Chapter 416

Chapter 416: Recruitment? No, You’ve Invited Back a Big Boss

In Grand Marshal Tianwu’s residence, the concept of "weight" discussed by the generals was straightforward.

Because this world had many spiritual materials, army resources couldn’t be crudely divided into categories like food or weapons.

Take weapons as an example—magical artifacts and magic treasures, though both weapons, differed vastly in power.

Similarly, pills varied in attributes and effects, split into low, mid, and high grades… Trying to distribute such layered resources would cause chaos.

To solve this, military strategists and celestial masters labeled pills, spiritual materials, and treasures with different "weight" tags.

When major legions in Grand Marshal Tianwu’s residence competed for resources, they fought not for specific items but for resource shares.

More weight meant more resources.

Though all generals and emissaries in the residence complained about shortages, True Lord Tianwu didn’t hand out resources based on who whined loudest.

He—or rather, his strategists—allocated resource shares to legion commanders according to North Wilderness’s needs.

Of course, legion commanders always wanted more resources and troops. Even fair allocations left them unsatisfied… Daily complaints and dramatic pleas were just routine.

For a legion of hundreds of thousands, how many resource shares did they get yearly?

For Earth Immortals, it was three to five shares.

This meant three to five Earth Immortals had joined their defenses that year to fight alongside them.

The legion also had to supply resources for these Earth Immortals’ cultivation and combat needs for a full year.

This wasn’t trivial—Earth Immortals were rare, and hiring them cost dearly. Most elders in powerful clans only reached the Transformation stage, while only family heads or supreme elders became Earth Immortals.

Such figures rarely acted.

But their rarity matched their strength. One Earth Immortal could shield a major city and project influence across a thousand-mile radius. Their spiritual grounds might not span that far, but by moving actively, they could oversee the entire area.

If possible, legion commanders preferred stationing Earth Immortals over hoarding resources.

But this was nearly impossible—too few Earth Immortals ventured north to aid them.

After pondering Earth Immortals, the legion emissaries and vice commanders grew hesitant.

They couldn’t grasp why Mu Lin’s weight rating was so high.

“Mu Lin’s strong, sure—his top talent title is earned. But he’s still just at the Transformation stage!”

“Right! He might match an Earth Immortal, even beat one… but seven? That’s insane.”

“Recruiting Mu Lin means zero resource shares for two years—we’d have to drain our own stockpiles. Who can survive that?”

In the residence, debates raged. They believed in Mu Lin’s potential and wanted him, but his sky-high weight made them sweat.

Just as they deemed him overpriced, someone spotted Mu Lin’s demands, deepening their frowns.

Unlike resources, warriors and heroes from afar didn’t blindly obey orders.

Northern legions chose them, but Mu Lin and others also chose the legions—a two-way street.

They could set conditions too.

Ordinary cultivators asked for military merits or resources.

Mu Lin? His list went on…

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

Second, the spiritual veins and Spirit Springs in the area he guarded would be under his control.

The stationed troops there would also have to follow Mu Lin’s commands.

Furthermore, any territory Mu Lin captured would be under his rule, and he would control the mining rights for spiritual mines and plants…

After reading these terms and considering Mu Lin’s seven Earth Immortal-level resource shares,

even those optimistic about his future hesitated to invite him.

The cost-benefit ratio was simply too poor.

Accepting Mu Lin’s terms meant not recruiting a subordinate, but welcoming a high-maintenance figure.

Mo Feng, deputy commander of the Black Sha Legion, kept shaking his head while reviewing the final clause.

He didn’t object to Mu Lin ruling conquered lands or managing mining rights.

In the North Wilderness where humanity had lost much ground, reclaiming Resource Points deserved support.

Even with Mu Lin controlling reclaimed resources, Mo Feng approved—after all, Mu Lin was human.

What irked him was Mu Lin’s overconfidence and arrogance.

"Planning offensives before even arriving? Too reckless."

Many nodded at this criticism.

"Youthful courage is good, but overconfidence is dangerous."

"Our priority in the North Wilderness is defense. Even if we attack, what then? Evil gods and demons are endless, while our forces are limited. Defending towns minimizes losses, but open battles would drain our strength."

"I’ll pass. Protecting what we have is hard enough. Mu Lin’s presence would clash with my strategies."

"My forces can barely defend—attacking is impossible…"

After understanding Mu Lin’s demands and ambitions, all legion commanders declined.

The issue wasn’t Mu Lin’s ability, but his excessive demands and resource share.

Just as Mo Feng thought everyone would reject Mu Lin, two legions hesitated—Great Snow Mountain and Agricultural and Martial Corps.

This sparked curiosity.

"You’d take Mu Lin? That’s seven Earth Immortals’ resource shares! You’ll struggle for two years."

Hearing this, the Great Snow Mountain envoy wavered.

Finally, he clasped his hands and sighed, withdrawing the invitation.

All eyes turned to the Agricultural and Martial Corps’ female envoy.

Under collective scrutiny, she sighed: "Don’t blame me. This cooperation isn’t my choice—it’s my grandfather’s ironclad order."

"Trading two years’ resource shares for one man… How will I explain this to our corps?"

Clearly, she too deemed it unwise to spend two years’ shares on Mu Lin.

But her grandfather’s order couldn’t be refused.