CH 96.1

The Temple of Nature and the White Bone Mausoleum.

It's easy to see how much those two new structures strengthen the territory.

First, Zhang Nu spent nearly 90k gold to max out his 30k skeleton soldiers limit.

These small units are cheap and have very low daily upkeep. Even at high numbers, they still won't be too much of a burden on his economy.

Just as Zhang Nu was considering how to strategically divide up this labor force in order to get the most value out of them, the draconian priest Li Si came forth and reported, "My lord, our Detection Tower sent up an alert. Two targets suspected to be infiltrators have appeared nearby."

"Infiltrators?"

"Heroes again?"

"The Detection Tower hasn't even been built for more than a handful of days, and it already caught some rats?"

Zhang Nu was quite satisfied.

The Queen's blueprint certainly was worthwhile.

This Detection Tower really is something that every territory needs.

It constantly scans the nearby area like a radar. So long as any units that haven't been registered appear, it will immediately give an alert.

As a level 1 structure, the Detection Tower's ability isn't perfect.

If one has a strong enough stealth skill, then it's possible to dodge the detection.

However, maintaining stealth over a long period of time isn't easy. The moment the skill is canceled, the user would be instantly discovered. This is also one of the strengths of the Detection Tower.

Zhang Nu spoke, "Show me just who this is."

Li Si had already activated the Omniscient Crystal Ball set in the castle's throne room.

Figures gradually appeared in the crystal. Two sneaking figures were moving about near Darkness City. It was obvious at a glance that they aren't normal residents of the canyon, but rather two green-skinned orcs.

There are no orcs in Darkness Valley.

There are no orc tribes near Giantree City either.

Those two likely have some relation to Berserk Beast City.

They're approaching Darkness City carefully, so they don't seem to be here to try to raid the Altar. They're most likely scouts here to observe and gather information on the Demon King instead.

The more information Heroes have before attacking a Demon King, the better.

Information like the Demon King Territory's unit types, force disposition, organization of forces, and the makeup and locations of defensive structures are especially important.

Such information useful for strategy can lessen the losses from invasion.

"Zhang San, go deal with the rats. Remember to leave one alive though."

The draconian marshal Zhang San acknowledged the order and immediately charged out of the throne room in a blur.

The two Heroes were sent by Tu Xiuming of Berserk Beast City.

They entered Darkness Canyon via drake beasts, but the Valley has the magical fog from the Tower of Fog obstructing any observation, so they weren't able to survey the geography or structures at all.

"Shit!"

"We've miscalculated!"

"I can't see anything!"

"We really should have prepared potions of true seeing."

"That or have learned a few higher leveled detection skills."

"If this continues, not only would we be unable to get any information, we might even end up discovered by the Demon King's minions. Let's pull back for now!"

The two were quite cautious, and they immediately reached an agreement.

They planned to retreat and make preparations first.

Who could have predicted, however, that a violent qi slash suddenly cut through the fog in front of them right at them. Both of the two were startled and barely dodged out of the way.

"Who!"

"Get out here!"

Just as Feng Wan said that, a three meters tall draconian covered in golden scales came out from the fog. He looked down at the two orcs with eyes filled with ridicule and disdain.

Feng Wan and Fang Hou were both struck dumb.

That guy looked vicious and terrifyingly powerful!

He's a mid to high tiered level 3 Lord at the very least!

He gives off a powerful pressure just standing there without moving. What a terrifying being, they've never seen such a thing.

Fang Wan asked, "You're the Demon King, aren't you?!"

Zhang San had no interest in communicating with mobs, so he just grinned, showing his white teeth, making that grin look all the more vicious.

The next second, the bladed polearm slashed forth.

Fang Wan blocked it with his battleax.

Then, with a clang, the ground around them sank down into a crater.

The terrifying strength was as heavy as a mountain, forcing Fang Wan to vomit out a mouthful of blood.

He's a first class elite Hero, and has dealt with quite a number of Demon KIngs before. Yet, he's never been overpowered to such a degree, where he almost couldn't even take a single blow. Yet, at just that moment, a wave of violent qi erupted from Zhang San's body.

Fang Wan's breastplate shattered like glass.

The shockwave from the qi ripped apart the ground in every direction for three meters.

Fang Wan's HP dropped by nearly half. He knew now that there's no way he's a match for this terrible opponent. He also finally understood just why Wang Gang's group died here.

They guy is way too monstrous.

He's strong beyond reason!

He's definitely among the very top even among level 3 Lord monsters. He's basically on the very ceiling among Lords.

"Wait!"

"I surrender!"

"I'll tell you everything!"

Zhang San didn't give him any chance though.

Another two blows forced Fang Wan several meters back. Then, Zhang San covered himself in qi and, with a violent charge, sent Fang Wan flying before finally splitting the Hero in half with a swing of his blade.

The battle ended cleanly.

[You've slain a level 3 Hero. Soul +1!]

Zhang Nu observed the entire battle through the Omniscient Crystal Ball.

That Hero's single combat ability is about on par with Du Mingfeng's, but he was defeated so easily here. The draconian marshal's power was great, as expected.

Based on Zhang Nu's orders, one was killed and one was captured.

Zhang Nu's request that one be captured alive is, of course, for the sake of interrogation. This Fang Hou is only level 2, so he'd be relatively easier to keep under control as well.

Besides that, a level 3 Hero is especially rare, so he will definitely kill them and harvest the soul whenever he encounters one.

Zhang Nu immediately sacrificed the soul.

[You sacrificed a level 3 Soul, gained x Talent Points] (T/N: The number got eaten by the raws I'm using again, so just pretend there's an appropriate number here)

After opening his status menu, he has reached 1102 Talent Points.

Zhang Nu was overjoyed. He had just been worried recently due to having completely decimated the high leveled Hero population near Giantree City, so he didn't know where to find more prey.

That's solved now.

This big EXP bundle that delivered himself right to his door got him enough Talent Points to go over the threshold.

Zhang Nu spent 1000 Talent Points to activate his second level 3 Talent.

[You've activated the level 3 Talent "Evil Dragon's Descent"!]

This skill is very powerful.

It's a transformation type skill.

Although it costs a lot, after transformation, he can transform into an apocalyptic evil dragon. His skills will change and even greatly increase in power.

Its boost to his combat power is even greater than the Dragon King's Sanctum.

The King's Sanctum is a signature ability, but when Zhang Nu uses it at his current power, the greatest effect from it is the crowd control ability that greatly weakens his enemies and suppresses their skills.

Compared to that, Evil Dragon's Descent is a direct boost in power.

It explosively increases his destructive power and damage potential.

AS for exactly how much that increase is, that's something that Zhang Nu isn't all that certain of right now either. He'll need some research and testing before he can really answer that question.