Zhan Long

Chapter 779 - Charge of an Army

The next morning, I woke up early and ate some of the wontons that Dong Cheng had brought back, then rushed online.

A new day, a new goal.

Today’s goal was simple. In terms of levels, I was already at a good place. Rumors and legends of yesterday’s battle at the War God’s River had spread far and wide, enough so that the Port City players were unlikely to set foot on our territory again. My task now was to properly train the Royal Army, so that they would become a powerful army at our disposal.

……

“Shua!”

When I logged on, I appeared in Tian Ling City. I quickly repaired my equipment and replenished my potions before teleporting to the Dragon’s Den. A couple of the upgrades I had made last time were now complete and the Dragon’s Den was now the first player city in the entire server to reach Level 10. Additionally, our production capability had increased quite a bit. Chi Yu Han and Chi Yu Qing’s management capability was truly superior——

[Dragon’s Den] (Level 10 Player City)

City Owner: Xiao Yao Zi Zai

Guardian: Chi Yu Han & Vice: Chi Yu Qing

City Buildings: 30

Soldiers: 7355

Laborers: 18030

City Scale: Super Big

City Production Capability——

Food: 60700/hour

Wood: 60000/hour

Stones: 60000/hour

……

I looked up and saw that another shocking construction had been built beside the hawk nests. It looked almost like a small mountain, but there were holes all along the sides. People with trypophobia probably wouldn’t be able to take the sight. The construction itself was called “Dragon's Nest.” It was a required construction for the Level 10 “Cliff Dragon Knights.” Right then, it was already a Level 7 building. It looked like Wan Er and Qing Qian had been leveling it up. The higher the level of the construction, the quicker we’d be able to recruit that type of soldier. I looked at the requirements for the Cliff Dragon Knights and felt my heart do a little leap in happiness——

Level 10 Soldier: Cliff Dragon Knights, City Owner Stats x120%, Requirements: Gold x3000, Food x2950, Wood x3200, Stones x3000

……

Without hesitation, I used up all of the city’s resources to recruit some. After all, a Level 10 city’s storage could hold quite a bit. In one breath, I recruited 500 Cliff Dragon Knights. Around seven minutes later, I heard a screech from the top of the nest. I saw a fierce looking dragon poke its head out of one of the holes. It’s eyes were like that of a lizard. It batted its eyes a few times and then sneezed a flame out of its nose. Afterwards it continued stretching outward until it was perched on the side of the nest. A mount’s helmet rested on the head of the dragon and knight suited in a heavy coat of armor was sitting on its back. I could see fire in its eyes as it glanced over to me. When it saw the icon over my head, the knight jumped off of its mount and respectfully bowed to me, “City Lord!”

I nodded, “Go ahead!”

“Yes sir!”

He jumped back onto his mount with his dragon spear. The cliff dragon let out a screech and jumped into the air, flying towards the training grounds. Over there, I could see Chi Yu Han running drills with the soldiers. The Cliff Dragon Knight was a Level 10 soldier, and must serve under the orders of Chi Yu Han, thus making it necessary for the new knight to report to him.

I urged my Steel Blade Horse into the city. After making a complete round of the city, I noticed that the number of players who had joined the city was steadily growing. The Dragon’s Den was close to Dragon City and the Ice Ridge Mountains where high level monsters spawned. It was a holy place for leveling. Besides, just north of the Ice Ridge Mountains were the Hybrid Demons who would trespass into the region from time to time. Quite a few players discovered that after killing the Hybrid Demons they would receive enormous amounts of rewards. So they used Dragon’s Den as a base, allowing the player city to reap the benefits. Each time a player teleported, bought potions or fixed their equipment would lead to revenue. Most of the money went into our treasury for the Zhan Long players.

After making another round, I concluded that there weren’t many problems to address under the management of Chi Yu Qing and Chi Yu Han. All I needed to do was recruit more soldiers. Qing Qian and Wan Er, the two vice guild masters, were limited to recruiting laborers and leveling up the buildings. Recruiting soldiers would have to be done by me, the city owner.

After completing the inspection, I left to head to the Royal Army!

……

I quickly returned to Tian Ling City and ran to the Royal Army Camp. On the way there, I opened up the Chinese server forums. As I had expected, it was filled with news of our victory from yesterday. Frost Forest, Witch Moon and the other three million Japanese players were swept out of our territory. Furthermore, [Legend], [Hero’s Mound], and [Vanguard] had all camped out in the War God River territory, each guild switching out every three days. This way, the Japanese wouldn’t even think about poaching on our territory.

In terms of our battle, the forums had nothing but praise. Quite a few were even worshipping Fang Ge Que like a god. There was an overall consensus was that the Chinese Battlenet’s number one player was without a doubt on par with a god. [Legend] had used their main forces to end yesterday’s battle. With a single sweep, they had destroyed the Port City army. Of course, there were some who digressed, and thought that the real heroes were [Zhan Long], [Prague], [Judgement], [Enemies at the Gate] and [Blood Contract]. Those five guilds had killed over three times more than [Legend] had. They argued that no matter what, the man with the most achievements was not Fang Ge Que in this last battle.

And so, the forum was immersed into an enormous war between the people who thought that the five guilds, [Zhan Long], [Prague], [Judgement], and the others were the true heroes, and the [Legend] supporters. There was no other way, after all this was reality. Just because we bled, did not necessarily mean that our loss was acknowledged. But that was no problem. There was still time for [Zhan Long] to prove itself. Besides, in terms of war, the Battle of the War God River was just the beginning.

……

“Lord General!”

When I arrived at the Royal Army, the sentries went down to one knee and saluted me. I gave a short nod in acknowledgement and dashed straight into the camp. The sounds of training and fighting filled the air from both sides, as a large number of soldiers were in the midst of simulating a battle.

“General, you’ve finally come!”

Han Yuan lead his horse to me and smiled, “General’s methods are truly effective. Look, those soft footed Royal Army Soldiers have improved so much!”

I looked into the distance and saw a group of human soldiers practicing [Blade Rush]. Rhythmically, the soldiers pierced their swords forward with a shout. There really wasn’t much technique behind the shout, all it was for was to intimidate the opponent. With all that pressure and intimidation, our soldiers could then deal a swift attack. I smiled, “It’s not just my methods, General Han, your command over the troops has also contributed greatly to their improvement. Has anything happened with the Royal Army as of late?”

Han Yuan said, “Not much. A few of the noble princelings quit the Royal Army because the training is too rough, but I let them go. Either way, we’ve had a lot of new recruits!”

“Oh?” I smiled, “I thought that no one showed much interest in the Royal Army?”

Han Yuan smiled back, “That was before. Since the last battle where general lead us to victory against two thousand Hybrid Demons, our reputation has vastly improved. Not to mention the fact that our wage rate is relatively generous, so a lot of the young men in the empire have been clamoring to join the Royal Army. If we didn’t have a quota, we would probably have at least thirty thousand troops in our army.”

“How many do we have in total now?”

“We started with twenty thousand troops, along with eight thousand newly recruited. The new recruits still have to work on their battle potential, but that’s no matter. Xiao Lie and I have been training them, and with another two weeks they’ll catch up with the rest of the army.”

“Good, excellent work!”

……

Right then, a messenger dashed into camp on a horse, carrying a golden scroll, shouting, “Urgent Report! Urgent Report! Royal Army General Li Xiao Yao, accept this command!”

I quickly galloped over and slid off my horse, “I am Li Xiao Yao!”

The messenger also slid off his horse and opened up the scroll, “News from the Sea of No Return, a large number of Hybrid Demons have gathered onto boats and are crossing the sea. Very soon, they’ll reach the southern banks of the Sea of No Return. His majesty has decided to personally lead the troops into battle, leading the seven main armies against the Hybrid Demons. Both the Flame Dragon Army and the Xia Yu Army are among the troops being called upon. His majesty has specially ordered Li Xiao Yao to lead the entire Royal Army to join this battle. Bring your troops immediately to the southern banks of the Sea of No Return!”

I received the scroll and nodded, “Understood, we will immediately set out!”

The messenger smiled, “General Li, thank you for the trouble. Please set out as soon as possible. If you arrive late, none of us will be able to take the consequences!”

“Understood!”

……

At the same time, I heard a bell ring beside my ear. It was a military command from the empire. A fleet of boats were arriving at the Sea of No Return carrying large numbers of Hybrid Demon troops. As such, King Robert is planning on sending troops to confront them——

“Ding!”

System Notification: Please note, a large number of Hybrid Demons are crossing the Sea of No Return. All players in the military, please make your preparations. It is of absolute necessity that we prevent the Hybrid Demons outside of the forests on the Southern Banks and halt their advance upon our territory. Furthermore, killing the Hybrid Demons will result in proportionate rewards, as well as achievement points and a potential promotion in the army. Fight bravely, fight for honor, and fulfill your Destiny!

……

It looked like this was a server event. Most of the players in Tian Ling City had joined some kind of military position. The only question now was, how many Hybrid Demons had arrived, and if there were enough for everyone to kill? But, seeing as there was a reward and achievement, then we must join the event. Besides, if I wanted to eventually rule all seven kingdoms, then I must start by gaining a foothold here in Tian Ling City. My current position as the General of the Royal Army is only a Lieutenant General’s ranking, which is far from what I need. Some of the noble princelings of Tian Ling City didn’t even feel the need to pay their respects to a minor officer like me.

I raised the command and turned around to address Han Yuan and Xiao Lie, “You heard right? Begin assembling the troops and preparing the provisions so that we can set out. Our destination is the Sea of No Return!”

Han Yuan excitedly nodded, “Yes sir!”

While he was excited, I couldn’t bring myself to raise my spirits. Seeing as the Hybrid Demon Armies were invading, it was bound to make a turn for the worse. It was very likely that one of the Demon Kings would appear. Of all the NPCs in Tian Ling City, who could possibly stand against a Hybrid Demon King?