces and native forces!