They finally left the Rivers edge and made the long journey to the other side of Riverside to spawn the Shang Swordsmen Warriors Hall. Once this was done they could get themselves ready for the celebrations that were due to start shortly. The group were still excited over the spawning of the Red Titanaconda's and Dom had left Hector, Ou Yezi and Gan Ning behind to settle them in and make plans.
"I think the Spartans would be excellent riders." Subutai commented as they headed through Riverside. Residents making way and bowing their heads slightly in respect as they passed. Dom felt uncomfortable, as he didn't feel the need for these customs.
"They are bowing out of gratitude." Lucius explained to Dom, catching his uncomfortable look, before replying to Subutai. "I agree, they are trained Warriors from birth and we haven't really maximised our usage of them yet."
"They are well trained and very strong, however they can be quite stubborn and definitely believe they are better than everyone else." Subutai replied with a slight moan. "We aren't using them to the best of their capabilities, but so much keeps changing. I will speak with Leonidas as he is the most level headed of them."
"I wouldn't discount Hector, he seemed to take to the Titanaconda naturally." Dom added.
"With the slow spawn rate of them, we can be picky with who rides them." Subutai agreed, "Potentially anyone can put themselves forwards to be part of this elite unit, or their Centurions can recommend them."
"They need to be strong swimmers, strong riders and be fearless." Lucius outlined.
"Will you be wanting one as a permanent mount?" Subutai asked seriously, turning to Dom.
"I am quite happy with my Red Hare at the moment." Dom countered, but did think he would look impressive on the back of a giant red snake when marching in to battle.
"The Red Hare's are definitely faster and more in line with the rest of our military." Lucius agreed, "But you never know what we could come up against in the future."
They soon arrived at the Military area, having walked past the Town Centre and through the current housing area for the senior members of Riverside. They then passed through the Inner Wall, which was guarded as usual by heavily armoured Forbidden Guard, towards the area where the Tongpai Residents had been based.
Dom was surprised to see that the area was less busy than the day before, with more and more of the new residents of Riverside now helping out in different areas or building more temporary accommodation. Dom felt relieved that they would be building two new towns over the next two days, and a lot of these people could be moved to their new permanent homes.
They soon reached the Military District, where the Heroes Hall lay. The Heroes Hall was supposed to spawn a new Hero every fourteen in game days and Dom expected it was time to do so again, having mainly used Cubes or Quests for his current group. They then passed by the other Warriors Halls, the two Legionary Halls of the Ninth and First Legions, as well as the partial Hall of the Balearic Slingers that was attached to the First Legions. They then passed the Hoplite Warriors Hall, where both armoured Hoplite and Spartans appeared from. Dom stopped here, but further ahead where the Tang Era Forbidden Guard and the Sarmatian Female Horse Archers Halls.
The Forbidden Guard had evolved in to the defenders of Riverside as well as his Sabre Tooth Tiger Riders. Where as the Sarmatian Female Horse Archer Warriors Hall had come from Banas's tribe when they merged in to Riverside. Both of these were the Elite units in Riverside that allowed Subutai and Xun You to think of interesting tactics.
"We have a lot of Warriors Halls." Subutai commented proudly as he looked across the Military District. "In such a short time, we have been able to grow such a great little force."
"It's all due to the hard work you have all been doing." Lucius agreed, himself thinking of how he could retire and manage the farming area of Riverside instead.
"How many do we currently get a day?" Dom asked Subutai, who knew the numbers. Dom could have checked the system stats, but decided to ask Subutai instead.
"On base numbers we get Sixteen Legionaries across both halls, Two Balearic Slingers, Eight Forbidden Guard, Eight Hoplite, Two Spartans, Eight Horse Archers and Two Lancers per day." Subutai replied with little thought, "However the numbers are often higher than that due to the perks.
"So we get at least forty six new Warriors every day, which if they were of the same unit type is half a century. Within a hundred days we could have a full Legions worth." Lucius exclaimed, "and that is on a minimal number."
"What about the Town Centre?" Dom asked, worried that the Warriors would outweigh the Civilians. If the Military was too large compared to the Civilians, there would be too much being consumed to manage the Military size.
"Twenty Eight is the base number of individuals, but nearly all individuals bring family with them." Lucius replied, "So we are on average bringing in Eighty Four a day now. Which is an incredible number and is putting a large strain on building houses and space, as we are needing at least fourteen new houses a day if families double up."
"So in ten days, we could have almost a thousand new Civilians and nearly half of that again in the Military?" Dom exclaimed, realising that the numbers would dwarf most other Player cities.
"That is why it is great news that we have these Town Centre Cubes." Lucius replied, "As we can build mini towns between them as we continue to grow. We also do not need to spawn every day, but I think that would be a waste of opportunity at this crucial stage."
"That is a lot of mouths to feed." Subutai commented seriously, his hand stroking his chin. "I do think we need to invest more time in to the farming community."
"I have said this a few times." Lucius laughed, "We are well stockpiled for now, with the Granary from Riverside, the food from Tongpai Towns Warehouse and the livestock we get daily. The Calm River is very bountiful, but we need to be wary of potential season changes."
"Once we have the city by the Sea, we can spread our fishing to the Sea as well." Dom offered, "Crassus and Meritamen can also push diplomacy and trade, bringing in new varieties and more animals."
"Once we have finished out current task of drawing borders and defending them, I'll get the Legionaries to support with building more roads and digging the land to help the farmers." Subutai explained, "I am sure a lot of the Hoplite would be willing to do the same. With the Forbidden Guard and Horse Archers, we should be able to defend Riverside enough from minor threats, and we have elite units like the Band of Thebes that can be re-directed when needed."
"It may be worth using the Elite Unit Cube to spawn more Legionaries." Lucius replied, "If we can get another Century like the Praetorians, it will free up more expertise in this field."
"Well, shall we see what we get from the next Warriors Hall, as they may be helpful as well?" Dom replied, understanding Lucius's point.
"I can't wait!" Subutai grinned, hopeful of some new variety of unit.
"More mouths to feed." Lucius lamented, thinking of the other Sabre Tooth Tigers that consumed a lot of meat, as well as the new Titanaconda's that would have huge appetites.
"System, please use the Shang Swordsmen Warriors Hall." Dom asked.
[Would you like to Re-Roll or Re-Use]
"Please Re-Roll." Dom asked politely.
Suddenly in front of Dom, between the other Warriors Halls, another appeared. As usual it was a single storey building made from the wood of the Silver Forest. It was basic as usual, with the expectation that it would change once the Warrior type had been chosen.
Dom still needed some Heavy Cavalry, he had the Lancers from the Horse Archers Warrior Hall who were the closest he had, but their numbers were low. He was also in need of a talented Armour Smith on the same level as Ou Yezi who could make the Lancers in to a more deadly force. Ou Yezi had already branched out in to creating new Rams for the Ships as well as a simple armour to test on the Titanaconda's, but he had enough work on already.
Dom also needed some proper Foot Archers, he currently had a contingent of Balearic Slingers, but they were more of a skirmish troop than a standard Archery Unit, even if they were deadly. The Horse Archers also filled this role when necessary, such as in Tongpai Town, but they were experts on horseback and the open battlefield. The Forbidden Guard had Archers, but they were a mixed elite unit, better used for defence or special missions. He couldn't deploy the Forbidden Guard Archers as a specific unit.
He already had many spearmen and swordsmen, both from the Hoplites and the Legionaries, so he didn't need more of them, however a lighter unit who could attack before his heavy troops could be good. A more developed skirmish troop would be ideal, or a lighter more adaptable version of swordsmen. The Balearic Slingers helped somewhat in this role, but they were more of an instant rain of terror, rather than a frontal assault.
He also was in desperate need of a Naval unit, the Hoplite were currently doing a lot for Riverside and were spread across most of the Heroes units. Some who had some Naval experience had left their spears behind and helped on the small contingent of Ships, however now that they could build five Trireme at once, an actual unit was needed. Gregorios had mentioned that whilst most Hoplite had some experience fighting or even serving in the navy during certain era's, there were specialised Hoplite units that did it as a specific role.
[Please choose one of the following: River, Snow or Desert]
Dom paused for a second, the regular option of choice was in front of him. Part of him disliked the choice, as there was a large gamble with any decisions. In the past he had chosen with a certain expectation, but had rolled something else, so he had decided to not try and guess anymore. He felt that as it was previously a Shang Swordsmen Warriors Hall that there may be some links to either the timeframe or troop type that they were re-spinning, but then again nothing made sense on the randomness of the choices.
What he did guess from the options was it wouldn't be another force of Legionaries, as none of the options given were their specialisation. He tried to work out what the potential options could relate to. River was the most advantageous for their current area, as they were based near River areas, and needed troops that could be used on ships. There was no snow in the area so he decided to push that one to the back of his mind at first, but then realised that in cold climates there would have been some very strong units. However he didn't need more Heavy Infantry so he decided to move on to the desert.
The Desert intrigued him, as he could think of many Cavalry type units that fought in that climate, however he also could think of a lot of infantry units that weren't as successful as their counterparts. They also didn't currently have any Desert's near them, but the location Riverside was based in was warm and he suspected there would be some desert climates to the south.
"We have three choices, River, Snow and Desert. I believe we should go for the River." Dom said, believing it was the most relevant choice currently. Subutai and Lucius looked at him as he spoke and both took a second to think before replying.
"River does make the most sense, even if it isn't a unit that we planned for, it is still more useful to us geographically." Lucius replied.
"I agree, I'm just hoping for more Cavalry." Subutai laughed, his mind always thinking of a large force on horseback trampling their foes.
"Please use River." Dom asked the system politely.