Chapter 43: Blade Warrior Statue
The uproar caused by the personal score leaderboard didn’t affect those in the Mansu Woodland at all.
Whether it was Qian Gongyu from the Blue-Ribbon Aristocracy, Shang Xinlei of the Shang Family, or Jie Yuanshao, the Purple-Ribbon Noble heir, they all had to go into the forest to scavenge for trash now.
They soon noticed changes in the forest: aside from the area directly behind the shelter, the thick mist in other directions had thinned significantly, so the exploration range expanded from a 100-meter radius around the shelter to 500 meters.
Such a vast area couldn’t be thoroughly searched in just half an hour, especially with the dense trees and complicated terrain, so everyone could only collect whatever they happened to see.
As the half-hour was nearly over, Jiang Ten came running out of the forest while the three girls—Shang Xinlei and the others—were already waiting in the courtyard.
Most of the items in the courtyard were wood and stone, with some sulfur and crystal, which Jie Yuanshao had picked up along the way—yes, she had seen a large pile of sulfur and crystal suddenly appear on the ground as if someone had deliberately dropped those resources there.
These were rare resources Jiang Ten had mentioned before.
Jie Yuanshao wore a faintly proud expression, just waiting for Jiang Ten to ask, so she could casually explain how she found them.
She wasn’t overly smug, since it wasn’t like she did anything special—just had good luck.
But as the noble scion of the Jie Family in Jiangnan, being favored by destiny was only natural...
Crash—
Jiang Ten chose an empty spot and dumped a heap of gems onto the ground.
These gems were huge, forming a small mountain, and their dreamlike luster dazzled the girls.
“You found a gem mine?” Shang Xinlei suddenly asked.
“Mine?” Jie Yuanshao immediately caught the key word.
“The place where Xiaoyu and I first carried stones—when I returned just now, I found the stones had reset, and there was a stone mine hidden inside. The stones there are the perfect size—just need to be carried out,” Shang Xinlei said, pointing at the pile of stones formed into a small mountain. “Otherwise, there’s no way I could’ve collected this many in just two quarters of an hour.”
“That stone mine is very different from the surrounding forest terrain. I was thinking—could there be other resource spots where we can easily gather rare materials?”
“Your guess is probably correct,” Jiang Ten said calmly. “Aside from wood, which doesn’t seem to have fixed spots, all other resources likely have specific places where they can be mined in bulk. Where did that pile of sulfur and crystal come from?”
“I picked it up on the way,” Jie Yuanshao said a bit dejectedly. “I didn’t find a resource point.”
“I didn’t find one either,” Qian Gongyu raised her hand. “But I brought back a bunch of wood!”
“You all did great,” Jiang Ten glanced at the resources in the courtyard. “You’ve already exceeded my expectations.”
Qian Gongyu, of course, beamed when Jiang Ten praised her, almost wagging an invisible tail behind her.
Jie Yuanshao and Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but smile as well, but soon they felt something strange—Why are we being praised by a Black-Band Guard?
Jiang Ten didn’t bother with their thoughts, crouching down and saying, “There’s still some time before the next wave of attacks. We must quickly discuss our strategy. Come here.”
Everyone gathered and saw Jiang Ten drawing on the ground—and drawing rather badly, the wobbly lines looking like earthworms.
Do normal people draw like this with their fingers?
“We now have 132 units of wood, 101 stones, 50 gems, 12 sulfur, and 12 crystals,” Jiang Ten said, pointing at the first diagram. “This is a bunker—it costs 50 wood and 30 stone.”
“This is a wooden crossbow—it costs 10 wood.”
“This is a wall—it costs 20 stone.”
“This is a catapult—it costs 10 wood and 20 stone, and can be built multiple times.”
“This is a Guardian Tree—every time we survive a wave, it provides 10 wood. It costs 50 wood.”
“This is a Guardian Stone—every wave survived grants 10 stone. It costs 50 stone.”
“This is a Blade Warrior Statue—it costs 10 wood and 30 gems.”
No one interrupted Jiang Ten.
Everyone memorized her words carefully.
As soon as she finished, Jie Yuanshao immediately asked, “What does the statue do? Can we build it more than once?”
Jiang Ten replied, “Every time there’s an attack, it transforms into a real Blade Warrior to fight for us. Even if it dies, it will revert to a statue and can be deployed again after recovery. It cannot be built multiple times.”
“If the bunker is just the house we stay in, then there’s no point in building it,” Shang Xinlei said. “Living in the initial wooden hut is enough.”
The others nodded.
They were here for a trial, not luxury, so there was no need to waste resources on comfort.
“You can think of it this way—only by upgrading the shelter level can we build stronger structures, and the buildable area will also expand,” Jiang Ten said. “This courtyard can currently hold only twelve structures, including the walls.”
“Got it,” Shang Xinlei said. “Then I suggest we build walls, the Guardian Tree, the Guardian Stone, and the Blade Warrior Statue. Any remaining space should go to wooden crossbows.”
“Agreed,” Jie Yuanshao crossed her arms. “For long-term benefits, the Guardian Tree and Guardian Stone are essential.”
“I agree too,” Qian Gongyu quickly added.
“If we don’t build catapults, then when it comes time to deal with the demon leader, we probably won’t have enough damage, so you’ll need to assist in battle like before,” said Jiang Ten.
Jie Yuanshao and Shang Xinlei exchanged a glance—they finally understood why Jiang Ten had discussed it with them this time.
Since the construction plan was approved by everyone together, having them join the battle later would no longer be just Jiang Ten’s personal request, but their shared obligation.
Conversely, if Jiang Ten had decided on the construction alone and still asked them to fight repeatedly afterward, they’d inevitably feel discontent.
Seeing no objections, Jiang Ten stood up from the ground.
At that moment, everyone held their breath, three pairs of eyes locked onto her every move, trying to glean some insight.
Though no one asked aloud, they were all dying of curiosity—they all wanted to know how Jiang Ten operated the shelter to construct new buildings.
More importantly, if Jiang Ten could do it, did that mean they could too?
But the result was inevitably disappointing—they could only watch Jiang Ten space out for a bit, and then the wood, stone, gems, sulfur, and crystals in the courtyard floated up and clattered together, assembling themselves into various structures.
Most remarkable were the Guardian Tree and Guardian Stone.
A pile of wood gathered together and suddenly dissolved into a tiny seed that fell into the soil of the courtyard, and after just a few breaths, it sprouted into a towering tree.
The tree had no leaves, its trunk bound with a rope woven from straw.
Though it looked even more unremarkable than the other forest trees, it made the courtyard feel less desolate.
The Guardian Stone was similar—enough stone to fill a house compressed into a single large stone about half a person’s height.
It too was wrapped with straw rope and looked so inviting, one almost wanted to sit and rest on it.
The wall needed no further comment, but the Blade Warrior Statue truly opened their eyes.
Sapphire and wood fused together like flowing water, first forming the image of the Blade Warrior.
Then the sapphire stream solidified like frozen water, fixing the warrior in place, becoming a sharp-edged sapphire statue.
“Eh?”
Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao both let out cries of surprise, but before they could say more, a sharp screech announced the arrival of the second wave of demon monsters.
Thick mist shrouded the forest a hundred meters away, and demons ran back and forth within it.
Then a demon resembling a giant bull stayed behind.
“Savage Bull Demon!”
Jie Yuanshao’s expression changed slightly. “This is a demon that appears in the Third-Stage Secret Realm of the Zhou Kingdom. The books say most third-stage defensive tokens can’t withstand its full-force charge—it's considered extremely dangerous even for a third stage!”
“Moo—”
With an earth-shaking bellow, a horde of Small Savage Bulls charged out of the mist, rushing toward the stone house!
Once they entered a fifty-meter range, the nine wooden crossbows instantly activated, shooting the bulls and knocking them to the ground.
Yes—just knocked down.
As long as they weren’t hit in the head, a Small Savage Bull struck by a single arrow could get back up.
Only after a second arrow would it stay down for good.
What once took one arrow now took two.
Even with the crossbow count increased from six to nine, the killing efficiency had dropped by more than half.
Soon the bulls reached the wall, and their numbers had only decreased by less than one-tenth!
It wasn’t just the crossbows being too slow to kill—it was also because this time, the number of bulls far exceeded the last wave of Savage Lizards!
By now, the four had retreated into the stone house.
Seeing the situation, Shang Xinlei’s expression turned grave. “We may have made the wrong choice… If we had two catapults right now, things might look much better.”
Qian Gongyu nervously raised her fist. “Are we going to fight?”
“Wait.”
The one who spoke wasn’t Jiang Ten—it was Jie Yuanshao.
She stared intently at the vibrating sapphire statue and said, “Let’s wait and see.”
Boom!
The statue suddenly shattered, and a blade-wielding warrior clad in heavy armor stepped out.
His armor was rusted and covered in barbs between the plates.
His entire head was encased in the helmet—no vents or eyeholes.
Every movement caused his armor to clank.
His feet sank deeply into the soil as he walked, like a lumbering beast.
He dragged two long, curved blades along the ground as he moved, looking more like a walking corpse than a warrior.
“I knew I wasn’t wrong…” Jie Yuanshao muttered. “If it’s him…”
Thud!
The Blade Warrior leapt violently into the air and landed in the midst of the bulls, instantly unleashing a storm of flesh and blood.
Three nearby bulls were almost instantly hacked into chunks.
The surrounding Small Savage Bulls immediately turned their horns to attack him, but he showed no fear.
He walked and fought along the wall’s edge, and even facing hundreds of bulls, he didn’t fall behind!
“He’s from your family, isn’t he?” Shang Xinlei suddenly asked.
“Yes,” Jie Yuanshao replied. “Didn’t expect to see him elsewhere…”
“Um… what are you two talking about?” Qian Gongyu asked cautiously, then quickly added, “If it’s inconvenient, never mind!”
“It’s nothing inconvenient—I know this statue.”
“Huh? You know it?”
“Any member of the Jie Family should recognize him,” Jie Yuanshao said flatly. “He’s the demon king of the Ironblood Graveyard Secret Realm—the Dual-Blade General.”