Volume One: The Lord’s World of Infernal Difficulty Chapter 37: The Strawman Killer

"What about the output?" Chen Gu was not concerned with where the Fire Crow Farm would be built; what mattered to him was the yield.

"If it's established inside Silverpine Valley, since it can immediately draw on energy supplies, it will produce eighteen Fire Spirit Crows per week. If it's built outside Silverpine Valley, the area will be larger, yielding sixteen Fire Spirit Crows per week, plus six Scarecrows, and an additional output of 150 units of wheat."

"Build it outside Silverpine Valley. Send Reis every week to collect troops and resources," Chen Gu decided after a moment's thought.

Lixia at once set out to make the arrangements.

By the time he returned, the construction stones had already disappeared.

"I've built the Fire Crow Farm about three kilometers from here, in a grove. There's a small stream nearby, and it's not easily found by ordinary people."

"Good. Where's Reis? Have him bring in the first batch of Fire Spirit Crows. Also, continue work on the shipyard; I need two more warships."

"Understood." Lixia didn't question him and immediately got back to work.

During the following hours, Chen Gu wandered through Silverpine Valley, replenishing his supplies. He made sure to stock up on food and wine. Given the situation outside, it would be difficult to find suitable provisions. Fortunately, the city currently had some stores, and Chen Gu intended to take advantage of that. This way, even if he failed to find fresh food in the wild, he wouldn't go hungry.

Next, Chen Gu went to the blacksmith's, bought a medical tent, and melted down all the weapon fragments he carried, forging them into longswords and spears. He kept all these weapons for himself, reasoning that both swords and spears would be convenient, whether for his own use or to arm his subordinates. If he ever lacked appropriate synthesis materials, the swords and spears could also serve as components.

By the time everything was settled, Reis returned with the new Fire Spirit Crows.

Chen Gu also saw a new troop type: Scarecrows.

These units stood two and a half meters tall, with lanky bodies and arms outstretched. They wore burlap tunics, and their heads were bundles of straw. In their left hand hung a net, and in their right, a sickle.

[Troop Attributes]
Name: Scarecrow
Type: Puppet
Trait: Constitution
Level: 1 (max 2)
Stats: Attack 5, Defense 3, HP 70

Initial Skills: Sickle Strike I (when ambushing with a sickle, +3 attack), Net Throw I (the Scarecrow’s net can entangle enemies for 3 seconds)
Description: Scarecrows standing in the rice fields—they now have the power to kill.

Looking at this seemingly ordinary cannon-fodder unit, Chen Gu had a feeling they might have potential for synthesis.

He beckoned to a Scarecrow, already pondering how to synthesize this kind of unit.

With his wealth of experience in synthesizing various creatures, Chen Gu’s judgments had become much sharper since first entering the Lord’s World. In the past, upon seeing something that could be synthesized, he would immediately try it out. Now, when faced with a new unit or material, he would carefully consider its properties, what items he had on hand to enhance it, and what unique transformations might result.

The Scarecrow before him was clearly a puppet-type. Placing it outside at night would fit right into a horror film.

This, however, was Chen Gu’s biggest challenge. If he had mastered the undead path, turning these Scarecrows into undead would be feasible. But for now, that path was closed to him. Chen Gu considered whether to take the demon route.

After a moment's thought, he had a plan.

Currently, the only demon-type pet he possessed was the Hell Terminator, although he could also summon Hellhounds. It seemed fitting to steer the Scarecrow down this path.

Without hesitation, he led several Scarecrows to the magic tower. After summoning a pack of Hellhounds, he had the creatures slaughtered for their blood, flesh, hide, and teeth to use in experiments.

In the end, Chen Gu discovered that Hellhound blood could trigger a reaction in the Scarecrows, and the synthesis success rate was not low.

[Scarecrow] + [Hellhound Blood] = [??? (Success Rate: 71%)]

As a bucket of Hellhound blood was poured over the Scarecrow, Chen Gu watched its body rapidly turn crimson. The little sickle in its hand transformed into a massive scythe as tall as the Scarecrow itself, and the net in its left hand vanished.

[Pet synthesis complete. You obtained a blue-quality—Scarecrow Slasher.]
[Pet Attributes]
Name: Scarecrow Slasher
Quality: Blue
Type: Demon
Trait: Teleportation
Level: 2 (max 10)
Stats: Attack 7, Defense 5, HP 110

Initial Skills: Teleport I (the Scarecrow Slasher can teleport behind an enemy at any time), Execution I (when an enemy’s HP drops below 30%, can execute the enemy), Soul Extraction I (after killing an enemy, can seize its soul)
Description: This is a Scarecrow fashioned in imitation of great demons. Though their quality is quite good, they remain far inferior to true archdemons.

Seeing these attributes, Chen Gu immediately synthesized the rest of the Scarecrows. Luck favored him—at a 71% success rate, all syntheses succeeded.

Thus, he gained six Scarecrow Slashers under his command.

With these new troops at his side, Chen Gu soon received the latest news: due to the rush, two elven warships had been completed and now waited at the dock.

Chen Gu hurried over with the Fire Spirit Crows, loading them onto the elven warships in batches.

This time, however, his luck was less favorable. Of the two elven warships, only one managed to emerge from the flames; the other sank beneath the water, engulfed by fire.

There was nothing Chen Gu could say about this outcome. After all, with a 55% success rate, failure was always a possibility. To have even one warship succeed was already quite fortunate.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Gu bestowed a name upon the newly forged warship. "From now on, this one shall be called the Mars."

Having named the ship, he summoned Allen.

Meanwhile, a host of wood spirits busied themselves, transporting the gathered supplies onto the vessel.

Lixia and Reis soon arrived as well, standing at the dock, awaiting Chen Gu’s instructions.

"We don’t have much time, so I’ll leave things here in your hands. Reis, be extra vigilant when you go out. If you encounter enemies, lure them back to Silverpine Valley and fight them here.

Lixia, I’m entrusting the valley’s defense to you. Report to me once a week. If new heroes appear, recruit them first and wait for my orders.

Allen, are you ready? If so, we depart at once."