"Talismans and elixir pills consumption are at 57,000. This is the minimum standard, but in reality, once training begins, the costs often greatly exceed that."
"Purchasing medicine pools and magic pools requires an investment of eight million."
"For magic artifact maintenance and accidental damage and the like, a reserve of 500,000 is needed."
Adding it up, military expenditure would reach 18.9 million low-grade spirit stones.
"We haven't even included the future purchase of battle flags and mounts."
Calculating to this point, Ning Zhuo felt his mouth go dry, and there was an unsettling feeling in his heart.
Having worked out the actual figures, the cost of military spending was higher than he had anticipated. But even these were based on the lowest standards of procurement, adhering to a principle of saving wherever possible.
"If only it were the ancient times of great wars, how wonderful that would be."
Ning Zhuo couldn't help but long for the once past history.
Back then, when the Cultivation Hundred Skills were not yet advanced and were far from flourishing. When the Cultivation World waged war, it was organized in the form of hiring troops.
Every cultivator was self-sufficient, taking military tasks from within the army, and after completion, received rewards, whether material or military honors.
Such battles emphasized the cultivation level and combat power of individual cultivators.
But with the sophistication of formations, the standardization of magic artifacts, the increasing density of spiritual energy, and the booming development of Soldier Dao and Official Skill in utilizing Qi Fortune and National Power, the methods became more and more sophisticated.
The old ways of mercenary troops became increasingly outdated and were gradually swept into the corner of history.
Not to speak of the present, by the later period of the Blood Slaughter Dynasty, the form of warfare involving cultivator armies had already taken the stage of history.
Over the subsequent two Dynasties, multiple Emperor Dynasties, and countless Dynasties, the battles involving cultivators became very specialized, paying attention to all aspects.
You must have unified attack and defense magic artifacts to leverage the advantage of numbers!
You must have military art to better integrate forces and create real combat effects that exceed your level!
For a true force of elite soldiers, every cultivator in the army must cultivate the same cultivation techniques! Take, for example, the Golden Halberd Army of the Liangzhu Country, which scouts good family sons from all over the country and begins training them from the onset of their cultivation journeys. The weapons, armor, and mounts they are equipped with are all uniform and of superior quality.
Such an army, once it goes to war, will unleash an extremely terrifying force. An incipient troop like the Three Generals Camp would not be able to withstand even a single round and would inevitably collapse at the slightest touch!
"Burning money, building an army is just burning money all the time!"
Having calculated everything, Ning Zhuo already had a thin layer of sweat on his back.
Currently, the Three Generals Camp had enough spirit stones on the books to sustain them for three months at most.
Ning Zhuo wished he could mobilize the army right now and head to the front lines. The daily consumption of more than three hundred people was stifling.
But he knew all too well at the bottom of his heart: they must practice diligently. Training must reach a certain standard before they could set foot on the battlefield.
Otherwise, they would just be cannon fodder!
And to be diligent in training, daily expenses would have to increase again.
"If it really comes to it, I'll just have to make up some of it myself." Ning Zhuo left the great tent and observed Liu Guan Zhang, the three generals, training their troops from afar.
Ning Zhuo's experience was limited, after all, he had only started traveling world this year, but his knowledge was solid, at least his understanding of the basics was quite comprehensive.
After watching for a moment, he recognized that this was the Triangle Arrow Formation.
From a bird's eye view, this formation would be a perfect triangle.
The three Golden Core Level generals were positioned at the three corners. At the forefront was Liu Er, on the left was Guan Hong, and on the right was Zhang Hei.
The Triangle Arrow Formation is the most classic assault formation, with the army's strongest cultivators at the three corners and a large number of Qi Refinement Realm cultivators filling the middle, while the two sides facing the enemy are lined with cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Level.
Formations are divided into Dynamic Formations and Static Formations.
The history of Static Formations is much longer than Dynamic Formations, with the most classic being the Spirit Gathering Array, which allows cultivators to condense the surrounding spiritual energy for their cultivation, increasing the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy.
The history of Dynamic Formations could be less than half that of Static Formations, but once developed, they became extremely vigorous, especially in their application on the battlefield, with rapid improvements.
The Triangle Arrow Formation is a typical Dynamic Formation.
Watching for a while, Ning Zhuo couldn't help but worry inwardly: "Dynamic Formations are difficult to practice, how long will it take to reach the basic standard for formation? It's burning money every day!"
Every practice of a Dynamic Formation requires a massive investment of time, materials, and manpower.
Ning Zhuo increasingly felt that forming an army was like making a grand gamble.
The three generals Liu Guan Zhang had already staked all their possessions!
And for Ning Zhuo, who was plotting to get his mother's relics from the Six Cave Sect, such as the Mechanical Car and so on, leveraging the resources of Liangzhu Country, and making use of the strength of Liu Guan Zhang's Three Generals was undoubtedly the most effortless method.
"If the funds are not enough, I'm afraid I'll have to lend a hand."
Ning Zhuo must hurry up, and also must closely follow the developments.
If the great war broke out, the Mechanical Car and other items belonging to his mother were likely to vanish amidst the chaos. He needed to be directly involved, on-site, and ready to adapt to the situation in order to possibly seize the target items.
Missing this war, searching for those items later would be infinitely more difficult.
Ning Zhuo returned to the Mechanical Dragon and took stock of his assets.
He had many spirit stones.
Last time at Mist Hidden Mountain, the Mountain God had given him 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones, which translated to one million low-grade spirit stones.
He also had many treasures.
Such as Mist Embroidery Orchid, Heavy Thunder Beetle, Heavenly Dew, Floating Cloud, Walnut Mountain Essence, Smog Stone, and Ghost Shadow Bamboo, among others.
If sold, they could fetch a significant amount of spirit stones.
Among the treasures, the ones with the highest value were undoubtedly the Nascent Soul Level treasures produced by the Old Monster in Stone.
But these treasures all had their risks.