The Aura of Fortune for a New Week
Under the cloak of night, the old butler Horden mounted a Golden Gryphon. Accompanied by ten Royal Adjudicator Gryphon Knights, he flew straight towards the distant Forest City.
"With flying mounts like the Golden Gryphons, long journeys are so much more convenient."
When the Crystal Chamber of Commerce had visited earlier, Haotian's territory hadn't yet acquired Golden Gryphons. If they had, he would have likely sent Sophia and her companions directly to Forest City, saving a considerable amount of time. By now, he might have held hundreds of thousands of lord's gold coins and upgraded the [Royal Gryphon Knight Training Grounds] to the highest level.
But of course, there are no 'what ifs' in life. Haotian could only hope the team would return to the Golden Oasis soon. The sooner they came back, the sooner he could recruit more Royal Gryphon Knights and eventually overwhelm the dragon with sheer numbers.
Haotian checked the upgraded information of the [Elven Spring].
[Elven Spring]
Level: Intermediate
Building Information: Contains a continuous source of elven spring water, constantly emitting nature and life magic, improving the surrounding environment. Cultivating near the Elven Spring yields twice the results with half the effort.
Next Level: Advanced Elven Spring
Upgrade Requirements: 100,000 gold coins, 50,000 units of stone
Special Note: When the Elven Spring reaches its maximum level, it can produce the Water of Life.
"The upgrade cost has increased tenfold!"
To upgrade the [Elven Spring] to an intermediate level, Haotian had spent 10,000 gold coins and 5,000 units of stone. Now, seeing the requirements for the [Advanced Elven Spring], he couldn't help but twitch.
Following this exponential increase, he would need a million gold coins and fifty thousand units of stone to upgrade the [Elven Spring] to its maximum level. That was a daunting sum—after all, those were lord's gold coins, equivalent to ten million common gold coins in this world. He would need to sell a tremendous amount of elven spring water.
On second thought, maybe it wasn't so much after all! The batch of elven spring water Horden took was worth tens of millions of gold coins, and that was only one-fifth of the [Elven Spring]'s capacity. If he sold it all, the income would be in the tens of millions.
In comparison, the upgrade cost didn't seem so bad. Most importantly, once the [Elven Spring] reached its maximum level, it could produce the Water of Life, worth at least 100,000 gold coins per bottle. Even if the upgrade cost increased a hundredfold, it would still be worth it.
Next, Haotian went to the [Altar of Fortune] and upgraded it to an intermediate level, spending another 10,000 gold coins and 5,000 units of stone.
"Now my wallet is completely empty!"
Currently, he had only a few hundred gold coins left. Over nearly three days, he had gathered around 30,000 gold coins, using them to upgrade the [Town Hall], [Elven Spring], and [Altar of Fortune], depleting his resources.
"However, I still have plenty of wood and stone…"
Thanks to the efforts of nearly ten thousand sand people, Haotian's territory had accumulated over 250,000 units of wood and tens of thousands of units of stone—more than enough to meet his basic needs.
At midnight, a new day began.
This time, Haotian did not recruit any new units. He thought that if Horden returned from Forest City with a large amount of gold coins, he could upgrade the unit buildings and recruit more Royal Gryphon Knights during the day.
The level 5 [Royal Gryphon Knight Training Grounds] could recruit a hundred Royal Gryphon Knights daily. He already had over 1,800 Royal Gryphon Knights. Another hundred wouldn't make much difference, so there was no need to rush. If Horden hadn't returned by evening, he could still recruit more then.
Additionally, Haotian checked the new weekly aura of the [Altar of Fortune].
[Altar of Fortune]
Level: Intermediate
Current Aura Attributes: Animals raised in the territory grow ten times faster, with a corresponding increase in fertility.
Next Level: Advanced Altar
Upgrade Requirements: 100,000 gold coins, 50,000 units of stone
Special Note: When the Altar of Fortune reaches its maximum level, it allows for sacrifices. Offering resources or treasures can grant higher-level aura attributes and has a chance to yield special items.
Seeing the new aura buff, Haotian was silent for a long time. Honestly, he was disappointed. Although the buff was impressive—take his Silver-Tailed Fish, for example, which would now grow to maturity in just three days instead of thirty—the previous buff had increased his troops' combat effectiveness by 50%. Without it, the overall strength of his territory had decreased significantly.
"System, can the aura of the Altar of Fortune be refreshed? I'll pay!"
"????"
The lord system responded with a string of question marks in Haotian's mind and then nothing more.
"…Well, let's hope the old butler and Sophia bring back some good news."
Haotian decided not to dwell on it. He returned to the backyard of the Town Hall, where he embraced the soft, silky body of maid Sally and slept soundly.
In the early hours of the morning, as Haotian slept, the Royal Gryphon Knight squad arrived at [Forest City]. Entry required a head tax of one gold coin per person. Horden had been stripped of his gold by Haotian, so he couldn't pay. But this was a minor issue. Handing over a Red Dragon Fruit worth at least ten gold coins, the group entered the city without trouble.
"Spread out and find the location of the Crystal Chamber of Commerce," Horden instructed the Royal Adjudicator Knights. "Meet back here in two hours!"
"Understood!"
The Royal Adjudicator Knights quickly dispersed. Before entering the city, they had stored their Golden Gryphons in their mount spaces, so no one paid them any special attention.