...
Xiao Jing looked at the stats of the Wind Cavalry camp and was quite satisfied at first.
But as he kept reading, his face fell.
Isn't this recruitment cost a bit too high? A full 2 gold, and that was without even considering the other resource requirements.
He remembered that the bandit he killed earlier only had two strings of copper coins on him, barely a hundred or so...
"This is such a rip-off. Is this Tencent reincarnated or what?"
Staring at the enormous resource cost to recruit Wind Cavalry, Xiao Jing felt a dull ache of frustration. It brought back the dreadful memories from his time on Earth, of being dominated by pay-to-win games and their "Create Happiness with Your Wallet" philosophy.
With a hint of melancholy, Xiao Jing opened the Wind Cavalry's stat panel within the camp interface.
[Unit]: Wind Cavalry
[Initial Level]: 15 (0/3,000)
[Type]: Puppet Soldier (Special emotionless unit: Morale is constant (morale-reducing/boosting tactics and traits are ineffective)), Heavy Cavalry
[Potential]: Second-Rate (Blue, +1 free Attribute Point per level)
[Attributes]: Yong: 21, Martial Intent: Not Unlocked, Morale: 8
[Hundred Schools Arts]: Horsemanship Proficiency, Archery Proficiency, Basic Military Formation
[Martial Arts]: None
[Traits]: 1. Rider of the Wind (Purple): Passive. Speed +80%, stamina consumption -50%. On windy days, Yong +5.
2. Cavalry God (Purple): Removes archer weakness. When charging, combat power +20%.
3. Undying Puppet Soldier (Gold): One of the Mo family's greatest creations. As long as the puppet core is intact, the unit cannot die, but it requires time to recover.
4. Intellectually Weak (White): As a puppet, it has low intelligence and extremely high loyalty, but can only understand simple commands. The Martial Intent attribute cannot be unlocked.
[Evaluation]: Though its mind is overly simple, you cannot deny its power...
This...
Although he had been mentally prepared, Xiao Jing was still shocked by the power of the Wind Cavalry.
They started with a Yong of 21, nearly five times his own...
And their traits were even more absurd: two Purple and one Gold, all of them extremely useful...
That golden Undying trait, in particular, made Xiao Jing's jaw drop.
"So this is the terrifying power of a supreme-tier unit?"
Xiao Jing clucked his tongue in amazement.
'It's a pity... it would be perfect without that Intellectually Weak trait...' Xiao Jing thought, his greed getting the better of him.
Under the great power of the system, the village was slowly built. The moment it was completed, a system notification finally arrived.
"DING! Congratulations to the player for successfully establishing a village. The Lord's Stele has been generated. Please name your village."
'Name the village?'
Xiao Jing pondered for a moment, getting a slight headache. He had never been good at naming things. He ventured, "Wilderness Village?"
"Name successfully registered. Congratulations to the player for establishing the territory: Wilderness Village. Faction panel unlocked!"
"Territory established successfully. Congratulations, Lord, for being the first player to establish a village. Would you like to make an anonymous announcement?"
'The first one??'
Xiao Jing felt a surge of excitement at the words, but after a moment's thought, he realized it was to be expected.
After all, it had only been half a day since the players arrived in this world, and getting a Village Creation Order was incredibly difficult. If not for his heaven-defying luck, managing to get one to drop from a mere bandit, how could he possibly have built a village!
"Yes!"
Xiao Jing nodded, decisively choosing to remain anonymous.
Announcing his name now would certainly boost his reputation among the players. With a little promotion on the forums, a single call could rally hundreds to his cause, attracting a large number of players to join him and greatly accelerating his territory's development.
However, that went against his principle of 'laying low and developing quietly.' Moreover, revealing his name meant exposing himself. If someone with ill intentions decided to target him in the future, he would be constantly busy fending them off.
As Xiao Jing confirmed his choice, a booming system announcement echoed in the ears of every player.
"DING! Congratulations to Lord ** for establishing the 'Wilderness Village,' the First Village Under Heaven. You have been rewarded with the personal trait 'First Under Heaven (Lesser)' (Blue), Reputation +50, the treasure 'Refugee Attraction Scroll' (Yellow), and the treasure 'Random Historical General Attraction Scroll' (Yellow)."
"DING! Congratulations to Lord ** for establishing the 'Wilderness Village,' the First Village Under Heaven. You have been rewarded with the personal trait 'First Under Heaven (Lesser)' (Blue), Reputation +50, the treasure 'Refugee Attraction Scroll' (Yellow), and the treasure 'Random Historical General Attraction Scroll' (Yellow)."
"DING! Congratulations to Lord ** for establishing the 'Wilderness Village,' the First Village Under Heaven. You have been rewarded with the personal trait 'First Under Heaven (Lesser)' (Blue), Reputation +50, the treasure 'Refugee Attraction Scroll' (Yellow), and the treasure 'Random Historical General Attraction Scroll' (Yellow)."
Three consecutive, thunderous system announcements bombarded the players' ears, ensuring that every player, no matter where they were, heard this utterly shocking news.
Unsurprisingly, the players went wild. On the forums, countless new threads started popping up like crazy.
"This has to be fake!"
"Oh my god, someone's using cheats!!!"
"I'm still struggling to survive, and someone's already built a village???"
"Listening to the 'village created' announcement in my ear, clutching the ten copper coins in my hand, eating this dry, sour flatbread... my spirit is completely broken!"
"Damn lucky bastard, go die!"
"Holy shit, powerhouse, carry me please!!"
"Traits, reputation, treasures... HISS... The rewards are so generous! I'm so jealous, I want them so bad!!"
"The guy above me can keep dreaming. We all know how hard it is to get a Village Creation Order. Sigh, I guess the rewards for the village-building rankings have nothing to do with us unlucky schlubs..."
"Boo-hoo, why'd the powerhouse hide their name? I wanted to ride their coattails..."
...
The system announcement of Xiao Jing's village creation sent massive shockwaves through the player community.
「Yang Province, Huiji Commandery.」
The heroic young man who had previously advised Xiao Jing on the forums, 'World of Yangzhou,' listened to the system announcement with a grim expression.
"As expected. One can never underestimate the heroes of this world!"
"But how did this secretive person in the announcement get a Village Creation Order? Could they have gotten it from one of those difficult, greedy aristocratic families?"
"Damn it! I have to pick up the pace. I'll level up a bit more, then go find an ancient Secret Realm to get a Village Creation Order! I just hope I don't fall too far behind by then!!"
...
「Yizhou, Ba Commandery.」
Dressed in brilliant golden armor, 'Heroic Guardian' also wore an ugly expression.
"Where the hell did this guy come from!"
"Find out if he's a subordinate of one of the other player factions."
A militia guard in leather armor standing nearby heard this and nodded respectfully.
"Damn it, that bastard completely messed up my plans!" 'Heroic Guardian' cursed under his breath.
He paused, then continued.
"No, I have to be first in all things. I must speed up. It seems I'll have to agree to that greedy family's conditions to get the Village Creation Order from them as soon as possible. Otherwise..."
...
In Luoyang, 'Sold Books for Soldiers'; in Xuchang, 'Legacy of Wei Wu'; in Liang Province, 'Chasing Red Hare by Moonlight'...
Any player with even a hint of ambition, upon hearing the system announcement, felt a mix of frustration and anxiety, and without exception, they all accelerated their plans to acquire a 'Village Creation Order'...
One could imagine that a wave of village building was about to begin...