-----
After Chris left rather hurriedly, leaving him with the need to kiss and snuggle with him a bit more, Paul decided to brush it off and concentrate on something else so he wouldn’t get all stupidly needy and clingy. He had to over this trait of his; he knew he had to.
Chris was his first ever experience with romance and sexuality as a whole, so it was only natural he would get very attached to him despite their brief time together, but he didn’t want to seem like an annoying boyfriend by acting clingy and dumb.
“Hahh… Okay, let’s see…”
A big system window popped up in front of him as Vlad nodded, glancing at the information.
-----
[Available Raid Score Points]: [512.000]
< Awakening of the Ancient King of Neburias-Themed Items>
[Random Ancient Neburias-Themed Skill Grimoire (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [25.000] [Limit]: [15/15]
[Random Ancient Neburias-Themed Themed Equipment Treasure Chest (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [25.000] [Limit]: [15/15]
[Random High Quality Material Treasure Chest For Crafting and Alchemy (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [20.000] [Limit]: [30/30]
[Elixir of Growth (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [20.000] [Limit]: [20/20]
[Elixir of Skill Evolution (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [20.000] [Limit]: [20/20]
[Guild Creation Certificate (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [40.000] [Limit]: [5/5]
[Territory Ownership Flag (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [40.000] [Limit]: [20/20]
[Random Territory Guardian Egg (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [30.000] [Limit]: [5/5]
[Random Territory Hero Summoning Stone (S+ Grade)] [Cost]: [30.000] [Limit]: [5/5]
[Random Territory Facility Creation Marble (S Grade)] [Cost]: [20.000] [Limit]: [20/20]
[Random Territory Bounty Resource Bag (A Grade)] [Cost]: [10.000] [Limit]: [50/50]
-----
“Lots to buy… What should I get for now? Dammit, those Elixirs of Growth are really tempting me though,” Vlad thought. “They’re not cheap though; if I buy them all, I’ll lose 400k?! No way, I guess I’m skipping them; screw that.”
Now that he was the owner of a powerful Territory, Vlad couldn’t really think about his own personal growth but the growth of the territory in general instead. He owned this place; therefore, he had to take good care of it and also invest in its growth and protection if possible.
After everything he had purchased, there were actually just two items that interested him the most right now, and they were the ones with the most value as of now.
Heroes and Beast Eggs? Nope, these items required more territories, and he only had one for now, so that was definitely not going to cut it!
Guild Creation Certificate and Territory Flags? Not either, although the latter could be useful to have a handful once he starts conquering territories.
No, the items with the most value for him as of now were:
[Random Territory Facility Creation Marble (S Grade)] [Cost]: [20.000] [Limit]: [20/20]
[Random Territory Bounty Resource Bag (A Grade)] [Cost]: [10.000] [Limit]: [50/50]
“Hmm… Should I invest in more random facilities that’ll cost me nothing to build? Or should I buy more resources and build what I choose myself?”
It was all based on value and if it was even worth it to begin with. Vlad thought about it for a couple of minutes, but he required to start incubating the Beast Guardian Egg right away to enjoy its benefits, so he preferred the Resource Bags for now.
Why was he desperate for a Beast Guardian for his Territory? Well, the answer was simple: Beast Guardians, as stated in their information, could enhance a whole territory with powerful passive buffs.
Increasing food production, ores, and wood production, or outright making all troops twice as strong, or even three times as strong based on their type of compatibility.
These bonuses also included the territory owners, and he could gain great power, stat bonuses, and even unique magic or skills from this creature.
Unlike heroes, Guardian Beasts created an intrinsic connection with the ruler; therefore, their growth was also based on the ruler’s growth, potential, and talent, and vice versa.
It could give him an edge on his own growth potential and strength he simply can’t miss!
"Okay, let’s buy 20 bags for now,” he nodded.
His fingers moved across the holographic screen as Vlad quickly purchased the items he desired.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 200.000 Raid Score Points.]
[You have purchased the [Random Territory Bounty Resource Bag (A Grade)] x10!]
Suddenly, ten huge bags of brown-colored cloth emerged before Vlad; they were not bigger than two meters each, and he couldn’t really believe there were so many resources inside.
However, once he touched one of them, it opened, revealing a large quantity of wood, stone, steel, food such as bread and dried meat, and even some gold, blue-colored crystals, and red-colored crystals.
These items all floated in midair and flew inside his inventory, suddenly increasing the number of resources within the territory status.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Ding!
[You have opened the [Random Territory Bounty Resource Bag (A Grade)] x1!]
[You have received +10.000 [Food] [Lumber] [Metals] and [Stone]!]
[You gained +2.500 [Gold] [Arcana] and [Blood Energy]!]
“Oh?”
Vlad saw all he gained; he didn’t even think he would receive Gold, Arcana, and Blood Energy at all! The blue and red crystals seemed to be these two, while the gold coins were obviously the gold resource.
After that, he swiftly opened all nine other bags, suddenly gaining a tremendous quantity of resources right off the bat.
Ding!
[You have opened the [Random Territory Bounty Resource Bag (A Grade)] x9!]
[You have received +90.000 [Food] [Lumber] [Metals] and [Stone]!]
[You gained + 22.500 [Gold] [Arcana] and [Blood Energy]!]
-----
[Territory Name]: [Crimson Moon Empire’s City: Eldridge]
[Territory Civilization]: [Sanguine Civilization: Blood Moon]
[Territory Faction Attribute]: [Evil] [Blood] [Darkness]
[Territory Difficulty]: [Hard Mode]
[Territory Governor Level]: [Ruined Prince: Lv0 (700/1.000)]
[Territory Civilization Level]: [Ruined Civilization: Lv0 (700/1.000)]
[Territory Civilization Power]: [1.160]
[Territory Population]: [1.634]
{Territory Buildings}:
[Elderbridge’s Duchess Teressa Mansion: Level 1/10]
[Stone Walls: Level 1/10]
[Common Houses: Level 1/10] [Quantity: 642]
[Arcana Factory: Lv1/10]
[Bloodshed Sanctuary: Lv1/10]
[Mine: Lv1/10]
[Quarry: Lv1/10]
[Research Center: Lv1/10]
{Territory Traits}:
[Insect Nest: Lv1/10]
{Territory Units}:
[Corpse-Eating Crimson Beetle] x50
{Territory Heroes}:
[Insecta, The Corpse-Eating Crimson-Beetle Queen]
{Territory Guardians}:
[None]
{Territory Resources}:
[Food]: [101.632]
[Lumber]: [100.013]
[Metals]: [101.109]
[Stone]: [101.107]
[Sanguine Medals]: [0]
[Gold]: [25.000]
[Arcana]: [25.400]
[Blood Energy]: [25.300]
{Territory Resource Production Per Day}:
[Food]: [-3]
[Lumber]: [0]
[Metals]: [550]
[Stone]: [550]
[Gold]: [0]
[Arcana]: [200]
[Blood Energy]: [150]
-----
“Good, this should be enough; let’s build the nest immediately.”
Vlad walked outside the manor and flew using Soar, finding the perfect spot, which was right behind his manor itself, a large plot of land mostly uncopied.
There was once a beautiful garden of night flowers, but it had now become a messy vine-covered area, which was perfect for the Beast Guardian Nest.
“Let’s see…”
Ding!
[Do you wish to build a Territory Guardian Nest?]
[Cost]: [1000 Gold] [5000 Lumber] [5000 Metals] [5000 Stone] [10000 Food] [1000 Arcana]
[Yes] [No]
“There it is... Nice, I can afford it easily and still have lots more resources to spare and save,” he nodded. “Yes, let’s make it immediately.”
FLASH!
The moment he pressed the [Yes] button, several resources flew away from Vlad’s inventory and started spiraling around the area, which was now marked with a glowing neon blue color.
And then he saw something bizarre; his seven Blazing Doppelgangers appeared out of nowhere and started working on the building.
They rapidly created a beautiful wooden building with stone and metal and a huge nest covered with hay on top.
The food was consumed as they worked, but some more was left behind, decorating the nest for the baby guardian to feed on later.
"Well, that was fucking strange…”
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have built a [Territory Guardian Nest: Lv1/10] Facility!]
[You can now place a Territory Guardian Egg inside so it can be incubated over time, which will end up hatching into a small territory guardian that will grow as the Facility Level does.]
Vlad flew down, taking the egg he had purchased before and placing it on top of the nest, which quickly began to glow, encompassing the entire thing into a golden, divine glow.
The glow was warm and comfortable, and it rapidly made the item-like egg, which seemed lifeless and made of clay, suddenly become alive.
He felt a small heart beating inside the egg, and also life rapidly overflowing through it!
Ding!
[You have placed a [Random Territory Guardian Egg (S+ Grade)] into the nest!]
[The nest will now begin to incubate it and help it hatch into a small territory guardian.]
[Estimated Time for Hatching: 3 Days, 23 Hours, 57 Minutes.]
“Four more days? Right at the end of the week? Seriously?”
Well, it wasn’t as long as he had imagined it would take, but he had to still wait a lot.
“Well, let’s leave it at that… Not.”
He quickly touched the ground, lifting large walls around the giant nest; he didn’t want anybody to see it or even dare touch it.
After making sure the place was well protected, Vlad nodded, flying back to his home.
“Although I have a lot of resources now, I still need more ways to produce Lumber, Food, Metal, and Stone anyway,” he thought. “So I should definitely build some more of those.”
Vlad quickly went to the facility building menu and found what he was looking for—a list of every building he could build right now.
Apparently, there were also limits to how many of the same building could be built as well, making things rather interesting and perhaps balanced.
-----
{Territory Facility Building Menu}
[Production Facilities]
[Arcana Factory] [Limit: 1/1]
[Bloodshed Sanctuary] [Limit: 1/1]
[Mine] [Limit: 1/2]
[Quarry] [Limit: 1/2]
[Lumberjack] [Limit: 0/2]
[Farm] [Limit: 0/4]
[Special Facilities]
[Research Center] [Limit: 1/1]
[Army Barracks] [Limit: 0/1]
[Adventurer Guild] [Limit: 0/1]
[Merchant Guild] [Limit: 0/1]
[Smithy] [Limit: 0/1]
[Forge] [Limit: 0/1]
[General Shop] [Limit: 0/1]
[Cookery] [Limit: 0/1]
-----
“Huh, that’s a lot, alright…” Vlad nodded. “About Farms, aren’t I already making some outside? So they don’t count as the territory Farms in specific?”
Vlad flew above the farms right afterwards, inspecting them from above the skies and trying to see if it was possible to turn them into territory Farms.
Ding!
[Large compatible area has been detected. You can build stronger and evolved versions of [Farms] here!]
[Do you wish to build all four [Farms] right now?]
[Cost]: [2000 Gold] [12000 Lumber] [4000 Metals] [8000 Stone] [4000 Food]
[Yes] [No]
“Nice, I can! Alright.”
Vlad didn’t hesitate, pressing the button as more resources were extracted from his large stash and the same magical, yet strange process happened again.
This time, however, the Crimson Beetles that Insecta had summoned came to help this time, moving automatically to build the farms, paving some of the ground, building wooden houses, a silo to store farmed areas, and then expanding and enhancing all plants he had already planted.
And then, four beautiful farms were built slightly far away from one another, surrounded by vast areas full of growing spiritual plants.
“It’s done already. That was fast!”
Ding!
[You have built [Spiritual Farms: Lv1/10] x4!]
[All four Spiritual Farms will now begin to produce Food every day, and by leveling them up, they can produce even more food and different types of it.]
[Take into consideration that citizens are required to farm everything, however, so you’ll require personnel to be constantly taking care of all the food.]
“I’ll have to talk this with Vlad’s mother first…”
He moved back to the manor, where he discussed these things with her.
“I see, so they’re done already. That was unexpectedly quickly,” nodded Teressa. “Alright, leave it to me, Vlad; you’ve done plenty for today.”
“Thank you,” nodded Vlad.
After that, he finally logged out, feeling exhausted, and continued on with his daily life.
Tomorrow he was planning on finally stepping out of the territory for a small adventure into the outskirts of the city.
He still wanted Chris to contract with an Evil Spirit to gain more Spiritual Power, and he wanted to hunt down monsters to gain more Blood Energy.
Although before he could do any of that, he was going to Rank Up his Class and Subclass.
…
However, despite all his plans, Paul was completely unaware of what was brewing behind the scenes. Especially in the duchy of the Silver Moon Vampire Family, after the death of their duchess and young prince…
“Lord Silver Moon, the bandit group has reported that their advance has been successful; the entire territory around Elderbridge is mostly undefended, and picking on the merchants going there has been very easy. Weakening their trades and resources seems to be a success.”
“I see… Very well, that’s good. That’s the first step done... Shall we move forward with the plan then? Mobilize all troops around their territory. Don’t provoke the dragon. Just leave them there. Make camps, towers, and cannons. Prepare everything for a full-on war.”
“Yes sir.”
“We’re taking that place and everything they have. A Dragon is not going to stop me, not after I’ve finally gained what I’ve been fighting for this entire time.”
-----