Two hours later, Han Qiuyue reported to Han Kexin, "Vice City Lord, the troops brought by the Pale Moon King have all sworn allegiance to us. We can move to take over the royal city at any time."
Han Kexin nodded in satisfaction, "The royal city houses many major families and powers. Taking over the royal authority will inevitably affect the interests of many entrenched factions, so we must be prepared to counter any backlash."
Han Qiuyue replied, "With the Pale Moon King now a puppet under the Vice City Lord, those old nobles and aristocrats won't be able to cause much trouble. Dongxue and I would be enough to remove any hindrance."
Han Kexin was pleased with this. She turned to Shui Lan and said, "I need to return to Darkness City to report to the City Lord. I'll need you to lead Qiuyue and Dongxue to secure the Pale Moon royal city for us."
"Rest assured, Vice City Lord, there won't be any problems," Shui Lan responded.
Han Kexin then approached the Pale Moon King and glanced at the neatly arranged bodies of the twenty-six sea clan experts they had just dealt with. "Do you know where these people came from?" she asked, already aware that they were not from within the Pale Moon Kingdom.
The Pale Moon King respectfully replied, "My master, these were high-ranking members of the Deep Sea Hermit Association, led by a mysterious Level 6 Monarch. However, the leader did not appear here. As for how they infiltrated the Pale Moon Peninsula, I am unsure. The Deep Sea Hermit Association is extremely secretive and meticulous. It may take some time to thoroughly investigate."
Han Kexin frowned slightly. "The Deep Sea Hermits again. It seems this was a probe. They might have already figured out our origins and intentions."
"Should we take any measures?" Shui Lan inquired.
"For now, there's no need. Let's focus on our own tasks and not let these minor threats disrupt our plans," Han Kexin concluded.
At this point, she paused before continuing, "The Deep Sea Hermit Society is extremely wary of your identity. They won't make any rash moves for the time being, but they might attempt to assassinate or launch a sneak attack on you personally during this period. It's best to be cautious."
The influence of the Azure Water Empress in the Chaotic Sea was immense. Once the Deep Sea Hermit Society learned of her resurrection, they would undoubtedly feel significant pressure. However, the current fragmented state of the Sea Clan Federation meant the Deep Sea Hermit Society had too much on their plate to spare the resources or energy for such an action.
Han Kexin concluded that there wouldn't be any immediate threats. As for the personal safety of Shui Lan? That was even less of a concern. With Shui Lan's formidable strength, self-preservation was hardly an issue. Killing such a prominent figure as the aquatic race's empress within the stronghold of Darkness City, surrounded by numerous powerful allies, would be an extremely difficult, nearly impossible task even for the Deep Sea Hermit Society.
Furthermore, even in the unlikely event that Shui Lan was caught off guard and killed, Darkness City still had the Resurrection Altar. At most, it would temporarily affect Shui Lan's strength.
The priority for Darkness City in the Chaos Sea was to secure the Pale Moon Peninsula as quickly as possible. Han Kexin entrusted the takeover of the Pale Moon royal city to Shui Lan and her core team members, and immediately teleported back to Darkness City via the teleportation tower.
Upon her return, Han Kexin immediately sensed an unprecedented change in the atmosphere. The entire Darkness City, or more accurately, the whole Chaos Forest, seemed to be brimming with life and vitality like never before.
"What's going on? Why is there such a significant change!" Han Kexin looked up at the sky, astonished to find that the seemingly pure and clear azure sky was covered with a layer of potent energy---a barrier!
Han Kexin was greatly shocked. It wasn't strange for Darkness City to have a barrier, considering it was the capital city of a great Demon King. Most of the Demon King's buildings and facilities, as well as the Demon King's castle, were located here. However, the issue was that this barrier wasn't just covering Darkness City.
Han Kexin sensed further and found the barrier to be boundless, covering such an extensive area that it seemed to encompass the entire Chaos Forest. This was utterly inconceivable to her. How could there be such a powerful barrier in this world, strong enough to envelop an area as vast as four to five hundred thousand square kilometers?
At that moment, Han Kexin felt a wave of energy from behind her. She saw the space distort, opening up a small vortex. Countless emerald tendrils were released from it, seemingly reinforcing the vortex and eventually forming a stable spatial tunnel.
Zhang Nu and Nancilia emerged from the space tunnel filled with roots and finally appeared before Han Kexin.
Han Kexin noticed that Nancilia was brimming with excitement and joy, resembling someone impoverished who suddenly discovered they had won a billion-dollar lottery, unable to contain their overwhelming happiness.
"What is this?" Han Kexin knew that Zhang Nu possessed formidable spatial abilities. Constructing a stable spatial tunnel with his current capabilities wasn't particularly surprising, yet this particular spatial tunnel did not seem to be constructed solely by his powers.
Before Zhang Nu could explain, Nancilia began to gesture excitedly, "Vice City Lord, have you seen it? His Majesty the Demon King has caused the Tree of Eternity to evolve once again, transforming it into the World Tree. This is the grace of the World Tree!"
"World Tree!" Han Kexin was utterly baffled, "What is the World Tree?"
Zhang Nu briefly explained, "The World Tree is a Level 6 special building, and among Level 6 special buildings, it is an exceptional existence."
"What? Level 6!" Han Kexin was shocked.
At the current stage, Level 5 special buildings were already the top-tier structures within Demon King territories, and only a Supreme Demon King territory like Darkness City would possess so many Level 5 special buildings. However, Level 6 buildings were extremely rare, if not entirely nonexistent. The more powerful a building's functions, the more astronomical the costs for its construction and upgrade. The Tree of Eternity, being a formidable structure, would inevitably require a staggering amount of resources for its upgrade.
In fact, it did. To upgrade the Tree of Eternity, Zhang Nu spent a total of 1.8 billion gold, in addition to 120,000 life gems and about 20,000 gems from each of the eleven types, excluding the undeath gems.
It was safe to say that without the battle against the Thunder Empire, he wouldn't have had the capital to upgrade the Tree of Eternity. And after its upgrade, it became the World Tree, a mighty divine tree not even recorded in ancient elven scriptures, possessing far greater power than the Tree of Eternity. The vast barrier covering the Chaos Forest was created by the World Tree.
"What? You wiped out the empire's million-strong elite forces!"
Han Kexin had already succeeded in taking down the Pale Moon King, and securing the Pale Moon Peninsula was just a matter of time. She had intended to return and boast about her achievements, but to her surprise, Zhang Nu had accomplished something even more formidable. In just a few days, he had dealt with the massive army pressing from the north.
As the Vice City Lord, Han Kexin was well aware of the immense pressure from the war on the northern front. Even with the strength of Darkness City and the Chaos Federation, confronting the massive force led by the two Guardian Grand Dukes would have resulted in significant casualties and losses before it could be defeated.
Who could have imagined that a large-scale battle would never take place?
Zhang Nu said, "Don't worry about that. Let's have a look at the World Tree. As the executive vice city lord, you need to understand the latest production resources within our territory."
Han Kexin followed the two through the spatial tunnel stabilized by tree roots. As they entered, the verdant magical roots retracted, and the stable spatial tunnel immediately collapsed and vanished.
After passing through the tunnel, the first thing Han Kexin saw was a gigantic tree. This was the Tree of Eternity that once stood in the Tree City, now officially upgraded to the World Tree. Unlike the golden glow of the Tree of Eternity, the World Tree had a dazzling blue-green crystalline texture, and the energy it radiated was even more powerful and substantial.
The World Tree was not much taller than the Tree of Eternity, but it felt entirely different. Each crystal-clear leaf, resembling carved gems or jade, seemed to contain a world within.
Han Kexin was astounded and immediately began to examine the effects of the World Tree.
[World Tree] Level 6 special building. Within a radius of 200 kilometers, +150% recovery rate for all units, -70% aging rate for all units, +300% training efficiency for elves, -95% aging rate for elves, +150% attribute bonus for elves. Contains a 1 million square kilometers micro-world... Accelerates the growth rate of animals and plants. Unlocks summonable elven population. Unlocks the summoning of the World Tree Barrier. Enables the creation of Eternal Sacred Fruits. Unlocks the summoning of the World Tree Passage. Combat mode activatable.
The capabilities of the World Tree were truly formidable. The spatial tunnel that Zhang Nu and Nancilia had used was, in fact, opened by the World Tree using its roots. When the Tree of Eternity was upgraded to the World Tree, it acquired spatial-temporal attributes. The World Tree could open spatial tunnels anywhere its roots could reach, using itself as a medium to instantly transport targets within this range.
A World Tree could connect to all forests it touched. This meant that the World Tree could summon its roots in most parts of the Chaos Forest to create rapid transit pathways. This feature alone made the World Tree invaluable. At the very least, the draconian priests, who had been responsible for short-distance teleportation, could finally take a break from their busy schedules. With the World Tree, any unit in the Chaos Forest that was granted permission was able to travel quickly using the power of the World Tree.
Moreover, the World Tree turned a 200-kilometer area into sacred land, expanding the planned farm radius by fourfold. The existing large farm, which was already more than sufficient for the Chaos Forest, could now support the majority of the northern empire's population.
But that wasn't all. The most distinctive feature of the World Tree was its ability to create worlds within itself. The initial world inside it spanned 100,000 square kilometers, with enhancement effects and land spiritual energy identical to the outside world, and it also possessed automatic purification and law regulation capabilities. In essence, the inner world of this World Tree alone could have accommodated nearly a whole Elven Empire, providing a home for tens of millions of elves without any issues, making it an absolutely ideal and safe haven for them.
What was even more astonishing was that the World Tree was still growing. Its roots would cover an increasingly larger area, and the small worlds it generated within itself would also expand, making the benefits and value it could produce in the future immeasurable by mere wealth.
Whether for combat, defense, production, or habitation, the World Tree could significantly impact the Chaos Forest. As Han Kexin entered the inner world of the World Tree and saw the vast, fertile land rich in spiritual energy, she almost felt as if she were dreaming.
"This World Tree is just too powerful." Zhang Nu added, "Not only that, the leaves of the World Tree are epic grade materials that are incredibly rare and can be used to craft space and time gems. The World Tree's interior can nurture stone, wood, minerals, and even various other gem resources."
It was worth every penny spent. The special effects and hidden abilities of the World Tree were extensive. If fully utilized, the World Tree alone could transform the Chaos Forest into a unique paradise and a land of immense geomantic value on the continent.
......
Meanwhile, as Zhang Nu was introducing the World Tree to Han Kexin, news of the empire's disastrous defeat and the death of the two dukes had already spread like wildfire throughout the Thunder Empire and even reached the ears of nearby imperial powers.
This defeat was different from any before. It was so severe that it could shake the very foundation of the empire! The rise of a Demon King's power capable of directly threatening imperial forces posed an unprecedented challenge and danger, not only alarming the emperor of the Thunder Empire but likely also causing concern among other emperors.
A storm was brewing."