The rewards for killing monsters were pretty good.
They often dropped decent equipment and items.
Unfortunately, no more Soldier Recruitment Scrolls dropped.
As Zong Shen took stock of the rewards,
he began to consider what to do next.
"Looks like once my soldiers have grown into a sizable force, I'll be able to organize nighttime hunts!"
"At night, when all these beasts are restless, it's dangerous—but it's also an opportunity!"
Before going to bed yesterday, he'd already noticed in the Chat Channel that almost everyone on the World Channel had encountered the beasts' nighttime frenzy.
It was as if the system had deliberately set up an obstacle to prevent lords from exploring at night and limit the time they had to develop.
Obviously, the entire continent couldn't be experiencing the beasts' nighttime frenzy.
Still, it was a great opportunity to hunt outside the territory and obtain rewards and food.
As the lords grew stronger, night wouldn't be able to stop them from exploring.
Zong Shen needed to get ahead of the curve and gain as much as he could before circumstances changed.
He casually took out a wooden bucket, turned it upside down on the ground to use as a chair, and plopped down on it.
As the night wore on, the commotion outside the territory gradually began to die down.
Zong Shen started looking through the rewards he'd gotten earlier.
[Tough Wolf Skin Armor] [Quality: Common] [Body Armor: 21] [Durability: 90] [Strength Requirement: 6] (A decent wolf skin armor. It's plain, but offers good protection.)
It was a great piece of upper-body armor, much better than the leather short-sleeved shirt.
Zong Shen put it on immediately.
[Stiff Short Bow] [Quality: Common] [Piercing Damage: 23] [Accuracy: 91] [Power Draw Requirement: 1] [Agility Requirement: 4] (A basic bow. Too bad your Power Draw skill isn't high enough.)
Zong Shen had been thinking of keeping a bow on hand so he could use the Cruel Blood-Burning Arrow when necessary.
Unfortunately, his Power Draw skill was still at 0, so he couldn't meet the equipment requirement.
He put away the short bow and started examining the last two special rewards.
As for the beast hides and bones, he wasn't interested in checking those. Most of them came with a prompt saying they could be used as raw materials for equipment or weapons.
Once the Tier 1 Blacksmith Shop and Tier 1 Tailor Shop were built, he might be able to put them to use.
Alternatively, he could list them on the market as raw materials.
However, a Tier 1 Market only had three listing slots. He still needed to focus on selling Moon Spring Water to rake in the other lords' wealth.
[Primary Elemental Crystal] [A crystal containing elemental power] [Ten Primary Elemental Crystals can be combined into one Intermediate Elemental Crystal] [Can be used to construct elemental buildings or forge elemental weapons and armor] (One of the most important resources, and a hard currency in the mid and late game.)
Zong Shen now had two Primary Elemental Crystals.
One had come from the supply tent at the Bandit Camp.
The other had dropped from a beast tonight.
That left just one last special item.
It was also the item he was most interested in.
[Nord Shadow Scout Class Change Scroll (Green)] [Scouts who walk in the shadows have powerful stealth, tracking, and reconnaissance abilities. They are the shadow guardians of the Nord Kingdom.] [The class change scroll can be used by any non-lord basic humanoid unit.] [Upon successful use, the unit's attributes will increase and they will learn the corresponding skills and gain experience.] (Congratulations! Shadow Scouts can greatly assist you in exploring the wilderness and expanding your territory. At the very least, their stealth is far better than that of Wolf Cavalry.)
Being a scout was hard work.
Scouts were also the eyes of the entire territory as it explored the world beyond.
Colby and Luna were already well-trained warriors, so they weren't suited to changing to a different class. Even if they did, the benefits and improvements would be extremely limited.
The eleven Farmers under his command, on the other hand, were ideal candidates.
They were like blank slates, with plenty of potential to develop.
But who should he choose?
The most talented Farmers were San Pang and the seven who had joined later.
Unfortunately, the newcomers' Loyalty was generally still low.
If he hastily gave one of them a class change scroll, there was no telling what might happen.
A Loyalty score in the sixties was only just above the passing mark.
By comparison, the three simple-minded Farmers seemed more reliable.
Tie Zhu was the most talented among them.
He had ordinary potential.
It wasn't as good as excellent potential, but it was respectable enough.
As for San Pang, who had excellent potential, Zong Shen could train him later, once his Loyalty had risen.
After thinking it over, Zong Shen decided to use the scroll on Tie Zhu.
He went to the thatched shed where Tie Zhu was resting and gently shook him awake.
"L-Lord..."
"What do you need, my lord?"
Tie Zhu rubbed his eyes. When he saw Zong Shen, he quickly asked in a quiet voice.
Zong Shen beckoned to him.
"Come with me."
At Zong Shen's words, Tie Zhu carefully stepped over the Farmer beside him, left the shed, and walked out to the clearing.
Zong Shen held the class change scroll and looked at him with a smile.
"In light of your performance, I'm going to grant you power."
"From this day onward, you'll become a scout who walks in the shadows, the shadow that protects our territory."
"Are you willing?"
When Tie Zhu saw the class change scroll, he was instantly overcome with excitement.
He quickly dropped to his knees before Zong Shen.
"I'm willing to give my life for you, my lord!"
Zong Shen nodded.
"Very good!"
As soon as he spoke, he activated the class change scroll.
A green light rose from Tie Zhu.
His appearance changed as well.
His gray hemp clothes turned into a tight-fitting black outfit. A black leather cap and a strange pair of goggles appeared on his head.
A sharp, pitch-black dagger hung on either side of his waist.
His whole demeanor changed, and he looked much more alert.
His eyes, in particular, were as sharp and keen as a hawk's.
He bowed again.
"Your servant Tie Zhu will follow you to the death, my lord!"
[Thanks to the power you granted him] [Tie Zhu's Loyalty to you increased by 10. Current Loyalty: 98]
Zong Shen smiled with the pride of a doting father and started looking over Tie Zhu's attributes.
[Nord Shadow Scout: Tie Zhu] [Potential: Ordinary] [Level: lv1] [Attributes: (Click to expand)] [Hunger: 83] [Loyalty: 98]
He clicked to view the detailed attributes.
[Strength: 12] [Agility: 18] [Intelligence: 9] [Charisma: 9] [Health: 185] [Piercing Damage: 37] [Head Armor: 11] [Upper Body Armor: 18] [Lower Body Armor: 8] [Magic Resistance: 0] [Skills: Shadow Incarnation (Merges with the shadows to hide. Duration: 3m. Cooldown: 5m), Dual Dagger Stab (Instantly draws daggers and stabs an enemy twice, dealing double piercing damage. Cooldown: 1h), Passive Skill—Shadow Walk (Movement speed increases by 20% while moving through shadows and darkness)]
Daily update schedule:
Two chapters: 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Three chapters: 8 a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Four chapters: 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m.
I'm working hard to build up a backlog. For now, I'm posting two chapters a day, and I'll post three once the story is featured.
Before you continue