Chapter 261: New Murlocs!

"I am sure the disciplined ranks of the gray dwarves left a deep impression on everyone. They are indeed a well-equipped, highly trained force. Next, let us take a look at the power representing the wilderness."

"The gnolls!"

Accompanied by the gnoll commentator's loud shout, a 12-by-24 gnoll formation marched out from the deep, dark archway of the city gate. Just like the Murlocs, the gnolls were a comprehensive military force.

Marching at the very front were the Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers, wielding large, refined steel swords in one hand and iron-rimmed round shields in the other.

These Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers were far more muscular than their kin. They wore standard chainmail, but it wasn't the ordinary armor made simply by linking iron rings together. Iron plates were set over the rings to protect vital areas like the heart, providing double the protection without sacrificing any flexibility. Aesthetically, the iron plates over their hearts were stamped with the Four-Dragon Ring crest of White Castle.

"Marching at the forefront are the Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers! These are the warriors who charge at the very front lines of the battlefield. Their steel swords bring destruction to the enemy, while their shields give a sense of security to the comrades standing behind them. If you want to kill the warriors behind a Gnoll Barbarian Soldier, you must step over their dead bodies first!"

Following the Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers were the leather-armored Gnoll Spearthrowers. Carrying ten long spears on their backs, these lean gnolls wore expressions of extreme focus. Even the intense clamor of the surrounding audience failed to affect them in the slightest. They kept their eyes straight ahead, never sparing a single sideways glance.

"Following the Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers are the Gnoll Spearthrowers! Unlike the Barbarian Soldiers, the Spearthrowers are warriors focused purely on slaughter. The spears they hurl can precisely strike a prey's eye from a hundred meters away. Aside from being a ranged unit, they are agile fighters and excellent scouts!"

Following the Gnoll Spearthrowers were the mounted Gnoll Hyena Knights.

Similar to how Orcs tamed worgs, gnolls had a tradition of taming hyenas. These earthy-yellow, black-spotted hyenas were outstanding predators on the plains; when gathered in sufficient numbers, they even dared to challenge prides of lions.

These fierce beasts not only helped the gnolls hunt, but they also served as excellent mounts. With their remarkable endurance, hyenas were exceptionally suited for tracking enemies over long periods.

The gnoll cavalrymen wielded thin, lightweight broadswords, granting them incredibly fast slashing speeds from the backs of their galloping, muscular hyenas. In addition, each rider carried three throwing spears secured to their backs with leather straps, providing them with a degree of ranged attack capability.

In terms of overall strength, the Gnoll Hyena Knights were not the least bit inferior to the worg cavalry. However, because gnolls had never established a glorious civilization, the fame of their Hyena Knights fell far short of the Orcs' riders.

"Those gnolls riding hyenas are the elites of our race! They are the Gnoll Hyena Knights! Hyena Knights are the most outstanding pursuers; no one can escape the tracking of this combination!"

Walking at the very back were the Gnoll Arcanists, holding their magic staffs.

"At the very back are the Gnoll Arcanists! The Arcanist is a magic-casting class and the very essence of gnoll civilization. Not only are they proficient in magic, but they can also use herbs to brew miraculous potions!"

The gnoll commentator placed heavy emphasis on the Gnoll Barbarian Soldiers and the Gnoll Spearthrowers because neither had any real technical secrecy. The latter two units possessed a series of hidden methods, and downplaying them prevented exposing all their tricks just in case they crossed blades with the human kingdoms on the battlefield in the future.

The gleaming weapons in the gnolls' hands, their steel-needle-like fur, their long, slender claws, and the sharp fangs that their lips could not fully conceal—everything about them exuded a wild, primeval aura.

Under the watchful eyes of the masses, the gnoll formation followed the procession into Kingdom Square and saluted the target of their loyalty—the White Dragon Lord.

The guests on the platform looked down at the highly trained gnoll formation made up of High Tier professionals. They formed a rough estimate of the White Castle land army's combat strength—it was equally not to be underestimated.

Everyone already knew the quantity and quality of Murlocs in the Overseas Archipelago were unrivaled in the ocean, a fact that established White Castle's status as the overlord of the East Sea. However, the vast majority of people did not take the Murlocs to heart.

Compared to coastal nations, there were far more landlocked countries on the continent. Thus, the deterrence of a land army like the gnolls was required.

White Castle's Murloc and war-pet armies both shared a single flaw: they could not leave the water for long periods. This rendered their threat to inland countries practically zero.

Meanwhile, goods transported over land occupied a massive share of White Castle's foreign trade, and the main forces used to conquer alien planes were mostly land-dwelling creatures.

These were the two major factors behind the White Dragon Lord's vigorous push to develop his land army. Gnolls, Ogres, and trolls were the three main combat units of the White Castle land forces.

Among them, the Ogres were the elites. The trolls' status was a bit awkward, making them feel somewhat dispensable, while the gnolls, with their massive numbers and ferocious combat style, were the absolute main force.

Therefore, the gnoll race, represented by Hogg Riverclaw, had always been a key focus of the White Dragon Lord's support.

Today, the number of Master Tier experts among the gnolls was roughly equal to that of the Ogres. However, at the High Tier professional level, the gnolls vastly outnumbered them. When it came to mid-to-Low Tier professionals, the gnolls absolutely crushed any other race aside from the Murlocs.

This kept Hogg Riverclaw firmly within the first tier among the white dragon's dependents.

In the White Dragon Lord's heart, his most important dependent was naturally Gurgalu, the two-headed ogre with boundless potential. Next was the Nether Panther, Yuir, a super assassin who came and went like a ghost. After them came his various Legendary Rank dependents and Hogg Riverclaw.

Both Gurgalu and Yuir had a high probability of stepping into the High-Tier Legend realm, while Hogg Riverclaw and the other Legendary Rank dependents had slim chances. Perhaps the Earth Dragon King would fare a little better after undergoing the Bloodline Advancement Ritual, but the White Dragon Lord could not guarantee it; after all, its starting point was just too low.

The gnoll formation saluted and departed, but the gnoll commentator's task was not yet over.

"Everyone! The race making its appearance next will give you a fright, because they have never before appeared before the world!"

This short declaration immediately hooked everyone's curiosity. However, because the lighting inside the gate's archway was so dim, the vast majority of people could not see clearly.

Yet among the guests on the high platform, there was no shortage of individuals with extraordinary vision. Ignoring the distance of several thousand meters, they looked curiously at the Murlocs inside the city gate archway. Frowning, they began to discuss them in soft voices.

"They look like Murlocs. Didn't they already march past?"

"Wait! Why do I feel like something is slightly off?"

Just as the crowd was lost in confusion, the gnoll commentator's voice rang out once more.

"They are a brand-new race! They are the masterpiece of His Majesty the King! They are the New! Mur! Locs!"

Hearing the gnoll commentator, the crowd burst into an uproar.

"A new race?!"

"New Murlocs?!"

"..."

Inside the pitch-black archway, Feixi Darkscale, who had always been in charge of the New Murlocs, spoke to their leading commander.

"Fidam! Perform well! This is the very first time the New Murlocs are appearing before the outside world!"

"Yes! Lord Supervisor!"

A towering Black-Scaled Fishman, standing nearly half a body taller than Feixi Darkscale, stared at the crowd outside and spoke with excitement.

"We will definitely give them a fright."

The Black-Scaled Fishman led the 10-by-10 Murloc phalanx outward.

The moment the crowd saw the Black-Scaled Fishmen, they couldn't believe their own eyes.

"This! This! This! These are Murlocs?!"

Everyone stared, utterly dumbfounded, at the Black-Scaled Fishmen, who were as tall as humans.

Ordinary Murlocs only came up to the waist of an adult human male. Even exceptionally talented, oversized Murlocs only reached a human's chest. Yet the Murlocs standing before them right now were all roughly the same height as humans.

If it had merely been their height, the crowd might have assumed these Murlocs were just exceptionally gifted specimens that the White Dragon Lord had specifically sought out. But the faint black smoke pervading the air around these Black-Scaled Fishmen made anyone with even a little bit of worldly experience understand that these Murlocs were all masters of shadow energy.

Even with the massive Murloc population in the Overseas Archipelago, finding so many super-tall Black-Scaled Fishmen—and having all of them belong to assassin classes at that—was practically an impossible task.

Combined with the gnoll commentator's explanation, these Murlocs truly could only be a new race.

The scene instantly boiled over, because the gnoll had said it: these Murlocs were the masterpiece of the White Dragon Lord—no, the White Dragon King.

A Creator?!

Just what kind of concept was that?

The crowd looked toward that massive figure on the platform, their eyes filled with shock mixed with profound awe.

"During a chance inspection, the White Dragon Lord discovered that within specific energy environments, special Murlocs might be born. And thus, these special Murlocs came to be!"

So it was just a magic experiment.

The audience instantly breathed a sigh of relief. If the White Dragon Lord possessed the ability to create species out of thin air, then the white dragon would practically be no different from a true god. But if it was merely a magic experiment, then everyone could accept it.

Throughout history, mad Mages had conducted countless live biological experiments, birthing massive numbers of new creatures.

As the saying goes, the layman watches the spectacle while the expert sees the technique. The guests on the platform were horrified.

The moment the Black-Scaled Fishmen appeared, they understood that these beings were the products of magic experiments. But so what? The White Dragon Lord had still created a race.

This world had never lacked mad Mages. Through crossbreeding, live experiments, Alchemy, and other means, they had created massive amounts of new species. But the vast majority of those species were mindless, twisted aberrations.

Even if they were successfully created by some stroke of luck, they were either of low intelligence or their success could not be replicated. In short, there were always flaws of one kind or another preventing them from gaining the recognition of other races. These experimental products would either spend their entire lives in a laboratory or be humanely destroyed.

Yet for the White Dragon Lord to allow his experimental products to appear publicly in the world and acknowledge them as a new race meant that these subjects had stable genetics, possessed sufficient intelligence, and were capable of reproducing.

Such a major event would definitely be recorded in the annals of history. The last time a new race born from experiments appeared in Nordhill was twenty thousand years ago, during the era of the Elf Dynasty.

But for some unknown reason, that newly born race did not exist for long before being exterminated by the mighty Elf Dynasty. Later generations only discovered their name in certain ancient tomes—the Blood Elves.

Setting those ancient matters aside, ever since humans began ruling the continent, countless Mages had conducted experiments on new species, yet not a single one had succeeded. And now, the White Dragon Lord had.

This forced everyone to reevaluate White Castle's magical power.

Noticing the astonishment in the crowd's eyes as they looked at him, the White Dragon Lord roughly guessed what they were thinking. In truth, the success of the New Murlocs involved far too many accidental factors.

The White Dragon Lord had merely introduced the Guide Factor Potion and used the law of survival of the fittest to screen the Murloc eggs. The core mutation of the New Murlocs still relied entirely on genetic mutation. Whether this genetic mutation turned out benign or malignant was completely a matter of luck. Even given the exact same experimental conditions, he might not necessarily achieve the same results.

Furthermore, this method was impossible to apply to other intelligent creatures. The reason Murloc eggs could produce such a rare, completely benign mutation was built entirely on the foundation of a colossal quantity of eggs.

For this experiment, the White Dragon Lord had forcefully cut off the "J" curve of the Murloc population's growth. The number of fish eggs consumed likely had to be measured in quadrillions.

Of course, if the crowd did not ask, the White Dragon Lord was perfectly happy to maintain the mystery.

Obviously, under such circumstances, it was definitely inconvenient for anyone to ask. And even if they did, the White Dragon Lord certainly would not speak of such classified matters.

As the Murlocs marched on, their bodies, radiating shadow energy, slowly faded until they vanished completely.

The crowd was terrified.

"By the dead! A hundred Murlocs! They just vanished like that?!"

A rogue watched the Black-Scaled Fishmen vanish before his eyes, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

"That's stealth! High-level stealth!"

Another Master Tier rogue mixed in the crowd wore a grave expression as he spoke to his Warrior companion beside him.

"If my guess is correct, these Murlocs are natural Transcendent Tier creatures, and they possess a shadow energy affinity. Transcendent Tier creatures with a shadow energy affinity are simply born rogues."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What unbelievable methods. In terms of racial talent, Murlocs are probably at the very bottom among all races. Yet that entity actually managed to elevate them into Transcendent Tier creatures in a single leap."

The two shot a quick glance at the White Dragon Lord on the platform.

The legendary practitioner guests on the platform could naturally see the Murlocs' changes as well, and they saw through it even more thoroughly than the Master Tier rogue. With a single glance, they confirmed the Black-Scaled Fishmen's shadow energy affinity talent.

It was just that because these Murlocs had all taken up rogue-type professions, the shadow energy within their bodies had received further enhancement, making it impossible to see their innate Creature Level anymore.

All of this, however, was no secret to the White Dragon Lord. These Murlocs' innate Creature Level was universally Level 2.

But one should not underestimate this Level 2 Creature Level.

After all, even for a decently tough monster like a gnoll, their Creature Level was only Level 3. Humans, on the other hand, had no Creature Level at all, let alone ordinary Murlocs who were even weaker than humans.