Chapter 688: Repairing the Phoenix's Tears
Chapter 688: Repairing the Phoenix's Tears
September 25, 2017
On the grasslands outside Bing Province, in an unknown region, a cavalry unit of several dozen elite soldiers clad in black armor and riding ordinary yet top-quality horses, each worth tens of thousands of gold, fled desperately towards Lu HaiKong's fort. They carried several quivers on their backs and a Cloud-Piercing Crossbow, valued at 500,000 gold, on their horses.
In all of Bing Province, only Lu HaiKong's Black Wind Legion could afford such equipment. However, this elite force now appeared disheveled, as if they had just emerged from a fierce battle. Despite no one chasing them, they hurried without rest.
Exhausted beyond measure, the soldiers seemed on the verge of collapse, barely holding on through sheer willpower. These were not the Gale Raiders but members of the Fire Battalion, known for their excellence.
The sight of them in such a state was baffling. It was hard to imagine what formidable enemy could push Lu HaiKong's elite force to such extremes.
Stranger still was the question of why this legion was here.
In truth, this was a special task force of three hundred soldiers, escorting Li Xiong, one of Lu HaiKong's most trusted aides, who had ventured into the grasslands several months ago.
But among the disheveled soldiers returning, Li Xiong was nowhere to be seen. It was unclear if he had met with misfortune or become separated from the group.
Judging by the pitiful state of the cavalry, the first possibility seemed more likely.
However, their haste might suggest the second option, or even a third unknown possibility. Only when these remnants of the Black Wind Legion returned to Lu HaiKong's fort would the truth be known.
...
At that moment, Lu HaiKong was unaware of the situation in the grasslands. He had some rare free time, so he was monitoring the five provinces under his rule.
To be precise, he was observing Changsun Hong's performance!
Changsun Hong had started in Shang Province and, within just half a month, shattered the original alliance of the aristocratic families in the five provinces.
Cracks had appeared in the alliance, and during this time, numerous aristocratic families across the five provinces had declared their unwavering support for Lu HaiKong, the Governor of Bing Province.
In a sense, Changsun Hong had achieved the impossible. In just half a month, he had brought the five provinces, previously in a subtle state of opposition to Lu HaiKong, under his control.
However, it would be an exaggeration to say that Lu HaiKong now controlled the five provinces. His grasp on them was far weaker than it had been over a year ago when he ruled over three provinces.
At present, Lu HaiKong only nominally controlled the five provinces. In reality, he remained hands-off regarding their governance, leaving administrative matters to the aristocratic families.
Thus, Lu HaiKong's control over the five provinces was merely superficial. Nonetheless, the situation in the five provinces was significantly better than before.
Lu HaiKong could have exerted more influence in the five provinces and tightened his grip, but he chose not to.
He remained cautious and suspicious, always sensing something amiss. Whether it was Changsun Hong's arrival, the rapid disintegration of the aristocratic alliance, the recent incident in Beifeng City involving the hermits, or the assassination attempt by the man in black, there seemed to be an undercurrent of strangeness.
A vague sense of unease permeated these events, hinting at a hidden hand pulling the strings. Lu HaiKong, disliking this feeling of being out of control, left matters to Changsun Hong. He wanted to discern the truth as events unfolded, but even after the assassination attempt and the takeover of the five provinces by Changsun Hong, Lu HaiKong remained in the dark.
So, Lu HaiKong decided to leave the five provinces be for the time being. If he couldn't understand the situation, he would temporarily let go. After all, even if he took control of the five provinces, he wouldn't be able to manage them effectively at that moment. It was better to let things be for now.
Lu HaiKong's approach couldn't be called ideal, and it might seem somewhat passive, but it wasn't entirely negative.
Moreover, by setting aside the five provinces, Lu HaiKong gained more time to focus on the affairs in Beifeng City.
The hermit uprising in Beifeng City had occurred some time ago, and the profits from the auction of artifacts, which had attracted many hermits, had been calculated.
Including the auction and the equipment shop, Lu HaiKong obtained nearly five hundred million gold in spoils from killing those Lone Wanderers in the end. In just ten days, Lu HaiKong amassed a fortune of nearly five hundred million gold.
Five hundred million gold sounds impressive, but in reality, only slightly over one hundred million was in cash, and the rest was mostly items and equipment, with quite a few land deeds.
Unlike lords, Lone Wanderers don't have their own territories, so when they earn a lot of gold, they don't have a place to store it.
In this situation, besides spending money to buy equipment and items within their small circles, Lone Wanderers usually only do two things.
One is to sell houses. They buy houses in major cities, but not from NPCs; instead, they purchase directly from the system, turning their gold into land deeds. It's much easier to collect a few thin land deeds than to haul around several carts full of gold. This is what top-tier Lone Wanderers like to do.
Besides this, there are also some eccentric Lone Wanderers who enjoy burying their treasures, creating a treasure map, and then retrieving it when needed.
Of course, the second method has nothing to do with Lu HaiKong. Those Lone Wanderers who buy things naturally use system-issued land deeds as collateral, and they wouldn't use self-made treasure maps for collateral.
According to statistics, among the five hundred million gold, nearly two hundred million was in land deeds, and the rest was in items and equipment, with only slightly over one hundred million in cash.
Even with just this, it's already quite impressive—five hundred million in real estate, almost enough to match Lu HaiKong's two years of hard work.
With this money, Lu HaiKong can also upgrade his army.
Unfortunately, this kind of good fortune is unlikely to happen again for Lu HaiKong in the short term.
Of course, Lu HaiKong doesn't need it to happen again. With five hundred million gold earned and trade relations established with over ten Unusual Lords, Beifeng City is also starting to operate, and everything is on track.
In the next chapter, Lu HaiKong can finally take a break and quietly watch as Beifeng City prepares to take off with time.
Lu HaiKong finally has some free time after finishing various tasks.
As soon as Lu HaiKong has some free time, besides paying attention to the situation in the Five Provinces, he eagerly takes out the [Item Repair Token] obtained from the auction and the [Phoenix Tear] used in the battle with Zhang Liang.
Although Lu HaiKong used the [Phoenix Tear], the item was not completely damaged.
This item is not permanent, but it is also not consumable. It's a special item that can be repaired and reused after use.
Before Lu HaiKong obtained the [Item Repair Token], he didn't know how to repair this item. Now, with the [Item Repair Token], repairing is no problem.
Even though repairing the item may require some materials, Lu HaiKong, who owns the [Item Auction] and the [Mysterious Shop], is not worried. He believes no material can stop him.
With Lu HaiKong's diligent and inquisitive spirit, the [Item Repair Token] soon provides an answer.
[Do you want to repair the item [Phoenix Tear]?]
"Yes!"
[Repair materials are missing. Repair failed. Please prepare one of the following four core materials.]
Lu HaiKong listens and is relieved that it's a choice of four. The difficulty is greatly reduced. The system then introduces the four core items.
[Phoenix Blood], [Divine Dragon Blood], [Vermillion Bird Heart], [Nirvana Fruit]
Lu HaiKong takes a look at these four items and silently closes the attribute panel.
"Damn, I thought the [Item Repair Token] would easily fix it, but it requires such a perverted material. This item actually needs a legendary equipment to repair. What a loss!"
Lu HaiKong knows without checking that each of these four items is incredibly rare.
Three of them are related to divine beasts, which are not easy to find. The only one not related to divine beasts carries the noble term 'Nirvana', so it can't be simple.
Lu HaiKong now realizes that he shouldn't expect to repair the [Phoenix Tear] anytime soon.
"Forget it, these perverted-level items are not easy to obtain. Let's put it aside for now. Let's take advantage of the time to see how those guys are doing. It's been half a year; they should have surrendered by now, right?"
Saying this, Lu HaiKong gets up, takes Chen Ping, and leaves the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, heading towards a restricted area in the Beifeng City military camp.
(End of Chapter)
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