Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 143 Four-Star Player!

The last person to give a month-end summary was Clyde. Although he hadn't been very noticeable this month, he was actually still extremely busy.

As the blacksmith on duty, he was essentially the head of the industrial zone. Burning lime and charcoal was his job, as was providing assistance to Leon, crafting equipment for a ten-man squad, making arrows and crossbow bolts, and repairing damaged tools.

So in addition to completing the main quest, he also received an extra 60 contribution points because he crafted 12 one-star quality weapons and one two-star quality weapon.

However, repairing the Bloodthirsty Spear for Li Wei will not contribute anything; the repair costs paid by Li Wei will only be added to the family's total wealth and settled three months later.

Ultimately, Clyde's contribution for the month reached 140 points, bringing his total to 312 points.

It is quite satisfactory.

After Clyde finishes the settlement, it's time for the part that everyone loves and is familiar with: the plot-driven death and impeachment!
Unfortunately, they are now all the elders of the family.

No one made any obvious mistakes this month, so this step can basically be skipped.

It's so harmonious and loving; we really are a family.

Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Lines of information, solemn and dignified, slowly appeared before everyone, marking the start of the most important family meeting of the month.

[The family camp level remains unchanged this month, and there are no missing family members; no replacements will be made.]

[Family members John Carr, Ron, and Hathaway have successfully integrated into the family. As four-star players, their restrictions will be gradually lifted. At the family meeting at the end of next month, they will be allowed to use item cards and compete fairly with all players.]

[Note: To ensure a fair competitive environment for lower-level players, their class card information is now being released.]

John Carch: 4-star Miner/3-star Hunter/3-star Fisherman/3-star Butcher

[Ron: 4-star Blacksmith/3-star Knight/3-star Miner/3-star Mountain Dweller]

[Hathaway: 4-star Pharmacist/3-star Scholar/3-star Mountain Dweller/3-star Hunter]

[Since George has made the highest contribution among family members, he will continue to serve as the head of the family and will be eligible to recruit eight mercenaries through a one-star tavern. They will join the current mission world as loyal followers trained by the Kah family from childhood.]

[Friendly reminder: Attendants are extremely loyal to their families and, in principle, only obey the commands of the head of the household or a family member designated by the head of the household. They are capable of handling most arduous and difficult tasks. They do not participate in monthly main quests, do not earn contribution points, do not compete for the position of head of the household, do not initiate plot-driven deaths, and are not subject to plot-driven deaths or impeachment. All their labor, combat, and benefits are for the head of the household or the actual funder who hired them.]

[Friendly reminder: Attendants are eligible to initiate transactions, as long as it conforms to the plot logic. Also, if someone in a family initiates a bid, the attendants are eligible to join the bidding and compete fairly.]

[Friendly reminder: The head of the household needs to properly arrange the work, accommodation, daily meals, and health of the attendants. Careful consideration must be given to their personal safety, weaponry, equipment, and daily training. If an attendant dies, no replacement will be made that month, but there will be no punishment or impeachment.]

[Friendly Reminder: Recruiting followers requires family contribution points or standard gold coins. In principle, whoever is the head of the family should pay for it. However, if the head of the family is unwilling to pay too much or has limited ability, other family members can pay for the recruitment. In this case, after recruitment, the follower will only obey the orders of the payer. The head of the family can indirectly command the follower by coordinating and directing the payer. Such followers can enjoy normal treatment, such as free use of food, lodging, weapons, and equipment.]

If the hired followers are not recruited again next month, they will automatically return to the main camp. There is no need to worry that they will become stragglers, bandits, or deserters.

-

Huh?
This is actually the case!
Those three are indeed extraordinary.

Li Wei was shocked for a second, but quickly recovered; she had already guessed it.

Even so, he will still be in charge next month.

He silently recited the word "recruitment" in his mind, and the next instant, a row of eight cards floated in front of everyone, each card containing a blurry portrait of a person.

Below the card are the available recruitment prices, which vary but are all quite high.

The highest contributor needs to pay 150 family contribution points per month, which is equivalent to 15 gold coins.

There are two in total.

Then, in order, there are 100 contribution points per month, 80 contribution points per month, and four 60 contribution points per month.

Goodness, that's not cheap. They work themselves to the bone every month to earn enough for their families' contributions. If they hire mercenaries, will they even make a profit?
Unless they can arrange for their attendants to perform daily tasks, they can earn back their salaries.

But isn't this just like starting a company, recruiting employees, running the market, and making production?

Who dares to say that starting their own company will definitely make them money?

Li Wei hesitated because hiring everyone would require 720 contribution points, which would wipe out his entire fortune in an instant.

But could he really earn that much with these eight followers in a month? Each of them would need to earn an average of 90 contribution points per month. Keep in mind that these mercenaries became mercenaries precisely because they were completely unskilled in this area.

Of course, nothing is absolute, and an excellent leader should be able to recognize and make good use of talent.

But next month, three super-skilled veteran players are going all in with him. Is that really okay?
Thinking of this, Li Wei couldn't help but glance at Ron, then looked at Old John and Hathaway, but all three of them remained expressionless.

He then looked at Lyon, and thought, "Damn it, you never said anything about this."

Leon gave a pleading look, appearing quite innocent.

Damn it, you can't be relied on either.

Li Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, deep in thought.

Since Old John, Ron, and Hathaway are all four-star players, there's no doubt that Li Wei will not be able to continue as the head of the family by the end of next month.

They couldn't even wait until the third month, when they were at full power.

So accept this despairing reality and make sure you get as many benefits as possible before you step down.

I don't care who you are or what your background is!
As long as I am still the head of this household, if you are dragons, you have to coil up before me; if you are tigers, you have to lie down before me!

He must wield absolute power!

Things that need to be done must be done, and benefits that need to be fought for must be fought for. Just treat next month as your retirement month, after all, President Amirika still needs to sign the pardon, right?

If you're forced to leave the country in the future, it will be too late for regrets.

He'll just quit when the task is settled in two months. What's so great about the newcomer ranking? He doesn't care!
With enough benefits, one can roam freely across the chaotic killing field.

With this in mind, Li Wei had already made up her mind.

However, he still pretended to be hesitant, picking and choosing, looking left and right.

In the end, he very stingily spent 120 contribution points to hire two of the worst followers. Instantly, the two cards disappeared without a sound, and at the same time, two lines of information appeared.

[You have recruited Wang Yu, a two-star mercenary. He will serve you for one month. His job cards are three-star fisherman/two-star craftsman/two-star woodcutter, with a fate rating of 9 for fisherman, 8 for craftsman, and 2 for woodcutter. His attributes are: 140 HP, 180 Stamina, 20 Strength, 6 Agility, and 10 Defense. He has chosen to bring a set of one-star leather armor, a set of casual clothes, a pair of one-star boots, and a one-star shield to the current mission world. He needs a one-handed weapon to perform the mission.]

[You have recruited Charles, a two-star mercenary. He will serve you for one month. His class cards are three-star hunter/two-star craftsman/two-star farmer. His fates are hunter 21, craftsman 7, farmer 3. His attributes are: HP 150, Stamina 150, Strength 20, Agility 12, Defense 3. He has chosen to carry a set of one-star leather armor, a set of summer clothes, a pair of one-star boots, a one-star recurve bow, and a one-star two-handed saber. Upon joining the current world, he needs to provide 50 cone-shaped arrows to perform his mission.]

-

Well, that's quite interesting.

Li Wei had discovered the blind spot and understood the difference between the mercenary mode and the lord mode.

Mercenaries can also activate various cards, but they don't farm for fate. Instead, they only need the 5 free attribute points gained after activating a card. For example, the mercenary named Wang Yu's first profession is a three-star fisherman, but his fisherman fate is only 11. What kind of rare big fish can he catch with that?

However, this doesn't prevent him from upgrading the Fisherman Card to three stars. After all, players can trade experience points with each other. Is it difficult to buy 1000 fishing experience points? As long as you get the Bronze Token, leveling up is just a matter of a moment. Would you really give 0.1 less free attribute points?

For lord players, it's different. With the same cards, they have to carefully nurture their accounts and manage them to improve their destiny in order to increase work efficiency and product quality.

Of course, the reality is that mercenary players don't lack the desire to level up their accounts and improve their destiny, but the opportunities are very limited.

For example, lord players can easily join various tasks to farm resources, equipment, and gold coins, but mercenaries can only wait to be recruited by the tavern.

In short, there are only so many opportunities. If you fall behind in the newcomer tasks, you will always fall behind.

If you fall behind by three or five steps, you'll only be able to become a mercenary.

"Let's recruit another one!"

Li Wei glanced at Hathaway and Ron again. They remained expressionless, and he couldn't urge them. Everything had to be decided by the head of the family before it was their turn.

Wow, the head of the household is just that awesome!
This is a privilege; if you're not happy about it, you'd better keep quiet.

Li Wei pretended to think for a while, then recruited the highest-level mercenary who required 150 contribution points per month. In this way, he spent as many as 270 contribution points on this alone, and currently has 540 points left. This is insignificant among all family members and has fallen to the bottom.

But unfortunately, even if his contribution is reduced to zero at this moment, he is still the head of the family.

(End of this chapter)