Daily Spear Crafting

"This quarry is a bit of a mixed blessing for me right now!"

Back at the quarry, Zhang Yang felt a bit conflicted. It was too far from his village, about 8 kilometers away. If he were to really conduct daily mining operations, he'd need to assign at least forty captains there, otherwise, safety wouldn't be guaranteed.

"Wu Yuan, have your men each carry one stone block and head back. We'll deal with this place later."

Ultimately, Zhang Yang made his decision.

Right now, there were several urgent matters to address in his village; the quarry wasn't a priority.

The journey back to the village was uneventful, after all, being the local bully wasn't just for show.

Upon returning, Zhang Yang first checked on the construction of the new residential buildings. He was afraid that the instructor, Qin Ge, was a big swindler. If that guy really dared to cheat him out of his energy—well, there didn't seem to be any other solution besides killing him, given that this guy came with the building itself, unlike soldiers recruited directly from the Village Building Order who were 100% loyal and wouldn't hesitate even if asked to die.

Moreover, if he really killed Instructor Qin Ge, Zhang Yang suspected his Training Ground would be completely useless.

"Hmm? Not bad at all!"

Arriving at the construction site for the new residential buildings, Zhang Yang was surprised. Everything was orderly, and both the artisans and the soldiers assigned to manual labor were working rhythmically. As for instructor Qin Ge, he was leading Zhao Tiezhu and nine other artisans, skillfully cutting various types of wood.

So Zhang Yang turned to the nearby Level 5 residential building and recruited ten more artisans from the third-generation residents, sending them directly to the site. You have such an opportunity to learn a skill, are you worthy of the title of artisan if you don't?

Next, Zhang Yang deliberated for a long time before recruiting ten more farmers, all male, from the third-generation residents. Actually, as long as they didn't marry, they could also be recruited as new recruits without losing loyalty.

But once they became new recruits, they couldn't marry, at least not for now.

So, for the sake of future population numbers and individual quality, he had to firmly and resolutely reject the "mass soldier" approach. What a load of nonsense!

He had to pursue the path of elite and strong soldiers, where every soldier could fight ten, even a hundred!

"The new residential buildings will take at most 5 days to complete, then we can start building the Ancestral Temple. With the Ancestral Temple, I can purchase Level 3 Invisibility Talismans, Level 3 Protection Talismans, and Level 3 Vision Talismans. We can equip the patrol teams with them, and combined with the two Ghost Eyes generated daily by the Ghost Priest, the village's outer warning and patrol network will initially take shape. At the very least, we won't be caught unaware if some brat from another family sneaks up close to snoop around."

"Next is the cultivation of farmland. Who can eat from ten mu of wheat fields? So, we need to continue cultivating farmland, at least on a scale of 200 mu. The soldiers will have to work hard, so one farmer can probably tend to 5 mu of land. 200 mu will require 40 farmers. It looks like I'll have to round up all the third-generation residents."

"Finally, there's the expansion of the soldiers' combat power. Besides the archer captains, all other spearmen and shieldbearers must master the spear-throwing skill. I can craft Imprisonment Spears for them. From now on, every infantry captain must be equipped with 3, no, at least 5 Imprisonment Spears."

"Although this might seem wasteful, even extravagant, I'm not afraid of waste. Someone like Wu Yuan, using only five Imprisonment Spears, was able to forcefully kill a hero. That's incredibly cost-effective."

"It's foreseeable that if all forty-plus infantry captains under my command are equipped with 5 Imprisonment Spears, and each of their throwing skills reaches Wu Yuan's level, then their combat power would allow them to annihilate more than three times their number of enemies of the same tier, meaning at least 150 captain-level soldiers. Magic truly changes the future!"

"It's just that I might be exhausted like a dog. 42 captains, 5 Imprisonment Spears each, and I also have to find time to research the Iron Wall Battle Rune. Good heavens! This is hardly a life for a human."

After prioritizing his tasks for the foreseeable future, Zhang Yang gave out his orders. Wu Yuan, as a quasi-hero, was highly capable, so entrusting these tasks to him was no problem.

Next, Zhang Yang began the endless, grueling task of crafting wooden spears.

First, he would cultivate the chosen trees into Ironwood, then Wu Yuan would cut them, and then Zhang Yang would enchant them one by one. He was busy from dawn till dusk, only managing to produce ten a day, which was a far cry from his goal.

The only comforting thing was that Zhang Yang's village truly seemed to have become the local bully. Within a five-kilometer radius, there wasn't a single demon's shadow. Occasionally, a few Red Eagle Demons would fly overhead, but they wouldn't dare to linger, fleeing in a hurry.

There was even one day when an unprecedented, giant flying demon, looking very ferocious, appeared. Zhang Yang estimated it was at least Level 25, comparable to a hero-level entity.

But after circling in the sky a few times, this demon still didn't dare to land and instead fled in disarray.

This was because at that time, 24 captain-level archers and 42 infantry captains on the ground were either drawing their bows and nocking arrows, or each holding an Imprisonment Spear, all eyeing the creature menacingly, waiting for it to land.

While this sudden event made Zhang Yang realize how dangerous the outside world was, it also reinforced his conviction that his strategy was correct.

Five days later, the new residential buildings were successfully completed. Although it was only a Level 3 residential building, for Zhang Yang, it was nothing short of a milestone.

So, he specifically paused his spear-crafting to personally offer congratulations.

Compared to the Level 5 residential building, this Level 3 residential building was much simpler. It could accommodate 10 households and contributed 5 points to Village Prosperity.

But an even greater, invisible contribution was that the 19 junior artisans gained varying amounts of proficiency during these five days of construction.

Yes, that's right, people are different, and their comprehension and potential also vary. Among these artisans, only three stood out. Their secondary skill, Building Construction/Repair, which started at 10 proficiency points when they were initially recruited, actually soared to 65, 60, and 55 points respectively.

That's quite impressive. With that level of proficiency, those three could independently construct another Level 3 residential building.

As for the remaining artisans, most only increased their proficiency by 10 to 15 points.

Upon discovering this, Zhang Yang waved his hand and decided to put those three artisans in charge, having them oversee the construction of another Level 3 residential building. After all, that's how talent should be nurtured.

As for the other 16 artisans, Zhang Yang decided to have them continue making feathered arrows and longbows for five days. By then, he would see who had the most potential in that area and continue to cultivate them. Those without potential would all be sent to quarry stone. After all, artisans have many secondary skills, so there's always one that suits them.

Zhang Yang didn't expect any of them to become a versatile genius like Lu Miazi.

One must be content.

After handling the artisan matters, Zhang Yang personally presided over the family division ceremony, distributing this Level 3 residential building to ten promising youths, specifically third-generation residents, including the three young artisans.

That's right, those three outstanding artisans were all third-generation residents, very young, so this was probably not a coincidence. Second-generation residents were a bit older, and their ability to absorb knowledge was much slower.

This was a lesson, and also a lapse in Zhang Yang's consideration. He should have recruited all artisans from the third-generation residents from the beginning and recruited the second-generation residents for other professions. As a result, now 8 second-generation artisan residents would likely become useless.

Unfortunately, what was done could not be undone, and the Village Building Order didn't have an option for job changes.

From this incident, Zhang Yang understood the difference between initial recruitment and normal recruitment.

His initially recruited 500 people would do whatever they were told. For example, telling Wu Yuan, Song Dachui, and the others to fight, fell trees, carry stones, plow fields, or cut grass—he could order them however he pleased, and they wouldn't question it.

But those recruited normally couldn't be treated that way. If he told an artisan to farm, their loyalty would immediately drop, and bribing them with energy wouldn't work.

Instructor Qin Ge was an exception; at least he could be bribed.

So, every time Zhang Yang thought of the soldiers who had died before, his heart ached so much he could barely breathe.

Moreover, he realized the difficulties of the next 300 years!

Yes, the soldiers he recruited from residential buildings in the future wouldn't be so obedient. They wouldn't even be as good as the 50 new recruits that came with the Barracks. They would have all sorts of little temper tantrums, they would slack off, they would be afraid, and they would desert.

"I suddenly understand what the purpose of faith organizations is. It's not just about exchanging and purchasing Invisibility Talismans, Protection Talismans, and Vision Talismans. And, in 20 years, I'll need to pass on all my skills."

Zhang Yang decided he needed to seriously consider what kind of faith organization to establish.