Chapter 131 : New Employee! Attribute Potion! Players Comprehend New Skills!
Chapter 131: New Employee! Attribute Potion! Players Comprehend New Skills!
Hang Yu did not immediately release a new main quest.
Because in the past three short days, the Calamity Army had gone through several large-scale battles and events: the Sanxiang City Defense Battle, the Luoshui Main City Defense Battle, and the White Tiger City Capture Battle.
Hang Yu decided to give the players a day of rest.
Otherwise, the pace would be far too rushed.
The Calamity Army also needed some time to train new skills, strengthen their equipment, or throw a thirty-to-fifty-table banquet at the Kiba Grand Restaurant in celebration.
Right now, players had a surplus of food on hand, and there were quite a few Abyssal Magic Crystals circulating in the market that had not been fully handed over to the territory. Shouldn’t they be encouraged to quickly spend their Contribution Points?
On one hand, it was a positive feedback mechanism to stimulate players' desires.
On the other, it was a tactic to drain players' wallets and leave them broke.
Only by doing so could they stay fully motivated at all times.
Hang Yu said, “How much resource reserve does the territory currently have?”
Xiao Ba immediately reported, “Reporting to Master, the current status of territory resource reserves is as follows: Abyssal Magic Crystals – 31,553, Tier-One Food – 56,945, Tier-One Materials – 61,521, Tier-One Material Essence – 665,313, Tier-Two Material Essence – 93,213, Grey-Quality Equipment – 3,801 units, White-Quality Equipment – 2,245 units… Abyssal Essence Points approximately 2.6853 million!”
Tsk tsk.
Truly luxurious!
Hang Yu had never been this wealthy before.
A sense of unprecedented accomplishment and satisfaction washed over him.
The scale of this war fortune was astonishing—especially the Abyssal Essence income of several million and an Essence Reserve exceeding two million. If other human Lords found out, they would probably stare with bulging eyes.
Even though higher-tier Lords were more capable of gaining Essence, accumulating it was still difficult—let alone storing up this much all at once!
Although there would be no large-scale wars in the near future,
The Calamity Army had already grown. With the current size and level of the player base, increasing by hundreds of thousands of Essence per day was no challenge at all.
It was worth noting—
As more territory was conquered and the domain expanded,
The territory’s financial income also steadily increased in this process. At this moment, it had already reached about 1,350 per month, and the territory automatically generated around 45 Abyssal Magic Crystals per day.
Perhaps it was still not much,
But it was a stream of passive income that flowed steadily.
It allowed for a laid-back, stable profit and continuous growth.
In the future, as Hang Yu conquered more regions and brought more populations under control, this portion of the income would also continue to rise. As long as he protected his territory and people well, the potential growth here was considerable.
Just over a thousand players had achieved such results.
Hang Yu was already eager to further expand the population size.
Next, he only needed to occupy the various settlements. With the increase in territory and affiliated citizens, the territory would gain 900 more slots in the coming days.
If all were used to recruit players—
The Calamity Army would expand to 2,000 members.
These 2,000 Calamity Army players, together with the tens of thousands of native soldiers formed by affiliated citizens, would be more than enough to constitute a powerful and imposing army!
【Essence - 50,000!】
【Ding, you have reached Level 16. HP +100, Mana +100, Strength +10, Agility +10, Spirit +10, Will +10!】
【Essence - 60,000!】
【Ding, you have reached Level 17…】
【Essence - 70,000!】
【Ding, you have reached Level 18…】
【Essence - 80,000!】
【Ding, you have reached Level 19…】
【Essence - 90,000!】
【Ding, you have reached Level 20. HP +100, Mana +100, Strength +10, Agility +10, Spirit +10, Will +10!】
Because resources were abundant,
There were no worries holding him back.
Hang Yu spent 350,000 Essence to raise himself to Level 20.
This was already the peak of Tier-Two cultivation. The next level would be the bottleneck for advancing from Tier-Two to Tier-Three, and this single level alone would require 300,000 Essence.
Although the number was quite large, it was no problem for Hang Yu. The only issue was that his Tier-Two talent had not yet been activated, so breaking through to Tier-Three in the short term was impossible.
Hang Yu was satisfied regardless.
It was said that there were many human Lords who spent ten or even twenty years working hard, cautiously developing like walking on thin ice, only to get stuck at Tier-Two. Meanwhile, Hang Yu had reached Level 20 in less than a month. What more could he possibly ask for?
However, Hang Yu also realized that the higher the level, the greater the experience required. Although his current Essence Reserve was plentiful, if he wanted to rapidly train players or Personal Guards, then clearly even this much Essence would not be enough.
The higher the soldier's level, the higher the cost.
Training a near Tier-Three human soldier required nearly 500,000 Essence!
For an ordinary Tier-Two Lord, that was probably several months’ worth of total income—not even counting the additional costs required to craft a full set of skills for the soldier!
After all the effort to cultivate such a super soldier, if the unit accidentally died in battle, it would be a complete loss with no return—unless a rare resurrection method was available.
No wonder lower-tier races were so weak in the Land of the Stars.
Previously, Hang Yu had only seen this phenomenon. Now that he had truly become a Lord, he finally realized how difficult it was for races like humanity to survive in the Land of the Stars!
Lords of powerful races could summon soldiers that came out with incredibly high levels, excellent talents, and multiple high-quality skills.
What could Lords of weaker races possibly compare with?
Difficult!
Far too difficult!
If one wanted to stand out?
Luck and ability were both absolutely essential!
Of course, for Hang Yu, who commanded the Fourth Calamity, such troubles would never apply to him.
He continued leveling up.
Spending nearly another 50,000 Essence,
Hang Yu learned the latest four embedded skills.
【Your "Wind Blade Technique" has reached max level. Permanent Spirit +10!】
【Your "Savage Charge" has reached max level. Permanent Strength +10!】
【Your "Explosive Flame Spell" has reached max level. Permanent Spirit +15!】
【Your "Dragon-Lizard Transformation Secret Art" has reached max level. Permanent Will +15!】
"Xiao Ba, with my current strength level, approximately what tier can I reach?" Hang Yu’s attributes and level were getting higher and higher, and at this point he had grown curious about his own power.
The Heavenly Dao Cube, Xiao Ba, answered, “According to data analysis, Master, your current overall combat power has already surpassed that of a same-level Abyss Commander and is approaching the level of an Abyss Overlord!”
No surprise.
After the Calamity Army occupied more than ten new Blessing Points,
The Tier-One talent skill “Pioneer’s Heart” continued to take effect.
Hang Yu’s already high all-around attributes were enhanced by roughly fifty percent.
With the additional buff from the other talent, Lord’s Aura, Hang Yu’s attribute amplification ratio had reached about seventy percent—enough to elevate his power beyond that of an Abyss Commander and place him among the Abyss Overlords. Even a being as powerful as Chi Lin was no longer someone he saw as a threat.
For a race like humanity,
Achieving this level of success was truly not easy.
Hang Yu patrolled his territory from the Lord’s Hall.
After over half a month of development, Luoshui Main City had begun to take shape.
It could now accommodate over a thousand players. Furthermore, Hang Yu planned to gradually relocate 3,000 civilians and several units of soldiers from the Woniu Mountain area.
These people could serve as the labor force to build roads and houses, farm land, and pioneer new areas. They could also fill roles needed in the service industry—working in workshops or helping out in the canteen.
NPCs could issue quests and hire players.
Players could also recruit NPCs to help with tasks.
As the population increased and labor expanded, it would take less than two months for Luoshui Main City’s scale and prosperity to surpass that of Sanxiang City.
"The main city is still too crude!"
Hang Yu surveyed the base camp and said, “A territory can’t rely on just military strength. I have to find a way to accelerate all aspects of the city's development and quickly grow both its manufacturing and service sectors.”
So-called manufacturing referred mainly to all kinds of production industries like Alchemy and Forging. A good territory had to produce its own flagship goods. That way, even without fighting and killing, it could generate a healthy trade surplus through territory trade.
One of the biggest current issues for Hang Yu’s territory was its shallow foundation.
It had no special resources nor any impressive products. But this wasn’t something that could be rushed. After all, the Producer Class members of the territory were still inexperienced and required time for training and development.
As for the service industry, its scope was even broader.
Beyond service facilities that enhanced territory strength, there was also a need for pure spiritual development and entertainment facilities.
From a planner’s perspective, Hang Yu did not want Twisted Three Kingdoms to forever be a game of non-stop killing and grinding. He hoped that once the territory reached sufficient size and scale, the game could accommodate all types of players.
At that time,
Players who loved war could continue expanding territory.
Players who loved adventure could explore the unknown freely.
Players who enjoyed life, research, or learning could farm and raise animals, travel, have fun, seek out delicious food, or even fully integrate with local NPCs.
This place could become anyone’s second home.
“Thinking about this now feels a bit distant. I should still take it step by step and first lay a solid foundation for the territory.”
Hang Yu decided to patrol the territory.
Especially to check on production status.
When he arrived at the Forging Workshop, he saw a huge number of players lining up at the entrance with equipment in hand. The workshop’s main business was no longer manufacturing gear, but strengthening and maintaining it.
The equipment held by players was getting higher in grade.
Each enhancement cost was quite shocking.
The Forging Workshop was making money hand over fist every day.
“Wow!”
“God Yu is here!”
“Everyone, make way!”
“Lord, why are you here?”
Hang Yu saw how busy the Forging Workshop was and originally planned to return at another time, but he was immediately recognized by passing players.
The Lord held an exalted position in the hearts of the players. In an instant, they hurriedly made way. At the same time, the three Forgers working inside also stopped their tasks after hearing the news.
“Yan Ling greets the Lord!”
Yan Ling had already reached Level 13.
Her Forging skill had also reached Intermediate Forging Level 3!
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction. “Your growth is quite fast.”
Yan Ling quickly responded humbly, “This is all thanks to the Lord’s guidance! Yan Ling was merely lucky!”
Hang Yu said, “Keep it up. In the future, you’ll surely have a place among the Forgers of the Land of the Stars.”
“Yes!”
Yan Ling’s cheeks flushed with excitement.
She was completely overwhelmed by the energy of the boss before her.
As long as the Lord did not abandon her, becoming a Master Forger in the future was a certainty!
Hang Yu had always been satisfied with Yan Ling. Even though her abilities had been improving rapidly lately, she still remained diligent and professional. His gaze then shifted to the other two Forgers.
Aside from their initial recruitment,
When he had exchanged words and gone through the hiring process with them,
They had mostly been left to their own devices afterward. But both had been selected through Xiao Ba’s screening, so their work ethic and abilities were still reliable.
“Forger Peek!”
“Forger Yam!”
“Greetings to the great Lord!”
Like Yan Ling and Bai Mu, the two new Forgers were not human.
Peek was a Double-Faced Rat. The Double-Faced Rats were a subrace of the Ratmen. In appearance, there was little difference from other Ratmen. He stood around 1.4 meters tall and looked extremely shrewd.
Yam came from the Flamehorn Tribe, a semi-elemental stone-man race. His characteristics included a rock-like body and two horns growing from his head. His internal body temperature was extremely high, and he had a burly frame of about two meters tall, giving off a somewhat simple and honest impression.
Both were now Level 10 Forgers.
At this moment, they knelt before the human Lord, not daring to breathe too loudly.
In fact, when the two of them first learned they were being recruited by a human Lord, they held a certain amount of disdain, thinking there was no future in working for a human Lord.
However, in just a few short days,
Their views had completely changed.
Although Forgers spent all their time working inside the Forging Workshop and hadn’t seen the carnage or maneuvering of the battlefield firsthand, they could still easily learn from the players what had happened recently.
This Lord had just won a Lord War!
Not only had he risen at an incredible pace, but he had also defeated a Dragon-Lizard Tribe Lord who had been rooted in the Abyss for at least four to five years!
This Lord was absolutely not an ordinary human.
There were undoubtedly countless secrets and methods hidden within him!
Of course, even though they had discovered various unusual aspects of this territory, the Forgers would not leak any of this information.
Because they could not, and they would not.
They could not, because when Hang Yu signed the employment contract, he required every employee to swear an oath to the Will of the Stars—this was the highest-level confidentiality pact.
Any attempt to leak secrets about Hang Yu or the territory would be forcibly blocked and punished by the Will of the Stars.
They would not, because Hang Yu had assigned them NPC Templates that allowed them to directly earn Essence through performance—something other territories could only dream of.
Currently, the demand for Forging services in the territory was enormous.
Forgers had no need to worry about not having work. With a year or two of effort, they could surpass others by ten or even twenty years. Who could resist such an incredible opportunity?
Peek and Yam were Forgers who had clawed their way up from the bottom of society. They deeply valued this once-in-a-lifetime chance to rise above.
Hang Yu inquired with Yan Ling about the recent situation.
“It’s still not enough Forgers!”
Hang Yu noticed that even with the addition of two new Forgers, the speed of player growth was even faster. By the time the next wave of players arrived, just three Forgers would be far from sufficient for the Calamity Army.
Fortunately, after occupying White Tiger City, the Dragon-Lizard Tribe’s territory,
The increase in controlled zones and territory area allowed for one additional Skill Tower, Forging Workshop, and Alchemy Workshop to be built—just enough to recruit more Forgers to meet the booming demand.
The Forging Workshop was extremely busy.
At this moment, there were still dozens of players waiting in line.
Hang Yu didn’t want to hold up operations any longer, so after giving his staff a few words of encouragement, he wrapped up this brief inspection.
Leaving the Forging Workshop,
He walked into the Alchemy Workshop across the street.
Compared to the Forging Workshop, which was practically smoking with activity,
The business at the Alchemy Workshop clearly appeared less intense, creating a stark contrast.
The main reason was that Forging services were more diverse—ranging from production and crafting to strengthening and repairing equipment. Any one of these was a full business on its own.
Alchemy services relied solely on selling potions.
The territory’s material supply was still not fully stable.
This caused the Alchemy Workshop to seem less busy than the Forging Workshop, but lower visibility didn’t mean the Alchemy Workshop wasn’t making money.
Equipment was a durable good.
Potions were consumables.
Their fundamental roles were not the same.
Potions were consumables, yet not purely so.
Because there were many types of potions, with broad coverage, they were far from being limited to traditional red and blue potions.
“Lord!”
Chief Alchemist Bai Mu stepped out with two other Alchemists.
Bai Mu was now Level 13. His Intermediate Alchemy was still at Level 1, growing a bit slower than Yan Ling, mainly because the Alchemy Workshop’s performance currently couldn’t compare to the Forging Workshop across the way.
However,
Bai Mu, as a retired Lord,
Was a wealthy uncle who hid his strength.
If Hang Yu were to open up Abyssal Magic Crystal exchange benefits, Bai Mu could easily surpass poor fox Yan Ling.
Hang Yu’s gaze landed on the two new Alchemists.
Bai Mu’s subordinates were a pair of twin sisters from the Flower Sprite Tribe.
Though they were only one meter tall, they looked similar to humans. Their appearances and body proportions were perfect. Aside from their miniature size, they almost perfectly matched human aesthetic standards.
The difference was,
The twin sisters had long blue-white hair, ears that were pointed like elves, and wings on their backs. Unlike Bai Mu’s feathered wings, theirs were thin as cicada wings and emitted a dreamy glow.
Among the myriad races in the Land of the Stars,
The Flower Sprite Tribe had always been a race favored by Lords.
Few Lords were born from the Flower Sprite Tribe because the racial talent of Flower Sprites greatly enhanced production and farming. As a result, most Flower Sprites relied on this racial advantage to become Producer Class and support specialists.
The twin sisters were named Hua Yue and Hua Xing.
Their salaries were several times higher than what Bai Mu and Yan Ling had received upon employment. But you got what you paid for. The sisters not only had excellent alchemy skills but also possessed auxiliary farming talent skills.
Because of this,
Besides alchemy,
The two sisters were also responsible for tending to the Spirit Fields.
At this moment, Hua Yue and Hua Xing were somewhat nervous. They came from a prominent Flower Sprite family and had originally only planned to take on this job temporarily. But upon recognizing the powerful potential of this territory, they also began to consider staying permanently.
They hoped the Lord would be pleased with them!
That way, they could sign a long-term contract like Uncle Bai Mu!
Hang Yu asked directly, “How is your new potion research progressing?”
Bai Mu respectfully replied, “I have fulfilled the mission. Two types of attribute potions have already been successfully refined. I will present them now for your review, Lord!”
Unlike the other employees,
Bai Mu, as a retired Lord,
Understood far more and recognized just how terrifying this seemingly gentle, considerate, and approachable human Lord truly was.
He deeply understood:
Being able to follow someone like this,
Might just be his second chance at a comeback in life!
Hua Yue and Hua Xing immediately presented two types of pills.
【Dragonmark Vital Essence Pill】, Tier-One Rare Pill, Green High-Quality. Upon use, permanently increases max HP by 50 points. Can only take effect once.
【Dragonmark Bone Strengthening Pill】, Tier-One Rare Pill, Green High-Quality. Upon use, permanently increases Strength by 10 points. Can only take effect once.
Hang Yu’s eyes lit up.
The territory had finally refined attribute potions.
These were attribute pills refined from Dragonmark Ginseng and Earth Dragon materials.
The first one was made from Dragonmark Ginseng + Earth Dragon Vital Essence; the second from Dragonmark Ginseng + Earth Dragon Bone.
Dragonmark Ginseng was grown in the Spirit Fields. It was a very common early-stage attribute pill ingredient. That’s why Hang Yu had already started cultivating it long ago. The first batch had already been harvested, and the second batch was about to mature.
As for the Earth Dragon Bone and Essence, they had dropped from the mount of the Dragon-Lizard Lord Chi Lin—two hundred units each, which was a decent stockpile.
Bai Mu had mastered the recipe for the Dragonmark Pills.
Both types were refined under his direction.
This made Hang Yu very pleased. While these two pills were not the rarest attribute potions, most Lords lacked the ability to produce them at all.
If the Alchemy Workshop could consistently refine attribute potions, then not only could they serve as important strategic resources to enhance the territory’s foundation and strength, but they could also become long-term export products for the territory.
Hang Yu could purchase ingredients through the Trading Hall,
Then sell the finished pills afterward.
Bai Mu asked, “Shall we put the Dragonmark Pills on the shelf?”
Hang Yu considered briefly. The Alchemy Workshop was expected to produce two hundred Dragonmark Vital Essence Pills and two hundred Dragonmark Bone Strengthening Pills. But with a thousand players currently—and soon growing to two thousand—
And besides that,
There were also Personal Guards to train.
That number of pills was clearly not enough.
In that case, it would be better to distribute them uniformly through the territory.
With such valuable resources in hand, Hang Yu could better control the players.
“No need. Just focus on production. However many you can make, the territory will take them all. I’ll purchase them at a fair price—you won’t lose out.”
“Thank you, Lord!”
Upon hearing this, Bai Mu breathed a small sigh of relief.
Because the Alchemy Workshop’s performance had always been overshadowed by the Forging Workshop across the way. Though he remained calm on the surface as a senior figure, it had still bothered him internally.
Now, that was about to change.
With attribute potions,
The Alchemy Workshop’s performance could improve significantly.
Bai Mu had already made up his mind. Recipes were the Alchemy Workshop’s greatest competitive strength. Once he returned, he would spend his own money to purchase all kinds of pill recipes to further enhance the Workshop’s competitiveness.
Hang Yu consumed both pills.
【Ding, you have used Dragonmark Vital Essence Pill. Permanent HP +50!】
【Ding, you have used Dragonmark Bone Strengthening Pill. Permanent Strength +10!】
Not bad at all!
Although the stat increases were small per use,
And although each person could only benefit once,
There were thousands of attribute potions out there. As long as the territory mastered more production lines for attribute potions, this would become a powerful part of the territory’s foundation.
At that moment,
Hang Yu suddenly sensed something.
There was a wave of excitement coming from the direction of the Enlightenment Tower and Skill Tower.
“What’s going on?”
Hang Yu glanced over curiously and saw that the first batch of players had come out of the Enlightenment Tower.
Players had begun using the Enlightenment Tower.
And some had already fused entirely new skills.
Hang Yu was somewhat surprised by this. He hadn’t expected players to act so quickly. What was even more surprising was that more than one player had successfully obtained new skills.
From this moment on,
Players would become increasingly individualized.
No longer would they all look the same.
In the future, every player could forge their own unique ultimate skills—bringing immense enjoyment and richness to the game!