Chapter 106、Be the Hero of the Age!

"Over twenty thousand soldiers? That's more than the total population of the settlement!"

Yi Bai gasped, the enormity of the situation hitting him. "A small population, but a huge army... How am I supposed to feed them all?"

The problem was deadly serious. Soldiers were not just units of power—they were living beings. They needed food, rest, and shelter. Forget about whether the settlement even had enough housing to accommodate them; the sheer amount of food and resources needed to sustain an army of twenty thousand was enough to send Yi Bai into despair.

Even though the settlement's resources were well-stocked, they were nowhere near enough to sustain such a vast army on a daily basis.

"Damn it… If only the army could benefit from the vassal's blessing, too." Yi Bai sighed deeply.

Feeding the residents wasn't an issue—thanks to the vassal pact, whatever Yi Bai ate, they ate too. There was no shortage of resources as long as everyone stayed under that agreement. But the army was a different matter entirely. He'd managed to feed a 500-man army with ease, but now, with an additional twenty thousand soldiers, the current settlement couldn't possibly support such a massive force. Even just one meal for them felt like an impossible task.

"Should I summon them now?"

Yi Bai hesitated, staring at the screen in front of him.

[You currently lack sufficient space to deploy all the units from your talent reward. Please move to an area with more available space.]

[Please complete the placement of the recruited units before the next talent reward is triggered, or you will lose all units from this recruitment.]

"24 hours to decide... Damn!" Yi Bai cursed as he rushed to the communication terminal and urgently contacted Jiang Xiaoci.

"Sir."

As always, Jiang Xiaoci was quick to respond to Yi Bai's call, even after he'd summoned her repeatedly that day.

"This is bad!" Yi Bai took a deep breath to calm himself before relaying the situation. He explained his recent reward and his current concerns.

"A twenty thousand-strong army?"

Jiang Xiaoci's face froze. No joy lit up her expression—only shock and deep concern. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the information.

"Sir, this... might not be a good thing," she said gently.

Yi Bai raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We can't recruit them? Let them disappear? Be recalled?"

Jiang Xiaoci gave a faint smile. "Sir, would you really want to do that?"

"Of course I wouldn't!" Yi Bai shot to his feet. "Xiaoci, this is a twenty thousand-strong army! With this army, I could sweep the whole city—no, I could sweep the entire country!"

He was absolutely thrilled. What man didn't dream of wielding a vast army, taking charge of the world? This opportunity was within his grasp, and he couldn't let a lack of resources keep him from growing his military might. If he missed this chance, the regret would haunt him forever.

"Then, Sir, you need to make a hard choice." Jiang Xiaoci lowered her voice, a cool tone creeping in. "We can feed the army by conquering more resources. If we don't have enough, we'll just take what others have."

"Xiaoci, who are you talking about?" Yi Bai asked.

"The ones in the city center, and Little White Bear," Jiang Xiaoci replied calmly. "I've been having people gather intel on them. We've confirmed that both have large stockpiles of resources—enough to sustain the well-known settlement and attract many survivors."

She smiled slightly. "We fight to feed the army. That's how we break the stalemate."

Yi Bai nodded. "You're right. It's not that I can't make the hard call, but… twenty thousand soldiers? Even if we conquer faster, we might not keep up with the consumption."

He sighed, looking out the window. "You should know better than anyone how much a twenty thousand-man army consumes every day. We might not last a single day at this rate."

"And even if we conquer strongholds, what if there's no food to support the army there? We could lose everything."

Yi Bai's heart was heavy. This was the core issue—no matter how strong his army was, without the necessary resources, it would collapse.

"Yes, Sir, you are correct," Jiang Xiaoci said, her voice growing even colder. "That's why we can't keep all these soldiers."

Yi Bai's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"You want me to… get rid of them? Recall them? Let them die?"

"You don't need to go that far, but it's close."

Jiang Xiaoci looked up, a lock of her hair swaying as she lifted her gaze. She gave him a small, teasing smile, the suggestion in her voice subtle yet dangerous. "We can't feed twenty thousand soldiers in the short term. So, let's be ruthless and sacrifice half of them."

"Half… of them?" Yi Bai repeated, confused.

"Yes," she continued, her voice almost a whisper. "Did you forget that you can donate war points? It's not limited to items, you can donate personnel units, too."

She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice further. "Right now, no one else can produce a thousand quality military personnel in one go. If you donate half the army, you'll still see a massive improvement in your strength."

Yi Bai's eyes widened as the weight of her words sank in. "Donate a thousand? But what if… what if the army is needed later? The war will be long, and if I don't have them when I need them…"

Jiang Xiaoci's eyes gleamed with a sharp intellect. "Sir, you don't need to worry about that. You can always donate soldiers again in the future. And, with your special talent, you have a continuous supply of army units. You could supply the government's war effort indefinitely."

Yi Bai stared at her, slowly understanding. He could donate the soldiers now, then later use the same method to re-summon fresh troops to support the ongoing war. This was a long-term advantage.

"Yes!" Yi Bai said, a grin spreading across his face. "We can donate a thousand soldiers! If we keep doing this, we'll have a steady stream of soldiers for the war effort—and all the war points we need!"

He paused, a darker thought creeping into his mind. "And the soldiers I summon will be loyal to me… If they die in battle and come back to me, then… I'll always have an army to command!"

He shuddered at the thought, but quickly shook it off. That future was too far away, too terrifying to consider now.

"Are you still hesitant, Sir?" Jiang Xiaoci asked, her tone now soothing and confident. "We can't control the future, but we can control the present. The war effort will continue, and you've always stayed true to your principles."

Yi Bai took a deep breath, his resolve hardening. "You're right. We have to act now."

He stood tall, his voice filled with determination. "Find a suitable location. I'll recruit my army!"

"No," he corrected himself. "I'll recruit the nation's reserve forces!"

He raised a fist into the air. "I will top the war points leaderboard!"