Chapter 38: Upgrading the Village, Wolf Riders Attack!

Another month had passed, and Lin Mu had reached level 36, while Xiao Hu and Feng Zhong had both attained level 43. The planned force of 3,000 soldiers with Tier 6 aptitude was now at full capacity, and under Feng Zhong’s training, they had reached an average level of 35—the median standard for Tier 3 soldiers. Lin Mu estimated they were now capable of wiping out the 100,000 soldiers within the Green Dragon Stronghold.

Over these past three months, Lin Mu, Xiao Hu, and their men had trained with grueling intensity. They endured harsh conditions, slept in the open, fought through blood and carnage, and suffered many injuries. However, with the construction of the territory’s infirmary, they no longer feared dying from untreated wounds.

On March 27, 180 AD, roughly four months into "Mythical Three Kingdoms," Lin Mu was uncertain about the progress of other players' territories. The territory leaderboard had not yet been activated, and he had no way of knowing their village levels. However, he could imagine that with the assistance of the official government systems and massive capital investment, they should have reached the advanced village stage by now.

It was time for his own territory to upgrade as well.

In reality, many player lords had upgraded their villages a month ago. However, because the majority of residents in their territories were players, and those players were out adventuring, the monster camps surrounding the villages launched a collective assault the moment the lords initiated the upgrades. Caught off guard, they suffered major losses as many buildings were destroyed and NPC residents who could not escape in time were slaughtered.

Furthermore, these monsters specifically targeted NPCs. If they encountered both players and NPCs, they would attack the NPCs first, ignoring the players. This was one of the reasons player lords suffered such heavy blows—their assessment of aggro was flawed.

Since the number of new residents refreshed each day was quite low, having half of them wiped out made survival nearly impossible!

The player lords were devastated and lodged complaints with "Nüwa," but the main intelligence merely replied: "Everything is normal! We hope players will strive for greatness, to become kings and marquises!"

Naturally, after other players learned from these lessons, they stationed combat-ready players outside their villages to defend the settlements and their residents during the upgrade process.

The hardest hit was the military-backed "Yanhuang Village," the second village in China, as it was the first to upgrade to a Level 2 village. At the time, their soldiers were all out adventuring and grinding levels, leaving little force in the village. They had assumed that upgrading a village wouldn't trigger a monster siege, as there had been no such events when the village was first established.

Experience can be a deadly trap. In previous games, establishing a territory triggered a siege, but this time, the establishment of the village had been peaceful, leading them to falsely assume that sieges would never occur.

Lin Mu, armed with the lessons from his past life, had held off on upgrading his village until now. Furthermore, another factor that had kept him from making the decision was the appearance of a Beast King in his territory!

A cautious man, Lin Mu would not take risks without assurance. Now, everything was ready; all that remained was the final push.

Lin Mu instructed Chang Yin to temporarily suspend all work for the residents, ordering them to return to the village and take shelter in the residential houses.

The invading monsters would spawn outside the village walls according to the system. They would only attack the village and destroy its facilities, not trample or ruin the farmland, mulberry fields, or logging camps outside the walls. However, if they breached the village, they would wreak havoc, destroying everything in their path.

Feng Zhong had arranged personnel on all four sides of the village. The south, east, and north sides were each defended by 600 Tier 3 soldiers. The west side, the site of the Beast King’s potential attack, was the priority sector. It was defended by Feng Zhong, Lin Mu, and 1,200 soldiers, all guarding against the Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King.

Unfortunately, the system’s monster siege would cause monsters to spawn in fixed locations around the village. This also caused facilities around the village to reset, meaning the traps he had set would be wiped out by the system. Lin Mu knew this, so he hadn't wasted any effort on that front.

The walls here had been specifically reinforced, reaching three meters in height and three meters in thickness, whereas the others were only one meter thick and three meters high. These primary bluestone walls had been built specifically for this upgrade. Lacking architectural blueprints or special techniques, their stats were quite low, serving only to offer minor resistance.

His territory was developing rapidly, and the village area was constantly expanding, so no long-term planning for the walls had been made yet. In the future, once the village’s military grew stronger and more numerous, these local monster camps would no longer be a threat; they would merely serve as training grounds for the rank and file.

That was the disadvantage of building a village on the plains: exposed on all sides with flat terrain, it was highly advantageous for an attacking force.

After arranging the personnel, Lin Mu went to the stone tablet in the rear hall of the village’s administrative building, summoned the attribute panel, and clicked the option to upgrade to an intermediate village. He was well-versed in the process.

A burst of white light rose from the tablet, ascending into mid-air and illuminating the entire village. Like water falling from a showerhead, the light descended from top to bottom, casting a mysterious and brilliant glow over the village like a giant bowl of radiance.

"Roar! Roar!"

Beasts from several monster camps began to spawn outside the walls. Temperamental and seemingly starved for days, their bloodthirsty, fierce eyes glowed with a terrifying crimson light.

"Charge! There is food and women inside! The leader said whoever seizes them keeps them!"

Rebel soldiers from high-level camps also appeared. True to their nature, these rebels even had voice lines. These rebels were the primary concern; unlike beasts, they possessed human intelligence and did not just charge forward blindly in a chaotic, rhythm-less frenzy.

A hooligan is not scary; what is scary is a cultured hooligan!

It was bizarre to see beasts and rebels attacking the village in harmony, but that was the power of the system.

The prepared guards first unleashed a volley of shots with their sandalwood bows. Countless arrows rained down like a downpour, *whoosh, whoosh, whoosh*... striking the rebels and beasts. The sounds of *plop, plop* rang out incessantly as countless flowers of blood bloomed, slowing their momentum and stirring up a bloody storm.

As the monsters charged, the collision of their momentum against the force of the arrows caused them to take even greater damage. By the time they were within tens of meters of the wall, most of the beasts and rebels had already fallen.

The primary bluestone walls offered +10 defense and had 10,000 durability. Even if the monsters reached the walls, it would take some time to break through. If they managed to climb, the soldiers stationed on top were no pushovers; with their superior equipment, their lethality was even higher than the ranged units.

Because Lin Mu had the foresight not to destroy or upgrade the monster camps, but rather to preserve them until his army grew stronger, these monsters maintained their original levels—neither weak nor overwhelming.

Except for the west side, the battles on the other three sides were well-controlled by the soldiers. At most, the walls sustained minor damage, and no monsters managed to breach the village.

The rebels’ equipment was also quite primitive; they lacked siege engines like catapults, scaling ladders, or battering rams. They had few shields, with only a few elites equipped with them. Some elite rebels managed to reach the base of the high wall, and some were even able to climb up quickly, engaging the guards in close-quarters combat.

The *clanging* of weapons, the roars of soldiers, the chaotic beating of drums, and the wails of the wounded shattered the long-standing peace of the Yinglong Valley!

Against the monsters attacking the territory, the Tier 3 soldiers were essentially overwhelming them...

As Lin Mu had expected, aside from some damage to the walls, the other three sides had annihilated the enemy without suffering a single casualty.

The situation on the west side, however, was much more severe. There were 20,000 level 30 rebel soldiers, 10,000 level 50 Moon-Howling Wolves, and one level 60 Beast King—the Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King!

The Moon-Howling Silver Wolf was covered in white fur, five meters long and nearly three meters high. It was hideous and robust, with razor-sharp claws, a massive maw filled with sharp teeth, and blood-red eyes the size of mangoes. It exuded a murderous aura. If such a wolf existed in the real world, it would cause an absolute sensation! It could devour a calf in a few bites—it was ferociously peerless.

Standing on the three-meter-high wall, Lin Mu had already spotted the mysterious Wolf King. Feng Zhong saw it too; the King stood out from the pack, heroic and magnificent!

However, what worried Lin Mu more were the swarms of Moon-Howling Wolves and rebel soldiers.

They stood tensely on the wall, watching the unusual monsters gathered in the distance. Unlike the monsters on the other three sides, they did not charge immediately. Instead, they kept gathering together, clearly under the secret command of the Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King.

Indeed, while the other walls were embroiled in heated combat, this side was silent, save for the occasional wolf howl. Everything was orderly. Was this military training? It was terrifying!

Suddenly, a thunderous wolf howl erupted across the open field. The Moon-Howling Wolves lowered their bodies, and the elite rebel soldiers actually mounted them.

Cavalry! Damn it, they were actually combining, transforming...

The Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King possessed such intelligence! By combining the rebel soldiers and the wolf pack, it had formed a makeshift cavalry unit. The wolves provided speed, compensating for the rebels' mobility, while the rebels provided protection for the wolves, blocking arrows and ensuring an unstoppable charge. In close combat, with such fierce mounts, the combat power of the rebel soldiers was elevated to a whole new level.

Truly extraordinary!

"What a beast! What intelligence!" Feng Zhong remarked with a solemn, begrudging admiration.

"Damn, this Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King actually has such a strategy! Truly impressive!" Lin Mu sighed. Familiar with the sieges of "Mythical Three Kingdoms," Lin Mu knew that this behavior was a result of their own capabilities rather than pre-programmed system settings. In Lin Mu's words, the monsters in the camps were usually just data, but these spawned monsters were flesh and blood, even utilizing their own intelligence.

This werewolf combination truly increased their strength several times over!

It appeared a brutal, life-or-death struggle was at hand. Lin Mu gripped his spear tightly, his gaze solemn and resolute.

"Archers, ready! Half-arc volley!" Feng Zhong commanded.

The soldiers were currently under Feng Zhong’s command, as he possessed many beneficial bonus attributes. Lin Mu, a novice, would simply act as a soldier in the ranks.

The prepared werewolf combination, triggered by a massive howl from the Moon-Howling Silver Wolf King, began their charge. The countless snow-white wolves surged forward; from a distance, they looked like a white tidal wave, sweeping away everything and destroying all in their path.

"Loose arrows! Fire!" Feng Zhong waited for a moment, and once the wolf cavalry was within range, he gave the order decisively.

Lin Mu was not equipped with a bow, and his archery proficiency was only basic; he didn't know if he could even pierce the hide of a Moon-Howling Wolf.

*Hum, hum...* Like the buzzing of a hive, the purple sandalwood arrow shafts and black steel tips rained down like a black storm upon the werewolf combination.

The rebels riding the wolves were occasionally struck, but most of the arrows were deflected. Furthermore, thanks to the speed of the Moon-Howling Wolves, they had already reached the foot of the wall by the time the second volley arrived.

The effectiveness of the arrow rain was minimal. Aside from a few unlucky werewolf combinations that fell, most of the wolf cavalry survived.

"Abandon bows, prepare for melee!" Feng Zhong said heavily.

Close-quarters combat was a clash of flesh and blood, brutal and tragic.

When narrow roads meet, the brave shall win. Kill! Kill! Kill!

Xiao Hu’s blade whistled through the air; each swing sent a rebel soldier to the ground. However, once a rebel fell, the Moon-Howling Wolf mount would attack with desperate ferocity. For a moment, Xiao Hu, a high-level warrior, was bogged down by ten wolf riders. They recognized Xiao Hu’s strength and had resorted to swarm tactics—despicable!

Lin Mu did not act rashly. He engaged a single wolf rider, relying on his technique to maneuver and strike continuously. He used the Gray Wolf Iron Shield in his left hand to deflect the rebel soldier’s attacks, while his black iron spear in his right hand relentlessly stabbed at the Moon-Howling Wolf, wearing it down. Only when the wolf collapsed would he finish off the rebel soldier.

Though slow, it was safe—that was how a rookie like him had to play.

The Moon-Howling Wolves, despite their massive size, moved with incredible speed, passing by like white afterimages.

As they reached the base of the wall, some wolves even leaped, jumping directly onto the battlements—they were ferocious!

However, the 1,200 soldiers on the wall had already fought rebels and Moon-Howling Wolves and had killed many of them; their combat experience was incredibly rich.

When these wolf cavalry leaped up, the soldiers held their Gray Wolf Iron Shields firm. A cacophony of metal clashing sounded, signaling the start of the brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Although they had been surprised by the werewolf combination, after the initial tension, the soldiers slowly began to seize the initiative, and their casualties gradually started to decrease.