Now, Yan Xing's territory had nothing—his territory construction options were just a bunch of grey icons that didn't meet building requirements.
He could only build a few things like residential houses, roads, water wells, lumberyards, and quarries...
There was also a village-level Council Hall, which required a population of ten people in the territory before it could be built.
With only three people, including Yan Xing himself, in his territory, he needn't think about how to construct a village-level Council Hall just yet.
Just now, Gao Sipa had also mentioned there was no need to build a lumberyard or quarry because there was nothing to harvest.
The remaining option, a residential house, required 100 God-given gold coins and one unit of timber and one unit of stone.
A village-level road, for each one hundred meters, required 100 God-given gold coins and three units of stone.
A water well required 100 God-given gold coins and one unit of stone (water not guaranteed).
Is this robbery?
Shocked by the construction costs of territory buildings, Yan Xing reeled!
I just received two Gold Coins and was secretly elated at making a big fortune. Yet, a single residential house costs 100 God-given gold coins, which would be equivalent to 900,000 in real-world money. How luxurious a villa would that be! Also, a hundred meters of village-level road for 100 Gold. Digging a well costs 100 Gold too, and that's with no guarantee of water. Are they out of their minds?
And that was just the God-given gold coin requirement; the timber and stone Yan Xing needed, well, even if he had the money now, he couldn't just conjure them out of thin air.
Fortunately, these were the Lord System's retail prices, consuming God-given gold coins and materials to instantaneously produce the buildings. Although it was expensive, it was fast-acting.
If one wasn't willing to spend that much, normal construction was also an option. As long as it met the quality standards recognized by the Lord System, it would be acknowledged and incorporated into the territory system.
Compared to buying from the system directly, normal construction was naturally cheaper; it just took longer, and there was no guarantee the quality would meet the standards.
Anyway, without money or resources, Yan Xing had no way to buy from the system.
Even if I had money! I wouldn't be such a sucker. In the real world, how much would some bricks and cement cost me? Bricks are incredibly cheap in the real world; with 100 God-given gold coins, I could buy 1.8 million of them. Never mind building a house, I could fence off land and construct a wall without any issues. Alas, I don't have a single Gold Coin on hand. It just goes to show, lack of money can stump even a hero! Spending so much on this hot pot was a bit extravagant. I should have just made instant noodles.
As for other things like the Magic Guild, Beast Fighting Arena, Opera House, Temple, Knight Training Ground... those kinds of buildings, he didn't even need to look.
No money to build them; also, they didn't meet the construction requirements.
The village-level Council Hall was a prerequisite for all other buildings beyond houses, roads, water wells, lumberyards, and quarries.
To build a village-level Council Hall, he needed 500 Gold and a population that reached 10.
This was a real pain.
After looking through the Lord System, Yan Xing found that apart from giving himself a headache, there was basically no other gain.
Not to mention the 500 Gold needed for a village-level Council Hall, even the requirement of reaching a population of 10 left Yan Xing at a loss as to where to recruit the missing seven people.
Sigh...
Ah well, drink wine, eat meat. As long as I can keep these two farmers, we could still aim for a moderate level of prosperity.
Unable to think of a solution, Yan Xing simply stopped worrying. He scooped up ingredients from the hot pot and took big gulps of wine.
While the three of them were eating and drinking, Eddie, who hadn't been talking much, suddenly stared into the dark area outside the camp and shouted, "Hey, who's out there!"
Yan Xing was very alert; hearing Eddie's detection of something approaching, he immediately rushed to the side of the farm tricycle.
He took out a steel pipe, a meter long, from the cart.
This was his self-defense weapon of choice.
Meanwhile, Gao Sipa and Eddie had already picked up their respective pitchforks, holding them imposingly toward the direction the noise came from.
"Please don't hurt us?" an aged voice called out from the darkness beyond the firelight. Then, an old man, using a pitchfork as a walking stick, slowly approached. His body was emaciated, his back bent from hunger, his steps faltering.
Two half-grown children followed the old man, timidly clutching the corner of his clothes, looking fearfully at Yan Xing and the others.
Seeing that they were human, and frail at that, Yan Xing put away the steel pipe and asked the old man, "We're all human here; we won't harm you. Are you hungry? We have some food here, fill your stomachs first."
Gao Sipa said, "This is our Lord, Yan Xing. When Lord Yan Xing says he won't harm you, he won't harm you. Hurry up and come eat. This is a delicacy you've never tasted before, a grace from Lord Yan Xing to you."
And Eddie, without a word, took his pitchfork and walked into the darkness.
The aroma of the hot pot had long since filled the air.
The old man and the children had followed the scent here, their hunger leading them to disregard any potential danger in this camp.
Seeing that the people inside were also human, including a Lord no less, the old man immediately knelt on the ground with the children.
"Please, Lord, save our hut."
Hearing about the hut, Yan Xing's spirits lifted.
He had just been reading about the hut in the Lord System.
Hut: A recruitment building for human farmers. It can be constructed via the human Lord System, and random huts can also appear in the wild. A hut will produce a certain number of farmers for recruitment each week...
Talk about a godsend! I was just worrying about how to gather ten people to build the Council Hall, and then someone brings news about a hut. This hut, this Lord claims!
Yan Xing helped the old man and the children to their feet, saying warmly, "No need for such courtesies, old man. We are all human, and it's only right to help each other in times of difficulty. Tell me what trouble your hut has encountered, and I'll immediately muster troops and provisions to come to the rescue."
DING!
[You have received the mission: Rescue the Farmers' Hut]
[Mission Description: A Werewolf patrol from the Swamp Tribe has discovered a recently appeared farmers' hut. They have taken over the hut and captured the farmers inside. You have received a plea for help from the farmers who escaped and are incensed by the Werewolves' actions. Your righteous self decides to lead your army to take back the hut and save the captured farmers from the Werewolves' clutches.]
[Mission Reward: Ownership of the hut; 14 farmers; 100 God-given gold coins; one unit of stone, one unit of wood]
[Mission Failure: Reputation decreases by 100]
When did I become so filled with righteous indignation? And why do I have to fight Werewolves?
When the old man mentioned saving the hut, Yan Xing had assumed the farmers inside were starving and that delivering a bag of food would solve the problem.
Who would have thought Werewolves from the Swamp Tribe had taken the hut.
Seriously, how did an old man and two young ones even escape? This doesn't make any sense!
Yan Xing felt he had spoken too grandly; he should have asked for details before deciding whether to accept or not.
Now, leading two farmers to fight a Werewolf patrol... that's genuinely life-threatening...