Shen Mu yanked open the apartment door.
"Kill!"
The five Swadian Militia at the front raised their spears as usual, intending to lead the ten Swadian Recruits behind them in another charge.
But after rushing forward only two steps, their expressions changed slightly, and they even stopped in their tracks.
"Lord Shen Mu... there seem to be no enemies here."
A Swadian Militia spoke hesitantly.
"What's going on?" Shen Mu frowned. The claim that there were no enemies was rather absurd.
He drew the longsword at his waist.
Shen Mu pushed aside the Swadian Recruits blocking his way and saw the scene beyond the door, his expression changing slightly as well.
What appeared before him was not a thirty-square-meter apartment room at all.
Instead, it was a room built of stone and timber, resembling an ancient medieval style—or rather, the style of a castle lord of the Spiritual Realm Human Race!
It covered more than six hundred square meters in total, with stone walls, stone pillars, and large quantities of timber.
A huge long table stood in the middle.
"It looks like a hall the lords use to hold banquets."
A well-informed Swadian Militia who had once served as a lord's servant spoke up.
"Stay alert! Maintain vigilance!" Shen Mu slowly interrupted them.
He tightly gripped the longsword in his hand.
His cold gaze swept across the empty Lord's Hall, where the air carried a faint stench of rot.
As he breathed, Shen Mu also keenly noticed the odor lingering in the air.
It was the stench of sulfur.
"Everyone, be careful." The Swadian Militia and Recruits all turned grave.
Because upon closer inspection, they also sharply noticed that quite a few corpses lay scattered across the floor of the Lord's Hall.
They were all torn apart, dismembered limbs strewn about, some even bearing teeth marks.
That was enough to show that something terrible had happened here.
They waited for a moment.
Yet nothing unusual appeared.
"Enough." Shen Mu's expression was grave. Holding his longsword in one hand, he waved his left hand behind him. "Retreat."
The Swadian Militia and Recruits immediately withdrew in an orderly fashion.
They passed through the narrow Security Door behind them once more and left the place.
After everyone had exited.
Shen Mu directly reached out and shut the Security Door. Only after it clicked and automatically locked again did his expression ease somewhat.
"I didn't expect a fragment of a Spiritual Realm Scene to appear on this floor."
Shen Mu slowly let out a breath.
He understood that these so-called fragments of Spiritual Realm Scenes were places wrapped in Time Seals after the Crystal Wall System of the Fantasy Side had shattered and scattered them.
Once someone stepped inside, it meant breaking the seal of time, allowing time within to begin flowing once more.
During the day, the danger might not be too great.
But at night.
Because of the Necromantic Rules, countless Undead Monsters would fill the place.
"This really is a troublesome problem."
Shen Mu pursed his lips.
Although the monsters within the Spiritual Realm Scene would not easily appear in reality.
The fact that a door on this apartment floor connected to such a dangerous Spiritual Realm Scene still left Shen Mu deeply worried.
After all, the only thing separating the Spiritual Realm Scene from reality was that thin metal Security Door.
If they encountered powerful Undead Monsters, or even higher-level ones with something resembling intelligence.
That metal Security Door would not be able to stop them.
Ding! Your mission has been completed! You have cleared the floor and all rooms, confirming that there are no enemies left here. It is now completely under your control. You have received mission rewards: Bread ×5; Wheat Field ×1 mu; Recruit Upgrade Scroll (10 people) ×1.
When Shen Mu had just returned to his apartment and looked at the room piled full of supplies, before he could say anything, a dialogue box appeared before his eyes.
At the same time, streams of Data Stream began emerging from Shen Mu's brow and extending into the room.
After the Data Stream vanished and the light faded.
Five dense brown loaves as thick as an adult's thigh appeared in the corner.
As well as a card imprinted with wheat that appeared in Shen Mu's mind.
And a rolled-up scroll with images of soldiers drilling on its surface.
"Bread, a Wheat Field, and a Recruit Upgrade Scroll." Shen Mu slowly opened his eyes.
He knew these were the rewards he had received for completing this mission.
Still, surprise flickered in his eyes.
"It seems the Spiritual Realm Scene in that final room does not count toward the mission's completion requirements. Otherwise, this mission would not have been so easy to complete."
This was an unexpected delight.
Shen Mu turned to look at the bread in the corner, each loaf as thick as an adult's thigh, and smiled.
At least he would not have to worry about staple food for the next few days.
"And there's the Upgrade Scroll."
Shen Mu's thoughts stirred.
A thin scroll that seemed to be made of parchment appeared in his hand.
It was likewise tied with a parchment cord, its surface covered with images of soldiers wielding weapons.
Recruit Upgrade Scroll (10 people) Description: A scroll capable of immediately upgrading 10 newly recruited recruits. Effect: Upgrade into a Tier 2 Unit.
The item description appeared before Shen Mu's eyes.
"Immediately upgrade into a Tier 2 Unit." The smile on Shen Mu's lips never faded. "Use!"
He directly chose to use it.
In an instant, the parchment scroll in Shen Mu's hand turned into a stream of Data Stream and surged toward the ten Tier 1 Swadian Recruits he currently possessed.
The upgrade was underway.
Only a dozen or so seconds later, the white light dispersed.
The formerly skinny Swadian Recruits, who looked no more than sixteen years old, had undergone tremendous changes.
Just like the five Swadian Militia beside them.
Their bodies had filled out, their age seemed to have reached around eighteen, and they looked as if they had undergone training. Their gazes became firm, and their weapons and equipment were replaced with standard-issue gear of the Kingdom of Swadia.
Though they still could not compare to a true Regular Army, within the Kingdom of Swadia's territory, they were capable of fighting bandits and robbers and driving out the Rogue Army.
"We salute you, Lord Shen Mu!" The Swadian Militia all placed a hand over their chests and bowed to Shen Mu.
"Mm, very good." Shen Mu raised a hand in response.
Fifteen Swadian Militia.
Each was equipped with a shield, spear, and Hunting Crossbow.
They had also received basic Military Training.
In battle, they could form a better Spear Phalanx or shield wall.
Their combat strength had greatly improved!
Shen Mu was quite satisfied.
"But what should I do with this remaining one mu Wheat Field?" Shen Mu rubbed his chin.
A dialogue box appeared before his eyes.
Wheat Field (Crop Building) Description: It contains one mu of land from the Suno Plain, where thick, healthy wheat grows. The ears are full of plump grains and can be harvested soon. Effect: Obtain one mu of fertile Farmland with wheat ready for harvest.
The description was simple.
In other words.
Where was he supposed to deploy this one mu Wheat Field?
"I can't exactly put it in the green belt downstairs, can I?" Shen Mu's expression was somewhat helpless.
It would be easy enough to place it in the green belt below the apartment complex.
The problem was that it would make others jealous.
When the wheat was harvested, it would be hard to say who it belonged to.
And it might very well expose the existence of his Mount & Blade System, bringing unnecessary trouble.
In Shen Mu's mind, the card bearing an image of wheat floated in the air.
But when Shen Mu's thoughts touched the card, a hazy Light Shield appeared around it—something seemingly unreal, yet clearly visible to him!
"Hm? What is this?!" Shen Mu instinctively looked at the Light Shield extending from the card.
It began spreading around him.
It even spread beneath his feet, extending toward the surrounding apartment rooms.
So that in Shen Mu's eyes.
It was as if patches of Wheat Fields were evenly distributed throughout these apartment rooms!
"This is..." Shen Mu suddenly remembered something he had casually added before. "The Mount & Blade Map Editor!?"
Before you continue