novelraw Chapter 381: Enchanted Heavy Cavalry
Chapter 381: Enchanted Heavy Cavalry
Thinking of this, Li Wei wasn't in a hurry to agree. Instead, he asked, "What is the construction cost of a One-Star Mage Tower?"
"It won't exceed one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. Additionally, if you have Barbarian Gold Coins on hand, only one hundred thousand will be enough. Because Barbarian Gold Coins contain a trace of ancient magic precipitation, making them excellent magical materials in and of themselves."
Hearing this, Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. Didn't that mean he suffered a massive loss when he previously exchanged those fifty thousand Barbarian Gold Coins with Mark, the City Lord of Kakh City?
"Alright! I can agree to your terms. Furthermore, I currently still have eighty thousand Barbarian Gold Coins on hand. If you need any other materials, I'll find them for you."
"Eighty thousand?"
This time, the scruffy elder sister was so excited she stood straight up, tossing off her massive thick-rimmed glasses. "If that is the case, respected Lord, you only need to pay me an additional thirty thousand Standard Gold Coins. Combined with these eighty thousand Barbarian Gold Coins, I dare issue a military pledge that within ten months, if I cannot construct a Mage Tower, I will be your slave to be ordered around for the rest of my life!"
"Also, these twenty warhorses will count as my meeting gift, and I won't take a salary for a year. I will immediately craft a Magic Crest for you."
"What do you think, will this work?"
"Alright, then it's a deal."
Li Wei nodded. He could earn a One-Star Mage Tower, so why not?Right then, the scruffy elder sister directly took out a Five-Star Item Card named 'Promise of Gold Card' and repeated the words she had just spoken onto it. "I keep my word. Take this Five-Star Item Card. Ten months! If I fail to achieve it, I'll sell my life to you. Also, my code name is Forest Witch Qin Yu. Hurry and invite me!"
At this moment, this scruffy elder sister was so thrilled she was about to dance with joy. It was very exaggerated, but Li Wei could feel that she was genuinely happy and genuinely excited; it wasn't fake.
It seemed the gold content of Barbarian Gold Coins was truly out of the ordinary!
However, this simultaneously meant that his Second Aunt's research in this area was indeed lagging far behind. It was impossible for her to not know the use of Barbarian Gold Coins yet remain silent about it; the only explanation was that she needed more time.
After all, she had only become a spellcaster for less than a year. Even with Night Owl's Magic Notes, she still needed sufficient time to study them.
Li Wei didn't hesitate either. He immediately invited this scruffy elder sister to join the territory and become a staff officer in charge of Riverside Fortress's Magic Well. At the same time, he proactively traded over fifty thousand Barbarian Gold Coins.
However, this scruffy elder sister instantly returned forty thousand.
"Just giving me ten thousand a month will be enough. I can't break the rules. You can leave the rest to me. Go busy yourself with other matters. With me here, within a fifty-kilometer diameter of this fortress, unless an enemy launches a large-scale invasion, nothing will be a problem."
Since that was the case, Li Wei couldn't have asked for anything better.
However, after returning to his fortress, he unhesitatingly opened that dropped Purple Card.
Yes, previously his plan had been to bring this Purple Card out of this world to use as a gift or for some major purpose in the future, but now he felt it was unnecessary.
And as expected, the drop rate of this Purple Card was very high.
[You obtained thirty-five thousand Barbarian Gold Coins.]
[You obtained a Four-Star Scholar Card, carrying Scholar Destiny Grid 47.]
[You obtained a Five-Star Doctor Card, carrying Doctor Destiny Grid 56.]
[You obtained a Five-Star Butcher Card, carrying Butcher Destiny Grid 54.]
[You obtained a damaged Five-Star Leather Armor.]
[You obtained a fragmented Magic Crest (Needs Appraisal).]
[You obtained a Magic Scroll (Needs Appraisal).]
[You obtained a Magic Notes book (Needs Appraisal).]
[You obtained a Monster Dissection Notes book (Needs Appraisal).]
——
Good heavens, was this Neanderthal a spellcaster?
Li Wei was shocked in his heart and felt even more fortunate.
If he hadn't opened this Purple Card, he would have truly suffered a massive loss.
After thinking for a moment, he put all these items away. Even if they needed appraisal, he had to look for his Second Aunt first, and then Hathaway. If neither of them had any ideas, it wouldn't be too late to seek out other spellcasters.
After dealing with this matter, Li Wei opened ten Pet Cards and handed ten Three-Star Warhorses over to Javier, ordering him to select another ten soldiers to undergo cavalry training.
Up to now, Li Wei already had sixty-two cavalrymen under his command. Thirty-two of them were at the territory's main base (including Zhao Xuanxuan), while thirty were here at Riverside Fortress. Although most of them had only been training for less than two months and possessed neither a cavalry card nor a corresponding profession, the results of their long-term training were quite outstanding.
He estimated that in another month, the vast majority of these novice cavalrymen would be able to grind out ordinary cavalry cards.
Now, with the addition of these twenty Two-Star Warhorses, the total number of cavalrymen under Li Wei's command would reach eighty-two in the future.
This would be a military force with impressive combat strength.
It would play a massive role in ensuring the future security of his territory.
Because the five-hundred-kilometer distance from the territory's main base all the way to Riverside Fortress was entirely a flat expanse of land. Most of it consisted of river alluvial plains, which was the most suitable terrain for cavalry charges and maneuvers.
This was also an extremely important reason why, after initially discussing it with Liang Yuzhi, Li Wei had insisted on retaining Riverside Fortress.
Yes, the territory's domain was practically full of loopholes everywhere, resembling something leaking wind from all four sides. Once the river froze over, enemies could come and go exactly as they pleased.
It was a very fatal weakness.
However, there were two methods to compensate for this. The first was to possess a powerful cavalry force. It would be best if all members had Three-Star Warhorses or even Four-Star Warhorses. If that were the case, the warhorses' Life values could surpass 2000 points, their running charge speeds could approach eighty kilometers per hour, and complemented by superb combat techniques and the buffs from cavalry cards, they would become the kings of the land.
Currently, it was only early June. By September, this cavalry force would essentially be fully formed. He also intended to distribute all his remaining Black Iron Tokens, striving to raise a force of entirely Four-Star warhorses, Four-Star cavalrymen, and fully enchanted Four-Star equipment.
By then, while they might not dare to say they could undertake long-distance expeditions thousands of kilometers away, on their own turf—supported by three Magic Wells—they would be an invincible existence in field battles.
Even if the Frost Duke dispatched a grand army of Ability Users to attack, they wouldn't be afraid!
If, in the future, they grew so extravagant that they could equip every person with a Magic Crest, haha... Let's just forget about that for now.
Aside from this, if he could purchase two Magic Arbitrary Doors, his territory that leaked wind everywhere would basically no longer have any weaknesses.
Next, Li Wei hurried to the territory's main base to deliver the other ten Two-Star Warhorses, having Zhao Xuanxuan select ten soldiers to train as novice cavalrymen.
While he was at it, he also upgraded the Magic Well there to the maximum Three-Star level.
Thus, with Liang Yuzhi overseeing operations, the coverage area of the Magic Well completely enveloped both Northern Fortress and Southern Fortress.
This completed a closed defensive loop.
This aspect was extremely potent. One could say that the overall comprehensive strength of the territory was already far ahead of the curve.
A Three-Star Magic Well could store a maximum of five hundred units of Magical Power. As long as he stockpiled enough magic, Li Wei felt he could practically declare the mission complete.
"Second Aunt, do you recognize this Forest Witch Qin Yu?"
Inside the territory's headquarters building, Li Wei enjoyed several delicacies personally cooked for him by Liang Yuzhi as he asked.
"Qin Yu? I don't recognize her. She probably isn't a spellcaster from Weir Province. The Tavern's recruitment system spans the entirety of the Locke Kingdom, so she might be from another province. I see you've recruited her as a staff officer. How are her abilities?"
"Maybe quite good; I'm not entirely certain. But she said she can craft a Sequence 3 Magic Crest capable of blocking four lethal attacks in just ten days. Furthermore, she guaranteed she could build a One-Star Mage Tower within ten months."
"Is that so? Tsk tsk, it seems she's very impressive. I've taken a look at that Sequence 3 Magic Crest earlier. Because I'm still not proficient enough with magical structures, it would take me at least a month to craft one, and I could only guarantee it would block three lethal attacks. Add on top of that how busy things are on my end, what with deploying magic potions and all, so this sounds pretty good."
Liang Yuzhi didn't treat it as a big deal. Li Wei then smiled and passed over the Four-Star Scholar Card, the Five-Star Doctor Card, and the four items needing appraisal: Magic Notes, Magic Crest, item, and Magic Scroll.
"Second Aunt, these are what dropped when I opened a Purple Card earlier. Take a look and see if there's anything you need."
"Ha! You killed a Neanderthal spellcaster? Oh my goodness, these are all excellent items! Especially this Four-Star Scholar Card. With this, you could even cultivate a spellcaster from among the freemen. For instance, little Isabel. However, this Five-Star Doctor Card is useless right now; it's only meant for Five-Star professions. Using it on a freeman would be a waste."
"I must tell you, Little Wei, no matter how much you strengthen freemen soldiers, it's best to stop at Four-Star. Don't give them opportunities to advance to Five-Star. Otherwise, in the future when the territory seals off its magical sources, you truly won't be able to afford to support them."
"As for this, you can continue trading with Night Owl; exchanging for more horse armor would be nice. Right now, our cavalry has essentially matured. Combined with the Three-Star Magic Well, I think it's an appropriate time to have Zhao Xuanxuan return to the Enchanted Blacksmith Workshop. Over the past two months, Thomas mined a massive amount of Three-Star Iron Ore near Base 349. All this iron ore has now been smelted into One-Star Steel Ingots, which genuinely nurtured a batch of Blacksmith Cards. The total number of blacksmiths in our territory has now reached twenty-four, and there are nearly a hundred craftsmen."
"If you have enough Bronze Tokens on hand, I suggest upgrading a wave of Three-Star Blacksmiths and Three-Star Artisans. Then, let Zhao Xuanxuan take the lead. Allocating thirty units of Magical Power, we must begin forging Enchanted Equipment on a massive scale—especially Enchanted Heavy Armor. We must strive to equip all cavalrymen and all warhorses with Three-Star Armor and Three-Star Horse Armor before the end of October. This is the best method to increase combat strength and prevent massive battlefield casualties, though of course, it's also the most extravagant."
"Tsk tsk, I don't even dare imagine the scene of eighty Enchanted Heavy Cavalrymen sweeping across the land."
"Kings must possess the bearing of a king. It's time to give those leaping clowns a kingly shock."
(End of this chapter)