Chapter 227 Chapter225-Beginning the Construction of the City
"Boss, have we been neglected?"
On a small hillock within the territory, Khosro and a few of his subordinates sat, feeling rather abandoned.
Ever since Victor had finalized the plans, they had been left to their own devices, overlooked by everyone — and the monsters paid them no heed whatsoever.
"Just wait a little longer," Khosro suggested with a reassuring tone.
"But, on another note, joining Lord Ethan's forces might just be the best decision I've made in my life." He couldn't help but smile, the thrill of the potential endeavor still very much alive in him.
At that moment, Victor appeared, walking towards Khosro with a blueprint in hand.
Pointing to the diagram, he asked, "Future guild leader, where would you like to establish the guild?"
After studying the map contemplatively for a good while, Khosro finally pointed to a peripheral area delineated on the document. "Here would be good. I also have a suggestion — to excavate this area and connect it to the external river. This way, we can transport goods via water, which would significantly reduce costs." Khosro illustrated his idea on the blueprint.
"That's an excellent idea," Victor praised with a nod, internally deciding to entrust Khosro with more responsibilities in the future.
He recognized that Khosro wasn't just qualified to be a remarkable guild leader, but also possessed a keen insight into administrative affairs that could substantially lessen Victor's workload, even though Victor considered these tasks fairly light to begin with.
Once Khosro's input was marked down, Victor called over Mia and the others once again.
After three days of intense discussions, a comprehensive city layout was finally crafted.
As the deliberations progressed, Khosro found himself becoming an integral part of the territory's development.
As for his few subordinates, they were nonchalantly assigned by Victor to the position of monster trainers, tasked with overseeing the training of less intelligent monsters.
"Now, there remains one final issue — " Victor brought up, the group's attention focusing on him, "What should we name this city?"
This seemingly simple question stumped everyone present, as different individuals harbored different opinions.
The debate eventually spiraled into a heated argument.
At last, Victor intervened, "Let's all stop this, a city can't be built in a day. Besides, the privilege of naming the city should belong solely to Lord Ethan. Let's put this matter on hold until Lord Ethan returns."
With that, the dispute came to a halt.
With a plan in place, the construction of the city swiftly got underway.
Victor dispatched messengers to establish contact with the neighboring Dark Lords.
They were in unanimous agreement and even fervently assured that if there were any difficulties with resources, they could be approached for assistance.
The reason behind this enthusiastic response wasn't lost on Victor.
Building a city was not a small undertaking; it would surely catch the attention of the Azure Empire.
As the empire's focus shifted, it would consequently lessen the pressure on other Dark Lord domains.
After all, not every Dark Lord could emulate the Devil Guild, standing fearless in the face of the Azure Empire.
Indeed, the current aggressive stance of the Azure Empire, constantly dispatching hero squads to assault various Dark Lord territories, was tied to the Devil Guild's personnel annihilating the entire guard force of Frosty City.
It was a blatant slap in the face of the Azure Empire, a deed now known to all. The empire wasn't so magnanimous as to overlook such an affront.
Retribution, when the time came, was inevitable.
Yet, contemplating this outcome, a cold smile surfaced on Victor's face.
"I am really looking forward to it," he mused, a dark anticipation curling within him.
"I wonder, can our long-trained monster army instill fear in the Azure Empire?" Victor pondered, his mind a whirlpool of strategies and predictions, before resuming his supervision of the various construction endeavors.
Besides informing the neighboring Dark Lords, Victor had Khosro summon a large contingent of craftsmen.
Initially reluctant, the craftsmen couldn't resist Khosro's persuasive skills and the promise of generous compensation, eventually following him to the Abandoned Temple with hearts aflutter with anticipation.
With the craftsmen arriving and materials adequately prepared, the city construction commenced.
…
Snowy Plains.
Here, the world stretched endless and white, a vast expanse where the only visible hue was white.
Especially on fog-enveloped days, it became nearly impossible to discern any form in the proximity, the world reduced to a blank canvas of cold and ice.
Traversing the Snowy Plains, one could easily lose their way, ultimately becoming a frozen sculpture, a testament to the merciless embrace of the cold.
Thankfully, Ethan and Sherry harbored no such fears; their individual strengths rendered them resilient to the Plains' harsh conditions.
It was during their journey that Ethan discovered a surprising element within himself—a force reminiscent of molten lava.
After a moment of pondering, realization dawned that it was a residue of power from the Angry Dragon Haviss.
Seeing the potential benefits of harboring an extra source of power, Ethan opted to retain it, rather than expelling it from his system.
"The Glacial Canyon is just up ahead," Sherry noted, launching into an explanation about the plains and the myriad unique monsters inhabiting the Canyon, recounting how many hunters from the Snowy Plains would venture into the Canyon seeking their prey.
Over time, a small town had sprung to life at the outskirts of the Glacial Canyon.
Ethan nodded, setting aside the "Guide to Spatial Esoteric Practice" he had been reading. Given his current mental fortitude, multitasking was effortless.
Despite this, the intricacies of space magic skill proved incredibly challenging, with Ethan managing to grasp less than a page of content.
The actual implementation of space magic remained a distant aspiration.
Sherry too found herself outpaced by the depth of the subject.
Despite Ethan's open invitation to explore the contents, a mere glance left her mentally exhausted, unable to delve further.
"I wonder how the town we passed before is faring?" the thought suddenly struck Ethan, memories of a secret-laden town on the fringes of the Snowy Plains flooding back.
"We will be passing it again on our way back," Sherry replied off-handedly, leading Ethan toward the small town.
However, what met their eyes was a landscape of ruins, a shocking turn of events that left Sherry reeling.
A thorough inspection revealed that the entire town had succumbed to devastation.
Structures lay in ruins, and several frozen bodies lay concealed under the snowy blanket, discernible only by fragments of clothing peeking through the icy coverage.
"Did you find anything?" Ethan inquired as Sherry returned from her survey.
Shaking her head, Sherry hypothesized, "It might have been the doing of a powerful monster passing through, leading to the town's destruction. Judging by the state of things, it has been some time since the tragedy occurred. The absence of survivors choosing to return and dwell here suggests the monster might still be lingering nearby."
"Hold on, let me ask someone," Ethan said, and proceeded to activate the long-unused chat interface.
Streams of information raced past, the majority of which were meaningless content, primarily dominated by a flurry of distress calls.
After all, the looming threat of the Azure Empire was immense.
Moreover, as understanding of the world deepened, many chose to remain hidden, rendering the majority of the info stream unreliable.
Ethan had no desire to squander his time sifting through the barrage of worthless messages.
Without hesitation, he sent a direct message to Dark Lord Lava.
[Unknown Dark Lord: I have arrived at the small town outside Glacial Canyon. The town has been destroyed. Do you know what happened?]
In less than a second, Dark Lord Lava responded.
[Dark Lord Lava: You've finally arrived!]
[Dark Lord Lava: The destruction of the town was the doing of a Snow Falcon from the Snowy Plains. A group of hunters from the Plains had targeted the Snow Falcon's young. Unforeseen, the Snow Falcon became aware of their presence at the critical moment. Realizing escape was futile, the hunters killed the young, inciting a frenzied rampage from the Snow Falcon that decimated the town.]
[Dark Lord Lava: But you have nothing to worry about; with your strength, the Snow Falcon stands no chance against you.]
[Dark Lord Lava: Also, enter from here.]
Following the message, Dark Lord Lava provided a detailed map of the Glacial Canyon.
Ethan scanned it briefly, memorizing the necessary details before sharing the tragic backstory of the town's ruin with Sherry.
Without further delay, they stepped into the embrace of Glacial Canyon, delving deeper into its icy folds.
Not long after their departure, a massive Snow Falcon, with a wingspan stretching several tens of meters wide, descended upon the town's remains.
In a fit of madness, it furiously flapped its wings, wreaking havoc on the remaining structures, its piercing cries slicing through the cold air, announcing its anguish to the world.
Of course, this event bore no relation to Ethan and Sherry,
Guided by the map, Ethan and Sherry successfully navigated their way to a cave within the Glacial Canyon.
Upon entering, Ethan immediately felt a surge of blistering heat.
"It makes sense to choose this place; there seems to be underground magma below," Ethan realized inwardly.
It was certain that Dark Lord Lava's true form had a connection to molten rock.
However, the magma found in typical locations was incredibly hot, a place even those proficient in the Power of Lava dared not linger.
The snow-covered mountains, however, were different.
The eternally unmelting ice suppressed the potency of the magma, facilitating the effortless absorption of the Power of Lava.
Ethan sensed this distinctly.
Not long after entering, the Power of Lava within him had strengthened considerably.
Subsequently, Ethan and Sherry ventured further into the cave.
The temperature deep within the cavern escalated, yet it remained within their tolerance.
At that moment, a flash of light pierced the deeper recesses of the cave, and an incredibly tall figure abruptly stepped out from the rocky wall, welcoming the approaching Ethan and Sherry with a greeting.
"My friends, welcome to my abode!"
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