Half a day later.
[You have conquered Tien City!]
[You gained "Stardust Diamond Chest" x1!]
Zhang Nu received a conquest notification. He was not surprised by the capture of Tien City, but what astonished him was the high quality of the loot---this time, he obtained a diamond chest. What's going on? Why was the quality so high? The territory of Tien county was not high-level, and in terms of scale, it was the smallest among the nearby county territories. Zhang Nu speculated that it might be related to the city's large number of reinforcements, which increased the level of the city, thus boosting the quality of the reward.
Not bad. A pleasant surprise, indeed. Zhang Nu directly claimed the reward.
[You opened the Diamond Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" x30 million, "Blueprint: Elemental Sanctuary" x1, "Level 5 Building Upgrade Scroll" x1, "Life Gems" x10,000, "Fire Gems" x10,000, "Earth Gems" x10,000, "Water Gems" x10,000!]
Not bad at all. Thirty million gold, a Level 5 blueprint, a Level 5 upgrade scroll, and forty thousand gems of various attributes. The total value was quite astonishing. Among them, the Level 5 blueprint was a blueprint for a Level 5 special building.
[Blueprint: Elemental Sanctuary] Level 5 special building blueprint. Costs gold x9 million, light gem x1500, life gem x1500, elemental gem x2000 each. You may construct an Elemental Sanctuary within your territory.
Although it was a special building, the construction cost was quite cheap. Without hesitation, Zhang Nu immediately constructed the building.
[You've constructed the Elemental Sanctuary!]
[You've unlocked the ability to summon human units!]
[You've gained a new summonable population: Level 1 Elemental Mage +30,000, Level 1 Rare Elemental Mage +15,000, Level 2 Elemental Mage +15,000, Level 2 Rare Elemental Mage +8000, Level 3 Elemental Mage +8000, Level 3 Rare Elemental Mage +5000, Level 4 Elemental Mage +5000, Level 4 Rare Elemental Mage +3000, Level 5 Elemental Mage +3000, Level 5 Rare Elemental Mage +1500!]
Clearly, the Elemental Sanctuary possessed a barracks' summoning function. It could unlock approximately 100,000 summonable units in one go. This quantity was quite astonishing, but all of them were elites, without any lord or overlord units.
Zhang Nu had a Level 4 building, the "High Mage Guild," which also had the ability to summon human mages. However, the difference lay in the fact that the mages summoned by the magic guild were relatively more expensive but generally had rich knowledge reserves and production skills. The elemental sanctuary could summon elemental mages. Their combat power was higher than the High Mage Guild's summons, the prices were cheaper, but they lacked the scholars' rich knowledge and had no production research abilities.
In essence, the Elemental Sanctuary summoned units that were specialized in single-element magic and had high combat power. The mages from the Elemental Sanctuary were divided into regular elemental mages and rare elemental mages. The regular ones covered the wind, fire, water, and earth elements, while the rare ones included light, dark, and thunder elements.
One could customize the choice of elemental attributes as needed. For example, if one aimed for high damage, Zhang Nu could summon only fire and thunder mages. With tens of thousands of fire and thunder mages on the battlefield, a single wave of magic could flatten a city, displaying terrifying power.
Therefore, the Elemental Sanctuary's appearance effectively increased the strength of the Darkness Legion. However, the functionality of the Elemental Sanctuary was not limited to recruitment alone. It could also be a place to learn various elemental magic. All citizens, all races, and even non-territorial citizens could go in and study. The higher the level of magic, the longer it would take to learn---C-rank magic would only take a week, A-rank magic would require a month, and at least a Level 4 lord's strength.
In summary, the functionality was quite powerful. The cost of constructing this building was not high but could effectively enhance the magical strength of the territory. Zhang Nu expressed satisfaction with the Elemental Sanctuary's functionality.
This time, the chest yielded another Level 5 building upgrade scroll. Zhang Nu already had three Level 5 upgrade scrolls in his possession--- one for special buildings, two for regular buildings. The special building upgrade scroll was particularly valuable, and Zhang Nu had not yet decided how to use it. Moreover, upgrading special buildings was extremely expensive, and he needed to keep some funds for upgrading his subordinates. Therefore, he did not plan to use it immediately.
As for the Level 5 regular building upgrade scrolls, they could be put to use immediately. Zhang Nu had been expanding his influence over human territories, cities, and domains. With more territories under his control, he needed additional manpower for management and maintenance. With this in mind, Zhang Nu made a decision. He would upgrade the Sacred Knight's Sanctuary and the High Mage Guild to Level 6. Both of these were regular buildings with the ability to recruit human units, and once upgraded to Level 6, their recruitment capacity would significantly increase.
The High Mage Guild was a Level 4 building, so it needed to be upgraded twice in succession. Zhang Nu used several building upgrade scrolls to carry out the upgrades.
[You've gained a Radiant Knight's Sanctuary!]
[Radiant Knight's Sanctuary's current summonable population: Squire Knight +80,000, Junior Knight +40,000, Intermediate Knight +20,000, High Knight +10,000, Grand Knight +5000, Knight Commander +500, Titled Knights +100, Holy Knight +10, Titled Holy Knights +1!]
[You've gained an Archmage Guild!]
[Archmage Guild's current summonable population: Mage Apprentice +30,000, Junior Mage +20,000, Intermediate Mage +10,000, High Mage +8000, Grand Mage +2000, Archmage +50, Grand Archmage +10, Titled Grand Archmage+1!]
The upgrade of the two buildings significantly increased the recruitable human population. Zhang Nu planned to deploy over a hundred thousand summoned human elite units and some infantry to the human-occupied areas, with a total estimate of two to three hundred thousand. This move would further strengthen Zhang Nu's rule in those regions.
Among the newly unlocked units, the Titled Holy Knight and Titled Grand Archmage were both Level 6 overlords. The advanced units could be upgraded from lower-level units, but the cost was quite high, requiring the consumption of a Level 6 soul. Zhang Nu checked the gains from the recent battle in Tien City. Despite not killing all the Heroes, he managed to eliminate a substantial number. A total of four Level 6 Heroes, twelve Level 5 Heroes, and 384 Level 4 Heroes were slain. Additionally, he obtained 523 skill stones.
Considering the need for a stronger human elite force, Zhang Nu decided to increase the high-end combat power among the human ranks. He summoned the Grand Archmage Bai Jie stationed in the Citadel of Eternity and the Holy Knight Bai Jin guarding the Aofa City, and upgraded them.
The upgrade costs for the Titled Grand Archmage were: 30 million gold, 5000 elemental gems for each of the seven elements, and one Level 6 soul. The upgrade costs for the Titled Holy Knight were: 20 million gold, 5000 light gems, and one Level 6 soul.
After the upgrades, both individuals experienced a significant surge in power. They became the strongest among the Level 6 overlords under Zhang Nu's command, capable of jointly facing a Dragon King. Their enhanced strength further solidified Zhang Nu's dominance among the human forces.
Among the two, Bai Jie gained the most significant improvement. Previously Level 4, she now ascended to Level 6. This upgrade not only brought a substantial increase in combat capabilities but also greatly enhanced her knowledge and production skills, making her the foremost scholar in the Chaos Federation, with the potential for significant contributions in the past.
"Thank you, my lord!" Two powerful humans, their imposing auras overwhelming, knelt respectfully before the Demon King. Zhang Nu spoke, "Bai Jin, I appoint you as the overall governor of the human race. Continue to guard Aofa City and coordinate with the Darkness Legion in battles!"
"Yes, my Lord!" The formidable holy knight immediately accepted the command.
Zhang Nu then turned to Bai Jie. "How is the progress at the Citadel of Eternity?"
The Titled Grand Archmage Bai Jie quickly responded, "My lord, everything is progressing smoothly. Currently, the total number of researchers has surpassed thirty thousand and is still increasing."
Pausing for a moment, she continued, "Additionally, the Citadel of Eternity is collaborating with Thousand Fangs City. The magical weapons production line in the Imperial Workshop of Kolo has started production!"
As she spoke, Bai Jie opened a sealed scroll, revealing several weapons resembling guns.
[Fine Magic Ray Gun] Level 1 magitek weapon. It can be charged with various elemental energy gems. Each gem provides 20 elemental shots. Each shot deals a minimum of 300 fixed elemental damage to targets within 300 meters!
[Gnome's Flameblast Magitek Cannon] Level 2 magitek weapon. Consumes 1 fire gem for every shot fired. It can fire a flameblast shot towards its target with a 500 meter range causing up to 1000 points of fiery explosion damage, as well as an area of effect burning status.
Zhang Nu's eyes lit up. Has production already begun? He immediately inquired, "How is the production output?"
Bai Jie immediately replied, "We have recruited tens of thousands of human workers locally and dispatched ten thousand gnome magitek technicians and alchemists. Currently, we can assemble one thousand Magitek Ray Guns and one hundred Flameblast Magitek Cannons per day."
"This is just the beginning; the efficiency of the Imperial Workshop is very high, and there is enough human labor locally. Our production capacity will increase over time."
Zhang Nu was very satisfied. "Good, very good. Seize the time to expand production at the maximum speed and let the Gnome Magitek Research Institute develop more magitek equipment!"
While these weapons were almost junk to Zhang Nu personally, they held great value for the territories. A single ordinary Magitek Ray Gun had attacking power comparable to a Level 1 elite mage's magic. This allowed the direct arming of a large number of seemingly powerless humans.
Of course, what Zhang Nu valued more was the arms trade market. In a world filled with conflicts, there was a constant demand for weapons. While the traditional weapons, armor, and staff markets were already well-established and the Ironheart City was already doing a great job, creating a renowned brand in this field was challenging. On the other hand, establishing a high-entry-barrier, low-volume, and practical equipment market was crucial. Zhang Nu planned to establish a magitek weapon manufacturing center in the Kolo region. In the future, he intended to export magictek weapons as a distinctive product of the Chaos Federation, earning a substantial amount of gold for the federation.
Compared to ordinary weapons and equipment, the potential in this market was immense. It was enough to drive the economy of human territories and stimulate an increase in the working population.
Zhang Nu assigned detailed tasks to his two human subordinates, and they immediately left without delay. There was much work to be done for the prosperity of the Darkness City and for the Demon King.
......
While Zhang Nu was completing the deployment of the new plan, in the main city of Bachor, Grand Duke Bachor's expression changed as he received news about the defeat in the battle of Tien City and the fall of his Blood Lion Knight Order.
"What happened? Why did we fail?" Duke Bachor felt a sense of powerlessness. The battle should not have ended in such a tragic defeat no matter how one analyzed it.
At that moment, an intelligence report was delivered to Duke Bachor. After reading it, his expression immediately turned grave. "The Chaos Forest has an Elven King, and she's a Level 6 Elven King!"
Unbelievable. In the surrounding areas of the Thunder Empire, there were indeed habitats of the elven race. However, Elven Kings had not appeared for at least a thousand or two thousand years. Now, not only had a king appeared, but she was a high level Elven King. Even the renowned Mage King of the empire had died at her hands, leaving no remains!
The terrifying strength of this person made Duke Bachor feel a sense of powerlessness. Even if he were to face her, victory would not be guaranteed. Duke Bachor began to realize the complexity of the situation in the Chaos Forest, which shook his determination.
Should he immediately seek help from the empire?
