Chapter 120: Temporary Camp

The idea of establishing a new camp did not originate from Liu Zong himself; it was proposed by Yuan Ying. As a second-generation member within the school, she held certain insights into the internal politics of the institution.

Liu Zong chose to assist the Kurast dwarves in dealing with the conspiracy lurking behind the scenes. No matter the outcome, it was bound to impact the mission known as "Amber Light."

Under normal circumstances, such effects might not matter much. But now, with the school tightening restrictions on the students’ freedom—demanding they devote more time to battlefield missions and at least match the NPCs’ level—Liu Zong and his group might not have enough time to return here and complete the next stage of "Amber Light." This mission could very well be abandoned.

Though Liu Zong and his companions spoke optimistically, deep down they felt some reluctance. Yuan Ying was unwilling to let such an opportunity slip away so easily.

Therefore, she suggested establishing a temporary camp or outpost for Yang City No. 3 Middle School somewhere in this forest, allowing them to apply for certain privileges from the school.

Even if they could not return within five years, once the neutral war zone reopened, this place could still serve as a vital stronghold.

Yuan Ying’s idea naturally gained Liu Zong and the others’ approval. When they gathered the Kurast warriors, they chose a favorable spot with the intention of building a temporary camp here.

Liu Zong had already discussed this with the Kurast dwarves. They showed no objection to his request. From their perspective, their homes were built in the trees; the clearing on the ground held no significance.

Thus, Liu Zong quickly earned the Kurast warriors’ consent to establish a temporary camp here, intended for those who had lost their ancestral spirits. In return, Liu Zong would have his own place in the camp, be allowed to station guards for protection, and send people here to conduct trade.

If, after resolving the ancestral spirit matter, the Kurast warriors returned to their ancestral home, control of this temporary camp would fall to Liu Zong. He would then have the freedom to allow or deny access as he saw fit.

Over the past few days, Liu Zong busied himself preparing this temporary camp. They selected a clearing beneath several large trees.

First, they cleared the space, then set up a large cauldron in the center, a Kurast dwarven tradition. Most of their strongholds had such a setup: a fire pit at the center—but since fires could not be lit here, the boiling cauldron served as a substitute.

According to Kurast custom, every warrior entering the camp would throw some food and moss into the cauldron. The camp owner’s duty was simply to keep the water level sufficient.

Surrounding the cauldron was an open area, serving as a communal space for everyone’s interactions.

Beyond that, Liu Zong’s group pitched their tents. However, due to the forest’s strict prohibition on logging and the fact it wasn’t truly an underground world, Liu Zong adopted a Kurast dwarven method: instead of building tents, they hung vines from the branches above, weaving a vine net about three meters off the ground.

Each vine net could hold three to five giant leaf-made sleeping bags, sheltering the occupants from wind and rain, while preventing beasts from climbing up to attack them.

As for people passing below, that was equally impossible to affect. Kurast dwarves were stocky, but even Liu Zong’s group could not leap directly onto the nets; they had to climb the hanging vines.

With the tents above, the ground space expanded considerably. Liu Zong erected wooden dummies for practice, defensive watchtowers, a blacksmith’s workshop for weapon repairs, and a market for trade around the clearing’s perimeter. Near the tree roots, he also planted large quantities of medicinal herbs and fragrant mushrooms.

These herbs and mushrooms were part of Liu Zong’s effort to practice herbalism. The Kurast dwarves were excited—they had never developed professional cultivation skills and were accustomed only to gathering what they needed from the wild.

Seeing Liu Zong fence off a patch of land for planting sparked new ideas among them. The Kurast servants valued these plots highly and visited daily to check on them.

Liu Zong also planned to build an inn or other structures, but lacked both manpower and blueprints. After all, in this game world, buildings required proper plans; even maxed-out construction skills were useless without them.

Thus, Liu Zong could only lay out the land’s purpose and wait until he obtained blueprints before proceeding.

These preparations took two more days. The temporary camp was nearly complete, and the Kurast warriors had mostly arrived.

This time, eleven Kurast warriors gathered here. Besides Pine Needle and Acorn, whom Liu Zong knew, five had been expelled from the ancestral home.

The remaining four had come from nearby upon hearing the news. Among them was a peculiar figure who commanded three times the usual number of servants compared to other Kurast warriors.

At first, Liu Zong assumed this warrior, named Zateng, was simply wealthy enough to maintain a larger retinue.

But Pine Needle pulled Liu Zong aside with a warning: be wary of Zateng. His power was approaching level 2. Once he became a shaman, three of his servants would immediately ascend as new warriors.

That was not even the main concern. If it were, Pine Needle wouldn’t have gone out of his way to warn Liu Zong. The real issue was that Zateng, soon to be a Kurast shaman, would gain natural authority over this small temporary group.

Unlike Pine Needle and the others, who had been exiled and had their ancestral spirits killed, Zateng had no reason to lead a probe into the matter.

As for Liu Zong’s group, they were of no consequence. To a Kurast shaman like Zateng, all outsiders were merely food or magical tools.

After explaining the critical situation, Pine Needle advised Liu Zong, “If you don’t want to help Zateng for nothing, you need to find a sage capable of suppressing him, someone who can endorse your ideas.”

Looking at Pine Needle’s expression, Liu Zong frowned. “Do you have anyone to recommend?”