24: Chapter 24 Mystic Rock Guard

"Lord, wake up! It's dawn!"

Lin Yin's clear and melodious voice, like the chirping of morning birds in the forest, penetrated the cracks of the humble wooden door, gently waking Lin Tian.

He responded groggily, "I know, Lin Yin... You go ahead and have everyone gather; I'll be there right away."

After struggling for a few seconds on the bed to shake off the lingering sleepiness, Lin Tian sprang up with a kip-up and quickly got dressed.

Without the slightest delay, he walked straight toward the glowing militia recruitment altar in the center of the territory. A new day begins with the expansion of power.

Standing before the altar, he took a deep breath and took out the pile of 196 crystal-clear spirit crystals, brimming with vitality, from his Lord's space. Like sowing seeds of hope, he tossed them all into the altar.

In an instant, the altar shone brilliantly, and soft, dense white light erupted like a fountain. One after another, slightly thin but full-of-potential figures quickly materialized clearly within the radiance.

A moment later, the area around the altar was packed with 196 new recruits.

Like all the previous recruits, they were sallow and thin, dressed in rags, their eyes filled with confusion about this strange world and a hint of expectation driven by the instinct to survive.

Including the 10 recruits responsible for fetching water yesterday afternoon, Lin Tian's forces instantly gained 206 new faces!

He scanned them quickly and felt a little happy: the gender ratio this time was unexpectedly balanced, with 76 females among the new recruits.

Counting the original 24 female soldiers, the total number of female soldiers under his command reached exactly 100! As for male soldiers, combining the old and new, the total reached an even 200.

"Whoa, a team of three hundred!" A surge of pride swelled in Lin Tian's chest, but he quickly suppressed his excitement and began to examine his current assets. He pulled up the resource panel:

wood × 1062, iron ore × 150, stone × 150, Refined Iron × 150, moon birch spirit wood × 130, black-yellow stone × 10.

After taking stock of the resources, Lin Tian first turned his gaze to the group of people who had been silently bearing the heaviest pressure. He said in a loud voice, "Lin Yan, bring all the Rock Armor Soldier brothers forward!"

Led by Lin Yan, the Rock Armor Soldiers stepped out of the ranks with steady paces. The rock armor on their bodies still bore the traces of yesterday's fierce battle, silent and reliable.

Lin Tian walked in front of them, his gaze sweeping over every determined (though mostly covered by rock) face. His tone was sincere and carried a hint of apology: "Brothers, you've worked hard these past two days. Other troops, the Iron Armored Soldier have swapped into Refined Iron heavy armor, the Archer sisters have been integrated with moon birch spirit wood, and their strength has all improved. Only you have been holding the front line, bearing the most attacks, and have the most scars, yet because I haven't found suitable materials, the Fusion has been delayed until now."

He paused and held up the ten heavy, dark-yellow glowing black-yellow stones in his hand: "But today, the material has been found! This is it, black-yellow stone, a spiritual mineral several times harder than ordinary rock! I will use it to open the door to greater strength for some of you brothers!"

He added frankly: "However, materials are currently limited, only ten units, so today only ten brothers can complete the evolution first. But I, Lin Tian, promise you all that this is just the beginning! I will get more black-yellow stone as soon as possible so that every one of you can become stronger! Please believe me, it won't be long!"

Lin Yan stepped forward, the friction of his rock armor making a low sound. He cupped his hands in a salute, his voice deep and firm: "Lord, you speak too seriously! Guarding the territory and resisting impacts is the duty of the Rock Armor Soldiers! Seeing the Iron Armored Soldier brothers become sharper and the Archer sisters become extraordinarily agile, we only feel joy, never any complaints! Being able to build a barrier with our bodies for the brothers and sisters behind us in battle is the honor and mission of us Rock Armor Soldiers! Resources are tight, we understand, Lord, you don't need to blame yourself!"

"Guarding the territory, we have no regrets!" The Rock Armor Soldiers behind him roared in unison. Although the sound was somewhat muffled due to the nature of the rock, it converged into an unshakeable will like a boulder.

"Good! Good! You are all my good brothers!" Lin Tian was moved and patted Lin Yan on the shoulder heavily, "Then let's begin! Lin Yan, you are the leader of the Rock Armor Soldiers, this first evolution starts with you!"

He had Lin Yan stand in the center of the open space. Under the gaze of all the soldiers, he took out a piece of black-yellow stone and connected his mind to his talent.

He saw a soft white light emerge from his palm, blending with the steady yellow light of the black-yellow stone, as he slowly pressed the stone against Lin Yan's chest.

Hum! A strange resonant sound rang out. The black-yellow stone seemed to turn into flowing dark golden magma, rapidly merging into the rock skin on Lin Yan's body. Dazzling yellow-brown light burst from within Lin Yan, enveloping him completely!

In the light, his figure seemed to become more burly and solid. The rock texture on his body underwent profound changes, the color shifting from gray-white to a deep dark yellow. The texture became like ancient rock layers deposited over hundreds of millions of years, gleaming with a metallic firmness, with faint earthy-yellow spiritual light flickering on the surface of the armor.

A few breaths later, the light faded. A brand-new warrior stood in the field! His height seemed to have increased by a few inches, and he was clad in heavy, ancient-looking dark-yellow full-body rock armor. Mystical patterns naturally formed on the armor, as if they were the veins of the earth.

Just standing there gave people a feeling of being as steady and unshakeable as a mountain.

Lin Tian couldn't wait to open his new information:

[Fusion successful! Rock Armor Soldier → Mystic Rock Spirit Guard, Lin Yan]

[Unit Quality: Rare Low-grade → Excellent High-grade]

[Growth Potential: Gold 9-star]

Skills: [Rock Body: After activation, defense increases by 150%, worthy of being called a mobile fortress]

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

[Giant Rock Spirit Shield: Can consume energy to instantly condense a huge shield made of highly solidified black-yellow stone. This shield can temporarily connect with the power of the earth to gain extremely strong stability and self-repair capabilities; it can also detach from the earth to serve as a mobile cover or a thrown weapon. The height, thickness, and even the shape (within a certain range) of the shield can be adjusted according to one's will. Multiple Giant Rock Spirit Shields can be spliced together to form a larger defensive line.]

[Current Level: black iron 4-star (synchronized increase)]

Limitations: The larger the scale and sturdiness of the shield, the more energy it consumes, and the duration of maintenance is also limited by energy supply.

"That's amazing!" Lin Tian couldn't help but say, "Not only have the quality and potential greatly improved, but this 'Giant Rock Spirit Shield' skill is also both offensive and defensive, flexible and versatile! It's simply a sharp weapon for positional warfare!"

With the successful experience, Lin Tian did not hesitate and fused the remaining nine black-yellow stones one by one to the other nine highest-level and best-performing Rock Armor Soldiers.

For a time, yellow light flashed one after another in the center of the territory. Ten Mystic Rock Spirit Guards, towering like small fortresses, stood in formation. The steady and heavy aura emanating from them made everyone feel unprecedented peace of mind.

"You ten, go aside first to familiarize yourselves with your new power." Lin Tian instructed, then turned to the other soldiers, his eyes flashing with sharp light and ambition, "Now, it's everyone else's turn!"

He began efficient large-scale Fusion: for all female soldiers, first fuse all newly recruited ordinary Militia with basic wood to transform them into Archers; immediately after, without hesitation, invest moon birch spirit wood to fuse all Archers into Moon Shadow Archers!

For a time, emerald green and silver-white light reflected each other. One hundred female Archers with agile figures, sharp gazes, and holding moonlight longbows lined up in a heroic and spirited manner, with an astonishing momentum.

There were 130 male soldiers left who had not undergone Fusion. 65 of them fused with stone to become new Rock Armor Soldiers, supplementing the front-line strength. The other 65 fused with iron ore and were all promoted to Iron-Armored Spearman. Then, all the Iron Armored Soldiers were fused into Heavy Armored Spearman.

The light of Fusion rose and fell, lasting for nearly half an hour. When the last ray of light dissipated, standing solemnly before Lin Tian was an army of exactly three hundred people!