Lost in infinite excitement, Lin Mu had no idea how much time had passed; he felt as though he could live out the rest of his days just by clutching these gold ingots.
However, with his strong mental fortitude, Lin Mu eventually snapped out of his immense joy and began to take action!
The warehouse was filled with countless supplies, but Lin Mu’s eyes were only fixed on those three treasure chests; he ignored everything else, not even sparing them a glance.
Returning to the rear hall of the Council Chamber, Lin Mu skillfully performed the Mirror Setting. The system prompts arrived exactly as expected
"Ding!"
"—System Prompt: Lord Lin Mu, you have successfully set a God-tier Attribute Mirror for Azure Dragon Stronghold!"
"—System Prompt: Since this is not the Dragon Vein site of the Yinglong Valley, the special attribute of True Dragon Village, Attribute 1: [Auspiciousness of Earth Virtue], cannot take effect. Therefore, you may choose one attribute to retain from the original territory attributes!"
"—System Prompt: Lord Lin Mu, the attribute you have chosen to retain is: Land of Martial Prowess: The probability of soldiers within the territory comprehending skills is increased by 20%. Refreshing Azure Dragon Stronghold territory attributes!"
"—System Prompt: Azure Dragon Stronghold territory attributes have been refreshed. Players can now view the territory attributes!"
【Azure Dragon Town】(True Dragon Village Mirror Territory)
Level: Intermediate Township
Township Attributes
Attribute 1: Land of Martial Prowess: The probability of soldiers within the territory comprehending skills is increased by 20%.
Special Attribute 2: [Humanistic Glory] (Activated): Bestowing grace upon heaven, practicing virtue, acting with benevolence, and bringing peace to the world. Overall work efficiency and training efficiency of the territory are increased by 100%.
Special Attribute 3: [Blessing of Humanity] (Activated): Showering grace upon all living beings, making every person like a dragon. The aptitude of newly registered citizens increases by one tier.
Special Attribute 4: [Nuwa's Mercy] (Activated): The Great Goddess Nuwa watches over those who transform into Nine Heavens Dragons to traverse the world and gather the providence of heaven and earth. Overall resource occupation of the territory is increased by 100%.
Current Population: 138,900 / 150,000
Public Opinion: 63
Security: 86
Tax Rate: 10%
Current Resources: Grain 577,900,000 units, Wood 65,878 units, Stone 23,480 units, Great Han Empire Gold Ingots 12,680 ingots, Gold Coins 48,730, Silver Coins 459,682, Copper Coins 4,857,420, Great Han Empire Yellow-tier Standard Sets 17,970 sets, Yellow-tier Iron-core Bows 37,460, Yellow-tier Broadswords 48,230, Ordinary Ironware 67,930, Iron Ore 5,497 units.
Existing Buildings:...
Existing Resources:...
Buildable Buildings:...
Stronghold Area: 50 square kilometers
Territory Area: Unlimited (Standard territory area is twice the size of the village; since this village was established via a God-tier Village Building Order (Mirror), there are no territory range restrictions).
God-tier City Heart (Mirror): Durability: 500,000 / 500,000 (Each attack is forced to 1 point).
Resources required to upgrade Intermediate Township to Advanced Township:...
Once the settings were complete, the attributes were entirely new. As expected, God-tier attributes were the true way to power—absolutely incredible!
At the same time, Lin Mu now held another Earth-tier Village Building Order, adding another Intermediate Township to his pocket.
Lin Mu now possessed his main territory, the Advanced Village of True Dragon Village, and the Intermediate Townships of Qingfeng Town and Azure Dragon Town. His total population had surpassed 340,000, and the speed of development left even Lin Mu himself stunned.
All of this was thanks to the [Yellow Dragon Order], which raised overall aptitude by one tier. Combined with the God-tier attribute and Feng Zhong's bonuses, the training speed of his soldiers was growing by leaps and bounds.
In just over a month, he could train elite soldiers from Tier 3 to Tier 4. This was the only way to subdue such large strongholds; if this were any other player's territory, they would be lucky not to be swallowed up by the large strongholds, let alone conquer them!
Countless resources, endless equipment and weapons, over a hundred thousand people, a vassal territory, a territory building upgrade scroll, and a Yellow-tier Nuwa Treasure Chest—the harvest was so massive that Lin Mu couldn't stop smiling. This was the first true explosion of his accumulated foundation in the Mythical World.
By the time Lin Mu emerged from the Council Chamber, it was getting late. Having started his operations last night, over ten hours had passed, and the results were bountiful!
With the sun overhead, the weather in Yangzhou was beginning to turn hot. Summer had arrived!
Under the scorching sun, Lin Mu arrived at the only training ground in Azure Dragon Stronghold, which was also the first training ground his territory had acquired.
"Feng Zhong, what's the situation? Have the captives been settled?" Lin Mu found Feng Zhong, who was in charge of managing the prisoners, and asked.
"Haha, everything is arranged. It's just a mere hundred thousand people. With a few thousand difficult ones, it's easy under my command! My Lord, you look radiant and triumphant. Is it because the supplies in Azure Dragon Stronghold are incredibly abundant and the harvest is bountiful?" Feng Zhong joked easily.
"Hehe, very bountiful, very bountiful! We won't have to worry about development funds for our territory anymore! Haha..." Being asked about his triumph, Lin Mu grinned widely, showing a row of white teeth, unable to suppress his smile.
Having harvested legendary Providence Gold Ingots, Lin Mu seemed to have lost interest in mere gold, silver, and copper coins. His pursuits seemed to have ascended to a higher, more sophisticated level, though he wasn't quite sure why.
"This time at Azure Dragon Stronghold, the supplies are countless and the wealth is incredibly vast. I wonder how they had so much wealth. Could this have been Xu Zhao's logistics base, specifically for storing treasures?" Lin Mu was also very puzzled. Despite the massive harvest, doubts remained.
An Intermediate Township shouldn't possess this much wealth, let alone treasures that circulate among the upper classes. It was highly irrational. However, Lin Mu simply treated Azure Dragon Stronghold as Xu Zhao's private treasury. He wondered if Xu Zhao would fly into a rage upon finding his little vault had been robbed. *Hehe, you can be furious, but I shall be full of joy and ease!*
"By the way, Feng Zhong, what about the teleportation array in Azure Dragon Stronghold? Did the soldiers manage to return to the other side through it?" Lin Mu remembered something and asked immediately.
"Sigh, that was my oversight. One of the military lords managed to escape through the teleportation array during the encirclement. The Azure Dragon Army on the other side must have realized that Azure Dragon Stronghold has fallen. However, they haven't recklessly sent soldiers through to counterattack, perhaps fearing we are lying in wait!" Feng Zhong whispered.
"Ding!"
"—System Prompt: Lord Lin Mu, due to your actions, the Azure Dragon Army commander, Xu Zhao, the Governor of Huiji Commandery, has become your mortal enemy! However, since Xu Zhao is unaware of which force destroyed Azure Dragon Stronghold, he will not pursue you for the time being. If exposed, you will face Xu Zhao's frantic retaliation." *Damn, the system message only shows up now? What a headache!*
"Furthermore, I interrogated the Legion Commander, Liu Feng, and learned that the other side of the teleportation array connects to a valley outside Shanyin County, the seat of Huiji Commandery. The main legion of the Azure Dragon Army is stationed there, and Azure Dragon Stronghold was merely a training ground for recruits! Additionally, the stronghold served as a warehouse for a certain high-ranking official in the commandery seat. But no matter how much I threatened and interrogated him, Liu Feng refused to name the official! He only said that we are dead meat and that someone will definitely come to save them!"
"Hehe, even without him saying it, I know who it is!" Lin Mu nodded.
"Oh? I didn't expect my Lord to already know who is behind this. Although the Great Han Empire is decaying, on the surface, it is still peaceful and prosperous; chaos only exists in certain regions. Stable commanderies like Huiji shouldn't be experiencing war. It is very perplexing why a high-ranking official in the commandery would be training troops and recruiting soldiers day and night," Feng Zhong said.
"Indeed. The person behind Azure Dragon Stronghold is the current Governor of Huiji, Xu Zhao—an ambitious opportunist!" Lin Mu said with certainty, though he would never reveal Xu Zhao's future plans of rebellion and self-proclamation as king.
"Oh, so it is the highest leader of the commandery. It seems this Xu Zhao intends to do something big! I wonder what will happen when we clash with him? Haha!" Feng Zhong laughed, seemingly unconcerned.
"By the time he rises, our territory's military strength will be even greater. We'll see who deals with whom then. We don't need to worry about them attacking us; they don't even know where our territory is. Besides, our territory currently has no roads connecting to the outside world. If they want to attack us now, they're dreaming!" Lin Mu replied with a smile.
"It seems the opposition already knows our situation, and we also control the teleportation array they use for travel, so they won't act rashly. It's a pity our territory lacks a Teleportation Mage; otherwise, I would have moved this array back to True Dragon Village!" Lin Mu remarked.
"This array is only a basic teleportation array; it can only transport 20 people at a time. If the enemy sends soldiers through, we only need to station 1,000 elites to guard it day and night to prevent a counterattack. If we stall for a few months, our soldiers will be stronger and more numerous, and then we can teleport over and wipe them out!" Feng Zhong said with a fierce expression.
"It is strange, though. Why would an Intermediate Township territory have a basic teleportation array? And I don't know how they came to establish a territory in the Qilian Mountains; crossing the Qilian Mountains is practically impossible. Could this array be a natural phenomenon?" Lin Mu wondered.
"It shouldn't be natural. There are many traces of human intervention on the array; it likely originated from a high-level Teleportation Master. My guess is that Xu Zhao's subordinates used [Point-to-Point Teleportation Talismans] to arrive here, set up the array, and thus establish a secret territory to recruit troops and prepare for an uprising," Feng Zhong speculated. Feng Zhong had some knowledge of formations, though spatial teleportation was not his specialty; his expertise lay in offensive and defensive formations.
"Hey, regardless, Azure Dragon Stronghold is ours now, and we've plundered the treasures and supplies within. If we've made enemies, then so be it! If I can get harvests like this again, I'd even dare to offend the Governor of Yangzhou, haha..." Lin Mu said grandly.
"Yes, that is our Lord! No matter if the heavens collapse or the flames rage, you stand unshaken!" Feng Zhong laughed. *My Lord truly loves wealth, haha! But he is also true to his nature; with this wealth, the territory will develop even faster!*
"Feng Zhong, do you think it's better to keep these Azure Dragon Army captives here or transport them back to True Dragon Village?" Lin Mu asked.
"Now that you have finished setting the God-tier Attribute Mirror, you can register the soldiers who are willing to surrender first. This will increase their loyalty. Once they are armed, we can escort the stubborn elements back to True Dragon Village. Compared to the leveling speed in the village, it is too slow here!" Feng Zhong suggested.
"Furthermore, according to your Elite Soldier Plan, many of these soldiers have relatively low aptitude. We can let them return to farming for now to clear land and cultivate fields for the Yinglong Valley."
"Good. I will go and register the soldiers who have surrendered. Feng Zhong, you go maintain discipline among the soldiers and train them. Try to persuade the remaining soldiers to surrender as well, so we can form combat strength as soon as possible!"
"Understood!" Feng Zhong nodded and turned to leave.