Occupying the quarry, sweeping the resource points!

"M... my lord..."

An older, limping middle-aged man hurried forward. "We come from Weideng Royal City. We were slaves to that tyrannical ruler."

His posture was humble and his tone respectful. Though the lord before him sat in a wheelchair, he did not dare show the slightest disrespect.

After all, Shen Xing had slain those powerful overseers!

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, then got straight to the point. "I'm a lord from nearby. Would you be willing to work for me?"

His territory was still in its early stages and needed a large population.

In the Land of Mist, there were three main sources of population.

The first was the simplest and most direct: summoning orc laborers, undead acolytes, and the like through troop nests.

However, workers summoned this way generally had poor aptitude, and their work efficiency was barely passable.

When Hellscream and his fellow orcs had first been summoned, they could barely speak.

Few lords invested much in such workers.

The second was the method mentioned earlier: using recruitment scrolls.

Beings summoned this way were generally rather special and had good aptitude. They might even possess special skills.

But recruitment scrolls were too expensive. A single one cost at least five figures, more than the average lord could afford.

The third was what Shen Xing was doing now: recruiting natives of the Land of Mist and making them submit through personal charisma or overwhelming force.

This was also the most convenient method, since the natives were highly intelligent. They could communicate normally, carry out orders, and work fairly efficiently.

The only drawback was that they might run away.

There were also some special sources of population, such as taverns and altars in the wild, but there was no need to list them all.

At Shen Xing's question, the slaves exchanged glances, seemingly hesitant.

The limping black man was the first to step forward. He respectfully knelt and bowed to the ground. "We are willing to submit to you, great lord."

Seeing this, the other slaves knelt as well.

[Ding! You have recruited a group of slave laborers. Territory population +24]

Shen Xing was taken aback. He had not expected recruitment to be so easy.

But it was understandable, since the slaves knew they had no choice.

If they refused, they would not survive even if the lord spared them.

In this dangerous world, the outcome for ordinary people who left a settlement went without saying.

Shen Xing waved his hand, and a pile of black bread appeared before his wheelchair: forty-eight loaves in all.

"Hellscream, hand them out."

"Yes, sir!"

The orc answered, scooped up the bread from the ground, and gave two loaves to each person.

The slaves stared at the food in their hands, eyes wide and mouths watering, but none dared put it in their mouths.

"M... my lord... is this for us?" the limping middle-aged man asked tremulously.

"Of course. I still need you to work for me. How could you work on empty stomachs?" Shen Xing replied matter-of-factly.

The slaves' faces filled with disbelief. They even thought they were dreaming.

"All right, hurry up and eat."

Only when Shen Xing waved impatiently did the slaves abruptly come to their senses.

"Thank you, my lord! May the goddess's radiance protect you!"

They immediately stuffed the black bread into their mouths and wolfed it down as if they had not eaten in centuries.

[Because you provided food for your workers, work efficiency has increased by 20% for 48 hours.]

Watching them eat as though they were starving ghosts reborn, Shen Xing wondered what kind of hellish lives they had led before, to relish even food as hard and dry as black bread.

Shaking his head, he opened the resource point interface and selected "occupy."

[You have successfully occupied an intermediate lumber mill. Wood can be gathered and processed here.]

[You have obtained stockpiled resources: wood ×1,364]

A satisfied smile appeared on Shen Xing's face.

"From now on, you'll continue working here."

He looked at the limping middle-aged man and instructed him, "Starting today, your name is Heishi. You'll be their leader."

The middle-aged man, newly given a name, immediately straightened up and replied respectfully, "Yes, great lord!"

"We'll work hard!"

Shen Xing nodded, turned, and left the lumber mill.

On the way, Xia Wanyin came over to him, a lantern in hand, and said happily, "Spark, you're so lucky! You occupied a lumber mill and gained so many workers!"

"I have you to thank, too," Shen Xing replied with a smile. "Without your help, I don't know when I would have found this place."

"You're welcome. We're allies, after all!" Xia Wanyin waved a hand, a radiant smile appearing on her breathtaking face.

Shen Xing watched her, momentarily dazed. She always seemed so optimistic; there was no sign that she was blind in real life.

Taking a deep breath, he looked away and continued on.

Along the way, Hellscream handed Shen Xing the loot dropped by the two Fallen Overseers they had just killed.

In total, they had obtained Soul Stones ×24, Fragmented Elite Souls ×7, and Vinar Silver Coins ×61.

There was also... a green-quality whip!

[Fallen Overseer's Whip]

[Quality: green]

[Item effect: When used to whip worker units, increases their work efficiency by 30% for a period of time, but their morale will continue to decrease.]

[Note: Limited-time benefit, claim one hundred draws at the cap~]

A whip that increased work efficiency. Good stuff!

If he assigned someone to whip the workers, wouldn't their efficiency go through the roof?

Of course, he could not use it too often, or he would whip them into running away.

It could, however, serve as a warning to disobedient workers.

At that moment, Shen Xing suddenly remembered something. "Some troop types can't feel pain, like stone men and goblin robots. Even if you whip them, they won't feel much."

"Could I get a group of workers like that and use the whip to increase their work efficiency?"

Deep in thought, he decided to try it when he had the chance.

After they had traveled a little farther, Xia Wanyin suddenly stopped.

She tilted her head and listened, then a delighted look appeared on her pretty face. "Spark, I've found another special resource point."

"Oh? What is it this time?"

Shen Xing looked up and asked, his interest piqued.

When they passed through the woods and came to a corner of the wasteland beyond, a wondrous sight greeted them.

Chapter 43: Occupying the quarry, sweeping the resource points!

Amid the churning fog, Shen Xing and Xia Wanyin each led their troops, staring blankly ahead.

Before them was an enormous pile of rocks, with quarried rubble scattered across the ground.

Numerous crude shacks stood around it, looking as though people lived in them.

Most conspicuous was the large machine in the middle, built at the edge of a deep pit. Its enormous mechanical arm reached down to the bottom, seemingly mining something.

[Quarry]

[Size: small]

[Current status: cannot be occupied]

[Maximum mining quantity: 1,416/3,024 (refreshes once every seven days)]

[Output: 120-360 stone per 24 hours]

[Number of workers: 4-12]

[Note: A small quarry, but it seems to have been occupied by a group of outsiders.]

A quarry, of all things!

They had just found a lumber mill in the woods, and now they had found a quarry.

Now the territory had sources of both wood and stone.

"Take me over there. We're occupying that quarry."

At Shen Xing's command, the orc infantry immediately carried him forward.

But they had barely taken a few steps when arrows and spears shot out from behind the rubble!

"Watch out."

Xia Wanyin cried out, and the two Light Spirit shield guards beside her rushed forward and raised their Shields of Light.

"Hum, hum~"

A barrage of arrows and spears struck the shields with a dense series of dull thuds. Spiderweb-like cracks immediately spread across their surfaces.

At the same time, a group of short, ugly creatures with dark green skin emerged from behind the rocks.

Clutching crude shortbows and wooden spears, they swarmed out, chittering and shrieking.

[Dark Goblin Thrower]

[Level: 7]

[Potential: ordinary ★★★]

[Attributes: strength 25, spirit 19, agility 24, constitution 22]

[Skill: Javelin Throw]

[Talent: Dark Breeding (can forcibly breed with an individual of the opposite sex from any race; offspring will always be Dark Goblins)]