Chapter 178: Stronghold Promotion
Chapter 178: Stronghold Promotion
Lu HaiKong had only fulfilled two of the prerequisites for the stronghold promotion: defeating the Iron Stronghold and raising the hidden 'Minxin' attribute of the stronghold. The rest, he left to Wang Jun to handle, as these were administrative matters that Wang Jun was more adept at managing.
By the time Lu HaiKong arrived, Wang Jun had already prepared the stronghold's household register, compiled by Zhang Wen, and other necessary items for the promotion. All Lu HaiKong needed to do was confirm the stronghold's advancement in the Assembly Hall.
The promotion process was straightforward, and there was little commotion in the Assembly Hall. The most notable change was Zhang Wen's hard work in compiling a cartload of household registers, which had now become a slim book item.
This book item served as a symbol of a large mountain camp. With it, Zhang Wen no longer needed to painstakingly write household registers. Instead, the basic information of new members would be recorded in this 'Stronghold Register'.
Apart from recording the basic information of the stronghold's residents, this 'Stronghold Register' had little other use.
Lu HaiKong's attention, however, was not on this register but on the rewards he would receive after the stronghold's promotion.
"Congratulations! You have successfully promoted the Flame Yellow Stronghold to a large mountain camp. You have unlocked a new profession: Bandit King. Do you accept this position?"
"Bandit King? I accept!" Lu HaiKong's eyes lit up, not bothered by the somewhat embarrassing name of the profession. He was well aware of the significance of these titles.
After accepting the position, Lu HaiKong felt a surge of warmth, followed by another system prompt.
"Congratulations! You have successfully assumed the role of Bandit King. Your base attributes have been enhanced, and your abilities have improved. You have randomly obtained one of the Bandit King's profession effects."
Name: Lu HaiKong
Profession: Bandit King lv: 01
Abilities:
Strength: 71, Politics: 40, Strategy: 40, Command: 50
Skills:
(Omitted to avoid accusations of word count padding)
Profession Effect:
Tyrant of the Bandits: As the Bandit King, your reputation among bandits spreads far and wide. At regular intervals, small mountain bandits will come to pledge their allegiance, making it easier to recruit specific warriors and more challenging to recruit scholars.
In Lu HaiKong's opinion, the Bandit King's profession effect was rather disappointing. With the existence of the Flame Battalion, he rarely needed to recruit ordinary warriors, but he did have a significant need for scholars. Yet, this effect seemed to work against him.
However, it wasn't a significant issue. As a bandit, it was already challenging to recruit ordinary scholars, so the increased difficulty was negligible.
The most crucial aspect of the promotion to Bandit King was the boost in attributes, including intelligence. Lu HaiKong wondered if his intelligence was now sufficient to use the Appraisal Technique.
Despite his eagerness, Lu HaiKong didn't immediately attempt to use the technique. He didn't want to be taunted by a skill book again during this joyous moment, and he also hadn't finished claiming all the benefits of the stronghold's promotion.
Just as Lu HaiKong became the Bandit King, another system message appeared.
"Your stronghold has successfully advanced to a large mountain camp. You have earned one designated building upgrade opportunity and one random building upgrade opportunity. Please select the designated building for upgrade!"
Upon hearing this, Lu HaiKong's eyes lit up. Compared to the previous treasure chests, these upgrade benefits were clearly more practical.
Translation: Lu HaiKong wasn't exactly clear if this 'upgrade' referred to improving the building's level or its quality. If it was the former, then there wasn't much to look forward to. But if it was the latter, that would be a whole different story.
However, he could only find out upon using it. Lu HaiKong currently had only one chance to upgrade a designated building, and he needed to make a careful choice.
The system's upgradeable buildings weren't just any random structures in the stronghold, but only those acknowledged by the system.
Currently, there were only a handful of acknowledged buildings in the stronghold: the Assembly Hall, Bandit Barracks, Camp Ground, Stronghold Kitchen, Arrow Tower, Flowing Camp, and Stronghold Wall. Lu HaiKong had some building blueprints in hand, but since they hadn't been constructed yet, they wouldn't benefit from this opportunity.
There were two ways to construct buildings in the stronghold. One was for Lu HaiKong to directly pay the system, which would then construct or upgrade the building. This was the method used for the Bandit Barracks and Camp Ground.
In the 1619 version, the system would construct the building without any mistakes!
This method not only took less time but also resulted in buildings of decent quality. The downside was the hefty cost.
For instance, if Lu HaiKong had the system construct the Stronghold Wall, it could be completed within a day, but at a price of 500,000 to 1 million gold. In contrast, the wall he built by mobilizing manpower cost less than 100,000 gold, and that money was mostly spent on wages for the workers.
The workers then used that money to buy food and other goods from Lu HaiKong, effectively cycling the money back into his pocket. So, the actual cost wasn't as significant.
While this method saved money, it was time-consuming and resulted in inferior quality. Lu HaiKong's wall, for instance, was subpar in both defense and height compared to the system-built one.
With such an opportunity presented to him, Lu HaiKong shouldn't have hesitated. But he decided to consult Wang Jun, as the stronghold was under Wang Jun's management, and his understanding of which stronghold buildings needed improvement might be more profound. Additionally, although the current wall was weak, the defense wasn't a pressing issue.
Lu HaiKong didn't express his preference for the wall; he merely asked Wang Jun for his opinion on which stronghold building to enhance.
Wang Jun was straightforward, immediately offering Lu HaiKong two options: the Stronghold Wall or the Flowing Camp.
The Stronghold Wall was for the stronghold's security, while the Flowing Camp was for territorial development. It was an easy choice, and Lu HaiKong, without hesitation, selected the Stronghold Wall. This tough guy just wanted to show that he could accept suggestions.
After Lu HaiKong confirmed his choice, a system message appeared, bringing him a pleasant surprise.
"Congratulations! Your designated building, the Stronghold Wall, has been upgraded, and your territory's Flowing Camp has also been enhanced!"
(End of Chapter)
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