Chapter 23: You have done a great service
In the Lord's Hall, Edward paid no attention to the island's bustling chat channels. He knew without checking that they must be lively.
In just a short time, hundreds of thousands of professionals had sent him friend requests, including self-proclaimed campus beauties and goddesses, which only boosted his fame in the Worlds' Floating Isles.
Yet, Edward ignored them all. Women, at this stage, would only slow down his summoning of Angel. Besides, what campus beauty could compare to Angel?
At that moment, Edward's gaze was fixed on a blueprint Virginia had brought back. His expression was complex, a mix of slight disappointment and undeniable excitement.
It was a blueprint for Watchtowers. He was disappointed that it wasn't a higher-level or more unique blueprint, like one for a Blacksmith Shop. However, he was thrilled about the Watchtowers—it was exactly what he needed right now.
[TerritoryBlueprints]
[Type: Watchtowers]
[Usage: Three times (each use allows the construction of one basic Watchtower)]
[Construction Requirements: 100 units of wood, 50 units of stone]
[Special Reminder: Watchtowers are basic defensive structures for your Territory. With them, your Territory will have fundamental defense capabilities. However, do not rely solely on Watchtowers for security; military units are essential for protecting your Territory.]
"Three uses," Edward mused. "This blueprint lets me build three Watchtowers." He had always wondered why each blueprint had a 'number of uses.' Now he understood—some blueprints could be reused.
Without hesitation, Edward stepped outside his Territory. Near the Spirit Fields, he quickly erected three Watchtowers. After using the blueprint three times, it dissolved into countless sparkles and vanished.
"This is the main entrance to my future Territory," Edward declared. "We need to beef up the defenses here."
As for other areas of the Territory, he would consider building more Watchtowers once he acquired new blueprints.
As he spoke, three Watchtowers materialized nearby. They were wooden structures, about 20 feet tall. At the top of each Watchtower, three longbows were mounted, requiring no manual operation or additional arrows. Under the influence of the rules of the Worlds' Floating Isles, defensive structures like Watchtowers possessed the ability to automatically 'reload' and attack nearby enemies.
As long as they weren't toppled or destroyed, the Watchtowers would continuously target hostile units. It was quite magical.
"Now that the Watchtowers are built, all that's left are the Fences," Edward thought, growing more eager as he approached the final steps. He wished the Angel squad would immediately come up with a Fences blueprint so he could upgrade his Territory in sync.
But Edward knew that getting blueprints was a matter of luck. With good fortune, even hunting low-level monsters might yield a blueprint. With bad luck, all one could do was pray to the goddess of fortune.
Edward logged into the [Island Trading Platform] and checked the remaining time for the [Snake Armor] to be on the shelf. "In a few more hours, the instant buy period for the Snake Armor will pass, and it will go straight to auction."
The buy-it-now price of 3,000 gold coins was clearly too steep for any professional to handle outright, so the item was set to go to a second auction.
"Given the current financial capabilities of professionals, it's impossible to sell for thousands of gold coins," Edward mused. "My bottom line is 1,000 gold coins."
"If a professional can come up with 1,000 gold coins to bid for the Snake Armor, I'll sell it right away." The value of the [Snake Armor] naturally couldn't be measured by just 1,000 gold coins. However, Edward couldn't keep holding onto it either.
In a week or two, the Snake Armor could indeed fetch a higher price, but Edward didn't want to wait.
He had made up his mind to sell the [Snake Armor]. Even if it really sold for only 1,000 gold coins, that amount was enough for him to summon twenty twin-winged Angels.
Twenty twin-winged Angels could create much greater value for him within a week or two, whether it was the potential explosion of blueprints, equipment, or level upgrades. The profits would far exceed those 'few thousand gold coins.' It seemed like a loss, but it actually wasn't.
Edward said to himself, "In just over a day, individual professionals can't possibly come up with 1,000 gold coins, but those guild leaders, who control a large number of guild members..."
"Using the identity of a guild leader, it should be no problem to get a batch of gold coins from those guild members."
"So, a floor price of 1,000 gold coins is entirely achievable."
Selling the Snake Armor too cheaply would still be painful for him. He could only hope that those guild leaders would be smart enough to think of ways to gather gold coins. That way, the Snake Armor could indeed be sold.
...
Time flew by quickly, and before you knew it, it was noon. The auction for the [Snake Armor] hadn't started yet, but the Angel squad had already given Edward a pleasant surprise.
Of course, it wasn't another explosion of blueprints and equipment, but rather the successful implementation of his 'give and take' plan against the Goblins Tribe.
An hour earlier, GoblinsLenn and others had smoothly returned to the Goblins Tribe. Being away for a night wasn't usually a big deal.
However, Lenn and a few other Goblins were summoned by the Goblins tribe leader for questioning. The reason was that since yesterday, over a hundred Goblins had mysteriously disappeared from their tribe—a major issue.
Facing the interrogation of the Goblins tribe leader, Lenn calmly explained the situation. He claimed that they had accidentally discovered a cave dwelling belonging to the gray dwarves, which contained a large stash of food.
The Goblins who disappeared yesterday were guarding that food, but due to the onset of night, they were too afraid to return to the tribe. This time, they had come back to lead their tribe's people to transport the food.
After hearing Lenn's story, the Goblins tribe leader was thrilled. He did not doubt the truthfulness of Lenn's words because he believed that GoblinsLenn would not dare to lie to him or betray the Goblins Tribe.
After all, where could a weak Goblin go without the protection of the tribe?
Join another race?
That would be a death sentence, and life would only get more miserable. Moreover, limited by their lower intelligence, the Goblins tribe leader didn't even consider that possibility.
He quickly dispatched a whole team of Goblin warriors, along with over a hundred ordinary Goblins, to follow Lenn and others to the gray dwarves' cave dwelling.
"Lenn," the tribe leader said, patting Lenn on the shoulder. "You have done a great service. Once the food is successfully transported back, I will restore to you the honor of your father, Goblins Kork, and help you become a true Goblin warrior."
Lenn nodded eagerly: "Don't worry, chief, I will definitely bring back all the food."
Without waiting for the Goblins tribe leader to say anything more, he quickly led a long line of Goblins out of the tribe. All he wanted now was to see the holy messenger as soon as possible to avoid any mishaps. Fortunately, no accidents occurred along the way.
Nearly two hundred Goblins were successfully led into the encirclement of the Angel squad. Before the Goblins could react, they were surrounded by the blazing Angelic Flame, and dazzling holy light descended from the sky, enveloping all the Goblins.
The holy light, imbued with the purifying power of the holy flame, began to forcibly purify the souls of the Goblins under the control of the nine Angels.
With no levels to differentiate them, the purification was very straightforward.
In less than five minutes, nearly two hundred Goblins had all become followers of Edward, and their faith level had also reached the level of fanaticism.
"Hail the holy messenger."
"Praise the great Lord of Holy Light, may the holy light be eternal."
After the purification ceremony, nearly two hundred Goblins knelt on the ground in unison, creating a rather spectacular scene. Then, Virginia called GoblinsLenn again.
"You now return to the Goblins Tribe and say that you were intercepted by the gray dwarves while transporting the food, and immediate support is needed."
"At your command, holy messenger."
Lenn, leading a small team of Goblins, excitedly returned to the tribe. Not long after, the Goblins Tribe suffered another significant loss of Goblins…