34: Chapter 34 A Horde of Corrupted Monsters!

After the meal, Lin Tian made the arrangements for the day:

Elite Exploration Teams (two teams): Led by Lin Yin + Lin Yan, and Lin Feng + Commander Lin Yu, respectively. Each team was assigned 44 experienced veterans (a mix of various troop types) and 3 (Lin Yin's team) / 2 (plus Commander Lin Yu, 3) Spirit Healing Priests.

Their mission was to explore deeper into more dangerous areas along the path cleared yesterday, searching for high-level resource points, potential threats, and gathering new information.

Recruit Training Teams (three teams): Led by three outstanding veterans serving as temporary captains, each leading 50 veterans as the backbone and instructors, along with 300 recruits (each team evenly composed of three different troop types), and each equipped with 8 Spirit Healing Priests accompanying the teams.

Their operational range was temporarily limited to within ten kilometers of the territory, with the mission of sweeping away newly appeared low-level monsters in this area, allowing the recruits to quickly accumulate combat experience, increase their levels, and build synergy in a relatively safe environment, while simultaneously consolidating the safety buffer zone around the territory.

Lin Tian emphasized specifically: "The scattered, newly spawned low-level monsters near the territory are for the recruit teams to practice on; the elite teams need not concern themselves with them. All teams must return to the territory by noon to report the situation, rest, and resupply! Now, move out!"

With the order given, the five teams, like five torrents, marched out of the territory in an orderly fashion under the leadership of their respective captains, disappearing into the vast forests and mountains in the distance. Lin Tian stood alone on the high platform, watching this army he had single-handedly forged move away, his gaze profound.

Looking around: neat but limited barracks, a slightly crude living area; his mind instantly conjured the image of over a thousand people swarming back, eating, washing up, resting, and storing loot...

"Good grief," he rubbed his temples, his face showing a wry smile mixed with pride and a headache, "I was too busy enjoying the thrill of mass-producing troops and fell behind on logistics. Isn't this just asking the brothers to come back and sleep in the open? Being a lord like this is like handling a surprise visit."

Expansion was urgent.

He pulled up the resource panel, the balance of Spirit Crystals reflecting in his eyes, transforming into a clear blueprint. At this moment, he was not the commander waving his hand on the battlefield, but a 'foreman' rolling up his sleeves and calculating carefully.

"Let's digest the inventory first." Like a skilled steward, he planned out the blueprints obtained from the black iron chests yesterday one by one. As his thoughts shifted, white light emerged at the edge of the territory.

Two public toilets quietly rose on the east and west sides; although the structure was simple, their function was clear. "Livelihood is no small matter; this is the bottom line for a civilized territory." He nodded with satisfaction, as if he had solved a major strategic problem.

Two simple bathhouses appeared immediately after, the wooden structures still emitting the fresh fragrance of wood, and the reserved flues hinting at the possibility of hot water.

Then, spending wood, stone, and iron ore, he upgraded all the bathhouses to Level 2. As for the benefits! They were definitely there; not only was the space larger, but they could also provide solar-powered hot water. The more Lin Tian looked, the more satisfied he became, "Coming back covered in blood and gore and being able to soak in a hot bath is definitely more morale-boosting than any pre-battle mobilization."

A brand-new warehouse was placed next to the barracks, expanding the storage boundaries, and after upgrading it to Level 2.

Next, his gaze turned to defense. He had the blueprints for five existing arrow towers in hand, but as he surveyed the territory, which had expanded by more than a circle, he shook his head. "Five? What's that enough for? It's not even enough to cover the perimeter for sentry duty." Without hesitation, he immediately purchased five more blueprints.

The phantoms of ten arrow towers were marked at key positions in the territory, then quickly solidified under the infusion of resources. Rough but sturdy wood and stone structures rose from the ground, high enough to overlook the surroundings, with the shooting platforms and battlements at the top already taking shape. Lin Tian imagined the scene of the arrow towers standing like a forest under the moonlight, and his sense of security increased significantly. "Only when the fence is tied tightly can the wild dogs be kept out."

However, the biggest challenge was accommodation. Looking at those ten Level 2 barracks, he made a direct decision: "Upgrade all of them to Level 3!" A massive amount of wood and some stone poured in like a tide, and the ten buildings were enveloped in a rich upgrading glow, with faint "creaking" sounds of structural expansion coming from within.

The exterior became taller, neater, and sturdier at a speed visible to the naked eye. A moment later, ten brand-new Level 3 barracks stood before him, each capable of accommodating 150 people, for a total of 1500 beds!

"Now it's spacious; it looks much more comfortable." Lin Tian stood with his hands on his hips, quite proud, "With our service, covering food, lodging, and upgrades, we are definitely a conscientious employer in the world of lords!"

The warehouses were also expanded accordingly; the newly built ones were upgraded to Level 2, and four Level 2 warehouses stood quietly, with a total capacity reaching 8000 units, enough to handle the upcoming harvest.

After all these operations, the inventory of ordinary materials was almost bottomed out, and the Spirit Crystals had all been converted into wood. But looking at the ten arrow towers pointing to the sky, the neat sanitary facilities, the spacious barracks, and the warehouses newly added to the territory, although his body was somewhat tired from continuously guiding the construction, his heart was filled with a solid sense of accomplishment.

The territory had finally begun to transform from a crowded military outpost into a fully functional, properly scaled stronghold.

The fervent construction work had temporarily subsided, and he finally had time to sit down and habitually open the [Regional Chat Channel], wanting to see the daily lives of his "neighbors." However, the panic and despair that permeated the channel, almost palpable, were like a basin of ice water, instantly extinguishing his small bit of pride from just a moment ago.

The entire screen was filled with shocking pleas for help and wails:

["My spearman squad encountered a pack of polluted hyenas, and the entire army was wiped out! What should I do?"]

["Pollution! The wounds scratched by polluted monsters are rotting! Is there any way to treat them!"]

["Why were they just scattered polluted monsters yesterday, but today they have started to swarm! We won't be attacked by hordes of polluted monsters like the zombie sieges in movies, will we!"]

["A group of black iron 7-star polluted giant spiders! My troops are surrounded! Does anyone have high-tier troops? Save me!"]

"A large-scale polluted monster outbreak?" Lin Tian's heart tightened, and his smile disappeared, "My teams..." He suddenly remembered that in order to focus on construction and planning, he had blocked those frequent combat notification messages yesterday!

He immediately pulled up the collapsed detailed system logs. After opening them, the battle reports that had accumulated for nearly half a day poured out like an avalanche, and the countless messages with the glaring word "Reward" made his pupils suddenly constrict.

[Your troop killed a black iron 5-star polluted rot hound, reward Spirit Crystal × 10.]

[Your troop killed a black iron 7-star polluted pustule beast, reward Spirit Crystal × 14.]

[Your troop killed... reward...]

Similar records were dense and scrolled rapidly. His gaze went straight to the resource statistics; just the reward portion of the Spirit Crystal income had already reached nearly 2000! And this was just the result of two-plus hours of combat.

At the same time, a feeling of power, thicker and more solid than ever before, surged within his body - Lord Level: Bronze 1-star.

"Good grief..." Lin Tian slowly exhaled; after the shock came complex thoughts. What kind of intense battles was this army of his, which had just completed a qualitative change, experiencing in the unknown distance? Behind these rich "rewards" lay the Heavenly Dao's high recognition for clearing the pollution, and it also confirmed the rapid deterioration of the external environment.

His gaze returned to the Regional Chat Channel, and the number in the upper right corner flickered coldly: 9120 / 10000.

"In less than four days, nearly nine hundred people have died... and this is without even having experienced the beast tide after 7 days!" A chill quietly crept up his spine. Behind those disappearing numbers were people just like him who had been thrown into this world, and the territories they had poured their heart and soul into. The vast majority had fallen in this suddenly intensifying wave of "pollution."