Chapter 152: Bottleneck
Chapter 152: Bottleneck
September 25, 2017
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When it comes to gold mines, no one can afford to be careless.
Not long after Lu Hai Kong returned to the mountain camp, he dispatched Li Xiong and Dian Wei to lead a team to survey the area where the gold mine was located. Fortunately, they managed to locate the mine within just a week.
Upon receiving this news, Lu Hai Kong immediately dispatched the majority of the Third Battalion to the site, taking advantage of the heavy snowfall to begin mining operations.
Mining required manpower, and the Third Battalion was comprised entirely of bandits, elite ones at that. They were skilled in combat, but mining was not their forte. Even if they tried, they wouldn't be efficient, so Lu Hai Kong, in a rare move, allowed Dian Wei to take charge. They quickly captured around two to three thousand foreigners and forced them to work in the mines.
In just two months, they managed to extract twenty tons of gold ore, mostly at the expense of the Xianbei tribe's lives.
With the current refining capabilities of the intermediate blacksmiths under Lu Hai Kong's command, refining all twenty tons of gold ore would yield approximately five hundred thousand gold, enough to sustain the mountain camp for a period.
"Alright, have Dian Wei's team withdraw. When they do, kill all those Xianbei tribesmen to avoid any future troubles. Let Li Xiong handle this matter," Lu Hai Kong instructed. He had a soft spot for his nephew, and despite knowing how terrifying and insane Dian Wei could be in battle, he subconsciously didn't want him involved in such bloody tasks.
As for the two to three thousand Xianbei tribesmen, Lu Hai Kong had become desensitized to the value of human life, especially that of the unfamiliar Xianbei tribe. To him, those one to two thousand lives were just numbers, and he had no qualms about eliminating them if it served his interests.
"Anything else?" Lu Hai Kong asked.
"Lastly, the drama troupe you instructed us to form has taken shape, and their first performance has already been rehearsed. You can review it whenever you're ready," Wang Jun replied. He wasn't particularly skilled or knowledgeable about such matters, which was why he left this task for last.
Lu Hai Kong immediately became more alert. He understood that in the lower social strata, nothing captured the attention and interest of the people like drama. A well-crafted play could subtly influence the values of the citizens through its storyline, providing them with role models while also enriching their leisure time, making it a multi-beneficial endeavor.
"Has it been established? Excellent! Have them practice more, and ensure they're ready to perform when the mountain camp is promoted to a large-scale camp. Also, prepare for a celebration during the promotion, and let's make it an annual festival for the camp," Lu Hai Kong said. He had been increasingly focused on fostering a sense of belonging and unity among the citizens towards the camp, and it was evident he had been planning this celebration for some time.
However, Lu Hai Kong's planning involved conceptualizing a rough idea and then delegating the execution to Wang Jun.
After a long period of self-reflection, Lu Hai Kong had finally come to terms with his lack of talent in handling intricate political affairs. No matter how many decades he spent studying, he knew he would never match Wang Jun's expertise.
Consequently, Lu Hai Kong shifted his focus to macro-level decision-making and learning how to control the overall direction. The implementation of his decisions, however, relied entirely on Wang Jun.
Despite Wang Jun's previous embarrassment during the uprising, his capabilities were indeed impressive. He could flawlessly execute every major decision Lu Hai Kong made, and it was because of Wang Jun that the camp had developed so rapidly in the past three months.
If everything were left to Lu HaiKong to handle personally, within three months, even organizing manpower and building the walls would be challenging.
After Wang Jun reported a few matters to Lu HaiKong, he left to make his preparations. Lu HaiKong also began his own preparations, intending to personally lead the attack on the large mountain camp.
It wasn't that Lu HaiKong had been cooped up in the camp for three months and was itching for action. Rather, the strength of this large camp was such that if Lu HaiKong didn't take charge, they would have to rely solely on Dian Wei's brute force to crush them.
While Dian Wei's overwhelming power might be visually satisfying, his involvement usually meant there would be no gains. Aside from some possible leftovers in the enemy's warehouse, a large camp typically wouldn't yield any money, experience, or items.
Moreover, Lu HaiKong was genuinely feeling restless after three months. During this time, he had barely stepped out of the camp, a rare occurrence since his arrival in this world.
In these three months, Lu HaiKong's strength had undergone a remarkable transformation. When he opened the attribute panel, he saw improvements in almost every attribute and skill. The only thing that frustrated him was that his Strength remained stubbornly stuck at 69 points.
Name: Lu HaiKong
Occupation: Bandit Chief
Level: 05
Attributes:
Strength: 69, Politics: 35, Strategy: 30, Command: 45
Skills:
Basic Axe Technique: Level 29
Bull Power: Level 5
Basic Inner Strength: Level 29
Basic Sword Technique: Level 20
Basic Saber Technique: Level 20
Basic Archery Technique: Level 20
Mountain Splitting Axe Technique: Level 15
Wild Wolf Body Tempering Fist: Level 3
Mountain Opening Axe: Level 1
Free Attribute Points: 2
Skill Points to Allocate: 10,000
Both Basic Axe Technique and Basic Inner Strength were on the verge of leveling up, but Lu HaiKong's Strength remained stuck at 69 points, refusing to budge.
Despite having Dian Wei as a teacher, who couldn't explain how to break through the 70-point Strength bottleneck, Lu HaiKong gleaned from his mentor's hints that the key to surpassing this threshold was to cultivate a unique aura of his own.
Lu HaiKong found this surprisingly achievable. Even with the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique, he felt he could vaguely summon a sharp and heavy aura. However, when he tried to put this into action, he encountered resistance. As he attempted to gather his aura, the aura of the Mountain Opening Axe technique would surge forth, devouring the nascent aura of the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique.
Lu HaiKong was astounded that his aura could be consumed in this way. He tried again, and each time, the same thing happened. The moment his aura emerged, the Mountain Opening Axe's aura swallowed it, leaving nothing behind. Thus, Lu HaiKong's Strength remained at 69 points, though fortunately, his combat power had skyrocketed.
Despite his Strength being only 69 points, Lu HaiKong's combat prowess had multiplied several times over the past three months. Initially, when sparring with Dian Wei, he could barely last a dozen moves, and that was with Dian Wei holding back. Now, Lu HaiKong could exchange a hundred moves with Dian Wei, although he wasn't sure how much of Dian Wei's true strength was being utilized.
One thing was certain: if Lu HaiKong were to face opponents like the Hu Yin Tribe now, he could take on at least three of them!
(End of Chapter)
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