"200 Eerie Stones..."
Chen Fan gave the panel before him a squinted gaze. As he had originally planned, he would comfortably and effortlessly get through the fledgling stage. However, the sudden arrival of the rainy season disrupted his plan, catching him off guard.
Now, he had to strengthen his camp as much as possible to secure any hope of survival.
Two options lay before him.
With a total of 200 Eerie Stones, he could spend 100 to upgrade two Level 2 Archery Towers to Level 3.
Or...
Gather 320 Eerie Stones to build a 32-meter-long circular City Wall, creating a protective barrier within the boundaries of the camp.
Of course, it wouldn't match the safety range of a Level 2 Eerie Fire, but rather that of a Level 1 Eerie Fire. Building a wall to enclose the camp with a Level 2 Eerie Fire would be far too costly.
In terms of which option would fortify the camp the most, it was undoubtedly the latter.
With a City Wall to block the Eerie Creatures charging into the camp, the Archery Towers could maximize their rate of fire,instead of falling apart against an Eerie Tide.
But he didn't have that many Eerie Stones on hand.
If Wang Kui could bring back enough Eerie Stones after picking up personnel from other stations, he would build the City Wall before nightfall. If not, he would have to prioritize upgrading Archery Towers and constructing traps and other structures as many as possible.
He couldn't afford to wait.
Last night was just an appetizer. Whether he could survive the night was anyone's guess.
He glanced over at Crippled Monkey in the distance, who was still digging fields and burying the Eerie Creature corpses. The farmland had already had many such corpses beneath it; fertilizer shortages wouldn't be a concern for quite some time.
Yesterday, they had killed a total of 47 maggot-like Eerie Creatures, yet not a single Extraordinary Treasure had dropped.
He found himself missing the mother and daughter pair.
If only he hadn't killed them. He wondered if he could have penned them up outside the camp, perhaps even setting up some kind of Eerie Creature farm.
...
"Rivernorth Marketplace."
It was the largest market within hundreds of miles, owned by a Level 2 Architect and located in the western district of "Rivernorth City."
It was so famous that people often referred to going to Rivernorth City as going to Rivernorth Marketplace.
Torrential rain poured down relentlessly.
Countless merchants and travelers wandered among the shops and stalls sheltered by oil-paper umbrellas. Everyone knew that the early arrival of the rainy season might signal a resurgence of the Eerie Tide that swept all the wasteland 37 years ago!
Preparations had to be made in advance, just in case.
"The rainy season has come early."
A shopkeeper of the Pingtian Chamber of Commerce stood at the entrance, gazing at the pouring rain outside with a face full of worry and unease. "Who knows how many will die this time? I'm not even sure if Rivernorth City can hold up."
"Shopkeeper."
A shop assistant, who had just braved the rain back to the shop, removed his clothes, wringing them in his grip. Then he casually wiped the rain from his face, speaking nonchalantly, "Actually, we don't need to worry too much."
"The city defense of Rivernorth City was jointly built by the three major forces: the 'Rivernorth Chen Clan,' the 'Ravine Wang Family,' and the 'Wild Wolf Gang.'"
"That expensive City Wall protects the entire Rivernorth City securely."
"Archery Towers are set up every ten steps."
"It's never been breached by Eerie Creatures all these years, and it won't be this time either."
"..."
The shopkeeper looked at the shop assistant with a complicated expression but said nothing. Ignorance bred fearlessness. In an ordinary rainy season, with Rivernorth City's geographical advantage and its extensive Level 1 City Walls, it would indeed be safe.
But with the rainy season arriving early this time, an Eerie Tide was highly likely to strike!
He had experienced the Eerie Tide 37 years ago.
Only one in a thousand survived in the entire city. He was a firsthand witness, and the only reason he survived was that he had acted slyly, slipping into the core territory of the "Wild Wolf Gang" as soon as the situation turned sour. The Level 3 City Walls and defenses of the Wild Wolf Gang's core territory were what had saved him.
That was also why he had stayed with the Pingtian Chamber of Commerce all these years.
The Pingtian Chamber of Commerce was now integrated with the Rivernorth Chen Clan.
Every major force had its own core territory, where the City Walls were of a higher level, and the defensive structures were more powerful.
If the city were ever breached, the force's core members would retreat to the core territory to survive.
After a long while, the shopkeeper stood at the entrance, clasped his hands together, and gazed at the overcast sky and relentless rain, murmuring:
"May the heavens protect us."
"I hope no Eerie Tide appears."
The early arrival of the rainy season only made an Eerie Tide highly likely, but it wasn't absolute. If there were none, that would be for the best.
In this world, living to an old age was far too difficult.
...
Rivernorth City, the Rivernorth Chen Clan.
In a large courtyard, a pale-faced, frail-looking middle-aged man was holding a map made of Eerie Creature hide, ingratiatingly reporting to a young man sitting in a pavilion.
"Young Master, Station 37 of the Rivernorth Chen Clan remains lit. It seems they were lucky last night and weren't attacked by Eerie Creatures."
"But as the rainy season progresses, Eerie Creatures will become more and more active. I'm afraid they won't be as fortunate tonight."
"Mmm."
The young man in the pavilion, toying with a jade bracelet, flashed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. He took the map from the man and stared intently at Station 37, located deep in the northern wilderness.
It was as if he were trying to will the station's light to go out with his gaze alone.
According to the plan, the station should have gone dark by now. After all, they had only given that kid three Eerie Stones. Surprisingly, it hadn't gone out even after several days, which meant he had been lucky and that remote station actually had travelers passing by and staying the night.
But that luck was about to run out.
With the rainy season arriving early, the Eerie Tide would rage.
He had no idea how a station with no defensive structures at all could survive.
Although they referred to that guy as a bastard, everyone in the Chen Clan knew perfectly well that he was the first trueborn, the rightful heir with absolute inheritance rights.
If that guy didn't die, he would never be at ease.
His own mother was the only daughter of the chairman of the "Pingtian Chamber of Commerce" and the current mistress of the Chen Clan. As long as that guy died, he would take over the inheritance rights.
"Oh, by the way—"
The young man frowned slightly. "Were there any flaws in the maneuvering of sending Chen Fan deep into the wilderness?"
"None."
The middle-aged man shook his head seriously. "Everything was done by the book. According to the Chen Clan ancestral rules, all Chen clan members must serve a one-year shift at a station after coming of age. Chen Fan was no exception."
"He was given three Eerie Stones before his departure, as stipulated by the ancestral rules."
"Everything followed procedure."
"Except..."
The man grinned. "We sent him to an abandoned station where almost no travelers pass by. Even if the master were to investigate, he couldn't find any faults."
"Besides,"
"How could the master not know about this? He's long since tacitly approved of it."
"After all, the master still relies on the Level 5 Architect Clan Guardian that your mother brought along into the Clan."