Colin had never found a good way to deal with these turncoats, who were always plotting to defect.
Now, though, everything was solved with this shield.
Grumpily, Li Hang picked up the shield and "declared war" on Colin.
"Under the witness of the Shield of the Just Knight, I request a duel with this man."
Three minutes later, the duel was over.
Looking utterly miserable, Li Hang returned the shield to Colin, glared resentfully at Li Chou, then followed Number Two out to "hunt" again.
Then
The battle began again!
And ended again.
The battle began again!
And ended again.
The battle began again!
And ended again.
In a short time, Colin had brought all the survivors under his control.
Every one of them looked as aggrieved as someone who'd found half a dung beetle in their bread. Whenever their eyes happened to fall on Li Chou, they were filled with resentment.
Third place? That was it?
By now, they all knew that this was the third-place finisher on the Resource Leaderboard. What a loser!
His loss had practically doomed everyone who came after him!
"Don't worry. As long as you don't get in my way, I won't lay a hand on you."
Looking at their miserable faces, Colin smiled kindly. He knew he'd achieved his goal of sowing resentment and division.
He could keep them under strict control, without using the "Shield of the Just Knight." But to prevent anything unexpected from happening, he thought it was better to establish absolute "authority."
With that foundation in place, Colin wouldn't begrudge them his tolerance and trust.
The next step of his plan was about to begin. He didn't want his backyard catching fire while he was busy up front.
The next "hunting" operation went off without a hitch.
Including the previous haul, Colin had collected a total of twenty-seven hurricane lamps this time, along with the corresponding number of Synthesis Tables and Parchments.
As for ordinary supplies, there was so much of them that "mountains" barely covered it.
Colin could hardly believe it himself. This was only the second day.
By now, about half of the second day had passed, and his group had grown to four hundred people.
The campaign, originally planned for the third day or even later, could now begin ahead of schedule!
Target: the Lord-level Aberration at the foot of Crow Mountain!
Next target: explore the Underground Region beneath the Church!
[War Chariot: Steel Plate*500, Glass*50, Rubber*200, Thorns of Suffering*100, Mist Points*100.] [Note: The War Chariot requires fuel to operate.]
"Let's get the War Chariot first!"
The War Chariot that had seemed out of reach to Colin yesterday now felt attainable at last.
"Making Steel Plate takes two Refined Iron each, and making Refined Iron takes two Crude Iron. Crude Iron takes two Iron Ore. That's four thousand Iron Ore!"
"Glass needs Quartz Sand. I haven't seen any, but I remember some was listed on the Trade Market."
"I saw Rubber, too. I have no idea where these people found it."
"The last two should be fine. I already have plenty on hand."
Colin calculated the materials he needed. Even though he already knew the amounts, seeing them again still made his heart ache.
"With my current numbers, the ideal plan is to make ten War Chariots."
Once he'd made up his mind, Colin went on a spending spree, trading Mist Points, food, and all kinds of other resources for large quantities of mineral materials with "iron" in their names on the Trade Market.
Demand for Iron Ore on the Trade Market wasn't very high yet, so prices were low.
[Iron Ore]
[Item Description: Ore that has undergone preliminary processing.]
[Type: Mineral Material.]
[Quantity: 76 batches (Note 1.)]
[Price: One loaf of bread and 100 ml of Level 3 Water.]
[Seller's Note: Please, some big shot, have mercy and spare me some food! Your cutie really can't dig any more!]
Colin glanced over the listing and bought it without hesitation, wanting to give something back to his long-suffering compatriots.
Just because he'd taken off, he couldn't forget the working masses still struggling to get by.
Colin snapped up vast quantities of Iron Ore at extremely low prices.
The change caught the survivors' attention, and the subject quickly took over the World Channel.
"Who's buying so much Iron Ore at once? I can't even get enough to make a shovel."
"I have a feeling Big Shot Colin's making a move behind the scenes again. I've got a knife in me."
"Then get stabbed already!"
Only a few people in the Chat Channel realized what was going on and began quietly stockpiling Iron Ore.
That sent Iron Ore prices soaring. The lords who mined it for everyone saw their wallets getting fatter by the day, and they dug with even more vigor.
Now, thirty batches of iron could buy one loaf of bread. The price had doubled!
The rich were helping the poor get rich!
And while the market was abuzz with activity, Colin had already completed his shopping list.
Forty thousand batches of Iron Ore, plus enough of the other War Chariot materials for ten units.
There was no doubt about it: this was a massive undertaking!
Even at low prices, it had cost Colin a huge amount of materials!
At that moment, Colin stood in front of a lord's Wooden Cabin and transferred the First-level Territory into his own name.
Then he took out a Synthesis Table and gradually refined the massive quantity of Iron Ore into Steel Plate!
"Upgrade to a [Level 1 War Chariot]?"
"Yes."
As the thought crossed his mind, the materials in his Inventory vanished rapidly. A creation that looked as if it had been printed by a highly advanced civilization took shape before his eyes.
At the same time, a system notification suddenly appeared in the minds of every lord, including Colin.
[System Notification: Congratulations to Lord "Colin" on building a Level 1 War Chariot!]
[Reward "Hardened Black Bread*999" will be issued shortly!]
[Reward issued!]
[All lords, keep up the good work!]
The Chat Channel exploded again a moment later.
"Holy crap, I knew it! Big Shot Colin made the move. It was the same last time! Nobody else would make a play this big!"
"Where's the prophet? Come out and take your stabbing!"
"Does anyone remember the War Chariot recipe?"
"No idea. I only know someone just bought up a ton of Iron Ore. I don't know about the rest."
"Just try combinations one by one. I'm guessing Iron Ore is used to make Steel Plate, the highest-level material we can craft right now!"
"Brothers, hurry and grab the Iron Ore! It'll all be gone again if you don't!"
"(ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻, taking advantage of the situation, huh? You dare charge Mist Points for fifteen batches of Iron Ore!"
"Waaah, thanks to Big Shot Colin, I've found my way to wealth through mining. Ten pieces of Iron Ore for a batch of bread. Buy it if you want, or get lost!"
"Hahahaha, brothers, I made it! I'll trade the recipe for Mist Points—one hundred per copy!"
"One hundred per copy? Why not just rob us?"
Colin had no idea what was happening in the Chat Channel. At that moment, he was inspecting the War Chariot in front of him.
It was a War Chariot crouched on the ground like some enormous beast.
It looked like an oversized jeep—or perhaps a mobile fortress. Black thorns wound around its entire body.
Steel Rivets, an exhaust pipe, a fuel furnace, headlights, and other equipment were all exposed to the air. Its style was rugged, its front tapered to a point, and spikes covered its surface.
A Metal Turret had also been installed at the rear, aimed toward the front of the vehicle.
With a few skull decorations, it would have fit right in with the death-metal, post-apocalyptic punk aesthetic.
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