Building a Perfect Territory in the Mist

Chapter 46: Chapter 42: Recruiting Slave Laborers

"A Lumberyard!"

Shen Xing was surprised. Now he understood why Xia Wanyin had been so mysterious.

As a resource point in the wild, the Lumberyard was even rarer than a Crystal Tower or a Black Iron Ore mine.

Many Lords never even found a Lumberyard near their territory before breaking through to the Extraordinary Level.

With this resource point, his territory would have a stable source of Wood, and he would no longer have to gather it from all over the wilderness!

However, it seemed this Lumberyard was already occupied.

Figures moved back and forth from the surrounding woods, dragging felled logs into the Lumberyard.

Near the processing plant, two familiar figures were wandering about.

They had burly frames, standing over eight feet tall. One hand held a whip, while the other held the leashes of seven or eight Evil Dogs.

"They’re Fallen Wardens, Level 9 Elite Monsters," Xia Wanyin said softly.

"There are only two of them. We can handle it," Shen Xing replied. "You can wait on the side for a bit."

This Lumberyard was a crucial resource point; he had to take it.

As for Xia Wanyin, she had already helped him a great deal. There was no need for her to get involved.

"I’ll help you."

Xia Wanyin said softly, "Your Beastman can charge in on the front line, and I’ll provide ranged support with my Archers from the rear. It’ll be faster that way."

Shen Xing thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Without any more pointless chatter, he simply waved his hand. "Hellish Roar, attack."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Having already broken through to Elite Three-Star and fused with the Blood of an Inferior Demon, Hellish Roar suddenly accelerated, charging forward like a phantom!

The War Axe in his hand instantly burst into an eerie green flame. A pair of pitch-black wings unfurled from his back, making him look like a Hell Demon God!

In the Lumberyard, the two patrolling Fallen Wardens noticed the approaching figure, and their eyes instantly turned red.

"ROAR! An intruder! Smash him to bits!"

They charged forward with their Evil Dogs, their heavy footsteps like the beat of a drum.

The instant before the two sides clashed, Hellish Roar leaped high into the air. He raised the flaming War Axe with both hands and brought it down ferociously!

"BOOM!!"

—Earth-Shattering Strike!

The ground shook violently. Hellfire splashed in all directions, and the immense impact sent the two Fallen Wardens flying, knocking them to the ground.

Their bodies were engulfed in an eerie green flame that burned them relentlessly.

"ROAR!"

The two Wardens scrambled back to their feet, letting out furious roars before forcefully yanking on the leashes in their hands.

—Release the Dogs!

More than a dozen Evil Dogs lunged at Hellish Roar like a pack of wolves descending on their prey!

Just then, the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind.

"SWISH! SWISH SWISH SWISH!"

A volley of Light Arrows streaked through the air like meteors, instantly piercing the bodies of the Evil Dogs and making a SIZZLING, corrosive sound.

In the blink of an eye, most of the Evil Dogs had fallen.

At this point, Hellish Roar had unleashed his full combat potential.

He activated Gale Step, moving with leisurely ease.

Like a gentle breeze, he closed in on the two Fallen Wardens.

In the brief moment as their whips lashed out, Hellish Roar sidestepped, dodging the attack.

And taking advantage of the instant they couldn’t retract their whips, he suddenly flicked his War Axe upward!

"THWACK!"

With the crisp sound of flesh being sliced, a thick arm went flying.

The Warden’s face twisted in agony, and it opened its mouth to scream.

But just then, a cold glint of light flashed before its eyes, growing larger with lightning speed.

"SHING—"

A massive head flew into the air, its final scream never escaping.

As the head rolled to the ground, its blood-red eyes gradually cleared, and a smile of relief appeared on its face.

At that, only one Fallen Warden remained on the field, completely incapable of turning the tables.

When the battle was over, a Beastman pushed Shen Xing to a clearing in the center of the Lumberyard.

A group of gaunt, barely-clothed figures stood before Shen Xing.

Their skin was dark and grimy, as if they hadn’t bathed in a long time and had been soaking in grease for days. Their faces were haggard and worn.

[Slave Laborers]

[Level: 1]

[Potential: Normal ★]

[Attributes: Power 3, Spirit 3, Agility 2, Constitution 2]

[Skills: Endurance and Hard Work (Increases work efficiency by 10%, reduces Food consumption by 20%)]

[Bonds - Laborers: When more than 20 Slave Laborers are present, work efficiency increases by 10%, but their will to escape increases by 20%.]

[State: Starving, Terrified, Severely Fatigued]

[Note: A group of pitiful slaves, the lowest cogs in the machine of the Land of Mist.]

...

’Slave Laborers?’

’Aren’t these the exact workers I’ve been looking for?’

A thought sparked in Shen Xing’s mind, but his expression remained impassive. "Where are you from?"

Faced with his question, the slaves kept their heads down, not daring to move or answer.

"I asked you a question." Shen Xing’s voice rose slightly, causing the slaves to flinch and their shoulders to tremble involuntarily.

"L-Lord..."

A limping, slightly older middle-aged man hurried forward. "We come from Videng Royal City. We were slaves to that cruel Tyrant."

His posture was humble and his tone respectful. Even though the lord before him was in a wheelchair, he didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect.

After all, this person had slain those incredibly powerful Wardens!

Shen Xing mulled this over for a moment, then got straight to the point. "I am a Lord from a nearby territory. Are you willing to work for me?"

His territory was still in its initial stages and needed a large population.

In the Land of Mist, there were three main sources of population.

The first was the simplest and most direct method: summoning units like Beastman Laborers or Undead Acolytes from a Unit Nest.

However, the workers summoned this way generally had low Talent and their work efficiency was mediocre at best.

It was like when Hellish Roar and his group of Beastmen were first summoned; they could barely even speak properly.

And basically no Lord would invest too many resources in these types of workers.

The second method was the one mentioned before: using Recruitment Scrolls.

The beings summoned this way were usually quite special, possessing decent Talent and perhaps even some unique Skills.

But Recruitment Scrolls were too expensive. A single one started at five figures, something an ordinary Lord couldn’t afford.

The third method was what Shen Xing was doing now: recruiting the native inhabitants of the Land of Mist, making them submit through personal charisma or overwhelming force.

This was also the most convenient method, as these natives were highly intelligent, could communicate normally, follow orders, and worked quite efficiently.

The only drawback was that they might try to escape.

Besides these, there were other special sources of population, such as taverns and wilderness altars, but there was no need to list them all.

Faced with Shen Xing’s question, the slaves glanced at each other, seeming to hesitate.

The limping man was the first to step forward again. He knelt respectfully on the ground. "We are willing to submit to you, great Lord."

Seeing this, the other slaves also knelt one by one.

[Ding! You have recruited a group of Slave Laborers. Territory Population +24]

...

Shen Xing was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the recruitment to be so easy.

But it made sense. These slaves knew they had no other choice.

They knew that if they didn’t agree, they wouldn’t survive, even if this Lord decided not to kill them.

In this dangerous world, the fate of an ordinary person who left a settlement was self-evident.

Shen Xing waved his hand, and a pile of black bread appeared in front of his wheelchair—48 loaves in total.

"Hellish Roar, distribute it."

"Yes, sir!"

The Beastman acknowledged the order, gathered the bread from the ground, and gave two loaves to each person.

The slaves stared at the Food in their hands, their eyes wide and their mouths watering, but none of them dared to take a bite.

"L-Lord... is this for us?" the limping middle-aged man asked, his voice trembling.

"Of course. I need you to work for me. How can you work on an empty stomach?" Shen Xing said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Hearing this, expressions of utter disbelief appeared on the slaves’ faces. They even wondered if they were dreaming.

"Alright, hurry up and eat."

Only when Shen Xing waved his hand impatiently did the slaves snap out of their daze.

"Thank you, my Lord! May the Goddess’s light protect you!"

They immediately stuffed the black bread into their mouths, gobbling it down as if they hadn’t eaten in centuries.

[Because you provided Food to the workers, work efficiency has increased by 20% for 48 hours.]

Watching them eat like famished ghosts reincarnated, Shen Xing wondered what kind of hellish life they must have lived to relish something as hard and dry as black bread.

Shaking his head, he opened the resource point interface and selected "Occupy."

[You have successfully occupied an intermediate Lumberyard. You can process and gather Wood here.]

[You have obtained the stockpiled resources: Wood * 1364]

...

A satisfied smile appeared on Shen Xing’s face.

"From now on, you will continue to work here."

He looked at the limping middle-aged man and commanded, "From this day forward, your name is Black Stone, and you are their captain."

The middle-aged man, having received a new name, immediately straightened his posture and replied respectfully, "Yes, great Lord!"

"We will definitely work hard!"

Shen Xing nodded and turned to leave the Lumberyard.

On the way, Xia Wanyin, carrying a Horse Lantern, cheerfully approached him. "Starfire, you’re so lucky! You not only captured a Lumberyard but also gained so many workers!"

"I should be thanking you," Shen Xing replied with a smile. "Without your help, I don’t know when I would have found this place."

"Don’t mention it. We’re allies, after all!" Xia Wanyin waved her hand, a radiant smile on her beautiful face.

Shen Xing found himself slightly mesmerized. She always seemed so optimistic; you couldn’t tell at all that she was a blind person in real life.

He took a deep breath, pulled his gaze away, and continued on their way.

Along the way, Hellish Roar handed Shen Xing the loot dropped from killing the two Fallen Wardens.

In total, he received: Soul Stone * 24, Shattered Elite Soul * 7, Vinar Silver Coins * 61.

And... a Green Quality long whip!

[Fallen Warden’s Whip]

[Quality: Green]

[Item Effect: When used to whip worker units, it can increase their work efficiency by 30% for a period of time, but their morale will continuously decrease.]

[Note: Limited-time offer, claim up to one hundred lashes~]

...

’A whip that increases work efficiency. A great item!’

’If I assigned someone to whip them specifically, wouldn’t their work efficiency go through the roof?’

’Of course, I can’t use this thing too often, or I’ll whip them until they run away.’

’But for disobedient workers, it could serve as a small warning.’

Just then, Shen Xing suddenly remembered something. ’I remember that some Soldier Types aren’t afraid of pain, like Stone Giants or Goblin Robots. You could whip them and they wouldn’t feel a thing.’

’So, could I get a team of those kinds of workers and use the whip to increase their efficiency?’

He grew thoughtful, deciding to give it a try when he had the chance later.

After they had traveled some distance, Xia Wanyin suddenly stopped.

She tilted her head to listen, and a hint of delight appeared on her pretty face. "Starfire, I’ve found another special resource point."

"Oh? What is it this time?"

Shen Xing looked up and asked, his interest piqued.

As they passed through the woods and came to the corner of a barren wasteland, they witnessed a magical sight.

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