Territory Prosperity

When Kazvito shouted, "I agree," it meant the matter was settled.

Despite being hailed as the most powerful warrior of this tribe of Lizardfolk in the last hundred years, and possessing strength on the verge of breaking through from Black Iron Peak to Silver, Black Iron was still Black Iron. There was an absolute gap between it and Silver.

What's more, the one on Landen's side was no ordinary Silver, but Lilith, who possessed strength close to that of a High-tier Silver.

Hmm, even though our beautiful Naga expressed her arrogance by saying, "Why should I help you?"

In the end, she was persuaded by Landen because he explicitly stated that he didn't need her to actually fight, just to show her face.

And as it turned out, Lilith really didn't need to do anything.

Since it was decided that the victor would be determined by the strongest, Kazvito forced himself to calm down and ordered his equipment to be brought out.

After years of accumulation, their Lizardfolk had acquired quite a few good items. For example, the chainmail Kazvito was wearing and the gleaming trident in his hand. Clad in such gear, the already strong Lizardfolk chief appeared exceptionally heroic.

Then, he saw his opponent. Lilith gracefully swam out from her hidden spot.

Upon seeing the beautiful Naga, Kazvito froze on the spot.

The stronger one became, the more accurate their intuition was in certain aspects. Just like at this moment, the instant he saw Lilith, a thought surged through Kazvito's mind – I can't win!

The Lizardfolk chief transformed into a chameleon person, his face changing color repeatedly. Finally, under the control of his intuition and his barely calmed mind, he gave up the fight.

He surrendered!

He surrendered, but his subordinates were unwilling to give up. A Lizardfolk who had been by Kazvito's side, presumably his confidant, couldn't help but roar and charge out.

However, with just a chilling glance from Lilith, the Lizardfolk froze in place, as if turned into a stone statue.

No, not as if. He was actually turned into a stone statue. This was the innate skill of the Naga race – Petrification Ray.

Of course, since this fellow eventually became one of Landen's subordinates, Lilith held back. Within minutes, the fellow recovered from his petrified state. As soon as he recovered, an extremely foul odor emanated from him – he had been so scared that he had soiled himself.

Landen and the others were naturally unaware of this, as Landen had already left with his troops.

Compared to when they arrived, his troop numbers had nearly doubled. Personally led by Kazvito, a group of Lizardfolk warriors embarked on the journey back with Landen.

Unlike when they arrived, Landen sat on the back of the Vulture Turtle, appearing somewhat silent. This made Hogg and Avina feel a little puzzled.

Finally, the lively Hogg broke the silence, "Lord, why are you so quiet? Are you in a bad mood?"

"Ah?" Landen blinked, his previously vacant gaze finally regaining its spirit. He looked around, then chuckled and patted Hogg's head, "Of course not. I've successfully resolved the biggest trouble in my territory and gained so many citizens and soldiers. I'm overjoyed, how could I be in a bad mood? I was just thinking about the future development of the territory."

Landen was indeed very happy, and what he told Hogg was the truth. However, his happiness went beyond that. The main reason for his daze wasn't thinking, but looking.

He was looking at the Lord System, of course.

Compared to before, the content of the Lord System had changed significantly.

[Lord: Philip Isis Landon]
[Territory: Underworld, Blackwater River, Youweimas Area, Level 1 Territory]
[Territory Creatures: Mind Flayer, Family*; Lizardfolk, Tribe*; Hobgoblin, Tribe*; Rock Lizard, Tribe*n;]
[Territory Production: Deep Fire Magma Rock, Firefly Mushroom, Stalactite Frozen Slurry, Necroflower]
[Territory Buffs: Heart of the City, Territory Crop Growth Speed+, Territory Crop Prosperity Value+, Territory Resident Luck+, Enemy Speed Invading Territory-, Morale-]
[Territory Guardian: None]
[Partner: None]
[Follower: Hogg]
[Soldiers: 300 people, Loyalty- 150 people, Loyalty- 100 people, Loyalty- 50 people]
[Prisoners: Bear Hobgoblin 20, Converting]
[Citizens: Mind Flayer 10 (Contracted), Hobgoblin 500 (Permanent), Lizardfolk 1000 (Permanent)]
[Territory Popularity Value: 25]
[Territory Prosperity: 10]
[Lord's Special Skill: All Things Grow]
[Territory Quest: (Prosperous Future) Your territory now has over 1500 permanent residents, but the extremely poor output is affecting the territory's development. Strive to increase the territory's prosperity to 50. (Quest Reward) Territory free upgrade to Level 2]
[Other: Not yet unlocked]

Most of it was numerical changes, but two new items had appeared: Territory Guardian, which appeared along with the Territory Buffs when Landen inserted the metal roller of the Heart of the City into the Lord's Office. He didn't know what its use was, and after studying it for a while without understanding, he set it aside.

As for Territory Prosperity, it appeared this time after successfully conquering the Lizardfolk and exceeding the threshold of 1500 permanent residents. The base value it came with indicated that Landen inferred it was because of the survival methods inherent to the Hobgoblin and Lizardfolk tribes. The output from digging wild grass and fishing could also be counted towards prosperity, which also showed how low the prosperity of this territory was.

In this light, the quest's requirement to increase prosperity by more than three times wasn't actually that high. It basically just meant getting the residents of this territory out of poverty and barely ensuring they had enough to eat.

With such prosperity, and looking at the Popularity Value that had directly dropped to 25, everything was clear – despite Landen's efforts, it was clearly not enough. This territory was still a barren, chaotic mess. Not only was there the major problem of food shortages, but the residents of the territory could also initiate "major events" like ethnic uprisings at any time.

"Is my territory really that miserable?" Landen sighed, speechless and choked with emotion.

"Lord, what's wrong?" Seeing Landen suddenly lean back on the Vulture Turtle's back, Avina mustered up her courage and asked.

"It's nothing, just discovered some minor issues." Landen reached out and ruffled her hair. Avina immediately blushed and shrunk into a ball.

"It seems I need to have Hogg lend a hand to speed up the 'conversion speed' of those Bear Hobgoblins. Farmers, I need farmers!" Landen cried out in his heart.