Zhang Nu opened the loot from capturing Kolo City, starting with the mythminite treasure chest. It was the only mythminite one among the five chests.
[You've opened the Mythminite Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" x5 million, "Blueprint: Sacred Knight's Sanctuary" x1, "Blueprint: High Mage Guild" x1, "Life Gems" x1000, "Wind Gems" x1000!]
It was indeed worthy of being a mythminite chest. The contents were impressive, especially the two blueprints, both of which were barrack-type buildings. One was a Level 5 blueprint, and the other was Level 4.
[Blueprint: Advanced Mage Guild] Level 4 blueprint. Costs gold x800,000, wind, fire, water, earth, light, dark, and lightning gems x100 each. You may construct a High Mage Guild within your territory.
[Blueprint: Sacred Knight's Sanctuary] Level 5 blueprint. Costs gold x4 million, light gem x1500, life gem x1500. You may construct a Sacred Knight's Sanctuary within your territory.
The combined cost of these two buildings was only 4.8 million gold, and the chest had already provided 5 million gold. Zhang Nu had enough gems to cover the material requirements. Therefore, he summoned both of these buildings in the human section of the Darkness City.
[You've constructed the High Mage Guild!]
[You've unlocked the ability to summon human units!]
[You've gained a new summonable population: Mage Apprentice +10,000, Junior Mage +8000, Intermediate Mage +5000, High Mage +2000, Grand Mage +100, Archmage +5, Grand Archmage +1!]
Zhang Nu was very satisfied. The High Mage Guild was a building specialized in recruiting human mages. Spellcasters were generally valuable units, and in Zhang Nu's current army, the primary spellcasting race was the elves, but their proportion was not very high.
The human mages summoned from the Mage Guild were proficient in all four elemental magic types, and they were knowledgeable scholars with additional abilities in alchemy, potion-making, enchanting, and other production skills. This not only improved the composition of his forces but also increased the human population in his territory. Furthermore, it could enhance production capabilities.
Zhang Nu quickly glanced at the levels and prices:
[Mage Apprentice] Level 1 normal, costs 100 gold.
[Junior Mage] Level 1 elite, costs 500 gold.
[Intermediate Mage] Level 2 elite, costs 4000 gold.
[High Mage] Level 3 elite, costs 15,000 gold.
[Grand Mage] Level 4 elite, costs 100,000 gold.
[Archmage] Level 4 lord, costs 400,000 gold + four elemental gems 100 each.
[Grand Archmage] Level 4 overlord, costs 3,000,000 gold + four elemental gems 500 each + 1 Level 4 Hero's soul.
Zhang Nu noticed that these mages were quite expensive. Even a mage apprentice costs 100 gold, which was the same price as summoning a draconian soldier, and the mage apprentice was just a Level 1 normal unit. It seemed that mages were generally valuable units, perhaps due to their versatile production and research capabilities.
Considering the cost, Zhang Nu decided to summon a Grand Archmage right away. A bright light flashed, and a figure in a pristine mage robe appeared. She was a mature-looking human female in her thirties, and although slightly older, she had a dignified and beautiful appearance, exuding an intellectual charm.
"Greetings, my master!" she said respectfully.
Zhang Nu observed her white attire and decided on a name for her. "Hmm, your name shall be Bai Jie from now on."
This name suited a Grand Archmage well, and it was one of the more tasteful names that the Demon King had bestowed upon his servants.
The Grand Archmage Bai Jie immediately expressed her gratitude, "Thank you for granting me a name, my master!"
Zhang Nu then took a look at her attributes.
[Grand Archmage: Bian Jie] Level 4 overlord unit
Skills: Super Meditation (A rank), Dance of the Flame Dragon (A rank), Frozen Expanse (A rank), Storm's Descent (A rank), Earth Sundering (B rank), Instant Teleportation (B rank), etc.
Description: This is an archmage with the title of Grand Mage, and each archmage possesses an incredibly extensive knowledge. She is not only a master of the four elemental magic types but also an unparalleled scholar of her time.
After reading the introduction, the Demon King was pleasantly surprised. He had indeed found a treasure. Bai Jie's magical abilities and her Level 4 overlord combat prowess were secondary to her true value as a super scholar. She possessed profound knowledge and a voracious appetite for learning. That would explain why she was so expensive.
When Zhang Nu had summoned the dwarf Zhang Dachui, another Level 4 overlord with production capabilities and a renowned forge master, he had cost significantly less than summoning Bai Jie. As they say, you get what you pay for. Whether it was Grand Archmage Bai Jie or Dwarven City Lord Zhang Dachui, these units with special production abilities or knowledge were typically hidden units that were hard to come by. Their additional value far exceeded their combat prowess.
Next, Zhang Nu constructed the Sacred Knight's Sanctuary.
[You've constructed the Sacred Knight's Sanctuary!]
[You've unlocked the ability to summon human units!]
[You've gained a new summonable population: Squire Knight +30,000, Junior Knight +15,000, Intermediate Knight +8000, High Knight +4000, Grand Knight +1000, Knight Commander +50, Titled Knights +5, Holy Knight +1!]
Zhang Nu quickly scanned the price list.
[Squire Knight] Level 1 normal, costs 50 gold.
[Junior Knight] Level 1 elite, costs 200 gold.
[Intermediate Knight] Level 2 elite, costs 2,000 gold.
[Advanced Knight] Level 3 elite, costs 8,000 gold.
[Grand Knight] Level 4 elite, costs 25,000 gold.
[Knight Commander] Level 4 lord, costs 200,000 gold + 150 life gems.
[Knight Title Holder] Level 4 overlord, costs 1,000,000 gold + 1 Level 4 Hero's soul + 300 life gems.
[Holy Knight] Level 5 overlord, costs 6,000,000 gold + 1 Level 5 Hero's soul + 500 life gems.
Not bad. This barrack-type building could summon a substantial number of units, totaling up to 50,000. If constructed in the Darkness City, it would directly provide the city with an additional 50,000 loyal human inhabitants.
What was even more valuable was that the Sacred Knight's Sanctuary had a Level 5 overlord summoning slot. Even for the Darkness City, Level 5 overlords were top-tier combatants, and a Holy Knight, in particular, did not seem like an ordinary knight. Furthermore, buildings with the name "Sanctuary" typically had functions related to training and learning. For instance, the territorial building "Ancient Elven Sanctuary" allowed for the rapid mastery of elven martial skills. This could enhance the territory's strength to some extent.
Although Zhang Nu was a bit tight on resources at the moment, he still decided to summon the Holy Knight. A brilliant light flashed, and a dignified, justice-filled silver haired hunk appeared before Zhang Nu. He was clad in platinum armor, and by his side was a golden winged warhorse. Just the steed alone possessed the strength of a Level 5 lord.
"At your service, my lord!" the Holy Knight said respectfully.
Zhang Nu glanced at the color of his armor. "From today on, I'll call you Bai Jin."
Holy Knight Silver replied with reverence, "Thank you for granting me a name, my lord!"
[Holy Knight: Bai Jin], Level 5 overlord unit
Skills: Holy Knight's Physique (Innate), Divine Combat Qi (A rank), Descent of the Divine (A rank), Radiant Aura (A rank), Holy Light Summoning (A rank), Heroic Aura (B rank), Aura of Justice (B rank), etc.
Description: This is a knight of noble character and unyielding spirit, also an outstanding commander with superb combat skills and exceptional leadership abilities.
Zhang Nu was somewhat surprised. Another little treasure? Not only was his personal combat prowess outstanding, but he also had a host of aura skills, making his command abilities on par with an Earth Drake Grand Marshal and even a bit higher.
The Holy Knight was "old white", and the Grand Mage was "little white". With these two 'whites' by the Demon King's side, his strength had improved considerably. The rewards from the mythminite chest were indeed generous. Now he still had four mithril chests. The quality of these four chests would likely be a bit lower.
Zhang Nu opened them one after another, and the items he obtained were as follows:
[Cumulative rewards: "Gold" ×6.25 million, "Blueprint: Imperial Library" ×1, "Blueprint: Arcane Tower" ×1, "Blueprint: Blazing Tower" ×1, "Blueprint: Imperial Infantry Camp" ×1, "Blueprint: Warhorse Ranch" ×1, "Life Gems" ×800, "Elemental Gems" ×3,000...]
All in all, it was quite good. Opening the four chests yielded six blueprints, and considering the drop rates, these were relatively high. However, except for the "Imperial Library," which was a Level 4 blueprint, all the others were only Level 3.
Zhang Nu decided to construct the Imperial Library in the central area of his Darkness City. The functionality of the Imperial Library was impressive; it housed over two hundred thousand books on various topics, from human history to legendary biographies, magic, martial skills, and production techniques. It was truly a treasury of knowledge. Furthermore, entering the Imperial Library to read would increase memory and comprehension speeds by 500%. Such a utility building might not show immediate effects in the short term, but it would significantly impact the territory over time, enhancing productivity, the strength of the people, and cultural refinement, similar to the Ancient Elven Sanctuary.
As for the other five blueprint types, "Arcane Tower" and "Blazing Tower" were Level 3 defense buildings. The "Imperial Infantry Camp" was of too low a level and would need an upgrade before it became useful. Besides, Zhang Nu already had the Sacred Knight's Sanctuary, so there was no immediate need. The "Warhorse Ranch" blueprint was Level 3. However, in a forest environment, unless it was winged horses, it would not be very useful. Zhang Nu did not plan to construct this building in his Darkness City.
In summary, the rewards for capturing Kolo Province were satisfying.
Shortly after, Zhang Nu received a message from Long Yi. He was preparing to bring the Kolo family and the high-ranking officials who had surrendered from various cities to the Darkness City. Zhang Nu had prepared the blood wine in advance. He wanted to meet these people personally.
He intended to reveal his true identity as the Demon King to these high-ranking individuals. Maintaining secrecy was unnecessary for this group. They were going to assist Zhang Nu in controlling Kolo and potentially more of Thunder Empire's territories in the future. As they would be spending more time together, they were likely to gradually figure it out themselves. It would be better to meet them face to face. As long as he ensured their silence, the risk of leaks would be minimal."
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