As they advanced, they encountered more and more monsters. The monsters' levels, initially around twenty-something, steadily climbed, quickly reaching level forty.
These monsters appeared in significant numbers, emerging continuously from the dense woods.
However, against the soldiers' charge, these monsters were no match. The soldiers were clad in robust armor and wielded sharp weapons.
Every soldier's equipment was at least Golden-grade, with many even possessing set bonuses.
Those above the rank of officer even had one or two Dark Gold quality items.
Not to mention, their levels were all fifty.
Furthermore, each soldier had undergone job advancement.
With the various buffs from the territory's buildings, they could confidently handle even boss monsters of level seventy or eighty.
These monsters were all of common quality; there wasn't a single boss among them.
He actually hoped to encounter some stronger monsters, which would yield better treasure chests.
The treasure chests dropped by these common monsters were mostly wooden, with a few black iron chests, and occasionally some bronze chests.
The appearance of bronze chests was likely due to the territory's innate talent.
[Territory Talent: Special Item Drop Rate +50%]
Even if this talent's probability reached 100%, it didn't mean special items would drop 100% of the time; it merely doubled the chance.
It was like having a hundred lottery tickets where only one could win, and the other ninety-nine would lose.
With an attribute of "Special Item Drop Rate +100%," one winning ticket would be added to those hundred tickets, leaving ninety-eight losing tickets.
Ordinary monsters inherently had very low drop rates, so one couldn't expect to obtain anything particularly valuable.
From the map, he had already gathered that this area was teeming with monsters. His primary objective this time was to slay monsters and acquire treasure chests and monster corpses.
These monsters could also be sold for money, especially to worlds lacking food.
Across the myriad realms, there were many post-apocalyptic and desert worlds where food was scarce. Selling the flesh of these monsters to such places could yield considerable spirit currency.
He realized that since becoming a capitalist, he was almost constantly thinking about profit.
Was this the instinct of a capitalist?
He began to systematically clear out the forest.
A thousand soldiers, mounted on warhorses and armed with weapons, started to slay these monsters.
Half an hour later, they finally encountered the first boss.
It was a level 45 elite boss. Unfortunately, with just a few arrows, the boss was annihilated before it could even unleash its abilities.
Each soldier could individually contend with such a boss.
Their levels, equipment, job advancements, and territory buffs were not for show. If they couldn't even handle such a boss, they wouldn't deserve to be high-tier troops.
From all four directions, the monsters were being systematically cleared. They did not leave any area with monsters untouched.
Zhou Yan could occasionally hear the officers communicating with each other, inquiring about their respective kill counts and spoils.
None of them wanted to be outdone by the others, and they would strive to kill monsters with each engagement.
These communication devices added a considerable amount of entertainment for them.
He sent a message to Xiao Wei, asking it to find simple, hard-to-drop communication devices.
Xiao Wei quickly found them – a type of communication earbud that could be worn snugly against the ear and wouldn't easily fall off.
He instructed Xiao Wei to purchase ten to twenty thousand of them, as he intended to equip every soldier from squad leader upwards with them.
After a long while, Si Teng sent him a message, stating that the reconnaissance drone had transmitted some footage. It seemed to have discovered a shattered territory, not a city.
This surprised him; he hadn't expected such a discovery.
In the Lord's world, there were billions of lords, and recorded history stretched back hundreds of thousands of years.
Those without recorded history were unknown in their antiquity.
With so many lords adventuring and warring across the Lord's continent, there was always a probability of encountering ruined territories.
Whether these territories held any valuable finds was uncertain.
If these territories were destroyed by monsters, they would naturally contain many resources.
However, this was contingent on the remaining items not being completely annihilated by the monsters, and given the passage of time, everything would only be revealed upon arrival.
"Transmit the captured footage to me," Zhou Yan replied to Si Teng.
Si Teng on the other end began transmitting the footage captured by the intelligent reconnaissance drone to his smartwatch. This device was more than just a communication tool; it could receive various files like a computer, provided there was a signal connection.
He had already erected a signal tower in his territory, a remarkably powerful one capable of receiving signals from outer space.
Looking at the territory, it was overgrown with weeds and utterly dilapidated, clearly having been abandoned for some time. Towering ancient trees had grown in many places, and numerous monsters had made it their lair.
This territory had evidently been destroyed by monsters; many of its structures remained intact.
If it had been destroyed by other lords, its buildings would not be in such a state.
This was a considerable find, and he was determined to investigate it.
He checked the location; it was in the northwest. He only needed to slightly alter his course to head directly there.
However, he wouldn't reach it today, as it was still quite a distance from his current position.
He inquired about the situation in the other three directions. Everything was normal there, with no particularly powerful monsters appearing.
His own situation was also proceeding smoothly, with no other incidents.
He led his army to continue advancing northwestward.
He also took the opportunity to check the ore prospecting reconnaissance drones.
They had discovered quite a few one-star and two-star mineral deposits, but not a single sign of anything six-star or above.
The ore prospecting reconnaissance drones were slower. They were not like the reconnaissance drones, which simply needed to fly and scan the terrain.
But for prospecting minerals, they had to delve deep underground, proceeding slowly and requiring a significant amount of time.
Furthermore, these machines could only operate in mountainous areas after monsters had been cleared, or in monster-free zones. Otherwise, if the ore prospecting reconnaissance drones were destroyed by monsters, new ones would need to be purchased.
The sky gradually turned dusky. Zhou Yan took out numerous tents and defensive structures, then addressed all the soldiers: "We will rest here tonight. We will depart tomorrow at dawn. We will have guards posted in shifts throughout the night. Do not let your guard down."
"Yes, Lord!"
All the nearby monsters had been eradicated.
But he would never let his guard down.
Many monsters appeared at night, and they had to remain vigilant at all times.