[You've conquered Pale Moon City. You've gained "Shining Stardust Diamond Chest" x1!]
Now, Zhang Nu held two high-tier chests in his possession, one was the hero leaderboard chest obtained from slaying the Hero; the other was the conquest chest from capturing the Pale Moon Royal City.
Without hesitation, Zhang Nu immediately opened both chests. He first opened the Hero chest.
[You've opened a Hero treasure chest. You've gained "Plague Lord Crystal" x1, "Level 6 Hero's soul" x85, "Thirteen Elemental Gems" x18,000!]
Not bad at all. Although the rewards from the Fall Druid Hero chest were slightly inferior to those obtained from the Formless Sword Saint Satoru Sato, they were still quite substantial, enough to satisfy Zhang Nu. After all, the sheer value of the massive amount of gems alone was well over a billion gold, not to mention the plethora of Level 6 souls and a Hero crystal.
Zhang Nu immediately absorbed the crystal.
[You've absorbed the 'Plague Lord Crystal', HP +6000, MP +6000, Strength +400, Constitution +500, Agility +200, Will +900. You've gained the S rank skill 'Pestilence Sanctuary'!]
Absorbing this new power brought certain changes to Zhang Nu's body. What surprised him the most was that he had acquired Jason's domain skill through the absorption of the crystal.
Pestilence Sanctuary.
This domain's offensive, binding, and suppression abilities weren't particularly strong; its primary function was to culminate and brew various natural biological disasters such as locust and rat hazards, thereby creating plagues or subduing enemies. While the domain skill itself wasn't overly powerful, it could cause a terrifyingly lethal effect. Zhang Nu, whose combat methods were already diverse and abundant, didn't lack direct combat skills, making this ability particularly useful to him.
Following that, Zhang Nu opened the conquest chest.
[You've opened the Diamond Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" ×200 million, "Blueprint: Ocean Palace" x1, "Blueprint: Ancient Ghost Ship" x1, "Ocean Scepter" x1, "Level 5 Special Building Upgrade Scroll" x1, and "Eleven Elemental Gems" x10,000!]
Zhang Nu was very satisfied with the rewards. Both blueprints were Level 5 special blueprints, and Zhang Nu also obtained the much-needed Level 5 special building upgrade scroll, making these gains significant. The "Ocean Palace" was likely a barracks-type building, but it must have amplifying or supportive functions to qualify as a special building beyond just troop recruitment. Similarly, the "Ancient Ghost Ship" also had troop recruitment capabilities but served as a very special warship as well.
Deploying these buildings on the Pale Moon Peninsula could significantly enhance the Chaos Federation's control over the region. Zhang Nu planned to hand over the blueprints to Han Kexin, entrusting her with arranging their construction to consolidate their hold on the territory. In addition to the blueprints and upgrade scroll, the conquest rewards included a large amount of gold, gems, and an epic grade weapon named the "Ocean Scepter." The gold and gems were added to the treasury of the Darkness City, while the Ocean Scepter was to enhance the power of the Azure Water Empress.
The Chaos Federation already controlled Holy Tides City. Having captured the Pale Moon Royal City, these two cities --- the political and economic centers of the Pale Moon Peninsula --- securing control over the entire peninsula was only a matter of time. Zhang Nu ordered Han Kexin to accelerate the conquest process.
He speculated that conquering the peninsula would not only yield conquest chests from various cities and regions but, as Pale Moon Kingdom was an independent area and sovereign entity, it should yield a regional conquest chest similar to what was obtained from conquering the Chaos Forest. The power of the Pale Moon Kingdom far surpassed that of the Chaos Forest in its early days. Zhang Nu, having received such rich rewards from the Chaos Forest, believed that the rewards for conquering the Pale Moon Peninsula would be equally substantial.
Nancilia stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this Fallen Druid released a plague in the forest, which might cause us some issues."
Zhang Nu replied calmly, "The plague rats will dissipate the moment this individual dies, and as for the small area that has already been infected, there's no need to worry; just send a Nature Priest to cleanse it."
Hearing this, Nancilia felt relieved. She then asked, "This Fallen Druid is very powerful; he's no ordinary foe. If he were frequently active in this area, we should have heard of him, so why does he seem so unfamiliar?"
Zhang Nu explained, "Because he doesn't come from the empires or the Chaos Sea, he hails from a much more distant region and kingdom. Given the previous intelligence capabilities of the Chaos Forest, it's normal not to have heard of this druid."
"I see," Nancilia understood.
Zhang Nu continued, "Our recent rapid development and the impressive victories we have achieved have likely caught the attention of many of the continent's top powers and Heroes. For instance, among the Heroes who communicated with this Fallen Druid, there are two currently in the northern empire who are far more formidable than him."
Nancilia's calmed heart tensed up again. Stronger than this Fallen Druid? How powerful would that be? After her encounter with Jason, she had initially estimated that his strength was roughly on par with hers, and even if she was slightly stronger, the advantage wasn't significant. Entities stronger than him were likely to be more formidable than herself, and such individuals were rare in this world, each a renowned emperor-level powerhouse.
However, Nancilia wasn't worried. After all, even if the enemy was formidable, Darkness City still had the Azure Water Empress, the Vice City Lord Han Kexin, among others. Any of these figures could stand alone against formidable foes. Even in the worst-case scenario, where they encountered an enemy that even the Vice City Lord couldn't handle, the Demon King himself could always intervene. To this day, Nancilia maintained almost blind trust in the Demon King, believing there was no task he couldn't handle and no challenge he couldn't overcome in this world.
Although Nancilia was optimistic, Zhang Nu, by nature cautious, had not let down his guard. From Jason, he had learned that among the Heroes who had arrived at the empire, there was a top echelon Hero ranked around the 50th position.
"The Prophet of Doom... Primo!"
Through the Hero leaderboard, it wasn't hard for Zhang Nu to deduce that this person was a Level 7 mythic. Even for Zhang Nu, dealing against such a powerful Hero still somewhat bore some risks. Given the information revealed by Jason and the rumors about the Prophet of Doom, Zhang Nu had no difficulty surmising that this Hero possessed the extremely rare power of time manipulation, using it to understand the past and predict the future. This meant that he could potentially anticipate the strategies and movements of the Chaos Federation in advance, complicating the federation's struggle against the empire.
Zhang Nu mused to himself, "Is a Hero ranked around 50th so troublesome? It seems I shouldn't underestimate the Hero faction."
He believed the arrival of the Prophet of Doom was no coincidence. Despite his efforts to keep a low profile, among the active Demon Kings, few could match the influence he'd made, making it only a matter of time before more top-ranked Heroes would be drawn to him.
Fortunately, the Chaos Federation was now well-established. Even if Heroes ranked in the top ten came challenging, they would find it difficult to shake the foundation of the federation in the short term. Zhang Nu decided to further strengthen the construction of the Chaos Federation's Dragon Legion, utilizing this high-mobility, high-combat effectiveness, and high-destructive elite combat force to accelerate conquests. At the same time, he recognized the necessity to swiftly enhance his own strength.
At that moment, Zhang Nu sifted through his crowded inbox and found a message that greatly intrigued him, sent by an old acquaintance and fellow Demon King.
Blood Giant Wang Shi: "Hey, brother, that Void Seed you're looking for, I might be able to help you find it."
A clue at last? For Zhang Nu, activating his Level 6 talent wasn't hindered by a lack of talent points anymore. He had plenty of souls in his inventory if activation was needed; what really stumped his upgrade was the absence of necessary materials.
Zhang Nu promptly responded: "Are you sure?"
Blood Giant Wang Shi: "I'm about 80-90% sure, but this information isn't free, and the process to acquire it is very dangerous. You won't be able to find it without me personally guiding you. I want 2 monarch crystals and 100 million gold."
Zhang Nu considered this for a moment. Although the price was steep, it wasn't much for him. He had been using monarch crystals as rewards for whoever could provide effective information. Shi not only had the information but also planned to guide him personally, which justified a higher fee.
Now was not the time to quibble over small profits. Zhang Nu wasn't short on money. He immediately replied, "I can pay 100 million gold as a deposit, and once the task is completed, you'll have your monarch crystals."
Blood Giant Wang Shi: "Fair enough, then let's set a time to meet and discuss this in person?"
At this stage of development, top Demon Kings typically had a stockpile of teleportation stones. With these stones, Demon Kings could visit each other, assuming there was sufficient mutual trust. Of course, this came with risks---if one was to teleport into another's territory and be betrayed, ending up surrounded by Heroes, it could be disastrous.
Zhang Nu had known Wang Shi for a long time, and they had maintained very close commercial relations. Zhang Nu had imported countless gems and blueprints from Wang Shi, who in turn had bought vast quantities of food, materials, and equipment from Zhang Nu. Because of this long-standing relationship, a basic level of trust was established.
If obtaining a Level 6 talent material was possible, Zhang Nu was willing to pay not just a few monarch crystals and a couple hundred million gold, even ten times that if necessary. He did not want to miss this precious opportunity.
Zhang Nu and Wang Shi quickly agreed on a plan to meet in person."