novelraw Chapter 428: Level 4 Ranger
Chapter 428: Level 4 Ranger
The location and surrounding terrain of Gale Fortress were somewhat similar to Dawn Fortress.
Both were situated at the boundary between The Plains and the mountainous regions. There were mountains on both sides, with only a single road passing through the middle. Gale Fortress guarded this road.
This was an extremely important fortress within Windbreath Viscount's Territory; it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Therefore, Windbreath Viscount directly placed the station of the Gale Knights here.
Currently, this fortress naturally possessed a Three-Star Mana Mine, had a Second-Tier Caster standing guard, and additionally had twelve Gale Knights, plus 50 heavy cavalry, and 200 Fortress Garrison troops. Aside from this, there were also about a thousand Freeman such as Farmers, Artisans, and cooks farming and living in the village behind the fortress.
If war didn't break out, everything would still be quite wonderful.
As a Four-Star Mercenary—especially a Mercenary whose monthly salary required over twenty thousand Gold Coins—Li Wei's status was still quite high. Windbreath Viscount wouldn't make such a low-level mistake, so from the moment he accepted the mission, he automatically obtained the identity of a temporary Advisor for the Windbreath Territory.
This kind of identity wouldn't obtain Territory dividends, didn't participate in the competition for Territory power, and couldn't interject or overstep boundaries. The only thing was that his status was sufficiently high. For example, in Gale Fortress, his position could be ranked third. Aside from Grand Knight Teren, as well as the second Knight who had previously arranged for him to remain on standby here, the rest of the people had no right to manage him.
Therefore, requesting a decent room to rest a bit was only natural.
And only at this moment did Li Wei begin to have time to inspect and organize all the harvests from his thousand-li jungle-clearing trip.
Among these, the greatest harvest was the enhancement and upgrade of the Ranger Code.Previously, the Ranger Code had gone from incomplete to complete; this counted as upgrading to Level 1.
After the Woodcutter Card upgraded to Rare, the Codename resonated, thereby causing the Ranger Code to automatically upgrade by one level; this was Level 2.
Now, he used four Five-Star Universal Gold Cards to enhance it, upgrading it by two more levels; this was Level 4.
However, after the upgrade, because the attributes had massively increased and there was a lack of sufficient energy supplementation, a very large portion of these extra attributes would not take effect immediately. Unless it was a small-value upgrade, only then could it immediately form combat power.
In short, the body needed a buffer; it needed to adapt.
Even when he had wildly consumed Magic Secret Potions previously, there had been aftereffects. How could these rapidly increasing attribute values be released all at once?
Therefore, at this moment, Li Wei simply ate and drank his fill in his room, then fell fast asleep. When he woke up, he ate again, and when he was full, he slept—for a full two days and one night.
He went to the toilet a few times in between, only then clearing out the minor hidden dangers brought by consuming the Magic Secret Potions.
Only then did he feel smooth and unobstructed all over, his spirit perfected.
At this time, his Level 4 Ranger Code finally returned to normal, and the attributes from the enhancement upgrade slowly settled in.
The specific effects became—Perception +2.5, Agility +25, Life +250, Stamina +250, Hunter Fate +12.5, Woodcutter Fate +12.5, Scout Destiny +12.5.
At the same time, his comprehensive attributes became—Life 780, Stamina 940, Strength 55, Agility 94, Defense 51+10+ (Light Armor or Heavy Armor defense value), Spiritual Power 45, Perception +10.5.
Farmer Destiny 78, Hunter Fate 65.5, Woodcutter Fate 63.5, Scout Destiny 51.5.
The Perception Cap was restored anew.
Everything had returned once again.
"Next, I still need to adapt for a few days. Even for the next three months, it's advisable to remain still and not move."
Li Wei smiled faintly; he had already earned enough on this trip.
Not to mention the four Five-Star Universal Gold Cards used to enhance the Ranger Code, and the two Silver Tokens. Just those six Purple Drop Cards alone could sell for 900,000 Gold Coins at the very worst. The key was that these were obtained using a 5-Star Heaven-Veiling Card; they were absolutely one of the most popular goods on the black market.
Additionally, considering that he had personally killed them, the Wolf Traveling a Thousand Li Title would also take effect significantly. In that case, selling one card for 200,000 wouldn't be a problem at all.
However, this was only Li Wei's own appraisal. If he wasn't in urgent need of money, he wouldn't truly sell them. What kind of joke was that?
These were all foundations, his family assets. They could be passed down as Legacy to future generations of descendants, or used for future emergencies. Their cost-effectiveness was comparable to the small gold bars in an ordinary world.
"Eh?"
Li Wei's heart suddenly stirred at this time, and he saw two lines of information pop up.
[Teren, the Grand Commander of the Holy Gale Knights, has successfully escorted fifteen Enchanted Giant Ballistae and five Enchanted Trebuchets to Gale Fortress. During this journey, he did not suffer from the harassment or attacks of Neanderthal Scouts. Although there is no evidence to prove that you played an important role in this matter, you are still considered to have completed this mission. You have gained 50 Mercenary Points.]
[Next, Teren, the Grand Commander of the Holy Gale Knights, will issue various missions to you. Please ensure that you remain in the vicinity of Gale Fortress during this period, or please try your best not to use items like the Heaven-Veiling Card, lest you fail to receive mission information. If you cannot be contacted within ten days, it will be defaulted that you have automatically left this world, ending the current mercenary mission. At that time, if you are discovered to be continuously lingering in the current world, you will be punished under the crime of being an invader.]
——
Good Heavens, Holy Gale? A prefix was added, and Teren, this Grand Knight, has become a Grand Commander. What happened?
Li Wei blinked, a bit unaccustomed to it. Following that, he finally realized: he was currently just a Mercenary. Although he was a temporary Advisor in name, in reality, he couldn't receive information about the Windbreath Territory. He would only receive it if Windbreath Viscount allowed him to receive it.
"So, Windbreath Viscount is about to be promoted to Windbreath Count right away? Wait, could he be thinking of upgrading the Windbreath Territory into a province?"
Li Wei had spent a full four months gathering all sorts of news previously; that naturally hadn't been gathered for nothing. For example, he truly understood what adding a "Holy" prefix before a knightly order meant.
This was precisely the first signal of upgrading to a province!
At this critical juncture, it was hard to say which side that Windbreath Viscount had been influenced by.
King Locke?
Duke Kaidel?
It felt like there would be a great battle coming up next, but who would have the last laugh was unknown.
If push came to shove, he would just flee. The Six-Star Mission Settlement Card he had purchased wasn't just for show either.
Li Wei was quite calm. He then walked out of the room to go and welcome this Grand Commander Teren. After all, he was now his direct superior.
At this moment, Gale Fortress was brimming with a happy and cheerful atmosphere everywhere. Almost all the soldiers were full of confidence, their faces carrying fervor. Clearly, they had all received more information. For instance, the Gale Knights upgrading to the Holy Gale Knights meant there would be at least thirty-six powerful Gale Knights next!
Soon, the convoy transporting the Giant Ballistae and Catapults entered the fortress. Once this kind of large equipment—especially equipment that had undergone Enchantment—was assembled, it was very difficult to place it into a Resource Card to carry it over quickly. Therefore, they had to adopt the method of long-distance transport.
Currently, it seemed everything was not bad. At least the Neanderthal Scouts who had constantly been wandering around Gale Fortress had temporarily retreated.
"Your Excellency George the Ranger, Grand Commander Teren asks you to go and see him immediately."
An orderly arrived on a galloping horse.
"Alright!"
Li Wei immediately walked quickly out of the fortress. Grand Commander Teren was currently still waiting outside the fortress with a unit of Cavalry.
"Your Excellency the Grand Commander, may I ask if there is anything I can serve you with?"
Upon arriving, Li Wei bowed respectfully, his attitude sincere.
"George, I've finally met you. I'm very much looking forward to you bringing me some good news, such as the tracks of that Neanderthal Scout squad?"
This core subordinate of Windbreath Viscount spoke with a half-smile. He seemed a bit dissatisfied? Was it because he hadn't come to report at the first possible moment, or because he had been staying in his room sleeping soundly for the past two days?
"Reporting back to Your Excellency the Grand Commander: over the past few days, I have been investigating in The Wilds, but I did not discover that Neanderthal Scout squad. Perhaps they have already withdrawn. However, please rest assured, Your Excellency the Grand Commander, I will continue to use Gale Fortress as the center to investigate the area within a hundred-li radius!"
Li Wei answered honestly.
"That is very good. George, I actually have some good news to bring you. The master of the Windbreath Territory, the loyal follower of the Locke Kingdom, was officially granted the title of Count by His Majesty the King yesterday. From this point onward, you must address him as Lord Count."
"Additionally, considering that Gale Fortress has a high probability of becoming the war front in the future, we need more Scouts; we can no longer allow the previous terrible situation. Therefore, Lord Windbreath Count has hired a 3rd-Tier Night Ranger from the distant Juniper Province. From today onward, he will be responsible for the patrol and alert duties surrounding Gale Fortress. As for you, George, I need you to train thirty qualified Scouts for the fortress within three months."
"As you command, Your Excellency the Grand Commander."
Li Wei readily accepted the order. Training Scouts was a correct path in the long run; they couldn't just keep hiring Mercenaries forever.
However, he was also quite curious. Windbreath Count actually hired a 3rd-Tier Night Ranger. It seemed he had truly invested a massive amount of capital this time—no, he probably even brought out his coffin money.
The accumulation of over two hundred years was indeed abundant. He just didn't know if he could achieve Soaring to the Heavens this time and upgrade to Windbreath Province?
But this 3rd-Tier Night Ranger wasn't in the squad. He should have already begun to throw himself into his work; he was a professional.
Next, that Grand Commander Teren directly dispatched thirty Soldiers to Li Wei. They were uniformly Three-Star Class-holders, and their Primary Class were all Hunters, their second professions were Mountain Folk, and their third professions were Woodcutters! Moreover, their average Destiny Grids were all at 30.
Wow, these were specially cultivated! Awesome! These three kinds of Profession Cards were extremely easy to resonate with, and their coordination was exceptionally good.
Under these three professions, their Normal Agility would be 5 to 10 points higher than other professionals.
Li Wei also didn't dare to neglect his duties. After all, Grand Commander Teren was already somewhat dissatisfied with him.
He immediately led these thirty novice Scouts and began the most basic training: climbing mountains, observing the terrain, memorizing the topography, searching for changes in tracks, and so on.
In any case, over the course of a day, these thirty new Scout recruits were drilled so hard they begged for death!
Mhm, they had to trek three or four hundred li through the mountains every day.
Anyway, this time that Grand Commander Teren was very satisfied, because Li Wei was truly imparting his experience.
However, when night fell, Li Wei activated a three-star defense card Without a Trace. While increasing 4 points of Normal Defense, it also gave him an extra 1 point of Strength and 10 points of Stamina.
This was inevitable.
It was also the correct activation sequence for Attribute Cards.
First max out Defense, then max out Strength, followed by Stamina and Agility, and finally max out Life. Following this step-by-step sequence would require roughly two or three months. At the same time, it also required high-quality food worth thirty thousand Gold Coins to replenish energy in a timely manner.
This was the method to avoid internal bodily consumption to the greatest extent. Rushing for quick results was unacceptable. Theoretically, one could ultimately gain an extra 5 to 10 Free Attribute Points in the end.
(End of Chapter)