Chapter 416 – A Summons? No, You've Invited Back a Great Lord

Within the Grand Marshal’s mansion, the concept of “weighted value” mentioned by the various generals was quite straightforward to understand.

Due to the abundance of spiritual materials in this world, military resources could not be properly allocated based on rough classifications like provisions and weaponry.

Take weapons, for example. Magical artifacts and mystic treasures, though both are weapons, differ vastly in power.

Similarly, elixirs vary in attributes and effects, with distinctions between low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade elixirs… With so many tiers, allocating them piece by piece would be utter chaos.

To address this, military strategists and some Celestial Masters deliberately categorized certain elixirs, spiritual materials, and mystic treasures, assigning them different weighted value labels.

In Grand Marshal Tianwu’s Mansion, when various legions competed for resources, they weren’t vying for specific items but rather for weighted value quotas.

Securing a bit more weighted value meant they could obtain a great deal of resources.

At the same time, although the generals and envoys of the Grand Marshal’s mansion all pleaded poverty, Heavenly Martial True Lord did not allocate large amounts of resources based on who cried the loudest.

He… or rather, the strategists under his command, would allocate appropriate weighted value quotas to the legion commanders based on the specific situation in the Northern Wastelands.

Of course, legion commanders could never have enough resources or personnel, so even if the allocations from Grand Marshal Tianwu’s Mansion were fair, they would never be satisfied… Pleading poverty and lamenting hardship daily had become their routine.

And for a legion of hundreds of thousands, what was their annual weighted value quota for resources?

In terms of Earth Immortals, it was three to five shares.

This meant that, in that year, three to five Earth Immortals would arrive at their defense zone to fight alongside them.

At the same time, the legion would also receive resources equivalent to supporting three to five Earth Immortals for cultivation and combat over a year.

Don’t think this was little. Earth Immortals were rare, and the cost of enlisting their aid was exceedingly high—in most aristocratic families, only the clan heads or grand elders were Earth Immortals, while elders were merely at the Mortal Shedding stage.

Such individuals rarely took action.

Of course, matching their rarity was their immense strength. Generally, a single Earth Immortal could protect a major city and extend their influence across a thousand-mile radius—the blessed lands and fortunate lands of Earth Immortals naturally didn’t span that far, but Earth Immortals could move around. With diligence, an Earth Immortal could oversee everything within a thousand-mile range.

If possible, the legion commanders would rather have Earth Immortals stationed with them than receive resources.

Unfortunately, while they desired this, it was nearly impossible. There simply weren’t enough Earth Immortals to come to the Northern Lands and fight alongside them.

After pondering the matter of Earth Immortals, the envoys or deputy commanders of the legions seemed hesitant to speak.

Clearly, they didn’t understand why Mu Lin’s weighted value was so high.

“I admit Mu Lin is strong—his reputation as the top prodigy was earned through battle—but no matter how talented he is, he’s still only at the Mortal Shedding stage, isn’t he?”

“Exactly. I’ll admit he might rival or even defeat an Earth Immortal, but seven shares… That’s just too exaggerated.”

“Good heavens, recruiting Mu Lin would mean we couldn’t touch any resource quotas for the next two years and would have to rely solely on our own reserves to get by… Who could withstand that?”

Inside the Marshal’s residence, discussions continued unabated. While they were optimistic about Mu Lin’s future and wished to invite him over, his excessively high weight allocation made their scalps tingle.

Just as they were considering Mu Lin’s cost-effectiveness too low, another person noticed the conditions Mu Lin had proposed, causing their brows to furrow even deeper.

—Unlike resources, the warriors and heroes arriving from various regions would not strictly follow military orders.

The legions of the Northern Lands were selecting them, but people like Mu Lin were also choosing the Northern Lands legions—it was a two-way selection.

At the same time, they were also allowed to propose conditions.

Ordinary cultivators mostly requested military merits and resources.

Mu Lin, however, had an unusually long list of demands.

First, Mu Lin did not want to be bound by military orders and wished to act freely.

Second, the Spirit Veins and Spiritual Springs in the area he would be stationed in would be placed under his control.

The garrison troops there would also have to obey Mu Lin’s commands.

Furthermore, the territories Mu Lin conquered would grant him ruling authority, and the mining rights for Spirit Mines and spiritual plants in those areas would be allocated by Mu Lin…

After reading this series of terms and considering Mu Lin’s weight allocation equivalent to seven Earth Immortals, even those most optimistic about his future among the legion envoys were reluctant to invite him.

There was no other way—the cost-effectiveness was simply too low.

Moreover, agreeing to Mu Lin’s conditions would mean not recruiting a subordinate but inviting back a master.

Mo Feng, the deputy commander of the Black Fiend Legion, kept shaking his head as he read the final term.

It wasn’t that he found anything inappropriate about Mu Lin claiming ruling authority and mining rights over the territories he conquered.

In the current Northern Wastelands, humanity had already lost many areas. If those resource points could be forcibly reclaimed, he was supportive.

Even if the reclaimed resource points would be controlled by Mu Lin, he still supported the idea, as Mu Lin was, after all, a member of humanity.

What dissatisfied him was Mu Lin’s excessive confidence and arrogance.

“Before even arriving, he’s already thinking about launching attacks. Too impulsive, too reckless.”

Many nodded in agreement with these words.

“Exactly, youthful vigor and fearlessness are admirable, but overconfidence is not.”

“Right now, our top priority in the Northern Wastelands is defense. As for launching attacks, regardless of whether we can achieve it or not, even if we succeed temporarily, what then? The Evil Gods and demons are endless, while humanity’s strength is limited. Defending from towns and cities can reduce human losses, but engaging in field battles would easily deplete our vital forces.”

“Sigh, you all decide about Mu Lin. I have no plans to launch attacks; I just want to protect our foundation steadily. If he comes to my place, he’ll likely clash with my decisions, and that would be troublesome.”

“I’ll pass too. The forces under my command are barely sufficient for defense; launching attacks is simply wishful thinking…”

After reading Mu Lin’s conditions and understanding his ambitions, all the legion commanders shook their heads.

It wasn’t that Mu Lin was unworthy, but his demands were too many, and the weight share he occupied was too large.

However, just as Mo Feng thought everyone would give up on Mu Lin, two legions showed hesitation.

These two legions were the Great Snow Mountain and the Agricultural Militia.

Their hesitation drew curious glances from everyone.

“You’re prepared to take in Mu Lin? That’s the resource allocation for seven Earth Immortals… If you accept Mu Lin, you’ll have to endure hardship for the next two years.”

Upon hearing this, the envoy from Great Snow Mountain showed hesitation on his face.

Finally, he sighed with his hands clasped together and gave up the invitation.

Seeing him also give up, everyone turned their gaze to the final representative, the Agricultural Militia.

The envoy representing the Agricultural Militia was a woman.

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, she sighed and said, “Don’t look at me. Cooperating with Mu Lin wasn’t my idea—it was my great-grandfather’s order… a strict command.”

“Sigh, trading two years’ worth of resource allocation for just one person—I don’t even know how to explain this to the other brothers and sisters of the Agricultural Militia.”

Clearly, this woman also felt that exchanging two years’ worth of resources for Mu Lin’s assistance alone wasn’t worth it.

But her great-grandfather’s order was something she couldn’t defy.

(End of Chapter)