Kanzaki Ren received a system notification:
[You have lost "Blackbone Camp"!]
Miracle City had lost one of its outposts.The territory's Divine Stone at that location had been corrupted. Unless the camp was reclaimed and reactivated, it could no longer be used.
"Pretty fast," Kanzaki Ren muttered.
But he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Miracle City's military strength was still too thin.There was no way to defend every outpost.
Blackbone Camp had never held much strategic value to begin with. It was deliberately abandoned as a tactical sacrifice. While it lacked defensive importance, it made for excellent bait.
And now—
The fish had taken the hook.
From the lord's perspective, Kanzaki Ren could clearly see roughly two hundred goblin warriors entering the camp.
That was a significant force.
If they stayed holed up inside Darkshade City, they would pose a serious threat. But once they marched out of their fortified city, wiping them out would be far easier.
If they could be annihilated—
Darkshade City would suffer a severe blow.
That would greatly benefit the upcoming siege operation.
However, the Chaos Tide was about to rise.
There likely wouldn't be any fighting today.
Kanzaki Ren nodded lightly."That works. One more day of preparation only increases my odds."
Miracle City currently had fifty adventurers staying overnight. If Maggot Eye launched an attack on Red Rock Mountain or Scarlet Claw Village, Kanzaki Ren could instantly mobilize fifty mercenaries or combat units—more than enough to hold either location.
Repelling an attack would be easy.
But achieving total annihilation was unrealistic.
Better not to alert the enemy yet. With an extra day of preparation, the chances of wiping them out completely would increase dramatically. That would not only cripple Darkshade City but also yield a hefty return in soul crystals and materials through recovery.
Having only one dungeon—Apocalypse Frenzy—was far from sufficient.
At this stage, the most important task was to create a second dungeon, open access to more adventurer towns, and comprehensively elevate Miracle City's development potential. And that goal was now within reach.
Kanzaki Ren refocused his attention.
It was time to concentrate on territory development.
He still had plenty of usable resources.
Expanding a dungeon's scale didn't necessarily require constructing new buildings.
A lord could also increase population capacity by upgrading existing facilities.
Among a dungeon's many structures, special buildings required specific blueprints or items to upgrade. But basic territorial buildings had no such requirements—materials alone were enough.
Kanzaki Ren upgraded the Mercenary House, Monster Camp, Soldier Barracks, and Warehouse.
Total cost:
2,400 soul crystals
1,000 mental energy
500 units of material essence
Current resources:
Soul Crystals: 735
Mental Energy: 1,589
Material Essence: 0
Earlier today, his mental energy had peaked at 5,521.
Creating Stage Three and the story chapters had cost 2,682.Dungeon shop restocking cost 100.Contracting five new adventurers cost 150.This round of upgrades consumed 1,000 more.
That left him with just 1,589 mental energy.
Soul crystals were the biggest expense in territory construction.
But income sources were plentiful. Beyond dungeon output, there were also war spoils and treasure chests.
Additionally, the territory itself had begun generating revenue. The adventurer inn and dungeon shop weren't making much yet, but they already covered miscellaneous expenses like dungeon crystals and Divine Stone upkeep.
These income streams would only grow as supporting facilities expanded.
The most critical shortage right now wasn't soul crystals or mental energy—
It was materials.
The territory had only 486 units of material essence, but construction required 500. Kanzaki Ren had no choice but to purchase 14 units from the lord market at an average price of 3 soul crystals each, barely completing the upgrade cycle.
If materials hadn't run out, further construction would have been possible.
Building a territory was never easy. Resource consumption was enormous.
But every investment was worth it.
These upgrades brought significant improvements.
For example, a Tier One Mercenary House could only increase adventurer capacity by 25 and allow 30 Tier One mercenaries.
After upgrading:
[Mercenary House (Tier Two)]
Increases adventurer capacity by 60
Allows recruitment of 30 Tier Two mercenaries
Or up to 150 Tier One mercenaries
One Tier Two unit was roughly equivalent to five Tier One units.
Kanzaki Ren could recruit:
30 Tier Two mercenaries
Or 150 Tier One mercenaries
Or any mixed combination, such as 10 Tier Two and 100 Tier One
With Tier Two versions of the Mercenary House, Soldier Barracks, and Monster Camp now complete—
Miracle City officially possessed Tier Two combat capability.
The problem was—
There were no Tier Two soul cores yet.
Hopefully the adventurers would step up soon.
Clearing Stage Two of Apocalypse Frenzy couldn't come fast enough.
After this round of upgrades, the city's capacity increased from 440 to 550 adventurers—a jump of 110. Overall strength rose dramatically, and tomorrow's income was almost guaranteed to surge.
Once construction was finished, Kanzaki Ren summoned the junior administrator, Nancy Lya.
"What are the adventurers doing right now?"
Although Blackbone Camp had been retaken by goblins, no counterattack had occurred yet, so the adventurers remained unaware. Kanzaki Ren was curious how they were spending their time.
"Reporting to my lord," Nancy Lya replied,"Most are hosting banquets at the inn. Some are researching dungeon data and holding story and tactical discussion meetings. A few contracted adventurers have also gone out to explore nearby areas."
Adventurers didn't truly die in the Chaos World.
That was why they were so reckless and fearless.
However—
Being hard to kill didn't mean death was without cost.
If an adventurer's main body was killed without territorial protection, their contracted soul core would destabilize, drastically reducing fusion compatibility. In other words, they would lose massive experience and be forcibly ejected from the Chaos World—essentially disconnected.
Death penalties were far from trivial.
And adventurers themselves were physically weak.
Unless necessary, they rarely ventured out alone.
The key difference between contracted and visiting adventurers was that contracted ones received one free transformation per day through the Soldier Barracks. They could temporarily become any soul-core form already owned by the territory.
That was effectively an extra life per day.
With such benefits, Shirasawa Yukari, Raging Chick, and the others couldn't sit still.
They transformed into various territorial units and voluntarily patrolled Miracle City, hoping to hunt a few Darkkin for contribution points. Unfortunately, lacking intelligence support, they gained nothing.
This was a good opportunity…
Nancy Lya took the chance to report the adventurers' activities, especially emphasizing White Crane Adept as a potential threat.
"Blackstone Town has someone like that?" Kanzaki Ren's eyes lit up.
A powerhouse like Blackstone Town's so-called number one adventurer was exactly what Miracle City needed. Without someone strong enough to push dungeon progression, how long would it take for those reckless rookies to defeat the Tracker?
This was clearly—
Not a bad thing.
In fact, it was excellent news.
Nancy Lya didn't understand Kanzaki Ren's thinking. As a spy, she had worked hard gathering intelligence, including adventurer strategies, and was hoping the lord would intervene.
This hidden elf girl cared about the dungeon's operation even more than the lord himself.
Kanzaki Ren noticed that—and found it encouraging. It meant she had already begun to acknowledge Miracle City. Complete loyalty was only a matter of time.
"Leave it," Kanzaki Ren said calmly."As long as they follow the rules, if they win, that's their skill. Whatever they earn, they deserve. I won't interfere, and I certainly won't stoop to dirty tricks."
He spoke firmly:
"Miracle City fears no fair competition. If a dungeon is afraid of its own adventurers, how could it ever become great?"
Nancy Lya froze.
She hadn't expected that answer.
She suddenly felt an overwhelming confidence and openness radiating from this young genius lord—like the sun itself. It made her feel small-minded by comparison.
He truly was someone worth trusting and supporting. Young as he was, he already carried the bearing of a great ruler.
Still, Nancy Lya believed her concerns weren't unfounded.
She had seen too many dungeons fall.
Adventurers looked harmless—but more dungeons were destroyed by adventurers than by Darkkin.
Underestimating them was dangerous.
Before she could say more—
"You've done well lately," Kanzaki Ren added."But with so many adventurers now, you can't handle everything alone. I'll assign five more dwarf assistants to the hall. You'll manage them."
He waved his hand decisively."Alright. The city is about to reopen. Go prepare."
"Yes…"
Nancy Lya left the lord's mansion, feeling slightly conflicted.
Half an hour later—
Miracle City reopened right on schedule.
Even with capacity raised to 550, it filled to the brim in under a minute.
The surge in adventurers and their growing proficiency meant longer average challenge times.
To prevent crystal shortages and ensure efficient harvesting, Kanzaki Ren increased the number of dungeon crystals to eighty.
Even that likely wouldn't be enough for long.
A Tier One hall could generate a maximum of 100 dungeon crystals.
Kanzaki Ren realized he had to upgrade the dungeon hall—or build another one—soon.
Neither option would be easy.
The dungeon hall was one of the most expensive basic structures to build or upgrade.
In the end—
It came down to insufficient resources.
The territory's foundation still wasn't strong enough.
Mental energy and soul crystals could be earned through operation.
But materials could only be obtained through the market or territorial expansion.
As adventurers poured into the hall like starving wolves sharpening their blades, Kanzaki Ren nodded in satisfaction—eager to see how well they would perform today.