Hero?

When Zhang Yang saw these options, he was so excited he could hardly put it into words. He almost felt like bursting into tears.

Yes, why had he been so depressed before?

It was because his Village Building Order only had nine recruitment slots left. Even if he established a village, what could he do with it?

Who could have imagined that manpower could continue to be obtained during the village-building process? Though it seemed the recruitment cap still could not be expanded.

After taking several seconds to calm his surging emotions, Zhang Yang immediately selected the Level 1 Training Ground and Level 1 Barracks. As he had said before, farming was impossible—what he needed were warriors.

The moment he confirmed his choice, a second message appeared.

"Special building discovered: Level 1 Wood Demon Tower. Would you like to incorporate it into village construction? Pay 500 Energy Points and one incomplete demon soul to upgrade it to Level 2."

This would do nicely. Zhang Yang paid without hesitation. After that, no further messages appeared, nor was there any mention of a village-building protection period or beginner protection period.

The two thousand squares released by the Village Building Order quickly sank beneath the earth, as if nothing had happened. Yet Zhang Yang could still see that 108-hour countdown before his eyes.

Furthermore, although the Wood Demon Tower had been incorporated into the village as a special building, it was still functioning. That was important.

After examining everything carefully and confirming that nothing had been overlooked, Zhang Yang fell into deep thought.

He began reconsidering what this Fantasy Village Building Order truly meant. At first, he had thought he had simply hitched a ride on the great transmigration wave and crossed into a Fantasy World. But now, it seemed this was no accident.

Those two Spider Lords possessed Fantasy Village Building Orders, and that Deer-Headed Demon possessed one too. Was this some contest of natural selection, where only the fittest survived? Did he represent the human faction, or were there other human village chiefs as well?

And what about the 981 village chiefs bound before him?

"At any rate, I absolutely cannot treat this Fantasy Village Building Order as some village-building order from a game. What it represents is not some familiar routine I know. It is likely a set of rules created for a purpose I do not understand. And those rules will not actively give prompts. Just like this time—if that Deer-Headed Demon had not driven me into a corner, I might not have been willing to build the village so quickly."

"But no matter what, becoming stronger is never wrong."

Muttering to himself, Zhang Yang used that complete Level 5 Red Eagle Demon Soul on himself.

Five minutes later, his Strength attribute rose smoothly from F+ to E-, and he also gained a Red Eagle Demon talent.

Eagle Eye: Passive talent. Allows the user to see farther and with greater accuracy.

For Zhang Yang, who fancied himself a mage, this talent was merely better than nothing. Its approximate effect was that he could stand 150 meters away and clearly make out a lighter.

Only then did Zhang Yang have time to examine the special item created by his Imprisonment Spell: a complete Red Eagle Demon corpse.

It was called a special item, but it was nowhere near comparable to the Wood Demon Tower.

After all, the Earth-Walking Wood Demon had been Level 15, while the Red Eagle had only been Level 5.

Thus, this special item had only one use.

Attack: Input a small amount of Soul Power to transform the item back into a Red Eagle, which will attack a designated target. Duration: 60 minutes. Uses: 1/1.

That was still quite good. It was equivalent to gaining another trump card for a critical moment.

"Village Chief, I have finished patrolling the area within five li of the village. No traces of demon activity have been found for now. However, should we arrange a night patrol squad tonight?"

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan came to a stop three meters behind Zhang Yang and asked with a bow. Zhang Yang had assigned him these matters earlier; he believed Wu Yuan would handle them better than he could.

"Use your judgment in these matters, but avoid soldier casualties. If there is an emergency, you are permitted to retreat at once. I will activate Level 2 Protection. But right now, there is something I would like to ask you."

Zhang Yang turned around and looked at Wu Yuan, who stood a full two meters tall, powerfully built like a god of war. He still remembered the man's uncanny spear-throwing ability in the previous battle. Damn, it was his first time seeing someone throw a spear hard enough to produce a sonic boom.

Yet when he checked Wu Yuan's attributes, there was no description related to throwing.

"Please ask, Village Chief. This subordinate will tell you everything he knows without holding anything back."

Wu Yuan solemnly clasped his fists.

Zhang Yang smiled silently. "You do not need to be nervous. I am merely curious. The spear throwing you used in battle today seemed extremely lethal. Can you pass it on? For instance, teach it to the other soldiers. Of course, I am interested in learning it myself as well."

Wu Yuan seemed quite surprised upon hearing that. Then he said gravely, "Village Chief, I believe this matter is connected to the missing tree core of that Earth-Walking Wood Demon. When the Wood Demon tree core vanished in my hand, I did not feel anything myself. But later, while fighting that deer demon, I instinctively threw the spear in my hand. It was as though I had been born knowing how to do it. But I swear, I have never trained in it."

"Is that so?"

Zhang Yang nodded. "You can still throw spears whenever and wherever you wish, correct?"

"Yes, Village Chief. And I will also try to teach this throwing technique to the others," Wu Yuan answered in a methodical manner.

At that moment, a message abruptly surfaced before Zhang Yang's eyes.

Through your careful observation and patient questioning, you have discovered among your soldiers one who may be able to grow into a hero. Would you like to begin the Hero's Trial? Warning: The trial may result in the deaths of both you and this soldier.

It really was becoming more and more like a game. But I would rather this truly were a game than this cruel Fantasy World.

Zhang Yang silently grumbled to himself, then ignored the message. Night was about to fall. Why start some trial now? It could not be that he had to enter some little dungeon, could it?

"All right, Wu Yuan. After arranging the night patrol squad, have everyone eat and rest early as well. Who knows what trouble tonight may bring?"

"Yes, Village Chief."

Watching Wu Yuan leave, Zhang Yang's brows furrowed slightly. In truth, he still had one question he wanted to ask: did Wu Yuan and the others know where they themselves had come from?

They could not possibly have truly been data NPCs generated from Energy Points, could they? He was more inclined to believe they were real, flesh-and-blood people who had been sealed and bound within the Village Building Order by some force, only to be recruited later.

Only that could explain why the Village Building Order's recruitment limit was five hundred people. It was also a compromise that distinguished whether this world was an illusory game or a real world.

But if that reasoning was correct, then what about the Spider Lords and that Deer-Headed Demon?

It was becoming too complicated again.

With a faint sigh, Zhang Yang cast all those thoughts behind him. Now was not the time to seriously think about such things. He had to survive first before discussing anything else.