arcane emperor

Chapter 537 The precursor of turmoil (8000 monthly votes requested)
The huge body ran wildly in the jungle.

Its eyes were red, it was roaring, and it was chasing after Chris and others who were escaping in front.

Its thick and powerful limbs allow it to run quickly.

The sharp and deadly claws can easily grab into the soil and cut through tree roots.

Its spiked tail keeps wagging, stopping any enemies that might attack from behind.

At critical moments, its tail is also its deadly weapon.

The grey-green scaly armor allows it to ignore most attacks in the jungle and savagely knock away all kinds of deadly and dangerous plants.

Only plants can be so brave. They are used to waiting for prey to come automatically, but this time they hit an iron plate.

The violent Groxmon is about to approach Chris's back.

"Run!"

Chris yelled and dodged nimbly.

The Groxmon, which was in hot pursuit, kept making sharp roars and swept towards Chris.

Chris suddenly accelerated to avoid the sharp claws.

The Grox beast slapped the tree trunk hard, sawdust flew and leaves fell.

Feeling the strong wind rushing behind him, Chris felt a little regretful.

There are so many surprises in Catachan Jungle.

Even in areas that have been cleared just a few days ago, dangerous monsters will suddenly appear.

This Glocks beast, attracted by the smell of blood, was different from the herbivorous Glocks beasts he had seen before.

After smelling something, I caught up with him. With his teeth and claws dancing, he obviously wanted to eat meat!
Without enough time to express his appreciation for the transformative power of the Catachan jungle, Chris drank a bottle of swiftness potion without hesitation.

His body immediately became much lighter, and Chris was able to control his originally laborious running.

Praising the effectiveness of the potion produced by Bay Territory, Chris carefully avoided the barbed poison gorse that looked harmless to humans and animals.

He easily avoided another swipe of Glocksmon's claws and ran madly towards the predetermined position, praying silently in his heart.

"Next time, be sure to prepare more potions and scrolls."

Running at full speed continued for another 30 seconds.

In a panic, Chris rushed to a bush full of thorns and weeds.

Feeling the threat from the deadly plants around him, Chris immediately stopped and turned around to look at the Grox beast that was pursuing him.

This fierce monster's eyes widened, and its red eyes were full of cruelty and greed.

It opened its big mouth full of sharp teeth and immediately wanted to bite off Chris' head.

call!
The howling wind hit Glocksmon's back.

Click!

The huge force violently tore open Glocksmon's back.

The Glocksmon, which had been so ferocious just now, let out a roaring cry and fell heavily to the ground.

The dark and ferocious claws pressed firmly on the Glocksmon's back.

The large and generous mouth aimed at the Grox beast's neck and bit it, immediately tearing open a gap.

Groxmon struggled wildly, but was completely unable to break free from the suppression of huge power.

The harder it struggled, the bigger the wound on its neck became.

The momentum of offense and defense is also different.

Chris didn't have time to look at the flying dragon that jumped down, so he subconsciously took out the enchanted crossbow, pointed it at the Grox beast not far away, and pulled the trigger.

The special arrowhead made of fine steel punched through the Glocks beast's hard skull and penetrated into its brain.

Groxmon, who suffered heavy injuries, trembled all over.

The strength of the struggle became weaker and weaker, and Groxmon finally fell down, with more air coming out and less air coming in.

Feilong did not immediately let go of his big mouth. Instead, he twisted his neck hard after feeling that his resistance was weakening.

Click!

Groxmon died completely.

Its head was bitten off by the flying dragon, which was the trophy assigned to it.

The even larger body was put into the Demon Sealing Box by Chris and others who gathered around.

From scales to muscles, from blood to bones, they will all function to their maximum potential.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Chris's eyes showed a little excitement. He felt the strong wind blowing on his cheeks and heard Ashes boasting proudly:

"Hehe, luckily I was right at the beginning and seriously injured the Glocks beast's hind leg. Otherwise, Chris, you would be in trouble."

"It is indeed accurate, but we have to improve it next time. The lethality of the enchanted crossbow is too small..."

Chris had no problem with that.

He did underestimate the extremely fast mutated Groxmon, and almost capsized in the ditch.

Morak, who was burping next to him, carefully touched the swollen bulge on his neck, smiled and said:

"Feedback to the Gulf Territory Research Institute and let them research a long-range crossbow between the ordinary enchanted crossbow and the dragon hunting crossbow."

"Didn't the Lord say that? If there is demand, there will be a market. They will definitely study it when the time comes..."

Nodding thoughtfully, Hui Jin's eyes showed a little excitement. Thinking back on the research progress of the Ghost Claw Blade, he rubbed his hands quite excitedly and said:
"With the claws of the mutated Grox beast, we should be able to make considerable progress in improving the materials of the Catachan Demon's claws..."

Thinking of this, Hui Jin's face showed a little excitement.

The Gulf Territory is completely different from the Gray Dwarf Kingdom.

There is also a relationship of interest here, but it is more based on ability.

There is no word "allocation" at all!

After taking a look at the flying dragon spreading its wings, Chris said with great anticipation:
"Feilong is getting stronger and stronger. I really look forward to it taking further steps."

Ashes and Morak looked at each other with a sense of absurdity and expectation that broke their cognition.

They have a "cultivated" sense of accomplishment.

Just got back to camp.

The three of them saw the flying dragon lying comfortably in its nest, and the head it bit off was undergoing a purification ceremony.

Carefully looking away from the priests and paladins, Chris looked at Alice who was settling accounts and asked softly thoughtfully:

"It seems that they are not all members of the Goddess Church?"

Looking at him calmly, Alice nodded matter-of-factly, calculated their income this time, handed the list to Ashes aside and said:
"They are apprentices trained by the Gulf Territory. A small number should join the Goddess Church, but most of them will work for the territory..."

You can negotiate terms with the Goddess Church for the territory.

All three people were very excited.

This shows that the territory's strength and voice are getting stronger and stronger.

On the other hand, I am also happy that there will be more priests, paladins and other professionals in the adventure team.

A combat team with the ability to heal and recover can increase its combat effectiveness by at least 70%.

Ashes made a simple calculation.

After deducting the amount spent on buying potions, scrolls, and allocating to the flying dragon, they found that each of them could still earn at least 2000 gold coins from this order, and they immediately blew their beards excitedly:
"Haha, I can buy more food again."

Morak, who knew his plan, pocketed the heart of the Grox beast that was divided up for him, and continued to ask:

"How much do you need to save? 2 gold coins?"

After glancing at Ashes who was giggling, Chris did not interrupt. He took the task list handed over by his eldest sister. After scanning the first few lines, he asked with some surprise:
"Why are there hunting missions from other territories here?"

As soon as these words came out, they immediately attracted the attention of Hui Jin and Morak.

Even the two troll brothers, Rockefah and Batum, who were resting on the other side, also looked over.

There are various tasks in the Gulf Territory, but the tasks in other territories are very rare.

As if she had guessed that they would ask, Alice took out a few newspapers, handed them over and said:
"This is a "newspaper" that the territory distributes to everyone for free. It records the causes and consequences, as well as various policies and tasks of the Gulf Territory. If you are interested, you can read more."

Newspaper?

Territory your own?
A few of them immediately gathered around and focused their attention on Chris.

Chris, who was the only one who could read, rolled his eyes helplessly and recited to everyone:
"In other territories near the Gulf Territory, there have been commotions and attacks caused by dragon-blooded creatures. There are many of them and the situation occurs frequently."

"Their number of adventurers is very small, and they are not strong enough to eliminate these dragon-blooded creatures, so they choose to ask for help from the territory..."

As soon as these words came out, they immediately lost interest.

Ashes even rolled his eyes, took out the Glocks beast's claws, and played with it carefully.

It's not that they don't like cleaning up dragon-blooded creatures.

The Alice Adventure Group they belong to is the best team of hunters of dragon-blooded creatures.

He was also praised by the lord for capturing a stone dragon with a challenge level of 21+.

Now that he has experienced the training in the Catachan jungle, his strength and equipment have been qualitatively improved again.

Cleaning up dragon-blooded creatures seems dangerous and scary to adventurers in other territories.

But for everyone present, it is not only simple, but also very rewarding.

However, all this is based on the premise that the Gulf Territory has control of the mission situation.

Only then did they have the idea to accept the mission.

No tasks from other territories will be accepted.

Chris shrugged his shoulders as if nothing had happened, turned over the newspaper, and continued to tell everyone about other news.

Every adventurer knows clearly what virtues the tasks in other territories have.

Bay collar.

Lord's Palace, Office.

Matthew, who was humming a little tune, naturally ignored several messengers from the territory.

It was as if they didn't see their embarrassed expressions.

Butler Ralph, who was standing next to him, looked through the summary of the adventurers' cleaning missions. After nodding to a few people, he said very calmly:
"We have already sent out notices to the adventurers in the territory, and some of them should be interested."

It was as if Butler Ralph’s words had not been spoken.

The embarrassed expressions on the faces of several messengers became more and more obvious, and they felt helpless because of Butler Ralph's refusal.

If it works, they won't be severely reprimanded by the lord.

However, they were very clear about the cause and effect, and knew that their territory and lord were not justified at all, so they could only complain helplessly in their hearts.

I want to ask someone for help, but I don’t want to give any benefits.

This is simply a daydream.

The messengers, who knew very well the virtues of their lords, couldn't help but feel extremely regretful.

If they had known earlier, they would not have taken on this difficult task.

The Bay Territory is not like other territories.

Their rise is very rapid.

Not even connected to the surrounding territory.

Not to mention the means of establishing relationships with other territories by winning over each other, marrying each other, etc.

Moreover, even if it is a territory with good relations, if you want to ask people to send troops to help with such a big thing, it cannot be dismissed in a few words.

Butler Ralph looked at their tangled expressions indifferently, and gained more insights into what the lord said, "You need to be strong to make iron."

The territory is surrounded by this group of insects, which basically does not pose any threat.

Anyway, during the recent blockade, their attitude was quite arrogant.

This time, it was because of the Gulf Territory that I thought of lifting the blockade, but I never thought of offering compensation or repairing relations.

Even if the territory ignores them, do they still dare to fall out with the Gulf Territory?
The boundaries of the territory were also relaxed, allowing the troops and adventurers of the Gulf Territory to freely cleanse the dragon-blooded creatures.

How natural it is to say this!

His face is so big and his skin is so thick.

Since they want to get away with nothing, they should waste it first!
Anyway, it’s not the Gulf collar that has the headache, so who is afraid of whom?

One of the messengers couldn't hold it any longer. After hesitating for a moment, he said very respectfully:
"We are willing to provide some assistance and bounties to the Gulf Territory..."

Before he could finish his words, Butler Ralph interrupted him very decisively:

"There is no need to say anything like this in such a situation."

"We in the Gulf Territory have provided help to your territory, but you must also meet our conditions."

"Each territory has 20 tons of food, 200 kilograms of high-grade magic materials, 2 kilograms of thorium, or 10 times the purchase authority."

"Moreover, the gains from the Gulf leadership's battles are all obtained and distributed by us, and the other party has no right to interfere."

"This is our request. It's not difficult. It just depends on how you choose."

The Gulf Territory has only one principle for these territories.

No contact, no initiative, just benefits.

No contact, no rejection, just gold coins.

The nearby lords quickly received replies from the Gulf Territory.

Such a ruthless reply naturally made these self-respecting lords very angry.

They quickly united the front and continued various blockades against the Gulf Territory, preparing to teach the Gulf Territory a profound lesson.

As for the dragon-blooded creatures in the territory, they also chose to send soldiers.

What the Gulf leaders can do, they can certainly do.

The Gulf Territory is so open-minded, they might as well use these as mission rewards.

Regarding their actions, Matthew just regarded them as a joke.

In response, Matthew asked the News to "follow" their fight.

Regarding the news newspaper, the vast majority of local residents expressed their great welcome and support.

The reason is simple. Entertainment in this era is really lacking.

Even everyone’s after-dinner chats didn’t have anything particularly new.

A considerable part of what was recorded in the News came from the editor of the Arcane News who had cooperated with the Gulf Territory.

Not only are there a wide range of information sources, but there are many different messages at various levels from top to bottom.

After the other party learned about the newspaper situation in the Gulf Territory, they discussed it with Matthew in a forward-looking manner.

After confirming the intention to cooperate, the other party was very bold and reduced the monthly advertising fee of 20 gold coins to 10 gold coins.

In exchange for 10% of the newspaper share.

For such talents, Matthew will naturally not be stingy with money.

He set a selling price of 6 times the cost of 2 copper coins for each newspaper, and sent 10 newspapers to the other party in one go, making it clear to him:
"No matter how much you sell, you can get 20% of the total selling price!"

Newspapers have at least two newspapers, more than 3000 words, and no less than 30 pieces of information.

The price of 6 copper coins!Far beyond the other party's expectations, he once tentatively asked Matthew:
"With the price of 6 copper coins, will you lose money?"

Matthew just replied lightly:
"You don't have to worry about this. The more you sell, the more you make..."

As the masterminds such as Cole Elf gradually appeared, and the strength of the Gulf Territory continued to increase.

Good things that originally existed only in Matthew's memory began to appear in the territory one by one.

Paper and printing are part of it!

Matthew had long been fed up with the cramped parchment and arranged for Bobo and Lao Liu to carry out this task.

That little clever guy did a great job, not only fast, with high output, but also very confidential.

No one would have thought that some fishmen with low intelligence could produce clean, neat, snow-white, and strong paper.

The reward Matthew gave him also made Bobo very satisfied.

An absolutely safe "dragon blood gift".

This little guy, whose intelligence and strength had been doubled, immediately expressed his gratitude to Matthew by patting his chest.

In two months at most, paper production can be quadrupled.

Therefore, when the editor of Arcane News saw a very large piece of paper, neatly filled with various types of words.

It was immediately clear that this was a very important invention.

He saw at a glance the many benefits of what Matthew simply named "paper" compared to parchment.

First, the paper is larger, which means it can hold more text.

This alone can eliminate [-] to [-]% of parchment.

Then, the quality of the paper is excellent, smooth and smooth, as white as new. Even if the text is printed, there is no ink bleeding, and the overall feeling is very comfortable.

These are just the advantages shown by paper.

The other party also guessed two extremely important advantages.

Paper production will definitely be very high.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Gulf Territory to send him 10 sets and 20 copies of such a large newspaper in just two days.

The cost of paper will definitely be very low.

Otherwise, Matthew would not be able to sell so many newspapers at a price of 6 copper coins each.

Thinking of the parchment as big as two palms, you need to pay the price of 1 silver coin.

The editor of Arcane News has already begun to imagine a future where "paper" will completely replace parchment.

The two sides are not opponents of the same level at all!

However, he quickly thought, why doesn't Gulf Ling sell paper directly?
Moreover, the paper manufacturing process should not be difficult.

Isn't he worried that the paper will be "taken away" by other spellcasters or lords?

……

"Don't worry about this at all. Paper will not drop directly to 6 copper coins, but it will be 1 coppers less than parchment of 40 silver coin."

"And they can't make paper that's cheap and good."

"In anticipation of the waste of manpower and material resources, it is better to just buy the paper we are about to sell."

"After all, our costs are lower and there is considerable room for decline."

If they dare to follow the trend, Matthew can squeeze them out just by lowering the price.

Matthew handed a thick stack of paper to the curious Ani.

The latter stroked the smooth paper with some surprise, and stared at the smiling Matthew with great surprise.

This sudden surprise once again gave Aini a feeling of swaying in her mind.

How many secrets does the Gulf Territory hide?

How much is Matthew hiding?

Carefully savoring the delicate feelings, Aini nodded extremely excitedly and replied with a bright smile:
"We, the Silver Leaf Family, cannot let go of this good thing. We will buy 1 million pieces of paper first. Anyway, it only costs 60 gold coins. We will make a lot of money."

One hundred million sheets of paper is a lot, and it weighs a full 150 tons.

But it’s not much, just 15 days’ output of the Gulf Lingyu artificial paper factory.

After discussing another small business deal, Matthew motioned for Aini to speak out. The latter smiled slightly and asked tentatively:

"Those guys want to know, will Bay Territory continue to sell Tree of Life seedlings?"

Are the "big dog owners" anxious?

Think about it too.

When no one has the Tree of Life, it’s okay to just tolerate it.

But now the neighbor has it, and he got it in front of him, and he comes to show it off every day.

This is completely unbearable!

Nodding without hesitation, Matthew had also been criticized a lot by Butler Ralph recently.

The transaction income of nearly 8000 million gold coins has been completely spent.

Although every gold coin was not spent indiscriminately, it created corresponding value and made its due contribution to the development of Gulf Territory civilization.

However, faced with the increasing expenses in the Gulf Territory, Butler Ralph had to remind Matthew again.

"Of course it will continue to be sold, and the sales method will be the same as before."

The base price for a legendary element crystal is plus a capped bid of 5000 million gold coins.

Aini, who had gotten what she wanted, suddenly had a bright smile on her face. She sat down contentedly and asked curiously while flipping through the newspaper:

"How long can the territories around the Gulf Territory last?"

"Up to two days!"

"Huh? It's impossible. Although their strength is not as strong as the Gulf leaders."

"But it shouldn't be a problem to gather an army of two to three thousand people in each territory, right?"

"We'll see."

These unconvinced lords.

Each gathered a considerable army.

Some lords are smarter.

They joined forces with several well-connected nobles to form a larger army.

Then, these include ordinary farmers, retired soldiers, wandering professionals, and temporary armies formed by a few regular soldiers.

Their true abilities were quickly revealed.

A force of 3000 men.

Launch a fierce attack on a group of very rare dragonborn gnolls.

It is different from the imagined victory.

When the soldiers they gathered approached the howling gnolls in a chaotic manner, a tragic scene happened.

There was almost no marching, fighting, or control of large-scale armies by the lords after giving the order to attack.

The chaotic soldiers, like a group of farmers with weapons, roared and rushed towards the gnolls.

In the story, the jackals who are not strong but are quite stupid and can always serve as cannon fodder for the protagonists of the legend are actually burly killing machines.

They easily tore through the defense line of the lord's army, cut off a few tough heads, and frightened the remaining soldiers into confusion.

When a farmer who has just received two or three days of training puts down his sword and gun and turns around to run away.

The other soldiers naturally followed suit.

It’s too hard to move forward and easier to move back.

A rout went down.

With a team of more than 3000 people plus a small amount of cavalry, more than 300 soldiers were killed or injured, and six to seven hundred of them were "missing".

After knowing that these jackals were not easy to deal with, he chose to retreat very conscientiously.

Anyway, these kobolds and jackals alone cannot pose any threat to the castles and walls in the territory...

Most lords then regretted it.

Kobolds and gnolls driven into madness.

A large number of similar people gathered and attacked the castle and walls.

Although they all seem to have turned into wild beasts that do not know whether to live or die, it is precisely because of this that they are scary.

Who is not afraid of an enemy who is not afraid of death?

nobody!
Even the farmers in the territory soon learned the very useless news about these lords and their subordinates.

The vast majority of the people in the territory have completely lost confidence in their lords.

When the dragon-blooded creatures attacked, they ran very fast this time and ran towards the Gulf Territory.

The reason is simple. The Gulf Territory, which has never lost a battle so far, can at least guarantee their lives.

Everyone is very afraid of death, and they are no exception.

Several unlucky lords were surrounded by the crazy kobolds and jackals they once looked down upon.

Therefore, these lords decisively chose the latter between face and life.

after one day.

Aini, who was quite speechless, looked at the messengers who were trying to ask for an audience at the door of the Lord's Mansion, and muttered helplessly:

"The dragon-blooded creatures currently affected are probably just kobolds and jackals, right?"

Matthew, who was not surprised by their actual combat effectiveness, replied calmly:
"The number of kobolds reaches a certain level, and the combat effectiveness displayed is not weak at all."

"As for the gnolls, ordinary soldiers are no match for them, let alone the temporarily summoned troops."

"The most important point is that it is normal for them, who lack the will to fight, to be unable to defeat the monsters who are not afraid of death."

Hearing this, Aini deduced it in her mind, recalling the performance of some El Elf nobles in the current battle with the Cole Elf Kingdom, and nodded with deep feeling:

"Indeed...what will happen to the territory next? But will they really agree?"

While recording various data, Matthew continued very calmly:

"The key lies with them, as long as they agree to our conditions..."

This time, Aini has basically believed in the human lord who has not experienced the tempering of war.

Basically, it’s like the El Elf family of “Many Standing and Talking Without Pain in the Back”.

There are several advantages to Matthew's approach.

The first is the simplest and most important, which is to absorb more people.

The threats and influences brought by dragon-blooded creatures will naturally make the people in the territory feel scared.

In particular, several villages were very unlucky to be attacked by jackals.

According to the rumors circulating.

The nearby residents basically knew that there were almost no survivors in those villages.

Except for a few hunters who did not return from the hunt, the rest became food for the jackals.

Such a huge threat, coupled with the deliberate "incitement" of some adventurers.

Most people in nearby territories have begun to feel that their own territories are unsafe and are preparing to move to safer territories nearby.

For example, Bay Territory!

When Matthew saw these messengers again.

There was undisguised anxiety and panic on their faces, and they were not at all as complacent as before.

Butler Ralph, who was well prepared, reiterated the conditions and soon received a positive reply from these messengers.

"no problem!"

"We have no objection to this condition."

"A friend in need is a friend indeed, and our relationship with the Gulf Territory is unbreakable."

"It's just this little thing. We have already prepared it."

"This is the private seal of our lord. His original words were, if you have any requests, just ask..."

"..."

Such a wonderful "face change" made Aini amazed.

After getting the reply he wanted, Butler Ralph leisurely signed the spell contract with them, and then continued:

"Since everyone needs our Gulf Territory's help so much, it is our duty to do so."

After receiving Butler Ralph's affirmative reply, the messengers who relaxed couldn't help but look at each other and began to urge again.

It’s time for the Gulf Territory to send troops!
At this time, Butler Ralph sent a brief message in front of them.

at the same time.

All adventurers in the territory got the details of the mission from the Gulf Territory adventurer badges they carried:
"Support mission: protect the territory's citizens."

"Mission goal: clean up the dragon-blooded creatures in the nearby territory and protect the safety of its citizens."

"Mission reward: The same as the Gulf Territory mission reward. Every time you rescue a territorial citizen and transport them to a safe area, you will get 1 merit point."

A rare extra merit mission!

Many adventurers from the Gulf Territory who learned the details of the mission quickly formed gangs.

They are the best at cleaning up dragon blood creatures!
Alice's adventure group, which had been prepared a few days ago, set off decisively when they received the news.

Thousands of adventurers followed the prepared teleportation circle and rushed towards the nearby territory.

In their view, it has become an untapped treasure land that needs their exploration and occupation.

The most powerful group of adventurers did not target the large number of ordinary dragon-blooded creatures.

They found villages with a large population as quickly as possible.

Immediately afterwards, something happened that caused many lords great pain.

After they cleared away the dragon-blooded creatures around the village as quickly as possible.

Easily gained the trust of most people in the village.

They set up a small teleportation circle that they had prepared.

Transport thousands of territorial citizens to the Gulf Territory in one go.

Well, there is no safer place than the Gulf Territory!
The teleportation fee is 200 gold coins, and the teleportation certificate installation fee is 500 gold coins, in exchange for at least 3000 merit points.

The whole process didn't take more than 1 hour.

It's hard to make money!
　Today 8000
　　Ask for a monthly pass

　　Rush!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)