Chapter 31: Epic Resource Plot! Daily Harvests and a Massive Boost in Food Production!

When an undead unit died, John could resurrect it on the spot as long as he had enough Gold Coins.

But...

There were still more than fifty native inhabitants living in his territory.

Someone among Gru’s people was bound to get injured and bleed from time to time.

Unlike undead units, these people couldn’t be brought back to life with Gold Coins.

"Better recruit a batch of healers as insurance."

John selected a suitable location.

A building interface appeared in the air.

[Consume 8,000 Wood, 8,000 Stone, 8,000 Iron Ore, 1 Five-Star Unit Altar Stone, and 1 Five-Star Unit Training License (Priest) to construct the five-star unit building: Holy Light Chapel?]

"Construct."

Under the effect of 10,000× Acceleration, a pristine white stone chapel rose from the ground.

It had a pointed bell tower, stained-glass windows, and a crest depicting the sun and ears of wheat carved above the entrance.

It was a standard human structure, radiating a gentle and welcoming aura.

John deliberately chose not to use Undead Conversion on this altar.

"Priests need to exercise independent judgment. If I turn them into undead, their intelligence will be too low. They’ll only follow orders mechanically, which defeats the whole purpose."

With that thought, John opened the recruitment interface.

[Unit Altar: Priest]

[Tier: Five-Star]

[Level: 1]

[Recruitment Cost: 120 Gold Coins per unit]

[Recruitment Time: 18 hours per unit]

"Recruit 100 Priests."

[12,000 Gold Coins deducted.]

[10,000× Acceleration activated...]

The chapel doors slowly swung open, and one hundred female Priests dressed in green robes filed out.

Unlike the undead, their skin looked perfectly normal, and their eyes still held a lively, intelligent light.

Each carried a wooden staff topped with a gemstone emitting a soft green glow.

John opened the status panel of the female Priest at the front.

[Unit: Priest]

[Tier: Five-Star (Mid-Tier)]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: 800]

[Attack: 600]

[Defense: 150]

[Trait: Half-Undead Body (Immune to fear, feels no pain, retains independent judgment)]

[Skill 1: Healing Light (Lv1 · Active): Restores HP equal to 150% of Attack to a single allied target and removes one negative status effect. Cooldown: 20 seconds.]

[Skill 2: Purification Field (Lv1 · Active): Creates a purification field in a designated area, continuously restoring HP equal to 30% of Attack per tick to all allied units within a 5 m × 5 m area for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 40 seconds.]

[Skill 3: Holy Light Protection (Lv1 · Active): Grants a single allied target a holy shield that absorbs damage equal to 200% of Attack for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]

John glanced over the panel and nodded.

They were somewhat stronger than four-star units, but nothing particularly remarkable.

All three skills were support-oriented, with no offensive capabilities whatsoever.

Still, that was more than enough for the native inhabitants living in his territory.

"You will remain here and protect the safety of the native inhabitants."

John issued the order.

All one hundred Priests bowed simultaneously before quietly withdrawing to the southern side of the castle, where they established their quarters near the chapel.

With all the unit recruitment taken care of, John stood before the castle gates and took stock of his current forces.

1,500 Undead Spearmen, 100 Undead Sentinels, and 150 Undead Dark Knights.

Added to that were the 1,000 Undead Dragon Knights, 200 Undead Frost Mages, and 100 Priests he had recruited that day.

And, of course, Ophelia, his SSS-Rank Primordial Ancient Dragon Hero.

His total force now numbered just over 3,000 units.

John glanced at the resource panel in the upper-right corner.

[Gold Coins: 195,572]

[Food: 83,241]

[Wood: 63,860]

[Stone: 45,400]

[Iron Ore: 57,900]

Tonight had certainly been expensive.

Building a castle and three altars, then recruiting a large number of Dragon Knights, had consumed a considerable amount of Gold Coins and construction materials.

The only resource that had barely been touched was meat, which had mostly gone toward feeding Gru and the other villagers.

But for John, these expenses were hardly worth worrying about.

"Phew."

He let out a long breath, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting into a smile.

John was certain that his current lineup put him ahead of every other new lord on the server.

It was genuinely satisfying.

As he looked away from the resource panel, he noticed another item in his inventory that he had almost forgotten.

[Epic Resource Plot ×1]

"Almost forgot about you."

John opened its details.

A pale golden holographic display appeared in the air. At its center was a miniature farmland.

Golden rice stalks swayed gently in the breeze. The field boundaries were neatly arranged, with irrigation channels crisscrossing the land.

Several lines of golden text floated beside it.

[Item: Epic Resource Plot — Bountiful Rice Paddy]

[Quality: Epic]

[Type: Territory Production Building]

[Description: A special rice paddy blessed by the power of abundance. It reliably produces high-quality crops, with a cultivation cycle of 24 hours and one harvest per day.]

[Yield: Upon each harvest, produces 10,000 Meat and 10,000 Wheat.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 10 Life Springs, 50,000 Basic Wood, 50,000 Basic Stone, and 50,000 Basic Gold Coins.]

[Current Level: Lv1 (One harvest per day, producing 20,000 units of food)]

John’s eyes lit up as he read the yield.

Ten thousand units of food every day.

His territory currently had just over fifty inhabitants, so that would be more than enough to feed them.

He wouldn’t need to go out of his way to gather food anymore. That would save him a considerable amount of trouble.

With that in mind, John designated a location near the castle for the Resource Plot.

The moment the coverage of his 10,000× Acceleration talent took effect, the soil in the empty space began to churn.

Golden rice stalks burst through the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye. They grew taller, sprouted ears, filled with grain, and ripened.

The entire process took less than the blink of an eye.

In an instant, a golden rice field covered the entire clearing.

"But it can only be harvested once a day. If I want multiple harvests, I’ll have to upgrade it."

John muttered to himself.

As a production-focused lord in his previous life, he was no stranger to Resource Plots like this.

Upgrading it was merely a matter of time.

"No rush. I’ll deal with that when I have some free time."

John put the matter aside and checked the time.

[Godfall Battlefield Standard Time: 01:27:43]

It was already half past one in the morning.

He yawned, and exhaustion began creeping from his eyes into his mind.

Two consecutive days of intense progression, combined with the construction and recruitment operations he had just completed, had finally begun to wear him down.

John turned and walked back into the castle.

The Lord’s Hall had been almost completely tidied up. After placing the last of the supplies into storage, Gru and the villagers had already left.

Only a few magical crystal lamps remained lit inside the hall.

John climbed the stone staircase to the second floor.

At the end of the corridor was the master bedroom he had designed for himself. There was also an empty bedroom next door.

He called down the stairs.

"Ophelia."

A moment later, a silver-haired figure appeared at the foot of the staircase.

Ophelia walked up to the second floor and stopped in front of John, her dark golden slit pupils carrying a hint of curiosity.

"My Lord?"

"This room is yours from now on."

John pointed toward the empty bedroom.

Ophelia paused slightly, then lowered her head.

"Thank you, my Lord."

John nodded and turned back toward his own room.

He closed the door, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

The bed in the castle was far more comfortable than the wooden cot in his hut on the first day.

...