Chapter 652: Chapter 652

In the sky, the Black Jade Griffin and the Griffin Knights are in battle. From a distance, the Black Jade Griffin unleashes a stream of Wind Blades, yet the Griffin Knights manage to shatter them with Dou Qi blades released from their lances.

A Wind Blade Ball gets launched, only to be shattered head on by the Griffin Knight pointing his lance. A white beam of Dou Qi shoots out like a cannonball, a force seemingly more powerful than that of the Black Jade Griffin.

"Impressive attack, it’s a pity it drains quite a bit of energy. Well, that’s understandable. After all, they are warriors," Du You commented.

Shaliya nodded in agreement, "At the end of the day, they are not creatures primarily adept at Magic. They generally rely on quick strikes to obliterate their targets. Their destructive power on the battlefield might not match that of the Black Jade Griffin, but they are just as efficient in real combat."

The Black Jade Griffin, after all, is an evolved form of the Wind King Griffin, skilled not only in close combat but also in Magic.

However, the mount of a Griffin Knight is a high-tier Griffin, inherently capable of Magic but not particularly strong.

This high-tier Griffin Mount is clad in a layer of metal armor, providing strong defense. It can also cast Wind Blades, although they have little effect on the Black Jade Griffin. However, it’s a completely different story against other creatures of the same level.

Eventually, they resort to close melee combat. The Griffin Knight, astride the Griffin, completely overpowers the Black Jade Griffin in close combat. Fortunately, the Black Jade Griffin doesn’t have much consciousness, so it isn’t demoralized by the defeat.

"Their overall combat power is above that of the Black Jade Griffin, very impressive," Du You acknowledged. Thıs content belongs to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁

After all, the Black Jade Griffin is only level 23. No matter how high its quality is due to its star rating, there is still a level gap.

Not too much time passed before a level 30 high-tier Griffin was created. This kind of battle-type Griffin is not completely covered in armor; only some key areas are protected. At the same time, it is equipped with enhanced attacking weapons, giving the high-tier Griffin a very imposing appearance.

They ascend once more to fight the Black Jade Griffin. This time, the Black Jade Griffin found itself completely suppressed.

The Griffon’s superiority was not merely due to its slightly higher level. Essentially, the high-tier Griffin is capable of executing many complex evasive moves without a knight astride, thereby not constrained by the risk of disturbing the one at its back.

Consequently, during close-air combat, the Black Jade Griffin is at a complete disadvantage. And due to the high speed of the opposing Griffin, long-range attacks are hardly able to hit their target.

Du You knew that it would not be the same if Xiaozi were there. Her attacks of thunder and lightning would be faster and harder to dodge.

"Good. I’ll lead them to the frontline soon to build a fortress. You bring the civilians and build up on the way, making this place a complete territory. From then on, this will be our land," Du You announced.

They still were at the frontier, so the order to pioneer the border was still valid. Now, whoever takes control of a territory owns it. Of course, the larger the territory, the more the taxes.

This rule is in place to prevent anyone from endlessly annexing territories, causing problems for other nobilities.

"Wait, there is one more thing. I studied our current map yesterday and discovered that our controlled territory has a special location," Shaliya quickly took out and spread the map.

"It’s right here. There used to be a mountain range separating us, but our territory control area is round and doesn’t take into account the landscape. Now, we control a small area on the other side of the mountain range to the south."

Upon inspecting, Du You found it to be true. The southern mountains, which previously separated them from the Goblin forest, now had a small part in their territory control area right in the Goblin forest. Furthermore, this area was at the edge of the Goblin forest. A short journey from there would take one to the coastal region.

If they build there, they would directly confront the Kingdom of Hanhai.

Theoretically, if the Kingdom of Hanhai wished to expand, they would first have to control the opposite side completely. If they established a small town there, they’d definitely be a hard thorn in the side of their enemies.

The key was that having this would make it easier to expand their territory and influence in this world. They could continually increase their reputation and merit in the Divine Flame Empire, making it much easier for them to accomplish many things in the future.

However, the cost of developing in this place would not be small, either.

"What are your thoughts? Can we defend if we develop here?" This was the most troublesome issue.

"I’ve already studied it. The Kingdom of Hanhai has not yet controlled any part of that area, simply because they view it as a worthless wasteland. They believe that no one could conquer that place," Shaliya replied.

"As long as we can take hold of the area and develop it, then report to the Divine Flame Empire, it’ll be ours. Even if the Kingdom of Hanhai wants to attack, they’ll only be able to do so in the name of a local lord, and certainly can’t send forth any tier-4 individuals to attack. Therefore, as long as we can withstand the onslaught of tier-3 armies, we can hold our ground there."

It seems Shaliya did her homework very thoroughly, no wonder she had dark circles under her eyes.

Du You thought for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Do we have enough materials to build an Ice Tower?"

A corner of Shaliya’s mouth curled up; she was on the same page as Du You. "To construct an Ice Tower, we require high-quality timber. We can either obtain it through plundering, or through our own wood collection. The other requirement is Ice Stone. Though we don’t have a lot of it, we can purchase these in large quantities."

Ice Stone isn’t a special material, but a stone imbued with the Cold Ice Attribute. It’s usually accompanied by cold ice gems and is not very valuable in most cases.

"With our current stockpile, we can only put up a little more than a hundred Ice Towers," Shaliya said.

"A hundred is too few. It can barely withstand their attacks. Even if they don’t openly send Tier-4 elites to storm through, they will test out our defenses. We have to hold them off, so we should buy more Ice Stones first. We should at least build a thousand Ice Towers there."

A thousand Ice Towers, Du You thought, would deter even a Tier-4 elite from approaching unharmed. Luckily, Ice Towers do not occupy a great amount of ground, although they are tall. Otherwise, it would indeed be a problem.

Shaliya’s brow furrowed at that number. If a thousand Ice Towers were to be constructed, there would be little space left on their own side for territory control. "Building so many Ice Towers, I’m afraid we won’t be able to build the small town there."

Du You replied nonchalantly: "Who said the town must be built on land we have complete control over? Can’t we use regular buildings for the extra area?"

At his words, Shaliya’s eyes lit up. Right, she had been operating under a misconception. For the excess land, they could simply use regular buildings for now. They could always replace them during the next upgrade. What’s important is that, with the Ice Towers in place, their foothold would be firm.