Chapter 675: Chapter 675

Unbeknownst to them, Du You and his group had been in their territory for a month. As the newly trained troops from this month joined the ranks, the overall power of their territory became even stronger. If this continued, it would not be long before their territory would surpass South Mountain City in strength.

However, Du You did not flaunt their increased military power. He kept it hidden, waiting to reveal it bit by bit in the future.

If others knew of their rapid increase in power, heaven knows what they would do. Even the nobles within the Divine Flame Empire would try to retaliate against them.

Given the current border situation, if any issues arose, they could easily retreat to the Kingdom of Hanhai. It was a perfect solution.

After this month, the territory had seen some gains. The farms under Du You’s control had reached tier three.

Each farm can support 500,000 people and animals.

Establishing a single tier-three farm, along with the double production capability of the Lord’s Mansion, could provide enough sustenance for a million people. Du You chose to only establish one such farm.

Next, Du You commanded all available resources to be used to upgrade food processing plants. There was no choice, as the current plant capacity was insufficient.

Meanwhile, Du You also instructed the civilian research room to craft numerous farm blueprints, from tier one to three. However, Du You’s luck was not great — only a single permanent blueprint for a tier-one farm was produced.

Blueprints for higher tiers would probably take more time.

This month appeared calm on the surface, with no major conflicts. But minor disputes were incessant. Their border outpost had been stealthily attacked countless times.

Some even managed to bypass the border defenses and launched surprise attacks on Du You’s territory.

Of course, most attacks were at the newly established Nail Town. That was the most frequently and fiercely attacked location. The most intense attack was launched by a large number of Murlocs, along with a tier-four expert.

In the end, with the help of over a thousand frost towers and the temporarily dispatched Griffin Knights, Du You managed to repel the attack. The enemy’s tier-four expert was injured and fled. However, some Griffin Knights were lost as well.

They had no choice, as there was no space left in Nail Town to build additional frost towers.

After various visible and invisible disputes, the Kingdom of Hanhai and South Mountain City engaged in nonstop negotiations. Finally, yesterday, an agreement was reached. But the outcome left Du You confused.

The two parties decided to take the coastline and the Goblin Forest as boundaries. The northern side would belong to the Divine Flame Empire, and the south to the Kingdom of Hanhai. However, a large eastern area in the sea was still claimed by the Divine Flame Empire, which was where the Black-scaled Murlocs controlled by the Empire lived. Of course, they would not let the Kingdom of Hanhai take that.

The division of these boundaries was chaotic. There were even two border lines drawn, leaving a large coastal area in between unrecognized by any party, making it a chaotic zone.

It seemed neither nation intended to truly reconcile. They still wished to continue fighting over this neutral territory. Du You wasn’t sure if this was a power struggle among nobility or between the two countries.

If it was among nobility, this place would be used to accumulate merits for upcoming nobles.

If it was between countries, then more trouble lies ahead. Or perhaps, it could be a mix of both situations. Regardless, with a successful negotiation, the borders had finally stabilized.

Unless battle ensues in the chaotic zone, conflict in other regions is considered unlawful.

Although Nail Town, which belongs to Du You, theoretically falls within the borders of the Divine Flame Empire, it was still being attacked, and the Empire simply stood by and watched. Although they encouraged it covertly, overtly, they said nothing.

That day, the reward for Du You was finally announced. Surprisingly, the Empire was quite generous.

"Heh, a Marquis, although a third-class Marquis, this promotion is way too rapid," Du You thought, looking at his new appointment. However, apart from the new title, he received nothing else.

The rapid rise in his title made many people envious and viewed him as an obstacle. In the future, many people from the Empire, particularly young ones, might see him as a rival, or even an idol. Regardless, he knew he would have many unexpected enemies.

The key issue was that aside from the title of Marquis, he received no substantial benefits. He wasn’t given any tax breaks or tangible rewards.

This was a relief as the border tax was currently controlled by South Mountain City. The high border tax had already led to complaints from many local lords. If it rose further, it might destabilize the border situation.

It was said that many in the country proposed increasing their taxes specifically. Doing so would be too blatant. From these comments, Du You noticed that the current nobility of the Divine Flame Empire was not friendly towards him.

Of course, this information did not come from Anlute, but from the Gray Sparrow. To be precise, it was from the documents directly delivered to him by others through Gray Sparrow. Du You did not know the Sparrow’s intentions and had no way to ask in person. However, he understood that Gray Sparrow had no ill intentions. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵

"Heh, the price of dark attribute materials has increased recently," said Du You, laughing.

"What’s odd about that?" Lin Yushi didn’t care about such matters.

On the other hand, Lin Yucha had a grave look on her face: "Dark attribute materials can only be used by those with dark attributes. You’re the most well-known person with a dark attribute in the south. This sudden price hike seems to target us."

"Maybe so, but a rise in the price of a single material in the south shouldn’t affect the overall empire. Besides, we don’t need these items, do we?" Du You didn’t mind the witty moves made by the nobility.

As long as no one directly attacked with their armies, Du You could virtually ignore everything. After all, his territory was self-sufficient.

The primary importance of having a territory is to increase the lord’s power when promoted to tier four. However, as the Skill Hall was not yet established, the territory currently did not have any major use for Du You.

If Du You possessed some significant influence, a territory could be of great benefit. But he did not have such power.

"Let’s not worry about them. Now that the border is stable, we can leave without a problem. Announce to the public that I will be in closed-door cultivation, then we can go hunting in other regions. I have already chosen our first location: Great Black Mountain."