Chapter 317

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Ji Chen had just started to leave when, as if remembering something, he called out to Jovana.

“Do you know where your fellow Merfolk are?”

Since the craftsmanship of White-scaled Merfolk was complex and time-consuming, wouldn’t increasing the number of them also increase production?

Upon hearing this, Jovana shook her head with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Reporting, my lord, my tribe originally had over a hundred members, but we lost most of them in an accident a few years ago. Now, there are only around thirty of us.

As for other White-scaled Merfolk tribes, 1 encountered one by chance decades ago, but since then, I haven’t seen or heard anything about them.”

Ji Chen nodded slightly with a touch of regret. It seemed that the idea of increasing Merfabric production through numbers would have to be put on hold.

At present, the strength of the Crown of the Ocean did not allow him to spend a lot of time and resources searching for White-scaled Merfolk in the vast ocean.

After sending Jovana away, Ji Chen arrived in front of the Lord’s Manor and took out the small statue of the double-winged Razorfin Demon from his backpack.

As long as he placed it down, the Crown of the Ocean would instantly gain a powerful negative energy field, increasing its safety by several times.

Thinking about this, he extended his spiritual power into the statue and began to imprint it with his own consciousness, binding it.

Within the statue, Ji Chen’s vibrant blue spiritual energy flowed ceaselessly, infiltrating every nook and cranny. Then, it got triggered by some unseen force. Deep within, a hidden and malevolent force surged, manifesting as a menacing black creature with fiery red eyes, seemingly intent on consuming the serene blue energy.

If the blue spiritual power were to be devoured, the black spiritual power could invade the owner through the spiritual connection, completely enslaving them on a soul level.

As the black creature, infused with traces of pure malevolent energy, came into contact with the blue energy, its malevolent and sinister countenance swiftly transformed into one of sheer dread.

The blue spiritual power, initially thought to be a delectable morsel, suddenly emanated a terrifying force from its depths. A shimmering, multicolored radiance burst forth, illuminating the black beast. This radiance resembled the sun meeting ice, and it rapidly dissipated. Within the span of a blink, the black beast vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.

After its destruction, the rainbow light paused briefly and then quickly disappeared, once again converging deep within, leaving the interior of the statue completely free from any trace of evil. The blue spiritual power covered it completely.

The entire process happened in the blink of an eye.

And Ji Chen was completely unaware of everything that had just occurred. In his perception, his mental power had only entered the small double-winged demon statue, leaving his mark and binding it.

“Ding- You have bound the Small Double-Winged Demon Statue. Do you wish to activate the negative energy field?”

“Yes.”

The Small Double-Winged Demon Statue trembled slightly, floated out of Ji Chen’s hands, and slowly sank into the earth. It didn’t stop until it had descended several meters deep.

Ji Chen was quite satisfied with this arrangement. Burying it underground would greatly improve its concealment.

He immediately filled the dug-up soil back in and even stomped on it a few times to make it less conspicuous. In a few days, the lush weeds would completely cover any traces here, and no one but Ji Chen would know that a statue was buried there.

In the invisible sky, a negative energy field with a radius of ten kilometers, centered on the buried point of the statue, had already enveloped more than half of the New Moon Islands.

From hundreds of meters high in the air to the depths of the sea, any wild creatures within this range were suppressed by an invisible force, greatly reducing their threat level.

As long as he thought about it, Ji Chen could communicate with the Small Double-Winged Demon Statue using his mental power, deciding whether to activate the negative energy field or even use another skill of the statue. It was very convenient.

Ji Chen clapped his hands, feeling satisfied, and returned to the Lord’s castle, sitting down on the Lord’s throne and opening the territory panel.

[Crown of the Ocean]

[Lord]: Ji Chen

[Level]: Level 1 Territory

[Prosperity]: 373,970

[People’s Hearts]: 84 (High, loyal, stable)

[Population]: Humans (2,992), Human Slaves (1,550), Cave Miners (18), Kobolds (640), Lizardmen (1,543,940), Half-Orcs (502 [excluding Half-Orc Warriors]), White-Scaled Merfolk (31)

[Territorial Buildings]: Level 3 Lord’s Manor, Resurrection Altar, Harbor, Large Water Fort…

[Oceanic Ships]: Two-masted Merchant Ships (10), Three-masted Warships (42), Five-masted Grand Flagship (1), Gnome Armed Merchant Ship (1)

[City Defenses]: Alchemy Death Cannon (1), Elemental Arrow Tower (1), Ordinary Watchtowers (58), Ordinary Arrow Towers (38), Ancient Civilization Fortress (1), Small Double-Winged Demon Statue (1)

[Unit Recruitment Camps]: Azure Dragon Pyramid (1), Murloc Statue (10), Naga Altar (10)…

[Units]: Tyrant Azure Dragons (9), Dragon Blood Murlocs (700), Naga Berserkers (680)…

[Heroes]: Siren: Alice (Red), Ancient Dragon Whale: Anina (Red), Wilus, Irona, Benbo (Purple)…

[Territorial Resources]:

Wood (213,505 units), Stone (278,220 units), Fiber (111,800 units), Clay (58,000 units), Crude Iron (302,250 units)

Spirit Crystals (300 units), Crystals (11,000 units), Mithril (6,000 units), Adamantite (9,000 units), Star Iron (40 units)