The Second Wave of Construction, Dretch Summoning!
"Throwing their bodies into the river after death is like returning them to their mother's embrace."
"That way, the Dark Naga in the river won't hold a grudge against us and hunt us down."
Shen Xing suddenly realized, and then directed the orcs to clean up the battlefield, lifting the corpses on the shallows one by one and dragging them to the shore.
"Thump! Thump!"
A series of splashing sounds rang out as the corpses of Dark Naga crashed onto the water's surface, creating ripples before disappearing into the depths of the riverbed.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Shen Xing put away the bait and said, "Then I'll head back now."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
Xia Wanyin waved to him, as if two good friends had made a promise to go out and play together the next day.
Shen Xing watched her disappear into the depths of the thick fog, then slowly moved forward in another direction.
After they left, the black river continued to surge and crash against the jagged rocks, producing a dull thud.
Beneath the surface of the river, a huge shadow swam slowly by.
The shadow was enormous, its outline alone measuring tens of meters in length.
He swam for a moment in the waters where they had dumped the bodies, then burrowed into the riverbed.
Chapter 48: The Second Wave of Infrastructure Construction, Summoning the Dretch!
Half an hour later.
Shen Xing led his orc legion into the firelight and returned to his territory, which was now somewhat revitalized.
Dozens of orcs and skeleton archers gathered in twos and threes.
Patrolling, absorbing Soul Stone.
Yes, it's exactly the same as when I left.
"We've had a good day. Now it's time to use up these resources and start the second wave of infrastructure construction!"
"First, build a lighthouse around each of the four corners of the territory."
He pushed his wheelchair around the edge of the firelight, selecting a suitable location to begin construction.
Timber-400
Stone - 400
Black Iron -40
Soul Stone -40
With the investment of substantial resources, the base of a lighthouse is slowly taking shape in the four cardinal directions, next to the two arrow towers.
I glanced at the construction time; it will take eight and a half hours.
"Not bad, it'll be finished after a nap."
Next, he went to the center of the territory to upgrade the core building, the Bonfire.
[Upgrade the Bonfire to level 4? Materials required for this upgrade: Soul Stone *50, Black Crystal *50, Black Iron *50]
"Tsk tsk, the materials needed to upgrade the Bonfire are getting more and more numerous."
"Luckily, I earned quite a bit from my part-time job today, otherwise I wouldn't have enough materials to upgrade the Bonfire."
Shen Xing sighed for a moment, then clicked to upgrade.
"Buzz~"
A white light enveloped the area, and the base of the Bonfire began to rebuild itself once more.
More black stones piled up together, showing signs of turning into a furnace.
[Upgrading, estimated time: 13 hours 17 minutes...]
"Clap clap!"
Shen Xing clapped his hands and took out another item from his backpack.
A pale green orb floated in the palm of his hand, with a hunched figure with wings on its back in the center.
[Place 'Dretch Unit Nest (Elite ★)'?]
(Note: At least 30 square meters of open space must be reserved, and there should be no flammable, explosive, or fragile materials nearby.)
"Hmm? There can't be any flammable or explosive materials around?"
Shen Xing stared at the notes above with a strange expression; this was the first time he had encountered such a prompt.
But as the saying goes, "He who listens to advice will eat his fill."
He had originally planned to place it next to the Orc Barracks and the Skeleton Burial Ground, but he has now abandoned that idea.
After scanning the area around the territory, he quickly selected a barren, empty plot of land in the west.
Push the wheelchair over and click 'Place'.
The eerie green orb in his hand began to spin, rapidly expanding in the air before slowly disappearing into the ground.
Immediately afterwards, that area underwent a dramatic transformation in a short period of time.
The once black earth was rapidly melted, creating a deep pit about ten meters in diameter, from which scalding magma spewed forth!
"Sizzle! Sizzle!"
A wave of scorching heat swept over us, even raising the temperature of the entire territory by several degrees.
"Lava pool?"
Shen Xing pondered for a moment, "No wonder the system noted that there should be no flammable or explosive materials nearby. So that's the reason."
He was glad he listened to the advice; otherwise, if a lava pool had been placed in the center of the territory, it would have been a minor issue—it would have been unsightly, but if a unit had accidentally stepped into it, the consequences would have been much more serious!
Furthermore, protective measures need to be established in this area, as it is a potential safety hazard.
"Next, we can begin recruiting Dretch."
"However, the recruitment price for this creature is too high. I don't have many Soul Stone left, and I need to reserve at least 100 for upgrading the troops in my territory."
"There are only enough left to summon two, this is ridiculous."
Shen Xing felt a pang of regret, but she gritted her teeth anyway.
After all, the sooner he summons it, the sooner he can absorb Soul Stone to level up, bringing him one step closer to his bombing squad.
[Consume: 100 Soul Stone, 100 Vinar Silver Coin, 2 Hellfire Seed, Summon 2 Elite Dretch (★)?]
It's okay, money can be earned back, I don't care, not at all.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Xing clicked 'Confirm', and the lava pool began to surge violently.
"Glug... Glug..."
Bubbles rose from the bottom of the pool, and a strong smell of sulfur filled the air.
Immediately afterwards, two bald heads emerged from the depths of the churning lava.
They have two pairs of curved black horns on their foreheads, ugly faces, and a pair of tattered wings spread out on their backs.
They were, unmistakably, two genuine Dretch!
[The Dretch]
[Level: 1]
[Potential: Elite ★]
[Attributes: Strength 15, Spirit 16, Agility 11, Constitution 12]
[Skills: Hellfire Fireball, Weakening Gaze (Applies a malicious gaze to a single target, reducing all their attributes by 15% and having a chance to inflict the 'Fear' status for 5 seconds.)]
[Talent: Body Burning (Upon death, the corpse explodes, dealing fire damage to enemies in a small surrounding area)]
[Synergy: Demon Tide (Not Activated)]
Compared to the level 8 Elite Three Stars Dretch encountered in the Plague Village, the two before them were far inferior in stats.
However, compared to other starting units like orcs and skeleton archers, they are already far more powerful.
Shen Xing was quite satisfied with their attributes, and then called out to the orcs in the distance.
"Hellscream, come here."
Hellscream, who was sitting cross-legged on the boulder, strode over and respectfully asked, "My lord, what are your orders?"
"These two Dretch are yours to lead. Just teach them to absorb Soul Stone with all their might and level up."
Shen Xing issued the order, and with tears in his eyes, handed over the last possessions of the territory—86 Soul Stone — to Hellscream, so that his cubs could absorb them.
Looking at his backpack, now empty again, Lord Shen suddenly felt a pang of melancholy.
It seems like there's never enough of these resources.
If only I had money, I could buy Soul Stone in bulk from the Trading Association and wouldn't have to worry about resources for developing my territory.
He subconsciously thought of Aunt Mei, the landlady who owned more than a dozen houses.
Or... should I just give in to her?
But as soon as the thought popped into his mind, Shen Xing jolted awake and shook his head repeatedly.
No, no, that won't do.
I only want to be a small lord, and one day stand up for myself. I don't want to be an ox that only knows how to plow the fields!
With that thought in mind, Shen Xing took off his glasses and ended his day's work.
"What a fulfilling day."
He stretched, nimbly got out of bed, and transferred to his wheelchair. "Ever since I started playing this game, I feel like every day is completely filled up."
I looked out the window.
It was late at night, and a full moon hung high in the sky, casting its silvery moonlight over the entire city.
"The weather's nice tonight, looks quite cool. Let's go to the riverbank for some fresh air."
Shen Xing suddenly had a whim. His old neighborhood was near the river and there was a riverside park.
Many residents living nearby like to stroll around after meals or during their free time.