Chapter 276: The Approaching Thunder Empire
Zhang Nu opened the treasure chest.
[You've opened the Diamond Treasure Chest. You've gained "Gold" 80 million, "Blueprint: Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch", "Blueprint: Ent Altar" 1, "Level 5 Special Building Upgrade Scroll" 1, "Life Gems" 30,000, "Flame Gems" 20,000, "Earth Gems" 10,000!]
The rewards were indeed generous, fitting for an area that housed two Level 6 monarch-class units. The two blueprints for Level 5 special buildings included a Hyper Spatial-temporal Breeding Ranch, similar to a Spirit Field but capable of both cultivation and pasturing, with unique abilities such as spatial compression and time control, to generate impressive yields.
The Ent Altar, unlike other altar buildings, primarily focused on summoning new ents rather than enhancing existing ones. Ents, not being magical creatures, would persist indefinitely once summoned, without any time restrictions on their existence. This meant that with the Ent Altar, provided the summoning conditions were met, Zhang Nu could at any time summon ents to reinforce his forces.
Aside from the treasures obtained from the chest and the ents that were recruited, the most significant gain from this endeavor was the elven cultivation field itself. Despite the Black Phoenix having destroyed part of the area, the majority remained intact, teeming with purple and orange-grade materials.
A conservative estimate suggested that fully developing and liquidating these resources could potentially bring in one billion Demon King gold in revenue for the Darkness City. The high value of the materials in this place was thus made apparent. This expedition was indeed a bountiful harvest.
To prevent the materials from degrading in quality, Zhang Nu didn't rush to excavate them all but decided to preserve them in their natural state to maximize their value and freshness. He planned to dispatch a group of elves to take over the management of the valley. With proper cultivation, this valley could rival ordinary spirit fields in productivity, and the valuable materials could be cataloged and stored in the form of data. In this way, they could be collected as needed later on.
There was no longer a need for the ent clan to remain there. Zhang Nu intended to relocate the entire ent clan to the Chaos Forest, which would also be a form of liberation for them, as only a vast forest like the Chaos Forest could be an ideal paradise for the ents. For the Chaos Forest, the arrival of over a thousand Level 6 ents would greatly enhance its security, defense, and management. Ents possess an exceptional sensing ability, allowing each ent to control and monitor a large area of the forest, essentially serving as natural sentinels.
Moreover, the ents could communicate with each other through long-distance psychic communication, allowing any incidents in any corner of the vast forest to be promptly reported back to the Darkness City. Furthermore, these ents, having lived for tens of thousands of years, possess vast knowledge and command respect from various races. They could serve as the guardians of the Chaos Forest, mediating conflicts among races and defending against external threats.
As for the injury of the Ent King Grootroot? The phoenix's divine fire had been smoldering for decades. Zhang Nu could neutralize the flames within Grootroot using the power of the Abyssal Devouring and the abilities of the Evil God, but fully repairing the aftermath and restoring Grootroot to peak condition was not easy, even with Zhang Nu's current abilities, it was unlikely to be accomplished easily.
However, the power of Tree of Eternity or the effects of the Level 5 Life Spring could be used to slowly restore Grootroot to his prime. This process could take decades, but for the Ents, this was insignificant. After all, the natural lifespan of an ent is nearly infinite, and they could comfortably recuperate in the Chaos Forest.
Zhang Nu returned to the Darkness City and began preparing for the relocation of the ent clan.
Abruptly, the leader of the Dragon's Shadow Heroes, Su Yan, rushed back in a hurry.
"Boss!" she exclaimed, "Something big has happened!"
Su Yan was visibly tense.
Zhang Nu glanced at her and said, "You are now the head of the Darkness City's intelligence agency. Why are you still making a fuss? What big event could possibly happen now?"
Su Yan explained, "I've been gathering intelligence in Bachor's main city recently, and I can confirm that the empire has been seemingly quiet these days but is actually ready to launch a thunderous offensive."
Zhang Nu was slightly startled, "Is that so? How many people have they brought? What units are involved?"
Su Yan quickly said, "The empire has mobilized a very powerful lineup, pulling nearly a million combat units from the capital city and the eastern and western borders, almost all of which have now reached the southern border."
A million might sound intimidating, but numbers alone would not be enough. If it were a million ordinary soldiers, they wouldn't pose a threat to the Chaos Federation. But given Su Yan's anxiety, it was likely not just any ordinary force.
Su Yan continued, "This million-strong army doesn't consist of regular imperial troops; they are almost all elite forces. The Grand Dukes of the Western Region and Eastern Region, these two Guardian Dukes, have almost pulled out all the knights from their duchies, totaling nearly half a million. That's enough to easily wipe out any small country."
Zhang Nu nodded, "That does sound significant."
"But that's not all," Su Yan added. "The western border of the empire is where the magic civilization is most prosperous. The headquarters of the Mage Guild and several mage forces and alliances are located there. The Grand Duke of the West has thus cultivated a famous imperial Mage Legion."
A Mage Legion referred to a legion composed entirely of mages. A legion usually numbered over a hundred thousand; if it didn't reach that number, it couldn't be called a legion. This Mage Legion was a mage force formed by at least a hundred thousand, possibly more, mages working together. A hundred thousand mages launching an attack together would have been an apocalyptic sight, capable of leveling a city of a million people with a single assault.
Su Yan continued, "There is more. The Grand Duke of the Eastern Region has also dispatched the Imperial Juggernaut Legion stationed in the east."
The Imperial Juggernaut Legion she mentioned was a very special regular legion of the Thunder Empire. Given the vast territory of the Thunder Empire, it was inevitable that various exotic races live within its borders, most of which had been fully assimilated or completely subjugated by the empire.
In the highlands of the empire's eastern border, there's a particularly large tribe of giants. These giants belong to the mountain giants and are selected annually for their elite, receiving the empire's special blessings and initiation to gain significant magic resistance and combat prowess before joining the legions formed by the empire to wage wars for it. This unit was incredibly powerful and not to be underestimated even by the Chaos Federation.
With fifty thousand ducal knights, a legion of mages, and the Juggernaut Legion, the lineup was formidable indeed. However, the truly terrifying core force was not them.
Su Yan swallowed nervously before continuing, "Moreover, one of the empire's core forces, the renowned Guardian Knight Legion, has also arrived at Bachor City!"
Zhang Nu was already familiar with the power of the Guardian Knights. Each Guardian Knight was one in a million, and even the most ordinary member of the Guardian Knights had the strength of a Level 5 overlord, capable of contending with a mature dragon on their own. At this moment, the Guardian Knight Legion of the empire has almost entirely assembled in the southern lands. This sharply honed force wass capable of crushing any known enemy of the empire. Even the ent troops and Abyssal Dragon Legion that Zhang Nu had recently acquired would struggle to contend with this force.
It did sound rather troublesome. After all, in addition to these troops, the empire had deployed two dukes and a chief knight, three overt powerhouses. Moreover, the number of combat experts secretly dispatched, along with the reinforcements that the two dukes had called upon through their connections, was likely even more numerous.
What was most crucial was the scale of this operation. News would have surely spread throughout the lands, attracting the attention of top tier Heroes across the continent. Zhang Nu suspected that in this battle, Heroes from the top of the leaderboard would infiltrate the fray, either openly or in secret. Top-ranked Heroes were no pushovers. The threat they posed was no less significant than that of the three imperial powerhouses.
Su Yan anxiously asked, "Boss, how are we going to handle this? Although the Chaos Federation's forces are strong, it won't be easy to withstand this onslaught."
Zhang Nu revealed a playful smile, "Don't worry, their arrival is timely. It will allow me to test some interesting things."
Test? Su Yan was puzzled. Faced with such a large-scale enemy invasion, the boss seemed unconcerned, even seeing it as an opportunity for experimentation. Wasn't this attitude a bit too reckless?
"As for the war," Zhang Nu reassured Su Yan, "you don't need to worry. I'll handle it. The Chaos Federation has developed to a point where not even the mighty Thunder Empire can halt our progress. Our real threats are the top few hundred Heroes on the leaderboard."
Meanwhile, Han Kexin also encountered some trouble.
"I've received the latest intelligence that the army of the Pale Moon Kingdom is about to besiege Holy Tides City, including a significant force of Heroes," she reported.
Zhang Nu immediately replied, "Do you need my intervention?"
Han Kexin responded, "With me here, it's not yet necessary at this point. But Holy Tides City is short on troops. I need a strong reinforcement unit. Your newly formed Dragon Legion seems perfect for this. Send them to support me."
Zhang Nu approved the request and dispatched the Dragon Legion to Holy Tides City. Han Kexin promised to conclude the battle there within three to four days, then launch a counter-conquest against the Pale Moon Kingdom."
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