Chapter 2: Organizing the Troops and Preparing for Battle

Putting down the documents in his hand, Li Bin understood that all the chaos had begun when the flying mobile base appeared in his territory. What had initially been player-organized actions soon turned into coordinated operations under the instigation of those residing in the Vampire Castle. Players who refused to join this organization were purged entirely, and from this alone, it was clear that the Vampire Castle had already started to treat Li Bin’s territory as its own.

Three days ago, after consolidating the players’ forces, the Vampire Castle seized the Hill Stone Mine, imprisoned Wine Jar, and raised its own war banner. Only then did Tuo Dina and her companions learn all the details about the Vampire Castle through the Dark Guild. The Castle originated from a player’s territory about five thousand kilometers to the west, and its current master was likely one of that player’s heroes. Their purpose was simple: having heard the territory’s lord was absent, they intended to seize it as an outlying domain.

How Li Bin might retaliate upon his return was not something they concerned themselves with; in their view, a lord who had lost his territory could not possibly muster much power. Even if Li Bin managed a sudden return, patrolling players within the territory would stall him until their main forces arrived, and then Li Bin would simply be throwing himself into the jaws of death.

What they never anticipated was Li Bin’s ability to reappear directly inside Ghost Butterfly City, nor his arrival with a contingent of even more powerful troops.

After reviewing the enemy’s information, Li Bin asked casually, “How many troops do we currently have at our disposal?”

“Ever since your departure, we’ve managed Ghost Butterfly City according to your instructions,” Tuo Dina replied. “All basic units trained here were formed into patrol squads and sent out. Only those reaching level six are recalled to the city for duty. Later, with the sudden influx of players, many patrol squads were wiped out, so at present, we have only two companies of level six skeleton warriors, one company of level six corpse soldiers, and seven squads of level six ghost soldiers.”

“What about those at level five and below?” Li Bin frowned.

“Three battalions of skeleton warriors, one battalion of corpse soldiers, and six companies of ghost soldiers,” Tuo Dina answered.

“How many advanced archers do we have?”

“If we disregard rank and race, we have nearly a battalion of archers,” she replied.

Li Bin pondered for a moment, then turned to Gru, “Go select them. I want the best. Make sure every hero has a company of Phantom Undead Archers under their command.”

“But that will be quite costly,” Gru protested immediately. Money might not be an issue for Li Bin, but the consumption of crystals could not be ignored.

“I’ll mobilize the energy right away and build a training facility—let’s call it the Undead Jungle. That should reduce the cost of training troops, right?” Li Bin asked.

“Yes,” Gru confirmed. He knew that with a dedicated training ground, the energy stored in the crystals would not go to waste; a single unit of crystal could be converted into at least one squad of Phantom Undead Archers.

“Then go. Once every hero has a company of Phantom Undead Archers, the rest are yours to manage.” To ensure Gru’s utmost commitment, Li Bin offered a generous reward.

Except for Reed and Tade, all the heroes who knew the attributes of Phantom Undead Archers gazed at Gru with envy; they too wished for such a force under their command.

Then Li Bin said, “Tuo Dina, you are a Soul Naga, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Tuo Dina replied, puzzled as to why Li Bin was asking about her.

“You must possess the secret art to convert Naga corpses. I have two squads of Naga Queen corpses here; how many troops can you convert in the coming days?” Li Bin asked calmly.

“Naga Queens at level nine?” Tuo Dina responded excitedly. “Given enough time, I can convert all of them into level nine Spectral Nagas, every single one.”

“Then get to it. Remember to assign one squad to me when you’re done.” Li Bin waved her away.

After Tuo Dina left, Li Bin turned his gaze to the remaining heroes, and each one he looked at was filled with excitement.

Finally, his eyes moved past Shen Ling and settled on Dierdrie. “Dierdrie, how many Harpy troops are left in the city?”

“Harpy troops are hard to train. Now, we have only three squads of Harpy Poison Mist, three squads of Harpy Ghost Spikes, and three squads of Harpy Banshees,” Dierdrie answered honestly.

“Has Lidas sent any reinforcements?” Li Bin asked.

“Lidas is defending her city, so the Spider City troops have not been transferred here, but she has sent three squads of Forest Hunters, three squads of Swamp Assassins, and two Valkyries.”

“Assign all these units under Shen Ling’s command,” Li Bin said, turning his gaze to Shen Ling. “Take these troops and keep those players stalled fifty kilometers outside Ghost Butterfly City for five days. Bring me ten level eight corpses each day, along with other bodies as you find them.”

“No problem.” Shen Ling grabbed her spear and strode out.

Li Bin looked at Dierdrie and smiled, “Feeling unwilling?”

“I dare not,” Dierdrie lowered her head.

“There’s nothing to fear. If I were in your position, I’d feel the same,” Li Bin said with a smile, placing something in front of Dierdrie. “Take this and see to it as you see fit.”

Dierdrie picked it up and found it was a Crystal Prayer Altar. With a priest praying on this altar, all troops within its area could be healed, exorcised, or even revived, and the magic consumed would be less than half of the usual amount.

Realizing the altar’s properties, Dierdrie exclaimed, “Master, this—”

“This was given to me by Carter after I helped him create the Construct Lich. I have no use for it, so I’m entrusting it to you. It covers an area within a fifty-kilometer radius, making it perfect for Ghost Butterfly City. From now on, your priests will be responsible for supporting our troops in foreign engagements,” Li Bin said.

Seeing Li Bin’s firm gaze, Dierdrie quickly stood up. “Master, rest assured, I will take care of everything here.”

Li Bin smiled faintly and dismissed her. Then he turned to the remaining few and asked, “What about you? Do you have any requests?”

Little Carter knew that Li Bin wanted Shen Ling to bring back level eight corpses for his Necromancers, so he said nothing.

Reed and Tade commanded only single types of soldiers and had no further questions, but Shui Yuetian kept glancing around, as if wanting to say something.

Li Bin smiled, “Shui Yuetian, if you have something to say, speak up…”

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I’m ready to give it my all today and see if I can break through—everyone, cheer me on!
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