The drinking water consumed each day by 150 people and 10 warhorses was indeed an astronomical amount.
The bottled and barreled water stored by the previous owner, along with what had been found in those sealed, dark rooms where even time seemed frozen, had finally been completely used up by today.
"Then we'll go fetch water."
However, Shen Mu was not anxious. Instead, he calmly arranged, "Have all the Swadian Heavy Cavalry come over."
"Yes." The Swadian Footman nodded, then turned and headed for the barracks cleared out from the apartment rooms on both sides of the fifth floor to call for the heavy cavalry.
Before long, ten Swadian Heavy Cavalrymen arrived, dressed in fine linen robes and without armor.
They stood in a neat row and greeted Shen Mu steadily and respectfully. "Greetings, Lord Shen Mu!"
"Mm." Shen Mu nodded. "Go to the livestock pen and bring down your warhorses. Put on your full armor, then follow me out of the apartment later to protect the Swadian Recruits while they fetch water."
"We obey your command."
The Swadian Heavy Cavalry responded, then turned and quickly headed up the tower's spiral staircase.
Soon, they led their own Swadian Warhorses carefully down the spiral staircase, less than a meter wide, from the seventh floor to the Castle Hall on the fifth floor.
Although the spiral staircase was narrow and steep, that did not mean their warhorses could not pass through it.
Furthermore, both the chain armor of the Swadian Heavy Cavalry and the chain armor for their warhorses were stored in their barracks rooms.
Therefore, as long as there was enough time, they could lead the warhorses into the Castle Hall, help one another don their armor, then put horse armor on the mounts. Once that was done, they were fully armed and ready to enter battle at any time.
"Very good." Shen Mu nodded in satisfaction at the sight of the ten Swadian Heavy Cavalrymen fully prepared.
He did not set out just yet.
Instead, the Mind Communicates with System caused a dialogue box to appear on his retina.
You have soldiers available for promotion: ① Swadian Peasants ×50, can be promoted to 'Mercenary Sentinel (10 Denars per person)/Swadian Recruits (5 Denars per person)'. 200+150 ② Mercenary Sentinels ×10, can be promoted to 'Mercenary Crossbowman (50 Denars per person)'. 500 ③ Bandits ×25, can be promoted to 'Outlaw Bandit (20 Denars per person)/Lake Rats Recruit (20 Denars per person and requires Lake Rats Training Camp)'. 500 ④ Swadian Footmen ×30, can be promoted to 'Swadian Footman (100 Denars per person)/Swadian Heavy Cavalry (100 Denars per person)'. 3000
This was a prompt regarding troop promotions.
And now that Shen Mu had just received 5,000 Denars and had money to spare, he had naturally already made his decision.
"Promote 20 of the 50 Swadian Peasants to Mercenary Sentinels, and promote the other 30 to Swadian Recruits."
"Promote all 10 Mercenary Sentinels to Mercenary Crossbowmen."
"Send all 25 Bandits to the Lake Rats Training Camp and promote them to Lake Rats Recruits."
"Promote all 30 Swadian Footmen to Swadian Footmen."
Shen Mu issued his arrangements in an orderly manner.
Then, streams of Data Stream gathered at Shen Mu's brow into white light and began spreading outward.
Throughout the castle, slightly more than half of the Mount & Blade soldiers were now enveloped by this white light, beginning to load the Combat Experience of higher-level soldiers and materialize brand-new weapons and equipment.
Even the soldiers' physiques and qualities themselves grew stronger and stronger as the Data Stream loaded into them.
The Warband Faction Troops had completed their transformation.
The number of Tier 4 Swadian Footmen had reached 45.
The 30 Tier 1 Swadian Recruits also stood in line, holding Long-handled Sickles, curious and excited.
The ten Tier 3 Mercenary Crossbowmen holding War Crossbows had also finished forming ranks together with twenty Tier 2 Mercenary Sentinels.
Only the 25 Bandits were currently climbing the stairs. They had to pass through the seventh floor and cross the entire Wheat Field before reaching the remaining half of the sixth floor, entering the Lake Rats Training Camp, and completing their promotion to Tier 2 Lake Rats Recruits.
Ding! You have selected troop promotions! You have spent 4,350 Denars. Your current remaining savings: 1,400 Denars.
At once, Shen Mu heard the sound of Denars clinking together beside his ears, gradually growing fainter.
He knew that represented his savings dwindling.
But there was no helping it.
If he wanted promotions, he had to pay the price in Denars.
"This is also because the Mount & Blade soldiers I have do not require weekly wages as upkeep."
Shen Mu pursed his lips slightly at that moment.
Having no upkeep costs had indeed saved him the largest portion of the expense.
Otherwise, the weekly upkeep alone would have given him a headache.
"Lord Shen Mu!"
While Shen Mu was thinking, the thirty Swadian Recruits who had completed their promotions and become Tier 1 Troops approached, carrying their Long-handled Sickles and respectfully saluting him.
"Mm, very good." Shen Mu nodded, then instructed them, "Go gather all the buckets and basins. We're going to fetch water."
"Yes." The Swadian Recruits immediately turned to look for suitable water containers.
This was easy enough for them.
Plastic, iron, aluminum, and stainless-steel buckets and basins were plentiful in this day and age.
Soon, every one of them carried a large bucket or basin. To ensure they could still hold them steadily after filling them with water, the Swadian Recruits had even set aside their favored Long-handled Sickles and Old Fan Shields, carrying only a Short Axe or pickaxe for self-defense.
"Let's go."
Seeing that they were ready, Shen Mu waved to the Swadian Heavy Cavalry, who were fully outfitted in Heavy Chain Armor along with their horses, and headed outside with them.
Neigh! At that moment, the Sacred Tree White Steed from the Pendor World behind Shen Mu also walked over.
Even though Shen Mu had not taken hold of its reins, it obediently followed at his side, walking slowly.
The Swadian Heavy Cavalry holding their reins did the same.
As did the recruits.
They all followed behind.
However, when they looked at the white steed behind Shen Mu, which needed no reins, their faces revealed envy and reverence.
Especially the ten Swadian Heavy Cavalrymen. Though the white steed wore no horse armor, not even a caparison, its vigorous body, powerful and slender legs, and the crisp clop-clop of its horseshoes striking the ground made it clear that this was absolutely a fine horse.
They could even faintly sense that it was a better mount than the warhorses raised on estates in the Kingdom of Swadia and trained at racetracks.
And that was indeed the truth.
Shen Mu led his Sacred Tree Steed to the Fire Door, where the Lake Rats Veteran Thug on guard eagerly pulled the doors fully open, allowing them to slowly make their way down the zigzagging stairs to the first floor.
This Sacred Tree Faction steed from the low-magic Pendor, still a G-version world, truly displayed remarkable intelligence.
It stayed close beside Shen Mu every step of the way, descending the stairs without a single mistake and moving with great agility.
Shen Mu was quite satisfied with this.
However, as he descended from the fourth floor to the first, he looked through the many Fire Doors that had already been violently destroyed, at the empty Stairwells and the cramped apartment corridors that had barely changed. His face became slightly contemplative.
He had deliberately left the corridors and apartments from the first floor to the fourth floor mostly unmodified, only removing the Elevator Rooms and changing the direction of the stairs.
The purpose was to make things convenient after night fell, when Gray Fog Permeates and the Necromantic Rules descended.
He could use the Necromantic Rules to farm monsters on these floors!
That was right, farm monsters.
Shen Mu still hoped that the thirty Swadian Recruits could quickly level up into Tier 2 Swadian Militia.
Naturally, they had to farm monsters and accumulate experience to do that!
"And... there's also the entire Underground Parking beneath the apartment, connecting all four Apartment Buildings. Monsters can be farmed there too!"
After reaching the first floor, Shen Mu lowered his head and glanced toward the side of the stairs, where a thick steel gate blocked the way. His eyes were solemn.
That was the Underground Parking.
It was also a Civil Defense Project.
It was made of thick steel gates and Reinforced Concrete.
When the Necromantic Rules had first descended, it had already been sealed shut and filled with absolute darkness. It had likely long since become a nest for Undead Monsters.
"Whenever the Black Tide arrives once every three months, the first terrifying Undead Monsters to appear rush out from these Underground Parkings or Civil Defense Projects!"
"That is also why people do not like living on the first floor, or in rooms on the lower levels..."
"With the slightest carelessness, they might be discovered by those Undead Monsters, bringing trouble upon themselves—or even getting killed."
Shen Mu sighed.
Without thinking too much about it, he led his troops and turned toward a direction roughly two blocks away from this apartment.
Because he knew.
Over there, the Xiaolong River, which ran across all of Long City, flowed with abundant water resources.
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