Activating the Divine Stone

"Damn it!"

"There's a Goblin Warlock!"

"Everyone, get in there and take it out!"

The adventurers were not affected by their fallen companions. They rushed forward together to attack the Village Chief, only to be blocked by a defensive line formed by the Strong Goblins. Two more adventurers were set ablaze and killed.

"Go to hell!"

Irritable Little Chicken hurled a club, striking the old Goblin.

It did not deal a fatal blow, but it interrupted the fireball casting.

"Nice one, Little Chicken!" As the adventurers held back the Strong Goblins, someone shouted, "Young Master Feng, Knife Uncle, move!"

Sleeping in the Wind and Lonely Swordsman seized the opportunity to charge before the Goblin Village Chief. The latter had no close-combat ability whatsoever and was ultimately killed by the two of them working together.

The other Goblins were nothing to worry about.

However, there were simply too many Goblins. Although the Riot Zombies had high defenses, they were not truly impervious to blades and weapons. Three more adventurers fell during the battle.

In the end.

Miracle City claimed a great victory!

More than thirty Goblins were completely wiped out.

Miracle City lost a total of seven Zombies.

Not bad!

Qi Ji watched the battlefield from behind the scenes. Some losses during battle were normal. Successfully eliminating over thirty Dark Race members was enough to bring considerable gains to the territory!

"Hahaha!"

"That was one hell of a battle!"

"We won! The Dark Races are nothing special. Battles like this are a real thrill!"

"Common Zombies are still too weak. If we could control Hunter Zombies and Smoker Zombies, we could definitely wipe out this Dark Race camp without any losses!"

While celebrating excitedly, the adventurers did not forget to search the Goblin camp. They found supplies in over a dozen thatched huts, including berries, herbs, and dried meat.

They also discovered an inconspicuous Altar in the middle of the village.

The Altar was only about one meter tall and resembled an ancient Earth Shrine. A glowing stone floated within it, and this stone was far from ordinary!

"It's a Shelter Godstone!"

Qi Ji's spirits lifted at the sight.

Ding! You have discovered the "Red Claw Village Godstone." Would you like to convert it immediately?

For half of every day, the Chaos World was shrouded in Hundun energy.

During this time, all living beings were unable to move freely. Once swept into a Chaos Tide, their minds and souls would be eroded by it, possibly resulting in even more unpredictable and catastrophic consequences.

Therefore, all underground races needed shelters in which to survive.

From Dungeons to villages and Hordes, all required Shelter Godstones to create protected domains.

Generally, the larger a settlement and the greater its population, the more frequently it worshipped its Shelter Godstone, and the larger the resulting protective radius. The more rewards a Lord would receive upon occupying it.

Qi Ji could consume Mental Strength to transform Shelter Godstones into Territory Godstones of different grades. Every Shelter Godstone converted would grant a corresponding reward.

Additionally.

A Territory Godstone could be linked to the Territory Core.

This would establish a transportation channel for personnel and supplies.

You are activating the "Red Claw Village Godstone." This activation requires 150 Mental Strength. Continue?

"Yes!"

Refining a Divine Stone required a considerable amount of Mental Strength.

Although it seemed like a lot, the price was completely worth it!

Divine Stone activation successful!

You have successfully occupied "Red Claw Village" and obtained "Chaos Treasure Chest (Gray)" ×1!

You may view Red Claw Village's construction details, income, population information, and more through the Lord Panel.

It worked!

Red Claw Village had become Miracle City's territory.

Qi Ji knew well how important it was for a territory to seize land. Setting aside its economic and military significance, merely establishing a Teleport Point would bring the territory countless conveniences.

If the territory wished to continue exploring in this direction, there would be no need to depart from Miracle City. By spending a small number of Soul Crystals, they could teleport directly to Red Claw Village, saving roughly three hours of travel time!

Converting the Divine Stone.

Had also earned him a god-given Treasure Chest.

You have opened "Chaos Treasure Chest" (Gray). You have obtained "Soul Crystal" +200, "Blueprint: Trading Hall" +1!

"A blueprint dropped!"

Qi Ji was overjoyed again and immediately checked its information.

Blueprint: Trading Hall. First Order Construction Blueprint. Requires 100 Soul Crystals, 50 Mental Strength, and 30 portions of First Order Material Essence.

Although the Trading Hall was relatively common among First Order special buildings, it held immense value for territorial development.

Special buildings were expensive to construct. In addition to blueprints and Soul Crystals, they also required Mental Strength and Material Essence.

Before this operation began.

Qi Ji had 340 Mental Strength and 732 remaining Soul Crystals.

Crafting Mercenaries had used up 90 Soul Crystals and Mental Strength, while refining the Red Claw Village Godstone had consumed 150 Mental Strength. He had 100 Mental Strength and 572 Soul Crystals remaining.

With the additional 200 Soul Crystals from the Treasure Chest.

His current total was 772 Soul Crystals.

There was no problem with the other resources.

All he lacked now was Material Essence.

Qi Ji activated teleportation and descended from Miracle City into Red Claw Village.

The adventurers had already cleaned up the battlefield. More than thirty Gray Goblin corpses had been piled together, along with fifteen captured members of the Dwarf Race.

"Lord Qi!"

"How did we do?"

"We didn't disappoint you, did we?"

The adventurers were extremely proud of themselves.

After all, their very first scouting operation had wiped out a Dark Race settlement.

Naturally, they did not know that this seemingly chance encounter had actually been Qi Ji's plan all along. Everything had gone exactly as he expected!

Still.

The adventurers had indeed performed quite well.

So Qi Ji doubled the Contribution Points of the surviving adventurers.

The ordinary, unranked supplies found in the Goblin camp, such as wild fruit and dried meat, were of little use to the territory. He kept only a small portion and rewarded the rest to the adventurers.

Supplies were scarce in the Surface World.

This was no small income.

Every adventurer beamed with joy.

You have recovered "Zombie Soul Essence" ×11!

After Qi Ji recovered the Soul Essence.

The adventurers ended their Mercenary status.

They could not stay overnight in the Dungeon for the time being, so they would be automatically teleported back to the Surface World. They also needed to rest and recover their energy as soon as possible so they could return to Miracle City during tomorrow's City Opening and challenge the secret realm.

This battle had also yielded fifteen Dwarf captives.

There were both men and women among them. They looked pale and malnourished, kneeling before him with anxious expressions as they babbled away in a language he could not understand.

"#%*...%!"

The language barrier.

He could not understand a word.

But it was not a problem.

Ding! Fifteen members of the Dwarf Race beg for protection and pledge their submission and loyalty to you. Accept? Yes/No!

Dwarves were a little weak.

But they were kind by nature and gentle in temperament.

Miracle City was short on people to handle odd jobs, and Red Claw Village also needed labor. Qi Ji accepted their loyalty without hesitation.

Mental Strength -5!

Converting Territory Citizens consumed some Mental Strength.

However, because there were not many of them and they were relatively weak, the expenditure was minimal.

The moment the conversion was complete, the Dwarves revealed delighted expressions. After becoming citizens under the Dungeon's protection, they all gained the ability to speak the human language.

"Thank you, great Lord of the Dungeon!"

"You saved us from the enslavement of the brutal Dark Races. We are willing to become Lord Qi's most loyal citizens!"

Qi Ji Territory citizens +15!

There was no upper limit on Territory Citizens.

As long as he could support them, he could take in as many as he wanted.

Humans existed only on the surface and underground.

The various continents of the Chaos World were inhabited by countless strange and unusual Alien Races. As long as they were not Dark Races, they could all be converted into citizens.

These Dungeon citizens played an extremely positive role in territorial development.

First, different races possessed different abilities and could serve different functions.

Alien Races could be used to form the territory's standing forces. Particularly outstanding ones could undergo Class Advancement to become Adventurers, and these Alien Adventurers were Exclusive Adventurers who could not leave the Dungeon.

Of course.

Alien Adventurers.

Had high requirements.

Only a small number of Alien Races could be successfully converted.

Qi Ji's gaze swept across the fifteen Dwarf citizens before him. He spotted a Dwarf Maiden with freckles on her face, an ordinary appearance, and clear, lively eyes.

It was her!

She really had been hiding here!

Qi Ji remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was quite exhilarated.

The Freckled Girl was far from ordinary. She was not a member of the Dwarf Race at all, but merely disguised as one.

Nan Xi Li Ya, the last Wood Elf King Descendant on this Chaos Continent, had originally been a resident of Holy Tree City in the Eternal Night Great Forest. However, Holy Tree City was destroyed during the Black Dragon King's invasion and the Dark Elf rebellion, forcing her to flee and hide everywhere.

She would appear at random times in different First Order regions.

At this moment, she had transformed herself into a Dwarf and blended in among the inconspicuous Dwarves in order to conceal her identity.

A major reason Qi Ji had organized the Mercenaries to begin expanding so quickly was because of her. After all, she was the only hidden character in the game with top-tier potential who had a chance of being recruited during the early stages!