At dusk,
A gentle breeze drifted by, the sky clear and serene, while the last slanting rays of sunlight still lingered on the horizon, as though a corner of a legendary scroll had been lifted, mysterious beyond compare and stirring endless longing.
Within the forest, not a single minor monster could be seen for several kilometers in every direction. It was enough to make one wonder whether this was still that perilous Fantasy World.
The reason was simple enough. Before its death, the Great Horned Deer Lord had probably been the overlord of this region. Now that Zhang Yang had killed it, no monster would dare come looking for trouble with Zhang Yang for some time to come—unless some reckless River-Crossing Dragon showed up.
But Zhang Yang himself knew clearly that the peace before him was only an illusion. Even if he was about to have fourteen Captain-Level Soldiers, that truly had nothing to do with being well-armed and battle-ready.
So he felt extremely anxious, yet did not dare let himself become too anxious, for fear of overlooking something.
"Wu Yuan, the Eagle Feather Arrows Qin Yidao and the others are making still need some time, but they can definitely finish them by tomorrow evening."
"The new recruits still need three days of training. Once they finish, I'll use complete monster souls to raise all of them to elite level. That way, even if some unexpected incident occurs, they'll be able to work with the Captain-Level Soldiers to hold the village."
"The little ghost will probably need around twenty more days to explore the underground mineral veins around us. It's too weak, after all, and still needs to cultivate. It can only search a small area each night. But this isn't urgent and can be put off until later."
"The Village Building Order still has seventy-four hours before its upgrade is complete—in other words, it won't finish until three days from now. But before that, the first thing I should do is build a temple dedicated to some kind of faith. Only with a temple of faith can I exchange for Level 3 Invisibility Talismans, Level 3 Protection Talismans, and Level 3 Reconnaissance Talismans. These Talismans will greatly increase the soldiers' chances of surviving in the wilderness."
"The castle has to be built, and the walls have to be built too. Otherwise, there's no way to guarantee the villagers' survival. Wait, I need to strengthen our anti-air capabilities. Monsters like Red Eagle alone could cause huge casualties among my farmers the moment they appeared. So we need Arrow Towers. But building Arrow Towers requires craftsmen, and building a temple requires craftsmen too. Damn it, I only have three recruitable candidates left—assuming that temple doesn't need a priest."
"Hmm, then I'll recruit two first. No, one craftsman."
After calculating everything down to the last detail, Zhang Yang finally used a recruitment slot with utmost solemnity.
A flash of white light appeared, and a sturdy man materialized before him. He looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a straight build, healthy complexion, and lively eyes. He wore a hemp shirt and held an axe in his hand. He gazed curiously at his surroundings, without the slightest trace of timidity or obsequiousness.
This was the first craftsman Zhang Yang had recruited since binding the Village Building Order, so he did not rush to speak with him. Instead, he opened the village interface and brought up the craftsman's attributes to examine them.
Name: Zhao Tiezhu Level: Junior Craftsman (can only build basic structures and repair or produce basic tools, weapons, armor, machinery, and so on) Strength: F+ Agility: F+ Defense: F+ Soul: E+ Talent: None Craftsman Equipment Slots: (Axe), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty). Main Skill: Repair 50 (Proficiency), with a very small chance of repairing basic items. Main Skill: Manufacture 50 (Proficiency), with a very small chance of manufacturing gray items with attributes. Secondary Skill: Bow and Crossbow Manufacture/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Cold Weapon Manufacture/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Tool and Machinery Manufacture/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Construction Manufacture/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Herbal Medicine Manufacture 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Mining and Smelting 10 (Proficiency). Description: Main-skill proficiency requires the support of secondary-skill proficiency. Only after the proficiency of at least two secondary skills has each increased by 5 points will the proficiency of a main skill increase by 1 point.
This craftsman was truly as basic as they came, but his attributes were quite interesting. He actually had a very small chance of producing gray items with attributes. What did that mean? He had struck gold!
One had to know that the weapons of elite soldiers were gray quality—and did not possess attributes, making them the worst of the worst.
Only Captain-Level weapons were white quality with attributes.
The instant that thought flashed through his mind, Zhang Yang made his decision. He would train this craftsman in every possible way, from every possible angle, pouring all his strength into him and beating him into an all-purpose master craftsman.
There was no helping it. Other villages had dozens or even hundreds of craftsmen, but here, he was the only one.
At that moment, Zhang Yang was brimming with fighting spirit. He had no choice but to be. To ensure that the village survived for at least three hundred years, he could not slack off. So what if he had no population? Did no farmers mean he could not grow crops?
I refuse to believe this is impossible!
From now on, he would not only farm but also undertake basic construction and build a grand castle first.
At that moment, Zhang Yang revealed a charming smile and kindly asked Junior Craftsman Zhao Tiezhu, "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"
"Uh, Village Chief, I-I'm not hungry yet." Zhao Tiezhu was somewhat flattered. This lord is truly kind.
"Not hungry? Good!"
Zhang Yang chuckled and turned toward the group working nearby on making feather arrows. He shouted, "Wu Yuan, come over and take this brother to make bows and arrows. If there's anything he doesn't know, teach him everything you've got. When he's tired, let him sleep in the Wood Demon Tower; when he's hungry, feed him roast meat; when he's thirsty, give him the sweetest mountain spring water. Treat him like a grand lord—but the arrow-making cannot stop. Have him make ten thousand arrows himself first!"
As Zhao Tiezhu was still being dragged away in a daze by Wu Yuan and the others, who were brimming with enthusiasm, Zhang Yang did not remain idle either. He sent someone to call over Wang Mumu, who had been resting.
It was night now, and the patrol team no longer needed to patrol such a large area. Zhang Yang's order was to center their patrol around the Wood Demon Tower, with the training grounds as the farthest point, and circle around within that radius.
The four-man Song Dachui group were the patrol leaders. At night, they split into two alternating squads: Song Dachui and Zhou Datou formed one squad and led four soldiers, while Wang Mumu and Duan Kuan formed the other and also led four soldiers.
Before long, Wang Mumu, built like a small mountain, came stomping over with his enormous tower shield slung on his shoulder. The ground trembled with every step he took.
"Village Chief, you called for me?"
Standing beside the bonfire, Wang Mumu bowed respectfully.
"Yes. I want to draw a Battle Rune using monster blood essence. The Mountain Monster Battle Tattoo on your body should focus primarily on defense, and it's very likely related to that Iron Wall in your talent. So can you tell me what you think of this Battle Rune, or what you know about it?"
Zhang Yang spoke patiently. He had accumulated a great deal of monster blood and monster materials, but the Golden Scales could not sell these things, and he could not eat them either. Throwing them away would be a waste, so he felt he should make use of the materials. For example, if he could draw the Iron Wall Battle Rune on Wang Mumu's body onto a piece of leather armor, would that not instantly increase the armor's defensive power by a considerable amount?
These Battle Runes could even be engraved onto the village walls, the castle, and the gates, all of which could increase their defensive strength.
Was this not why people said science and technology were the greatest productive forces? As long as Zhang Yang solved the matter of Battle Runes, the sky would be vast and the earth broad, with limitless possibilities ahead.
Before you continue