The city of giants was now in Zhang Nu's hands.
In an instant, Thunder Highland became the territory of the Demon King.
The influence of the Great Demon King now successfully radiated throughout half of the Chaos Forest.
With this formidable group of giants under his command, the military strength of the Demon King received a significant boost.
With the current power and forces, he could proceed step by step and gradually conquer the entire Chaos Forest without much difficulty.
Zhang Nu was looking forward to it.
According to the game's rules, seizing control of the entire Chaos Forest would undoubtedly reward him with a corresponding treasure chest.
This treasure chest would be a product of the entire Chaos Forest map, promising rewards of unprecedented richness and exceeding all expectations.
However, despite the decisive victory, there was still the task of tidying up, which would require some time and effort.
Zhang Nu eagerly opened the reward chest from Thunderclap City.
[You opened the Mithminite Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" x5,000,000, "Blueprint: Giant Altar" x1, "Blueprint: Tower of Lost Trials" x1, "Advanced Castle Upgrade Scroll" x 1, "Thunder Gems" x 3000, "Life Gems" x 1000, "Light Gems" x 500!]
Five million gold, a top-tier reward indeed.
This amount was equivalent to the gold coins found in the chest from Ironheart City, a city boasting a Level 5 Overlord and a population of hundreds of thousands of dwarves. It was a satisfying haul from Thunderclap City.
There were also two blueprints this time.
[Blueprint: Giant Altar] Level 4 Blueprint. Costs gold x500,000, thunder gem x200, life gem x200, quality stone x50,000. You may construct a Giant Altar within your territory.
[Blueprint: Tower of Lost Trials] Level 4 Blueprint. Costs gold x2,000,000, light gem x1000, dark gem x1000, life gem x1000, undeath gem x1000. You may construct a Tower of Lost Trials within your territory.
The first blueprint belonged to altar structures.
Zhang Nu was already acquainted with altars, having several in his possession, including the Demon King Altar, the Altar of Inferno, and the Soul Altar. However, the Giant Altar was unique to Giants and held no utility for other races.
As for the "Tower of Lost Trial" blueprint, Zhang Nu was quite puzzled regarding its purpose. Unfortunately, the prompt information failed to provide a clear description of its functionality.
However, considering the high cost, the functionality must be anything but ordinary.
Zhang Nu was disappointed that he did not obtain a giant summoning barracks blueprint.
If he had a giant barracks-type building, even if he lost batches of giant warriors, he could recruit more as long as he had the funds. The silver giants would be an endless resource at his disposal.
It seemed that the more advanced a race is, the lower the drop rate of its barracks blueprints.
Zhang Nu was grateful that he had controlled the casualties during the capture of Thunderclap City. Fortunately, he did not excessively use force or engage in mass slaughter of silver giants.
Having tens of thousands of Giants was sufficient.
Although he did not acquire the blueprint for the giant's barracks, obtaining an Advanced Castle Upgrade Scroll was still a decent outcome.
It would enable him to further enhance his High Demon King Castle, granting it more powerful attributes, stronger defense, and expanded functionality.
Overall, it was a commendable harvest this time.
To facilitate communication with the giants, Zhang Nu transformed into his dragon form.
The giants could immediately feel an overwhelming surge of dragon fear engulfing them.
The three-meter-tall Demon King had vanished and was replaced by a majestic true dragon spanning over 120 meters in length.
"Your Majesty!"
"It's a true dragon!"
"This is no ordinary dragon!"
"No wonder the chieftain pledged allegiance to the Demon King!"
"The Demon King is an Abyssal Dragon! Mentioned only in tales and legends!"
"......"
Some giants recognized the species of the Demon King. The Abyssal Dragon, as a mysterious branch of the true dragon lineage, was only found in ancient records and was rarely seen on the continent nowadays.
Accompanied by the giants, Zhang Nu entered Thunderclap City, taking in the grandeur of the giant's cityscape.
"Where is Thunderclap City's treasure vault?"
"Your Majesty, the giants' treasure vault lies within the central mountain. We are prepared to offer everything from the vault to Your Majesty."
"Then let's begin with the gold!"
Jin Kui awkwardly replied, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. The giants do not have a tradition of hoarding gold, nor do we engage in trade with other cities or gnome merchants. As a result, the city doesn't possess a substantial reserve of gold."
What?
No gold?
Zhang Nu felt a twinge of disappointment.
Despite having a long history, the giants were not wealthy like the dwarves. The main reason was that silver giants were not adept at production.
Not being involved in production was one thing, but silver giants also had minimal food requirements.
The mountain dwellings in Thunderclap City were specially designed to capture abundant lightning every day.
With the environment of Thunder Highlands, they could just laze around at home and recharge without starving.
In such circumstances, why would the giants engage in trade with gnomes?
Besides, gnome merchants did not even dare to approach Thunderclap City.
These giants were colossal in size, neither working nor consuming much, and lacking any particular hobbies or interests. They were truly a bunch of "couch potatoes"!
Despite all this, Zhang Nu still made some gains. After all, the Giants had lived on the Thunder Highlands for thousands of years.
Their treasure vault was quite substantial, although it did not contain gold, silver, jewels, or weapons. Instead, it housed various spoils of war.
Among them, materials were the most abundant. While Thunder Highlands appeared desolate, it was home to numerous high-level magical beasts, including some Level 4s and 5s. The giants had hunted down a considerable number of these threatening creatures in the past.
Thunderclap City had transformed these magical beasts into collectibles, accumulating a vast quantity over time. Various materials such as fur, bones, magic cores, and other components from high-level magical beasts, though not particularly useful to Zhang Nu, held significant value in themselves.
All in all, it was still a decent yield.
A group of war prisoners from the Magi Mojo City were held captive in the Darkness City. These trolls were skilled in alchemy and could be utilized in the future.
In addition to the trolls, both elves and gnomes were adept at alchemy. The elves excelled in constructing magical formations, while the gnomes possessed knowledge of magical and scientific technologies.
All of these productions required a significant amount of materials.
Some materials could not be immediately obtained even with gold.
Within the giant's treasure vault, there were countless precious high-level materials. It was essentially a vast museum that could fulfill most production needs.
The giants were extremely anxious, fearing the dissatisfaction of the Demon King. The chieftain hurriedly spoke, "Your Majesty, Thunderclap City only has these resources. If you are not satisfied, I will immediately order our people to gather more."
The Demon King replied, "Forget it. Although the treasure vault is not as abundant as I imagined, your attitude of surrender is acceptable. I will give you a small reward."
The Demon King had just occupied this territory and had not yet plundered everything nor exploited the giants. Instead, he was preparing to reward them?
Zhang Nu arrived at an empty space and took out the "Blueprint: Giant Altar", directly consuming the corresponding resources to perform the summoning.
Rumble!
The earth shook and the mountains trembled. A colossal altar, taller than any mountain within Thunderclap City, emerged from the ground, leaving all the giants present in awe.
The feat of raising a mountain from flat ground.
Some highly skilled earth magic users could pull off such a stunt.
However, what appeared before all the giants was not an ordinary mountain. It was a mysterious structure exuding a divine aura.
"What is this...?"
The giant chieftain, Jin Kui did not recognize the formations and runes on the surface of the altar, but he could clearly sense that this altar seemed closely related to the giant race.
At that moment, the oldest elder of Thunderclap City exclaimed with excitement, "This seems to be... the sacred altar hailed from the ancient legends of our race!"
This elder was the eldest and most knowledgeable giant in Thunderclap City. Despite his advanced age and declining strength, he still commanded great respect among his people.
"The sacred altar of the giant race?"
Jin Kui wore a perplexed expression.
"How is it possible that I've never heard of it?"
"Of course, it was natural that the chieftain hadn't heard of it. The sacred altar has long been lost to history. Even I have only heard tales about it," replied the elder, growing increasingly thrilled.
He carefully examined it repeatedly, confirming that he was not mistaken.
"The construction of the sacred altar is extremely difficult."
"Only the ancient giant empire possessed such power."
"The sacred altar can enhance a giant's lineage and potential. However, activating the sacred altar requires a significant amount of resources. Only giants with the most potential, exceptional talent, or those who have achieved great deeds can have this honor."
The silver giants were all moved by this revelation.
But this ancient relic had long been lost.
How could such a powerful existence, unknown even to ordinary giants, be summoned by the Demon King? It was truly unbelievable!
No matter the circumstances, this was the sacred artifact of the giants.
It could be called an invaluable treasure!
Although Thunderclap City's current strength might not be enough to activate the altar, it did not diminish its significance in the hearts of the silver giants.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The giant chieftain and elders knelt down, once again prostrating themselves collectively, causing the earth to shake with force.
The giant's loyalty was on the rise, averaging at around seventy percent.
At least for the time being, there was no need to worry about their betrayal.
However, the Demon King remained indifferent. "There's no need to rush and thank me now. The rewards haven't been distributed yet. You can express your gratitude when you receive them."
What?
Was this some kind of joke?
He was gifting the ancient sacred altar to the Giants!
Wasn't that already considered a reward?
In the eyes of the giants, this was already an enormous blessing!
Then, Zhang Nu extended his dragon claw and pointed at the chieftain Jin Kui. "Let's start with you!"
Before Jin Kui could react, the Demon King activated his spatial manipulation talent, enveloping chieftain Jin Kui with spatial energy, causing him to disappear from his original spot and instantly reappear on top of the altar.
[The strengthening costs 300,000 gold. Proceed to strengthen?]
Three hundred thousand gold?
It did not seem to be too expensive.
After all, Jin Kui was a Level 4 overlord unit.
Even using the Altar of Infernor to enhance a single Level 4 lord Warmonger Royal Guard would cost 120,000 gold. This was merely a little over twice the price.
"Strengthen!"
The altar shook violently, releasing a torrent of lightning bolts. These thunderbolts radiated a golden hue.
The giant chieftain stood amidst the electrifying spectacle, his form engulfed in these lightning.
[Strengthening completed!]
[HP +1000, MP +500, Strength +200, Constitution +100, Agility +50, Will +50. Activated talents: Golden Physique, Demon Busting Golden Thunder!]
Everyone was marveled at the sight.
After absorbing the golden lightning, the giant chieftain underwent a remarkable transformation, his once silvery metallic skin replaced by a resplendent golden sheen from head to toe.
"Golden giant!"
"This is the legendary physique!"
The elder of Thunderclap City was stunned. "His Majesty the Demon King actually activated the altar's ritual, causing the chieftain to ascend into a golden giant!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Our clan's bloodline..."
"It has dwindled over the generations."
"For five thousand years, not a single golden giant has emerged!"
The other silver giant elders echoed the sentiment, struggling to believe their eyes.
Golden giants were undeniably rare compared to their silver counterparts.
Only the silver giants with the best talent and the highest caliber had a minuscule chance of ascending into a golden giant through a specific training method.
Legend had it that golden giants not only exhibited accelerated training speed but also commanded a unique power---golden thunder.
This extraordinary lightning surpassed the might of ordinary bolts, exerting a profound suppressive effect on dark creatures and undead beings.
Under similar rank and level, golden giants outshone their silver kin in combat, displaying superior strength and prowess.
Each golden giant was a symbol of pride within the giant race.
The giants of Thunderclap City never fathomed that one among them would ascend to become a golden giant!
