Bingzhou, Yanmen Commandery.
Shanwu County
Yanmen Commandery, the gateway to the Great Han and to Bingzhou. Within the commandery, Shanwu County was a critical defensive point.
Right now, in a ravine about thirty miles outside Shanwu County, nestled in a valley among the desolate mountains.
Dozens of vicious horse bandits, their faces brutish and cruel, paced restlessly within the valley, their expressions grim. They were armed to the teeth, ready for a fight.
"Hasn't Xiao Liu returned yet?"
The one-eyed leader, an eyepatch covering one eye, asked with a grim expression.
"Boss," one of the bandits replied cautiously, "do you think... do you think he took the goods and ran?"
"Damn it all! That ungrateful bastard! Boss, what do we do now? The stuff is gone. The Zhao family won't let us off the hook!"
WHOOSH... The one-eyed leader let out a slow breath.
A vicious look crossed his face. In a low voice, he said to a fierce, blade-wielding bandit beside him, "Shuangdao, since Xiao Liu has forsaken our brotherhood and abandoned us, there's no need to keep them alive either!"
The fierce bandit nodded and turned to leave.
"The other item is gone, and that's that. But we absolutely cannot lose the Array Plate that lowlife has in the Secret Realm. Otherwise, the Zhao family..."
The one-eyed leader said gravely.
Hearing this, the bandit shuddered violently, recalling the fate of the last of their brothers who fell into the Zhao family's hands. He quickly spoke.
"Yes, yes, Boss! I'll take a few brothers and search right now. Even if we have to scour every inch of this place, we'll find that bitch!"
"The person isn't important. The item is!"
"Yes, yes! The brothers will definitely bring the item back to you in one piece!"
...
Outside the valley, Xiao Jing held his breath, hidden in a tree among the woods.
He silently observed the movements of the bandits in the valley.
He had arrived at the coordinates provided by the forum poster an hour ago.
Fortunately, he was habitually cautious and had been carefully concealing his tracks.
He hadn't been in the mountains long before he spotted the bandits in this valley, nearly running into them face-to-face.
Xiao Jing held his breath, his nerves stretched taut.
Although he couldn't use a scouting skill, he could still feel the sheer ferocity coming off the bandits. He made a quick assessment.
Even one-on-one, he probably wouldn't be a match for any of them, to say nothing of the dozen or so he could see in the valley, not to mention any hidden lookouts.
"You, you, and you! Follow me and search!"
"If you can't find that bitch, I'll skin you all alive!"
The distance was a bit far, and the bandit's voice reached Xiao Jing sounding muffled, but he could still make out the general meaning.
His heart skipped a beat. 'Here they come!'
Why else would he risk camping out to watch these bandits?
It was because he couldn't find the Secret Realm's location!
He had the coordinates, but they only gave a general location, pointing him to this range of low hills. The exact spot was nowhere to be found.
In such a vast mountain range, how long would it take to find a small, cave-like entrance?
So, after a moment's hesitation, he decided to monitor the bandits and follow the clues to find the Secret Realm.
And then, he would establish his village.
He hadn't forgotten that his Golden Village-Building Order had an incredibly heaven-defying effect: designate a 1-kilometer radius as his territory, and all unclaimed objects within it would belong to the Lord.
'Logically speaking, an ancient Secret Realm should count as an unclaimed object, right?!'
'That mysterious voice never said an 'Ancient Secret Realm' couldn't have an owner!'
If he could claim an entire 'Ancient Secret Realm' just by building a village... the thought of the rewards sent a thrill through Xiao Jing's entire body.
Xiao Jing calmed his excitement slightly and returned his gaze to the bandits.
Before long, Xiao Jing saw the bandit leader who had been shouting earlier point to several of the lookouts. They then followed a small path behind the camp and headed up the mountain.
He quickly followed, tailing them from a distance. They traversed a relatively flat path, entered the mountain proper, navigated a rugged trail, passed through a dense forest, and after many twists and turns, arrived at an exposed stone ridge.
The bandits stopped and scanned their surroundings warily. Seeing no issues, they deftly began to climb up the stone ridge.
Xiao Jing looked up and saw a 'cave' hidden by vines not far up the ridge. The bandits scrambled up in a few movements, entered the cave, and disappeared from his sight.
"Finally found it!"
He was a little excited. After taking a long look at the cave and memorizing the surrounding environment, Xiao Jing headed down the mountain via another path without a second glance.
...
After leaving the Secret Realm's location, Xiao Jing took a detour through the mountains, searching for a suitable place to build his village.
After a thorough search, he finally found a river valley.
The valley was surrounded by mountains on all four sides, with only a single narrow path for entry and exit. In the center lay a vast, flat plain, like a hidden paradise.
Easy to defend and hard to attack—it was a heaven-sent location for a village.
Most importantly, it was very close to the Secret Realm—definitely within a 1-kilometer radius.
With this thought, Xiao Jing no longer hesitated. He silently recited in his mind: 'Use Village-Building Order.'
The Village-Building Order slowly floated into the air, emitting a dazzling white light.
The white light flashed, and accompanied by the sound of hammers striking anvils, a village abruptly appeared before Xiao Jing.
He stared in shock at the miraculous scene.
'Is this the power of the system?'
He murmured in awe, his gaze returning to the village that had just appeared.
The village was exceptionally simple.
At its center stood a stone village hall with a small courtyard. In the courtyard was a stone stele, half a man's height.
Next to the village hall was a massive wooden structure, solemn and imposing, radiating an aura of iron and blood. This was the golden building that came with the Village-Building Order—the Wind Cavalry Camp.
Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Jing first walked over to the stone stele in the village hall's courtyard and began to inspect the village information.
[Territory]: Unnamed (Level 1 Village)
[Lord]: Xiao Jing
[Population]: 1 (Requires player to recruit)
[Morale]: 100 (The whole village is just you. How could morale not be high?)
[Security]: 100 (Same reason!)
[Economic Index]: 0/100
[Political Index]: 1/100
[Cultural Index]: 0/100
[Military Index]: 2001/100
[Territory Specialty]: None
[Existing Buildings]: Village-Level Lord's Residence, Wind Cavalry Camp (Gold), Thatched Huts (5)
[Buildable Buildings]: Residences, Clinic, Basic Market, General Store...
[Specialty]: Pre-Qin Legacy—Ancient Qin Secret Realm
[Summary]: ...You're pretty good at exploiting bugs.
Xiao Jing rubbed his face, a wry smile appearing first.
The entire village consisted of just him, with no resources whatsoever. It couldn't be more pathetic.
But as he continued reading, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!
A Military Index of 2001???
'Where did that come from?'
He glanced at the Wind Cavalry Camp nearby, a guess forming in his mind.
With that thought, he pulled up the panel for the Wind Cavalry Camp.
[Building]: Wind Cavalry Camp
[Quality]: Gold (Unique)
[Military Index]: 2000
[Recruitable Unit]: Wind Cavalry
[Recruitment Requirements]: 2 Tael of Gold, 1 Warhorse (dead or alive), 5 Units of Iron, 12 Units of Wood.
[Summary]: Young man, have you ever heard the phrase 'Create with heart, play with joy'? Paying to win makes me stronger!
...