[Village-level Council Hall completed, corresponding territory buildings unlocked]
[Please name your territory, Lord ____]
This finally felt like being a true Lord.
Yan Xing stroked his chin, tilting his head back slightly. He was determined to pick a name for his territory that was both imposing and not trite, one that, upon hearing it, people would think the territory's Lord was very capable.
"Just call it Eternal. My territory will be named Eternal. HAHAHAHA..."
[Eternal Domain successfully named]
Eternal Domain (Human)
Level 1 territory, village-level administrative unit.
Prosperity: 20
Public Sentiment: 90
The Lord can receive 20 Divine Gold every week.
The territory's safety index assessment is low. Please upgrade your territory and increase military buildings as soon as possible.
...
Yan Xing didn't have time to look through the territory introduction in detail.
He was now officially a human Lord with property recognized by the world's laws. Meanwhile, a group of werewolves were covetously eyeing his property from the outside. The task of defending the territory was daunting.
Yan Xing stepped out of the novice Council Hall and pointed to the area he had delineated yesterday, saying to Gao Sipa, "Immediately take some people and build militia barracks and a training ground here. I want to recruit the first batch of militia by tomorrow morning.
"If you're short on manpower, go to Lao Hansi for it.
"I'll be responsible for bringing the building materials, so it won't delay your construction progress."
"Yes, milord." Gao Sipa received the order and immediately went to organize his peasant builders.
Yan Xing then found Eddie and asked him to gather the brave peasants.
Inside the peasant huts, recruiting one peasant requires 15 Gold Coins. Once the militia barracks are built, the cost for recruiting militia will definitely be higher than for peasants. With the little money I have, I can't recruit many militia, but training peasants to advance to militia should save a lot of money. First, I need to find the peasants fit for promotion to militia, then focus on their training; that will be a good source of militia forces.
While Eddie was in charge of guarding the werewolves, he had already found seven robust peasants to serve as jail guards. Therefore, upon receiving Yan Xing's order, he quickly organized these seven peasants. Together with himself, they made up eight potential militia recruits.
Yan Xing ordered Eddie and the seven peasants to weave armor for themselves with the remaining steel plates. He also had Olaf send a werewolf to teach them some fighting techniques.
Sharpening a weapon on the eve of battle is better than not sharpening it at all, Yan Xing mused.
While Yan Xing was organizing the territory's defenses, Lao Hansi came over with seven or eight teenagers.
"My Lord, My Lord... What should we do?"
All the adult labor in the territory had been requisitioned by Gao Sipa for building, leaving these weaker youngsters in Lao Hansi's care. But Lao Hansi, seeing everyone busy at work, didn't want to just sit idle himself.
Yan Xing pointed towards the location of the carts and said to Lao Hansi, "Bring all the werewolves in from outside, then take the kids to find me there."
"Yes, My Lord."
The plains of the wilderness were open terrain, and under the sunlight, everything around was visible at a glance. Anything approaching the territory could hardly hide its presence, so there was no need for the werewolves to patrol outside.
After a while, Lao Hansi, Olaf, the kids, and the werewolves found Yan Xing next to the carts. Yan Xing had just unloaded a large packing case from the cart. This was a parcel he had conveniently picked up that morning while hauling supplies and bringing breakfast: one hundred sets of slingshots.
Upon opening the packing case, he found neatly stacked individual slingshot boxes. Inside each box were the frame, rubber bands, a laser sight, and a small packet of iron pellets. At the bottom of the large case were also the extra one thousand sets of rubber bands and ten thousand pellets that Yan Xing had ordered.
Yan Xing opened one of the slingshot boxes and took out the frame.
The frame was made entirely of steel, with an ergonomically designed grip wrapped in a layer of bandage. It was very comfortable to hold and enabled better control over torque. The flat rubber bands could be inserted into the frame's toothed clamp slots and fixed in place by tightening a nut.
Looking at the width of the toothed clamp slots, I could probably stuff two layers of rubber bands in there, Yan Xing thought. This would increase the slingshot's pulling force, enhancing the pellet's speed and, therefore, its killing power.
However, since it was his first time using this type of slingshot, Yan Xing installed only one rubber band.
There were some scales on the frame, which beginners could use to learn precise shooting. Once they became proficient, the addition of the laser sight would enable them to hit exactly where they aimed.
The laser sight was only the size of an AA battery and could be nested in a specially designed slot on the frame.
After installation, pressing the switch immediately projected a red dot, and the slingshot instantly took on a high-end appearance.
He pulled the rubber band...
For my current strength, it's somewhat light, but it should be just right for the farmers, he mused.
After assembling the slingshot, Yan Xing placed a pellet in the pouch. He grasped the pouch, drew back the slingshot, and fired at an iron fence in front of him.
THUD! The pellet struck the fence, striking sparks and leaving a white mark.
Although he didn't hit the spot he was aiming for, the power of the shot startled the watching children and werewolves.
This... this is a slingshot? But how can a slingshot be so powerful! they wondered in amazement.
Slingshots were actually the earliest form of crossbows. However, due to limitations in materials and manufacturing technology, slingshots had very limited killing power and gradually became a toy for children and young cubs.
But the slingshot in Yan Xing's hand was definitely not the slingshot known to humans and werewolves. They had all witnessed the power of the pellet it had just fired. If it hit unprotected flesh at close range, it would certainly leave a nasty hole with each shot.
"Is this... is this Magic?" Lao Hansi couldn't help but exclaim. "This must be Alchemy! Look at its appearance and its power; it must be an Alchemical Weapon meticulously crafted by an Alchemist.
"Great Lord, with such a powerful Alchemical Weapon in your possession, you will undoubtedly strike terror into the hearts of your enemies on the battlefield!"
The slingshot in Yan Xing's hand possessed a special aesthetic granted by ergonomics, and its industrial-grade standard production made it seem extremely well-made, leading all the watching farmers and werewolves to believe it was an Alchemical Weapon.
Anything related to Magic must certainly be rare… they thought.
However, the farmers and werewolves then saw that the large case at Yan Xing's feet seemed to be filled entirely with these 'alchemical' slingshots.
Could it be... could it be...? Impossible!
When Lao Hansi saw his Lord casually toss the 'alchemical' slingshot to him, he hurriedly caught it with both hands and clutched it to his chest.
"M-My... M-My... Lord. I… I… I don't understand..."
Yan Xing looked at the stuttering Lao Hansi and laughed. "What's there not to understand? This is for you!"
"AH!"
Lao Hansi felt his head spinning; the sky and the earth swirled around, spinning in circles.
Is this for me? Really for me? This is an Alchemical Weapon, a weapon only heroes are worthy of using… and I'm just a Second-Order tax officer!