Coming back to the point, this battle had brought immense gains. Due to summoning the avatar of the Evil God, the empire's elite forces, numbering in the millions, were almost instantly annihilated. The direct earnings in gold alone amounted to around 3 billion!
Yes, not 300 million, but a full 3 billion! Even for Zhang Nu, and even for Darkness City, this was a staggering sum. Zhang Nu could use this money to significantly expand his military forces and even upgrade his Level 6 special buildings, taking the strength of his entire territory to the next level.
Apart from the astonishing income in gold, Zhang Nu also obtained a large number of Hero souls, skill stones, and two Hero leaderboard treasure chests during this battle. One was dropped by the Black Barbarian King Sanja, and the other by the Sword Saint Satoru Sato. There was not much more to say about that.
Zhang Nu first opened the warrior treasure chest dropped by Sanja.
[You have opened a Hero treasure chest. You've gained "Black Barbarian King Crystal" x1, "Level 6 Hero's soul" x10, "Eleven Elemental Gems" x10,000 each!]
Seeing these rewards, Zhang Nu was somewhat surprised. Although Sanja was a ranked Hero, he seemed to be more of a bottom-tier presence; Zhang Nu hadn't expected such substantial rewards from him.
The ten additional souls were quite valuable, and the 10,000 gems of each element, totaling 40,000 gems, included not just the seven elemental series but also spirit, soul, life, and undeath elements. This batch of gems was worth quite a lot of money. Besides, there was a special attribute crystal. While regular attribute crystals, like those for strength or agility, offer limited enhancements, this one was different.
Upon using the Black Barbarian King Crystal, Zhang Nu immediately received a notification:
[You've absorbed the 'Black Barbarian King Crystal', HP +3000, Constitution +800, Strength +500, Agility +400. You've gained the S rank skill 'Fiery Heaven Explosion'!]
The enhancement effect was indeed astonishing, significantly boosting his stats and even granting him an S rank skill. Sanja's most potent move in life was the Fiery Heaven Explosion Fist, but the Fiery Heaven Explosion that Zhang Nu received seemed more like an upgraded version, not limited to just punch techniques.
For a Hero ranked at the bottom of the leaderboard to yield such significant benefits, what could be expected from those ranked in the top five, or even the number one?
Zhang Nu immediately opened the treasure chest dropped by Satoru Sato.
[You've opened a Hero treasure chest. You've gained "Formless Sword Saint Crystal" x1, "Level 6 Hero's soul" x100, "Thirteen Elemental Gems" x20,000!]
As expected, the higher the ranking, the more generous the rewards. 100 Level 6 souls, if put on the Demon King market, how much would they be worth? For a Demon King, there's hardly any material more critical than souls, especially such high-level ones! In addition to that, the treasure chest dropped by Satoru Sato yielded gem income from a total of thirteen elements, meaning it included the previously mentioned eleven types of gems plus the even rarer time and space gems.
Altogether, this amounted to 260,000 gems. For Zhang Nu and Darkness City, this represented a significant resource boost, sufficient to significantly enhance the city's strength. With such an influx of souls, gems, and gold, how could Darkness City not experience another rapid development phase in a short time?
Zhang Nu immediately used the Hero crystal.
[You've absorbed the 'Formless Sword Saint Crystal', HP +8000, MP+5000, Agility +1000, Strength +800, Constitution +500, Will+300. You've gained the S-level skill 'Formless Swordsmanship'!]
Undoubtedly, Satoru Sato's strength far surpassed Sanja's. Thus, the enhancement effect from absorbing the crystal dropped by Satoru Sato far exceeded that from Sanja's, significantly boosting Zhang Nu stats.
Truly, slaying ranked Heroes seems to yield substantial additional benefits.
After resolving the issue here, Zhang Nu used spatial movement to hurry back to the battlefield, where everything had already been cleared. The million-strong army had vanished without a trace. It wasn't just the army that disappeared; all living creatures within thousands of miles, from insects and ants to birds and beasts, became sacrifices to the Blood Moon's descent.
As for the avatar of the Evil God summoned by Zhang Nu, such entities are uncontrollable. Once the battle here ended, the Blood Moon quickly broke through the void and left this world, which Zhang Nu found quite regrettable. Such a powerful weapon, if reusable, would surely be very effective, especially in besieging cities, far surpassing any siege spell or equipment.
Of course, even though it was a one-time use item, Zhang Nu was satisfied with the outcome. The troops deployed by the empire were undoubtedly strong, and a head-on confrontation with the Chaos Federation would have been costly. Utilizing the Evil God to annihilate them in one fell swoop significantly shortened the battle duration, reduced the Chaos Federation's war expenses, and increased the net gains from the war.
As for the Blood Moon, even if it could be reused, Zhang Nu would not easily release it. Although the power of the Evil God was formidable, the pollution and range of destruction it causes were too vast. Deploying the Blood Moon against a city would result in the sacrifice of all its inhabitants, leaving behind nothing but a ghost town. Such an act is not only inhumane but also fosters fear among the human populations in other imperial regions, which is detrimental to the interests of a Demon King. After all, the population itself is an important resource.
Once he confirmed there were no survivors, Zhang Nu quickly used his spatial abilities to return to the Chaos Forest and, using his authority as the lord of the Chaos Forest, instantly transported himself back to Darkness City.
In the aftermath of this battle, Zhang Nu gained a vast amount of gold, souls, and gems, fundamental materials that he decided to invest entirely in the development of his territory, such as constructing some Level 6 buildings. Up to this point, Darkness City had two Level 5 special building upgrade scrolls at its disposal. With the resources Zhang Nu had acquired from this battle, along with Darkness City's own reserves, upgrading two Level 5 special buildings was entirely feasible.
The question then arose: which two buildings should be upgraded? Darkness City was home to many exceptional structures, including the Resurrection Altar, Soul Altar, Spirit Sanctum, Citadel of Eternity, Rift Tower, Training Tower, Trial Tower, Stellar Gateway, and the Eternal Tree in Giantree City. Each of these buildings or facilities possessed powerful functions that made them worthy of an upgrade.
Take, for instance, the Resurrection Altar, which was currently at a Level 5 standard. Should a Level 6 unit fall in battle, it could still be revived, but its strength would regress to Level 5, requiring a considerable amount of time to recover. Similarly, the Soul Altar, with its potent soul synthesis ability, had previously allowed Zhang Nu to exploit the Demon King Market, accumulating a substantial profit from soul arbitrage and stockpiling a wealth of souls for Darkness City.
Nowadays, profiting from soul arbitrage was not as straightforward, mainly due to the increasing number of Level 5 souls on the market. This trend could be attributed to two factors: the rise of Demon Kings capable of slaying Level 5 Heroes and the emergence of other Demon Kings who had acquired facilities akin to the Soul Altar, enabling the acquisition of high-level souls. Thus, upgrading the Soul Altar held significant value.
If the Soul Altar and Resurrection Altar were essential for logistics and production, then the Stellar Gateway and Citadel of Eternity were among the most valuable military facilities. Upgrading these structures would greatly enhance their performance, substantially improving the efficiency of territorial expansion and the conquest of empires. Other exceptional buildings and facilities each had their unique uses and contributed to the formidable foundation of Darkness City as well.
After much consideration, Zhang Nu decided to upgrade the Stellar Gateway first. The decision to prioritize the Stellar Gateway over the Resurrection Altar, Soul Altar, and Citadel of Eternity was made because, although the latter facilities were slightly outdated, they were still functional and could afford to wait.
The current radius of the Stellar Gateway couldn't cover the entire southern territory of the empire. However, by upgrading the Stellar Gateway, it would gain the ability to open portals anywhere in the southern territory of the empire and the Crescent Peninsula. Following the battle, the empire was no longer capable of retaining control over the southern territories. Given the vast expanse and numerous cities in the south, conquering and then holding such a large area would entail substantial time and marginal costs.
With a Level 6 Stellar Gateway, the situation would change dramatically. It would enable the Chaos Federation to accelerate its expansion tenfold. As the federation expanded, its ability to maintain control over new territories would also increase. During this process, numerous cities would be captured, yielding many high-quality treasure chests, ensuring a steady supply of Level 5 upgrade scrolls.
[Expend "Level 5 Special Building Upgrade Scroll" x1, "Gold" x300 million, "Earth Gem" x40,000, "Space Gem" x20,000, to upgrade Stellar Gateway?]
Zhang Nu didn't hesitate to confirm the upgrade, the Stellar Gateway was immediately upgraded with minimal change in appearance, only growing a third larger, with more intricate runes etched on its surface.
With the Stellar Gateway upgraded, Zhang Nu turned his attention to the Tree of Eternity as his next upgrade target. The Tree of Eternity was one of the most versatile facilities, combining amplification, recruitment, and production capabilities in one. Even in ancient elven texts, the Ancient Tree of Eternity was the highest recorded entity. There was no mention of anything more advanced than the Tree of Eternity, even at the peak of the Elven Empire's power; it remained a theoretical legend. No one knew what a tree more powerful than the Tree of Eternity would look like or what capabilities it might possess."