Chapter Twenty-Four: The Age of Gunpowder

The fall of Santaren, the largest human colonial city in the southern continent, sent shockwaves through the surrounding human powers. Yet, it was mere surprise—nothing more. As for Sun Li, it was hardly worth mentioning; the orcs’ victory simply meant that after annihilating his archenemy, the Orc Emperor Manhammer, he gained one more city to govern. After hearing the news, he plunged straight into preparations for upgrading to the era of gunpowder. The English, by all accounts, seemed to have every reason to rejoice. The remaining “Free People” settlements of Madrid celebrated with unbridled joy. This led to a peculiar phenomenon: one hundred thousand humans were slaughtered, and not a single neighboring human power felt any sorrow. One might wonder whether it was the innate coldness of mankind, or whether the orcs’ intimidation factor was actually negative in the eyes of humans.

But Emperor Manhammer barely had one day to revel in his conquest before news arrived that his stronghold had been thrown into chaos by Sun Li, this monkey who seemed to have sprung from nowhere. His supply lines and reinforcements were completely severed. Manhammer nearly coughed up blood in fury. “I swear I’ll grind Sun Li, that despicable human, into dust a hundred times—no, a hundred times!” He was utterly oblivious to the fact that he himself had seized Santaren’s capital by taking advantage of its weakness.

While the Orc Emperor Manhammer raged and cursed Sun Li with his meager vocabulary, the protagonist in question had just spent a generous sum of one hundred thousand points to elevate his strength to the level of a senior knight. This leap in martial prowess was vastly different from his previous, middling abilities—not only were his physical attributes thoroughly enhanced, but a wealth of fundamental martial arts and life-and-death combat experience flooded his mind. It took Sun Li a full day to digest and master his newfound power, marveling at the revolutionary changes within himself. For the first time, he felt his points had been well spent; Little White had not swindled him, after all. If he’d had this strength back when he dueled the War Wolf of the Wild Wolf Tribe, there would have been no need to sacrifice the lives of his loyal guards.

Surveying the ten thousand points remaining after days of slaughter and sweeping campaigns, Sun Li could not help but reflect on the vast and stubborn population of the orc stronghold. He casually opened the upgrade interface for the Grand Knight.

“One million points! Damn you, Little White. Are you encouraging me to become a butcher?” Seeing this exorbitant cost, Sun Li was still vexed, even though he had expected such extortion. Apparently, the dream of slaughtering all his foes was still a distant one.

“The prices given by the system are calculated strictly according to cost—value for value. Once you experience the power of a Grand Knight, then decide whether it’s worth it. The upgrade task is now complete; please check if you wish to advance the era of technology!” Little White’s tone suddenly became grave.

Sun Li opened the system map. He saw a scattering of green dots—far exceeding a thousand in number—and felt gratified by his officials’ efficiency. They had pacified so many orc civilians so quickly. The system’s direct control over the native population was indeed effective.

“Little White, upgrade to the gunpowder era immediately!”

“Ding! Confirming upgrade to the gunpowder era. System is fully integrating with this plane—fusion complete. System and plane are now fully synchronized; apart from system-exclusive features, everything is aligned with local laws. All units produced by the system are identical to ordinary humans; after battle, only combat experience and knowledge are upgraded. Soldier rank system is abolished. Host may now promote subordinate soldiers to military command based on real-world circumstances and merit. Host is now part of the plane’s faction; except for military and resistance organizations of hostile forces, killing civilians will no longer yield points. If the host attacks another power without hostility, no points will be awarded (in other words, once they surrender, further killing yields no rewards). Now, please review the rights gained after upgrading:

1. Soldiers now possess normal human intelligence. Though still loyal enough to protect the host with their lives, they are affected by morale in battle. Heavy losses will cause negative emotions that impact combat effectiveness; conversely, an advantage will boost morale. The host is advised not to let casualties exceed eighty percent—no normal person could withstand such losses without breaking down! The host may use any means to motivate troops, such as pay or distribution of wartime spoils to boost morale, and the effect will be superior to other human powers due to their greater loyalty.

2. The system introduces the construction of universities—a hub for education, technological innovation, and the training of military and civil officers. With a university, the host may recruit officials and form a government of absolute loyalty. Due to its vast functions and the constraints of the plane’s laws, only one university may be built per continent—North Continent, South Continent, Europa, and the Mysterious Eastern Continent. Officials generated will form their own administrative systems. The host is advised to employ local people to govern local regions. The university’s other functions are for the host to explore (after upgrading to the gunpowder era, the university will replace the town center as the core building).

3. The gunpowder era now represents the highest technological level of this plane—that is, technology up to the invention of the Minié rifle. To prevent the collapse of the plane’s laws, the host must conduct independent research at the university to further improve weapon performance. As long as inventions are practical, the system will automatically generate units for recruitment and production. Points may be used to recruit a practical unit whose technology exceeds the current level—currently available is the elite Sun Never Sets British infantry regiment equipped with Minié rifles. This recruitment costs a high number of points; the host should decide carefully.

4. All units produced by the system will now be settled using gold resources. Going forward, the host’s diplomacy, combat, alliances, and other actions are no different from ordinary people and may be conducted freely (in other words, the system only assists with personnel recruitment; the host is free to play as desired).

System recommendations: Technological levels of this plane and Earth are similar. Based on Earth’s history, the following are the most cost-effective units to aid the host’s conquest:

Line Infantry Regiment—elite troops equipped with flintlock muskets and bayonets. Their cheap training costs are their greatest advantage. Their ranged firepower and close-quarters bayonet charges are highly reliable in battle. Marching calmly into cannon fire is their hallmark.

Various types of artillery units—cannons are the gods of war; aside from their higher cost, they are essential on the battlefield!

Lance Cavalry—even in the era of firearms, the shock power of cavalry charges remains formidable. Of course, do not charge alone into hollow enemy squares; Napoleon’s Waterloo was a cautionary tale. (Lance cavalry are several times more effective than light cavalry in shock power, though their training time and cost are higher. However, with the system’s speed of army formation, this should not be a problem.)

Looking at the data for these units, Sun Li could not help but feel perplexed.