"Hahaha, let's go and eat some barbecue."
Xu Hang did not answer and changed the topic. He was too embarrassed to tell Yang Mingyue that he had lost all his gold coins to gambling.
The economic crisis was over.
It was another excellent day.
The next morning, Yang Mingyue was preparing to return to his castle.
Xu Hang commanded a level 14 farmer to escort him. The farmer would also help him build barricades in preparation for the Beast Tide.
As for Yang Mingyue's own troops, Xu Hang hoped that he would use them to mine for earth crystals.
Earth crystals, as the name implied, were crystals that consisted of earth's power. These crystals were everywhere, but mining for them required a lot of manpower, resources, and time.
The earth crystals were important because they were needed to upgrade the castle.
If Yang Mingyue could pay his fees in the form of earth crystals, it would benefit Xu Hang a lot. Besides, he only needed to pay a small portion. Most of the earth crystals would still belong to him.
If he could upgrade his castle, then the base statistics of the soldiers summoned would also be higher.
This was, of course, Yang Mingyue's goal.
A confidentiality agreement was also drafted. If Yang Mingyue were to reveal Xu Hang's strength, the latter would kill him without any hesitation.
Yang Mingyue agreed without any resistance because he had never even considered the idea.
It was finally time to leave.
"Cheers to our alliance!"
"Once the Beast Tide is over, you and I must get together!"
"Definitely!"
After saying that, Yang Mingyue got into the magic four-wheeled car.
"Wait a minute."
Xu Hang suddenly remembered that he accidentally threw something into the research and development system. It was a piece of black fragment.
He instructed Shadow to get it. Then, he handed it to Yang Mingyue.
Yang Mingyue took it and checked the attributes.
[ Yin Yang Feng Shui Art Fragment ]
[ Attributes: Unknown ]
[ When marching into war, there are three things to consider. The right time, the right place, and the right people. You need courage and wisdom. You need to be brave and have decent fighting skills. You need to know how to use your resources. You need to know where the heart of the army is. You need to know how to use your surroundings. You... ]
"Is there more?"
Yang Mingyue was reading enthusiastically.
The content of this fragment was quite shocking.
Although Xu Hang defeated him this time, he had learned and gained a lot.
"Brother Xu, this item is quite valuable. It must have been produced and written by a military expert. There were many revelations that even I was not aware of. Thank you for the treasure."
"It's fine. This kind of thing is useless to me. It's more suitable for you."
Xu Hang responded politely.
"Then, I'll be on my way. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Xu Hang was unaware that the fragment he gave away today would provide him with a super general in the future!
Yang Mingyue had left.
He should arrive at his castle in the afternoon.
Xu Hang opened his inventory and checked the amount of alloy that he had. There were about a hundred.
"Not bad. Next, I'll make some defense armor for the farmers."
The farmers had high damage output, but they would not be able to withstand the endless sea of beasts. The beasts would chip away the farmer's health and they would eventually die.
Although they were just NPCs that could be resummoned, Xu Hang was attached to his farmers. Letting them die was no different than letting his own friends die.
The thought really bothered Xu Hang.
[ Alloy Soft Armor: It's a strong armor that improves defense and durability! ]
[ I had this armor once, but I did not treasure it. It was only after I lost it that I was filled with regret -A certain wielder. ]
[ Materials Required: Alloy x15, Grain x120, Diamond x1, Stone x50, Gold nugget x100 ]
[ Defense: +30 ]
[ Movement Speed: -1 ]
[ Attack: + 2 ]
There was also the option of making an "Alloy Heavy Armor". Although the wearer's defense would increase by 50, their movement speed would be reduced by 20. It also required 50 alloys per armor, which was way more and somewhat unaffordable.
Since Xu Hang did not have many farmers, he needed them to have higher mobility.
That was why he chose the "Alloy Soft Armor".
The farmers and soldiers continued to build the city walls.
After a while, Xu Hang received a private message from Yang Mingyue. He had reached his castle and had been developing it step by step. Their superior-subordinate relationship was successfully established.
Now, Xu Hang could gain resources at a much higher pace.
Xu Hang was pleased.
"No wonder everyone likes to be a big boss!"
Many people would probably not mind spending their resources to hire such incredible combat strength.
In a blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Xu Hang's city walls were almost finished.
All of his farmers were equipped with alloy armors, including the one who was loaned to Yang Mingyue.
His troops in shiny armor were really awe-inspiring!
In order to ensure stability, Xu Hang had also summoned a bunch of soldiers. They patrolled around his territory all day long.
There might be beasts that attack ahead of time.
Xu Hang was well-prepared not because he could not beat the beasts. Rather, he was worried that his buildings would be damaged.
"Repairs will be troublesome and it'll affect the progress of development."
All of a sudden, Xu Hang realized that the number of his earth crystals was increasing at a very slow speed!
Shortly after, Xu Hang received a private message from Yang Mingyue.
[ Yang Mingyue: I've found an earth crystal mine! ]
He proceeded to further explain the situation.
[ Yang Mingyue: However, I've only managed to dig out very few crystals since I have limited tools. ]
[ Xu Hang: It's okay. I'll provide you with a batch of alloy pickaxes. ]
Xu Hang had the resources after all.
[ Yang Mingyue: Thank you, brother! ]
Yang Mingyue's basic defense projects were also completed thanks to Xu Hang's farmer. To boot, the farmer had upgraded to level 15.
Additionally, since the farmer belonged to Xu Hang, Yang Mingyue's territory on the map was now visible to him.
Xu Hang could observe his movements at all times.
If Yang Mingyue was in danger, he could also send him support.
Everything was developing smoothly.