This Is How the Power of Abundance Is Used! / Shapeshifter Collective: You Want the Money I Earned from Backbreaking Labor Too?

The Demon King's Palace had no guards stationed outside. After all, every Lord of the Royal Court here was an expert among experts.

But clearly, Theresia had not considered Huang Cao's safety here, although with his strength, there was no need to consider it at all.

However, Theresia did not know that.

After all, they had barely met a few times, so Theresia naturally had no idea how powerful this honorary Lord of the Royal Court truly was.

For example, what if Huang Cao were assassinated in front of the Demon King? Wouldn't all the countries in the world laugh themselves silly when word got out?

Of course, that was impossible. Still, it showed that this pink-haired one truly did not care much about Huang Cao's existence.

Otherwise, without knowing Huang Cao's combat strength, she would at least have sent one or two guards to protect him symbolically for a while.

Theresia's lack of concern was a good thing for Huang Cao.

Build high walls, stockpile grain, and take one's time claiming kingship.

Besides, with Lamian helping him cover up his identity, he was not afraid of this pink-haired one noticing anything strange.

The two of them entered the conference hall together, where the other Lords of the Royal Court had already been waiting for quite some time.

As the newly added "mascot," Huang Cao drew everyone's attention the moment he entered.

Huang Cao completely ignored the scrutinizing gazes of Dukare and the others. Instead, he carefully swept his eyes over the conference table.

There was no fruit platter...

Sure enough, Kazdel was so poor that they did not even have snacks for meetings.

Huang Cao casually found a corner and sat down, then closed his eyes in front of everyone.

It's none of my business what you people say. Do I really need to put on a smile and offer my opinions?

Lamian also sat down beside Huang Cao, since she did not intend to offer any opinions this time either.

Whatever Theresia did, she would support it.

Thus, the true protagonists of this meeting were Dukare, Nizere, and the Shapeshifter Collective.

Dukare in particular—the Lord of the Blood Demon Royal Court stared at Huang Cao with interest for a while before curling one finger at him.

This was not some signal of friendship. He was casting his Originium Arts, preparing to take a drop of blood for a taste.

How could Lamian possibly let Dukare get his way? She tried to stop him, but the latter was simply too fast.

Yet after a flash of red light, there was nothing in Dukare's hand. Even this Lord of the Royal Court froze for a moment.

Huang Cao: Kid! I'm from the plant kingdom!

Of course, that absolutely could not have been the reason. Casting Originium Arts required Originium as a medium.

And Huang Cao himself was the natural enemy of Originium. Using Originium Arts against him was no different from feeding him.

Someone like Skadi, who relied purely on physical attacks to fight him, might still be able to cause some damage.

"How interesting. May I ask what your race is?" Dukare asked curiously.

"Grass-eating Demon. I only have a tiny bit of that bloodline. My family was wiped out back in ancient times, after all."

The moment Theresia heard the words "Grass-eating Demon," a glint instantly flashed through her beautiful eyes.

But after hearing Huang Cao say that his bloodline was thin, she sighed in disappointment.

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Chapter 48: This Is How the Power of Abundance Is Used!

What kind of oppressive gaze was that?

Theresia, that look in your eyes makes it seem like you want to grab me and refine me instantly!

Could Kazdel have some kind of bloodline-purification technique?

The meeting that followed was plain and straightforward. Theresia first explained the problems Kazdel was currently facing.

From the pink-haired Demon King's words, Huang Cao understood only one fact.

Damn it! How is this a Royal Court meeting? It's clearly a tribute-paying session!

You think of us Lords of the Royal Court as tributaries, don't you?

Of course, although Huang Cao somewhat doubted the way this pink-haired one's mind worked, he was still willing to pay.

After all, Theresia was technically his Demon King. Though he had no reverence for her whatsoever, paying up could save him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

There was no need to attract more attention at a time like this. But being willing to pay did not mean he agreed to pay more.

Whoever wants to be the biggest sucker can do it. I need to see how much the other Lords of the Royal Court pay and give her the lowest amount that isn't too low.

My Eden is genuinely poor!

We're so poor that we even have to purchase iron and copper ore from outside!

As for where the money to buy the ore comes from? Don't ask. The answer is that it grows out of Originium and has absolutely nothing to do with Victoria.

Let's just call it paying to avoid disaster. As long as you, pink-haired one, don't come to my territory for no reason in the future, it'll be fine.

After Theresia gave a brief emotional speech from the stage, she turned her gaze toward everyone present.

Most of the Lords of the Royal Court had abnormal thought processes, but when something happened, they really did step up.

First up was our Little Cat Roll!

The Blood Demon Lord Dukare had offered fifty thousand gold coins in one go?!

Why was it only that much?

Huang Cao had originally thought that the Blood Demon Lord, who had seemed so impressive in the story, would directly take out five hundred thousand gold coins. Instead, he had lost an entire digit.

But for some reason, nobody present complained. Lamian even opened her mouth slightly, seemingly amazed that the number was so large.

"Sister Lamian, is that a lot?" Huang Cao asked the woman beside him in a low voice.

Huang Cao had never looked too deeply into the Lords of the Royal Court's financial reserves. After all, why would he look into other people's little treasuries for no reason?

"That one sentence from Dukare is worth ten years of total income for the Banshee River Valley. It is already a lot. It is normal that you do not think it is much, considering that your relative spent five hundred thousand gold coins just to buy that land."

"The Banshee River Valley has developed greatly with your help recently, but even I could not take out that much money all at once..."

Dukare's fifty thousand gold coins had already put him far ahead of everyone else. The other Lords of the Royal Court were even more pathetic.

But to show her respect and support for her best friend, Lamian gritted her teeth and also contributed thirty thousand gold coins.

Of course, she had more than thirty thousand gold coins in hand. Over the years, she had done a little business with Huang Cao's territory.

Although the compensation he offered was extremely generous, no matter how beautiful the clothes her people made were, they were not worth dozens of gold coins each.

Besides, if she donated everything, what would she and her people eat and drink in the future after giving Theresia all their income from the past ten years?

That money had been earned through the Banshees' painstaking efforts. They had entrusted it to Lamian because they trusted her.

Thus, thirty thousand was already the limit of what this Banshee Royal Court Lord could take out. Unless she immediately went back and asked her people, she would not mind giving everything away if all the Banshees agreed.

The problem was that the Banshees were not here, and she could not make the decision on her own.

Theresia gave Lamian a moved look. After nodding, she looked toward the other Lords of the Royal Court.

The Shapeshifter Collective silently shed a few tears and donated twenty thousand gold coins with a sorrowful expression.

If anyone present was donating money with the greatest pain, it was undoubtedly the Shapeshifter Collective.

After all, much of this money had been earned by other Shapeshifters through backbreaking labor in factories.

You would never know what the Shapeshifters' clones had done!

Nizere silently offered an amount close to ten thousand gold coins. As for why it was an amount rather than a specific number of coins—

The current God of War had something to say about that. These coins had all been stripped from the bodies of his people's enemies.

Some corpses had rings, while others had necklaces. Added together, they were worth roughly ten thousand gold coins.

I'm the dignified King of the Scavengers. What's wrong with making money off the dead?

Just tell me whether you want it or not. I not only make money off the dead—I eat them too!

"It has already come around to me? Then I'll give five thousand gold coins. I really don't have any money left."

The other Lords of the Royal Court had no objections. After all, in their impression—

The land Huang Cao's other identity, the Undead Spirit, had purchased was simply too barren.

The fact that he could scrape together five thousand gold coins from that land was already enough to prove his loyalty.

Even Dukare could not help feeling a trace of admiration.

To be honest, those fifty thousand gold coins amounted to half the Blood Demon Royal Court's fortune.

He simply did not feel any pain because his subordinates handled his daily life.

Although Dukare chose to sleep most of the time, he also spent a lot whenever he woke up!

As the most elegant person in the Royal Court, did he not have to maintain appearances in his daily life?

As for income from industries, what industry in present-day Kazdel was operating normally?

The money had come from selling off old antiques accumulated in the past. In any case, Dukare did not mind spending it.

With Dukare's strength, he could simply steal whatever he wanted. But that would be inelegant and far too beneath him.

The payment portion was over. Next came the meeting to discuss the country's development.

"Want some fruit?" An orange suddenly appeared in Huang Cao's hand. He asked Lamian with a smile.

"An orange... I remember that Kazdel doesn't seem to have this fruit."

"It just grew in my hand. I also have grapes and peaches. I only need seeds."

"Is this the Grass-eating Demon's ability?"

Lamian peeled the soft orange skin and placed a segment of fruit into her mouth. The sweet-and-sour fruit nourished her heart like spring water.

Without a doubt, Lamian could guarantee to everyone that this was the most delicious fruit she had ever eaten in her life.

The conference table was very long and wide, and the castle was not particularly well sealed, so the wind outside occasionally blew in.

Lamian's movements were extremely ladylike and elegant, and the sounds she made were very faint. Thus, the noise of the two of them devouring the fruit platter at the back did not disturb the people in the meeting.

Especially since this meeting could basically be considered Theresia's one-woman show. The other Lords of the Royal Court mostly kept their eyes closed, listening without fully listening.

Because she was too focused, the Demon King often spoke while facing the people at an angle.

It was only when her mouth became dry and she wanted to drink some water that she discovered a large pile of fruit had appeared on the table in front of her best friend Lamian.

There were even watermelons and pineapples!

That was going a bit too far!

The Lords of the Royal Court, who had not been listening attentively in the first place, also turned their gazes toward Lamian and Huang Cao, who were eating fruit.

Everyone: There are so many fruits. How did you bring them in? They are practically piled into a small hill.

What was more, several branches had grown from Huang Cao's head, with peaches and apples hanging from them.

There would be another update this afternoon! 2

Chapter 49: Shapeshifter Collective: You Want the Money I Earned from Backbreaking Labor Too?

Theresia: You said your bloodline was thin, but why do I find that so hard to believe? Just wait until I go back and look up some records. If I find out you're pure-blooded, you'll be in for it!

And are you a Victorian? Why are you holding a tea party here?

Teresis really wanted everyone present to pay attention to meeting etiquette, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized there did not seem to be any rules in the first place.

After paying up, the Lords of the Royal Court basically said nothing. Aside from the Shapeshifter mourning their precious money, they were all expressionless.

The Shapeshifter was an ancient Immortal who traveled beyond the Sarkaz Royal Court. He excelled at betting on both sides and was obsessed with finding interesting things.

Thus, he had a deep understanding of the various cultures across Terra's land. To seek out interesting things, it was perfectly reasonable for him to carry some money.

However, after donating the money, Huang Cao felt that the Shapeshifter had become much more dispirited. To comfort him, Huang Cao gave him an apple.

At the same time, as a new face, Huang Cao introduced himself to everyone.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Huang Cao, and my race is Grass-eating Demon. My Undead Spirit relative has entrusted that land to me for management. Since he had something to do today, he asked me to attend the meeting in his place. Greetings, elders!"