In Darkness City, within the Demon King's spiritual space---a special realm created through the medium of the Level 5 special building, the Spirit Sanctum. In this spiritual plane---months of development had made it highly comprehensive, increasingly fulfilling various functions.
Whenever Zhang Nu desired, he could revert to his human form within this spiritual world, experiencing life as he once did. For instance, at this moment, Zhang Nu, in human form, was sitting in a quiet, elegant café, cutting a steak while organizing tasks for the Dragon's Shadow Hero Guild.
Following the conclusion of the battle, the empire's offensive momentum had been severely weakened. As expected, it's unlikely the empire would organize another large-scale offensive in the near term, focusing instead on defensive strategies. This meant that the annexation of the entire southern territory was almost assured. To minimize losses and achieve the fastest and most efficient process, the cooperation of the intelligence system was crucial.
Zhang Nu told Su Yan, "I want to completely annex the entire southern territory of the empire within three weeks. What you and the Dragon's Shadow need to do is to coordinate with Darkness City's troops from the inside and assist in controlling these cities."
Su Yan immediately responded, "I've already arranged the tasks. The southern territory of the empire is already in a state of panic, and we have members of the Dragon's Shadow in each city, just waiting for your army to take over."
As she spoke, the admiration was evident on her face. She was somewhat puzzled about how two imperial Grand Dukes, along with the entire Guardian Knight Order, failed to penetrate even an inch into the Chaos Forest and were instantaneously annihilated on the Elro Plains. What Su Yan couldn't comprehend even more was how, in such a short period of time, Darkness City was already prepared to occupy the southern territory of the empire.
Judging from the current situation, the empire likely lacked the capability to prevent Darkness City from seizing and ruling the south. If Zhang Nu successfully accomplished this task, he would acquire at least a hundred million people.
To date, how many Demon Kings have managed to amass such a population? A force with over a hundred million people, while it may not necessarily reach the level of imperial power, would certainly be among the top contenders at the kingdom level. This formidable force, combined with the continuously growing population of Darkness City, would be powerful enough to compete with imperial-level forces.
Su Yan said excitedly, "Boss, with our strong army, those remnants of the empire probably can't stop you. It's only a matter of time before you become the first Demon King to conquer an imperial-level force!"
However, Zhang Nu cautioned, "The foundation and hidden strengths of an empire are more extensive than you think. Although the Thunder Empire may not be enough to halt our expansion, we must still be careful not to throw away our advantages."
Pausing momentarily, Zhang Nu added, "Moreover, the outcome of this war will undoubtedly shock various countries. If I'm not mistaken, forces from other empires and top-ranking Heroes will definitely get involved."
Hearing this, Su Yan tempered her excitement. She felt that her boss made a lot of sense. The Thunder Empire might no longer pose a threat, but conquering an empire was not an easy task. Furthermore, an imperial-level force is the result of various factors coming together. Such a significant power couldn't just disappear; its eradication would disrupt regional balance. Other imperial forces would not want to see this happen, so their involvement was inevitable.
More concerning than the intervention of other empires, however, were the Heroes. As a Hero herself, Su Yan could access the Hero leaderboard anytime. She noticed that the Heroes ranked in the top dozen were almost all Level 7 legendary units. Even though Zhang Nu was already very powerful, being targeted by such Heroes could still put him in danger. As the saying goes, caution is the parent of safety. The priority would be not to bask in the glory of current achievements but to stay vigilant, especially in times of prosperity, and cherish the hard-won fruits of victory.
As expected of the boss, despite his strength, he remained cautious.
After Su Yan had logged off and left, Zhang Nu stepped out of the cafe, only to see a modern city street materialize before him. Landmarks like the White Flag National Tower and the Pearl Tower appeared before his eyes, creating a magically surreal atmosphere. This street was an exclusive area for Chaos Federation Demon Kings and some Heroes, designed to mimic cities from their past lives, fostering a sense of familiarity and belonging.
Leaving this street, he entered the main urban area of the Demon King Space. By then, around six million citizens had gained access to this spiritual space, making the city vibrant with activity. At a glance, it resembled any ordinary city, with a diverse population of draconians, elves, humans, orcs, dwarves, and more, freely mingling. The online merchandise experience stores, in particular, were bustling with customers, contributing to the lively atmosphere.
The spiritual space created by Darkness City had become a paradise for the subjects of the Demon King. It served not just for entertainment and leisure but also as a hub connecting tribes, towns, and the core of commerce, where people could experience and trade online and then receive physical deliveries. With the presence of the World Tree in the Chaos Forest, the logistics and transportation within the entire forest had been greatly facilitated. The complicated terrain that once hindered trade and commerce had turned the forest into one of the most commercially prosperous areas.
The active population in this virtual city included not just the inhabitants of the Chaos Forest but also the merfolks from Holy Tides City in the Pale Moon Peninsula, the federated citizens from Kolo, Kregi, Elro, and over a dozen human territories, as well as merchants from non-federated regions.
This explained the bustling activity in this area. Both the virtual city and the spiritual space operated on a subscription model. Though the fees were modest, the large user base ensured significant revenue from bandwidth fees alone, generating hundreds of thousands in net profits daily, even after accounting for costs.
"This space is still too small!" Zhang Nu mused. "I need to make it bigger."
Lacking the necessary Level 5 special building upgrade scrolls, he set out to purchase them at high prices, offering ten million gold per scroll in the various Demon King markets. Despite the scarcity of Level 5 special building upgrade scrolls and the likelihood that only powerful Demon Kings would possess such high-level scrolls, the substantial reward offered was bound to attract attention. The offer of ten million per scroll quickly became a hot topic, drawing the interest of numerous formidable Demon Kings. It was conceivable that a Demon King in need of money might be tempted to sell.
After posting the purchase request, Zhang Nu left the virtual world and reappeared in the grand hall of Darkness City. He took stock of his current resources: over a billion gold, tens of thousands of various elemental gems, and a reserve of several thousand souls, including over a hundred Level 6 souls.
Holding onto such an abundance of resources without utilizing them seemed wasteful. Zhang Nu decided to put a portion of them to good use. He began with the high-quality souls, summoning Zhang Tiechui, the leading figure of Ironheart City and the federation's chief blacksmith; Jin Kui from Thunderclap City; Gru from Beast City; and Bai Jie, the fortress commander of Citadel of Eternity, to the main city.
The four subordinates quickly arrived, bowing respectfully and asking, "Greeting, my master. Has Your Majesty summoned us for a task?"
Zhang Nu spoke, "You are considered the elders of the Chaos Federation, or those who have made significant contributions. Each of you represents your respective races. I've decided to cultivate you to become monarchs, to become kings, to enhance your influence within your tribes and the federation."
The announcement took them by surprise. The Demon King intended to cultivate them into monarchs? Normally, becoming a monarch had little to do with cultivation; most beings who became monarchs naturally possessed the talent for it. Such talent wasn't common; it was extremely rare. Unless one had a strong lineage, royalty, or noble heritage, whether a race could produce a monarch largely depended on its fate.
However, to the Demon King, it seemed as though assigning a king title to giants, dwarves, orcs, and humans was as trivial as handing out fruit in a queue, seemingly effortless and inconsequential. Indeed, for Zhang Nu, creating monarchs was not a difficult task. He possessed monarch crystals, the most direct method, but chose not to use them due to their rarity and value. Instead, he preferred using the Soul Baptism from the Soul Altar, sacrificing high-level souls to bestow monarch potential upon his subordinates.
Given Zhang Nu's current stockpile of souls, this was not a challenging task. When Long Yi became a Dragon King, it only required one high-quality Level 6 soul, which demonstrated not only Long Yi's own strong background and talents but also the feasibility of the process. For Jin Kui, Gru, Zhang Tiechui, and Bai Jie, their talents might be average, but investing about ten Level 6 souls each would likely suffice.
The giants, dwarves, orcs, and humans are all major races. Creating monarchs for such races would be beneficial for future governance. Moreover, kings have a strong rallying effect. If the Chaos Federation were to have a Giant King and a Dwarf King, news would quickly spread, attracting nearby giants and dwarves to join. The proportion of elves in the Chaos Federation was increasing. While elves were among the first to follow the Demon King, it was important not to favor them exclusively. Other races needed attention too, making this initiative necessary.
Thus, the four were brought to the Soul Altar for Soul Baptism by Zhang Nu, who started the process by consuming souls. The process went smoothly, and the consumption matched expectations. After the baptism, they exuded a royal aura, successfully awakening as monarchs.
They knelt excitedly, expressing their gratitude to the Demon King. Jin Kui and Gru were particularly thrilled and surprised. Unlike the human mage and dwarven forgemaster, they weren't directly summoned by the Demon King, yet they were given the opportunity to become kings, allowing them to lead their races.
For Jin Kui, and even more so for Gru, this was an unexpected boon. Before pledging allegiance to the Demon King, Gru was merely a commander in the Beast City, not even a notable figure in the Chaos Federation, let alone the wider world. But after pledging loyalty to the Demon King, his life transformed dramatically. He could never have imagined that someone like him could become a king, feeling as if he were living a dream.
Pledging loyalty to the Demon King was the best decision he had made in his life, perhaps even in many lifetimes. Despite not being a direct summon of the Demon King, Gru's loyalty was absolute. He vowed to use his new status as the Orc King to attract more orcs and serve the Demon King."