novelraw Chapter 59: Upgrading the Stronghold (1)
Chapter 59: Upgrading the Stronghold (1)
The tribe assembled rapidly, still buzzing from the earlier breakthroughs.
When everyone was present, Ash stood calmly before them. And without explanation, he issued another command in his heart. "Upgrade the stronghold’s wall and expand it twice."
[Ding! 2,000,000 System Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! You have successfully upgraded the wall to Tier 2.]
The ground trembled. A deep rumble echoed throughout the entire stronghold.
It started as a vibration beneath their feet. Then it intensified quickly as dust shook loose from rooftops and torches swayed violently.
Murmurs rose among the crowd, more like from the majority of people who had never seen it before.
"What is this...?"
"An attack?!"
The warriors instinctively reached for their weapons, eyes sweeping the surroundings.
CRRRRRAAAAAACK!
The entire perimeter wall shuddered violently. Before anyone could react, it ripped free from the ground.
Five hundred meters of reinforced palisade lifted ten meters into the air as one unified structure. Dust and loose gravel cascaded downward from the empty trench it left behind.
Gasps exploded from the crowd.
"The wall—!"
"It’s rising!"
The majority of people widened their eyes, gripping weapons tightly even though no enemy could be seen.
The massive wall hovered overhead, casting a moving shadow across the assembled tribe.
Then the impossible continued, the square perimeter began to stretch outward.
Six hundred meters...
Seven hundred...
The timber structure extended seamlessly, as no gaps formed, as if it was magically doubled.
Eight hundred...
Nine hundred...
It continued to stretch until it reached one thousand meters across.
The stronghold’s territory doubled in a matter of seconds.
The ground beyond the original boundary trembled violently as the earth flattened and compressed to match the new perimeter.
The soil beneath the hovering wall began to bulge. At the newly marked boundary, the ground rose.
A huge sloped embankment pushed upward from the ground, climbing higher and higher until it formed a three-meter-tall rampart. Packed soil compressed unnaturally tight, stones grinding and locking within it.
The slope angled outward, becoming thick and defensive as it was no longer simple flat ground.
Above the embankment, the wall began its next transformation.
The timber frame vibrated for a moment before the entire structure stretched upward.
It stopped when it reached five meters.
The wall grew taller, thicker, and more imposing. Then the lowest portion darkened.
The bottom two meters of timber shifted and hardened. Wood vanished as rough stacked stones formed in its place, tightly layered and packed with clay and gravel. The stonework looked primitive but solid, as if it had stood for decades instead of seconds.
The upper three meters remained reinforced timber sealed with hardened clay and ash.
A composite wall that was stronger and far more resilient was built just like that.
The battlement walkway behind it widened slightly, stabilizing with reinforced beams.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire one-thousand-meter perimeter descended.
It slammed down onto the newly formed three-meter earthen embankment.
The impact shook the entire stronghold. A wave of dust burst outward as loose soil cascaded down the sloped rampart.
When the tremor settled, the wall stood firm. A little less than five meters of structure atop three meters of raised earth.
Eight meters of defensive height from outer ground to the top. But it was not finished, as the watchtowers that had risen earlier began to move again.
They lifted slightly and began to multiply. The duplication continued in precise rhythm until towers lined the entire perimeter.
Each drifted into position and descended at exact fifty-meter intervals along the wall.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Each landing echoed like a drumbeat of power.
At the main gate, two towers that were larger than the rest remained stationed on either side.
Then the gate itself groaned for a few seconds before the wooden doors thickened.
The lower half was reinforced with the same rough stacked stone. The frame expanded as it became sturdier and heavier—unmistakably more defensible even though the look worsened.
When the final tower locked into place, a deep resonance rolled across the stronghold and faded into stillness.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
One warrior whispered hoarsely, "This wall could withstand anything..."
Ash stared at the thousand-meter wall, eyes reflecting its hardened stone base. "It’s slowly becoming a fortress."
As the majority of people were still in awe of the miracle they had just witnessed with their own eyes, the sun continued to rise slowly.
Without waiting for long, Ash ordered the system again. "Upgrade the inhabited houses and expand their size to 7.5 x 5 meters before rearranging their positions to a neat one."
[Ding! 300,000 system points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! You have successfully upgraded 200 houses to Tier 1.]
Just as the majority of people were still frozen in awe, the ground trembled again.
It wasn’t as violent as before as a low rolling vibration spread beneath their feet.
"What now?!"
Some of the newer members panicked.
They had just witnessed something that shocked them, but the miracle wasn’t finished.
RUMMMMBLE!
Suddenly, the houses around them shuddered.
Clay walls cracked softly. The roof rustled violently. Then, every inhabited house rose ten meters into the air at the same time.
Two hundred homes hovered above the stronghold.
Gasps erupted once more as they couldn’t believe the sight in front of them.
"Our homes—!"
"They’re flying?!"
Women clutched their children. Warriors instinctively stepped forward as if they could somehow catch entire buildings if they fell.
Above them, the transformation began.
The hardened clay walls vibrated first before fine cracks spread across their uneven surfaces and then smoothed out.
Inside the walls, thick wooden support beams formed and locked into place. Vertical posts connected to horizontal braces, reinforcing the structure from within. The houses no longer relied purely on hardened clay.
Clay itself shifted as straw and woven wattle integrated into the mixture, strengthening the composition. The surface texture changed subtly, becoming less brittle and more resilient.
At the base of each house, stone edging formed. A shallow perimeter foundation of fitted stones appeared around every structure, anchoring them firmly.