A Realistic Mount & Blade Game

#142 - The Fall of the Spirit World Scene

New Rivacheg was also not far from Dhirim. By horseback, it was about 30 minutes away, and on foot, it would take about 2 hours.

This was calculated based on normal travel time.

In case of an emergency, entering a forced march...

The cavalry could arrive near Rivacheg in about 20 minutes, and the infantry in about 1 hour from Dhirim.

If stamina consumption wasn't a concern, the time could be further shortened.

Of course, right now...

Because it was early morning, and Shen Mu and his troops had just finished breakfast, they weren't in such a hurry.

They leisurely began to advance towards New Rivacheg at a normal travel pace.

However, along the way, Shen Mu looked at the pitted and uneven patches on both sides of the main road, clearly desert terrain, appearing like bald spots amidst the fertile land of Longcheng.

It looked quite abrupt and out of place.

Shen Mu couldn't help but frown.

Because he knew that this appearance clearly indicated that the Spirit Realm scene had begun to descend upon the Blue Star world, and was changing the Blue Star world.

Turning the Blue Star world into the Spirit Realm world.

"Moreover, I feel that the changes seem to be getting more and more obvious." Shen Mu frowned even deeper.

The last time he came to New Rivacheg, he hadn't seen so much desert terrain on both sides of the road.

Or rather, he hadn't noticed much of this Spirit Realm terrain change during the journey from Dhirim to New Rivacheg.

Only two days had passed.

Shen Mu was surprised to find that on both sides of this main road, the desert terrain was becoming more and more prevalent.

It was obvious that many desert terrains, covering several acres, were scattered among the originally fertile lands of the Blue Star world, turning those fertile lands into handfuls of yellow sand, and hardened, caked soil, with only a few thorny shrubs growing.

It looked extremely barren.

And it made people feel uneasy at first glance.

"This reminds me of the land around the Sarranid Sultanate." At this time, Arlen followed Shen Mu, riding his horse forward, and also looked at the desert terrain appearing on both sides of the road, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

In his impression, the border area between the Khergit Khanate's grasslands and the Sarranid Sultanate was a mixture of grasslands and deserts.

However, compared to the current scene.

The mixture of fertile land and desert seemed a little strange.

"But I have to say." Arlen looked at the surrounding fertile land and the sandy soil that was hardened and caked on the surface due to lack of water, but softer underneath, and raised his eyebrows, saying: "As long as they are cavalry, they will like this terrain very much."

"Indeed." Shen Mu nodded in agreement.

If the previously cultivated Blue Star suburban farmland still had small obstacles such as irrigation ditches, gullies, and field ridges for the cavalry, which might have a certain impact on the cavalry's galloping charge.

But being changed by the Spirit Realm's desert terrain, it became extremely flat, which was more suitable for the cavalry's galloping charge or tactical maneuvering.

This gave Shen Mu the feeling that things were bad, but as things progressed, they turned out for the better.

What's more, Shen Mu now also had the Grassland Bandit Stronghold, this recruitment building.

Whether it was the Khergit people or the bandits, they were all light cavalry on horseback.

They were more suitable for this flat terrain.

This also made Shen Mu even more eager to see the establishment of this Grassland Bandit Stronghold, and to recruit Khergit people and Grassland Bandits, these two types of light cavalry, as soon as possible.

All the way forward.

As they got closer to New Rivacheg, the bald-spotted Spirit Realm desert terrain around them became more and more numerous.

There was even a feeling of being connected.

It was like countless bubbles and ponds in a large swamp, so numerous that they were dense.

Until they arrived at New Rivacheg, this Vaegir village.

Looking at the foundations that had been laid and the wood that had begun to be erected one by one, ready to start building the village.

Shen Mu's mood gradually eased from the initial solemnity.

This was, after all, his own village.

"Respected Lord Shen Mu, Respected Lord Arlen, welcome back."

The Vaegir Kucha construction contractor quickly came to greet them.

"Yes." Shen Mu nodded, and at the same time dismounted, looking at the excavated foundations, and the hundred-meter-long walls that had been built, and asked: "How is it going now?"

"Oh, it's like this, Lord Shen Mu."

The construction contractor immediately replied: "The foundations have been dug, as long as these processed woods are all arranged neatly and erected in the foundations around the edge of the village, the walls can be built quickly."

The construction contractor also seemed confident when he spoke, after all, the craftsmanship of the workers under him was quite skilled.

The walls they built were both tight and strong, and they were also firmly tied together with hemp ropes at the top.

Even if siege cones were used to hit these walls, there was no way to break them or collapse them for a while.

This was enough to show the construction contractor's confidence in the sturdiness of the walls built by his workers.

Otherwise, the construction contractor would not have boasted before that he often received military construction contracts from lords, nobles, and manor owners in the Vaegir Kingdom.

Although a large part of it was just subcontracted construction contracts for certain military buildings.

But this also represented his strength.

If his reputation wasn't good, then he wouldn't have received so many subcontracting invitations.

"Moreover, these 20 village houses, 8 wooden watchtowers, 4 wooden watchtowers, 2 wooden gates, and 20 wooden sentry posts have all been planned, and the foundations have all begun to be dug."

The construction contractor continued to speak.

His tone seemed very relaxed and confident: "Lord Shen Mu, these buildings can basically all be completed within the next week."

"Yes, you and your workers have done a good job." Shen Mu nodded and praised at this time: "Keep it up."

However, right in front of Shen Mu, as his thoughts communicated with the system, a dialog box appeared.

["New Rivacheg" is building:]

[Wooden Wall (25% completed): Remaining construction time 7 days.]

[20 Village Houses (14% completed): Remaining construction time 7 days.]

[8 Wooden Watchtowers (36% completed): Remaining construction time 3 days.]

[4 Wooden Watchtowers (33% completed): Remaining construction time 3 days.]

[2 Wooden Gates (15% completed): Remaining construction time 7 days.]

[20 Wooden Sentry Posts (41% completed): Remaining construction time 3 days.]

[Hint: Consume 1000 Faith Points / per building to accelerate construction time by 1 day.]

These were the remaining construction times for the buildings under construction in New Rivacheg.

Most of them were 3 days or 7 days.

"In that case, let's accelerate the upgrade of the walls first."

Shen Mu thought.

Then his thoughts directly communicated with the system, and he confirmed his idea of using the power of faith to speed up the construction.

Wooden walls were a prerequisite for the stone walls in the subsequent castle buildings after the upgrade.

Build it in advance.

As Shen Mu confirmed, a new dialog box appeared in front of him.

[Ding! You spent 7000 Faith Points, confirming that you have accelerated the 7-day construction time of the wooden wall.]

[The construction of your wooden wall located in "New Rivacheg" has been completed.]

Just as Shen Mu confirmed.

A new dialog box popped up.

And right in front of Shen Mu's eyes, at this time, the construction contractor who was still communicating with him suddenly experienced some lag and flickering.

And right in front of his eyes, the walls that originally surrounded the hills, covering this large area of land and the edge of the Little Long River, quickly took shape during the flickering and lagging.

It was as if in the blink of an eye, the two-meter-high walls had completely surrounded the entire New Rivacheg.

Representing that the wall had been successfully built.

But this didn't mean that Shen Mu wanted to stop using the power of faith to continue speeding up the construction of buildings.

"Use the power of faith again to speed up the construction time of the two city gates."

His thoughts communicated with the system again.

A new dialog box popped up again.

[Ding! You used 14000 Faith Points to start accelerating the construction time of 2 "Wooden City Gates".]

[The 2 wooden gates located in "New Rivacheg" have been successfully built.]

[Your remaining prestige value is 33466 points.]

At the same time, in the east and west directions of New Rivacheg, wooden city gates about 3 meters high quickly materialized from illusory shadows, accompanied by a few seconds of pause and flicker.

This signified the successful and accelerated construction of these two wooden city gates.

The entire New Rivacheg, with the successful construction of the city gates and walls, now had a somewhat militarized appearance.

"Not bad."

Regarding this, Shen Mu nodded with satisfaction.

In this way, closing the city gates directly at night would effectively prevent those undead monsters from invading in the darkness.

Moreover, there were also 300 Vaegir archers and 100 hired crossbowmen stationed here.

There was absolutely no problem in terms of defense effectiveness.

"In that case, wooden sentry posts, wooden sentry towers, and wooden watchtowers can all be completed in 3 to 7 days. There's no need to continue wasting Faith Power. We can completely let the construction contractors build them slowly themselves."

Shen Mu then turned his gaze to the 20 village houses.

Now, what he needed to consider was the housing problem.

After all, this time, in addition to the 400 ranged archers who came along, there were also 500 Vaegir civilian units who came together, intending to upgrade the current New Rivacheg into a village.

The accommodation problem of a full 900 people was no small matter.

"20 village houses, and there are still 7 days of construction time remaining. If I want to reduce all the remaining time... then I'll need more than 140,000 points of Faith Power?" Shen Mu came to this conclusion, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.

As expected, apart from denars, the consumption of this Faith Power was making him a little焦头烂额 (jiaotoulan'e - in a terrible fix).

"The only fortunate thing is that Zhang Caidong should be organizing those ordinary people outside to pray today, to replenish some Faith Power for me."

Shen Mu pondered slightly.

"This time, I obtained more than 20,000 ordinary people. If these more than 20,000 ordinary people pray sincerely, then I should be able to receive more than 20,000 points of Faith Power per day."

Looking at it this way, receiving more than 20,000 points of Faith Power per day was not bad.

Of course, this was also an optimistic estimate.

After all, not everyone can calm down and pray sincerely.

External interference and internal friction will affect the effect of sincere prayer, affect the generation of spiritual energy, and also affect the amount of Faith Power that is ultimately absorbed by the hilt of the Dragon Banner fragment after converting these spiritual energies.

Moreover, these ordinary people have just accepted the destruction of the previous employer, the Diesel Company, and their hearts are filled with fear and anxiety.

They have also traveled a long distance and arrived near his town of Dhirim.

The confusion about the future.

The uncertainty about future life.

As well as the vigilance and wariness towards unfamiliar things.

All of these will affect whether these ordinary people can calm down when praying.

And will ultimately affect the number of generated Faith Power.

This is why the Diesel Company was so overbearing before, but was still relatively polite to these ordinary people.

It was because they knew that although these ordinary people did not have much combat power and were directly threatened by the undead rules,

These ordinary people represented the creatures of the Blue Star world, the most intelligent and with the most obvious thought fluctuations.

When the Blue Star rules and the Spirit Realm rules merge together to resist the undead rules, they are regarded as the best raw materials for converting soul fluctuations into Faith Power.

Therefore, no one dared to let these ordinary people suffer too much harm.

Instead, they treated them well and protected them.

It was as if they were grazing lambs.

Providing shelter and food.

And then letting these lambs provide Faith Power, which is like wool.

This metaphor is very apt.

The Spirit Realm Lord is equivalent to the farmer, and those Blue Star human commanders who have signed contracts with the Spirit Realm creatures and completed soul-level resonance are equivalent to sheepdogs.

Ordinary people who can produce Faith Power are equal to sheep.

Various monsters under the undead rules are equivalent to hungry wolves outside who want to come in and devour the lambs.

The farmer needs to lead the sheepdogs to resist.

After all, if the hungry wolves eat up all the ordinary people who produce Faith Power, then it means that the farm has lost its most important source of income.

Without a source of income, it will not be able to obtain enough food, nor will it be able to obtain enough supplies to maintain the farm.

Even if the sheepdogs don't starve to death, they will disperse one after another.

The farmer can only lead the increasingly dilapidated farm and eventually face destruction together.

"Thinking about it this way, it's actually similar to my current situation."

At this time, Shen Mu touched his chin, looking at the new Vaegir village he had built, which would need to be used as an important troop-producing area for the castle.

He couldn't help but sigh: "After this small castle is built, perhaps I can divert some of the Blue Star humans who are more loyal to me to come here specifically to pray."

You can't put all your eggs in one basket.

Shen Mu shook his head and didn't continue to think too much.

Instead, his thoughts once again communicated with the system, contacting his last remaining reward.

Steppe Bandit Hideout!

"Begin deployment."

As Shen Mu gave instructions to the system.

'Buzz!'

The profound power from the Mount \u0026 Blade rules instantly turned his perspective back into a third-person perspective.

At the same time, right in the center of his perspective, there was a simple building, covering an area of about 500 square meters, built with wood, mud, and stones, as well as a complete architectural shadow including a surrounding fence and stables, which quietly appeared there.

At this time, it also moved with Shen Mu's perspective, and began to flicker with red or green light according to his perspective.

Shen Mu was no stranger to this.

Red represents obstacles or mismatched terrain, making it impossible to deploy the building.

Green represents that the building can be deployed.

"So, where should it be built?" Shen Mu pondered slightly.

Looking at the village that had already been built.

Especially the two-meter-high walls, a large piece of land that completely enveloped the village.

"Then let's put this Steppe Bandit Hideout next to the west side."

Shen Mu looked at the northwest corner of the west city gate.

During the period when Dhirim was still a village, the northwest corner area was also planned as a military camp area.

Although the current New Rivacheg is still a village, it will need to be upgraded into a military-type castle in the future, so there is no need to consider civilian buildings.

It only needs to consider armories, granaries, and related weapon workshops such as handicrafts and blacksmith shops.

The rest are those buildings related to the military.

So, there is no need to consider too many layout issues.

"In the future, the northwest and northeast corner areas will all be set up as recruitment buildings, then the southwest corner will be set up as a warehouse area, and the southeast corner will be set up as a weapon workshop area."

Shen Mu made arrangements.

This arrangement is very good, at least in Shen Mu's view, there are not many problems even if the village is subsequently upgraded into a small castle.

'Buzz!'

Just as Shen Mu was thinking about the arrangement, as he confirmed the deployment, the building changed from an illusory shadow to a substance.

A dialogue box appeared in front of him.

[Ding! Congratulations! Your recruitment building "Steppe Bandit Hideout" has been fully deployed!]

[You can recruit the belonging troops through this building!]

The dialogue box flickered.

"It's done."

Shen Mu's lips curled up slightly.

He turned his head and looked to the side.

In the northwest corner of the village wall, a wooden fence covering an area of about 500 square meters had already been enclosed there.

Inside, there was also a stable of about 200 square meters.

As well as a simple house of 200 square meters, built with stone foundations, wood, and plastered with mud as a thermal insulation layer, appeared there.

There were a total of five rooms.

Plus about 100 square meters of open space.

In the corner, there were also dummies made of wood, wooden strips, and mud.

Several arrows and slaughtering knives were inserted into them.

It looked dilapidated, and didn't look like a place where good people would stay.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

A group of Khergit people who had left their tribes and were wandering, and the hideout of Khergit Steppe Bandits who lived by robbery.

Of course, it was definitely impossible to be a hospitable good person, a hideout set up here.

And finally, in the stable.

10 low-grade steppe horses and 5 ordinary steppe horses also solidified from illusory shadows.

They were materialized in the stables.

They lowered their heads obediently, eating some dry fodder in the stable troughs.

From time to time, they made 'whinnying' sounds.

Appearing leisurely and at ease.

This meant that the Steppe Bandit Hideout had been materialized.

"Not bad."

Shen Mu nodded at this through the third-person perspective.

But just as he wanted to remove this third-person perspective, he subconsciously looked to the east again.

Because, in the sky, faintly in the corner of my eye, several streaks of light like shooting stars appeared again, streaking downwards.

“Wait,” a hint of surprise appeared in Shen Mu's eyes: “The number seems a bit… too many!?”

He originally thought, from the corner of his eye, that there were only seven or eight streaks of light like shooting stars falling.

But when he turned his head to look.

He discovered that it was far more than just seven or eight shooting stars.

Instead, in this sky as seen from a special perspective, forty or fifty streaks of light, some gray, some brown, and some yellow, were falling from the sky.

As if they were truly shooting stars rushing from the universe, crashing into this suburban area of Longcheng City.

Then, they bloomed with their own spirit realm scenes, transforming this Blue Star world.

And this wasn't even the first wave.

But wave after wave.

In this short moment, just over 2 minutes, Shen Mu had already seen forty or fifty streaks of light like shooting stars floating in the air, crashing towards this side.

Although they hadn't completely fallen yet.

But from those about to fall, to the newly formed shooting star lights on the horizon.

The number was truly quite large.

“It's still because of that black line.” Shen Mu looked towards the eastern horizon again at this moment.

His brow furrowed even more.

Because Shen Mu discovered that it wasn't just a simple black line on the eastern horizon anymore.

The entire area above the horizon was already shrouded in something black, like a tide.

Obviously, in these short few days, that black line had grown into a black tide.

“Wait, wait, wait…”

Shen Mu's furrowed brows resembled the Chinese character '川', especially as he looked at that black tide, he couldn't help but think of the several terrifying stages he had experienced before.

He couldn't help but blurt out: “Black Tide!?”

This was truly too much like the Black Tide.

The terrifying rules of the undead completely enveloped the Blue Star world.

Even during the day, it was as if a thick black veil had been cast, making it impossible for the sun's rays to effectively shine down, and unable to dispel the darkness and gray mist within the entire Blue Star world.

Allowing those terrifying undead monsters to wander freely in broad daylight in the Blue Star world.

So that even the Blue Star commanders who possessed spirit realm creatures as followers could only be forced to hide.

Not to mention the ordinary people.

They were all hiding in their own safe houses, shivering, afraid to make any sound.

For fear of being discovered by those numerous and terrifying undead monsters during this terrifying Black Tide, and ultimately killed.

Moreover, it could be said that after the people of the Blue Star world had become accustomed to the phenomenon of the undead rules descending every night.

The mortality rate at night was not high.

As long as they carefully lit a light, they could effectively avoid this approximately 12-hour night.

And be safe until the next day dawned.

But it was different during the Black Tide.

The duration of the Black Tide was a continuous 7 days.

During this process, the terrifying undead creatures became more and more numerous, stronger and stronger, and there were even more terrifying undead legions that would actively search for those Blue Star humans.

As long as they were discovered, these Blue Star humans would be killed.

Even those undead legions would organize themselves into several combat sequences.

And then actively search for the territories where the lords of the spirit realm were located, launching extremely proactive attacks against these lords who possessed a fusion of spirit realm rules and Blue Star rules to resist the undead rules.

Many spirit realm lords, if they didn't have enough accumulation, or if they had no way to hide themselves, would have their territories breached.

And would meet the same fate of death.

“But according to reason, a Black Tide usually only occurs about every three months.”

Shen Mu couldn't help but frown: “Looking at the current situation, why is the Black Tide so turbulent? It's as if it could rush over at any time and devour the Blue Star world again.”

He had just experienced a Black Tide about two weeks ago, which occurred every three months.

According to habit, a new Black Tide would definitely appear in more than two months.

Although the time of the Black Tide's appearance was not completely fixed.

But it would definitely not exceed two weeks before or after.

Within those two weeks in these three months.

“But thinking about it this way, the last Black Tide two weeks ago also seemed to have been earlier by more than two weeks.” Shen Mu couldn't help but frown: “If I remember correctly, it seems to have been two and a half weeks.”

The last Black Tide had already been advanced by about three or four days.

He couldn't help but frown even more.

Suddenly, he also had that kind of thought in his heart.

“Is the Black Tide advancing?”

Shen Mu looked towards the east on the horizon.

Within that turbulent Black Tide, new gray lights had appeared again, and were falling towards this side.

Not far from him, new gray lights landed on the ground again.

From a distance, it was another desert terrain.

“Moreover, the spirit realm scenes are crashing into the Blue Star world faster and faster.”

Shen Mu couldn't help but become more and more puzzled in his heart.

And he felt even more alert.

“Or is the spirit realm scene changing, and the speed of the Blue Star world is getting faster and faster?”

It gave people the feeling that something big was about to happen.

It was precisely because something big was about to happen that the changes were so drastic and so sudden.

“A storm is brewing.” Shen Mu clenched his fists, his face becoming more and more solemn.

It gave him the feeling of being on a seemingly calm sea surface.

But beneath the surface, he didn't know how many undercurrents were surging.

What worried him the most was.

He simply didn't know how those undercurrents were flowing.

He was still completely ignorant of this.

He could only blindly strengthen his own strength, making his ship, which was sailing on the sea of suffering, more and more solid, able to withstand all kinds of storms.

A rather passive feeling.

“Sure enough, without a special spirit realm inheritance, I simply can't figure out what's happening now.”

Shen Mu sighed.

However, at this moment, as he had completely unfolded the grassland brigand stronghold.

The building had already taken shape.

The third-person perspective could no longer be maintained.

‘Buzz!’

With the fluctuation of the special Mount \u0026 Blade rules, he returned to his own body again, restoring the first-person perspective.

“Forget it, I should still strengthen myself.” He couldn't help but pinch the space between his eyebrows, withdrawing his gaze from the east.

What he could do now was to consolidate his own power, making his ship more and more solid and bigger and bigger.

Eventually able to withstand the storm.

Resist all dangers.

“Come, let me see what this grassland brigand stronghold is like.” Shen Mu happened to come to the outside of the stronghold's fence gate.

Looking at the simple and dilapidated appearance of this stronghold.

Some helpless disappointment still appeared in his eyes.

It was indeed disappointing.

After all, the first impression this stronghold gave him was like a long-abandoned building on a grassland at the foot of a mountain.

But thinking about it, he could also understand that the Khergits were originally nomadic people.

Even if they left the tribe.

And became wandering grassland brigands.

It was impossible to often live in a fixed specific location.

That would be no different from settling down.

For these grassland brigands, it seemed particularly stupid, and it would be easy for those law enforcers to find their lair.

If they figured out the regularity of their activities, and brought troops to kill them.

Then the outcome would definitely be miserable.

Just find such an abandoned building, and then use it as a temporary resting stronghold, which was already very good.

When there was business, they would gather their friends and start living here for a while.

When the business came, they would rush up to rob.

If there was no business, they would live here for a while to recuperate, and then go to other places to look for opportunities.

Hit and run.

Also seemed very wise.

This way, they would have multiple escape routes, and would not be caught by the law enforcers' troops, or figure out the regularity of their activities.

It could be said that these grassland brigands, who had become professional robbers, had realized a little bit of their own.

Moreover, it wouldn't work without this realization.

Those grassland brigands who didn't have this kind of realization had long been figured out by the law enforcers' troops, and were executed on the spot with their troops.

On the Great Grasslands, it was not a wise choice to choose to become a grassland brigand if you were not a member of the tribe.

Because as long as you left the tribe, it was equivalent to betrayal.

Although there were also many tribes that would secretly pretend to be grassland brigands to launch attacks or robberies against other tribes.

But as long as the grassland brigands were caught, they would basically be sold as slaves or killed, and no one would recruit them and bring them into their own use.

Even that tribe wouldn't acknowledge these steppe bandits as their own.

Because the great steppe has its own rules.

Herdsmen need to help each other to survive the winter's blizzards, the spring's famines, and the summer's droughts.

This is also why herdsmen are so hospitable.

Breaking the rules is equivalent to destroying the foundation of hospitality and the mutual assistance of the Khergit people.

This is absolutely not allowed by the Khan and those lords.

Of course, for Shen Mu, that didn't matter.

Having this stronghold meant that he would have a constant stream of steppe bandits coming to join him and be recruited.

Turning into light cavalry belonging to him, Shen Mu.

Just then, 15 Khergit people quickly walked out of those five dilapidated stronghold houses.

Among them, 10 Khergit people were wearing leather vests and steppe-style robes.

They carried short bows and quivers on their backs.

They also had rusty butcher knives hanging from their waists.

The other 5 steppe bandits always wore long robes, with a layer of leather nomadic armor on top.

They carried nomadic bows and quivers filled with feathered arrows on their backs.

Hanging from their waists were nomadic scimitars, and in their hands, they held spears more than two meters long.

At this moment, seeing Shen Mu, they all respectfully bowed.

"Greetings, respected Lord Shen Mu!"

Even though they were all nomads, they had heard of Shen Mu's name.

After all, this legendary figure's name was quite famous in Calradia, regardless of the kingdom.

It could be said that everyone had heard of him.

Even these Khergit people who had left their tribes, betrayed their kingdom, and become steppe bandits causing trouble on the steppe,

still held a very high respect for this name.

"Very good."

Shen Mu nodded at this time, reaching out to make a gesture to stand up: "All of you, stand up straight."

At the same time, in front of him, he actively communicated with the system, and a dialog box popped up.

【Steppe Bandit Stronghold】

【Recruitable troops per week: Khergit tribesmen (20 denars/person) × 10 people; Steppe Bandits (40 denars/person) × 5 people.】

【Hint: If you have 300 Khergit people, you can upgrade this stronghold to a "Bandit Lair".】

"Recruit all."

Shen Mu looked at the dialog box in front of him and didn't hesitate at all.

He made his choice on the spot.

【Ding! You spent 400 denars to recruit 10 Khergit tribesmen and 5 Steppe Bandits.】

Then there was the crisp sound of metal coins colliding with each other.

And the dialog box that appeared in front of Shen Mu.

"Respected Lord Shen Mu, we are extremely honored to be able to join your army."

At this moment, all 15 Khergit people in front of him were excited, as if they had heard some kind of call, and all knelt down in place, bowing their heads to Shen Mu.

Their faces were quite fanatical: "We once strayed, but this was because the chaotic wars left us with no choice but to protect ourselves. Now that we have joined your army, you have given us a new life choice, and we are willing to use our lives to exchange for the glory of gaining a new life in your army."

These words were spoken with considerable piety and sincerity.

"Very good, I need your help."

Shen Mu only nodded at this, raised his hand, and said again steadily: "Stand up, you are all very good light cavalry, and I need your reconnaissance and exploration abilities."

"Understood."

All 10 Khergit tribesmen and 5 Steppe Bandits stood up.

However, the gazes they cast at Shen Mu were still very fanatical.

Shen Mu understood that this was the absolute loyalty inherent in Mount \u0026 Blade soldiers.

It was also the reason he trusted them.

"300 Khergit people can upgrade the stronghold to a Steppe Bandit Lair."

Shen Mu looked at these Khergit tribesmen and Steppe Bandits at this time and was also quite moved: "After upgrading to a lair, I can recruit more and stronger Steppe Bandits."

Shen Mu didn't really care about whether they were stronger or not.

What Shen Mu cared more about was the quantity.

After all, even if the Steppe Bandits were strong, they couldn't be stronger than the terrifying combat power of the Swadian heavy cavalry charging through.

Instead, with a large number, these light cavalry could be used as a means of reconnaissance.

And guide the charge of the Swadian heavy cavalry, or lure the enemy into his encirclement.

Their tactical combat power might not be that high.

However, their tactical sequence assistance ability was undoubtedly directly brought to the top.

"I can recruit 15 Khergit people every week."

Shen Mu calculated in his heart: "In that case, 4 weeks a month can recruit 60 Khergit people, so in 5 months, I can gather 300 Khergit people and complete the requirements for upgrading to a lair."

5 months wasn't very slow either.

A little over half a year.

However, Shen Mu also scratched his head. During this half a year, these Khergit people, whether they were Khergit tribesmen or Steppe Bandits, couldn't suffer any losses.

So he had to be careful when using them.

Otherwise, if the losses were too great, he would have to wait several more months, which would be a bit troublesome for Shen Mu.

After all, he was facing so many dangers now.

If he waited a few more months, he didn't know what dangers he would encounter.

Moreover, don't even think about calculating it by month.

The dangers Shen Mu encountered now were calculated by the day.

This was still not considering the premise that undead monsters would appear every night.

What's more.

On the eastern horizon, seen from a third-person special perspective, the black tide was becoming more and more turbulent, as if it was about to become uncontrollable.

This further increased Shen Mu's worries.

"It's better to develop well."

Shen Mu sighed.

Just as he sighed, the construction contractor next to him also walked over.

"Lord Shen Mu, there's something I'd like to report."

The construction contractor spoke.

"Speak."

Shen Mu replied.

"Before, in the village called Sujia Village, my temporary residence with the construction workers was inside."

The construction contractor opened his mouth with some hesitation: "In the past few nights, we could always feel some malicious gazes watching us."

Pausing slightly, he still said: "Although I don't know if it's true, many of us have reported that there does seem to be a malicious gaze coveting us, making people very uncomfortable and afraid to sleep."

"Hmm?"

Shen Mu frowned slightly at this time: "You mean there were malicious gazes at night?"

This made him a little strange.

If it was malicious, then it must be an undead monster under the undead rules.

But the strange thing was precisely here.

If it really was an undead monster, then it would definitely break down the door and attack them.

How could it have a malicious gaze covetously watching them?

Even a demon from the Abyss would attack these unarmed construction workers and construction contractors with violent and bloodthirsty emotions.

"Wait."

Shen Mu suddenly thought of the demons he had encountered in Sujia Village before.

Or rather, the demons parasitizing the spirit creatures.

They could move around even during the day.