Chapter Thirty-Two: Rules of the Monster Camp

Having finalized the plans for selling weapons and processed the gathered resource blueprints and illustrated guides, Lin Mu found himself with some free time and decided he needed something to occupy himself.

Instead of seeking out Chang Yin, Lin Mu went to find Feng Zhong. As the village’s military advisor, Feng Zhong was incredibly busy. Aside from training the three hundred soldiers in the barracks, he also led them on combat excursions. He was practically playing the role of a "nanny," pouring all his efforts into training soldiers capable of conquering the Green Dragon Stronghold as quickly as possible.

In Feng Zhong’s heart, though he looked down upon those so-called one hundred thousand elite troops, he knew that under current circumstances, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; he had to do his best with what he had. Still, it was manageable. It would be a laughingstock if a divine-tier general like himself couldn't even handle a tiny mountain stronghold.

Strategy requires despising the enemy, while tactics require taking them seriously!

Located in the northwest of the village, there were now eight barracks. Lin Mu had not let the territory’s architects waste energy on building them; he had simply used the construction blueprints he purchased from the trading market. All seven primary barracks blueprints he bought had been built.

With eight primary barracks, each capable of training one hundred soldiers, the three hundred currently recruited were all of Tier 6 aptitude, a testament to the rigorous standards held by both Lin Mu and Feng Zhong. This aligned perfectly with their elite troop plan: quality over quantity!

The soldiers were training in the barracks with great fervor. Although it was already past February, the south did not experience the harsh, snowy winters of the north. Without such difficult conditions, the soldiers were full of spirit. In fact, throughout the Divine Land at present, it was universally spring-like; the lack of winter disasters was a result of the world’s rules, a preliminary environmental benefit for players. Once the system rules updated, the Divine Land would return to normal, with the cycle of the four seasons.

Feng Zhong would occasionally nod in approval from the sidelines. His restrained dignity made him the perfect head instructor for the troops. Lin Mu had already mentally positioned Feng Zhong as the Chief Instructor of the True Dragon Territory, planning to form a legion dedicated to training—the territory’s First Legion. Lin Mu hadn't decided on a specific name yet, intending to discuss it with Feng Zhong and others later.

Recently, Feng Zhong’s physique seemed even more robust and imposing. Is he still growing? Lin Mu wondered to himself, amused.

"Hah! Hah!" The soldiers practiced their techniques with wooden spears, training with grueling intensity, earnest and diligent, ignoring the sweat dripping from their foreheads. Watching these green recruits—the foundation of the territory’s future military power—Lin Mu felt as though he could already see them as heroic figures charging across the battlefield.

These are my soldiers now—soldiers that belong only to me!

Lin Mu had come to find Feng Zhong this time to take advantage of Feng Zhong’s ten-fold training efficiency boost. After all, having such a resource and not using it would be a waste.

"Feng Jin, the soldiers are training very hard today. Let everyone have extra meat for dinner later. Our territory has plenty of food; we shouldn't neglect them for the sake of a little sustenance," Lin Mu said to Feng Zhong, who was nearby instructing the troops.

"Haha, My Lord, the soldiers under my command are all meat-eaters. Twenty units per person every day—not a bit more, and certainly not a bit less!" Feng Zhong seemed to have anticipated Lin Mu would say this.

"Twenty units of meat? Is it really that much?" Lin Mu exclaimed. In his past life, five units of meat was considered a bonus treat for soldiers. At this rate of consumption, he was lucky the territory was wealthy, otherwise, he truly couldn't afford it. Indeed, military training and warfare were the biggest resource sinks.

To players, training soldiers is a golden beast that devours wealth—a double-edged sword that can protect the home but also bankrupt a warlord. Even the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty was worried about funding his armies; the greedy and foolish emperor had ordered provinces and counties to raise their own troops, which was one of the reasons for the crumbling imperial order and the rise of the chaotic era.

"I understand your concerns, My Lord, but our territory is rich in produce, and food is currently abundant. I am prioritizing the development of these soldiers so we can conquer the Green Dragon Stronghold sooner and subdue the Qingfeng Stronghold. Once that is done, we will have a wealth of talent, and our development will proceed by leaps and bounds," Feng Zhong said, sensing that Lin Mu might consider cutting the soldiers' rations.

"Haha, I have no concerns. As long as our territory has it, feel free to do as you please. I trust you! Moreover, these soldiers are the sword and shield of our territory. Only when they grow strong can we seize the initiative—capable of both offense and defense!" Lin Mu laughed happily.

"Very well. A lord who treats his soldiers like his own children is a wise lord indeed! I thank you on behalf of the men," Feng Zhong bowed, both for the soldiers who had found a wise master and for himself.

"No need for thanks. The soldiers spill their blood for the territory, their lives tied to their blades—how could I not feed them well? Rest assured, I am not a foolish lord!" Lin Mu declared heartily.

"You truly are a wise lord of this age! It is our fortune to have met you!" Feng Zhong said joyfully.

"Haha, it is my fortune to have met you all as well!" Being able to encounter a divine-tier general was truly luck, though perhaps it was also destiny.

"Continue with the soldiers' training and duties as you see fit. I actually came to discuss my own affairs," Lin Mu said slowly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Is there something you need, My Lord?" Feng Zhong asked, puzzled.

"Uh, it’s like this: can your 1,000% training efficiency boost be applied to me? And if I train under you, will your Master-level specialty also grant me that same efficiency?" Lin Mu asked in a low voice.

The 1,000% training efficiency was Feng Zhong’s divine skill:

[God of War]: A god among the military, possessing the power of hellish training and tactical conquest, unupgradable. [Hellish Training]: Passive trigger, greatly increases the efficiency of training soldiers to 1,000%, with a high chance of triggering a soldier's innate talent. [Power of Conquest]: Active skill, unupgradable. During warfare, it actively boosts soldier morale by 100% and increases the chance of critical hits, lasting for 10 hours.

The Master-level [Military Training] specialty adds 100% to training efficiency and has a high chance of triggering soldier talents.

If one were to add the divine-tier territory attribute, the efficiency would reach at least 1,200%—that is, twelve times! Thinking about it made him tremble. Such an overpowered ability—does the system even know?

"Haha, of course it works! If I am to train you, My Lord, I shall certainly give it my all!" Feng Zhong laughed heartily, as if he had found a way to torment Lin Mu. While Feng Zhong was always respectful toward Lin Mu regarding his own affairs, he was much more relaxed when it came to personal interactions. After over a month together, they were quite familiar with each other, and teasing was not an issue.

Feng Zhong truly "loved his soldiers like his own children."

Seeing Feng Zhong’s mischievous grin, Lin Mu felt a sense of gloom. Have I boarded a pirate ship?

However, for that ten-fold improvement, Lin Mu had to endure. He knew that the effect of triggering innate talents did not work on "Outsiders" (players). In his past life, many NPC instructors had similar specialties, but unfortunately, players could not have their talents triggered that way; they had to awaken them on their own, which greatly lowered the success rate for players.

Whether this was a system restriction on players or a blessing for the natives, no one knew.

Regardless, both Lin Mu and Xiao Hu became recruits under Feng Zhong.

Sweating through the ordeal, they underwent grueling "devil training." After five days, both had improved significantly. Lin Mu reached level 16, and Xiao Hu reached level 27. Lin Mu had leveled up six times, while Xiao Hu had progressed even more. This highlighted the vast gap in leveling between players and natives; as levels increased, players gained less experience and leveled slower, relying on the battlefield for growth, while natives could gain experience through military training or production.

For players, this training certainly didn't yield as much experience as killing monsters, but it allowed them to simultaneously train skills, increase specialty proficiency, and level up.

That day, Feng Zhong arranged for Lin Mu and Xiao Hu to lead one hundred men to clear out nearby monster camps.

After establishing the village, Lin Mu hadn't thoroughly investigated the surrounding territory. Perhaps he had been thrown off by the sudden appearance of the four large strongholds, or perhaps he simply hadn't paid it any mind. Only Lin Mu knew the truth.

Lin Mu hadn't assigned anyone to scout the perimeter, but Feng Zhong had. As a divine-tier general with ideals and discipline, protecting the territory was his duty. Understanding the valley's situation in detail to make correct decisions in case of accidents was essential for any commander.

In "Mythical Three Kingdoms," after a player establishes a village, various monster camps, rebel camps, or bandit camps appear in the surrounding area. Players referred to these as "leveling dungeons."

At first, Lin Mu thought the four large strongholds were system-spawned dungeons, but he realized they weren't. It wasn't until he saw a monster camp appear in a plain to the east of the village that he realized his territory did indeed have standard spawning dungeons.

Every player receives four basic primary-level system dungeons upon establishing a village—the foundation for leveling with a Yellow-tier Village Establishment Token.

A Mysterious-tier token yields eight, with four primary and four intermediate. An Earth-tier yields twelve, with four each of primary, intermediate, and advanced. As for the Heaven-tier, the village was destroyed so quickly after appearing that there was no time to investigate the surroundings, so no specific information was available.

However, after asking Feng Zhong, Lin Mu learned about the situation for a Divine-tier territory: ten primary camps, ten intermediate, five advanced, and one King-level camp.

What was a King-level camp? It was a camp containing a King-tier beast—a King Beast!

A primary camp held 1,000 monsters around level 10; intermediate held 10,000 monsters around level 20; advanced held 20,000 monsters at level 30; and the King-level camp contained 10,000 monsters at level 50, plus one level 60 King Beast. Lin Mu learned from Feng Zhong that it was a wolf-type King Beast—the Howling Silver Wolf King!

It was rumored that the Howling Silver Wolf King was already a primary-tier Spirit Beast, having transcended the level of an ordinary beast, making it extremely valuable. Feng Zhong hadn't decided how to handle it yet, so he only mentioned it because Lin Mu asked.

It was truly monstrous. If the territory didn't clear out a portion of the camps within three days of their spawn, causing the camps to reach full capacity, they would launch an attack on the village, intending to destroy it.

Beyond providing a place for residents to train and level up, system dungeons served as a threat. In his past life, many players had their territories destroyed by monsters from these camps, leading to the death of the inhabitants and the loss of the city.

Lin Mu felt a bit of relief. Fortunately, Feng Zhong was handling these matters. Because Lin Mu had misinterpreted the system prompts, he had completely forgotten about the system dungeon camps.

Feng Zhong had only been killing ordinary wolves at the King-level camp, careful not to cross the line and provoke the Howling Silver Wolf King into a desperate fight. Lin Mu also learned that Feng Zhong sent men to clear the camps daily to prevent them from overflowing and attacking the village. This behavior also served as a way for the soldiers to get a taste of real combat.

Currently, Lin Mu’s territory had 450 soldiers. One hundred of them had reached level 30, having been the first to change professions. The others ranged from level 10 to level 20.

Because Zhang Xiao Hu had been by Lin Mu's side the longest, Feng Zhong was training him to be a fierce general and a commander. Feng Zhong was putting great effort into teaching the young boy.

Since Xiao Hu had been spawned from a refugee camp with no family or friends, Lin Mu treated him like a younger brother. Xiao Hu was deeply grateful to Lin Mu for giving a simple, lonely boy a beautiful future.

The soldiers still possessed Tier 6 aptitude. Those with higher aptitude were assigned by Lin Mu to auxiliary professions to contribute to the territory's production, while those with lower aptitude—like Tier 5—were kept in reserve for future large-scale recruitment. Soldiers with Tier 8 aptitude, like Xiao Hu, had not yet appeared.

Lin Mu led Xiao Hu and one hundred level-10 soldiers to clear the system monster camps to the east. With one advanced camp, three intermediate, and five primary, it was going to take a lot of effort to clear them all.

The camps respawned daily. If a camp was cleared completely, the system would immediately respawn the entire camp the next day. If it wasn't cleared within the day, the camp would only respawn the monsters that had been killed.

Players often believed that if the camp wasn't cleared, it was a waste of resources.

Feng Zhong had been handling these matters for the village recently. By killing only a portion, they gave the system time to respawn, preventing the camps from launching an all-out assault on the village.

Clearing monsters, leveling up, and tempering courage—it was killing three birds with one stone!