17: Chapter 17 Troop Quantity +1 Card, Potential Enhancement Card

[Collection successful]: rabbit skin × 10, rabbit meat × 20, Spirit Crystal × 30.

[Collection successful]: wolf skin × 21, wolf meat × 105, Spirit Crystal × 90.

[Collection successful]: boar skin × 1, boar meat × 10, Spirit Crystal × 5.

[Collection successful]: sheep skin × 3, sheep meat × 30, Spirit Crystal × 13.

(To avoid padding the word count, the specific collection information will not be described hereafter.)

"A total of... 138 Spirit Crystals! Plus this afternoon's... hiss, I've really built up a small fortune now!" Lin Tian watched the constantly fluctuating resource bar, unable to stop grinning. "As expected, a water source is the lifeline, and beasts gather there in large numbers. This hunting trip was worth it!"

He immediately took out a portion of fresh boar meat and instructed the soldiers to light a fire and roast it as a reward for the evening. "Brothers, eat as much as you want! Eat your fill! Save the rest of the pork for breakfast tomorrow morning; we'll improve our diet a bit!"

The enticing aroma of roasted meat quickly filled the entire camp. The soldiers sat around the campfire, enjoying the relaxation and food after a day of battle, their morale high. Lin Tian also held a large piece of pork chop, roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, pondering while he ate.

After the meal, looking at those three small Barracks and then at the nearly one hundred people in front of him, it seemed that more Barracks needed to be built!

He immediately built five more Level 1 Barracks (accommodating 15 people each) next to the existing Barracks, spending 100 units of wood. Adding the original Level 2 Barracks (accommodating 30 people), there were a total of eighteen Barracks, which could accommodate 105 soldiers.

Except for those who were already living in the Level 2 Barracks, the other soldiers would have to live in slightly more rudimentary conditions.

Looking at the five newly added Level 1 Barracks (consuming 100 units of wood), which still appeared somewhat dilapidated, Lin Tian said to the assembled soldiers: "Brothers, you've worked hard today! Please bear with the crowding for now. I know these accommodation conditions are a far cry from a 'luxury single room'."

"But I, Lin Tian, guarantee that this is only temporary! Once we have more resources, I will immediately upgrade them into 'fully furnished standard rooms' with private bathrooms!"

His tone was humorous, but his eyes were sincere: "The territory is our shared home. It is rudimentary now, but because of each of our efforts, it will get better and stronger day by day! Today, we cleared the threat at our doorstep and found a water source."

"Tomorrow, we will have more resources and greater strength! Believe in me; follow me, and the good days are ahead!"

"We swear to follow the Lord to the death!" The soldiers, infected by his promise, shouted in unison, their voices echoing in the twilight.

"Alright, everyone get some rest early and recharge! Lin Yin, same rules tomorrow: wake me up at dawn."

"Understood, Lord. I guarantee I'll be on time!" Lin Yin replied with a smile.

After making the arrangements, Lin Tian returned to his Lord's cottage. Although it was still a hard wooden bed, looking at the orderly camp outside the window, the piled-up supplies, and the high-spirited soldiers, he felt a sense of stability and accomplishment in his heart.

After finishing the day's tasks and as the night deepened, Lin Tian finally had time to take stock of his biggest "unexpected joy" of the day.

Rubbing his hands together with a sense of ceremony, he took out the two silver treasure chests that were lying quietly and glowing with a soft, silvery-white luster from his Lord's space.

"Hehe, my luck has finally turned around!" He examined the exquisite patterns on the treasure chests happily. "I didn't even get a single black iron treasure chest, and now I've been given two silver ones directly!"

"It seems that God occasionally takes a nap and lets some good luck leak down to this 'unlucky person'!" He jokingly teased himself, seemingly having forgotten his previous complaints about his luck.

He bowed to the air with affected seriousness. "Treasure Chest Deity, give me something good! If not an artifact, some practical blueprints or rare materials will do!"

With a bit of nervousness and even more anticipation, he reached out to touch the first silver treasure chest and silently recited "Open" in his heart.

The silver light on the surface of the treasure chest rippled like water, then turned into a soft white color, which quickly retracted. As the light dissipated, the treasure chest vanished, leaving only three palm-sized cards made of a material that was neither metal nor wood, with faint silver radiance flowing along their edges.

"Huh???" The smile on Lin Tian's face froze instantly. He blinked, leaned in to look closer, and asked, "Where is my big, beautiful silver treasure chest? It... it just dropped three small cards for me? Isn't this drop rate a bit of a scam? What happened to the promised resource gift package?" He picked up the cards, which felt warm and smooth to the touch, carrying a peculiar energy fluctuation.

When his fingers touched the cards, the corresponding information immediately surfaced in his consciousness:

[Item: troop capacity +1 card (unranked item)]

Effect: After use, it can immediately increase your territory's soldier count by 1. Ignores the resource consumption and waiting time required for troop recruitment.

Restrictions: None (can be applied to troops of any quality and any recruitment conditions).

"troop capacity +1?" Lin Tian was stunned for a moment, then pursed his lips. "Is that it? It only costs me 1 Spirit Crystal to recruit a normal Militia, and it's done instantly. This card is only worth 1 Spirit Crystal and a few seconds? What a huge loss!" He almost wanted to throw the cards away.

But the next second, he suddenly paused, his brow furrowing and then smoothing out. "Wait... 'Ignores the regular resource consumption and waiting time required for troop recruitment'? 'Can be applied to troops of any quality and any recruitment conditions'?"

Repeating these two sentences in his mind, his eyes gradually lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent.

Recalling the wails he saw while lurking in the regional channel yesterday: "My Excellent quality Poison Snake Men cost 50 Spirit Crystals to recruit one, and I have to wait for 3 hours!" "My Rare dwarf troops cost 10 Spirit Crystals and 1 hour to recruit..."

"I understand!" Lin Tian slapped his thigh, a look of realization and excitement appearing on his face. "For me and my 'Fusion talent path', this thing is indeed useless."

"I am following the path of 'low-tier troops + Fusion materials = high-tier troops', and normal Militia are the best 'raw materials'."

"But for those Lords who start with Epic, Legendary, or even Mythical troops, this card is simply a godsend, like providing a pillow right when one is sleepy!"

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. He tapped his fingers gently on the card. "What they lack isn't the quality of their troops, but the quantity to quickly form combat power!"

"This card allows them to instantly gain an extra precious top-tier troop, saving a large amount of resources and critical development time... The value of this is far more than just a few Spirit Crystals!"

"Haha, it seems my 'unlucky' luck has taken a turn and transformed into 'business sense'?"

Lin Tian chuckled and carefully put the three cards away. "This thing must absolutely not be used by myself! I need to find a 'big client' who knows their value and is in urgent need, to sell them for a good price! Hmm, it seems the waters of the Trading Platform are deeper than I thought. These kinds of special function cards are the real hard currency!"

After putting away the three "troop capacity +1 cards", his expectations for the second treasure chest were raised. "The first one gave me three 'commercial oddities', the second one should at least give me something good that I can use, right?"

He opened the second silver treasure chest again. A beam of silver light shone again, but it seemed more solid than the first one. After the light dissipated, what appeared before his eyes was only a single, lonely card.

"What the..." The corner of Lin Tian's mouth twitched. "Less and less? Is my luck on a parabolic decline? You flopped just after I praised you?" He picked up this single small card; the material seemed more exquisite than the previous ones, with a few faint golden threads mixed into the silver radiance.

Information surfaced:

[Item: Troop Potential Upgrade Card (Elite)]

Quality: Silver

Effect: After use, it can directly increase the potential limit of an Elite quality troop by one major stage (e.g., from Elite Advanced to Rare Advanced).

Restrictions: Only applicable to Elite quality troops.