Outfitting a laborer with the [Exquisite Chopping Axe], Rosen exchanged part of the Lord Coins he earned from hunting for Energy Crystal Stones to compensate for the energy depletion in his territory.
Having witnessed the might of the Undead Territory earlier, Rosen realized the importance of upgrading to a level two barracks.
Once level two troop types attack, his level one troops will be utterly powerless to resist.
Perhaps he, as a hero, can slay level two troop types, but two fists can't defeat four hands. He can't expect to single-handedly kill while his own troops stand idly by.
Moreover, a hero killing the Demon Race doesn't gain experience and cannot level up by killing monsters.
Rosen looked into the territory's instructions; to upgrade level two buildings, the main city must be at level two.
So the main city needs to be improved first.
Opening the main city interface, the upgrade button is visible but grayed out.
The required materials are 1000 Gold Coins and 1000 wood.
The wood value is only 750, still far from sufficient.
Seeing the sky dimming, Rosen also hears his mother calling for dinner in the main city.
The table is filled with three dishes and a soup, which is the usual meal for Rosen's family of three.
Since the main city does not provide food for the lord and family, it's still necessary to cook for themselves.
If Lord Coins are sufficient, hiring a chef in the future would make things much easier.
Rosen sees the three dishes are Braised Eggplant, Soybean Braised Pig Trotter, Garlic Oil Wheat Vegetable, and the soup is Radish Pork Rib Soup, all dishes he loves.
"We can't help with territory affairs, so we can only take care of your appetite. Just let us know in advance what you want to eat in the future."
After hearing his parents' words, Rosen breaks into a broad smile and takes a stack of cash from his pocket, placing it on the table.
"Mom and Dad, this is what I exchanged for Lord Coins, a total of five thousand yuan. Take it and use it, let me know if you need more."
Rosen enjoys the feeling of being wealthy; before, he always asked his parents for money, and now he finally feels proud to give back proactively.
His heart feels clear.
"The child has grown up." His father looks at Rosen drinking soup and says to his mother, "Keep the money. Later, buy something nourishing for the child as a reward."
After dinner, Rosen walks with his parents on the grass outside the main city to digest their food.
The lights on the main city illuminate a bright area, visible to a range of five kilometers, which is the main city's coverage range.
Beastman Laborers can still be seen tirelessly transporting gold from the mines.
While Rosen's troop types patrol near the territory, alert to any possible Demon Race invasions.
Laborers and troop types are life forms created by the territory, lacking some common human weaknesses, thus they do not feel fatigue, unlike some Demon Race that needs to rest.
Rosen checked the main city information, found that enough wood was gathered to reach 1000, and upgraded the main city.
Countdown: 10:00s.
The time needed to upgrade the main city is relatively long. Rosen is waiting for the main city upgrade to check the barracks and see if the materials for upgrading the barracks are sufficient.
Once the main city upgrade is complete, Rosen sees the main city, originally only two stories tall, has a third layer added on top.
"Is there a third floor now?" Rosen's parents delightedly look at the newly emerged third floor.
For his parents, their lifetime concerns were few: car, house, marriage, bride price...
A house that gains an extra floor is gigantic news.
The two eagerly returned to the main city to see the third floor.
Rosen had little interest in sightseeing and went to the barracks to check attributes.
"The barracks upgrade requires 500 wood and 500 Gold Coins. Probably need to wait until later tonight to upgrade."
After confirming insufficient materials to upgrade the barracks, Rosen returned to the main city.
Arriving on the third floor.
The first floor of the main city is the dining and living room, and the second floor has bedrooms. As for this newly emerged third floor, it is all entertainment facilities.
There are billiards, mahjong table, chess room, computer room, and all kinds of facilities.
Rosen saw his parents playing mahjong; the two of them can do it, but adding Rosen wouldn't work.
Rosen could only sit aside, watching them play mahjong, while waiting for time to pass.
That's when his mother sighed and said, "If you could find a girlfriend, our family would be enough for a table."
"Yes, our Rosen isn't bad. Though the hero template is weak, at least he has a territory, better than the Town Defense Team." His father agreed.
Those who join the Town Defense Team are usually like Rosen, with low hero levels or territories destroyed by the Demon Race, choosing to join the Team to contribute whatever remains.
With Rosen's public D-level hero template, even joining the Team would be hard, even less considering receiving world recognition, making it excessively challenging.
Others might not fancy the idea.
Rosen knows that once he reveals the D-level hero, he'd only be met with disdain.
Even revealing rare transferable attributes might not bring understanding.
Reputation often garners more admiration than truth, that's just the way it is.
However, Tang Xichen's bright figure still pops into Rosen's mind.
He's a hero who can grow and will eventually grow into an S.
Given his current C-level is already near S-level strength, once growing into S, in the world those that can capture his interest would only be the likes of the Twelve-winged Angel Goddess Nangong Wan and Tang Xichen.
No other women are qualified to receive his chromosomes.
With hopeful gazes from his parents, Rosen said, "Don't worry, Mom and Dad, with the territory already here, how far can a bride be?"
Later that night.
Rosen was awaken by the alarm, quickly surveyed the territory.
After ensuring safety, he went to the barracks and opened the barracks interface.
"Great, it can be upgraded!"
He immediately clicked the upgrade button, entering into a five-minute countdown.
With a resplendent gold light that breaks through the darkness, the barracks' armor visibly strengthened, the initial wooden structure replaced by metal, akin to wearing a suit of armor.
Barracks are crucial for summoning basic troops, high armor is also one of its advantages.
Rosen saw that after activating the level two barracks, five new gray troop options appeared.
Activating them requires Gold Coins, equally high unreasonably.
In the previous level one barracks interface, the fourth and fifth troop types were inactive, so Rosen activated them with a simple gesture.
Beastman Gunman, a long-range attacking troop type, can fire bullets at targets. The damage is significantly higher than Beastman Archers, and the summons require more resources accordingly.
As for Beastman Cavalry, there's no need for further description.
Rosen casually summoned two Beastman Gunmen and one Beastman Cavalry.
He then focused on the five newly unlocked troop types in the level two barracks.
Following the sequence, the later the trooper, the stronger it is.
Rosen looked at the last gray troop type.
Dragon Knight!
A powerful, flying troop type!
Rosen eagerly wished to transform into a Dragon Knight, to experience soaring above.
But at that moment, despite being late at night, there's an invasion from the Demon Race!
It is a group of thirty or so Minotaurs.
Ten ax-wielding Minotaur Warriors, ten spear-wielding Minotaur Pikemen, and ten magic staff-wielding Minotaur Wizards!
With the Minotaur's health, Rosen's current summoned troop types are outnumbered and have no chance overall against this lineup!