Chapter 203: Taking Stock of Gains

After this battle, Su Lun’s strength increased again. Similarly, although the Zhenbei City army suffered heavy casualties, it gained valuable training. Many soldiers advanced after this battle. Even though the total number of soldiers decreased, their overall strength actually improved compared to before.

Su Lun took out the just-obtained Recruitment Token and decided to use it directly. Su Lun had already discovered that this type of item had a strong connection to his personal fame or prestige.

At first, he only recruited some Barbarians. The last time he used it, he recruited a Half-elf tribe of over five hundred people. This time, after defeating the Orcs, he wondered who he would recruit.

After using the Recruitment Token, Su Lun then took out the book “Training Records”. This military manual was written by Qi Shaobao from the previous world’s Ming dynasty. He never expected to obtain a military book.

There were many famous military books from ancient times in his previous life, like “The Art of War”, “Meng De’s New Book”, “Sun Bin’s Art of War”, “Wei Liaozi”, “Six Secret Teachings”, and so on. But these books mostly discussed strategy. They were indeed excellent, but very few people could truly understand and apply them flexibly. Also, many military books were written in a vague, confusing way, making them hard to grasp completely.

“Training Records” was different. While called a military book, it actually mostly detailed methods for training troops. It contained very little about strategy. In terms of depth, it naturally couldn’t compare to “The Art of War” and others that focused on strategy and politics. But in terms of practicality, it was much stronger.

Out of a hundred people studying “The Art of War”, probably not even one would become truly skilled. But if you trained soldiers according to “Training Records”, the resulting troops wouldn’t be poor. “Training Records” covered a wide range of content, involving soldier selection, unit organization, flags and drums, weapons and equipment, general cultivation, military etiquette and law, the composition and training of chariot, infantry, and cavalry units, and various aspects of army building, training, and combat.

In ancient times, few military books were written in such detail. Following this book, one could completely train an elite force.

[Training Records: A book that records military skills like training, combat, and command in detail. After use: Training Speed +15, Elite +5, Command +15, Discipline +20. Skill Gained: Like an Arm Using Fingers]

[“Like an Arm Using Fingers”: After use, you can quickly command the army to form battle formations, deploy troops, and assign tasks.]

Su Lun directly chose to use it. The next second, “Training Records” turned into a stream of light and merged into Su Lun’s body. A large amount of training methods and experiences suddenly appeared in Su Lun’s mind, along with some video data. What surprised him even more was that the video data completely showed Qi Shaobao himself training troops.

What could be a better way to learn than personally experiencing Qi Shaobao’s training methods? This “Training Records” book really gave him a big surprise. Moreover, he could access these video materials anytime, and they would only disappear after he had fully learned and mastered everything.

Su Lun opened the System Panel. In the Command section, his Command value had changed from the original eighty-one to ninety-six. Iron Bone and Regeneration also upgraded to Intermediate level.

[Intermediate Iron Bone: Through cruel training, your ability to withstand blows improved. All attacks deal twenty percent less damage to you. Ordinary weapons have no effect on you.]

[Intermediate Regeneration: After cruel training, your bloodline awakened a miraculous ability. Your recovery speed increased. Your Recovery Speed +5]

Su Lun still planned to add the two Free Attribute Points to Strength. Su Lun’s Strength broke through to fifty. The remaining one Attribute Point prompted that it was insufficient and could not be added. After Attributes reach fifty, increasing them further requires three Attribute Points.

Seeing this situation, Su Lun directly added the remaining one Attribute Point to Spirit. He kept the two Skill Points for now, not learning any new skills yet. As for the Legendary Talent Point obtained from slaying the Orc Chieftain, Su Lun used it to upgrade his talent, Advanced Combat Reflex. After use, the original Advanced Combat Reflex became [Legendary Combat Reflex].

[Legendary Combat Reflex: Through long-term arduous training, your body’s reflexes have become instinct. After suffering a sudden enemy attack or ambush, your body will automatically defend and counterattack. Skill Gained: Strike After the Enemy]

[“Strike After the Enemy”: After being attacked, seize the advantageous moment to counterattack. This counterattack ignores fifty percent of the target’s defense. Attack speed increases by fifty percent.]

Strike After the Enemy! With this effect, he could now say he was no longer afraid of ambushes. The chance of him counter-killing anyone who attacked him was much higher. With his current attack speed, increasing it by another fifty percent, how many people could dodge it?

After Su Lun finished adding the Attribute Points, he closed the Attribute Panel and took out the remaining items. There was still the Leaf of Wisdom, the Reinforcement Token, and a special Military Token: Trap Camp.

Su Lun intended to leave the Leaf of Wisdom for Heatherway. Using this item on her would have a better effect. The Reinforcement Token could recruit Spirits of War from another world. Now that the battle was over, it wasn’t needed immediately. He would use it after returning to Zhenbei City. Finally, there was that special Military Token “Trap Camp”.

This was the first special troop type Su Lun obtained. The Trap Camp Military Token was a Tiger Tally, which looked very exquisitely made.

[Military Token (Trap Camp): After use, you can train and cultivate the special elite troop type Trap Camp. They are brave and good at fighting, their courage is unmatched. Their will is to break through enemy formations, they advance with no thought of retreat. Recruitment Number: 700 people. Recruitment Requirement: Divine Spear Guard. Recruitment consumes 100 units of food, 200 Gold Nar. Training success rate is twenty percent.]

After seeing the Trap Camp recruitment requirements, Su Lun frowned. According to these requirements, to gather seven hundred Trap Camp soldiers, he needed at least three thousand five hundred Divine Spear Guards. Although Divine Spear Guards are upgraded from Spearmen, reaching level five is not easy. After these fierce battles, there were only three or four Divine Spear Guards in the entire Spearman unit.

He currently only had about four hundred Spearmen in total. To form the Trap Camp, he estimated he would need to recruit at least ten thousand Spearmen to have a possibility. But so far, the total population of Zhenbei City wasn’t even ten thousand people. Forming the Trap Camp would likely take a very long time. However, he wasn’t in a hurry now. After defeating the Orc Army, there wasn’t any tribe in this area that could challenge Zhenbei City. He had enough time to slowly build the Trap Camp.

“Lord.” Just as Su Lun finished organizing everything, a Drow Elf hurried over. Su Lun’s heart tightened; had something else happened? He quickly asked, “What happened?”

“Lord, we found this thing while cleaning the battlefield.” This Drow Elf handed over a gem that looked like an amethyst. But compared to amethyst, this gem was more beautiful, and it contained a peculiar power, somewhat similar to soul energy and also like the Divine Power found on Temple Priests.

“Battle Soul Stone!”

Seeing this gem, Su Lun recognized it at a glance as a Battle Soul Stone. Battle Soul Stones belong to a special type of Soul Crystal and are rare. This item doesn’t have many uses. Temples use it when constructing a Hall of Heroes. This Battle Soul Stone can connect to the Divine Realm of their worshipped deity, summoning heroes to fight.

Su Lun’s construction list included two Wonder Buildings that require Battle Soul Stones. One was the ‘Triumphal Arch’, the other was the ‘Hall of Heroes’.

Su Lun didn’t currently have the blueprint for the Wonder Building Hall of Heroes. But he had obtained a blueprint for the other building, the Triumphal Arch, a long time ago. The Hall of Heroes requires upgrading the Martyrs’ Cemetery. First, upgrade the Martyrs’ Cemetery to a Heroes’ Cemetery, and then, based on the blueprint, construct the Wonder Building Hall of Heroes.

Su Lun didn’t know the specific attributes of the Hall of Heroes yet, but judging from the introduction, it should be able to summon the already fallen soldiers of Zhenbei City to fight in the form of heroes. Of course, the functions of Wonder Buildings are certainly more than that. To find out, he needed to obtain the blueprint first.

The Battle Soul Stone in front of him was crystal clear, almost without any impurities, and about ten centimeters in size. This was a high-quality Battle Soul Stone, very suitable for making the Triumphal Arch.

With the Battle Soul Stone, the construction of the Wonder Building Triumphal Arch needed to be scheduled. Building the Triumphal Arch required a large amount of pure white marble and master sculptors. The marble needed to be quarried from the northern Lotas Mountains. Zhenbei City now had a few master sculptors. Su Lun planned to start preparations after returning.

He was quite looking forward to the second Wonder Building in his territory.

…

Clip, clop, clip, clop. The sound of rapid hoofbeats rang out.

Su Lun turned his head and saw a troop of Centaur soldiers galloping towards him. The one at the front was Mishen. This young mare wore beautiful chainmail, held a spear in her hand, carried a bow and arrows at her waist. Her smooth long hair was tied up at the back of her head with some simple accessories. She looked heroic and impressive.

Soon, this troop of Centaurs arrived nearby. The Guards on perimeter duty stopped them.

“Halt!”

“I wish to see Sir Su Lun!” The young mare stopped and said.

“Let her come over.” Su Lun said to the Guard. The Guard put away his weapon and stepped aside to let her pass.

“What brings you to me?” Su Lun smiled, looking at the young mare in front of him.

Mishen smiled slightly, then her expression became serious. She formally saluted Su Lun and said, “Thank you, Sir Su Lun, for extending a helping hand to our tribe in times of danger and helping us complete our revenge. You are the most honored guest of our tribe.”

“Haha, why so formal all of a sudden?” Su Lun said with a laugh.

“Besides, the Orcs were my enemies too. This was cooperation between allies.”

Mishen shook her head slightly, “I’ve seen too many allies stab each other in the back.”

Su Lun smiled and said, “How are the Orcs now?”

“They have all scattered and fled. My people are still pursuing them. It’s estimated that less than a thousand will survive.”