Massive Expansion!

"In any case, let's put this task aside for now."

The mission rewards were certainly rich, but it was also clear that he couldn't complete it at the moment.

Colin immediately shifted his focus away from that, taking stock of his other gains.

This time, he had acquired a total of thirty-nine servants, plus the four survivors, bringing the total to forty-three people.

When added to Colin's own team, the number of people under his control reached fifty-seven.

The headcount had practically exploded in an instant!

However, compared to the expansion in numbers, the more important items were the nine Hurricane Lamps, nine Synthesis Tables, and nine Parchments.

These items were the absolute priority for expansion.

Colin took out a slightly broken chair and sat down right there in the wilderness, narrowing his eyes as he fell into deep thought:

"If a Synthesis Table is used to synthesize 'normal' blood once, then that table has triggered the condition for synthesizing normal blood."

"It has already been confirmed that servants themselves can use the Synthesis Table."

"This means these nine Hurricane Lamps don't have to be limited to just a few people like the team led by Number One; they can be expanded into large squads, with each squad organized just like mine, consisting of fourteen people!"

Colin's eyes narrowed, his breathing hitching slightly. He hadn't realized it until he calculated it, but the result was staggering: ten squads, each with fourteen people, totaling over 140 individuals. His manpower had instantly increased nearly tenfold.

This immediately solved his urgent problem of being unable to multitask while mining.

Thinking of this, Colin looked at the other survivors with a sense of gratitude.

Truly, a helping hand in a time of need is a rare treasure!

However, the four of them couldn't help but shiver in unison, feeling a chill run down their spines.

Come to think of it, why do I feel like I've suddenly become stronger without doing anything? Colin muttered to himself.

He continued his train of thought. The friend function of the Parchment (which only allowed adding friends if both parties were nearby to take out their Parchments) would allow him to implement remote material transfers, enabling him to accept private trades from afar even if he wasn't at the mining site.

To put it simply, Colin could arrange for several squads to mine here, and once they finished, he could have them send the items directly via the friend list in the personal channel.

As long as they mined quickly, Colin could essentially maintain infinite firepower on the front lines without any worries.

"The only risk here is that servants don't have the authority to operate the Parchment; the trading process requires a survivor to transfer the explosives into their own backpack before they can be sent over."

This was the only risky part of the entire plan.

However, this risk was controllable because servants could also see the contents of the Parchment.

Furthermore, due to the nature of their absolute loyalty, he could effectively prevent them from doing anything harmful to him, avoiding potential dangers.

"I'll leave three to five squads at the mining site, along with a corresponding number of Synthesis Tables and two Parchments—one for regular use and one as a backup. This place is the top priority and must be strictly controlled."

"Then, I can liberate myself, leave this place, and borrow some territory to modify a War Chariot to steamroll through Crow Mountain forest."

"I remember the War Chariot requires a large amount of iron ore."

"But it's been a while; those miners should have dug up some ore by now."

"Oh, right, there's still room for improvement in squad composition. After this trip, I feel like sixteen or seventeen people might actually be better: four three-man squads, one Lamp Bearer, and three Lamp Guards."

Colin roughly planned out the upcoming arrangements, but then he suddenly remembered something else.

This wasn't the only group that had come to offer him a helping hand.

With this area settled, it seemed there were four other directions from which people were approaching.

It probably wouldn't be long before they neared this area.

Even if there was only one person in each group, that would give Colin four more squads, increasing his combat strength by over fifty people.

They were delivering their heads from thousands of miles away; Colin didn't even know how to thank them for their kindness.

As for the food issue, he wasn't too worried. The current supplies were enough to last a day, and a day was enough for him to get a lot done.

Even if it couldn't last a day, he could always go to the trading market and barter.

He had led everyone to "harvest the leeks" this morning, and four or five hours had passed; it was about time for some fresh shoots to sprout, right?

"Besides that, there is a total of over five thousand milliliters of Tainted Dim Blood. This can synthesize over sixteen hundred milliliters of normal blood, which should be enough for a while."

"Then there are over two hundred black loaves of bread, and over a hundred portions of various fresh and not-so-fresh meat, weighing over a hundred pounds. Tsk, someone even specifically killed a wild boar and brought it over; they are truly too polite."

Colin sighed with emotion as he checked his backpack.

This money was coming in no slower than if he were robbing people.

Oh. It seemed this was essentially robbing people.

While he was lost in thought, ten minutes passed quickly. The five servants on the ground had already opened their eyes and cast grateful looks toward Colin.

Apart from being relatively weak and having some difficulty moving since their legs had just been reattached, they had survived this crisis and lived.

They understood their own value, and they understood just how high the price was for what Colin had sacrificed.

The only thing they could offer in return was loyalty.

Although loyalty was worth little when a lord had absolute control over his servants, it was the only thing they had to offer.

As for Shana, she stood there looking somewhat weak from the prolonged use of Wind of Recovery, waiting for Colin to speak.

"Can you still walk?"

Colin asked while taking a glance at their information; their base attributes were hovering around 1.5, and even without any stimulation, the word "Invigorated" had appeared.

"Reporting to the Lord, we can!"

They stood up in a trembling group, the areas where their limbs had been broken having just healed, though intense pain still radiated from them.

However, by tomorrow at the latest, this situation would be effectively alleviated.

Compared to ordinary people, the greatest advantage of these servants was their faster recovery speed.

Moreover, perhaps due to their long history of hard labor, their bodies had an exceptionally high efficiency for utilizing food.

"You should eat something and rest for a bit first; Shana, you as well."

After saying this, Colin turned his head to look at Number Two, who had been with him the longest, and began to set his second expansion plan into motion.

Before long, nine carefully selected servants stood before Colin, lined up in a row and facing forward.

The loyalty overflowing from their eyes seemed almost tangible, impossible to be shaken by anything.

Among them, including Number Two, were the "Lamp Bearers" he had chosen, who would also serve as the leaders of their respective squads.

"You will each serve as the squad leaders for my Second through Eleventh Squads. You have only one goal: follow my arrangements and ensure the Hurricane Lamp in your hands stays lit at all costs."

Colin said in a deep voice, "Any questions?"

Thanks to "Guangzhi Yinqing" for the tip.