The accumulation of the Great Xia South Pole Region over several decades had originally amounted to hundreds of thousands of Gray Crystals, tens of thousands of White Crystals, and quite substantial amounts of basic resources like copper, tin, iron, timber, and stone.

Now, the quantity of all these resources had increased more than tenfold. Coupled with the rare materials accumulated in the territory over several decades, there were so many that he couldn't count them all in a short while.

At least for a long time to come, he wouldn't have to worry about resources.

Lin Feng leaned against the pillar next to the core and let out a long sigh.

The General Bureau had truly gone all out this time. He recalled what Jiang Zhaoyue had said last night: the General Bureau had already issued an order for all Adventurers and Awakened of Level 7 and above in these territories to join the combat sequence of Beacon Fire Territory.

This meant that a reserve army of ten thousand was converging on Hangu Pass from every corner of the South Pole Region.

This was precisely why he had previously planned to expand the Night Whisper Legion and the New Moon Legion to ten battalions each. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Lin Feng withdrew his thoughts, turned to go downstairs, passed through the Council Hall, and walked toward the southeast corner of the Inner City.

The dark cyan stone gate of the Great Qin Elite Camp shimmered with a cold light in the sunlight, and the character "Qin" on the lintel was simple and solemn.

He stepped forward, pressed his hand against the cold stone wall, and the operation interface unfolded before his eyes.

Skipping over the other troop types, he set his gaze on the line for "Weakened Great Qin Elite", where the current recruitable number was ten thousand.

He pulled the recruitment number from five thousand one hundred to nine thousand nine hundred.

The resource reserves began to fluctuate; the numbers for Gray Crystal, Copper Ingot, and Tin Ingot cascaded down like a waterfall, but they soon stabilized.

The accumulation of the Great Xia South Pole Region over several decades was enough to support this expansion.

He did not stop, took the two lists out from his bosom, found the entry for "Special Troop Class Transfer" on the operation interface, and entered the one hundred names one by one.

For every one he entered, a new quota was occupied.

After the last page was entered, he looked down at the number: Weakened Great Qin Elite, recruitment quota full, ten thousand at full strength.

Lin Feng put the lists back into his bosom and turned to walk out of the Rui Shi Camp.

He did not stay in Fenghuo County for long; with a kick of his feet, his body soared into the air, and he returned in the direction of Huian County.

The three or four o'clock afternoon sun hung in the western sky, and the waves of /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ grass on the Golden Ear Plain were illuminated in a bright golden hue.

The battlements of the Great Wall cast neat shadows in the sunlight.

He flew over the sky above the annexed Qingya County and saw that the flags on the city walls had already been changed to the deep blue background of Beacon Fire Territory.

Flying over those towns and villages, every annexed territory had hoisted a brand-new flag that snapped in the afternoon wind.

Three hours later, the city walls of Huian County appeared in his field of vision.

The black armor of the Great Qin Elite Soldiers shimmered with a cold light in the afternoon sun.

Lin Feng descended from the sky, pushed open the door, and walked into the Council Hall.

The hall was empty, with only the sunlight from outside the window dyeing the long table and chairs a warm orange.

He walked to the main seat, sat down, and leaned his Wildfire Spear against the side of the chair.

Ten thousand Great Qin Elite Soldiers were training and would form ranks at Hangu Pass in ten days.

One hundred Awakened were about to transfer to Elite Soldiers, becoming the first batch of special troops selected from the Awakened for Beacon Fire Territory.

And the accumulation of the South Pole Region over several decades was now entirely in his hands.

Lin Feng leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes.

Next, it was the Dungeon.

...

Inside Hangu Pass, the iron-leaf trees on both sides of the main street cast patches of dappled shade in the afternoon sun.

Pedestrians jostled shoulder to shoulder; there were Awakened wearing various leather armors, native military dependents pushing carts, peddlers carrying goods, and women leading children and looking around.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, footsteps, and children crying mixed together like a pot of boiling mixed-grain porridge.

Ever since the strategic focus of Beacon Fire Territory shifted from Fenghuo County to Hangu Pass, coupled with the annexation of most of the territories in the Great Xia South Pole Region, a large number of Awakened had flooded into this pass from all over.

Native military dependents also kept moving in along with the troop movements, and for a time, Hangu Pass was overcrowded.

Li Yuan had to urgently issue a decree: Awakened from other places below Level 7 would not be directly granted the title of ordinary resident of Hangu Pass and could only purchase a temporary ordinary title.

The first purchase cost ten copper coins, and each subsequent time cost one Gray Crystal.

This barely curbed the surging crowds, but the permanent population within the pass still increased several times over.

With more people came more trouble; although Awakened could not attack each other, using their mouths was not against the law.

Quarreling, insulting, provoking, and heckling—various disputes emerged one after another, so the Night Whisper Legion took on a new task: patrolling within the city.

In squads of ten, from morning till night, they walked back and forth on the main street, residential areas, and commercial areas to maintain order.

At this moment, a ten-man squad was slowly advancing along the southern section of the main street.

Sun Daniu, the captain of the 10th Patrol Squadron of the Night Whisper Legion, led his ten subordinates, who were Awakened, walking south from the North Gate.

They wore uniform black leather armor, carried broadswords at their waists, and had armbands with the character "Patrol" tied on their left arms. Their steps were uniform, and their expressions were serious—at least on the surface.

Just a moment ago, they had handled a dispute. Two Adventurers had started arguing over grabbing a stall; one said the other had cut in line, and the other said the first one had cursed first. They were arguing until they were red in the face, and the onlookers had crowded into several layers.

Sun Daniu walked over, glared at each of them, and asked, "Do you two want to be fined or do you want to be locked up?"

The two Adventurers immediately shut their mouths, glared at each other, and went their separate ways.

Sun Daniu led his team and continued walking forward. He was twenty-three years old this year, tall and sturdy, with a square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a look of simple honesty.

But after walking this street countless times, his simple and honest face had already developed a kind of "Don't mess with me" indifference.

The team wove through the crowd, passing by equipment shops, blacksmith shops, and steaming bun stalls.

Sun Daniu's gaze swept over the faces of the pedestrians, but his mind had drifted elsewhere.

He remembered Heitie Town, where he had already been struggling in the Nightmare World for over a decade, patrolling the streets of Heitie Town with A Wang.

Heitie Town was not big; its main street was two-thirds narrower than Hangu Pass's, and the blacksmith shops on both sides clanged incessantly, with the smell of coal smoke and rust forever lingering in the air.

A Wang was still a small team leader back then, in charge of a dozen or so people, taking them around the town every day, regardless of wind or rain.

Until that night, when the black fog surged from the west, blotting out the sky and the moon.

A Wang kicked open his door and roared, "Run!" The two of them mixed into the fleeing crowd and rushed out of Heitie Town.

Behind them, the city walls of Heitie Town collapsed in the black fog, flames soared into the sky, and screams were scattered by the wind.

Later, they drifted to Black Wind Camp, where they lived in a daze for a year.

They went out hunting every day, handed over seventy percent upon returning, and the rest was barely enough to eat, and they still couldn't return to Blue Star.

Sun Daniu had thought about leaving back then, but there was nowhere to go. The entire Canglang Plain was full of bandits and monsters, and leaving the camp was just seeking death.

He didn't know how long this kind of life would last, nor did he know how much longer he could hold on.

Then, the Lord came.