Building the Moon Well, a Territory Taking Shape (continued)

A group of green-skinned orcs had gathered in neat ranks in the open space at the village entrance.

"The boss once said that a warrior's glory doesn't lie in how many enemies he's killed, but in a heart that never stops striving to improve!"

Gorehowl stood before the orcs and shouted, "So we must keep improving and growing stronger until we become the mightiest orc warriors!"

"Waaaaagh!!"

The orcs raised their battleaxes high, their fighting spirit seemingly ignited.

Ever since breaking through to three stars, Gorehowl had taken on the job of training the other orcs, effectively becoming a squad leader in the territory.

Hellscream, meanwhile, was wholeheartedly absorbing Soul Stones, becoming a merciless cultivation machine.

After all, he bore his lord's expectations: to reach level 9 as soon as possible and then break through to become a boss-grade creature.

Shen Xing withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to the treasures he had obtained that day.

He had obtained two building blueprints and one complete building from the trading area, all of which needed to be teleported to the Land of Mist.

"At the beginning of the game, a lord can only teleport one item a day in either direction."

"In that case, I'll teleport the mysterious building, the [Moon Well], into the game first."

He held out his arm and connected his consciousness to the Flower of Mist on his wrist.

The gray flower spun rapidly, and waves of mild dizziness washed over him. It was a sign that his spiritual power was being rapidly drained.

A moment later, the mist dispersed, and a hovering ball of green light landed in his palm.

Through the membrane of light, he could see the illusory image of a miniature ancient well inside, shimmering with a silvery-white moonlight.

He glanced at its attributes.

[Mysterious building: Moon Well]

[Quality: purple (rare)]

[Can be placed directly in the territory. Requires at least 3.15 square meters of open space]

[Building effect: continuously produces 'Moon Spring Water', which can be consumed to quickly heal minor injuries and restore stamina.

It can also be used to water plants and accelerate their growth.]

[Production rate: 100 ml per hour]

[Maximum storage capacity: 35 L]

(Note: A mysterious ancient well from the Forest of Oblivion, possessing wondrous magical power.)

"As expected of a mysterious building. Its effects are incredible!"

"With this [Moon Well], the territory will have a steady supply of life elixir. We won't have to worry when our troops get injured anymore."

Shen Xing was satisfied. Trading that [Frost Gem] for it had been well worth it.

He then wheeled himself toward the center of the territory and selected a flat, open spot near the campfire.

Such an important building naturally had to be placed somewhere safe.

If it were caught up in a fight and accidentally destroyed, he'd have nowhere to turn to even if he wanted to cry.

"Hum~"

As the ball of light in his hand activated, the green glow rose on its own and rapidly expanded in midair.

In the blink of an eye, an ancient well roughly a meter in diameter, built of grayish-white stone and covered in vines and green leaves around its rim, settled firmly into the ground.

An illusory crescent moon hovered above its mouth, slowly revolving and casting a soft, clear light.

In the dark, oppressive world of mist, the ancient well really did bring a touch of life and sanctity to the entire territory.

"Mysterious buildings really are convenient. You can just place them directly, without any construction materials."

Shen Xing nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly realized something. "But why does it feel like I can still teleport more things into the game?"

Normally, a novice lord could only teleport one item a day.

That was because teleportation consumed the lord's spiritual power.

The rarer the item, the greater the cost.

So a typical novice lord would already reach their limit after teleporting one item.

As a lord's level rose, however, their spirit attribute increased accordingly, along with the number of items they could teleport.

Shen Xing carefully assessed his mental state and decided to try again.

"Whoosh..."

The Flower of Mist on his arm slowly spun, and familiar mist poured from its petals as his spiritual power was rapidly drained.

When the mist cleared, a yellowed sheet of parchment fell into his hand.

"It really worked!"

Shen Xing's eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can teleport two items into the game a day now?"

He immediately opened his phone and told the other two members of the discussion group about his discovery.

Qin Lang and Xu Jiayi gave it a try, but both said they could still only teleport one item. They had nearly passed out when they tried to teleport a second.

Shen Xing fell into thought. It seemed his spiritual power was a little higher than theirs, or was there some other factor at work?

Never mind. Either way, it was a good thing for him.

He put his glasses back on and looked at the attributes of the blueprint in his hand.

[Basic dwelling blueprint]

[Quality: common]

[Area: 12 square meters]

[Building effect: allows a basic dwelling to be built in the territory, where territory members can rest and quickly restore their stamina]

[Maximum capacity: 8-20 people]

[Materials required: wood × 30, stone × 20, Soul Stones × 2]

(Note: Space is like milk-you can always squeeze some out.)

"Not bad. The territory's residents will finally have somewhere to sleep. They won't have to sleep in those drafty little cabins like before."

Although the starting territory came with several small cabins, most were in terrible condition, and some didn't even have windows.

Fortunately, orcs were easygoing troops who weren't particular about living conditions. They could sleep even in a doghouse.

But now that he had the means, he naturally wanted to provide them with better housing.

"Building one dwelling requires 30 wood and 20 stone..."

Shen Xing looked toward a corner of the territory, where a pile of wood had been neatly stacked. "Good thing I tore down the houses in Plague Village and brought the building debris back."

"After the orcs processed it, the territory now has more than three hundred units of wood. That's more than enough."

"As for stone, it's everywhere around the territory. We can just go pick some up."

With that thought, he went ahead and learned the blueprint.

Immediately afterward, he ordered the orcs to collect stones.

Shen Xing made a circuit of the territory, considering where to build the dwellings.

A little while later, he decided to build them some distance away on the right side of the bluestone path.

Shen Xing opened the construction interface, and a projection of a low dwelling appeared on the open ground before him.

He then spent the materials and clicked build.

"Whoosh..."

A large quantity of wood and stone rose into the air on their own, gradually coming together to form the foundation of a house.

[Building basic dwelling. Estimated time: 6 hours 24 minutes...]

"Six and a half hours. That's acceptable."

Shen Xing checked the time, then built seven dwellings in one go, lining them up along the road.

"Hum..."

The foundations of seven houses appeared in that area. Wood and broken stones flew through the air, and the whole area was enveloped in a layer of blue light. It looked wondrous.

This was a built-in function of the lord system. As long as there were enough materials and the location was suitable, construction could begin directly.

Of course, workers could also be sent to help, shortening the construction time.

After finishing all this, Shen Xing clapped his hands and happily surveyed the entire territory.

"Compared to the dilapidated village it was at the start, it finally has a little more life to it now."

"Once I take the Silver Holy Land, develop agriculture, and put up a wall, my territory will really start to take shape."

As he imagined what his territory would look like in the future, he couldn't help feeling excited.

Just then, Shen Xing noticed a figure in a corner of the village.

He sat cross-legged on a massive black rock, breathing evenly like a master in deep meditation as he focused on absorbing Soul Stones.

It was Hellscream.

Lord Shen had high hopes for this orc fighter, and he worked very hard. Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent all his time improving himself.

Should I give Hellscream that drop of Lesser Demon Essence Blood to fuse with, so he can advance further? Shen Xing wondered.

The power contained in the essence blood was enough to make up for the shortcomings of an orc's bloodline and greatly increase his attributes.

But it would also bring considerable side effects.

After thinking it over, Shen Xing decided to look up some relevant information on the forum first and learn from his predecessors' experience before making a decision.

The game had been running for so long that he surely wasn't the only person who had obtained an item like [Lesser Demon Essence Blood].

After some searching, he found a post titled "Troop bloodline fusion and advancement."

A person named Li Feifei had written, "In the Land of Mist, bloodlines are very important to troops. They determine the upper limit of their development."

"An ordinary goblin, for example, can only grow into a boss-grade goblin shaman even if it gives its all, while a kobold can only grow into a kobold chieftain."

"Of course, nothing is absolute."

"Besides certain exceptionally gifted mutant troops, we can also help these troops break through the limits of their potential ourselves."

"The simplest, most direct method is to fuse them with the essence blood of different races."

"For example, a goblin fused with a troll's bloodline can grow into a leader-grade forest troll. A kobold fused with a fire lizard's bloodline can grow into a dragon-breath kobold."

"Based on my own experience, I've put together a brief list of essence blood from several races, their fusion risk assessments, and growth paths. You can take a look for yourselves."