On Skagos Island, Erok, the patriarch of the Stern Clan in Driftwood Hall, stood anxiously in the meeting room. Gazing at the majestic and spacious hall, envy filled his heart.
He also wished he could possess such a magnificent castle, but he quickly recognized his own situation and lowered his head.
With the first ray of morning sunlight streaming through the windows, the entire meeting room instantly became bright.
Then, the doors were slammed open, and rows of soldiers wielding strange spears entered the meeting room, led by three soldiers clad in full armor.
After they took their positions, Marco appeared in the hall, wearing a courtly robe, accompanied by the priest Caspar-Ed. Following them, several key figures under Marco also entered the meeting room.
They included the Bloodstone Elder and Bloodhand-Blackstone, the original inhabitants of Skagos Island who had first pledged their loyalty to him, Bobby Li (the leader of the Thugs), and Henk, the patriarch of the Crawler Clan from Abyss Fortress who had pledged his loyalty a few days earlier.
They took their seats at the long table in the meeting room one by one. After Marco saw that everyone was present, he said:
"Then let's begin with the first agenda item! Erok, patriarch of the Stern Clan of Driftwood Hall! Greetings!"
"Now, let me formally introduce myself. I am Marco Bayloris, the master of this castle!
As you can see, my family also hails from Valyria, and I myself am a descendant of the Dragon King! Although my family lost the dragons, the power of magic has accompanied my family throughout the ages.
Therefore, as the future ruler of Skagos Island, I solemnly ask you, will you pledge your loyalty to me?"
Seeing Marco's signature Silver Hair, Purple Eyes, Erok, who was already well-informed, had his suspicions.
Now, after witnessing the Unicorn and Griffin, he was filled with awe and curiosity towards this extraordinary lord.
Moreover, he knew that Marco had already sent troops to attack his Driftwood Hall. Continuing to struggle was pointless!
So, he shouted his name and performed a kneeling oath in the hall. Since he didn't have a sword, he chose to kneel on one knee, placing his hands on his knees and bowing his head to swear.
After that, Marco arranged for him to sit at the long table. Over the next while, Marco made arrangements for all the people of the Abyss Fortress.
Since the main base hadn't been established yet, and Griffin Fortress had limited space, Marco only planned to build another peasant hut.
Because the market and tavern hadn't been built either, Marco needed to reserve space for these buildings. Due to the lack of resources, he had to carefully calculate his consumption.
The magic farmland production from three peasant huts, along with the meat from wild animals, could basically meet the basic food needs of around 20,000 people. If he built the main base later, he could obtain more than twice the land and buildings.
But in the end, he still lacked gold resources, had few soldiers, and hadn't gained any wild resources this time. Marco felt helpless about this situation.
At this moment, Erok, the chieftain of the Stern Clan from Driftwood Hall, also hoped to move his people over, but Marco didn't agree.
Because he had his own ideas. Both the King's Hall and Driftwood Hall were small fortresses. Although they weren't as advanced as the castles on the continent of Westeros, they still had basic facilities and farmland.
Marco planned to move the children and the elderly from the two tribes to Griffin Fortress, allowing the other two clans to continue developing their territories, reducing the overall logistical pressure on Griffin Fortress.
Although Marco wasn't a scholar, the abundant Dragon Crystal Mine on Skagos Island had already revealed that this island used to be a volcanic island. If there was a volcano, there would likely be gold and silver mines.
Just because of various reasons, it hadn't been discovered. Marco had experimented with Dragon Crystals; they weren't considered much of a resource. In his previous life, he'd heard they were a spellcasting material.
Marco guessed it might be related to dragons, so for now, he could only store them. He'd wait for the Dragon Mother's three dragons to appear; then, there might be a change.
But that was for later. After discussing these matters, Marco dismissed everyone.
Henk, the Crawler Clan chief of Abyss Fortress, then came back in with those few "female bodyguards." It seemed he still wanted to give them to Marco as maids.
However, this time Marco refused. He used the excuse that he still needed to experiment with new magic and sent them all away.
Hearing Marco's words, Henk's eyes lit up, and he looked at Marco with a desire to try.
Marco told him that as long as he continued to live in the castle, he might slowly awaken magical talents. After a bit of coaxing, Henk happily left with the girls.
The girls looked at Marco with resentment, while he pretended not to see them, turning his head away.
After everyone left, Marco quickly ran over and sat on his Throne, opening his ability interface.
Possessed City: Griffin Fortress
Emblem: Holy Sun
Clan Motto: Light and Order
Owner: Marco-Beleris
Hero Level: Level 2
Hero Skills: Basic Offense, Intermediate Leadership, Diplomacy.
Special Abilities: Kingly Demeanor, Comprehension.
Buildings: Village Council Hall, Militia Barracks, Blacksmith, Fortress.
Building Level: 4
Troops: Thugs 90, Archers 9, Infantry 3, Griffin 1, Priest 1, Unicorn 1, Villagers 11003 (special).
Resources: Gold 4700, Wood 55, Ore 45, Crystal 0, Mercury 0, Gems 0, Sulfur 0.
Quest Log: 1. Driftwood Hall…! (Completed) Reward (Gold 2000, Wood 30)
2. King's Hall…! (Unfinished) Reward (Gold 2000, Chest 1)
Your hero has leveled up, please select the corresponding abilities:
"Congratulations to the host for the first level up. Due to the influence of world rules, the Knight's exclusive skills, Counterattack and Offensive techniques, have been merged. The hero now has Beginner Offensive Technique, damage increased by 5%."
"Due to the inability to use some skills in this world, a special supplement for the host's counterattack skill three-element skills (does not occupy the special skill slot of the attack skill, each basic skill can only have 3 special skills.), training expert (training fee reduced by 35%), blessing ceremony (increases troop morale, defense, and attack power, time hero level/minute), and revenge strike (increases hero combat power)."
1. Advanced Leadership (advanced is the highest level, equivalent to expert level), troop morale increases to the maximum, will not retreat (primary +1), will not be afraid (intermediate +2), and fearless to death (advanced +3).
2. Recruitment skill, increases the number of soldiers trained, Tier 1 troops +3, Tier 2 troops +2, Tier 3 troops +1.
3. Primary Light Magic, allows heroes to learn Tier 3 Light Magic and increases its power.
4. Archery, increases the damage of ranged troops by 20%.
Marco looked at his four choices and, after careful consideration, decided to choose Advanced Leadership. This skill, in conjunction with the "Reward Skill" in the attack skill, could unleash extremely powerful combat ability.
(Reward Skill: Increases the combat power of troops. When morale is 1, combat power increases by 5%, up to 20%.)
Marco looked at the skills he had chosen and the three new skills that had appeared, his heart filled with excitement. He had only leveled up once, but the rewards were comparable to leveling up three times!
Just as he looked at his resource numbers, his face immediately fell again. He still didn't have any money!
He checked the number of peasants he could recruit and found that the 100 soldiers from the Bloodstone Elder's tribe could now be upgraded to Tier 1 units.
So, he spent 2,000 units of gold, 10 units of wood, and 10 units of ore to transform them all into Thugs.
Due to limited resources, he decided to build the peasant hut, tavern, and market first, trying to level up the castle's buildings as much as possible.
Finally, he used the remaining gold to build an Archer Tower. Marco learned from the system that units from Tier 1 to 3 could be recruited step by step from Tier 0 units.
Knights and Priests needed to be upgraded in the training grounds, and they had to be trained using infantry. Griffins were even more demanding; only one Griffin would be produced a month after the Griffin Tower was built!
As for the Angels, which Marco was most concerned about, the system didn't give any hints. Marco could only give up. After all, that was a combat force on par with dragons, and it was impossible to obtain them easily.
Over the next four days, Marco exhausted all of his gold resources and built all the planned buildings.
The Swift Hawk in the sky also brought news: Driftwood Hall had been conquered, and Erok would personally bring the people back. Skagos Island was about to enter winter.
This year, the Rock People would get through the winter smoothly. In the past, a large number of people and livestock died every winter, but this year, with the stable water source and climate of Griffin Fortress, these problems would be solved.
Marco also had time to patrol the taverns, blacksmiths, and markets in the city. The end of the month was getting closer and closer, and then Marco could obtain the gold resources from the end-of-month settlement.
Although it was only about 1400, it was already very good for Marco.
Marco, planning the construction of the castle along the way, unknowingly walked to the door of the tavern. Fortunately, the priest Caspar-Ed stopped him in time.
When Marco was in Griffin Fortress, he was always protected by Sas Tin and the other two, along with Caspar-Ed.
In the eyes of outsiders, this was just an ordinary little tavern, but on Marco's system panel, it was a collection point for special buildings like refugee camps, taverns, thieves' dens, and prophet huts.
According to the system's introduction, heroes and human troops could be summoned here, information could be gathered, or treasure hunting missions could be obtained. Of course, all of this cost money.
Looking at the big zero on the gold resource, Marco abandoned his impulse to go and take a look.
The Blacksmith had greatly improved its work efficiency thanks to the 10 craftsmen Marco sent over. The system also provided two Master Craftsmen, one in charge of crafting and repairing weapons and armor, and the other in charge of building siege weapons.
The resources needed for these things all came from the first-floor warehouse of the castle, and Marco found that this warehouse seemed to be integrated with his resource interface.
The market was no longer the same as before, like a vegetable market. There was only a small hut, similar to a tavern. Occasionally, a few clan leaders would go to the tavern to buy drinks.
However, there was basically no one here. The person in charge told Marco that they would sell blueprints for buildings from other races' main cities.
Marco's head got hot, and he took a look at the list, then scurried out again, crestfallen.