Ghost Tribe Recruit

It felt great to strike it rich, but then Zhang Yang remembered how few soldiers he had left, and his mood plummeted.

Those hundreds of soldiers had died such a terrible death. If only they could have been strengthened by Demon Souls.

But there were no "if onlys."

"I need to prioritize strengthening my soldiers. I can't afford such losses and waste again."

Zhang Yang thought, his spirits low.

The Troll Demon Soul could enhance four captain-level soldiers, and the Great Horned Deer Lord Demon Soul could enhance 10 captain-level soldiers. Adding Wu Yuan, who was a quasi-hero, the village would have 15 powerful combatants. Even if they encountered an enemy like the Great Horned Deer Lord at full strength again, they could defeat it easily.

Moreover, if Wu Yuan started his hero trial and the village didn't have enough powerful forces to guard it, wouldn't they be finished if a strong demon attacked?

"That's right, that's what I'll do! I can't be too selfish. I need to look at the bigger picture and make unified arrangements. I'm destined to farm. That Great Horned Deer itself was so strong, and it even had a powerful ultimate move to summon abyssal demons, yet it still got killed. If it had even a few captain-level soldiers under its command, why would it have been killed, ultimately failing at the last hurdle? As a Village Chief, going to the front lines is just too foolish."

Zhang Yang muttered to himself, constantly reinforcing his conviction. He was afraid he might impulsively use the Great Horned Deer Lord's Demon Soul on himself. This dilemma was truly unbearable, too agonizing.

"First, I'll cultivate a magic-type profession."

Having firmed up his stance, Zhang Yang began to examine the characteristics and differences between the Village Wizard, Village Priest, and Village Imp unit types.

"Hmm, cultivating a Village Wizard/Village Priest requires one recruit. Cultivating a Village Imp requires 5 complete Demon Souls."

"It costs 1000 energy, and the success rate is 100%."

"So, I choose to cultivate a Village Imp."

Since recruits were scarce, Zhang Yang made his choice directly. After consuming 5 complete Azure Wolf Demon Souls, a black light rose up. In just five seconds, a Village Imp was cultivated.

In an instant, the surrounding temperature dropped by more than ten degrees, but Zhang Yang didn't see the Village Imp's true form. He could only view it through the village's attribute panel.

Village Imp, Owner: Zhang Yang.

Level: Level 1 Ghost Tribe Recruit.

Status: Fully bound to the Village Building Order, can communicate through the Village Building Order.

Talent: Invisibility/Visibility (Note: Due to low level, can only become visible at night.)

Talent: Yin Energy (Passive).

Talent: Earth Burrowing and Mountain Traversing.

Skill: Possession Lv1.

Skill: Ghost Wall Lv1.

"What a weakling, but the Earth Burrowing and Mountain Traversing talent is great. It'll make prospecting for minerals incredibly easy." Zhang Yang was very satisfied, because being a Ghost Tribe Recruit meant it could continue to level up in the future.

"Village Chief, may I make this my home?"

At that moment, a line of text suddenly appeared in Zhang Yang's vision. It was the Village Imp speaking to him.

"You mean this Wood Demon Tower?" Zhang Yang asked tentatively.

"Yes, Village Chief. Because my current strength is too weak, I can only appear at night, and many warriors in the village can directly cause me great harm. So, until you build a residence for me, the only place I can hide is here."

"Will your daily residence affect the Wood Demon Tower?" Zhang Yang asked carefully. The importance of the Wood Demon Tower was beyond doubt, so he had to understand.

"Reporting to the Village Chief, no, it will not. My Yin Energy talent can nourish the Wood Demon Tower, thereby maintaining its effective usage time. Otherwise, a Level 2 Wood Demon Tower can only be used for 20 years before it withers. With me here, it can extend its usage by at least ten years, and that's assuming I don't level up."

"Is that so? Alright then, you can temporarily reside in this Wood Demon Tower. Oh, and how can you continue to level up?" Zhang Yang continued to ask. He wasn't worried about the Village Imp being dishonest, because from the moment it was cultivated, it was destined to live and die with the Village Building Order.

"Reporting to the Village Chief, as a ghost tribe member, there are several ways for me to level up. The most effective is through offerings of incense, followed by sources of Yin Energy, then by devouring and plundering, and finally by cultivating on my own. Currently, I can only cultivate on my own."

"Additionally, if the Village Chief can provide me with some residual souls to devour, my leveling speed will also be very fast. However, this method has a great hidden danger. The short-term increase in strength will gradually make my future self tyrannical, and may eventually harm or even destroy the village, so I do not recommend you do this."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang quickly dismissed the idea of using monster residual souls to upgrade the imp, then curiously asked, "What's your name?"

"Reporting to the Village Chief, among the Abyssal Ghost Tribe, only ghost generals and above have names. I am merely a Ghost Tribe Recruit, and an ethereal being. I cannot possess a name, as it would become a burden to me."

Zhang Yang nodded. He had been thinking of giving the imp a name.

"Alright then, you can stay here for now. Don't come out at night to scare people. Once you're rested, search underground around this village for any valuable ores or similar things for me."

"As you wish, Village Chief."

After the imp's message faded, Zhang Yang thought for a moment. He first went out to inform Wu Yuan and the others to lift the alert, clean up the battlefield, and recover from their injuries. Then, he decided to immediately upgrade the Village Building Order, as that was the most important thing.

Currently, the Village Building Order was known to have Gray, White, Black, and Blue qualities, with Green and Gold likely above that.

Zhang Yang's current Village Building Order was White, and one of the village-building quests he had required him to upgrade the Village Building Order to at least Blue.

He opened the village panel, selected the incomplete Village Building Order dropped by the Great Horned Deer Lord, and several pieces of information immediately appeared.

Using the incomplete Fantasy Village Building Order can improve the quality and level of the Village Building Order. Currently possessing one incomplete Village Building Order (Black). Based on kill conditions, there is a 45% chance to upgrade the current Village Building Order (Note: If the enemy is killed within their village territory, the upgrade chance will be higher. Conversely, the upgrade chance will decrease).

Note: Using energy can increase the upgrade chance. Due to the increased level of the Village Building Order, 1000 energy is required to increase by 5%.

Using the incomplete Great Horned Deer Civilization Code Blueprint can increase the upgrade chance by 10%.

"That's interesting. Good thing I just struck it rich, otherwise I wouldn't have any money to upgrade." Zhang Yang sighed. If he used the Great Horned Deer Civilization Code Blueprint, he would need to pay 9,000 energy. If he didn't use it, it would cost 11,000 energy to upgrade.

"Well then, I'll save this Civilization Code Blueprint. What if I get a chance to invade the Great Horned Deer civilization in the future?" Zhang Yang chuckled. After all, what he had the most of right now was energy.

"Confirm upgrade."

With a buzz, the incomplete Village Building Order in Zhang Yang's hand vanished instantly. White lines, perfectly horizontal and vertical, shot out across the village. Soon, more white threads joined them, expanding the village's area to a full square kilometer. This was truly impressive; the black-grade Village Building Order was indeed different.

Next, several messages quickly appeared.

Upgrading Village Building Order. Upgrade time: 82 hours. Due to your Village Building Order upgrading to black-grade, the initial village area will expand to one square kilometer. Additionally, the village will be eligible for two more finished Level 5 buildings. Please spend 3000 energy to select (click to select/refuse).

Detected an incomplete Great Horned Deer Civilization Code Blueprint. Do you wish to use it? Upon use, you will randomly acquire a basic building of the Great Horned Deer Civilization.

Level 5 Blacksmith Shop, comes with one blacksmith.

Level 5 Arrow Tower, comes with twenty archers.

Level 5 Warehouse, comes with one thousand units of wood, one thousand units of iron ingots, and one thousand units of food.

Level 5 Farmland, comes with 25 farmers.

Level 5 Residential House, comes with 20 households.

Level 5 Artisan Camp, comes with 5 artisans.

Level 5 Armory, comes with equipment for five hundred soldiers (common/elite).

Level 5 Herbal Medicine Shop, comes with one medical artisan.