Chapter 60 – Guardians of the Territory

Cheng Yang wasted no time in offering the blueprint for the Guardian Hall at the altar. Immediately, the Guardian Hall appeared as a constructable building in the territory’s properties.

Guardian Hall: A special structure where the lord can recruit territory guardians. The strength of the guardians is related to the lord’s power, while their numbers depend on the territory’s level. Construction Requirements: 500 units of wood.

Without a doubt, the Guardian Hall had the lowest construction requirements among special buildings—a fact Cheng Yang already knew.

Currently, Phoenix Village had over 500 units of wood. If used to build the shops, they could immediately complete all the necessary structures for a Level 2 village. However, due to the limitations of spiritual energy, even if Cheng Yang built the shops, he couldn’t upgrade Phoenix Village right away. Thus, he decided to prioritize constructing the Guardian Hall.

After a brief hesitation, Cheng Yang chose to build the Guardian Hall.

A dazzling multicolored light erupted from the ground near the profession statues, quickly forming a virtual ancient palace-like structure. In moments, the light faded, revealing a majestic building resembling a grand temple hall.

The villagers of Phoenix Village were no longer surprised by such phenomena. Just yesterday, they had witnessed an even more spectacular event.

Cheng Yang swiftly entered the hall. As the lord, only he had the authority to enter. In his previous life, little information about the Guardian Hall’s interior had been revealed, so Cheng Yang was filled with curiosity.

Upon stepping inside, Cheng Yang felt a slight disappointment. The hall was entirely empty, save for five oddly dressed individuals standing around the perimeter.

Their attire was peculiar compared to modern clothing. Even the current combatants’ outfits were evolving toward the bizarre. However, these five individuals looked far more imposing than Cheng Yang and his companions.

“Greetings, Lord. Welcome to the Guardian Hall. How may we assist you?” The nearest figure, clad in heavy armor, spoke respectfully. His appearance suggested he was a warrior.

Cheng Yang set aside his curiosity and replied, “Respected warrior, may I know your name?”

“I am Long Zhan, a Master-level warrior,” the man answered.

Cheng Yang nodded. “I’m here to hire territory guardians. What do I need to do?”

Long Zhan smiled. “It’s simple, Lord. You only need to expend a certain amount of spiritual energy to hire the corresponding guardians. Here, you can hire warrior-class guardians. The other stations allow you to recruit mages, archers, summoners, and priests. If you wish to hire more diverse professions in the future, you’ll need to construct the corresponding profession statues in your territory.”

Cheng Yang immediately understood. The types of guardians he could hire were tied to the profession statues in his territory.

Suddenly, a question arose. “Is there a limit to how many guardians I can hire for each profession?”

“Naturally,” Long Zhan replied. “The number of guardians you can hire for each profession cannot exceed one-tenth of the total number of people who have undergone that profession’s transformation.”

Cheng Yang felt a pang of disappointment. One-tenth seemed too small. Even if he acquired special profession statues in the future, he wouldn’t be able to hire many guardians.

*Well, one-tenth is better than nothing,* Cheng Yang consoled himself. “What do I need to do after hiring the guardians?”

Long Zhan patiently explained, “Territory guardians are similar to combatants like yourselves. The only difference is that the strength of the guardians you initially recruit depends on your own power. Their strength will increase as you grow stronger, but to learn skills corresponding to their level, they must return here for training. This training also consumes spiritual energy, at the same rate as the profession statues. Additionally, guardians require equipment, which you must provide.”

Cheng Yang was startled. “I have to provide the spiritual energy for their skill training too? That’s…”

“Don’t worry, Lord. I haven’t finished,” Long Zhan said calmly. “While it’s true that you must cover all their expenses, all their gains will unconditionally belong to you. Since they don’t need to cultivate, the benefits you receive will far outweigh the costs.”

Cheng Yang’s eyes lit up. If the guardians’ gains were entirely his, providing equipment was a small price to pay. The spiritual energy required for skill training was negligible in comparison.

*No wonder that stronghold in my previous life could rival the military-occupied Phoenix Village. The Guardian Hall must have played a crucial role.*

“Am I currently limited to hiring guardians one minor rank below me?” Cheng Yang asked.

Long Zhan shook his head. “No, Lord. You can only hire guardians one minor rank below you. That’s the rule now and will remain so in the future.”

Cheng Yang sensed something amiss. “How much spiritual energy is required for hiring?”

Long Zhan smiled approvingly. “Currently, hiring an Intermediate Apprentice-level combatant costs around 200 points of spiritual energy. In the future, hiring an Advanced Apprentice-level combatant will cost 400 points. As the guardians’ strength increases, so will the required spiritual energy.”

This was excellent news. Obtaining the Guardian Hall early was a significant advantage. If he had acquired it later, the cost of hiring a single guardian would have been exorbitant.

Long Zhan glanced at Cheng Yang. “There’s more good news. As the first lord in your world to establish and hire guardians, the divine rules grant you three special slots.”

Cheng Yang was puzzled. “What are these special slots?”

“These slots allow you to hire three guardians whose strength matches yours exactly. Their power will also grow as you advance,” Long Zhan explained.

Cheng Yang was delighted. This was indeed a boon. However, he felt these special slots were more of a luxury. When his territory eventually had hundreds of guardians, how much impact could three slightly stronger ones have?

“Can I start hiring now?” Cheng Yang asked.

Upon receiving confirmation, Cheng Yang immediately requested to begin hiring territory guardians.

Long Zhan waved his hand, and a massive screen appeared, densely populated with names of available guardians. Clearly, Long Zhan’s station only offered warriors.

Cheng Yang examined the screen. The current page displayed a hundred names, and at the bottom, it indicated there were a thousand pages. This meant there were a hundred thousand warriors available for hire—and this was just for the warrior class.

The hiring cost for each guardian on this page was 200 points of spiritual energy, indicating they were all Intermediate Apprentice-level. Cheng Yang flipped through a few pages and confirmed that all were priced at 200 points.

“Long Zhan, how do I use the special slots you mentioned?” Cheng Yang asked curiously.

“If you decide to use a special slot for a warrior, the first warrior you hire will automatically be upgraded to Advanced Apprentice-level,” Long Zhan explained.

Cheng Yang nodded. “Then I’ll use one special slot to hire a warrior.”

As Cheng Yang prepared to randomly select a warrior, Long Zhan suddenly interjected, “Lord, I suggest you sort by hiring cost first.”

Cheng Yang turned to Long Zhan, who wore an indifferent expression. *There must be something more to this,* Cheng Yang thought. He followed the warrior’s advice and sorted the list by hiring cost.

Immediately, Cheng Yang noticed a difference. The top eleven warriors’ hiring costs were no longer 200 points. The highest was 1,000 points, while the next was 600 points.

“What’s going on here?” Cheng Yang asked, puzzled. “Are they not Intermediate Apprentice-level?”

“Of course not,” Long Zhan replied. “The difference in hiring costs is due to their talents. In the Guardian Hall, most guardians have A-level talents, all oriented toward combat. Their hiring cost at Intermediate Apprentice-level is 200 points. However, there are rare S-level talents, whose hiring cost is 600 points. If you’re incredibly lucky, you might even find an SS-level talent, priced at 1,000 points.”

Cheng Yang pressed further. “What’s the highest talent level?”

“That’s unknown,” Long Zhan said. “The talent ceiling for all guardians in the hall is determined by the highest talent in this world. As for how high your talents can reach, that depends on your efforts.”

Cheng Yang realized that his understanding of this world in his previous life had been severely limited. Even now, he was only scratching the surface.

“I see,” Cheng Yang said. “But if I hire these high-talent guardians, will more high-talent ones appear here?”

“Of course,” Long Zhan assured him. “The Guardian Hall produces one to three S-level talents daily and one to three SS-level talents monthly. However, the guardian list you see is shared globally. If someone else builds a Guardian Hall, they’ll see the same list. Whoever acts faster will secure the high-talent guardians.”

[System: Guardian Hall Constructed!]

Available Guardians: 100,000 (Warrior Class)
Special Slots: 3
Current Hiring Cost: 200-1,000 Spiritual Energy

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…