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Chapter 352: Upgrading the Mountain Stronghold Camp
Chapter 352: Upgrading the Mountain Stronghold Camp
September 25, 2017
The seizure of the Dingxiang Governor's Mansion was a declaration of war and a show of force. Lu Haikong wanted to send a message: don't push me to the edge, or face the consequences.
However, Zhang Yan and Ding Yuan interpreted this action differently. They believed Lu Haikong was becoming desperate, like a cornered dog.
If left unchecked, today's burning of the Governor's Mansion might lead to the county city being set ablaze tomorrow. Thus, both sides intensified negotiations, making significant concessions.
On the third day after Lu Haikong burned down the Governor's Mansion, one of Ding Yuan's legions marched towards Qiangyin.
Ding Yuan, unlike Zhang Yan, had over a decade of military experience, rising from the lowest ranks.
He had witnessed countless battles and was a true veteran of the battlefield.
Moreover, Ding Yuan had more comprehensive intelligence on Lu Haikong than Zhang Yan, ensuring he wouldn't make the same mistake of underestimating the enemy.
Before Ding Yuan's forces took action, the counties of Dingxiang, Yanmen, Yunzhong, and Wuyuan began mobilizing their troops, while various large-scale siege engines were being prepared.
At this time, the Han Dynasty was engaged in various battles against mountain bandits, foreign tribes, and small-scale rebellions. There was no immediate need for large-scale siege equipment.
In this environment, the military supply depots had limited stocks of large-scale siege engines. The few existing siege towers and catapults, which had been stored for an unknown duration, were also taken by the Zhang Family Army, along with Lu Haikong's forces.
When Ding Yuan tried to gather resources, he could only immediately obtain three catapults and one siege tower. These machines, due to long-term neglect and lack of maintenance, were on the verge of falling apart. Repair work had to be hastily arranged.
On the other hand, after capturing Dingxiang, Lu Haikong initially planned to continue his momentum and take Qiangyin as well, having tasted success.
However, Qiangyin, being closer to the Zhang Family Legion, had already received news and locked down the county gate, with the county magistrate hiding in the magistrate's mansion, on high alert.
Although Lu Haikong could have forced his way in, he decided against it. The Black Gale Legion had fought tirelessly overnight, and the seizure of the Governor's Mansion had served as a sufficient show of force.
Upon returning to the mountain stronghold, the entire place sprang into action, specifically the over 20,000 captured county troops.
Lu Haikong had no intention of letting these 20,000 mouths go to waste. In the following days, he put these captives to work, preparing various defensive materials and making all sorts of arrangements.
Surprisingly, the captured troops were unexpectedly obedient, diligently working under the watchful eyes of blades and bows.
Lu Haikong, while preparing defenses, dispatched numerous members of the Flame Camp and Phantom Guards to gather intelligence on the external situation.
To be honest, Lu Haikong wasn't overly concerned about the Zhang Family's encirclement and suppression. He had his means, and even if the Zhang Family could mobilize the forces of Bingzhou, he wasn't overly worried.
What he truly feared was Ding Yuan, or more precisely, Ding Yuan and Lu Bu combined.
Although Lu Bu's strength in history wasn't as high as depicted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this was a game world!
Dian Wei's strength hadn't yet reached its peak, and his current strength of 92 was already superhuman. Who knew how much Lu Bu's strength had grown by now?
If a Lu Bu with a strength of 100 were to appear now, along with Ding Yuan's battle-hardened soldiers, it would be a challenging battle. The most crucial issue was that Dian Wei was currently with the Xianbei, and although Lu Haikong had sent people to recall him, the exact time of his return was uncertain. If Lu Bu arrived before Dian Wei's return, the situation would be awkward.
Lu HaiKong was eagerly anticipating the Zhang Family to put up a stronger fight, hoping they would send more troops to attack and provide him with more opportunities to gain experience and good items. This would help boost the strength of his own Mountain Bandits.
Speaking of which, Lu HaiKong had previously obtained a random high-level troop recruitment token, a legendary treasure chest, and a gold treasure chest after burning down the Dingxiang Governor's Mansion. Upon his return, he immediately used the gold treasure chest and the high-level troop recruitment token.
Lu HaiKong was fortunate to find 500 sets of Elite-level equipment in the gold treasure chest, and they were identical to the previous 500 sets he had obtained. This was just enough to arm all the Excellent-level Mountain Bandit bodyguards under his command.
The random high-level troop recruitment token, however, could only be used by placing it in the Fortified Camp. But when Lu HaiKong tried to do so, he discovered that the Fortified Camp's level was too low to use the token.
Left with no choice, Lu HaiKong had to use the 'System Building Upgrade Token' he had saved up. After all, he still had one designated building upgrade slot available, and he wouldn't hesitate to use it. With a major battle approaching, it was indeed time to upgrade the Fortified Camp.
After the upgrade, the Fortified Camp's attributes improved significantly. The random high-level troop recruitment token could now be used smoothly.
Fortified Camp
Building Level: Excellent Lv. 1
Building Function: Troop Recruitment
Excellent Level Special Effect: Increased recruitment capacity, with a chance to recruit Elite-level troops or commanders.
Recruitment List:
(Omitted due to untranslatable content)
Among the troops, the Mountain Bandit Divine Archer stood out. With a Strength of 35, Lu HaiKong could recruit up to 5 of them daily at a cost of 500 gold each.
After the upgrade, the daily recruitment capacity tripled. Lu HaiKong could now recruit 3,000 ordinary Mountain Bandits instead of 1,000, and he had access to the new Mountain Bandit Divine Archer troop.
Mountain Bandit Divine Archer
Strength: 35
Troop Trait: Armor-Piercing Shot
Armor-Piercing Shot: An active trait that, when activated, triples the power and range of the archers' arrows for 30 minutes.
Impressed by the troop's power, Lu HaiKong immediately recruited all of them without a second thought, disregarding the cost of 500 gold per recruit.
It wasn't just the Mountain Bandit Divine Archers; with the impending battle, Lu HaiKong recruited all available troops from the Fortified Camp every day. He spent 5,500 gold daily on troop recruitment, and with the upcoming battle, this amount would triple. There was no choice but to strengthen his forces.
As for the legendary treasure chest, Lu HaiKong didn't open it because, just as he was about to, a visitor arrived at his stronghold—someone both familiar and unfamiliar to him.
Besides Lu HaiKong, no one knew who this visitor was or how they had arrived.
Everyone knew that Lu HaiKong had a lengthy conversation with this person, but the content of their discussion remained a mystery to all but the two of them.
In fact, few knew how this person had even left Lu HaiKong's stronghold.
However, it was evident that Lu HaiKong seemed slightly different after meeting this individual, though it was hard to pinpoint exactly what had changed. Perhaps he had become a little more confident.
(End)
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