1 The Era of the National Castle

The sky was covered by dark clouds and the sun could not be seen. It looked so depressing that it made people panic.

The vast and boundless forest stretched as far as the eye could see. Birds were chirping, although it was difficult to distinguish their species. All kinds of beasts were roaring and the atmosphere was overwhelming. Clearly, this was a dangerous land.

"So noisy..."

Xu Hang opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a dilapidated castle.

The castle had a Western European medieval architectural style but it was made of earth and bricks. It looked particularly bleak.

Next to the castle was a simple farmhouse. The farmhouse's roof was badly damaged. Half of it was destroyed.

"Have I transmigrated?!"

Looking at the unfamiliar environment around him, a bold idea popped up in Xu Hang's mind.

For someone who loved reading novels, he was no stranger to a transmigration scene.

Suddenly, a voice could be heard in his mind.

[ Lord of the castle! Welcome to the Land of Annihilation! ]

[ Every transmigrator will be randomly given a castle and some farmers who will scour for resources to develop your forces. ]

[ Upgrade the castle and the surrounding buildings. That way, you will unlock more functions such as producing different types of laborers and soldiers. ]

[ Defend against your enemies by upgrading your technology. You can build turrets to improve your defense. ]

[ An unknown foreign world. A fair competition. There are endless opportunities and challenges. Use your forces to take over the continent. Rule over all the races and dominate the world! ]

[ Get everything you want, including eternal life! ]

...

The voice gradually faded. 

Xu Hang slightly narrowed his eyes.

'What an interesting challenge!'

He accessed the system interface.

[ Castle Master: Xu Hang ]

[ Castle Level: 0 ]

[ Castle Building: Farm shed ]

[ Combat Power: 0 ]

[ Castle Type: None ]

[ Equipment: None ]

...

'This is going to be a little tricky.'

He opened the resource tab.

100 grains, 100 wood, and 100 stones were the available basic resources. 

The cost of summoning a farmer was 20 grains.

[ Do you want to summon a farmer? ]

[ Yes ][ No ]

Xu Hang made his choice without any hesitation.

[ Yes ]

[ Obtained farmer x5]

A bright light flashed and five farmers walked out from the farmhouse. They stood in a line and bowed respectfully to Xu Hang.

"Master."

The system automatically displayed the farmers' attributes on the interface.

[ Farmer ]

[ Strength Level: 1 ]

[ Attack Power: 12 ]

[ Defense Power: 10 ]

[ Endurance: 10 ]

Their combat power was low but their endurance was decent. 

Xu hang nodded.

Then, the lower right corner of the system interface flashed. Xu Hang clicked on the tab and saw that it was a world channel.

[ World Chat Channel ]

[ World announcement: Lords of the castles from planet Earth, welcome to the Land of Annihilation! By joining this fair competition, you can get everything you ever wanted! ]

[ Land of Annihilation? What the hell? Can someone provide an explanation? ]

[ Is this a game? ]

[ Looks like it! ]

[ Isn't this game similar to "The Era of the Empire"? I'm an expert. If you're unsure of anything, please feel free to send me a private message! ]

[ Really? Please help me. I'm a cute girl. I can send you a photo! ]

[ Please help me too! ]

...

The world chat was quite lively. 

However, Xu Hang was not too interested.

Instead of spending his time chatting, he thought that he should explore the place.

Xu Hang looked at the five farmers standing in front of him and quickly made arrangements.

Two farmers were responsible for farming and producing food, while the other three were responsible for cutting down trees and collecting stones in the surrounding forest.

Xu Hang would not do it himself. After all, he was the Lord of the castle. His status was equivalent to a ruler or an emperor. There was no reason for him to carry out the hard labor.

He continued to look at the information panel and clicked on the map option.

The map was easy to figure out. 

There were two light yellow dots, which represented the castle and the farmhouse respectively while five light red dots represented the farmers.

As the three farmers walked towards the forest to cut down wood, the map gradually lit up. However, the range was limited to the farmers' movements.

"I think I understand how this works!"

Xu Hang took a few steps and as expected, a light green dot that represented him on the map lit up.

'Vision is very important. This way, I can avoid any incoming danger.

'Unknown danger is the most fatal!'

Xu Hang began to explore in the opposite direction of the three farmers. He walked around very carefully.

The forest was quite large. Additionally, from time to time, the roars of beasts could be heard. It was obvious that this place was not safe. Xu Hang needed to remain vigilant at all times.

Every ten minutes or so, there would be a system notification

[ Obtained Grain +20 ]

[ Obtained Grain +20 ]

[ Obtained Grain +20 ]

...

Soon, an hour had passed. Xu Hang had checked out most of the areas of the forest but he did not go in deeper. It was best to not act rashly.

Xu Hang took a break and accessed the system's interface again. He had gained 100 grains thanks to the farmers' hard work. In order to upgrade the castle to level 1, he still needed 50 grains.

All of a sudden, a message popped up.

[ Congratulations to Lord Zhang Wuji for taking the lead in upgrading the castle. You have received 50 grains as a reward ]

[ Congratulations to Lord Zhang Wuji for taking the lead in building the logging site. You have received 50 wood as a reward ]

It was just some basic resources so Xu Hang did not pay too much attention to it. On the other hand, the comments of some of the "experienced players" were rather interesting.

[ This is too simple. I've already completely grasped the mechanics. The next step is to build a barrack and obtain soldiers. Then, I can start my journey of conquering the continent. ]

[ Those who need advice can directly send me a private message. The price is 20 grains or 20 wood. ]

[ Believe me, with my help, you'll be ahead in no time! ]

…

Xu Hang scoffed at the messages.

'He's so full of himself.

'If everyone could become successful instantly, then what was the point?'

He closed the world chat channel and pulled up the map again. A surprise was awaiting him.

[ A hidden gold mine has been discovered! Do you want to mark the spot? ]

Xu Hang's expression brightened.

[ Yes ]

A light blue dot appeared on the map. Xu Hang immediately summoned two more farmers and urged them to hurry over.

A bright light flashed and two farmers walked out of the farmhouse. They quickly moved towards the marked location.

In order to mine gold, a specific building was required. Xu Hang found the building panel. He skipped over the logging field, orefield, and barracks. Finally, he found the gold-mining building.

Since it was a basic building, all that was required to build it was some wood.

Xu Hang was about to order the farmers to build the gold-mining building, but he glanced at the attributes system and was stunned.

[ Farmer ]

[ Strength Level: 2 ]

[ Attack Power: 20 ]

[ Defense Power: 18 ]

[ Endurance: 18 ]

Their level, attack, defense, and endurance had all increased. Did the farmers just leveled up?!