Chapter 707: Nightfall (V)

Amund was right. Rhode indeed had the intentions to do so.

Rhode came up with a few ideas after listening to Beni's words. In fact, he lacked manpower the most at this moment. Even though many troops were stationed in the Fortress, he knew that they would leave for the other regions that required their attention more when situations arose. This was also the reason why Lydia had dispatched the Magic Warships here as they were responsible in defending the place and had to also act as transportation for the soldiers to other regions. This was the situation in war. Rhode was only an overlord, after all, and it would be a fantasy story if he counted on Lydia to hand all the troops to him.

It seems like I will need to rely on myself.

However, troops wouldn't simply fall from the sky. Rhode's only summon gate was linked to the Water Elemental world and it would be wishful thinking to count on the Ocean Elves to go against the Undead Army. If he had the summon gates that connected to the Star Temple or Steel Land, perhaps he could summon creatures that could deal with the Undead Army.

He had more than 3000 soldiers at the moment, which went to show how difficult it was to recruit them. On the other hand, it was extremely easy for the Undead Army in this aspect. They could recruit forces in any battlefields and graveyards. Also, they would correspond in large groups immediately without any grumbles and complaints.

Since he lacked the quantity, he would need to work with quality. Since he couldn't rely on quantity, he would need to count on their equipment. This was the current solution that he had. It was a pity that this wasn't the game. If not, he would have a much easier time gathering players and attacking the Country of Darkness from the rear.

Even though Rhode's request was asking for too much, he didn't think that there was anything wrong with it. In fact, Marlene's complexion turned pale as soon as she heard his views because this was disrespectful toward the Munn Kingdom. However, Rhode thought otherwise as it was only right for players with a high reputation to receive influential rewards. Therefore, Rhode's line of thought as a player came online when he heard Beni's words. Anyway, Lydia owed him a wish since she failed to cure Christie and had personally promised Rhode to keep the wish.

Of course, in the eyes of the ordinary people, using the wish to exchange for a bunch of wealth was simply an unspeakable behavior. However, Rhode didn't think so as he lacked money the most now. The reason was simple: after the previous battle, the construction system could once again be upgraded.

For him, this was a story full of blood and tears.

Previously, he thought of gaining EXP from eliminating the Undead Army. In fact, the two continuous victories had given him a lot of confidence and since there weren't any players around, he wouldn't need to share the EXP gained. Even though Mini Bubble Gum and Canary had terrible equipment, they were at their maximum level, after all, and had no demands for EXP. However, Rhode had miscalculated and missed out one person.

Orchid Heart.

As the only other presence that could level up on the battlefield, Orchid Heart had naturally took in a whole chunk of EXP. Even though the amount wasn't considered a lot compared to when Rhode had gained in the late game, she started from level one here, after all, and instantly reached level 35 after the battles, transcending into the Peak Elite Stage. But Spellcaster Scholar was unlike the battle classes like Mages and Swordsmen, so most people didn't realize it. But this was a tragedy for Rhode.

He discovered that he lacked 1500 EXP to reach level 60. 1500 EXP wasn't a lot as it was the amount from killing an Abomination. But now that the Undead Army had retreated, where could he find an Abomination to slaughter?

In the end, he had no choice but to choose another sacrificial product: Necromancer Simon who he had trapped in the cell.

Come to think of it, this fellow was truly unfortunate. His fate shouldn't be this tragic. Rhode always wished for an Undead Creature as his subordinate. Even though Humans in this world detested the Undead Creatures, they had to admit that the Undead Creatures had unique talents in achieving some insane attacks. Moreover, Rhode wasn't afraid that Simon would be up to no good since he had his Soul Core in possession, which was also why Simon could barely live on in the cell. But now... For the sake of the 1500 EXP, Rhode had no other choices.

Poor Necromancer. He died in Rhode's hands and even his ashes were taken in as EXP. What a tragedy.

After getting rid of Simon, Rhode took in 2000 EXP and broke through the level 60 barrier. From now onward, he had stepped into the Legendary Stage. But he couldn't find the time to upgrade his techniques and swordsmanship due to the need to deal with the battle aftermaths. However, he received another surprise. The system prompt reminded him: System Construction Upgrade.

And it was precisely because Rhode had seen the upgrade prompt that he made this choice.

After the system was upgraded, there were much more enhancement options for the city walls, Fortress, and bunker. But these weren't as important because Rhode discovered that a defense mechanism had also been unlocked: magic cannons.

Magic cannons were the most common defense weapons for medium to large-sized cities and fortresses. Due to the long manufacturing time and expensive cost, most fortresses used the magic cannons as their main defense and were assisted by catapults and supported by Archers and Mages, which formed a qualified and complete defense set-up. Judging from this aspect, Rhode's fortress was still incomplete. He didn't have magic cannons in his arsenal during the previous battle and only had a few catapults. If it weren't for Mini Bubble Gum and Canary, perhaps he wouldn't have won so easily.

However, this world was different. Although magical technology was advanced, they didn't invent movable artilleries like in the real world. Rhode asked Marlene out of curiosity and learned that the construction of magic cannons was complicated and it was challenging to move them about after assembly. Normally, it would take at least half a year to assemble one magic cannon and the amount of time needed also depended on the specific model and size. Magic cannons with stronger firepower required more time, so it might even take decades. Although it wasn't impossible for them to install wheels, there was no rubber in this world, after all. The wooden wheels jolting on bumpy grounds would damage the magic cannons and it would be terrible if it exploded from external damage. Unless they were in relatively stable environments like on the floating boats, it would be a bad idea to directly use the magic cannons on the battlefield. Therefore, in a besieging war, the Spellcasters were the main attacking force. A primitive equipment like the stone catapults were meaningless to both sides because a complete fortress had a defense barrier to defend against long-range attacks. Moreover, in this magical generation, there were countless ways to deal with the simple siege weapons.

All Rhode could do was to shrug helplessly. He thought that he could come up with some sort of tanks using the magic cannons, but it seemed impossible at this point.

But now, this was a good thing for him.

There were three biggest problems in the making of magic cannons: expensive, long manufacturing time, and rare raw materials. But these weren't problems for Rhode. He might not have enough money, but it didn't mean that the Munn Kingdom and Royal Highness Lydia lacked them.

The manufacturing time wasn't a problem for him. Even though he didn't know how exactly his system worked in this world, it was apparent that it was effective. He had built this Fortress quickly despite Mages needing years with their own methods. Not to mention, the production of a legendary artifact like the Holy Maiden Statue was much more challenging and complicated. However, everything would be created as long as he was willing to spend money and tap on the confirmation button on the system interface. Of course, perhaps he might require some materials like magic crystals, but the manufacturing speed would be much faster than usual.

The magic cannons operated on magical powers sourced from the magic spring. Every fortress would need a location to build the magic spring. In fact, it was the same from the Land of Atonement. Due to its location near the boundaries between two Creator Dragon Souls, the surging huge stream of magical powers had flown into the underground. Rhode had intended to build the magic spring here because not only could it provide unlimited source of power for the magic cannons, but it could also allow Mages to awaken their strength. It would be great if he could use this chance to form a team of Mages as he couldn't possibly make Canary and Mini Bubble Gum dominate the battlefield while others watched idly from behind. BOSSes would still bring their critters into battles.

This was also why Rhode had conveniently requested for two legendary armors and he felt rather guilty for Canary's injury. Of course, no matter how powerful a player was, a high-level armor was necessary apart from techniques and talents. He had Canary wear a level 40 armor to defend against a level 75 spell. Unless she had a hidden bloodline, she wouldn't win even with higher magical resistance.

However, Rhode had held back. Even though he wanted the legendary armors, he would only be borrowing them. Although the two armors were considered extraordinary in ordinary people's eyes, they were still lacking in the players' eyes. Back then, Mini Bubble Gum's 'Pure Storm' and Canary's 'Infinite Element Protection' armor sets were supreme and had made countless players crazy over them. Of course, the two young ladies had spent a lot of time and effort in completing a series of insanely difficult missions to receive them.

However, it would be great enough for them to use the armor temporarily.

After the arrival of the Battle Angel Army, the entire Fortress had entered a state of peace and tranquility and Rhode also finally had the time for a break to ponder on his 'promotion'.