Double the Joy! An Unexpected Discovery

"Alright then, let's get to work."

"Start with building the blacksmith shop."

As Haotian spoke, he reached out into the void. Instantly, a plump figure appeared, seemingly pulled from thin air. It was A'gu, the gnoll.

When A'gu had first arrived at the Golden Oasis, he was emaciated, but now he had clearly put on a lot of weight, a sign of his improved diet. Startled by his sudden summoning, A'gu looked around in fear. But upon seeing Haotian, he quickly calmed down, his expression shifting smoothly from terror to fawning.

"Oh, great envoy of the gods, what are your orders?"

Haotian addressed him, "I have a task for you. Get these gray dwarves settled and help them build a blacksmith shop."

"Yes, my master!" A'gu replied, dropping to his knees in utmost reverence, even attempting to kiss Haotian's feet, only to be kicked away. This action only made A'gu more excited, seeing it as a reward from his master. After all, in the entire Golden Oasis, who else but A'gu had been kicked by the great envoy? It set him apart as the favored lackey.

After dealing with the gray dwarves, Haotian returned to the city's main hall to continue sorting his spoils of war. The largest quantities were equipment and refined iron resources—over a million pieces of the former and more than a million units of the latter. Although this amount of iron wasn't enough to upgrade the [City Hall] to the [Royal Palace], it was more than sufficient to mass-produce magical cannons.

Of particular note, the Royal Griffon Knights had seized hundreds of low-grade magical cannons and a heavy magic cannon from the Gray Dwarf Kingdom. Once installed on the city walls, these cannons became part of the territory's defense system, complete with information panels and the ability to upgrade with resources. Haotian believed the magical defense shield being installed by the natural elves would work similarly.

He hadn't opted for the cheapest [Low-grade Magic Defense Shield] because his territory's resources were scarce, while he had an excess of elven spring water. Instead of wasting resources upgrading the [Magic Defense Shield], he planned to trade the spring water for a [High-grade Magic Defense Shield], saving both effort and resources.

"Later, I'll upgrade all the arrow towers on the city walls to magical cannons. The fortresses, too."

With this upgrade, the Golden Oasis's defensive capabilities would be exponentially enhanced.

Regarding the equipment seized from the Gray Dwarf Kingdom—over a million pieces, mostly ordinary, but still valuable due to their dwarven craftsmanship, far superior to the junk from the Ratman Kingdom. Once the gray dwarves began crafting equipment, Haotian planned to have them melt down the Ratman equipment for raw materials.

"I'm not short on beast materials for crafting. Hunting yields and spoils from the Ratman and Gray Dwarf Kingdoms are enough to forge a vast array of equipment. What I lack are magical gems and crystals. Enchanted equipment can be ten times more valuable."

Haotian planned to have Sophia purchase a batch from the Forest City or directly from the natural elves. If the elven city lord still "needed" elven spring water...

Just as he was thinking about contacting Sophia, a small trumpet stored in his space ring buzzed. He connected it, hearing Sophia's increasingly seductive voice, laden with desire. Clearly, the guild leader missed him.

After a bit of flirtation, Sophia got to the point, "Lord Haotian, the masked man contacted me. He asked if we need demigod-level corpses, not of the dragon kind."

Haotian immediately deduced that the Titan Python likely had few dragon corpses left. He replied, "If the bodies aren't decayed, we can buy them, but the price must be low. And regarding dragon corpses, they don't have to be dried; I'll also take undead dragons."

Demigod-level beast bones could be used to craft powerful equipment. As for acquiring undead dragons, the purpose was straightforward: harvest them for experience and then bury their bodies in the [Dragon's Tomb] to summon his territory's exclusive undead dragons—double the joy.

"Understood, Lord Haotian. I'll respond shortly."

"Good."

Haotian then instructed Sophia to buy magical gems and crystals in Forest City for equipment crafting and to procure a large quantity of food, mainly meat. Whether it was magical beasts or not didn't matter, as long as it was abundant and filling. The Golden Griffons were voracious eaters, and every other day, the number of Royal Griffon Knights increased, necessitating more food reserves.

"I'll handle it, Lord Haotian."

Reassured, Haotian ended the call and headed to the city walls to start mass-producing magical cannons. With resources in hand, the task was straightforward. Soon, thousands of arrow towers on the walls were replaced with magical cannons, and the fortresses transformed into strongholds. The defense capability soared, ensuring that no undead creatures could approach the city walls while the Royal Griffon Knights and the ancient treant army were away hunting. A single blast from the cannons would turn undead into dead.

By evening, a squad of Royal Griffon Knights returned to the territory, bringing back a human adventurer bound hand and foot, thrown into the hall. Despite being of extraordinary rank, he had no power to resist the Royal Judicator Knights, who had locked his magic.

"Mercy, Lord!" the man pleaded upon seeing Haotian on the throne.

Haotian turned to the Royal Judicator Knight. "What's this about?"

The knight respectfully replied, "My lord, we found this man while hunting. He was with other human adventurers, acting suspiciously."

"Injustice, my lord!" the man cried. "We are bounty hunters, merely passing through when your men attacked us. My companions all perished; I'm the only one left."

"Just passing through?" Haotian chuckled. "Tell the truth."

As he spoke, a terrifying aura emanated from him, causing the adventurer to blanch and scream uncontrollably, "I'm not passing through! I'm an operative of the Black Magic Kingdom, sent by the king to gather information on the Golden Oasis… Your army's conquest of the Ratman and Gray Dwarf Kingdoms has alarmed our king!"

The Black Magic King? Haotian's eyes widened. This name sounded very familiar.