Territory Prosperity

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

Although he was hailed as the strongest Lizardfolk Warrior of his race in nearly a century, and truly possessed the strength of Black Iron Peak, on the verge of entering Silver, Black Iron was still Black Iron. There was an absolute gap between it and Silver.

What was more, Landen's side had Lilith, who was no ordinary Silver-rank fighter. She possessed strength close to High-tier Silver.

Of course, our beautiful snake demon had arrogantly declared, "Why should I help you?"

But in the end, Landen still convinced her. He made it clear that she did not need to fight. She only had to show her face.

And as it turned out, Lilith really did not need to fight.

Since it had been decided that the strongest would determine the victor in a single battle, Kazvito forced himself to calm down and ordered someone to bring out his equipment.

After so many years of accumulation, the Lizardfolk had acquired quite a few good items. For example, the metal chainmail Kazvito wore, and the gleaming trident in his hand. With such equipment on the already powerful Lizardfolk chieftain, he looked exceptionally valiant.

Then he saw his opponent. Lilith gracefully emerged from her hiding place.

The moment he saw the beautiful snake demon, Kazvito froze.

The stronger one was, the more accurate certain instincts became. At that moment, the instant Kazvito saw Lilith, a thought surged through his mind—I can't beat her!

The Lizardfolk chieftain transformed into a chameleon man. The expression on his face changed again and again. In the end, under the control of both his instincts and his hard-won calm, he abandoned the battle.

He admitted defeat!

Kazvito admitted defeat, but his subordinates were unwilling to give up. The Lizardfolk who had remained at Kazvito's side—clearly one of his trusted aides—could not help roaring as he charged out.

However, when Lilith cast a grim look at him, the Lizardfolk froze in place, as if he had turned into a stone statue.

Well, not "as if." That fellow really had been turned into a stone statue. This was precisely the snake demon race's Petrification Ray.

Of course, since the fellow could ultimately be considered one of Landen's subordinates, Lilith showed mercy. But after a few minutes, he recovered from his petrified state. As soon as he returned to normal, an extremely foul stench seeped from his body. He had been so frightened that he had lost control of his bowels and bladder.

Landen and the others naturally knew nothing about this, because by then, Landen had already led the troops away.

Compared to when they had arrived, his party had nearly doubled in size. With Kazvito personally leading the Lizardfolk Warriors, they followed Landen on the return journey.

Unlike on the way there, Landen sat atop the Vulture Turtle's back in silence. This left Hogg and Avina somewhat puzzled.

In the end, lively Hogg spoke first. "Lord, you haven't said a word this whole time. Is it because you're in a bad mood?"

"Huh?" Landen was stunned for a moment. His vacant gaze finally regained its sparkle. He looked around, then smiled and reached out to pat Hogg's head. "Of course not. We successfully dealt with the greatest problem in the territory, and I even gained so many subjects and soldiers. How could I be in a bad mood? I was just thinking about the territory's development from here on."

Landen was indeed very happy. Everything he had told Hogg was true. However, his happiness went far beyond that. The main reason he had been staring blankly was not that he was thinking, but that he was looking.

Naturally, he was looking at the Lord System.

Compared to before, the Lord System's contents had changed dramatically.

[Lord: Philip Isis Landon]

[Territory: Underground World, Blackwater River, Youweimas Area, Level Territory]

[Territory Creatures: Mind Flayer, family*; Lizardfolk, tribe*; Hobgoblin, tribe*; Rock Lizard, tribe*n;]

[Territory Products: Deep Fire Magma Rock, Firefly Mushroom, Stalactite Frozen Slurry, Necroflower]

[Territory Bonuses: Heart of the City, territory crops' growth speed+, territory crops' prosperity value+, territory residents' luck+, enemies invading the territory's speed-, morale-]

[Territory Guardian: None]

[Partner: None]

[Followers: Hogg]

[Soldiers: people, people with loyalty-, people with loyalty-, people with loyalty-]

[Prisoners: Bear Hobgoblins, being converted]

[Residents: Mind Flayers (contracted), Hobgoblins (permanent), Lizardfolk (permanent)]

[Territory Popularity Value:]

[Territory Prosperity:]

[Lord Special Skill: All Things Grow]

[Territory Mission: (Prosperous Future) Your territory now has more than permanent residents, but its excessively barren output is affecting the territory's development. Work hard to raise the Territory Prosperity to . (Mission Reward) The territory will be upgraded to Level Territory for free.]

[Others: Not yet unlocked]

Most of the changes were numerical, but there were also two new entries. One was Territory Guardian. It had appeared alongside the territory bonuses when Landen inserted the metal rod from the Heart of the City into the Lord's Office. He had no idea what it did. After studying it without understanding anything, Landen had tossed it aside.

As for Territory Prosperity, it had appeared after he successfully conquered the Lizardfolk and the number of permanent residents in the territory exceeded . It had started with a base value. Landen deduced that this was because the survival methods naturally possessed by the Hobgoblins and Lizardfolk—their output from digging up wild grass and fishing—also counted toward prosperity. It also showed just how low the territory's prosperity was.

Seen this way, the mission's requirement to raise the Territory Prosperity by times was not actually very high. Basically, it only required the residents of this territory to escape their impoverished lives and barely secure enough food and clothing.

With such low prosperity, and the Popularity Value that had directly fallen to , all the problems were laid bare. Although Landen had already been working hard, it was clearly not enough. This territory was still a barren, chaotic dump. Not only was it facing the major problem of insufficient food, but its residents could also launch some sort of ethnic uprising or other "major event" at any moment.

"Is my territory really that miserable?" Landen let out a long sigh, rendered speechless by despair.

"Lord, what's wrong?" Seeing Landen suddenly fall backward onto the Vulture Turtle's back, Avina gathered her courage and asked.

"It's nothing. I just discovered a few minor problems." Landen raised his hand and gave her a head pat. Avina immediately flushed red and curled into a ball.

"Looks like I need to have Hogg take action and speed up the Bear Hobgoblins' 'conversion.' I need farmers—I need farmers!" Landen shouted inwardly.