Chapter 10: The Entire Army Reaches Lv.9! This Isn’t a Siege: It’s Free Resources!

John immediately connected to every unit still scattered across the surrounding area.

"All scouting squads, return immediately!"

Then he issued another command.

"Merge with the main force and reorganize into three extermination groups."

"Undead Sentinels in front. Spearmen behind them."

"Clear out every monster settlement within twenty kilometers."

The moment the order was given, the five hundred returning Spearmen and the eleven hundred units already gathered nearby rapidly reorganized into three separate forces.

Then they charged off at full speed in three different directions.

Across the wasteland—

the slaughter began.

[Your army has slain Wasteland Wolves Lv.1 — 1-Star ×50.]

[EXP +2,500]

[Gold +50]

[Your unit, Undead Spearman, has reached Lv.2!]

[Your army has destroyed a Rabid Hyena Den.]

[EXP +150]

[Stone +100]

[Your unit, Undead Sentinel, has reached Lv.2!]

[Combat Losses: 12 Undead Spearmen destroyed.]

"Revive them."

John moved a finger.

Six Gold vanished.

10,000× Acceleration activated.

Within 0.3 seconds, all twelve shattered skeletons stood back up and immediately returned to formation.

[Your army has slain Rock-Armored Lizards Lv.3 — 3-Star ×8.]

[EXP +1,200]

[Gold +800]

[Your unit, Undead Spearman, has reached Lv.4!]

[Your unit, Undead Sentinel, has reached Lv.4!]

System notifications echoed endlessly in John’s ears.

Standing on high ground, he watched the numbers in the upper-right corner of his vision climb at an absurd rate.

Time passed quietly.

Eventually, the dark crimson sun hanging on the horizon slowly sank beneath the edge of the world.

Then—

[Your unit, Undead Spearman, has reached Lv.9!]

[Your unit, Undead Sentinel, has reached Lv.9!]

John opened the status panels of both units.

After all those levels, the combat strength of his entire army had more than doubled compared to just a few hours earlier.

Then he looked at his resources.

[Gold: 12,450]

[Food: 10,910]

[Wood: 11,860]

[Stone: 13,400]

[Iron Ore: 10,800]

John let out a slow breath.

Every basic resource had broken ten thousand.

And easily at that.

Darkness gradually spread across the horizon.

The wilderness of Godfall Continent became far more dangerous after nightfall.

All manner of strange and indescribable nocturnal creatures roamed beneath the darkness, making the wilds several times deadlier than during the day.

John knew that perfectly well.

"All forces, return to defend the territory."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The three undead forces scattered throughout the twenty-kilometer radius immediately began regrouping.

Before darkness could completely swallow the land, they marched back inside the territory’s protective barrier in perfect order.

The fifty-eight natives waiting on the hilltop visibly relaxed when they saw the army return.

Gru hurried over with unsteady steps and bowed deeply.

"My Lord, all the stone and timber you ordered us to gather have been stacked around the warehouse."

John pulled the yellowed blueprint from his coat and tossed it toward Gru.

"Learn this."

"Then take everyone and start building houses on the eastern side of the territory."

Gru caught the blueprint with both hands.

His eyes immediately lit up.

"At once, my Lord!"

"Your mercy knows no bounds! We will begin immediately!"

The villagers sprang back into action.

Under the effects of 10,000× Acceleration, wooden houses that would normally have taken several days to complete began rising from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Hammering rang out across the territory.

Foundations were packed down.

Wooden beams were raised.

Stone walls were laid.

Only ten minutes later—

more than a dozen sturdy, neatly arranged houses stood on the eastern side of the settlement.

Just like that, the villagers no longer had to sleep exposed to the wilderness.

They stared at the brand-new homes capable of sheltering them from wind and rain.

One after another, they dropped to their knees and offered words of gratitude to their Lord.

Night fully descended.

A bonfire burned at the center of the territory.

Gru approached John carefully with a crude wooden bowl held in both hands.

He bowed before offering it up.

"My Lord, we cooked this meat with clean spring water from the rocks."

"Please, eat."

John took the bowl.

The chunks of meat inside had been boiled slightly too long.

There were no spices whatsoever.

All he could taste was a faint saltiness mixed with the bitterness of wild herbs.

It wasn’t good.

Not even close.

John slowly chewed the coarse meat as he stared into the dancing flames.

A familiar figure surfaced in his mind.

In his previous life, whenever he returned to the territory...

Sylvie would always be waiting.

A steaming bowl of thick soup.

Fresh bread roasted until soft and warm.

She would prepare everything in advance and quietly wait for him to come home.

John swallowed the food in his mouth and breathed out softly.

"Hopefully..."

"it won’t be long before we meet again."

He shook his head and pushed the thought aside.

With a swipe through the air, he reopened the interface.

The time in the upper-right corner read:

21:40

There were a little over two hours remaining before midnight—

and the first-day score rankings for novice Lords.

"I wonder where I’m ranked right now."

John muttered.

He had never been the kind of person to overestimate himself and underestimate everyone else.

More than a hundred million novice Lords had entered this year’s Selection.

With a player base that massive, there were bound to be monsters among them.

Even with an SSS-Rank talent and the Undead Sovereign class, John couldn’t confidently say that no one else had awakened some equally ridiculous ability.

For now—

all he could do was wait.

As the minutes passed, exhaustion slowly caught up with him.

John closed the interface and entered the wooden house Gru had reserved for him at the center of the settlement.

He lay down on the simple wooden bed.

Then he closed his eyes and quietly waited for the ranking settlement.

Time passed.

One second at a time.

Then—

just as John drifted somewhere between sleep and wakefulness...

WOOOOOO—!

A piercing horn blast tore through the night sky without warning.

John’s eyes snapped open.

A translucent interface automatically appeared in midair.

Blood-red system warnings flashed wildly across it.

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT!]

[Novice Lord Day-One Trial Mission — NIGHT TIDE — has officially begun!]

[Notice: The first monster siege will begin in five minutes.]

[Trial monsters are NOT blocked by the Novice Protection Barrier.]

[All Lords are advised to prepare for battle immediately.]

[Performance during this siege will be converted directly into Lord Points and added to the Overall Rankings.]

[Special Reward:]

[The Lord ranked No. 1 on the Day-One Siege Rankings will receive:]

[Gold ×10,000]

[4-Star Unit Altar Stone ×1]

[4-Star Unit Training License ×1]

[Hero Recruitment Scroll ×3]

[Final Reward:]

[The Lord ranked No. 1 on the cumulative thirty-day leaderboard will receive:]

[God-Tier Building Blueprint ×1]

[Lords ranked 2nd through 10th will receive high-Star Unit Training Licenses, rare Unit Altar Stones, Hero Recruitment Scrolls, and other rewards based on final placement.]

The instant the announcement ended—

World Chat exploded.

The unread-message counter in the upper-right corner instantly shot to:

99,999+

"What the hell?! A monster siege on DAY ONE?!"

"Guys, did I buy some fake-ass guide or something? This isn’t what the veterans said! Aren’t sieges supposed to start during the final ten days?!"

"The system is trying to fucking kill us! I have EIGHT 1-Star Spearmen! What am I supposed to stop a monster wave with, my ass?!"

"Bro, why are you panicking? This is a huge opportunity! Win the siege and you can get a God-Tier Building Blueprint! That’s an insane early-game advantage!"

"Keep dreaming. People like us should worry about surviving the night first."

"Sky Dragon Alliance recruiting high-power Lords! Defensive coalition established! Join now and we’ll guarantee protection through the first wave!"

John slowly dragged a finger across the interface.

His expression turned thoughtful.

World Chat was right.

In the novice trials he remembered, monster sieges didn’t begin until the final ten days.

By then, the Novice Protection Barrier would already have disappeared.

But now—

just like the qualification rules—

the schedule had changed.

Even the supposedly safe novice period was no longer safe.

John paused.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Whatever.

For everyone else, this might be a disaster.

For him?

It looked more like a resource delivery service.

After all—

his territory currently housed 1,500 Lv.9 Undead Spearmen...

and 100 Lv.9 Undead Sentinels.

A total force of—

1,600 undead troops.

If the monsters wanted to come to him...

John certainly wasn’t afraid to fight.