The World Channel was chaos.
Kael scrolled through the endless flood of Lord chatter, his eyes catching on the desperate ones.
"What the hell is the drop rate for edible meat?!""A stat nerd says it's 20–30%. You have to kill five monsters just for a bite.""My subjects are looking at me like I'm dinner.""Run, idiot, run!"
A small smile tugged at Kael's lips. He had three thousand units of fresh Desert Lizard meat piled in his storehouses. Enough to feed his people for weeks. Enough to rot if he ignored it.
And the rest of them were starving.
He flicked open the marketplace. Food listings were scarce, vanishing within seconds. Eighty percent of the trade was basic materials—wood, stone, metal, fine sand—with every Lord scrambling for even scraps of meat or wild fruit.
Kael's fingers tapped the armrest. A plan was forming. He opened the trade interface.
Trade with the Plunder King – 1,000 units of Black Iron-Grade Desert Lizard MeatPrice: 20 units of basic materials per unit of meatLimit: 10 units of meat per buyerNote: Will consider private trades for special treasures
He leaned back, satisfied.
The limit wasn't generosity. It was strategy. No rival would gorge on his stock and use it to fuel their rise. Ten units was enough to save them from collapse—not enough to make them dangerous.
Sand, too—he could dig endlessly in the desert, but not all sand was construction grade. Every grain they sent him had value.
Within minutes, the listing was buried in a storm of clicks.
Trade Rank: 3,554,629,999th… 18,556,663rd… 1st.
His sale now dominated the top of the board. The World Channel exploded.
"A thousand units of meat?!""He must've killed five thousand Lizards!""What's his Lord Talent? A dragon army? A god's blessing?""Profiteer!""Worth it. Ranked meat boosts physique. Just bought two—braising now."
Not everyone celebrated. In a distant territory, a knight-armored young man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, frowning at the screen.
Zhang Zhi, Diamond-tier Lord Talent. Master of Knight Hall. He'd turned five subjects into Combat Spirit Knights and still couldn't dream of pulling in that much meat in a day.
Large-scale weapon? Or something rarer?
His lips curled coldly. "Enjoy your moment, Plunder King. One day, I'll ride my knights to your gates and take your secret for myself."
Back in Blazing Sun City, Kael ignored the noise—until his notifications blew up.
Private Messages: 100,000,000+Friend Requests: 100,000,000+
He killed friend requests outright, filtered out the begging and insults, and kept only a few hundred serious offers. By the time he looked again, the meat was gone.
In its place—piles of materials:– 4,800 wood– 7,000 fine sand– 3,400 metal– 6,800 stone
Twenty thousand units of raw building power.
He stepped out into the sun, eyes on his wooden Lord's Hall. A single thought summoned the upgrade prompt.
Upgrade Lord's Hall?
"Yes," Kael said.
The ground began to tremble.
The Plunder King's city was about to change forever.