Because at least 360 Eagle Feather Armor-Piercing Arrows had to be made, the Elite Archers' upgrade had to be postponed until tomorrow. The four Elite Sword and Shield Soldiers, however, could be upgraded immediately.
"Boom!"
As Song Dachui and the other three carried over the Giant Wolf Tooth Club, Zhang Yang had them each stand at one corner before directly using the Village Building Order to fuse demon souls into them, strengthening and enhancing them.
In an instant, four beams of white light shot into the sky. They then enveloped the bodies of the four soldiers and the Giant Wolf Tooth Club in their respective areas. At that moment, everyone heard a mountain monster's furious roar. To their surprise, the phantom image of the Mountain Monster appeared within the white light. It threw its head back and roared in rage, looking deeply unwilling.
This was an unprecedented phenomenon. What an auspicious sign.
Then Zhang Yang received the projection information.
"Changes occurred while fusing demon souls into the four soldiers. Compatibility exceeded 50%. Would you like to add 5,000 energy to ensure the most perfect enhancement possible within the upper limit?"
Although Zhang Yang was surprised, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately added the 5,000 energy. At the same time, he secretly considered himself lucky. Thankfully, he had sold all the remnant souls earlier; otherwise, he really would have missed this opportunity.
In fact, he had just upgraded the Village Building Order and cultivated the Village Imps, already using up 15,000 energy. Adding this 5,000, along with the 300 enhancement fee for each person, his pockets had once again been emptied.
If another unexpected complication arose when he upgraded the Elite Archers tomorrow, he would most likely be left completely penniless again.
While these thoughts turned in Zhang Yang's mind, another change occurred within the white light. The Mountain Monster's demon soul was somehow split into four by an unknown force and directly injected into the bodies of the four Elite Sword and Shield Soldiers. Even the hero-grade weapon, the Giant Wolf Tooth Club, was split into four. Then, even more dazzling white light erupted, and nothing could be seen anymore.
There was no doubt, however, that this enhancement would be something to look forward to.
Five minutes later, the white light vanished. What appeared before everyone's eyes were four hulking men who looked like berserk bears!
Yes, they really were giants. Song Dachui and the other three had originally all stood at the standard height of 1.9 meters, but after being infused with the Mountain Monster's demon soul, they had all become 2.4 meters tall. Their broad shoulders were wide enough to race horses across, and their chests bulged like rocks. Just their brutal appearance alone was enough to seize the initiative.
But what truly drew attention was not the change in their physiques, but the Mountain Monster Battle Tattoos covering their bodies. Each man was covered to two-thirds of his body, which was more than enough to show just how compatible they were.
The leather armor they had been wearing had long since burst from the strain, leaving them with only their successfully enhanced weapons and equipment.
The equipment of the four men, however, was completely different.
For example, Song Dachui's enhanced saber had vanished, as had his shield. All that remained was a massive iron hammer. Its handle was forged from refined steel, while the hammerhead was as large as four basketballs. It was covered in Mountain Monster Battle Tattoos as well. This fellow had truly gotten his wish—he had really become Song Dachui.
Wang Mumu likewise had only one weapon left in his hands: a refined-steel tower shield two meters tall, 1.5 meters wide, and thirty centimeters thick. Once he set it on the ground, it smashed out a pit several dozen centimeters deep.
Then there was Duan Kuan. He was the only one who had retained the true nature of a Sword and Shield Soldier. His originally 60-centimeter-diameter enhanced round wooden shield had become an enhanced round steel shield with a diameter of 90 centimeters. His original one-meter enhanced saber had transformed into a 1.5-meter Captain-Level saber. He could wield it in one hand or hack with both hands—however ferocious it needed to be, that was how it came.
The last was Zhou Datou. His shield had also become a tower shield, though not the exaggerated kind Wang Mumu carried. Its dimensions were 160×100×10. As for his weapon, it had become nine refined-steel javelins, carried imposingly across his back with a distinctly bloodthirsty air.
Four men, four different paths of development, yet they could somehow complement each other, covering both offense and defense. This was practically a perfect mixed elite squad!
At this moment, not only was Zhang Yang overjoyed, even Wu Yuan, standing nearby, sucked in a breath of envy.
Looking at their attributes, as expected, their compatibility was so high that several crucial attributes were one level higher than those of ordinary Captain-Level Soldiers.
Song Dachui, for example, focused on violent damage output. His Strength was C-, while the rest were D+. His talent was Berserk, and his skill was Skull Crusher. His one-handed, two-handed, and Blocking proficiencies were all 345.
Wang Mumu, who focused entirely on defense, had a Defense of C-, while the rest were D+. His talent was Iron Wall, and his skill was Shield Bash. His one-handed and Blocking proficiencies were both 345.
Duan Kuan focused primarily on offense with defense as a supplement, making him a saber-user type. His Agility was C-, while the rest were D+. He had no talent but possessed three skills: Hack, Chain Slash, and Wind Chasing Slash. His one-handed and two-handed proficiencies were both 400.
Zhou Datou, who possessed decent defense and could provide mid- to long-range fire support, had a Strength of C-, while the rest were D+. His talent was Steady, and his skills were Life Pursuit, Shield Bash, and Throwing. His Blocking proficiency was 345.
Now, all Song Dachui and the other three lacked were four matching sets of armor. Once they had those, they would become the nightmares of their enemies.
"From now on, the four of you will operate as one group. You will replace Wu Yuan and take charge of the village's daily patrol and guard duties. Hmm, I'll find a way to get you a set of leather armor as soon as possible."
After issuing his orders, Zhang Yang instructed Wu Yuan again, "For now, hurry up and help Qin Yidao and the others cut arrow shafts and make Eagle Feather Armor-Piercing Arrows. Once they have all finished upgrading, we'll have to consider the village's construction. Hmm, first we'll build a castle, then a city wall. Defense will be the top priority in the village's future development!"
Everyone accepted their orders and left. Zhang Yang hurried to the Barracks. He had not forgotten that there were still fifty new recruits provided by the Barracks. With the population now becoming the bottleneck restricting the village's development, every soldier was a precious treasure—especially during the coming construction frenzy, when soldiers could also work as laborers!
What?
That did not follow the rules? To hell with the rules. I, the dignified Village Chief, am even going to swear an oath to become a craftsman. What does it matter if I have you chop wood and quarry stone?
After recruiting fifty new soldiers from the Barracks, Zhang Yang led them straight to the Training Ground.
The Training Ground was located 200 meters northwest of the Wood Demon Tower, at the foot of the hill. The terrain was very flat. It was 25 meters long and 20 meters wide—actually quite small, more like a little courtyard.
At the northeastern corner of the Training Ground stood a crude little thatched hut. This was where the junior instructor lived.
When Zhang Yang arrived, the junior instructor was basking in the sun, looking thoroughly contented and very much like Ge You lying limp in a chair.
However, upon seeing Zhang Yang, he still stood up. After looking him over curiously, he respectfully saluted.
"Village Chief, do you need me to train these new recruits?"
"No rush. Let me see what you can train." As he spoke, Zhang Yang examined the sickly-looking young instructor before him. He appeared to be only twenty-four or twenty-five, with two small black mustaches. He looked more like a living, breathing person than the soldiers who had been recruited.
"Village Chief, I can train new recruits into Spearmen, Archers, or Sword and Shield Soldiers. I can also train hidden unit types—that is, all the unit types that previous Village Chiefs had trained and that were bound to the Village Building Order. However, specific conditions must be met to unlock them." The junior instructor spoke unhurriedly, his expression lazy as well.
"What specific conditions?" Zhang Yang asked.
"Upgrade the village into a small town, upgrade the level-one Training Ground into a level-five Training Ground, upgrade me into a level-five instructor, and ensure that the small town's population is no lower than 1,000."
Hearing these conditions, Zhang Yang gave an awkward laugh. It was hopeless. A population of 1,000? Wasn't that just digging a pit for him?
"Forget it, then. Train twenty Sword and Shield Soldiers, twenty Spearmen, and ten Archers for me."
"As you wish, Village Chief. All the new recruits will finish training in three days."
After leaving all the new recruits at the Training Ground, Zhang Yang opened the village's attributes and found the Training Ground instructor section. There, all the young instructor's attributes and basic information were displayed.
"Name: Qin Ge."
"Age: 24."
"Occupation: Training Instructor."
"Level: Level 1."
"Strength: E+"
"Agility: E+"
"Defense: E+"
"Archery: 200 (Proficiency)"
"Long Saber: 200 (Proficiency)"
"Spear: 200 (Proficiency)"
"Salary: 1 energy per day."
--
"Could I have actually happened to encounter a special NPC? Salary, huh? Hahaha!"
Before you continue