Chapter 68: Upgrading the Lord’s Cabin!

Chapter 68: Upgrading the Lord's Cabin! (Please subscribe)

At this moment, Cao Xing was indeed tempted; he really wanted to take in all of these tree spirits.

However, there were fourteen members of the Tree Spirit Clan here.

And Cao Xing's territory population was already nearing its limit.

[Current Population: 41/50]

"But that's not a big problem."

"My Lord's Cabin will be upgraded to Level 2 soon."

"When that happens, the population limit will double."

Cao Xing looked back at his territory.

Under the construction efforts of four subjects,

the Lord's Cabin had gradually transformed from a single-story wooden cabin into a two-story stone building, complete with ventilation windows.

Cao Xing took a look.

[Level 1 Lord's Cabin: Construction Progress 87%]

It was almost done; it would probably only take another half hour to complete the construction.

So, Cao Xing said, "I can take in these members of the Tree Spirit Clan."

Hearing this, not only the merchant Hilton,

but also the members of the Tree Spirit Clan showed looks of joy on their faces.

"Lord Hilton, what price are you asking for these members of the Tree Spirit Clan?"

Hilton pondered for a moment. "The Tree Spirit Clan is a powerful race, and they possess decent combat talent."

"There are fourteen tree spirits here. According to market price, it's about 5,000 crowns per person…"

"Fourteen tree spirits would be 70,000 crowns. With a discount for you, that will be 65,000 crowns."

"Lord Cao Xing, what do you think?"

Cao Xing grumbled inwardly. That was really expensive!

You had to know that even if one went to the city to buy ordinary human slaves, it would only cost about one or two thousand crowns.

This price was three to four times higher.

As expected, while the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce was willing to take in the Tree Spirit Clan, they were still making a massive profit off them.

However, considering the unique nature of the Tree Spirit Clan, Cao Xing still nodded.

"Alright. In addition to that, I also need 100 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition and a bottle of Elixir of Vitality."

Cao Xing was almost out of ammunition, so he took this opportunity to replenish his stock.

Hearing this, Hilton's smile widened. He squinted and said, "The ammunition and the elixir come to 50,000 crowns in total. After a discount, it's 45,000 crowns."

"In total, you only need to pay me 110,000 crowns."

Cao Xing nodded and took out 110,000 crowns, feeling utterly speechless in his heart.

Damn it, he had just earned over 100,000 from the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce, and in the blink of an eye, he was trading it back.

It really was a case of spending it right where he made it—not a single penny could be taken home.

The two parties completed another transaction.

Hilton's eyes were practically squinted shut with laughter.

He realized that Cao Xing was simply his lucky star.

Not only did he get precious black diamonds from him, but he also got rid of a batch of tree spirits and earned a large amount of crowns.

The more he looked at Cao Xing, the more pleasing he found him.

At the same time,

those tree spirits were also brought over by the guards.

Hilton looked at this group of pale-skinned Tree Spirit Clan members and said, "From today onward, you belong to Lord Cao Xing."

"He is an important partner of our Black Lion Chamber of Commerce. You must obey Lord Cao Xing's orders and absolutely must not disobey."

Upon hearing this, the tree spirits all knelt down and said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord."

Cao Xing nodded.

At this point, seeing that the transaction was complete, Hilton tactfully said, "Lord Cao Xing, the transaction is complete, so I won't disturb you any further."

Cao Xing replied, "Alright, Lord Hilton. Safe travels."

Hilton made a prayer gesture toward Cao Xing. "May the Father of All Gods bless you."

With that, Hilton led his caravan once again, disappearing into the vast snowy expanse.

Only the 14 tree spirits remained on the field, still kneeling on the ground.

As guardians of the Pale Tree, they were naturally highly cold-resistant. Even though they only wore clothes made of leaves, they could survive for a long time in extremely low temperatures.

Cao Xing did not immediately send them recruitment invitations. Instead, he said, "Stand up, all of you. Follow me into the territory first."

Although it was currently the novice protection period, lords had the authority to open their territories to other NPCs.

The tree spirits obediently stood up and then carefully stepped into Cao Xing's territory.

Nive, who possessed elite potential, stood in the crowd, looking very inconspicuous.

Da Zhuang, Cao Yi, and the others were all looking curiously at this new batch of subjects.

Cao Xing said directly, "Cao Yi, speed up the upgrade progress of the Lord's Cabin."

The subject Cao Yi immediately responded, "As you command, Lord!"

"Da Zhuang, upgrade more shelters so our new members have a place to live."

"Happy to be of service, my master."

"Dahua, go prepare food for our new members."

Dahua also accepted the order and began leading people into the [Cafeteria] to prepare the second meal of the day.

With uneasy hearts, the Tree Spirit Clan members watched this man issue orders one by one.

Then, they stood by the bonfire, waiting silently.

Half an hour later, Cao Xing heard a system prompt.

[Your Lord's Cabin has been successfully upgraded. Current Level: 2]

[Population Limit +50, Reputation +200]

[Current Population: 41/100]

[Territory buildings such as the Blacksmith Shop, Ore Processing Plant, Tailor Shop, and Cafeteria… can now be upgraded to Level 2.]

Seeing the two-story stone house fully take shape, a look of joy appeared on Cao Xing's face!

Great, it's finally upgraded to Level 2!

However, this time, the system did not award any prizes.

Thinking about it, that was normal.

After all, with such a massive base of humans worldwide, it was only natural that someone had built a Level 2 Lord's Cabin before him.

Cao Xing turned around, looked at the waiting Tree Spirit Clan members, and asked,

"So, I now invite you to join my territory. Are you willing?"

This group of tree spirits immediately knelt down.

"We are willing to serve you, respected Lord."

A large stack of system prompts appeared.

[Recruitment successful. Tree Spirit Clan: Ubel Lv.5, Tree Spirit Clan: Anita Lv.6, Tree Spirit Clan: Nive Lv.5… have joined your territory.]

Cao Xing nodded. "Very well."

Then he took a look at their loyalty.

They were all between 60 and 70, which wasn't very high.

As for the elite Tree Spirit Clan member among them,

when Cao Xing looked over, Nive instinctively lowered her head, not daring to meet his gaze.

Cao Xing didn't mind.

A Tier 1 elite wasn't that important to him.

As long as she was obedient and willing to work, it was fine.

Thus, Cao Xing said, "In that case, you can head to the Cafeteria now and get some food to replenish your strength."

Hearing this, the Tree Spirit Clan members looked at Cao Xing nervously, but none of them moved.

Cao Xing was taken aback. "What's wrong?"

At this moment, a tall and mature-looking Tree Spirit Clan woman stepped forward and said, "Respected Lord, we of the Tree Spirit Clan are used to living in the wild. If you just give us some dry bread, we can eat outside, so as not to dirty your floors."

…