Insect Startled by the Bow

After resting for a full hour, Zhang Yang took out several dozen units of wolf demon meat and bear demon meat, roasted them over the campfire until they were half-cooked, and let all the soldiers feast.

At this point, he still wanted to recruit a cook, but in the end he decisively gave up. He had decided not to touch his precious nine recruitment slots anymore and save them for emergencies.

Fortunately, the half-cooked barbecue did not affect the delicious quality of the demon meat. It tasted excellent. The only problem was that after eating demon meat, none of the common Fantasy World tropes appeared—no burning heat spreading through the body, no rebirth, no dramatic increase in strength.

"I really hope I entered a fake Fantasy World!"

Zhang Yang chuckled and mocked himself. His mindset had adjusted well by now. Of course, perhaps that was the effect of his B-grade soul, making his ability to withstand pressure exceptionally strong.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, they set out. Zhang Yang brought only Spearman Captain Wu Yuan, three Elite Archers, five Sword and Shield Soldiers, and five Spearmen, fifteen men in total. All the remaining soldiers stayed behind at the temporary base. There was only one entrance and exit there; as long as it was blocked with stones and tree trunks, they could hold out for some time even if demons attacked.

They used the same method as before: activate Level One Concealment and Level One Vision, lock onto the demons' positions, then quietly creep over, ambush them, and wipe them out. The results were astonishingly good.

After all, Zhang Yang now had a Spearman Captain. This sort of trump-card combat power was simply exhilarating.

Thus, over the next two hours, they killed four Level 3 Wild Ox Demons, two Level 2 Wild Boar Demons, one Level 4 Black Panther Demon, and another Level 1 Azure Wolf Demon.

It was as if Zhang Yang's good luck had finally arrived. Every demon they encountered was a minor one. Of course, that might also have been because the strongest demons in this area had been the two Spider Lords.

Eight minor demons brought him four Elite Spearmen and four Elite Sword and Shield Soldiers. At this point, the military strength under Zhang Yang's command had expanded to an unprecedented level.

One Captain-Level Soldier and eleven elite soldiers—if his Imprisonment Skill was included as well, he was truly strong in troops and horses.

"More or less enough. We can head back."

Zhang Yang was in an excellent mood, but he did not lose himself in pride just because his combat power had risen. Night would fall in another two or three hours, and there were no yellow or red light points within Level One Vision. He decided to end today's hunt and reinforce the temporary underground camp before sunset.

Nothing unexpected happened on the way back. Only when they were nearing the underground camp did Zhang Yang look around at the trees in confusion. If he remembered correctly, before encountering the Spider Lord that morning, at least a third of the trees here had been twisted and grotesque, while the grass on the ground had looked half-dead.

But perhaps it was an illusion. In only half an afternoon, the trees and grass here seemed to have grown far more lush.

"What vigorous life. The Primeval Forest really does whatever it wants."

Zhang Yang did not take it to heart. They were only flowers and grass, after all.

"Chop trees! Chop trees! Seal every entrance around this place for me! The forest is dangerous at night. Prepare more campfires. When those demons come, kill every one of them!"

Zhang Yang loudly gave the orders, sending all the soldiers into action to turn the underground camp into an impregnable fortress.

After that, he activated Level One Vision once every half hour. He would not lower his guard. Besides, he had more than enough energy now. After deducting the cost of training elite soldiers, he still had 850 points of energy in hand.

Two hours later, the sun disappeared. The forest darkened and became incomparably silent. Zhang Yang climbed out of the deep pit one last time and activated Level One Vision. Strangely enough, there was nothing at all, as if every demon had hidden away.

That was when Zhang Yang felt that something was wrong. According to the natural laws of living creatures, some beasts should have become more active after nightfall. Yet now, there was not even the chirping of a single insect. The entire forest was steeped in deathly stillness.

"Village Chief, it seems to be getting foggy in the forest. I feel as though something ill-intentioned is watching us."

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan stood beside Zhang Yang, his expression grave.

The moment he said that, a chill raced over Zhang Yang's scalp.

"Back! Block the entrance!"

As he nearly ran into the underground camp, Zhang Yang seemed to hear some sort of creaking sound coming from far away, but he could not tell what it was.

"This forest is too damn sinister. Block it! Block the entrance!"

The soldiers brought over huge stones and tree trunks, sealing the entrance with layer after layer. Zhang Yang was still uneasy. He felt as though he was about to become an insect startled by the twang of a bowstring.

"No, I need to upgrade the Village Building Order."

Zhang Yang muttered to himself. One could never let down one's guard. He had enough energy now and an opportunity to upgrade the Village Building Order, so why not upgrade it?

A trump card could not lay eggs if he kept it in reserve. Whether it was worth it or not, he had to do it.

He still had a damaged Fantasy Village Building Order that had dropped after killing the Spider Lord. If used by itself, the chance of a successful upgrade was 55%.

He also had a damaged Spider Tribe Civilization Code Blueprint. Adding this item could raise the success rate to 65%.

The remaining 35% would have to be piled up with energy.

One hundred points of energy could raise the success rate by 5%. He needed a total of 700 points of energy to reach a one-hundred-percent success rate, and Zhang Yang still had 845 points of energy. What else was there to say? Upgrade it!

"Buzz."

A strange rhythm pulsed through Zhang Yang's heart. Then, the two Fantasy Village Building Orders in his hand automatically floated into the air.

Twisting, winding lines began to peel away from them. At a glance, they looked like two balls of yarn.

Zhang Yang stared wide-eyed, hoping to discern some clue, but unfortunately, only a few seconds later, the lines and patterns extracted from the two Village Building Orders filled his entire field of vision. Then those lines and patterns began to combine and connect on their own. Forget whether he could understand the countless transformations—he could not even see them clearly anymore.

The combinations and connections had become incredibly fast, rising from dozens and hundreds of line combinations per second to tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, per second.

In the end, after ten seconds, all the lines and patterns vanished as if it had all been an illusion. The Fantasy Village Building Order in Zhang Yang's hand had upgraded successfully just like that, yet he could not even tell what had changed.

Blinking, Zhang Yang opened the status panel in his vision.

Fantasy Village Building Order (White)

Energy: 145

Status: Semi-activated (some functions may be used without placement)

Available Trait: Level 2 Concealment (after activation, can conceal an area of twenty square meters; consumes 5 energy per minute; becomes ineffective when dangerous targets approach within 10 meters)

Available Trait: Level 2 Protection (after activation, forms a fixed defensive energy barrier covering an area of twenty square meters, with slightly improved defensive effect; consumes 5 energy per minute; when broken, instantly consumes 10 energy to self-destruct, causing a stunning effect on all targets within a 30-meter diameter)

Available Trait: Level 2 Vision (after activation, can scan all dangerous targets within a two-kilometer diameter, distinguishing them as green/safe, yellow/dangerous, red/extremely dangerous, and purple/fatal; activation costs 20 energy and lasts 10 seconds)

Available Function: Recruitment (available recruitment slots: 9)

Other Functions: Please place the Village Building Order and establish a village to use.

Overall, Zhang Yang was quite satisfied with the upgraded Village Building Order, especially Level 2 Concealment and Level 2 Protection. Their coverage had increased from ten square meters to twenty square meters, meaning he could protect more ordinary soldiers in battle. After all, he only had nine precious recruitment slots left. Every soldier was now his most valuable asset, and he could no longer squander them as recklessly as before.

"I wonder whether placing the Village Building Order and establishing a village would increase the number of recruitment slots?"

Zhang Yang could not help thinking about it, but then he reconsidered. There was no point. Even if he were going to place the Village Building Order, he would never build a village in this extremely dangerous forest. Wouldn't that be courting death?

So the priority was still to improve his soldiers' strength and leave this damned Primeval Forest as quickly as possible. Once they got outside, they could naturally make long-term plans.

Now that he had upgraded the Village Building Order, Zhang Yang finally felt much more secure. He could attack when advancing and defend when retreating. All that remained was to wait for demons to come knocking and offer up their heads. Hahaha!