New Round of Construction

A dungeon.

The lord was the absolute core.

In addition, there were four important components.

They were: citizens, soldiers, heroes, and adventurers.

Some of these four identities could overlap, while others could be further subdivided.

For example, based on the extent of their cooperation with a dungeon, adventurers could be categorized as Contract Adventurers, Exclusive Adventurers, Tourist Adventurers, and so on.

Hero Units were the rarest. If a lord was a king or emperor, Territory Heroes were equivalent to ministers or generals. A sufficiently outstanding Hero Unit was worth more than an army of thousands!

Different heroes possessed different aptitudes.

The boosts they brought to a territory also varied.

As the saying went, an army of thousands was easy to find, but a single great general was hard to come by. Only a very small number of people with special talents could become heroes, and Nan Xi Li Ya, whom Qi Ji had encountered, possessed such talent—top-tier talent at that.

Recruiting her.

Was an important part of his short- and mid-term plans.

Not only did Nan Xi Li Ya herself possess tremendous potential, but her special identity was tied to whether he could control the entire Eternal Night Great Forest and command all factions at the lowest possible cost in the future.

Of course.

Miracle City was still too weak.

It did not yet have the ability to nurture heroes.

And recruiting Nan Xi Li Ya would not be easy.

The girl trusted no one right now. She was not only highly wary, but also extremely timid.

If he could not earn her trust and approval, then exposed her identity and tried to bind her with a contract, she would immediately run away.

And for various reasons.

Nan Xi Li Ya could remain in Gloomy Valley.

For no more than half a year.

If he could not recruit her within the Limited Time, she would leave this area as well.

It sounded quite challenging, but Qi Ji had confidence in himself and his territory. The timing simply was not right yet, so he could not alert her for now!

He first gave the Gnomes an order.

Strip all the Goblins of their equipment.

Goblin Short Sword, gray low-grade equipment.

Goblin Scythe, gray low-grade equipment.

Goblin Leather Armor, gray mid-grade equipment.

Goblin Short Crossbow, gray mid-grade equipment.

There were fifty-two pieces of graded equipment.

The rest was worthless scrap metal.

From lowest to highest, item grades were: gray, white, green, blue, purple, orange, and so on.

Although these pieces of equipment had grades, they were all at the lowest gray grade. He kept only five short crossbows and five short swords for the Gnomes to defend themselves with, then recycled all the other gray equipment through the core.

You recycled "Goblin Staff." First Order Material Essence +5!

You recycled "Goblin Leather Armor." First Order Material Essence +3!

You recycled "Goblin Scythe." First Order Material Essence +1!

He recycled fifty-two pieces of gray equipment.

They brought the territory a total of eighty-seven portions of First Order Material Essence.

Not bad!

With these materials.

Building the Trading Hall would be easy.

They also harvested twenty-four Red Blood Fruits and thirty Blue Moon Grass plants from the Goblin camp.

After all, Red Claw Village had two Spirit Fields. These were all specialties of the Red Claw Village Plantation.

Spirit Fields were a precious resource. Some formed naturally, while others were created artificially. They could draw energy from the Chaos Tide to nourish crops and make them grow rapidly.

Every ten days, Red Claw Village could produce fifty Red Blood Berries and twenty Blue Moon Grass plants.

Red Blood Fruit was a medicinal fruit that could rapidly heal wounds and had restorative effects, while Blue Moon Grass was an herb that could quickly restore stamina and relieve fatigue.

Although they were both relatively common First Order materials.

They were highly practical raw materials with considerable value.

Not only could they be consumed directly, they could also be refined into medicines with better effects and longer shelf lives.

Obtaining a resource-producing territory like Red Claw Village was an absolute dream start for a new Dungeon Lord. Its resources could be used internally or sold, making it a small money tree without question.

Any graded resource had value.

Even if it was completely useless on its own, it could at worst be broken down and recycled through the core, producing Material Essence and contributing to the territory's construction!

But precisely because Red Claw Village was valuable.

The Goblin Lord would definitely not let the matter rest.

He would certainly send troops to seize the village, and Miracle City would also come under threat.

Qi Ji was not worried about this. He still had "Sekiro" and "The Legend of Mir" waiting to be activated. As he advanced further in the future, Inspiration Crystals would only become more plentiful. What he lacked was the core needed to create New Secret Realms.

So he had to expand his territory further.

And seize more cores!

Miracle City had existed for only a week. The protective field emitted by its current core could still last for three weeks. During this time, even if the Dark Races marched up to the city gates, they would not be able to enter. There would be no threat in the short term.

Qi Ji assigned tasks to the Gnome Subjects.

Thirteen would remain in Red Claw Village to continue farming and working.

Qi Ji chose two to bring back to the Main City, one man and one woman. The man was named Arno, and the woman was Aya.

Arno was a young Gnome with an honest, somewhat dull appearance. He also possessed a certain talent for cultivation and might have the chance to be trained as an adventurer or become combat strength for the territory in the future.

Aya was Nan Xi Li Ya, the Elf Maiden disguised as a Gnome.

After returning to the Main City.

Qi Ji assigned work to the two of them.

Arno would handle various odd jobs and errands around the territory.

Aya, meanwhile, would assist the lord in receiving adventurers at the Secret Realm Lobby.

Qi Ji planned to have this hidden Elf Maiden serve as an "internet cafe manager." On one hand, she could receive adventurers for him on a daily basis; on the other, she could gain a better understanding of the territory.

Given Miracle City's potential.

He believed this little Elf would soon acknowledge it!

"Th... thank you, Lord!" Arno's face flushed red with excitement. He had originally been an ordinary Gnome villager. From the moment he was captured by the Dark Races, his life had been completely over.

Who would have thought.

That today, he would not only be rescued.

But would even get to follow a Human Territory lord!

He had long heard that these Dungeon Lords all possessed miraculous abilities. If he performed well and received their cultivation, he might be able to completely change his fate in the future!

"Thank you, Lord!"

Nan Xi Li Ya did not grow suspicious either.

Her gaze swept across the dungeon, and she frowned slightly.

Could a place like a refugee camp count as a dungeon?

It seemed this was completely a new lord!

Though he posed no threat to her, he could not possibly oppose the powerful Eternal Night Dragon King.

No.

This territory is so weak that it can barely protect itself.

It is absolutely not the power I am looking for!

However, with protective energy covering the place, it was very safe here for the time being. She might as well hide for a while, then run away after the heat died down!

Qi Ji organized various pieces of information through the Territory Core and sent them to the two of them. "These materials contain everything about the dungeon, including your daily duties and matters requiring attention. You need to familiarize yourselves with them as quickly as possible and begin work."

"Yes!"

"Lord!"

After Qi Ji arranged the two of them.

He began constructing the territory.

You are constructing the First Order building "Trading Hall." This construction requires 100 Soul Crystals, 50 Mental Strength, and 30 First Order Material Essence. Build immediately? Yes/No!

"Yes!"

Without hesitation.

The Trading Hall was too important.

Only with it could the territory begin trading!

Mental Strength remaining: 45.

Soul Crystals remaining: 672.

Qi Ji noticed that he still had quite a lot of Soul Crystals left.

He might as well build a few more basic buildings.

He spent 200 Soul Crystals to construct a "Monster Camp."

He spent 300 Soul Crystals to construct an "Essence Soul Altar."

Trading Hall, First Order special building. Dungeon reception limit +10. Territory trade function unlocked.

Monster Camp, First Order basic building. Dungeon reception limit +15. Recruitable monsters: 0/30.

Essence Soul Altar, First Order basic building. Dungeon reception limit +10. Contractable Soul Essences: 0/100.

With the Monster Camp.

Qi Ji could directly summon monsters through Soul Essences and raise up to thirty territory monsters. Although these monsters lacked self-awareness, they were one hundred percent controllable and absolutely obedient, like combat units in a Real-Time Strategy game.

With the Essence Soul Altar.

Qi Ji could permanently imprint Soul Essences onto adventurers and even Territory Citizens, allowing them to permanently gain the abilities of the corresponding monsters. Since their power came from Miracle City, this would bind them more closely to Miracle City.

The more buildings there were.

The larger the territory became.

Miracle City's current reception capacity had risen to one hundred and sixty people.

Only one hundred and seventy-two Soul Crystals remained. That was not much, so he needed to fleece the adventurers again soon!