Huh?
Diablo actually succeeded?
This quickly?
'I wonder if his "persuasion" skill is maxed out, or if the mysterious power of the Riding and Cutting system is at work...'
Ah, whatever.
It didn't matter.
Subjugating the Ratman Tribe was a good thing.
Who cared how he did it.
With that thought, Qin Feng opened his personal panel and turned his attention to the newly appeared "Riding and Cutting Talent."
[Village Management (LVmax): Manage your village to increase population growth efficiency, strengthen the village's armed forces, and increase the yield of obtainable resources... If you possess Dinars (including native Gold Coins of the Lord World), you can directly spend Gold Coins to recruit the corresponding Cultural Soldier Type from the village. The weekly recruitment limit is determined by the village's level.]
[Current Village——Poison Arrow Tribe]
[Village Level: 1 (Determined by comprehensive evaluation)]
[Loyalty: 57 (Max 100. Falls into rebellion below 50. The lower the Loyalty, the more severe the rebellion.)]
[Total Village Population: 53]
[Village Population Growth Efficiency (Average per month): 0.3 new Ratman pups]
[Village Armed Forces: 2 Ratman Warriors (Zero-star White), 7 Ratman Reserve Warriors (Zero-star White)]
[Obtainable Village Resources: Food (Meat), Food (Potatoes, Corn), Wood, Stone, Poison Arrow, Bone Blade, Wooden War Spear, Wooden Short Bow...]
[Weekly Recruitable Soldiers of the Same Culture: Ratman Warriors (Zero-star White) x10]
[Soldier Recruitment Cost: 20 Dinars (or Gold Coins of equal value) per Ratman Warrior]
[Daily Soldier Upkeep: 2 units of Food / per person]
[Note: Under the influence of the Power of Rules, you cannot raid or attack your own village unless it is in a "Rebellion" state.]
...
After studying it for a long time, Qin Feng more or less understood the function of "Village Management."
Besides the authentic "Riding and Cutting 2" village recruitment feature, its main function was to make it easier for Qin Feng to observe the entire village's situation.
He could check, for instance, if the village was short on food for the winter, if it lacked materials for building houses, if the villagers harbored rebellious thoughts, what their marital relationships were like, and if the birth rate was a little low.
Then, based on this hidden information provided by the system, he could devise ways to improve the village's unfavorable conditions.
This would increase the village's population growth rate, resource gathering efficiency, defensive strength, new weapon development speed, Loyalty, and so on.
Ultimately,
it would raise the village's overall level.
This would allow the vassal village to recruit more and stronger Cultural Soldiers each week, as well as have more "allied" Ratman Warriors who, while not completely loyal to Qin Feng, would still obey his commands.
At the same time, he could use methods like "taxation" and "trade" to acquire extra resources for his territory's development, or weapons and war provisions that were in high demand.
'A magically modified Riding and Cutting village?'
'Alright.'
'I can accept that.'
'After all, the core "village recruitment function" has been preserved.'
'Nothing else really matters.'
'However,'
'why do Ratman Warriors have a Zero-star White Combat Evaluation, while the Ratman Reserve Warriors, who are clearly weaker, also have a Zero-star White Combat Evaluation?'
'Could it be that their actual strength levels are similar?'
'Is it just that the Ratman Warriors are battle-hardened, with more combat experience and more refined Combat Skills?'
'And the Ratman Reserve Warriors are all green recruits who've never been on a battlefield, possessing raw strength but unable to effectively use it to its full potential?'
'Hmm...'
'That must be it...'
Qin Feng recalled the battle from earlier that night.
At the time, his attention was completely locked on the Ratman Leader named Bakadi, and he hadn't paid much mind to the Ratman Warriors fighting the villagers.
Thinking about it carefully now, those Ratman Warriors, marked as Zero-star (White), were actually quite fierce.
They had withstood the onslaught from a numerically superior force of villagers, seriously injuring many of them. In the end, only three of their members died, and the surviving Ratman Warriors weren't seriously wounded.
Clearly,
they were just like the Bakadi Ratman Leader.
They could rely on the rich experience forged in past battles and their proficient Combat Skills to constantly maneuver and weave through the encirclement of numerous enemies.
They could inflict maximum damage while taking minimal losses.
If it had been villagers with the same Combat Evaluation, they would have been wiped out in an instant in that kind of chaotic battle where they were outnumbered, unable to even deal much effective damage.
Qin Feng's eyes lit up slightly:
'Nice.'
'This is an unexpected bonus.'
'If the system isn't bugged, then the group of Ratman Warriors I recruit with Gold Coins from the Poison Arrow Tribe village should also be the same kind of Elite Soldier Type.'
So, according to his previous theory, the extensive experience and Combat Skills possessed by the Ratman Warriors were a hidden combat strength that couldn't be quantified by the system.
Although they only had a Zero-star (White) Combat Evaluation,
they were comparable to the group of Zoo Soldiers with a Zero-star (Green) evaluation.
They might even be stronger.
Therefore, it wouldn't be wrong to say these Ratman Warriors were actually Zero-star (Green) level combat units.
But their daily Food consumption was based on that of a Zero-star (White) combat unit, not that of the Forest Wolves and Fire Foxes, which had a Zero-star (Green) evaluation.
This would invisibly save Qin Feng a massive amount of Food resources.
A classic case of "getting big results for a small price"!
What a steal!
After his brief excitement, Qin Feng stroked his chin, gazing at the increasingly brilliant full moon outside his window as he mulled over a new problem.
Namely, where was he supposed to get the Gold Coins and Dinars to recruit Ratman Warriors?
According to the settings of "Riding and Cutting 2," players would receive Dinar loot, which were equivalent to Gold Coins, after winning a battle.
At the same time, they could also sell weapons and equipment to villages and cities in exchange for Dinars of equal value, which they could then use to recruit more soldiers to serve them.
But ever since Qin Feng entered this Lord World and participated in so many battles, he had never once gotten any Gold Coins or Dinars to drop. He had no corresponding source of income.
Looking at Diablo and the other Ratman Warriors, their destitute state didn't suggest they had any Gold Coins on hand either.
The most likely to possess Gold Coins, aside from the other "Lord Players" who posed a certain threat to him, would be the human empire Diablo had mentioned earlier.
'Wait...?'
'Do I need to get into trading?'
'I wonder how long it would take to reach the nearest human city from my territory, and if I'll encounter any danger along the way!'
'And are those imperial humans hostile, red-named enemies...'
'Forget it.'
'I'll sleep on it.'
'When Diablo gets back from the Poison Arrow Tribe tomorrow, I'll ask him what he knows.'
'If that doesn't work, I'll just have to find those other Lord Players and try to squeeze some information out of them.'