Jerry pressed the upgrade to Tier 2 button.

The next moment, his personal interface transformed.

Name: Jerry

Gold: 0

Merit: 300

Tier: 2

Available Units to summon: Villager. Militia. Spearmen. Swordsmen. Pikesmen. Horsemen. Archer.

Press to upgrade to Tier 3

He tapped the press to upgrade to Tier 3 key.

Upgrading to Tier 3 requires 5,000 merit. You have insufficient merit.

Fair enough.

At this point, most of the teens were exclaiming in surprise. They realized the change in merits as well.

“I got 500 merits!” Chris looked thrilled. He pressed something on the interface, likely the upgrade tier button.

Jerry did his best to deduce.

“The merit you earned is a number multiplied by a decimal, which probably stands for a percentage. It’s 2,000 for me, is it the same for you guys? Yes. Well, that 2,000 is probably attributed to the 2,000 Sullivans we killed. The percentage after that? I think it’s our contribution to the battle.”

He was slightly surprised he claimed 20% of the contributions, but then again, he did fire the first shot of the rebellion. With the Sullivan attackers, he set up the initial ambush and played a huge role in setting up the final battle. He only had a few body counts under his belt, but without him, the Alliance might be gone already.

Now, Chris was impressive. He did no planning or plotting, but just by fighting in the front, he claimed one fourth of the total merit. That was enough to show how badass a fighter he was.

“I upgraded to Tier 2. It costed me 100 merits.” Chris explained as he tapped on the invisible interface. “There are a lot of new units unlocked. Spearmen. Swordsmen. Pikesmen. Archers and horsemen. Wow!”

Of course, whenever someone was happy, someone was not.

“Why did I only get 70 merits?” Raymond demanded, slightly annoyed. “I had more men than all of you!”

Jerry could give it a fair guess. Raymond had the resources, but he failed to use it effectively. Did his men help? Sure. But the result of the battle would’ve been the same with or without him. But he had no intention of explaining that and risk annoying the man. Instead, Jerry diverted his attention back to the new units he just got access to.

Spearmen:

Definition: Men armed with wooden spears. Plus side? There are some metal at the spear tips that can pierce human flesh and minor armor. They are one step up from the militias, but in most cases, their numbers, not their spears, is their best advantage.

Comment: You know how in fantasy shows a large group of evil goons gets defeated by the protagonist without landing a single hit? Well, that pretty much sums up the spearmen.

Unit Size: 300

Total Cost: 4,500 gold

Time: 3 hours.

Swordsmen:

Definition: Somewhat decent soldiers armed with shields and swords. They have leather armors that looks cool. They can easily cut their way through less professional soldiers, and they can stand their ground against an even foe.

Comment: Like those shields, the leather armors aren’t useless. At least they can clean the enemy swords up before they slice your warriors apart.

Unit Size: 180

Total Cost: 5,400 gold.

Time: 4 hours.

Pikesman:

Definition: Soldiers with no armors. Thankfully, they have large, one man tall shields and long pikes. They have daggers, but the daggers are more often used to make barbequed meat than to kill. They can hold their position if they hide behind their shields and use their pikes to deal with the enemies a safe distance away, but if the shield wall is broken and the flanks are broken, these pikesmen would be turned into your mediocre militias and flee.

Comment: Use them well and they will be stronger than you best prayers. Use them poorly and they will be weaker than your worst expectation.

Unit Size: 300

Total Cost: 6,000 gold.

Time: 3 hours.

Horseman:

Definition: A man on a horse. They are armed with cheap leather armor, a lance, and a sword. Don’t get yourself too excited. These horsemen aren’t the biological tanks that can crush through any enemy. They are more often used as scouts or used to chase down fleeing enemy. In a frontal assault, you will find them as durable as spearmen. They are more expensive and come in less numbers than the spearmen, so be careful with them...

Comment: A horse and a man is a greater target than a man on foot.

Unit Size: 80

Total Cost: 4,000 gold. 30 merit.

Time: 5 hours

Archer:

Definition: Bow and arrows can be terrifying. Only problem: Not all bows and arrows are created equal. These archers only have hunting bows and wooden arrows. Any decent armor can deflect these arrows. Even if someone without an army is shot, the victim will probably just pull the arrow out and continue fighting. They are mostly used to distract the enemies or wear them down for your other, more competent forces to step in and seal the deal. A whole army of thousands of these archers can do quite the damage, but a look at the cost and unit size will tell you only the most foolish fool would do such a thing.

Comment: You know how in movies arrows can wipe out an entire army? That’s not how it works here.

Unit Size: 100

Total Cost: 5,000 gold.

Time: 5 hours

“There’s a problem.” Jerry frowned and turned to most of the other teens who didn't have enough merit to do an upgrade. “At Tier 2, all the units come in different packages, and their cost is packaged as well. For example, with the spearmen, we can only summon them in groups of 300, which each cost 4,500 gold and takes 3 hours.”

“Where’s the problem in that?”

“The problem,” Sophie, who has also been tapped her interface. “is that we can no longer get them individually, so for poor people like us who can’t afford entire groups, it’s an unfavorable change.”

Jerry glanced around. Including him, there were five teens who looked like they have upgraded their tiers. Him. Chris. Sophie. Patel. And Nicole.

Speaking of Chris…

“Wow, check this out!”

The teen suddenly turned and dashed out of the command tent and out into the open. The next second, he tapped something in midair, and 24 figures formed in front of him.

Jerry’s eyes went wide. It was 24 horsemen. All of them had a spear, a round shield, and a sword attached to their belts. They wore leather armor with pieces of metal protecting their chest. Metal helmets covered their heads.

All 24 of them dismounted and turned to Chris before kneeling down.

“My lord!”

“They’re the General’s Guards.” Chris smiled like a teenager. “They come with the Tier 2 upgrades.”

Jerry rose his eyebrows and looked through his interface. Chris was right. He found a small blinking dot at the corner. A single click opened up another tab.

General’s Guards:

Definition: Elite mounted warriors armed with lances, shields, and swords. The armors they wear are a mixture of leather and metal. They are unlimitedly loyal to their lords, and will fight until the end no matter the enemies. Every Tier 2 general can only have 24 General’s Guards. Every General’s Guard killed in battle will be replaced in 24 hours unless the entire unit is wiped out.

Comment: They are a force to be reckoned with. A squad of General’s Guard can challenge and even route ten times its numbers. However, the General’s Guards are the General’s last line of defense, and if you find yourself frequently using the General’s Guards, then something is really wrong.

Cost: ---

Size: 24

Jerry and the other three teens quickly summoned their General’s Guards as well. Before long, a total of 120 armored, mounted warriors stood tall in the middle of the camp.

Even Jerry couldn’t help but let out a little smile. People like Chris, Sophia, and Nicole were fully capable of handling themselves, but he and Patel were practically defenseless. Militias were simply insufficient to keep them alive if things were to get too heated. Now, a squad of 24 elite warriors could surely change that.

Plus, an army of cavalry could do wonders. Back in the fight against the 20th Battalion, 120 General’s Guards charging into the field could break the defenders in one charge.

Just look at how much trouble the 20 guards of the Sullivan Commander did to the militias and the freedmen.

No one saw the flash of jealousy from Raymond’s eyes.

“We should put the prisoners to work in the mines at once.” Jerry suggested as he led the teens back into the command tent. The General’s Guards were good, but right now, the Alliance needed a plan. “The gold in the mines doesn’t mean anything to us if we can’t transform them into units.”

“But how about the Sullivans? It’s certain some Sullivans got out. They may be on the way back to the other Sullivan commanders now. We will be facing a larger invasionary force in a few days.”

“I will talk to Edward and send some of his men back to the closest Sullivan city, Maynard City. If the Sullivans are to muster an army to march here, chances are that’s where the army will be coming from.” Patel concluded. “One thing for sure. What we did with the last Sullivan battalion won’t work here.”

If routed Sullivan troops ran back to Maynard City, it was certain they would pass the knowledge of the Alliance’s battle style to the next commander. Things like ambush and night attacks could only do wonders when they catch the opponents by surprise. It could still delay an alerted enemy, but that was it.

“We can try to relocate ourselves.” One of the other teens commented. “Edward and his men have people familiar with the surroundings, right? We can use them as guide and stay away from this mess.”

“You want us to tuck our tails between our legs and run?” Chris’s question was far from polite.

“Actually, I agree with Chris.” Jerry shook his head. “We just exterminated a local garrison, which means the Sullivan influence here has already been dwindled. If we move to another battlefield, that will be no more. I doubt we can find a gold mine like the one we have now either. Chances are we will be caught in the open with no reinforcements with armies of fresh Sullivan troops descending upon us.”

Finally, it was the virtual leader of the Alliance that stepped in.

“Without adequate information, all we can do now is prepare ourselves as much as possible.” Patel started to hand out instructions.

“Who wants to interrogate the Sullivan officers?”

That was more of a question than an order, and rightfully so. Teenagers weren’t known for being obedient, and teenagers with armies beneath them were even more rebellious. If Patel tried to give orders, the others might feel neglected or even insulted.

“Uh…” Jerry had to cut him off. “Actually, Alex is already on it.”

“Hmm.” Patel nodded. He didn't know much about Alex, but if the girl volunteered to do the dirty work, well, then so be it. “Chris, will you be fine with picking out the prisoners too injured to work, and, ummm, handle them?”

Chris smirked. “Gladly.” He turned and left the room at once. Picking out sacrificial victims from a group of defenseless prisoners with 24 fully armed knights behind him? He would never refuse something like that.

“I will talk to Edward, and when the prisoners are put to work, I will calculate their daily gold output and distribute them.”

“How are we going to do that?” Jerry suddenly asked. “Evenly or by merit?”

“Actually, I was thinking we put all the gold harvested together for now. Given how the summoning mechanism has changed after Tier 2, dividing the resources between dozens of us may not be the wisest idea.”

Jerry nodded slowly.

“Jerry, Sophia, Nicole.” Patel turned to the other three Tier 2 Generals. “Please take turns leading your General’s Guards around the perimeter of the mines. Set up scouts around our camp so no one can sneak up on us. I don’t think the Sullivans will arrive until a few days, but we can never be so sure.”

Jerry nodded. “Good thinking. It never hurts to be careful.”

“Can I take the first turn?” Nicole suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm...sure. Why not?” Sophie shrugged.

“But what about us?” As the meeting came to an end, Raymond suddenly turned to Patel.

There were dozens of teens in the group, but only the five with enough merit to upgrade to Tier 2 were given an opportunity to do something important. The others were simply neglected.

Patel obviously didn't expect that.

“Well...just take a break. You know, you guys have fought well today. Go get some rest. You deserve it.”

Most of the teens left, satisfied. They formed pairs and trios and discussed what they would drink tonight or what they would do in the darkness of their tents. But Raymond wasn’t satisfied. Instead, his heart sank.

Right now, Patel, Sophie, Jerry, Nicole, and Chris have practically dominated the camp. Five of them claimed most of the merits, and with their General’s Guards, they represented at least one third of the Alliance’s forces. That was not counting the difference in troop quality and the militias they too commanded.

Even a fool could tell the more influence a teen had in the Alliance, the more likely he or she would get more merit next time. And who could say they, with armies behind their backs, would share the harvested gold evenly with those whose forces only consist of a handful of wooden-spear-wielding militias?

Before long, all the teens but the top few would descend into nobody. Their forces would dwindle in comparison to that of the top few, and their influence would be all but lost.

Raymond couldn’t allow it. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, tolerate the idea of having his life depend on the kindness and honesty of his peers. He would rather take things into his own hands.

But how? How could he take back power when he lacked the forces?

It was simple. He needed allies.