Chapter 168: Triumphal Arch

Actually, compared to a Triumphal Arch, Su Lun would rather have a Wonder Building like the Great Library. The Great Library could increase the literacy rate of the population in the territory, speed up learning, and also boost the progress of various technological research. Unfortunately, the blueprint was given completely randomly, and he could not choose.

[Triumphal Arch: The Triumphal Arch is a building constructed to commemorate a victory in war. The Triumphal Arch is tall and majestic, entirely built of marble. It is usually built in the center of a square or on a main city street. Its appearance resembles a gate tower, with one or three arched gateways. The marble around the gateways is often carved with reliefs depicting the ruler’s military achievements. The Triumphal Arch is a symbol of a nation’s military strength. Building a Triumphal Arch in a city can greatly boost soldiers’ desire to enlist and their morale. Territory Prosperity +3, Territory Culture +3, Soldier Recruitment +10, Morale +10, Song of Triumph]

[Song of Triumph: Whenever the melody of the Song of Triumph plays, the army’s morale is forcibly increased by 50. This effect lasts for 24 hours. The army’s combat power increases by twenty percent, and there is a chance to activate the Last Stand effect.]

After checking the properties of the Triumphal Arch, Su Lun was also surprised. This Triumphal Arch was completely dedicated to warfare. That Song of Triumph buff was much stronger than the enhancement spells of the Wizards.

The construction difficulty of the Triumphal Arch was very high. The entire Triumphal Arch was best carved entirely from marble, and it had to be done by a master carver. The entire Triumphal Arch required a large number of reliefs. Without a master-level skill, the carvings would only become a laughingstock. Besides these, building the Triumphal Arch also required a Battle Soul Stone. Without this stone, the Triumphal Arch would just be an exquisite building.

The Battle Soul Stone was a type of Soul Crystal, but unlike ordinary Soul Crystals, this type of crystal was very special. It only had a chance to be produced on some large battlefields, and its quality couldn’t be guaranteed. However, this type of Soul Crystal didn’t have many uses, so its price was cheaper compared to other Soul Crystals. But the only problem was that it was too rare. Often, you couldn’t buy it even if you had the money.

Su Lun currently had a Soul Crystal in his hand, and it was even of Legendary Level. This Soul Crystal was obtained when Su Lun killed the ancestral spirit of that Troll Tribe. High-quality Soul Crystals had very high value. These high-quality Soul Crystals had irreplaceable uses.

For example, to build a Legendary Level Golem Puppet, you must use a Legendary Level Soul Crystal as the core. Also, the Tower Spirit of a Wizard Tower similarly required high-quality Soul Crystals. Moreover, Soul Crystals could also be used as universal currency in the Multiverse.

For instance, Devils and Demons both liked to use Soul Crystals for transactions. Many Wizard experiments also used Soul Crystals. This Soul Crystal had no immediate use in Su Lun’s hands, so it could only lie at the bottom of his Storage Space.

Without the Battle Soul Stone, the Triumphal Arch could not be built. However, preliminary preparation work could still be done. After all, the amount of marble needed to build such a Triumphal Arch was not small.

He could slowly collect marble now and start construction after obtaining a high-quality Battle Soul Stone. Regarding the reliefs carved on the Triumphal Arch, Su Lun also needed to make choices. If the wars carved on it were too low-level, it would only become a joke. For example, carving wars where Su Lun punched Goblins and kicked Kobolds would definitely not do.

At the very least, it should be victories against enemies like Ogres. His dragon-slaying deeds could also be carved. What? He didn’t slay a dragon? Who killed those Frost Wyverns? Aren’t Wyverns dragons?

Because the Triumphal Arch Su Lun planned to build was the type with three gateways, this large Triumphal Arch could have eight reliefs carved. Su Lun currently only had four battles worthy of being carved. Even if he had the Battle Soul Stone now, he couldn’t build the Triumphal Arch immediately. He couldn’t just leave those four panels empty, right? Or should he leave them as a debt, to be carved later after winning more battles?

Putting away the Triumphal Arch blueprint, Su Lun first went to the kitchen and had people prepare various abundant foods. Then he went to the Military Camp for an inspection. At this time, there were many sick and injured in the camp. He needed to come here to give these wounded soldiers psychological comfort, to make them feel valued. Although this inspection had a lot of showmanship, the effect produced by this practice was something that material compensation couldn’t achieve.

Although the army of Zhenbei City suffered many casualties this time, those who survived generally leveled up. All the Spearmen were promoted to Elite Spearmen level, and many even became Heavy Armor Spearmen. Spearmen at this level were already First Tier superhuman professionals. In the towns of the Southern Provinces, they could serve as Constables, or after swearing allegiance, become manor Knights.

In this world, although Knights barely counted as Nobles, this status was only for life. After the Knight died, the granted manor would be taken back, unless the Knight’s descendants also became Knights and swore allegiance to the original Noble.

The Longbowmen, because they were always well protected, only had some injured, and no fatalities. Now all these Longbowmen advanced to become Elite Longbowmen, and similarly, some became Strongbowmen.

As for those Drow Elves, because their original levels were already high, they did not level up. The Barbarian Warriors who had followed him the longest, except for the few newly joined Barbarians, all the other Barbarian Warriors advanced to Barbarian Great Axe Berserkers.

At this level, they had now reached the peak of their profession, equivalent to Third Tier superhuman professionals. They could no longer rely on the System to level up, unless they could break through to become Hero units. So far, no Barbarian had broken through to become a Hero. As for how to break through and become a Hero, Su Lun didn’t know either. He only knew one method: using a Self-Created Hero Template. But so far, he had only obtained one.

After comforting the sick and injured in the Military Camp, Su Lun then left the camp. He did not return directly to the Lord’s Castle, but went to the City Hall for an inspection. He then issued several orders, instructing them to find some intelligent and loyal farmers.

In the following days, Su Lun began constructing a Training Ground based on the training methods from the “Dodge Training Manual.” The Training Ground was quite large, covering about five hundred square meters. Fortunately, the population in the Inner City had already moved to the Outer City; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a suitable place.

The construction difficulty of the Training Ground wasn’t high, but creating the scenarios from the “Dodge Training Manual” wasn’t easy. For example, Reflective Dodging required at least three people attacking simultaneously from different angles. To train a dodge talent, it required at least hundreds, if not thousands, or even more repetitions. He couldn’t just find a few Warriors to specially accompany him in training day after day, right?

There was also the more advanced Intuitive Dodge, which required even more attackers. And for Legendary Dodge, Legendary Agility, etc., the number of attackers increased sharply. Moreover, every attack required full effort, so training wasn’t an easy task.

Fortunately, Su Lun understood Mechanical Mastery. He planned to use his mechanical knowledge to build a special training device. This Training Ground could simulate training from low to high levels.

The equipment Su Lun made for the Training Ground borrowed from the structure of a repeating crossbow. In a small room, crossbow bolts could shoot from all directions. Of course, all the bolts had their arrowheads removed, leaving only the shafts. But even such headless arrows, shot from crossbows at such close range, would still be very painful when they hit the body.

The power facility for the entire mechanical device used a fountain. With the power of the fountain, the Training Ground could operate continuously for a long time.

After spending about a week, Su Lun finally completed the construction of this Training Ground.

[Advanced Training Ground: Uses a fountain as power for mechanical operation. A power attack instrument. When activated, it can conduct dodge training courses ranging from 3 attackers to 30 attackers. Sturdy and Durable +10, Training Effect +15, Mechanical Transmission +15, Attack Variety +13, Continuous +10, Reduced Malfunction +15]

After the Training Ground was built, Su Lun specifically found Heatherway to enchant the Training Ground. The first enchantment effect was Slow. After entering the Training Ground, movement speed was reduced by twenty percent.

This way, the training difficulty became even higher. After the Training Ground was completed, Su Lun entered the center of the area and started the Training Ground.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz.”

A sound of mechanical rotation was heard. Numerous Crossbow Mechanisms appeared on the surrounding walls. These Crossbow Mechanisms were connected by a special method. One by one, crossbow bolts were loaded, and then constant clicking sounds were heard as bolts suddenly shot out.

Su Lun stood in the middle. All the crossbow bolts targeted him. Because it was dodge training, attacking was not allowed, and the number of blocks needed to be controlled. Three Crossbow Mechanisms continuously shot arrows at him. Su Lun’s body swayed as he continuously performed various dodges.

Bolts flew past his body. Su Lun skillfully dodged the bolts. Although the three Crossbow Mechanisms shot bolts continuously, with his high agility of thirty-two, he still handled it with ease.

After adapting to the three Crossbow Mechanisms, Su Lun began increasing the number of Crossbow Mechanisms. Five Crossbow Mechanisms fired continuously, while Su Lun constantly rolled and jumped in the field to avoid the arrows. This time, the continuous bolts from five Crossbow Mechanisms kept Su Lun busy dodging. Because there were too many bolts, Su Lun was occasionally hit. Fortunately, as time passed, he gradually adapted to this attack rhythm, and the time intervals between hits became longer.

After three hours, the training ended, and Su Lun stopped. He opened the System interface, where a large number of prompt messages appeared.

“During the training, you successfully dodged the opponent’s attack. You gained some information on Tumble Dodge.”

“During the training, you successfully dodged the opponent’s attack. You gained some information on Reflective Dodge.”

“During the training, you successfully dodged the opponent’s attack. You gained some information on Tumble Dodge.”