The construction of Resurrection Altar, the summoning of seven dragons, the upgrade of the elven ancient tree and the purchase of two Sacred Fruits. This round of expenses depleted most of Zhang Nu's savings. However, there was no need to feel distressed; every gold spent was highly worthwhile. After returning to the Darkness City, Zhang Nu opened the player interface, scanning it out of habit. Immediately, he saw several occupation reward notifications:
[You've conquered Kregi City!]
[You gained "Shining Mythminite Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Charl City!]
[You gained "Exquisite Mythminite Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Reza City!]
[You gained "Shining Mithril Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Solo City!]
[You gained "Gorgeous Mithril Chest" x1!]
[......]
[5.5 million human inhabitants of Kregi region plead for surrender. Do you accept?]
Zhang Nu glanced over the information, noting nine conquest notifications. He had acquired two mithminite treasure chests and seven mithril ones. It seemed the Demon King's army had successfully invaded the Kregi territory. Among the three provinces in Kregi, two had already been conquered. With the efficiency of the Demon King's army, the remaining one should be subdued within about three days. This wave of conquest was impressive. The population was incredibly vast, with 5.5 million people in the region. Zhang Nu felt very satisfied. He decided to open the two mithminite treasure chests one after another.
[You've opened the Mythminite Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" x6.5 million, "Blueprint: Mage Job Advancement Tower" ×1, "Level 4 Building Upgrade Scroll" ×1, "Life Gems" ×1000, "Wind Gems" ×1000, "Fire Gems" ×1000!]
[You've opened the Mythminite Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" x5 million, "Blueprint: Imperial Hall" x1, "Blueprint: Security Bureau" x1, "Water Gems" ×1000, "Fire Gems" ×1000, "Earth Gems" ×1000!]
With a quick glance, Zhang Nu felt extremely pleased. He had acquired a total of three blueprints. Surprisingly, one of them was a Level 5 special building.
[Mage Job Advancement Tower] Level 5 special building...This building essentially allows the conversion of non-magical individuals into mages for a certain fee. It can also promote lower-tier mages to higher-tier ones, ranging from the lowest Level 1 elite to the highest Level 5 elite.
[Imperial Hall] Level 5 building...This building offers comprehensive management of citizens' information, records merit rewards and punishments, monitors the operation of various buildings, and handles finances. It provides excellent auxiliary management functions.
[Security Bureau] Level 4 building...This building has recruitment capabilities and can unlock special human units to form different levels of "security forces." While these forces may not be very strong in terms of combat power, they possess exceptional detective and espionage abilities.
Among the three buildings, the latter two were auxiliary structures with human-specific features. The most valuable one was undoubtedly the Mage Job Advancement Tower, which was capable of mass-producing combat units. It significantly differed from ordinary barracks-type buildings. Barracks buildings directly recruited summonable units, while the Mage Job Advancement Tower transformed existing non-combat units into combat units or promoted existing low-tier combat units into higher-tier ones.
Compared to buildings that summoned units out of thin air, this type of building had a major drawback: it could not create a population out of thin air. If the population in the territory was not large enough, its full potential could not be realized. However, its advantages were significant. It had no quantity limit, and the cost of units produced this way was only half to one-fourth of units summoned directly from nothing, making it very economically efficient.
If he had yet to begin his assault on the empire earlier, Zhang Nu might have hesitated about utilizing the Job Advancement Tower. After all, each person transformed into a combat unit meant one less individual available for farming, alchemy, and production. However, the situation had shifted drastically. A few days ago, he had acquired around 1.5 million people after capturing Kolo. Now, following the attack on the Kregi region, he had gained an astonishing 5.5 million population.
Given this trend, the human population was increasing rapidly within his domain. Many among them lacked innate talent for cultivation. By utilizing a portion of these people, they could be transformed into potent individuals with the aid of the Job Advancement Tower. This would not only alter their destinies but also significantly contribute to the Demon King's forces.
Moreover, Zhang Nu had a daring idea. Why not open the Job Advancement Tower as a paid service? Since there was no quantity limit, as long as someone was willing to pay, they could transform into a mage. Among the humans, there were countless mediocre individuals, and most of them were ambitious, far from content with a mundane life. If the Job Advancement Tower offered such a service, such as transforming into a Level 1 mage for a fee of 50 gold, Zhang Nu could set an external price of 150 gold. He estimated that many people would manage to gather the money for this opportunity. Not only would the citizens in his territory line up for the job advancement, but even humans from distant lands might eagerly seize this chance.
If ten thousand people underwent job advancement, Zhang Nu would earn 1 million gold. If a million people pay for the service, he would earn 100 million gold. And this was just for the most affordable option, the Level 1 mage. The potential market was vast. This plan would not only generate substantial revenue but also empower ordinary people to alter their destinies and fortify the human cities under his rule. It was a mutually beneficial strategy. Brilliant!
Zhang Nu opened the remaining seven silver chests in one go, reaping the following rewards:
[Total Yield: "Gold" ×13.15 million, "Blueprint: Imperial Training Ground" x1, "Blueprint: Imperial Arena" x1, "Blueprint: Imperial Workshop" x1, "Blueprint: Tower of Felony" x1, "Blueprint: Arcane Arrow Tower" x1, "Blueprint: Frost Tower" x1, "Blueprint: Illusion Tower" x1, "Blueprint: Barrier Tower" x1, "Level 2 Building Upgrade Scrolls" x2, "Life Gems" x2200, "Four Elemental Gems" x12000...]
Among these, there were two Level 4 blueprints, while the rest were mainly Level 3 ones. Some of them were quite practical. Zhang Nu pondered over his newly acquired blueprints and resources. He decided to use most of the blueprints obtained from the human territory in the human cities itself. This move served a dual purpose: enhancing the loyalty of human citizens and bolstering their strength to resist the empire. With these blueprints, controlling the new territories would become considerably easier.
As Zhang Nu hurried to renovate the newly conquered region...
......
Within the Gloom City, the Succubus Queen Han Kexin achieved a significant breakthrough. With the substantial amount of gold and resources obtained from the Mountains of Madness, she successfully elevated her two core subordinates to a crucial level. Han Qiuyue ascended from being a Succubus Archmage to becoming a Succubus Sage King. Han Dongxue, previously a Succubus Grand Marshal, was upgraded to the status of Succubus Baroness.
Han Kexin felt extremely excited and joyful: "Haha, after all this preparation, I finally gathered enough materials. Now I, the Succubus Queen, have subordinates at the level of monarchs!"
Many renowned Demon Kings were ascending to Level 5. However, not all Demon Kings could unlock monarch-class subordinates. Even if they could unlock them at Level 5, summoning them in the current stage was quite challenging. With two top-tier subordinates, Han Kexin truly became a powerful and respected Demon King. Each of these subordinates could dominate a region on their own.
Of course, the succubus race's direct combat strength was not exceptionally high. When it came to head-to-head combat, Han Qiuyue and Han Dongxue were slightly inferior to some prominent figures from the Darkness City like Zhang San and Li Si. However, Han Qiuyue and Han Dongxue possessed abilities that made them exceptional, abilities that even those prominent figures could not match.
Han Kexin asked, "How's the progress of the mission in Holy Tides City?"
Han Qiuyue replied, "Following Master's plan to support Shui Yao, head of the White Sands Clan, everything is going smoothly. The other major forces in Holy Tides City are in internal discord under our manipulation. The crisis in the White Sands Clan has been mostly resolved. The next step is to assist Shui Yao in becoming the leader."
As she spoke, she briefed them on the detailed situation.
"Very well, due to our limited geographical reach, we can't transfer too many people to invest fully in the Azure Water Federation. The costs and risks would be too high... So, we can only cooperate with the Darkness City. We help them control Holy Tides City in exchange for the Azure Water Federation's market and opportunities!"
During this period, Han Kexin had traveled to Holy Tides City multiple times. Her visits to Holy Tides City were even more frequent than her visits to Darkness City. Holy Tides City offered numerous business opportunities, and one could easily find profitable ventures in the market. The thriving commerce in the Azure Water Federation was an excellent supplement for the Gloom City located at the underworld.
Han Kexin had already begun investing in establishing her own guild. The guild operated directly in Holy Tides City, saving a lot on teleportation costs. However, if Darkness City lost control over Holy Tides City, all her investments would go down the drain.
At this moment, the composed Han Dongxue spoke up and reported, "There is something that has caught our attention recently. It seems that an external force in Holy Tides City is secretly inquiring about the Demon King of Darkness City. They have even traced it back to the White Sands Clan."
"What did you say?" Han Kexin was shocked. "Could it be that Darkness City and the Dark Dragon merchant guild have been exposed?"
Han Dongxue shook her head and said, "We believe not yet. Therefore, we have not made a move against this mysterious external force for the time being."
This situation puzzled Han Kexin. Zhang Nu's activities were primarily concentrated in the north, and the Chaos Federation had minimal presence in the Azure Water Federation. Why would someone from the Azure Water Federation investigate him? Moreover, the information revealed by Han Dongxue indicated that this force did not appear to be a local power in Holy Tides City either. This made the situation even more perplexing. The Azure Water Federation forces outside Holy Tides City should have no apparent connection with Darkness City.
Could it be that the Dark Dragon Chamber of Commerce had exposed some vulnerability during their operations? Although this possibility seemed unlikely, it could not be completely ruled out.
"No, this matter is of great significance," Han Kexin declared. "Both of you, return to Holy Tides City immediately... Well, forget it, I will handle this in person. I want to see who these people are and what they're up to!"
As two major demon lords, Zhang Nu and Han Kexin were closely associated with significant interests. Therefore, she felt it was necessary to personally intervene."