Before sunrise, several black clouds had appeared in the sky, and it looked like it might rain.
Zhang Yang stood in the small fort with a face as dark as still water. It was currently the only defensive structure in the village. Originally, he had planned to tear it down after some time, because he wanted to build a much larger castle.
But reality was always so cruel. He had only just eliminated the great threat of the deer demon when a new enemy appeared once again.
Just now, the Village Imp had reported to him that an enemy was spying on his village.
More precisely, there were three Ghost Tribe Recruits hiding more than ten meters underground. They were constantly moving around the village and observing it. Under normal circumstances, Zhang Yang would never have noticed them even if he had been beaten to death. Even Level 2 Vision could not detect them. However, yesterday he had recruited a Village Imp.
That fellow was terribly timid. It should have left the village last night to explore the surrounding area, but with Zhang Yang unable to supervise it, the creature had only conducted a small-scale search around the Wood Demon Tower.
Then, early this morning, it discovered traces of three other Village Imps moving underground beneath the village.
When Zhang Yang first received the information, he had nearly been angered to death by it. Only after calming down did he continue questioning it.
"What exactly did those three Village Imps scout out about us?"
"Village Chief, those three imps should know how many people we have and how many warriors there are. The village has no walls. However, they did not discover me, nor did they discover the Wood Demon Tower, because they are just as weak as I am. They simply do not dare approach within fifty zhang of a warrior."
"What does 'warrior' mean? Are there any criteria for judging it?" Zhang Yang asked. The Village Imp had said this more than once.
"Reporting to the Village Chief, this is the standard used by our Abyssal Ghost Tribe—in other words, by the human race as well. Skin like rock, bones like refined iron, sinews like a great bow, boiling blood and vital energy, the five viscera containing power, and strength of three hundred—that is a warrior. One level above that is a martial warrior. The standard is skin like an iron wall, bones like refined steel, the five viscera like a prison, blood and vital energy transformed into a river, and strength of nine hundred—that is a martial warrior."
"According to this standard, our village has four warriors in total, one quasi-martial warrior, and another twenty-three elite soldiers. As for you, my lord, those imps cannot investigate your strength."
After hearing the imp's explanation, Zhang Yang nodded, his eyes filled with thought. According to what the imp had said, the Abyssal Ghost Tribe and the human race were very likely the native inhabitants of this world.
As for what "strength of three hundred" meant, Wu Yuan had mentioned it earlier as well. It probably referred to the strength of a captain-level fighter, but the specific values remained unclear.
"From now on, you don't need to leave the village to scout. But keep watch on the enemy's imps. No matter what, don't let them reach the Wood Demon Tower."
After issuing the Village Imp a new order, Zhang Yang quickly began making arrangements. First, he ordered Wu Yuan to personally lead Song Dachui and the other four men in patrolling the village's outskirts. If they discovered anything amiss, they were to withdraw immediately.
Then he ordered Qin Yidao and ten Elite Archers to enter the small fort and undergo enhancement through the Great Horned Deer's demon soul. As for the other elite soldiers, they were to hurry and continue reinforcing and strengthening the fort's defenses.
The reason was that the enemy's strength was unknown. It was best to take a defensive stance, which made ten captain-level archers extremely important.
Only then did Zhang Yang truly calm himself and analyze the causes and consequences of the matter.
First, the masters of those three imps were certainly bound to Village Building Orders. In other words, they were definitely his competitors and enemies.
Second, being able to reach out with their feelers on the very day the deer demon's forces were destroyed meant that the other side had known of the deer demon's existence long ago. The two sides might have been evenly matched, which was why neither had dared act rashly.
Finally, now that the deer demon's forces had been wiped out and the strength of his village had been thoroughly investigated, the enemy might very well seize the opportunity to launch a lightning-fast attack and catch him off guard.
Or, even if the enemy was not in such a hurry to attack, this war was still absolutely unavoidable. In other words, this mysterious enemy would definitely attack. The only question was whether they would use elite troops for a lightning raid, or send a great army rolling over them like a crushing tide.
"It's already too late to make an Imprisonment Spear. If the enemy's army has really already set out, then luckily, I still have a trump card."
Zhang Yang took a deep breath, then turned his gaze toward the results of Wu Yuan and the others' hard work yesterday.
A full three hundred cut arrow shafts, one hundred polished fangs, and trimmed Red Eagle feathers—every material had been prepared. The only thing missing was connecting these three materials together and forming them into a whole.
He did not know what kind of glue was used to make arrows on Earth, but it was obvious that Wu Yuan, Qin Yidao, and the others had no way to connect these materials and turn them into weapons with real combat power.
Picking up one of the cut arrow shafts, Zhang Yang nodded to himself. Wu Yuan's cutting skills were beyond reproach, at least at the master level. The shaft was one meter and thirty centimeters long, three centimeters in diameter, and heavy enough that an ordinary soldier could use it as a short spear. Yet this was merely an arrow shaft for a captain-level archer. From this, one could tell just how powerful it would be once successfully made.
Without immediately using magic power, Zhang Yang first used his Soul Force Field to nourish the arrow shafts one by one. Based on his previous experience, this could also significantly improve the material of the shafts. Connecting them with magic power afterward would then be easier.
After nourishing thirty arrow shafts in one go, Zhang Yang picked up a polished fang arrowhead.
The Azure Wolf Demon was enormous. Especially when first seen, it often seemed even larger and more terrifying because of the panic it inspired. Zhang Yang had once thought that the Azure Wolf's fangs were at least as long as an arm. In reality, the longest fang he saw now was only about thirty centimeters. After being polished into a Wolf Fang Arrowhead, only ten centimeters remained.
Even so, the Wolf Fang Arrowhead was extraordinarily sharp and had tremendous armor-piercing ability.
With an ordinary wolf fang, one could simply insert it into the arrow shaft. If it were an iron arrowhead, it could also be fitted over the shaft.
But the teeth of this wolf demon were over five centimeters in diameter. Even polishing their outer shape had taken tremendous effort. Yesterday, Qin Yidao and the others had spent half a day and a whole night grinding them against a large stone before producing one hundred fangs. Every one of them was exhausted to the point of stinking. Their physical abilities were equivalent to those of five or six adult Earth humans, so one could hardly expect them to perform any finer polishing.
"Hmm. The arrow shaft can be nourished with soul power, but the arrowhead has to be grooved with magic power. With my 0.01 units of magic power, I estimate I can make only ten Wolf Fang Arrows."
Zhang Yang thought rapidly as his Soul Force Field spread open. A strand of magic power clung to the arrow shaft. He aligned it with one end of the Wolf Fang Arrowhead and pressed lightly. The hard fang became as soft as tofu.
When he withdrew the Soul Force Field and retracted his magic power, the Wolf Fang Arrowhead and arrow shaft had already fused together perfectly.
Zhang Yang then took a Red Eagle feather. Even after being trimmed, the thing was as large as both of a person's palms. A faint red radiance seemed to flow across it. This was Demonic Energy contained within it, making it a supreme material for crafting fletching. To be honest, how powerful the Wolf Fang Arrow would be, and whether it could fly fast enough and accurately enough, all depended on this fletching.
Thus, Zhang Yang did not dare be careless. With his Soul Force Field enveloping it, he gripped the arrow shaft in one hand and the Red Eagle feather in the other. He released a trace of magic power, and the feather sliced into the shaft.
Finally, he carefully inspected it with threads of soul power. Finding no problems, he could finally consider the Wolf Fang Arrow complete.
"I'll make as many as I can."
Zhang Yang raised his head and looked at the sky, then glanced at the ten Elite Archers inside the small fort who were about to finish their enhancement. Each person would need to be given three Wolf Fang Arrows.
Before you continue