2: Chapter 2 Initial Fusion Evolution

[militia recruitment altar (Unique)]: A bare stone platform engraved with crude runes, looking like a texture error from some half-finished game.

[Barracks (Permanent Blueprint - Repeatable construction, requires wood ×20)]: Three drafty thatched huts of 20 square meters surrounding a torch. Lin Tian complained, "This torch is the only decent lighting here."

[Lords Mansion (Unnamed)]: A 20-square-meter wooden house with gaps between the planks large enough to fit a finger through. Pushing the door open, there's a straw bed on the left and the territory core floating on the right; the entire room is so empty it echoes.

"Well, at least it's better than the first day of the transmigration, where the sky was my blanket and the ground was my bed."

Looking at the 'unnamed' status behind the Lords Mansion, Lin Tian thought carefully for a moment. Let's call it Lin Tian! It matches his own name, and besides, who doesn't have some grand ambitions in life!

[Lords Mansion (Lintian Territory), naming successful]

He then tried clicking on the militia recruitment altar, and a prompt popped up on the interface:

[First activation, free gift: Militia ×1. Subsequent recruitment requires 1 unit of Spirit Crystal for Militia ×1. No limit on recruitment frequency or time. Militia Attributes: Quality (Common), Combat Power (black iron 1-star), Growth Potential (black iron 3-star), Loyalty - 100 (Hunger, physical abuse, and insults will reduce loyalty; if it drops below 60, the unit will desert. Initial units all have 100 loyalty.)]

[Yes/No?] Recruit

Looking at the remark after 'Loyalty 100' stating they might run away later, Lin Tian's mouth twitched.

"Good grief, even full loyalty can't stop them from leaving if they're hungry? It seems I have to solve the food and shelter problem first, otherwise, when the beast tide comes, these militiamen will probably bolt before I do!"

He decisively closed the recruitment interface and instead focused on that impressive-sounding talent, 'Fusion Evolution.'

The talent's panel description was outrageously perfunctory: [Can fuse units with different items to produce unknown effects. Fusion is impossible if the Lord's mental power is insufficient. Upgradeable.]

"Unknown effects? Insufficient mental power? What kind of shady product manual is this!" Lin Tian couldn't help but complain, "There isn't even a user guide. Do I have to rely on metaphysics and chant incantations? But there aren't any incantations either!"

But despite the complaining, being so poor that he only had the basic starting resources, he decided to treat a dead horse as if it were alive and summoned the free Militia first.

A flash of white light appeared, and a man dressed in tattered rags with hair as messy as a bird's nest stood before him. He held a wooden spear with a chipped tip, looking exactly like an extra from a Yellow Turban Army movie set.

Lin Tian facepalmed. "Brother, was your equipment just looted by mountain bandits?"

The Militia blankly replied, "Lord... hungry..." Well, his IQ was clearly as meager as his equipment.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Tian pulled out a shimmering Spirit Crystal and carefully pressed it against the Militia's chest. "Fusion!" One second, two seconds... nothing happened. The Militia still stood there stupidly, and the Spirit Crystal remained shiny, as if mocking Lin Tian's naivety.

"A fake talent? You've got to be kidding me!" Lin Tian almost threw the Spirit Crystal on the ground. "What happened to changing my fate against the heavens? Do I have to top up first?" Unwilling to give up, he pulled out a piece of iron ore and slammed it viciously against the Militia's body. "Fuse again!" This time, a sudden change occurred!

The iron ore instantly turned into a streak of silver light that flowed through the Militia's entire body. His tattered clothes were covered by a layer of light silver armor, and the wooden spear transformed into a cold, gleaming iron spear. His hunched back gradually straightened, and his scrawny limbs bulged with firm muscles like they were being inflated.

When the light dissipated, an Iron-Armored Spearman stood tall, fully armored with only his eyes exposed. Even his previously dull gaze had sharpened significantly!

After pulling up the unit panel, Lin Tian found the changes to be unexpectedly massive. This talent could only be described in four words: "Terrifyingly powerful!"

[Fusion successful! Militia → Iron-Armored Spearman! Intelligence +10%, Weapon Sharpness +50%, Constant Loyalty!]

[Unit Quality: Common → Rare Low-grade]

[Growth Potential: Silver 3-star (Can be promoted to a Silver-rank unit in the future)]

New skills added:

[Thrust: A short-distance dash, doubling melee damage. Suitable for tearing through formations.]

[Spear Glow: Swing the spear to trigger an air blade, dealing long-range piercing damage to enemies within five meters.]

Lin Tian stared dumbfounded at the brand-new Iron-Armored Spearman before him. "Are you still hungry?" The Iron-Armored Spearman replied forcefully, "Reporting to the Lord! This subordinate is willing to fight across the world for you!"

"Hahaha! This talent really is awesome!" Lin Tian rubbed his hands in excitement. "This looks much better now. And it didn't seem to consume much mental power. Is it because the item fused was too simple?"

"Eh, whatever, I'll worry about that later. Next time I'll try fusing a hotpot base; maybe I can even create a cook!"

"A tin can equipped with a long spear—offense and defense in one! This combat power is top-notch!" Lin Tian excitedly patted the soldier's cuirass, which let out a dull 'clang-clang' sound. He noticed a prompt appearing on the talent panel:

[Material strength determines the enhancement ceiling. Next reinforcement requires higher-tier materials.]

Lin Tian thought to himself, "It seems I'll have to get some magic metal or dragon scales in the future..."

Then, rubbing his hands with a chuckle, he temporarily set aside his fantasies and pulled his attention back to reality. The most urgent task at hand was to continue recruiting more Militia to fuse.

Since the combination with iron ore had been tested, he wondered if the other two basic resources could also be fused. No sooner said than done.

Subsequently, Lin Tian invested all of his remaining 10 Spirit Crystals into recruitment. The Spirit Crystals turned into ten soft pillars of light, and after the glow faded, the figures of ten new recruits appeared before him.

Including the first one, he now had a total of eleven Militia under his command. They were all thin and sallow, their eyes filled with the confusion and slight dullness of arriving in a strange land, appearing only able to understand the most basic instructions. Their faces were also stained with dust and traces of exhaustion.

Among them, the three female soldiers possessed a look that revealed a different kind of fortitude amidst the gloom. They were slender, even somewhat frail, their thin bodies wrapped in tattered cloth clothes, and their cheeks lacked color due to malnutrition.

Their long hair was tied back simply and messily, with several strands of hair stuck to their foreheads and necks by sweat and dust.

However, upon closer inspection, the contours of their features still showed a hint of natural beauty, though their radiance was currently masked by their haggard state.

They stood there silently, their posture holding a habitual, almost instinctive tension and alertness.

Next, Lin Tian fused one unit of wood with one of the female Militia.

To Lin Tian's surprise, the Fusion not only changed her combat power but also reshaped her body, making her originally withered and knotted hair smooth and glossy black, her sunken cheeks full, and her skin take on a healthy fairness.

A longbow entwined with vines condensed in her hand, and she was also wearing exquisite, form-fitting vine armor.

Afterward, Lin Tian pulled up the unit's panel description:

[Fusion successful! Militia → Archer! Constant Loyalty!]

[Unit Quality: Common → Rare Low-grade]

[Growth Potential: Silver 3-star (Can be promoted to a Silver-rank unit in the future)]

New skills added:

[Precision Shot: Never misses a shot within a hundred meters]

[Eagle Eye: Vision increased by 50%, can perceive enemy weaknesses]

Lin Tian marveled, "Fusion even comes with a beauty effect? But this build is still squishy; I'll need to pair her with a front-liner as a bodyguard."

Next was the Fusion of stone with a Militia.

The most shocking part was that the rock didn't simply cover him; it fused symbiotically with the Militia's flesh. Most of his limbs and torso transformed into a grayish-white stony substance, with the surface covered in natural stone armor, while only his head retained human characteristics.

Just by standing there, he could give others a full sense of security. Lin Tian clicked on his attribute panel:

[Fusion successful! Militia → Rock Armor Soldier! Constant Loyalty!]

[Unit Quality: Common → Rare Low-grade]

[Growth Potential: Silver 3-star (Can be promoted to a Silver-rank unit in the future)]

New skills added:

[Rock Body: After activation, defense increases by 150%; can be called a mobile fortress]

[Immovable as a Mountain: Can slowly recover status while standing on the ground, but the cost is a 50% reduction in speed]

"A human bunker!" Lin Tian walked around the Rock Armor Soldier and knocked on his rock-like arm. "The downside is the clunkiness, but for defending a position, he's absolutely top-tier!"

Striking while the iron was hot, he invested all the remaining materials into Fusion: adding 3 more Rock Armor Soldiers, 3 more Iron-Armored Spearmen, and 2 more Archers.