Zhan Long

Chapter 761 - Brilliant & Strong

“Brother Xiao Yao, what have you been up to these past few days? I haven’t even seen around the guild these days…” Wolf suddenly asked in the guild chat.

I was in the middle of reviewing the drills for the cavalry in the camp. I smiled and said in the core guild chat, “Remember that quest I received earlier? These days I’ve been busy organizing the NPC Royal Army…”

Wan Er grinned, “Our pig seems to have become addicted to the military career…”

Wang Jian said, “Brother Xiao Yao was originally a man of the military, so naturally he would relate and feel comfortable in the military. Vice guildmaster Wan Er, you’re going to have to hurry, don’t let Xiao Yao get lonely and join the army again…”

Qing Qian giggled, “Exactly. Cang Tong, you have to watch him closely. Besides, once Brother Xiao Yao decides to join the army, based on his performance and reputation in [Destiny], he’ll definitely become an idol in the army. At that point, he’ll probably have the hearts of all the female soldiers. I heard that they are particularly fiery. Sister Cang Tong, you…”

Wan Er's voice quavered in mock fear as she exclaimed, “Eh, this… I will definitely keep a tight leash on him!”

Li Mu then said, “Guildmaster, what do you think of the Royal Army now?”

I grunted and said, “Last time you guys saw the fight at Dragon City. The NPCs didn’t stand a chance against the Hybrid Demons. I figured that there was a reason for that. The structure of the army is terrible and the morale is low. Ba Huang City’s entire army’s battle power combined isn’t comparable to the Flame Dragon Army or the Xia Yu Army. The Royal Army’s battle power, if I’m going to be honest, just three days ago, was also terribly weak. Just using a hundred man team of the Steel Blade Army from [Zhan Long] would be enough to destroy them. However, after the changes I’ve enacted, a two thousand man army from [Zhan Long]’s Steel Blade Cavalry may not even be enough to rival them. As long as I continue strengthening the army and supervising their training, I believe that not long after, we’ll turn them into a truly fearsome power. Furthermore, this army follows my orders. That is incredibly important for [Zhan Long] and the country…”

“They listen to your orders…” Li Mu was getting excited, “He he, with guildmaster’s military strategy and tactics, as well as the absolute control over the Royal Army, I’m afraid that the NPC army will become the winning factor for all internal and country battles?”

I nodded, “On top of that, Princess Pearl has given me consent to expand the Royal Army to 20,000 soldiers. I’ve been training these NPCs every day, strengthening their level and stats. In the future, their battle power will exceed that of the top tier players. At that point, their battle power will truly be terrifying.”

One Second Hero laughed, “Guildmaster is impressive! You’ve got the muscles and the brains to unify the martial world!”

I was speechless, “I’ve never thought of unifying the world. I just don’t want this army to turn into cannon fodder. Besides, most of the NPC armies are cannon fodder. The NPC generals aren’t good at leading the army at all!”

Dong Cheng smiled mischievously, “If the NPC Generals were on the same level as famous generals, do you think that there would be any point for players? We’d be KOed by the NPCs!”

I thought about it for a moment and agreed, “That’s right. This also goes to show just how much this game has been designed for humans. They actually even thought about catering to the average level of intelligence in players…”

Wan Er smiled, “I’m just looking forward to seeing an NPC who’s smarter than the players, that’ll definitely be interesting!”

Qing Qian said, “I’m afraid that that’s not realistic. You’re just going to have to wait for the next book.”

Wan Er was speechless.

I laughed, “Alright, I’m not gonna chat with you guys any longer. I’m going to go train the cavalry and archers of the Royal Army!”

Wolf said, “Brother Xiao Yao, aren’t you afraid of falling behind in levels if you focus so much on the army?”

I confidently smiled, “Have you seen someone who has a higher level than me? Don’t worry, as I train and change the Royal Army, my experience goes up too. If I’m lucky, I’ll also get more Achievement Points. I definitely won’t fall behind in terms of leveling up.”

“Ok!”

……

I closed out of the communications interface and continued roaming the drill station. I inspected the Cavalry Archers and Swordsmen training. Han Yuan was training a group of shield carrying soldiers in the shield formation. The Royal Army’s soldiers were very complete and diverse. We had everything from cavalry to archers, and even shield bearers. Our battle power shouldn’t be too bad at the end of this training.

Xiao Lie lead his horse over and asked, “My lord, do you want to head over to the recruiting tent? Lately a group of nomadic barbarian tribes passed through Tian Ling City. There’s quite a few of them, and we can pick out some to recruit!”

“Alright, then let’s head over!”

“Ok! I’ll show you the way!”

……

I followed Xiao Lie out of the camp. Twenty soldiers followed behind me. They were all personal guards that I had arranged. They would follow me around everywhere, at least within the camp. Whatever, doesn’t matter if they follow me. After all, I wasn’t hiding anything in the game. If it happened in real life and they followed behind us while Wan Er and I were shopping, then I’d have to teach them a lesson….

After we left the Eastern Gate, we saw a group of tents on the border of the forest outside of the city. It appeared that the nomadic Barbarians were staying there. They were all extremely buff and burly men. Xiao Lie smiled, “These barbarians come from the Giant Demon Forest. Their homes were destroyed by a pack of wolves, so they had no choice but to become nomadic. After they arrived in Tian Ling City, they were practically living like beggars. These idiots were originally planning on using their strength to loot a village, but the crown prince sent out an army of five thousand to stop them. Now they had become much more obedient…”

As he said that, Xiao Lie had a look of pity, “These pitiful b*st*rds, in order to clothe and feed their wives, they’re practically willing to give their lives.”

I furrowed my brow and said, “Last time, how many supplies was Princess Pearl able to get for us?”

Xiao Lie said, “Princess Pearl was very generous and gave us 300,000 Gold as well as 700 horses from Tibet. Our rations are even more plentiful. Right now, our Royal Army is practically dripping in riches. My Lord, what do you think?”

I pursed my lips and said, “That’s simple. Let’s set up a space outside of Tian Ling City in the Gale Forest. Have any soldiers who aren’t training cut down the trees to create houses and clear the area for cultivation. We’ll help the Barbarians find a place to live. This way, their men can work for the empire. Not only will Tian Ling City gain more people, these Barbarians can also fight for the empire. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

Xiao Lie got excited, “Ok!... I would never have imagined this. My lord, please wait a moment, I will ask Princess Pearl about this now!”

“Ok!”

……

I stood outside the Barbarian Camp for a moment as Xiao Lie quickly dashed off. He ran back with a report, “Her Highness has agreed. She’s also asked his majesty. These Barbarians can live outside of Tian Ling City, but they cannot make any trouble for our citizens.”

I smiled, “Don’t worry. As long as we feed and clothe them, and give their soldiers a salary, I’m sure that they will peacefully live as citizens of Tian Ling City.”

“My lord, that’s brilliant!”

This time, Xiao Lie truly meant his praise. I could see the happiness on his face. This b*st*rd had been through everything on the battlefield, which was why one of his eyes was gone. However, he was truly a hot blooded person. It was that way against the Hybrid Demons, and it was that way in other matters as well. This kind of person was one of the bravest among the warriors that fought to protect their homes.

……

Xiao Lie raised the scroll carrying Princess Pearl’s orders and immediately left. A group of Royal Army soldiers shouted to the barbarians, “Her highness has orders. All male barbarians between the ages of 15 and 50 may join the Royal Army to become soldiers. Their relatives will be taken care of and a house will be built outside Tian Ling City for them, complete with cultivated fields and 2 gold every month!”

At that moment, the Barbarian Camp started to get excited. A group of strong barbarians all shouted, “I want to join! I want to join!”

Xiao Lie was satisfied, “If you want to join, line up and register with me. Hurry!”

Soon after, the Royal Army’s recruiting tent was practically stampeded. Xiao Lie couldn’t help but shake his head, “D*mn, before when we tried to recruit them, they barely batted an eye, and now they’re fighting to get in… My lord is really clever. Her Highness’ decision to put you in the Royal Army was practically a godsend!”

I was speechless.

……

In the afternoon, the Barbarian Tribe’s Recruitment Camp finally quieted down. There was around 27,000 people in this tribe, and settling them outside of Tian Ling City was not a problem. Of them, five thousand volunteered to join the Royal Army. Like this, we could finally settle these almost 30,000 people.

And so, that day, the empire’s iron smiths were overwhelmed with work. The Barbarians were much more buff than humans. The armor that they wore and the broadswords that they wielded were much different. Furthermore, the Barbarians were too heavy. They weighed around 300 pounds. There was no way the battle horses could hold up their weight, making it so that they could never become cavalry. However, they were very good at wielding battle axes, long swords and shields, and were great foot soldiers. Once they charged together, they were like a moving fort. With their heavy shields, even if they were up against cavalry, they wouldn’t necessarily be broken through.”

……

In the blink of an eye, another day passed. I didn’t have any plans for the New Year’s Eve, so I logged onto the game and continued training the Royal Army. Under my supervision, the army’s attack power and defense power were finally becoming superior as a result. The originally Level 110 Thunder Tier NPC soldiers were now around Level 130-140 Titan Tier soldiers. They had a base strength that was the same as the Hybrid Demons. Next up was gaining real experience.

That evening, I received a report. A small team of Hybrid Demons were attacking Dragon City and they needed reinforcements. Princess Pearl gave me the order to take a team from the Royal Army and head out. Just in time!