When the Village Building Order's countdown entered its final hour.
Zhang Yang had just finished making his fifth white-quality Imprisonment Spear. He was becoming more and more proficient, so his speed kept increasing, while the Soul Power consumed by each Imprisonment Spear kept decreasing.
Even so, his Soul Power was still insufficient.
"Wu Yuan, how are things now?"
Zhang Yang sat down wearily. The result of consuming a massive amount of Soul Power was that his head had become dizzy and muddled.
"Reporting to you, my lord, I didn't discover any trace of the enemy during today's reconnaissance. However, I believe your guess was correct. That deer demon is indeed waiting for our village to be successfully established. The wandering wild demons in this area have grown fewer over the past few days, so I have reason to believe that the deer demon and its army are hiding somewhere at a certain distance from us."
"Fortunately, we've already made preparations for battle. The simple stockade wall has been completed, and we've dug a moat by taking advantage of the terrain of the hill, making it convenient for us to counterattack from a commanding position."
"The twelve Elite Archers have replenished enough feathered arrows, and the throwing skills of the nineteen elite soldiers have also reached a decent level. In addition, we've stockpiled a full two thousand standard wooden spears. As long as we defend from this advantageous terrain, I believe the deer demon's army won't be able to attack us at all."
"As for the five magical artifacts you made, I think we can temporarily hold off on using them and wait for an opportunity to deliver that deer demon a fatal blow. As long as we kill it, we'll have won."
Wu Yuan answered in an orderly fashion. He had handled all the affairs, inside and outside the village, over the past few days. However, after finishing, he hesitated before asking, "Village Chief, are you really not going to try them? From my own feeling, these magical artifacts should be more powerful when used by you personally. After all, these are magical artifacts."
"Of course I know they're magical artifacts. But the problem is that their durability is only 1—they're disposable consumables. I paid such a huge price for them, not so I could play with them myself. The true main force in battle is still you. These Imprisonment Wooden Spears must be thrown by you."
Zhang Yang rejected Wu Yuan's suggestion without a second thought. What are you talking about? I said I was an immortal cultivator, and you actually believed me? Even I have no confidence in myself, so we'd better play it safe. Once we get through this deer demon crisis, I can play however I want.
"All right, everyone, hurry and get some rest. There will definitely be a fierce battle ahead."
After saying one more sentence, Zhang Yang hurried back into the Wood Demon Tower to restore his Soul Power. There was only one hour left until the village was successfully established, and he wanted to see what changes would occur after its establishment—changes worth making that deer demon lie in wait until now.
Time flew by.
When the Village Building Order's countdown reached zero, the pitch-black night was instantly shrouded in countless white rays of light. A full two thousand white squares appeared once more, then vanished after lasting for more than ten seconds.
Immediately afterward, two buildings appeared on the hill: a Training Ground and a Barracks. As for the Wood Demon Tower, it had successfully risen to Level 2.
At the same time, a series of messages appeared before Zhang Yang's eyes.
"Village established successfully. Received 500 energy points."
"The Village Building Order has perfectly fused with the village and can no longer be carried on one's person."
"Village-Building Mission 01 activated. Your village must survive for at least three hundred years, but you have only twenty years to develop and make your arrangements. Those who fail the mission will be erased!"
"Village-Building Mission 02 activated. Recruit at least 500 indigenous inhabitants and store them sealed within the Village Building Order."
"Village-Building Mission 03 activated. Collect at least 10 complete White Fragments of Hope. Note: This mission is not mandatory, but if you fail to make an effort to collect them, you will bear the consequences."
"Village-Building Mission 04 activated. Within twenty years, defeat at least 15 holders bound to foreign-race Village Building Orders and fuse the Village Building Order to blue quality before you may return. Otherwise, you will grow old and die here. Current progress: 1/15."
"Friendly reminder: Before the Village Building Order has been formally placed, if its holder is killed, the Village Building Order will not drop. It will continue to be held by a qualified bound holder of the same race. However, once the Village Building Order is successfully placed and the village established, it will drop with 100% certainty upon the holder's death, unless a village-chief successor who meets the binding requirements has been designated in advance."
"Friendly reminder: Once the Village Building Order drops, the Civilization Code of the race to which its holder belongs also has a high chance of dropping. Once the Civilization Code has been completely deciphered, that race will become a target for invasion by other races, ultimately leading to its extinction or its becoming a sumptuous feast on the invaders' table. Current deciphering progress of the Earth Civilization Code: 17.986%."
"Friendly reminder: Don't treat this as a game, and don't let yourself be constrained by conventions, because there will be countless possibilities."
"Good luck."
Zhang Yang opened his eyes. It was still pitch-black all around him, but the feeling in his heart could hardly be described by a mere "MMP."
Even so, he stopped the stampede of ten thousand horses in his heart as quickly as possible, because he knew he no longer had time to question, rage, or complain.
That's right—he had been played by that deer demon!
Combining it with the information from earlier, the truth was now perfectly clear. Regardless of those damn village-building missions or the unheard-of concept of a Civilization Hegemony, that deer demon was indeed his competitor—the kind who would fight to the death.
So five days ago, that deer demon had actually been capable of wiping Zhang Yang and the others out completely.
But it hadn't done so, because killing them that way would not cause the Village Building Order to drop. It had deliberately pretended to have its eyes on the Wood Demon Tower, then forced Zhang Yang, in order to protect the Wood Demon Tower, to casually place the Village Building Order on some hill.
After that, throughout the next 108 hours, the deer demon had not appeared. It might even have driven away all the demons nearby, all to wait for Zhang Yang to establish the village successfully.
Because once that happened, killing Zhang Yang would make the Village Building Order drop with 100% certainty!
Just as when Zhang Yang had killed the Spider Lord.
And as long as he could destroy fifteen villages and kill fifteen village chiefs, he could return. Wait—return? My ass! Why had the whole genre suddenly changed? Could this be an infinite-world scenario?
Still, returning to Earth would be good enough.
And what the hell was the deciphering progress of the Earth Civilization Code? How could it be precise to three decimal places? Did one Village Building Order represent 0.001%?
Wouldn't that mean the entire human race on Earth possessed at least 100,000 Fantasy Village Building Orders? If he also counted the former bound village chiefs who had died for each Village Building Order, wouldn't that mean there were eighty million people—
"Why do I suddenly feel like the genre has changed again? Is this Spiritual Qi Resurgence or an apocalyptic collapse?"
"And with such a massive number of people mysteriously disappearing or dying, the government should have known and intervened long ago, right?"
"Or could it be that the Village Building Orders were made by the government, for the sake of invading other civilizations, breaking out of the galaxy, and contending for supremacy over the universe? Damn, wouldn't that make the genre interstellar science fiction again?"
All sorts of bizarre thoughts flashed through Zhang Yang's mind, but in the end, he did not make a great fuss about it. No matter what secrets lay behind the Fantasy Village Building Order, he first had to survive in this world. Then he really had to establish a village and make it survive for at least three hundred years, while he had only twenty years to manage its development. This genre was truly too much like Taiwu—
After letting out a long sigh, Zhang Yang gathered his thoughts and began examining the attribute data newly projected by the Village Building Order.
Fantasy Village Building Order (White) Status: Fully activated. All functions available. Energy owned: 3027 points Available trait: Level 2 Concealment (Usage: Establish a faith organization, such as a temple/Ancestral Temple/chapel/church, then use energy to exchange for a concealment talisman. Once activated, its effect will be identical to that of carrying the Village Building Order. Maximum carrying limit ×10.) Available trait: Level 2 Protection (Usage same as above. Maximum carrying limit ×10. It can also be activated for free at any location within the village.) Available trait: Level 2 Vision (Usage same as above, but it does not need to be used within the village; it can directly detect traces of enemy invasions. Maximum carrying limit ×10.) Available function: Initial Recruitment (Recruitment limit: 500 people. The deaths of inhabitants still occupy recruitment slots. Current remaining slots: 3 people.) Available population roster: Spearmen/1 energy point, Sword and Shield Soldiers/1 energy point, Longbowmen/1 energy point, 5 farmers/1 energy point, 4 Lumberjacks/1 energy point, 3 Hunters/1 energy point, 2 butchers/1 energy point, 1 craftsman/1 energy point. Available function: Civilization Hegemony Leaderboard (Unlocks when the Village Building Order reaches gold quality.) Available function: Hero Trial Dungeon (Unlocks with 1000 energy points, or unlocks automatically when the Village Building Order reaches black quality. However, designate a village-chief successor before entering.) Available function: Body Attribute Digitization. Description: This function has no additional effects and is only intended to accommodate personal habits. (On/Off) Existing building: Level 1 Training Ground Existing building: Level 1 Barracks Existing temporary building: Level 1 Fortress (Description: This building still requires further improvement.) Existing special building: Level 2 Wood Demon Tower (Effect 1: Continuously restores the health of up to one hundred friendly units within a 100-meter radius, at a rate of 10 points per hour; Effect 2: Continuously restores the spirit of up to one hundred friendly units within a 100-meter radius, at a rate of 10 points per hour; Effect 3: Releases Fog of War, reducing the vision of enemy units within a 100-meter radius by 30%. Note: This effect consumes energy.)
After reading the Village Building Order's new attributes, Zhang Yang's mood finally eased considerably, and he became even more confident about the battle that was about to arrive.
That deer demon was certainly sly and treacherous, setting a trap for him to leap into. But his trump cards were also formidable now.
The Level 2 Wood Demon Tower alone had brought him a great many surprises. He reckoned that even if the deer demon had anticipated this, it would still be caught off guard. After all, how could it possibly have guessed that the Wood Demon Tower had already leveled up?
Or even if it had guessed, so what? Could it have divined that Zhang Yang had actually touched the threshold of crafting magical artifacts through the miraculous profession of carpenter?
"Come on, let's have a battle and see who can take down whom."
Facing the pitch-black night sky, Zhang Yang sneered.
Before you continue