Fortress

Construction on the hill was in full swing. The expanded little fortress was growing at a speed almost visible to the naked eye. At this rate, the small square castle, eighty meters on each side, would be completed by this evening at the latest.

As for why it was so fast?

The answer was simple.

Who had ever seen a fierce man sever a huge tree, thick enough for three people to encircle, with a single slash? And then shave off all its branches in less than a minute?

Duan Kuan, holding a long saber, merely smiled without saying a word.

Who had ever seen a fierce man drive the trunk of a twenty-meter-tall tree, two meters in diameter, seven or eight meters underground with just five hammer blows? The injured Song Dachui smiled without saying a word.

Who had ever seen a fierce man dig out a cubic meter of soil in three seconds with nothing but an iron shovel? Wang Mumu looked down on the matter entirely.

In short, they were only building a castle whose main materials were tree trunks and mud. It was child's play.

But a castle like this was likewise child's play for enemies of the same level. Thus, what truly mattered were the fourteen Captain-Level Soldiers who were archers. Even wounded, they had to stand at the highest point, their sharp gazes catching every suspicious trace.

At that moment, after confirming that the enemy imps' vision was completely blocked, Zhang Yang finally increased the speed at which he nurtured the wood.

Two hours later, a piece of ironwood, even finer in quality than the previous one, was successfully nurtured.

A fine-grade enhanced long saber left only a white line when it struck the wood. In the end, the village's strongest swordsman, Duan Kuan, had to be called upon. Using his Captain-Level enhanced long saber, he hacked away seventy-two times before finally felling the ironwood tree whole.

"Village Chief, this ironwood can be cut into at least fifteen wooden spears and thirty arrow shafts."

After reporting, Wu Yuan immediately began working. He borrowed Duan Kuan's saber, because none of the other long sabers could cut the wood.

Zhang Yang was already exhausted by then, but he still leaned against the Wood Demon Tower and quietly considered whether he had overlooked anything.

While pretending to be busy, he was also doing his best to think about that mysterious enemy and the deer demon.

For example, what had the deer demon relied on to keep that mysterious enemy in check back then, allowing the two sides to remain superficially peaceful?

"It should have been Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry. In open terrain, they really are the natural enemy of archers and infantry. On top of that, the deer demon had summoning spells, including an ultimate move that could summon a Level 5 Abyssal Fiend, as well as a body so powerful it could charge recklessly into battle."

"Suppose it had built its village on flat ground with a broad field of vision, and all the surrounding trees had been cleared. Then, with just a hundred Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry, at least my current twenty Captain-Level Soldiers wouldn't dare provoke it. No—without at least fifty Captain-Level Soldiers, I'd have to be an idiot to go into wide-open plains and clash head-on with that kind of Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry."

Zhang Yang could not help recalling the more than one hundred Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry that had appeared in yesterday's battle. They had died miserably because this was a hill, thick with trees, leaving them no room to charge. Then the wooden spears had been hurled at them, blasting them to pieces head-on.

But if they had been on flat ground, believe it or not, even the fortress Zhang Yang was expanding now would not have withstood their charge.

"So that explains it too. Even though it knew an evenly matched enemy was watching from the side, the deer demon still dared lead its troops to attack me. It simply wasn't worried about its lair being raided."

"And likewise, this explains why that mysterious enemy sent imps to find me on the very day the deer demon died. That definitely wasn't a coincidence. The deer demon and the mysterious enemy must have been on guard against each other all along, which was why it intervened in this war so quickly."

"Hmm, there's also this. The deer demon is dead, and its Village Building Order has dropped, but will the village it built simply disappear? That's unlikely, right? This isn't a game."

"Before setting out yesterday, the deer demon must have left behind heroes or Captain-Level Soldiers capable of commanding troops in its old nest. It must also have left behind at least a hundred Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry. So, have those little deer demons already turned into wild monsters? Just like those stragglers I hunted before?"

At that thought, Zhang Yang's heart stirred. Organized wild monsters—and from the deer demon's old nest, too. There had to be plenty of benefits.

Then he thought of something else. If a human village from the past had perished, would the soldiers under it who had survived likewise become wild monsters, wandering the wilderness? If he encountered them, could he recruit them?

"What a pity. The wild monsters left behind by the deer demon this time will certainly be devoured completely by that mysterious enemy. And I still have to prepare for this desperate last stand. Perhaps the only thing worth celebrating is that the mysterious enemy's main force must be busy wiping out and consuming the wild monsters left by the deer demon. It won't appear today. Maybe not tomorrow either. But the day after tomorrow, it will definitely come killing."

"I hope I can still make it in time. After all, the only forces capable of being countered by the deer demon's Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry are infantry and archers. So my mysterious enemy is definitely skilled at mountain warfare. That's my true life-and-death enemy. If I can win this battle, only then can my village officially become the overlord of this region."

After sorting all this out, Zhang Yang was physically and mentally exhausted, yet he still felt a surge of heroic fervor unlike anything before. He remembered how pitiful he had been when he first descended here—terrified and uneasy day after day, relying entirely on his soldiers to hack out a path to survival with their lives, one after another. Only then had he managed to obtain this barely adequate foothold.

Yesterday's battle with the deer demon had been a matter of life and death, because he had had no way out.

But the battle ahead would determine the village's future development.

Whoever lost between him and that mysterious enemy would lose the right to control this region.

Only by winning this battle could he develop his village and farm in peace.

Throughout the following day, the enemy indeed did not appear again, just as Zhang Yang had expected. After all, the deer demon had possessed a Level 3 Village Building Order, so its inheritance was bound to be extraordinarily rich.

If the deer demon's subordinates had all turned into wild monsters after its death, they certainly would not be easy to deal with. Even if that mysterious enemy had great resolve and attacked with its entire army, taking them down in a short time would not be easy.

Zhang Yang was merely worried that after obtaining the deer demon's inheritance, the mysterious enemy would concoct some other evil and terrifying ultimate move.

Fortunately, his own side was developing quite well too.

The little fortress had officially finished expanding before evening. It had taken shape against the hill, creating a position at least forty or fifty meters above the surrounding ground. For Zhang Yang's side, which now possessed fourteen Captain-Level archers, this was an enormous advantage.

You want to trade shots? I won't shoot you to death!

However, the fortress could actually still be widened and reinforced. By then, that mysterious enemy would truly have no choice but to launch a frontal assault.

"Looks like I need to hurry and make some Wolf Fang Arrows. After all, I have no idea how large that mysterious enemy's forces will become after it receives the deer demon's inheritance."

Zhang Yang gazed at the pitch-black night sky and sighed. Just then, a message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Successfully constructed a Level 1 Fortress. Completion: 80%. Would you like to add this building to the Village Building Order system? Note: Adding it to the Village Building Order system will not affect further improvements. Once completion reaches 100%, the fortress will upgrade to Level 2.

"Yes." Zhang Yang was slightly stunned, then agreed. The next second, several more messages appeared.

Level 1 Fortress added to the Village Building Order system. Since this is the first self-built village, Village Prosperity has been unlocked. Note: Every 10 points of Village Prosperity increase Village Livability by 1 point; every 100 points of Village Prosperity increase Village Cohesion by 1 point; every 1,000 points of Village Prosperity increase Legend Value by 1 point.

The village currently possesses four buildings. Village Prosperity +13 (special building Wood Demon Tower +10). Village Livability +1 (Note: Once Livability reaches 1,000, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, fires, and droughts will not occur here).

Artisan Zhao Tiezhu witnessed and participated in the construction of the Level 1 Fortress. He gained 10 points of Construction Proficiency.

Artisan Zhao Tiezhu participated in manufacturing 100 ordinary feathered arrows. He gained 10 points of Bow-and-Crossbow Manufacturing Proficiency.

Artisan Zhao Tiezhu's primary skills, Repair and Manufacturing, each gained 2 points of proficiency.