With the first person to surrender, naturally, there would be a second, a third...
Fear spread like the plague, and one after the other, the townsfolk knelt before Caelan.
From these surrendering townsfolk, Caelan easily learned the location of various resources in Gluia Town.
The demon army quickly mobilized, rushing into every corner of Gluia Town like a pack of starving wolves. They roughly opened the doors to the warehouses and carried out the food, weapons, and treasures inside...
Gluia Town, the former address of the Yale Chamber of Commerce branch.
The entire building is made of exquisite stone and ornate decorations, with tall columns supporting a magnificent portico, carved windows exuding an air of elegance, and sunlight streaming through the glass windows and sparkling with golden patterns in the hall.
“This main chamber of commerce building is even more magnificent than the mayor's mansion in Gluia Town!”
Caelan scanned the chamber of commerce building with a hint of admiration in his voice.
“No wonder that Seth is so rich!”
============
[Note: Yale Chamber of Commerce, as the largest chamber of commerce in the dwarven kingdom, has a vast business network that intertwines in every corner of the dwarven kingdom. Seth, the branch president, has power and connections that are deeply rooted throughout the kingdom. In contrast, the mayor of Gluia Town has relatively limited power and connections, and his status in the town is not as high as Seth's. ]
=============
Caelan leisurely sat on the throne in the center of the main hall, with the sun shining through the ornate windows onto him. He took a small bite of the fruit in his hand, and the sweet and sour juice spread in his mouth. The wonderful taste made him feel exceptionally happy.
“After spending so long in the Dark Abyss, life outside is really not bad!”
Caelan was surrounded by several respectful Gyrus Demons. Their scarlet eyes stared at the round object in Caelan's hand, and a look of longing appeared in their eyes. The mouth of one Gyrus Demon opened wide, like a sandworm, and its sticky saliva fell to the ground.
Caelan smiled at the sight and casually threw the fruit on the plate on the table next to him. The Gyrus Demons immediately became excited and scrambled to the fruit, gnawing on it greedily.
At this time, Birkin walked slowly into the main building of the Chamber of Commerce, his face full of flattery. When he saw the ugly-faced Gyrus Demons scrambling for the fruit, he couldn't help but swallow nervously.
He quickly composed himself, but still reported to Caelan with trepidation.
“My lord, in Gluia Town, a total of 4 tons of gold, 70 tons of stone, 80 tons of wood, and 600 tons of grain have been collected for you...”
“After being 'kindly' prodded by the demons, 4,200 of those stubborn townsfolk are willing to become demon slaves...”
“Three mines still in use were found in the town, and arrangements have been made for those demon slaves to mine them...”
“Following a clue, a treasure trove hidden beneath the town was found, and a large quantity of jewelry was recovered from it...”
...
Birkin had thrown off his earlier fear, gesticulating with both hands, his eyes shining, and he chattered excitedly.
Greedily, he had never seen so much wealth in his life. Of course, if Birkin had the guts, he would not dare to covet this loot.
“How is your collection of what I want?”
Caelan glanced at Birkin and impatiently interrupted him.
Birkin's heart tightened, and he quickly lowered his head and said in a panic, “My lord, please forgive my outburst!”
“According to your request, a large amount of equipment has been collected from the town warehouse and the bodies of the dwarf warriors. Among them, there are 152 pieces of Quality-D equipment and 24 pieces of Quality-C equipment.”
“Dark Iron has been collected in the town, amounting to about 900kg.”
...
Good news came one after another, and Caelan, sitting on the throne, stretched his eyebrows and sincerely exclaimed.
“Indeed, war is the fastest way to get rich.”
Choosing to occupy Gluia Town, a medium-sized town with a population of about 10,000, brought him a total amount of resources that far exceeded his previous accumulation.
In addition to resources, the 4,200 demon slaves also gained significantly.
This group of demon slaves could maintain a production efficiency of over 80% without the need for less than 200 Native Demons to “maintain order”.
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This efficiency was also very good compared to the production work of other races.
And that was not the limit.
If Caelan increases the rations of these demon slaves or forces them in more brutal ways, the production efficiency will be further improved.
Although higher production efficiency means more wealth and resources, a large number of demon slaves who collapse will also bring a series of problems. He needs to find a suitable balance between efficiency and the bearability of demon slaves, which can not only ensure a stable output of resources but also prevent demon slaves from being overworked and losing their value.
These demon slaves work hard in the occupied mines, farms, and logging camps to provide a steady supply of resources.
Since the Dark Abyss has no place to produce resources, Caelan will occupy and plunder these places!
This is the real reason why Caelan did not massacre the townsfolk or destroy the infrastructure of Gluia Town after occupying it.
In the Trial, any lord will seek to obtain more resource points to expand their territory and strengthen their military might.
With such a goal in mind, any existing cities and towns will become very important strategic resources. These cities and towns contain abundant wealth and human resources. The lords will do everything they can to cooperate with them or incorporate them into their own territories through diplomatic means or military conquest.
No lord will indiscriminately destroy cities and kill everyone unless they have serious disagreements and personal grudges.
Subordinates and territories are the foundation of the lords' power.
——————————————————
In the Dark Abyss, under the command of Caelan, a group of demon soldiers transported all the resources they didn't need to the Arcane Treasure Exchange.
[Current resource points: 191,500 points]
Caelan cracked his mouth as he looked at the flashing numbers in front of him.
“It feels so good to be rich!”
With so many resource points at his disposal in an instant, completing the trial was child's play for Caelan!
Completing the trial alone was not his goal.
In addition to so many resource points, Caelan currently has a lot of equipment.
Quality-D equipment:
131 pieces below level 5,
29 pieces at level 5.
9 pieces at level 6.
3 pieces at level 6.
-------------------
Quality-C equipment:
17 pieces at level 5.
9 pieces at level 6.
4 pieces at level 7.
1 piece at level 8.
With resources now absolutely sufficient, Caelan decided to temporarily slow down the growth of the army and prioritize the upgrade and construction of the territory.
The most important thing is, of course, to upgrade the core of the territory, the Abyss Throne.
Unlike the previous period of resource constraints, Caelan decided to directly upgrade the Abyss Throne to multiple levels now that resources are plentiful. He went to the Abyss Throne, which was surrounded by an indistinct black mist.
[Abyss Throne, Lv: 2]
[Material required for upgrade, Resource points: 6000 points (Currently 191,500 points)]
[Resource points: -6000, 185,500 points remaining]
[Abyss Throne has been upgraded to Lv: 3]
[The territory range has been expanded]
…
[Resource points: -10000, 175,500 points remaining]
[Abyss Throne has been upgraded to Lv: 4]
[The territory range has been expanded]
...
[Resource points: -15000, 160,500 points remaining]
[Abyss Throne has been upgraded to Lv: 5]
[The territory range has been expanded]
[The maximum number of Abyss Hatchery and Abyss Gate has been increased to 5]
[Three new basic buildings have been unlocked]
[Basic Building: Demon Workshop, Abyss Prison, and Abyss Pollution Chamber]
[A new special building has been unlocked]
[Special Building: Abyss Desecrating Torch]
[The Abyssal Hatchery can be further upgraded, with the current level cap at Lv.2!]
[Your Lord level has been increased, and the current level is Lv. 2!]
[New Lord skills have been unlocked!]