"Heave ho, heave ho!"
Outside the city, in the military camp, new recruits, shirtless, were doing squats with massive logs.
The deployment of advanced blood pills had given these recruits a transformative experience. Their physical condition now was such that even the men under Hei Lu might not be able to match them.
"Boss, you're being so unfair."
Following Chen Yu closely, like a personal attendant, Hei Lu couldn't help but pout as he watched the new recruits of Fengqi City train.
"When we recruited soldiers in Free Town, you just handed over the reins to us brothers and didn't interfere at all. Look at you here in Fengqi City."
When recruiting soldiers in Free Town, Chen Yu truly hadn't thought much about it. At that time, the town needed soldiers who could provide a sense of security to the citizens. Hei Lu and the others had just integrated their divine generals, and Chen Yu wanted to empower them, so he didn't interfere much with the recruitment process. Chen Yu was confident that he had invested more effort in the construction of Free Town. As for recruitment, Fengqi City was indeed more diligent.
"Are you complaining to me?" Chen Yu glanced sideways at him. "But the equipment supply was always prioritized for you. From your generals to your soldiers, who isn't wearing top-tier equipment with excellent attributes? Free Town even has dedicated personnel to select equipment attributes for you, which Fengqi City doesn't. Various cultivation resources are also preferentially provided to you. If you're not satisfied, have your legion come here to train."
"Forget it, they can't endure this hardship." Hei Lu grinned and shook his head. He knew his men best. While their strength was undeniable, with Chen Yu's tiger tally boosting their realm by +1, Hei Lu's soldiers were at least above Silver tier. Asking them to give up the convenience of their realms and have their cultivation sealed to undergo such arduous training was essentially asking for their lives. Moreover, he had his own training methods, and while the training methods in Fengqi City looked good, they didn't feel significantly different from his own.
"City Lord!"
As they spoke, upon learning of Chen Yu's visit to the camp, Ya Bo, along with a few brothers, also hurried over.
"Let's have you get acquainted," Chen Yu gestured towards Ya Bo and his companions. "This is Ya Bo, the military commander of Fengqi City." He then pointed to Hei Lu beside him. "Hei Lu, one of my most capable generals in the past, and now also a military commander of a region."
"Oh, Brother Hei Lu, I've heard of you," Ya Bo nodded slightly. "I heard a legion arrived in Fengqi City a month ago and cleared out all the surrounding encampments within days. Their commanding general's strength is remarkable, and his generals are all skilled warriors. I've long wanted to meet you."
"I haven't heard your name," Hei Lu murmured.
"You will." In matters of intellect, there's no first, but in martial arts, there's no second. Hei Lu followed Chen Yu when they entered the dungeon, while Ya Bo followed from Fengqi City. They didn't have much camaraderie, so it was natural for them to have a competitive spirit. Chen Yu didn't intend to interfere with this. If anything, they could spar. As long as no one was killed, the bonds between generals were forged through battles.
"Is that so? Then I'm truly looking forward to hearing your renowned name." Ya Bo said, crossing his arms and smiling lazily, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
*Ding*
Just then, a message arrived on his wristband. Chen Yu glanced at it and then looked up at Ya Bo and Hei Lu.
"You are both commanders. Exchange some experiences with each other."
"No problem, I'll teach Commander Ya Bo well," Hei Lu chuckled and said with a slight哼. "Let's go, Commander Ya Bo, show me your barracks, and I'll give you some pointers."
"Please!"
As the generals departed, Chen Yu directly sent a video invitation to Yu Pu.
"Old Yu, are you ready?" Chen Yu asked impatiently as soon as the image appeared on the projection. His visit to the camp was prompted by Yu Pu's message that the first batch of equipment needed had been refined. Chen Yu had decided to go directly to the camp to receive the equipment and immediately put it into training.
"Everything is ready." A honest smile appeared on Yu Pu's face. "As you said, half will be kept for Free Town, and the other half will be given directly to you. We are currently in the process of inventorying. The goblin artifact refiners said they need to inspect the quality. If the refined quality is not up to par, they want to melt it down and refine it again."
"Didn't they perform quality checks when it was forged?" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, they will check. They're just afraid there might be some oversights," Yu Pu said with a smile. "An additional check will give me peace of mind when it's handed over to you."
Almost the moment Yu Pu finished speaking, goblin artifact refiners appeared behind him. After a brief conversation, a goblin artifact refiner handed Yu Pu a ring.
"All checks are complete. I'll send it to you now." Yu Pu concentrated and operated his device. Less than half a minute later, Chen Yu received a gift from Yu Pu. A ring, not exquisitely made, appeared in Chen Yu's hand. With a thought, he entered the ring. Inside, various weapons were piled up: long spears, spiked clubs, bows, and the shields Chen Yu needed. Amidst the numerous weapons, Chen Yu discovered an interesting weapon in the center.
"Is this... a Zhuge Crossbow?" Chen Yu said with a hint of suspicion as he took out a crossbow bolt from the ring.
"There are such weapons in the dungeon."
"This, this weapon doesn't exist in the dungeon. I drew the blueprint for the crossbow and gave it to the goblin artifact refiners to produce," Yu Pu said with a smile. "Didn't you say you wanted the weapons to be diverse? So, I casually drew a few designs, and they turned out quite well. I've tested them, and they are more convenient to use than bows."
"I didn't realize you had this skill," Chen Yu smiled. Chen Yu was certain that when Yu Pu handed over the crossbow blueprints to the goblin artifact refiners, it wasn't just a rough outline. He must have detailed the internal mechanics as well. Otherwise, the goblin artifact refiners, who had never encountered such a weapon, wouldn't have been able to achieve such detail.
"Ah, before I came into the dungeon, I used to do wilderness survival programs. I had some exposure to various survival tools and weapons, so it's nothing noteworthy," Yu Pu said humbly, shaking his head. "Try this crossbow with your subordinates. If they find it easy to use and you think it's good, I'll have them make more crossbows in the next batch."
"No problem, can I have a copy of your blueprint too?"
"Of course!" Yu Pu agreed without a moment's hesitation. "The blueprint isn't with me right now, but I'll send it to you as soon as I get back. I also have many other blueprint designs. I'll send them to you so you can take a look and tell me which weapons you like, and I'll have those goblin artifact refiners forge them."
"Don't they need to rest?"
"As long as you provide enough ore, they are willing to refine artifacts day and night. If I tell them to rest, they simply don't listen."
"Alright, don't worry about the ore supply, it will be sufficient. I'll go test the effectiveness of the crossbow."
"Take your time, we'll be in touch anytime."