The hammer’s final strike echoed across the territory as Jacoub stepped back from the completed structure.

Dawn light painted the second residential building in golden hues, its stone walls and reinforced beams standing.

‘An hour and twenty minutes. They exceeded expectations.’

“Completed, my Lord!”

Jacoub announced, wiping sweat from his exhausted face. His construction crew looked ready to collapse, but satisfaction burned in their eyes.

Ethan surveyed their work with approval. The building matched the first structure’s quality while showing improvements from learned experience. It was a slightly better version clesrly.

‘Professional work under impossible deadlines.’

“Excellent. Rest for a few minutes, then we begin the territory upgrade.”

‘Time to see what Tier 3 unlocks.’

The spawn point had continued producing resources throughout the night. Two more harvesting runs had yielded consistent materials, bringing his reserves to comfortable levels:

-> 200/100 units of wood

-> 320/100 units of stone

-> 200/100units of sand

-> 16 large containers of water

‘More than enough for the upgrade requirements.’

Ethan approached the Town Hall, its Tier 2 architecture gleaming with embedded enchantments. The building had evolved from simple shelter into a larger one.

[Town Hall]

[Territory Tier: 2]

[Town Hall Effects: Currently, the Lord’s residence. Has no buffs.]

[Territory’s Buildings: Town Hall (Tier 2), Summoning Gate (Tier 2), Residential Building x2 (Tier 2)]’

[Tier 3 Upgrade Available]

[Requirements: 200 units of Wood, 200 units of Stone, 200 units of sand, 75 Bronze-rank Monster cores, 25 Silver-rank Monster Cores]

‘Finally. Time to see what higher tiers offer.’

The bronze and silver cores from his storage rings provided exactly what the upgrade demanded. Vincent’s team had been carrying substantial wealth from their raiding activities.

While he didnt need their cores. More cores were always welcome.

Ethan activated the upgrade without hesitation.

The Town Hall exploded with radiant energy, its walls dissolving and reforming into something approaching architectural magnificence. Stone foundations expanded outward while magical reinforcements wove through every surface.

Windows became crystal-clear. The roof sprouted defensive emplacements that hummed with contained energy.

[Congratulations! Territory advanced to Tier 3!]

[Territory radius expanded to 750 meters cubed]

He checked the bonus he got, and it was another blueprint.

‘A blueprint. That sounds promising.’

Blue light coalesced in his palm, as the parchement appeared in his palm. The magical energy radiating from it suggested capabilities far beyond the previous simple construction of the residential area.

Ethan’s eyes widened as he absorbed the blueprint’s specifications.

‘That was worth the upgrade’ He thought with a smile, as he read theough the blueprint.

—–

Deep north, in the heart of the jungle canopy, Lord Vance reclined in his throne room with authority. Two beautiful women draped themselves across his lap, their movements designed to please rather than born from genuine affection.

The chamber itself spoke of accumulated wealth—silk tapestries, golden ornaments, crystal formations that provided ambient lighting. Everything arranged to project power and success.

It was comfort built on others’ misery.

One of the captains of the territory approached with slow steps, his armor bearing fresh scratches from recent combat. The man’s gold-rank aura flickered with barely contained energy.

“Report on developments,” Vance commanded, his voice carrying the cold confidence of absolute authority.

Morrison straightened into military attention. “Three new territories spotted in the past month, my Lord. Two have already submitted to our authority.”

‘Expansion continues according to plan.’

“And the third?”

“Located in the desert. Vincent’s team was assigned reconnaissance duties. They should return tomorrow with a full assessment.”

Vance’s fingers traced patterns on one woman’s bare shoulder, his attention seemingly divided but actually razor-focused. “Timeline for integration?”

“Depends on their resistance level. If they’re reasonable, standard tributary arrangement. If not…” Morrison’s smile was predatory. “Public example for the others.”

“What about the eastern territories? Any signs of organized resistance?”

“Scattered attempts. Nothing we couldn’t handle with standard deployment protocols.”

‘As expected. Desperation makes people stupid.’

The women shifted position, seeking to maintain their Lord’s attention through subtle movements. They understood their role in this display of power—beautiful ornaments that demonstrated his dominance over everything he desired.

“Resource collection rates?”

“Increasing steadily. The tributary system generates more wealth than direct conquest while requiring fewer administrative resources.”

‘Efficiency. The mark of successful leadership.’

Vance nodded approvingly, his cold eyes studying the captain scarred face.

The captain had proven himself through years of reliable service—brutal when necessary, diplomatic when possible.

“Continue current operations. Inform me when Vincent returns with his assessment.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The captain retreated leaving Vance alone with his girls.

—–

In District Two’s research institute, Tiana’s voice crackled through the air via technology that shouldn’t exist in this world.

“Finally! I did it!”

Her laboratory workbench supported two devices that belonged in no conventional understanding of physics. Communication crystals merged with salvaged components from Ethan’s blueprints, creating something approaching miraculous.

‘Ethan is such a genius. How did he come up with this idea?’

The devices resembled telephones from the twentieth century, but their internal mechanisms incorporated beast crystals, runic circuits, and principles that defied traditional magical theory.

“Hong Wei, can you hear me?”

Static crackled across space before a familiar voice responded with shocked amazement.

“Tiana? This is incredible! The sound quality is perfect despite the distance!”

‘Communication across space. The usages

are staggering.’

Hong Wei’s voice carried clearly through the makeshift device, each word transmitted with clarity that surpassed communication crystals.

“The beast crystals provide power conversion while the runic arrays handle signal modulation,”

Tiana explained rapidly, excited about the breakthrough.

“But the real breakthrough is the dimensional resonance frequency he specified.”

‘Week-long research condensed into functional technology.’

“This isn’t just communication,” Hong Wei observed, his voice filled with wonder. “This is revolutionary. How did Ethan know these principles even existed?”

‘Where did he learn physics that doesn’t exist in our world?’

Tiana studied the blueprint collection Ethan had provided, her mind struggling to comprehend their complexity.

Each design pushed technological boundaries in directions she’d never considered.

“This was just the starting blueprint,” she whispered, awe creeping into her voice. “The advanced designs… Hong Wei, they describe technologies I can’t even categorize.”

“What kind of blueprints?”

“Everything. Combat enhancement devices that could revolutionize military capabilities. Even…” She paused, checking her notes. “Transportation platforms that fly like dragons!”

‘Where is Ethan? How did he acquire knowledge like this?’

The communication crystal hummed with stable energy, their conversation flowing across impossible distances with supernatural clarity.

‘Ethan…I hope you are well. Please come back safe…’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep