Castle Upgrade

Watching the wheel spin slower and slower, Reiner could not help widening his eyes. He kept muttering, "Afs, Afs!"

His speech was so fast that he even pronounced Afs as "F4," though that was actually the correct pronunciation.

As the pointer drew closer and closer to General Afs, Reiner could not help holding his breath. Immense joy filled his heart.

His face broke into a radiant, chrysanthemum-like smile, grinning so widely that his eyes vanished. But just as he was basking in his triumph, the system dealt him a devastating blow.

The nearly motionless wheel proved unbelievably tenacious. Even after losing almost all its momentum, it continued struggling to spin.

Reiner could only watch helplessly as the pointer slowly swept past the space occupied by General Afs. No matter how desperately he wanted to stop it, he could not make the pointer return to General Afs's position.

Only after passing General Afs did the pointer finally come to a powerless, sluggish stop.

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained the hero character Lord Reyland from the Calradia Continent. He was once a lord of the Rhodok Kingdom and an excellent infantry commander. He repeatedly led the Rhodok Kingdom's Spearmen and crossbowmen to rout the Swadian Kingdom's forces, whose main strength consisted of knights. Loyalty: 80. Overall evaluation: Four stars."

The system's electronic voice sounded in Reiner's ears. He was still immersed in the despair of losing General Afs and only came to his senses after a while.

"Damn! Today is a Mount & Blade special! Why are all the hero characters from the Calradia Continent?" Reiner also had some impression of Lord Reyland.

When he played Mount & Blade, he had joined the "great" Harlaus's forces. Whenever he used Swadian Kingdom troops, he often met his end in the Rhodok Kingdom's endless mountain ranges.

Lord Reyland would also often appear among the armies besieging him. Thus, after seeing the name Lord Reyland, he immediately recalled the days when he had "dominated" the Calradia Continent.

As a "great adventurer," what had he not done? Stolen cattle, burned villages, had his skull smashed by sea raiders... fought off the sea raiders' invasions..."

"Lord Reyland... Forget it. He was still a hero character rated four stars, so this is pretty good!" Reiner felt a sense of loss and could only console himself weakly.

After a while, however, Reiner still felt that this draw had not been a loss. Although General Afs was powerful, he was also someone he could only admire from afar. Lord Reyland was not as dazzling, but he was still extremely capable.

Thinking about it carefully, one had to know how to be content. Reiner was already very satisfied to have drawn such a hero character.

With his mindset settled, Reiner continued checking the other options. He chose to materialize Reiland tomorrow and bring him under his command in a reasonable manner.

Reiner still had a Castle Upgrade Card that he had not used. He really wanted to know what Morland Castle would become after being upgraded.

A Castle Upgrade Card was not some worthless item. The one Reiner had obtained was a Level One Castle Upgrade Card, merely the lowest-grade upgrade card. In the system shop, it cost a full one thousand Merit Points.

The highest-grade, Level Five Upgrade Card required five thousand Merit Points to exchange for. Even after Reiner had gone through two battles and completed a merit mission, he had accumulated only a little over seven hundred Merit Points.

That was not even enough to exchange for one Castle Upgrade Card. Then again, if all seven hundred-plus Merit Points were used to exchange for Crimson Gryphon Knights, he could obtain thirty-five of them. Including the number he already had, that would give him exactly forty Crimson Gryphon Knights. With their combat strength, those mere forty men could even charge into a thousand-man formation.

Clearly, however, the system was not going to let Reiner exploit that loophole. Once the number of Crimson Gryphon Knights exceeded fifty, the exchange price would rise by ten points. In other words, once their number exceeded fifty, each additional knight would cost thirty Merit Points.

"System, how do I use this Castle Upgrade Card? Does it require construction time after use, or is it completed immediately?" Reiner asked.

"Once the Castle Upgrade Card is used, it takes effect immediately, upgrading the current castle to a Level One Castle. It will also make everyone accept the castle's changes by altering their memories," the system said in its cold electronic voice.

Reiner raised his eyebrows. He had not expected this seemingly unimpressive system to be so powerful. It could even alter memories.

"Very good. Use the Level One Castle Upgrade Card immediately. Use it on Morland Castle!"

"As you command, my lord. Please choose an upgrade direction."

"Option One: Military Castle. The next level is Fortress."

"Option Two: Town. The next level is City."

Reiner furrowed his brows. This truly was a problem.

He found the choice somewhat difficult. A Military Castle had extremely strong defenses, with tall walls, arrow towers, and other defensive facilities. However, it could not accommodate residents and could only house the essential personnel.

A city, on the other hand, had few defensive measures, possessing only a single layer of walls. But it could accommodate a large population and develop commerce, bringing enormous economic benefits. It was a difficult choice.

After careful deliberation, Reiner ultimately chose Military Castle. After all, the environment in the empire's Northern Frontier was unsuitable for commercial development. Upgrading to a city would only allow it to accommodate more people, and he was currently troubled by having too few people. He had no need to consider accommodating more residents.

Moreover, the Northern Frontier often faced attacks from the Krad People. Choosing a Military Castle with military functions was more suitable.

"The upgrade direction is Military Castle. Begin the upgrade!" Reiner said.

"Yes. The upgrade direction is Military Castle. The upgrade has begun!"

As the system's voice fell, Reiner could feel time itself stop. He discovered that everything except him had ceased moving. He could clearly see dust suspended in the air. Even the flames in the fireplace remained exactly as they had been a moment ago, standing motionless inside it like a sculpture.

Reiner only saw a flash of light before his eyes, and then time began flowing again. By then, however, his room had already changed considerably. Although the basic furnishings remained the same, the structure had undergone subtle changes, and the area had also grown much larger.

"Castle upgrade successful. Morland Castle is currently a Level One Castle."

After the system's electronic voice ended, silence filled the room. Then Morland Castle's miniature map appeared before Reiner. Looking over the entire bedroom, Reiner wore a smug smile. With a system like this, he felt that his future was bright.

Morland Castle's area had now nearly doubled. The walls had reached a height of six meters. Although that could not be considered tall, and it was nothing compared to the famous walls of Reiner's previous life, among the small territories in the Northern Frontier, they were already among the best.