"Underground City?"
Fang Yuan felt a slight chill in his heart.
The Dragon Nation had a total of three faction camps.
Human, demon, and underground.
The underground faction started with a territory that was an underground city.
Could there be another lord near his territory?
That didn't seem right either!
If it were another lord, their attack on his units would have prompted him to choose whether to enter a state of war.
Since no such prompt had appeared, the other party was unlikely to be a lord.
Not a lord!
Then it was an underground Monster Nest!
He quickly opened the map and located the spot where the hunters had been killed.
He had built a total of fifty Tier Two hunters. After their exploration,
the area within a thousand kilometers around his territory had now been fully explored.
That Underground City was located in the Northwest Direction.
The hunters had only just begun exploring this area when they encountered an attack from the Underground City's monsters.
"It's so close to us!"
"I just don't know how strong the monsters in this Underground City are."
"If it's a large Underground City, it might even harbor dragon-blooded creatures."
"Worse still, it might be home to a vast underground civilization."
"If it's the latter!"
Fang Yuan took a deep breath.
"Then that'll be troublesome."
"There are two kinds of underground civilizations. One is primarily made up of demi-humans such as Dark Elves, Grey Dwarves, and Lizardmen."
"The other is primarily made up of monster creatures such as Mind Flayers, ghosts, and Elemental Monsters."
Of course, there were also hybrids of the two, but they were relatively rare.
If it was the first kind, then being discovered basically meant war.
If it was the second kind,
it depended on when the other side decided to eat you before starting a war.
But no matter which kind of civilization it was,
once they discovered him, he certainly wouldn't have an easy time.
Especially with it being so close.
Fang Yuan looked at the short distance on the map.
He was caught in a dilemma.
"I've only just taken a Resource Territory and haven't even had time to celebrate."
"And now I've immediately been given a huge surprise."
"Oh, no. A shock."
"At least this happened during the invincibility period."
"If it weren't for the invincibility period, the underground monsters would probably have already begun attacking."
"But the invincibility period only lasts seven days. Once those seven days are over!"
"This Underground City is ultimately a huge time bomb that could explode at any moment."
"Before this bomb explodes, I have to make plans to deal with it."
"Either leave immediately, use City Migration, and abandon everything I have now."
"Abandon everything and move away."
The plan was clean and decisive, but Fang Yuan rejected it immediately.
It hadn't come to that yet.
He now had food and troops. Running away without even fighting a battle
would be too frustrating just to think about.
If he didn't run, then he would fight.
He now had a Level Three city, two high-tier heroes, and two Purple Barracks.
He had strength, but if his opponent was an underground civilization,
then his numbers were clearly insufficient.
At the very least, he had to raise the main city to Level Five.
He would talk after assembling an army of three thousand.
Thinking of this,
Fang Yuan decided that developing his territory would be his top priority.
As for this Underground City, although it was a time bomb, it didn't pose a threat for now.
Once Lilith returned, he would discuss how to investigate, harass, and wage war against it.
Fang Yuan exited the map.
He then gave orders to the remaining hunters.
"Leave five hunters behind to keep watch."
"All the others should head south to explore and hunt."
Fang Yuan himself opened the main city panel.
He checked the changes to the Level Three main city.
Name: Wilderness Territory Level: Three Faction: Human Power: Gondor Dynasty Identity: Northern Frontier Lord Durability: 10000 Prosperity: 5600/10000 Population: 750/3000 Building Slots: 17/25 Castle Buildings: Hero Altar, Hunter Camp, Wolf Hunter Camp, Flame Mage Camp, Glimmering Magic Tower. Influence: 200 Resource Territory: Stone Spring Village (LV2, +50,000 gold, resources/day) War Territory: 0 Miracle Territory: 0 Upgrade Requirements: 50,000 units of gold, 50,000 units of stone, 50,000 units of wood, 50,000 units of food, 50,000 units of minerals, and Prosperity reaching 10,000 points.
Fang Yuan quickly skimmed through it.
The upgrade requirements aren't complicated.
I have the resources. The key is still Prosperity.
If all the buildings under my command are upgraded to Level Three, they can provide a total of 3,700 Prosperity.
That leaves 700 points needed for the upgrade.
There's a powerful enemy outside now. I don't have time to slowly search for high-tier buildings to upgrade.
I'm afraid I'll have to find some White Buildings to hold things together first and stack up my Prosperity.
As for the buildings, I can find an opportunity to dismantle them later.
Besides, if I'm going to attack the Underground City, I'll need to obtain some buildings capable of producing troops that can fight underground.
The underground faction is neutral-chaotic, so humans can use their units.
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan was about to open the market in the Lord's Mark
to purchase some barracks for underground warfare.
Just then, Lilith's voice came from outside.
"My lord, come quickly and see what I brought you!"
As that familiar and seductive voice rang out,
Fang Yuan immediately received a notification as well.
"Ding! The Gnoll Tribe loot settlement is complete."
"Ding! You obtained gold, resources*60,000, Blue Source Crystal Shards*288, one Blue Equipment Sorcerer Staff, and one Blue Building Gnoll Sorcerer Reincarnation Tower."
"Ding! You obtained one Blue-quality Treasure Map."
After the notifications ended,
before Fang Yuan could inspect the items, he saw Lilith's familiar, graceful figure walk in.
"My lord."
"This time, I actually found a treasure chest in the Gnoll Tribe."
"I gave it a light tap, and the chest opened."
"My lord, you won't mind that I opened the treasure chest, will you?"
"If you do mind, Lilith is willing to accept your punishment."
As she spoke, the mature mentor in black stockings gazed at Fang Yuan with watery eyes.
"Uh..."
I'd like to mind. I'd like to punish you.
But your Loyalty has never reached 100 points.
I don't really dare to.
Fang Yuan could only say helplessly,
"Just this once."
"Remember to leave it for me to open next time!"
Only then did Lilith's eyes curve into crescents.
"Thank you for forgiving me, my lord."
As she spoke, she took out the spoils from the Gnoll lair.
"Here, look. The best thing in here is this Treasure Map."
"The rest are all Source Crystal Shards."
There were truly a lot of Source Crystal Shards this time.
Almost three hundred.
Moreover, all these Source Crystal Shards were Blue-quality. Each one could provide thirty experience points.
Using them all would provide more than eight thousand experience points.
That would be enough to raise Christian by one level.
Lilith was still just short.
After a hero leveled up, not only would their attributes increase substantially, but their skills would also grow stronger.
Whether it was completing the Golden Flower Family rescue mission or dealing with the Underground City, this would be immensely useful.
Fang Yuan thought for a moment and decided to keep the Source Crystal Shards.
He would give them to Lilith once he had accumulated ten thousand experience points.
He then turned his attention to the Treasure Map.
Name: Treasure Map Quality: Blue Use: Records the location of a treasure. Digging it up after finding it will yield a reward.
Lilith quickly spoke when she saw Fang Yuan examining the Treasure Map.
"My lord, I looked at it, but there's a special power on it that I can't use."
Fang Yuan thought,
That's great. Otherwise, you'd open the treasure chest and dig up the treasure.
What use would I have?
After examining it for a while, Fang Yuan used the power of the Lord's Mark to quickly erase the power on the Treasure Map.
"Ding! You used the Treasure Map."
"The Treasure Map's location has appeared on the map."
After the notification sounded, Fang Yuan opened the map to check.
His brows immediately furrowed.
"It's actually not far from the Underground City!"
"Strange!"
At the side, Lilith sensed it as well.
She stood and looked toward the Northwest Direction.
"Huh, my lord."
"When did an Underground City Entrance appear here?"
"The entrance was shrouded in thick mist."
"I'm afraid there may be high-level creatures beneath this Underground City."
Fang Yuan nodded.
"I discovered it by chance. It should have been there all along."
"I've been worrying about this too."
"Lilith, if we organize our forces and enter the Underground City now, what will happen?"
Lilith shrugged.
"We'll die together."
"The Underground City is extremely dangerous. Even at my peak, I might not have been able to defeat the Mind Flayers below."
"Their psychic spells are unique. It's said that psychic power can even counter War Mist."
"So the Underground City may still be hiding natives from the Glory Era."
"And on the surface, even the strongest Doomsday Fortress was breached."
Hearing this, Fang Yuan was also startled.
He muttered, "Looks like the one near me isn't a bomb, but a Tsar Bomba!"
"Now I have to figure out how to move it."
Lilith, who was standing beside him, shrugged when she heard that.
"There's no need to be so pessimistic. The shallow Underground Cities are all inhabited by Low-level Monsters."
"It might merely serve as an outpost."
"As long as we determine which underground civilization this Underground City belongs to..."
"Sometimes, they may be friends rather than enemies."
"When that happens, Lord, you might even be able to do business with them. The Underground City's resources are quite abundant."
Those words gave Fang Yuan an idea.
"Exactly!"
"The Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield isn't necessarily all about fighting and killing. There can be human relationships and worldly dealings too."
He was about to ask her more.
But Lilith spoke again.
"However, the prerequisite for doing business is that you're strong enough."
"So, Lord, you need to grow stronger."
"To the creatures of the Underground City, the weak have no rights at all!"
"When dealing with the weak, they prefer to let their blades do the talking."
"Oh, right. I'll go dig up this Treasure Map for you."
"I'll also take a look at the Underground City's exact situation—and scare them a little!"
"Don't let them get carried away!"
Before Fang Yuan could react,
Lilith had already left with the Treasure Map.
"Damn!"
"Are all Golden Heroes like this with their lords?"
"Who's the lord here???"
Fang Yuan sighed softly.
Then he opened the main city buildings.
"Regardless of everything else, Lilith was right about one thing."
"The weak have no rights at all."
"Then I'll start becoming stronger."
He selected all the buildings at once and chose to upgrade them to level three.
"Ding! Wolf Hunter Camp upgraded to level three. Attack +10, Prosperity +500, Skill Level +1."
"Ding! Flame Mage Camp upgraded to level three. Spell Power +10, Prosperity +500, Skill Level +1."
"After upgrading everything, I'm still short 700 Prosperity."
"Among the spoils Lilith just brought back, there was a Gnoll building."
"Let's see if I can use it!"
Fang Yuan looked at the spoils piled up on the ground in the distance.
He picked up a Building Card emitting a blue glow.
"Gnoll Sorcerer Reincarnation Tower!"
"It's even a race-exclusive building."
Before you continue