Chapter 52: Establishing a Base in the Fog
The headlights of the level one war chariot could pierce through thirty meters of gray fog. While the distance wasn’t vast, it was still somewhat acceptable. However, it could only illuminate and not disperse the fog. Just as Colin and his nine war chariots were about to return to the territory, a faint light appeared in the fog, illuminated by the crimson headlights.
In the light, five thin figures could be seen. Faced with the massive war chariots emitting a red glow like gigantic beasts, the four slender figures couldn’t help but tremble. Yet, even so, the figures holding the lanterns stood resolutely in front of the territory. Leading them was Number One, the captain of Colin’s first independent team, entrusted with exploration before Colin set out.
Number One squinted his eyes against the headlights’ glare, holding up a wheel and standing firm without retreating an inch. Behind him was the territory; they had no way out. Even if it was futile, they were determined to resist.
But then, the nine war chariots slowly stopped, about ten meters away from them. This puzzled Number One, but he did not relax his guard, gripping the wheel tightly and letting his anger flare up, causing the wheel to glow slightly. In these few hours, he had mastered the use of the wheel. It was a small trick: he only needed to imagine his brother Number Two being beaten up to feel a bit of anger. He also had another method to get instantly enraged, but he rarely used it.
Suddenly, the heavy steel door of one of the war wagons opened with a creak, and a familiar figure jumped out. When Number One saw who it was, his expression of vigilance turned into one of joy, and he quickly ran over with his team:
“My lord!”
He spoke while casting a wary glance at Sanna, who was following behind Colin, then quickly looked back at Colin.
“It’s me,” Colin said, standing firm and smiling at them. “What are you doing?”
“We were…” Number One began to explain.
“Next time, remember to get out of the way; your life is more important than the building,” Colin interrupted. He knew what they were trying to do. “Also, if something like this happens, I’d rather see the ruins with someone explaining what happened to avoid confusion, instead of seeing confused faces staring at a few smashed bodies. Got it?”Colin wanted them to think for themselves instead of blindly following orders.
“…Yes!” Number One responded, moved.
“I trust your loyalty,” Colin said, patting his shoulder and then noticing their somewhat battered and injured bodies. His tone grew heavier. “Where’s the other person?”
Colin had assigned five people to this team before leaving, but now there are only four.
“He got a bit hurt…” Number One said. “But don’t worry, it’s just minor injuries—a few broken ribs and a missing hand.”
Is it you or I who misunderstand what minor injuries mean? Colin thought to himself. “Get him bandaged up and give him more food to recover faster.”
“Yes!”
“This is a crafting table. Get familiar with it. Have Number Two teach you how to use it and assign the personnel to you.” Colin handed him a crafting table. He hadn’t distributed one to every team and still had a few extras.
Then, Colin snapped his fingers. With a crisp sound, the rear doors of the war chariots opened with a bang, and the sound of footsteps on steel echoed like raindrops. In Number One’s astonished gaze, lanterns were lit in an orderly fashion by the “Lamp Bearers,” and figures quickly emerged from the rear doors, gathering in the empty space behind. At the same time, the dozen or so lords who had come with Colin also got out of the wagons. Everything was orderly—not as professional as a military unit, but at least not chaotic.
Number One was a bit dazed. The Lord had only been out for a few hours…
“I have to admit, this Rogue is quite capable of managing. He only had an hour of training time and managed to achieve this level…” Colin thought to himself. After a brief conversation with Number Two, he turned his attention to his “Level Two Territory.” For him, this territory was now too small and needed upgrading. He planned to turn this base into a stronghold to advance towards the forest at the foot of Raven Mountain.
Meanwhile, Number Two walked over to Number One, teasing his older brother with a grin, “Well, if it isn’t Number One, how come you look so beaten up after just a few hours?”
Number Two had now become a level two servant, taller and seemingly more robust than his elder brother.
Number One silently raised the wheel, “Say that again.”
With this weapon, his attributes were stronger than those of a level two servant, and he believed the lord would help him advance.
“Uh, just kidding,” Number Two chuckled. After helping Number One learn how to use the crafting table and distributing the prepared personnel, he introduced Number One to the captains.
“Captains, this is the first ‘Lamp Bearer’ captain under the lord. You can call him Number One, your kind older brother…”
Servants had no names and couldn’t be given names, so they used nicknames. Strangely, they never confused each other.
On the other side, after having the injured servant brought out, Colin prepared to upgrade to a level three territory.
【Level Three Territory: The lord’s territory will expand from 10×10 to 50×50, including a 20×20 sturdy three-story building, with additional features like a pool, fields, barracks, etc.】
【Materials Needed: Sturdy Stone Blocks 0/5000, Glass 67/200, Wood 0/1000, Level Three Clay 0/1000, Refined Iron 354/500, Thorn of Suffering 86/300, Fog Points 649/150.】
“Fields?” Colin’s eyes lit up. Among the many functions, this was the first one he noticed. But unfortunately, he didn’t have crop seeds.
Then, Colin examined the required materials, a long list. However, these materials were easy to gather. Sturdy stone blocks and level three clay could be synthesized twice, which is not too troublesome. Upgrading the territory was mainly about finding cheap, abundant materials. If more people knew the synthesis formulas, many would have already upgraded to level three territories.
“Level three territory is much larger than level two, roughly over three thousand square meters. It can house many people…” Colin calculated in his mind. He then began collecting the necessary materials for the trading market. Compared to the commotion when acquiring the war chariots, stone was plentiful and easy to find, so his purchases didn’t attract much attention. But a few individuals, either through keen intuition or sharp senses, noticed something unusual.