His conjecture about the Azure Dragon Ring was not a spur-of-the-moment idea; he had already deduced it countless times in order to figure it out...
Over a decade ago, in a small dimensional space, Beirut seized an opportunity and stole the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts... Augusta, enraged, projected himself into the Yulan Plane... Beirut smashed the projection with his weapon... Augusta threatened him, Beirut immediately refined the Wind Sovereign Spark, becoming Sovereign... Augusta, filled with resentment, left helplessly... Beirut, full of pride, went into seclusion in the Dark Forest...
The entire process was extremely brief, perhaps less than a day, or even less than an hour. The time from when Beirut obtained the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts to when he became Sovereign was even shorter. After all, who wouldn't feel a surge of emotion upon encountering Sovereign Spark?
Having become Sovereign, Beirut naturally wouldn't care about the broken Azure Dragon Ring. Perhaps he noticed the Azure Dragon Ring had fallen but didn't pay attention and chose to leave. To say that he deliberately put the Azure Dragon Ring away is almost impossible.
It's like a poor person suddenly becoming rich; who would still treasure their old furniture? More likely, they'd immediately buy a villa...
For these reasons, Andrew ultimately chose the Chaotic Territory.
Three months later, the Lance family, along with Han Yue, left the capital for the Chaotic Territory. To avoid trouble, they left secretly, and only Duke Daina and the Emperor knew about it.
On the way, Howard, somewhat puzzled, asked, " Andrew, why did you choose the Chaotic Territory as your fiefdom? It's not a peaceful place there."
Andrew chuckled, "Father, the Chaotic Territory may seem barren, but in reality, it holds considerable wealth. As for the chaos there..."
With a cold laugh, Andrew continued, "In one month, I will have completely integrated the Chaotic Territory, and afterwards, it will become the Realm of Order."
Andrew's words, though arrogant, were undeniable. His strength and reputation had spread throughout the entire continent; even established Saint-level experts dared not oppose him. The incident with Baird hadn't been long ago...
Before leaving the capital, Andrew, as promised, visited the senior drunkard again. Upon seeing him, the drunkard was quite displeased. He had previously treated the drunkard as a junior to mentor, but who knew that the drunkard had suddenly gained strength that even he found astonishing. This disparity made the carefree drunkard feel uncomfortable.
"Fight me!" the drunkard demanded, and Andrew did not refuse.
The two secretly left the capital and engaged in a fierce battle a thousand miles away. The Drunkard was a master of both magic and martial arts at the Saint Realm 'Peak Saint-level, wielding both earth and wind elements; his strength was undoubtedly among the strongest below the High Priest. Andrew, on the other hand, Fusion Battle-qi aura and magic, possessing unpredictable power. Having just entered the Saint-level, he was already comparable to those at the Peak Saint-level. Furthermore, he had mastered the Explosive Steps and glimpsed the Laws, all of which compensated for his lack of accumulated experience...
After a fierce battle, the two returned to the capital unscathed. On the surface, they appeared to be evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand. However, the drunkard was much more disappointed.
Before leaving, Andrew handed over the information he had compiled and recalled about cultivating the Laws to the drunkard. Upon hearing this, the drunkard immediately gained some insight. He did not ask Andrew about the origin of these things.
"I hope you can make a breakthrough during this seclusion, senior. Alas, reaching the Deity-level is truly difficult; even for me, it requires a stroke of luck!"
Having traveled halfway, Andrew left Golden Peng behind to protect his family, while he himself headed ahead to the Chaotic Territory.
The Chaotic Territory Realm is vast, but it has few cities, each with its own rulers. Many of these rulers are not nobles recognized by the Empire, but rather mercenary groups. The Empire has tried to eradicate them in the past, but once the Empire's forces leave, the region returns to its former state. Over time, the Empire has stopped paying attention to it. To the Empire, the Chaotic Territory is more like a burden.
To change this situation, Andrew took the most direct approach. Following the map, he searched city by city. He granted titles to any power that submitted, and showed no mercy to those that resisted or deliberately delayed.
In just one month, Andrew surveyed all thirty-six cities of the Chaotic Territory, killed the rulers of twenty-two cities, and the remaining fourteen cities had all submitted to him.
Afterwards, he personally drafted the laws of the Chaotic Territory, declaring that everything within Chaotic Territory belonged to the Duke of Lance, and that any lord of a city required the Duke of Lance's investiture; otherwise, their claim was invalid and considered a challenge to the Duke of Lance. Simultaneously, he prohibited fighting within cities, banned private mining, and established an army and courts to maintain order. Under Andrew's formidable reputation and ruthless methods, the Chaotic Territory Realm underwent a complete transformation.
A month later, Howard and the others arrived.
"Is this the Chaotic Territory?" Janice stepped out of the carriage, her brow furrowed as she gazed at the endless desolation. She loved nature and disliked this kind of environment.
Andrew understood her perfectly well, but he was powerless to change the natural environment he was in.
"Although this place is desolate, it can still be transformed. Tomorrow I will issue an order for all residents to plant more trees and bring this land back to life as soon as possible."
Howard shook his head and said, " Janice, don't worry about these things too much. The Chaotic Territory is too vast; it's difficult to change. However, we can plant more flowers and plants in our own yard. From now on, this will be our home."
The family of seven, including Ling'er, took leave from the Divine Grace Academy and came to the Duke's mansion chosen by Andrew. It took another month for everyone to gradually get used to life in the Chaotic Territory and settle down.
Andrew summoned all his men that day.
Two months ago, he forcefully subdued the Chaotic Territory, killing those who refused to submit or whose stance was ambiguous. The remaining people were pragmatic, and some of them greatly admired Andrew. He is now the most dazzling legend on the Yulan Continent!
"Two Ninth-level Warrior, five Eighth-level Warrior, and over thirty Warrior of the Seventh Rank —their strength is still far too lacking."
Looking at his subordinates, Andrew was somewhat disappointed. In the Chaotic Territory, there were thirty-six cities. The size of each city varied greatly, with the largest having hundreds of thousands of people and the smallest only a few thousand. Therefore, the strength of the city lords also differed greatly. Ninth-level Warrior could become a city lord, and so could Warrior of the Seventh Rank.
"Unfortunately, only two of the ten major cities are willing to submit; otherwise, I would have gained eight more Ninth-level Warrior."
The city lords of the great city were all Ninth-level Warrior, one of whom was at the Peak of the Ninth Rank. Unfortunately, he was too ambitious, and Andrew didn't have time to subdue him, so he had to kill him.
" Ferreira, Angis, how many troops has the Duchy recruited so far?" Andrew asked.
Ferreira and his companion were Ninth-level Warrior and were responsible for recruiting for the Lance Prince's army.
"Your Grace, in the past two months, we have recruited 30,000 soldiers!" Ferreira's voice was loud and clear, with the air of a soldier. In fact, he was indeed from a military background.
"How strong are these soldiers?"
" Mid-Level Warrior make up 40%, the rest are low-level warriors," Angis said.
"However..." Angis hesitated, then stopped himself.
Andrew glared at him. "Speak if you have something to say!"
"Your Grace, what about the soldiers' salaries?"
Andrew cursed under his breath, realizing he had completely forgotten about that.
"Here are ten million gold coins. You two can use them first. Build up the army as much as possible and as quickly as possible. Also, recruit High-Level Warrior as much as possible. Money and titles are not a problem!" Andrew promised generously.
"Of course, I'll treat you well, but you must give me results. If I find out that anyone harbors disloyal intentions, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Before leaving, Andrew didn't forget to say something harsh. These people hadn't been with him for long, and to tame them, he had to use both kindness and severity.
Ferreira and Angis were both exceptional talents, but due to their backgrounds, they ended up living in seclusion in the Chaotic Territory. Under Andrew's trust, the two displayed extraordinary strength. In less than three months, the Lance Duchy had amassed an army of 100,000.
After the army was established, Andrew began to worry about money.
"Ten million gold coins, and it only lasted three months. The army is truly a money-devouring behemoth. No, we must find the magic crystal mine quickly!"
Andrew remembered that in the original book, the magic crystal vein was discovered in the Nifeng town in the eastern part of the Baruch Kingdom. However, the current Chaotic Territory was very different from the one ten thousand years later, and there was no Nifeng town at all. Helpless, Andrew had no choice but to send a large number of people and troops to the east to explore and find the vein in this way.
" Beirut definitely knows where the magic crystal mine is, but he won't tell me..." Andrew muttered in the Duke's mansion. Another six months had passed, and all his accumulated wealth had been invested in the army. If he couldn't find the magic crystal mine in another month, Andrew could declare bankruptcy.
Messages always arrive unexpectedly, bringing the most beautiful surprises.
"Found it!" Andrew and immediately took to the air, flying eastward.