The soldiers ate in quiet satisfaction, the warmth of roasted meat mingling with the cool dawn breeze. Qin Guang and his wife—the only married couple in the territory—moved among the warriors with practiced ease, handing out food and water to calloused hands.
"I never expected our Lord to raise so many soldiers overnight," Madam Qin Guang said with a tired but genuine laugh. "My arms ache from roasting all that meat, but… better this than running from endless wars."
Qin Guang's eyes swept over the armored ranks, pride softening his smile. "The Lord shares the rare meat without holding back. Out there, the world is teeth and blood. Here, it's peace."
To them, the Lord and his soldiers weren't just rulers or protectors—they were the unbreakable wall standing between order and chaos.
Qin Guang approached the Plunder King, carrying a plate piled high with freshly roasted lizard meat. "My Lord, you've fought through the night. This is prime Desert Fog Lizard flesh, well seasoned. The taste will please you, and its Promotion Energy remains intact."
Without ceremony, the Plunder King bit into the meat. Heat and flavor exploded across his tongue, but more important was the subtle surge of energy threading through his muscles. It wasn't the rush of slaying prey—far weaker—but it could build over time.
We'll eat like this every day now.
There was enough meat to feed an army for months. No one under his banner would know hunger.
"You've done well. Rest when your work is done," he told Qin Guang.
"My Lord, it's nothing. You carry the greater burden," the man replied, bowing before stepping back.
Kael's mind shifted to the night's spoils: 537 Black Iron Elementary Lizards, 159 Intermediate, 7 Elite Advanced. From their bodies came 1,716 Black Iron Mist Cores, 17,800 units of meat, 1,084 kilograms of water bags, 710 Class Change Certificates, 166 Recruitment Books, and seven Advanced Sand Stealth Techniques.
His people were advancing fast—but his own path demanded more than theirs. Even after such carnage, his strength hovered just short of the Black Iron Advanced threshold.
Across the World Channel, Lords babbled—some boasting, most despairing. Many had just a handful of fighters; some had none. The Novice Lord Test loomed six days away like a dark storm.
He thought of the twenty thousand units of meat in storage and opened the Market.
Three thousand units of Black Iron Elementary meat went up for trade—not all at once, never all at once. Too much attention could draw predators worse than fog monsters.
The stock sold out in ten minutes.
The return: 12,500 wood, 20,500 fine sand, 13,620 metal, 13,380 stone. Sixty thousand units of raw materials—enough to raise walls, forge weapons, build dreams.
The Gate of Summoning pulsed with energy. His eight daily summons awaited.
White light flared. Eight figures emerged and knelt. Five men, three women—six commoners. The last two stood apart.
The first was a weathered man in battle-worn armor, spear in hand, eyes sharp. Lu Chong. Black Iron Intermediate Spearman. Once a farmer, then a soldier pressed into war. Skills: Formation Spear Technique and Close Combat Technique, Advanced Grade. Potential: White Silver Elementary. Loyalty: 80.
The second was a woman with deft hands and eyes that measured every thread. Bao Xiu'er. Black Iron Advanced Tailor. Apprentice to a Yellow Gold-Tier master before war tore her life apart. Her skills ranged from Protective Leather Clothing to the Shuo Feng Liu Tailoring Technique—incomplete but of White Platinum Advanced caliber. Potential: Yellow Gold Elementary. Loyalty: 77.
Kael's gaze lingered on Bao Xiu'er. A tailor of her skill meant more than fine clothing—it meant armor that could turn blades, garments that shielded warriors, gear worthy of legends.
And in his mind, the next conquests began to take shape.