Volume One: The Hell-Rank Lord World, Chapter Ninety-Three: A New Hero

"After slowing their pace, are they still the undead?" Chen Gu could not help but mutter when he heard the latest report.

He had assumed that the undead would come at once the moment they saw him stop. He had not expected them to slow down instead.

Still, that was good news for Chen Gu.

It gave him even more time to lay his trap.

After contacting Kebas, Chen Gu explained his idea. Kebas immediately responded.

"No problem. As long as the undead legion's main force appears, I can lock onto their position."

"Then that is settled. Before I send the signal, make absolutely sure not to reveal your position."

Kebas was a shrewd hero as well.

Of course he knew when to strike on the battlefield.

Without needing Chen Gu to spell it out, he had already grasped some of Chen Gu's plan.

But he did not voice any opinion on it. He simply agreed and carried out his task.

With the return of Bloodshadow Wolf and the Straw Murderer, Chen Gu also ended his meditation.

After a period of meditation, the mana he had spent was restored.

At the same time, the tavern at Vineglow Camp had also been completed, and new construction and town tasks could begin.

At the carriage tavern, since it had already come to a stop, the walls on both sides of the carriage were lowered, turning into two tabletops fixed to the carriage's edges.

A scarecrow bartender was there laboriously wiping the counter, while another scarecrow mixologist kept shaking his arms nonstop, with many liquor jars hanging from them.

When he saw Chen Gu approach, the bartender lifted his hat in greeting.

"Sir, you've come. What would you like to drink?"

"Has the hero arrived?"

"He has. He's over there having a drink."

The bartender pointed to the left side of the carriage, where a humanoid creature was indeed drinking.

Chen Gu was about to greet him when he realized this fellow was neither human nor elf.

He was a scarecrow of ordinary human height.

He sat before the bar counter made from the carriage wall, drinking a muddy-looking liquid.

Only upon closer inspection did Chen Gu notice that this scarecrow had no eyes at all; two metal buttons had been nailed in place where his eyes should have been.

His body was also a little unusual. Like the other scarecrows, his skin was made of sewn linen, and the straw beneath it was even visible.

But a careful look showed that at the vital parts of his body, thick iron plates had been fastened on with nails.

Feeling Chen Gu's gaze, the scarecrow also raised his head and took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello."

"Hello. I'm Gu Qi, the owner of Vineglow."

"I can tell. You're looking for a hero, aren't you?" the scarecrow said freely and naturally. "I think I'm the best fit."

With that, the scarecrow directly displayed his attributes.

[Hero Attributes]

Name: Pan

Quality: Green (maximum level 5)

Race: Mechanical

Level: 1

Talent: Master of Machinery (can control all mechanical bodies, including but not limited to carriages, ships, airships, mechs, siege weapons, and more)

Combat Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 8, Constitution 9, Perception 5, Intelligence 10

Campaign Attributes: Attack 0, Defense 0, Magic 1, Wisdom 2

Starting Skill: Level 1 Tinkering

Army: Scarecrows (30), Crows (120), Wild Wolves (50), None, None, None, None

Description: This is a mechanized scarecrow, and he is not on the same path as the scarecrow murderers under your command.

Looking at Pan's attributes, Chen Gu laughed.

It seemed the carriage tavern of Vineglow really understood him. It knew exactly what he needed and delivered the right kind of hero.

It was just that his troops were not up to much; they would make perfect material for a fusion.

"These are for you."

As Chen Gu poured out a thousand gold coins onto the table, he glanced at Pan.

"Where are your soldiers?"

"They're resting outside."

Pan pointed outside, and Chen Gu saw that beyond the carriage camp there really was a group of troops unlike those under his command.

"I plan to transform your troops."

"Oh? You want to turn my crows into the kind you use now? And the wild wolves too?"

Though Pan had no eyes, he could still clearly sense what Chen Gu was thinking.

"What's wrong? Not convenient?"

"It's not that it's inconvenient. I just think the units you have combined, sir, are not suitable for me."

Pan said without the slightest hesitation, "Your handling of the wolves has made them only able to blink from place to place, without increasing their combat power. The crows are the same.

"Crows are actually the most spiritual creatures. With their speed, they should be the best melee units, the sort that strike and vanish. Yet you turned them into a magical line.

"There's nothing inherently wrong with magic units, but haven't you noticed that your magic units need large numbers of crows together to create any real scale advantage?

"How many crows do you even have now? Crows ought to be assassins.

"And as for the scarecrows, you've turned them into assassins all right, but what is the advantage of making scarecrows into assassins?"

Chen Gu really had no answer to that. When he fused things, he mainly considered the materials he had on hand.

As for the direction of the fusion, he had never thought about it in detail.

As long as he could produce something, and its combat power was acceptable, then it counted as a good unit.

"Scarecrows can actually serve as a mothership. The crows can come to replenish stamina, the wolf packs can come to restore life, and wounded troops can be sheltered. Only then can true combat power be formed."

"That's your idea?"

Chen Gu looked at Pan.

Pan, who had been speaking with full confidence, froze on the spot.

Chen Gu smiled at him. "You can make suggestions, but I am the master. I will consider everything I need in full, not what serves you."

Being told that, Pan felt somewhat awkward as well.

Chen Gu patted his shoulder and said, "Remember this: this is my world. If I am willing to give you a chance, that is because I want to. You may accept it, but you cannot demand it."

After hearing Chen Gu's words, Pan obediently closed his mouth.

Chen Gu also had no intention of fusing Pan's subordinates.

In Chen Gu's view, everyone saw things from a different angle and considered different directions.

Pan's suggestion had some merit.

But as Chen Gu had said, Chen Gu was the master. What he was willing to give was given of his own accord; what he was unwilling to give, Pan could not force.

As for how they would fight later, Chen Gu was not worried either. Since Pan had brought these troops out, he naturally had his own way of using them.

There was no need to fuss over a step or two.

Giving up on the idea of fusing Pan's subordinates, Chen Gu turned his attention to the Corpse-Gobbling Vines that had entered the canyon below.

How the coming battle would unfold would depend entirely on the information they brought back.