Chapter 69: Full Capacity and Full Roster
Hang Yu once again checked his small herb field.
He had purchased one thousand Blue Moon Grass, five hundred Red Moon Grass, and fifty Dragon Pattern Ginseng seeds from the trading market, spending a total of 200 Abyssal Magic Crystals, among which the Dragon Pattern Ginseng was undoubtedly the most valuable; though he only bought fifty seeds, it accounted for nearly half of the procurement cost.
The maturity cycle of the Dragon Pattern Ginseng required about three years.
Even when planted in a spiritual field, it would still take nearly ten days.
After maturing, this type of spiritual herb could continue to absorb spiritual energy, and its quality would improve with age, even having the potential for breakthroughs, so theoretically, the longer it was cultivated, the better.
Unfortunately.
There were too few spiritual fields.
If he had enough spiritual fields in hand, he could have planted more rare materials in advance, saving a lot of costs once they started producing, and they could play a crucial role at critical moments.
Even if the production exceeded what the territory could consume, he could still import seeds and sell the matured materials, earning considerable profits!
If he could establish an alchemy industry chain, refining herbs into specialty medicines for export, the profits could even multiply several times over, enough to become a long-term stable source of financial income for the territory.
However, nothing was ever perfect.
Hang Yu was already very lucky to have obtained a small piece of spiritual field for himself.
After all, the blueprint for spiritual fields was extremely expensive in the trading market and often couldn’t be bought even if one had the money; some unlucky lords couldn't build a field even after operating for three to five years and could only buy materials at high prices from lords who already had fields.
First, he would stabilize production of a batch of Blood Recovery Pills and Qi Recovery Pills.
These two were the most common and ordinary types of recovery medicines; although their recovery speed was relatively slow, if widely equipped across the army and staff, they would significantly enhance the territory’s overall strength and output.
After Hang Yu assigned related alchemy tasks to Bai Mu,
He noticed that Bai Mu seemed to have something to say but was hesitant.
"If you have something to say, just speak freely!"
Upon hearing the lord’s words,
Bai Mu no longer hesitated and said, "I heard that the territory is about to face an extremely dark trial. Lord, perhaps it would be wise to invest more resources into building defensive structures to minimize potential losses."
As an alchemist,
Bai Mu originally shouldn’t have spoken these words.
But he didn’t want this lord to fall so easily either.
Currently, this territory’s defensive fortifications were basically zero; relying only on less than a hundred dependent citizens, plus dozens of militia from Hexi Village, there was no way they could resist even a single wave of assault from the Ultimate Darkness Abyss.
Hang Yu calmly said, "I will consider this matter."
So-called defensive structures referred to upgrading city walls, building formation barriers, deploying arrow towers, magic towers, or setting up various extraordinary traps.
With these fortifications, when the territory was under threat, especially during monster sieges like the Day of Ultimate Darkness, they could play a decisive role, at least significantly reducing troop casualties.
Among the Tier-One Human Buildings, there were several defensive types.
However, Hang Yu had never even thought about building such things at the current stage.
First of all, although defensive buildings were useful, their construction costs were often high, and the territory, already financially strained, couldn’t afford such a budget temporarily.
Secondly, why should Hang Yu lower the casualty rate of his troops?
At this stage, leading an elite regular army himself was enough to provide a solid backbone; under these circumstances, the heavier the casualties suffered by the Fourth Calamity Army, the better!
Lord Hang Yu maintained an aloof and composed attitude of utter indifference.
This left Bai Mu very puzzled, wondering what was going on with this young lord. Didn’t he realize that his territory was already on the brink of disaster? But Bai Mu said no more, having already given his advice.
Hang Yu returned to his residence.
Yan Ling promptly delivered lunch.
Just as Hang Yu was about to open the Lord’s Perspective to check on the Fourth Calamity Army, he suddenly noticed that after delivering the lunch, Yan Ling did not immediately rush back to work as usual.
"Is there something else?"
"Lord, I heard the soldiers of the Calamity Army say that the territory is about to be attacked by Abyssal forces."
Yan Ling looked worried.
Hang Yu smiled lightly to reassure her, "So you’ve heard about it too? It’s true! But our contract doesn’t include any defense obligations. Once the territorial defense battle begins, you can call upon the Will of the Stars to teleport back at any time. You don’t need to worry about safety; just focus on your work without overthinking..."
He hadn't finished speaking yet.
Yan Ling pulled out a small box and placed it in front of him.
Inside were neatly arranged rows of sparkling Abyssal Magic Crystals.
Seeing these Magic Crystals, Hang Yu couldn’t help but be stunned, "This is..."
Yan Ling solemnly said, "Lord, although my strength is weak and my abilities limited, I still hope to contribute to the territory. This is the 200 Abyssal Magic Crystals I’ve saved up myself, and I wish to donate them all to the territory to fight against the Abyss!"
What?
Donation!
Hang Yu was genuinely shocked.
Yan Ling, a fledgling forger,
Had a monthly salary of merely 150 Abyssal Magic Crystals.
And now she was directly donating 200 Abyssal Magic Crystals to the territory, basically working for free for a month and still paying out of her pocket? If every employee in the world were so considerate of their bosses, life for bosses would be too beautiful!
"Your kindness is well received by this lord!"
"Lord, there’s no need to worry. I like working here; this is all voluntary!"
Yan Ling’s gaze was firm and her expression serious.
Although for her, 200 Abyssal Magic Crystals were a significant amount,
If this amount could help the territory, it would be worth it. Yan Ling knew very well that as a low-level forger, she wouldn’t be valued anywhere else. Only by following this lord could she be nurtured and grow rapidly.
"Alright, since it’s your heartfelt wish, I will accept this batch of Magic Crystals!"
Hang Yu paused for a moment and continued, "However, the territory has always maintained strict discipline and clear rewards and punishments. As the lord, I cannot take this batch of Magic Crystals for free. I will exchange them for 20,000 Contribution Points for you!"
Yan Ling was utterly shocked.
Although the lord had promised to implement a welfare policy of exchanging Magic Crystals for Contribution Points, this benefit was limited and on a quota basis; it wasn’t something you could immediately redeem just by having Magic Crystals. Now, it was equivalent to an advance exchange!
Yan Ling only wanted to help the lord through the crisis,
And hadn’t expected to receive any resources in return.
However, the lord’s resolute attitude moved her deeply.
Even though Hang Yu granted Yan Ling 20,000 Contribution Points in one go, Yan Ling did not immediately exchange them for Essence, because the territory battle was imminent, and Essence should be used to cultivate soldiers.
If the territory survived the crisis,
These 20,000 Contribution Points would become 20,000 Essence.
If the territory did not survive, then at least she had done her part for it.
Yan Ling took her leave.
She went back to continue working.
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction, "Such a good employee!"
【Abyssal Magic Crystals +200！】
【Current Abyssal Magic Crystals: 392！】
Hang Yu planned to sell 3,000 portions of food; currently, the food prices were being heavily inflated, and 3,000 portions were expected to bring in 500 to 600 Abyssal Magic Crystals, making the total on hand around 1,000 Abyssal Magic Crystals!
"Excellent!"
"Enough for now."
"After seizing the Core Nightmare Source,"
"I’ll be able to acquire a large amount of Magic Crystals."
"In that case, upgrading the barracks, increasing population, and preparing for the second beta test will all be no problem."
Hang Yu did not let the Magic Crystals sit idle; he immediately spent 240 Magic Crystals to summon twelve regular soldiers, then used up most of the stored Essence to uniformly raise them to level 5 or 6.
Once these soldiers donned their excellent equipment, they immediately became combat-ready. Although they were much weaker compared to the original eight elite personal guards, they were still enough to further reinforce the basic defense of the territory.
At this stage, maintaining a 9:1 or 8:2 ratio between the Fourth Calamity Army and the regular army was most appropriate.
The Calamity Army would produce a large surplus of Essence in battle; Hang Yu alone might not be able to absorb all of it, and it wasn’t ideal to immediately feed it back to the Calamity soldiers. Hence, it was necessary to forge an ultra-elite NPC force.
As the territory’s size, player base, and number of lands increased in the future, management difficulties would also grow.
This ultra-elite force, not involved in territorial expansion but acting like a precise machine with absolute obedience and no emotion, would become the main garrison between the headquarters and each land, playing a crucial role in maintaining stability and helping the lord manage the scattered players across the world.
Current Population: 100/100.
The territory was now at full capacity and full roster!
Less than twenty hours remained until the Day of Ultimate Darkness.
Hang Yu was fully prepared and even a little eager.