“That’s 39,954,350$ in total. Do you want to pay everything at once, or do you wish to utilize the installment system of your Golden Bartholomew Membership Card, Sir?” The clerk asked carefully as he looked at the young bald-headed man in front of him.
“I’ll pay in full,” Michael answered, scratching his bald head.
His expression changed when he recalled that there was no hair left on his head, and he let out a sigh.
‘How long will it take before my hair regrows? Give me back my eyebrows at least…’
Michael grumbled to himself, and he left the House of Witchery once his purchase had been completed.
He spent most of his fortune in a single shopping trip, but he was still the most furious about the loss of his hair rather than his depleted bank balance.
The money he spent was solely used for his territory and subjects. Michael already had enough exceptional Artifacts and techniques for the time being, so he did not feel the need to spend on himself.
That means his shopping cart was filled to the brim with high-quality arrows, bows, crossbows, bolts, sets of leather armor, different types of weapons, various traps, and much more for his beloved subjects. There were also a few very expensive items on his shopping list.
Michael didn’t mind their exorbitant price since he earned money to make use of it, and not to let it rest in his bank account. He was always reminded of the bad equipment his subjects had to use when facing the Lionhearts. Not only was the equipment his subjects used against the Lionhearts bad but there was not even enough for everyone to use.
That was not something Michael could accept. He somehow blamed himself for not being able to provide them with enough strong weapons which led to their deaths.
Hence, he reached deep down into his wallet and invested his money in the right means of protection to prevent incidents like the Lionheart Invasion and be prepared for all kinds of unexpected scenarios.
Michael returned to the Origin Expanse where he was greeted by the eternal darkness of the Untamed Jungle late at night.
‘I should just sleep. It would be weird to wake up everyone now. The daily report can wait until tomorrow morning,’ Michael told himself. He yawned loudly and stretched his body before he fell heavily on the soft king-size mattress.
The next moment Michael had already fallen asleep.
A few hours later, Michael woke up to the sound of nature and his hard-working subjects.
He felt refreshed and took a deep breath of the vibrant air. Not only was the air in the Untamed Jungle refreshing and free of pollution, but the Origin energy in the surroundings had an additional refreshing effect. It calmed Michael’s stressed mind and body.
Only two days had passed in the Origin Expanse since Michael left. It was not too long but it was also longer than the time Michael spent outside the Origin Expanse usually.
Both Michael and his subjects had to get accustomed to him staying outside the Origin Expanse for longer periods. They had to create a system where the territory could flourish and work even without the constant management of the Lord. Only by coming up with a better system would it be possible for Michael to spend more time outside the territory, whether it was to conquer the Temple of the Forgotten, travel to Xiltra, or spend more time outside the Origin Expanse to acquire knowledge, receive thorough tutelage, get to know more human Lords, and become stronger.
Michael did a quick workout using the first level of the Berserker Physique technique. After that, he used the Sun Soldier’s Breathing technique, bathed, and went down to listen to the daily report.
Upon his arrival, the atmosphere all over the territory had changed. Some subjects had been sad that their Lord left them shortly after they lost so many good friends and comrades. They thought that their Lord might have left them because he was guilt-ridden and that he couldn’t carry the responsibility of being the Lord of territory with hundreds of subjects.
However, now that he returned, their worries dispersed at once. Everyone’s mood improved significantly, and one could tell that the subjects felt better than two days ago but there was still a heavy shroud of sadness enveloping them. They were still mourning their comrades.
Many good people had died an untimely death because of the Lionhearts Invasion. That was a fact.
“Four new 1-Star Subjects spawned, and Tiara went out with her Combat Unit to hunt a lot during the last two days,” Michael mumbled as he read the report.
The daily reports were getting more detailed and longer than before. That was something Michael liked a lot. The more detailed information he received about the situation of his territory, the easier it was to determine how to continue developing his territory.
‘Tiara and the others hunted monsters like crazy…was that to relieve their stress and vent their anger?’ Michael wondered as he read how many monsters Tiara and the others hunted in such a short time.
There were close to 300 corpses waiting for Michael to extract. He had yet to empty the warehouse of the remaining dissected Tier-1 Monster corpses, and 300 new corpses were added once again.
If he wanted to sell everything stored in his warehouse, he would have to make several trips back and forth using the Runic Gate.
That was a little cumbersome and would take up way too much time. Thus, Michael would rather wait until his War Rune’s storage space expanded more.
“Let’s focus on the distribution of equipment, and the installment of traps and defensive mechanisms first,” Michael said after pointing at the to-do list. One of his subjects noted down his words immediately.
“Since I will summon more subjects in the next few days, we’ll have to expand the territory. Let’s focus on triple treehouse complexes in the central area around the clearing and single treehouse complexes around the central area. If the Architect Apprentice has finished the canopy bridge network, we should start this project. I want to make sure that we can move as high up in the trees as we can on the ground!” Michael commanded after giving it some thought.
The canopy bridge system was one of the most important projects Michael came up with before. It held significant value for Michael because the Untamed Jungle was filled with dense vegetation. It would be much easier to travel above the ground using the canopy bridge network than meandering through the obstacle course of a landscape. At the same time, the canopy bridge network could be used to run away, hide, and to initiate surprise attacks from all directions.
If invaders such as the Lionhearts would attack their territory once again, they would have a hard time finding a well-hidden canopy bridge system, while simultaneously preparing for attacks from above and all remaining directions. Michael could position long-range combat units taking advantage of the camouflage and height provided by the trees and give the close-combat units some leverage to circle around their opponents using the canopy bridge network.
As long as it was constructed properly, and used cleverly, Michael and his people would have a tremendous advantage against their opponents!
“The Bilrox Ranch can be expanded a little, and we need a second and third warehouse to separate and store the goods properly. I don’t like the mess in the warehouse. It’s too unorganized….”
Michael said a few more things before he finished giving instructions. He was not certain that he had covered every single point that had to be pointed out, but he gave his best. Michael allowed his subjects to openly share if they were bothered by something, or if they thought that the territory was in dire need of something.
That way, his subjects could help him out if he missed out on something. He was just a human, and not a machine, after all!
Once all instructions had been given, Michael retrieved most of the goods he purchased in the House of Witchery. His territory would soon have barracks where all weapons would be stored, and a proper training field for everyone to use. Until then, Michael would just hand out the weapons and other goods inside the wooden manor. It was the biggest building, after all.
“Be careful when installing the traps, and the arrays,” Michael cautioned as he distributed some of the tasks. His subjects listened intently, and their eyes widened slightly when Michael’s finger moved onto a huge semi-transparent orb. “This is an Orb of Hostility. It needs to be treated with great care and is one of the most expensive items in our territory. It is also one of the most important ones that need constant supervision.”
The Orb of Hostility cost more than 15 million dollars, and its effect was quite simple. It was connected to Michael’s War Rune and sensed the hostility directed at him and his subjects. His subjects were connected to him through the Links of Loyalty, which enabled this function.
Hostility could be further divided in several types, which would be reflected in different colors. If monsters thirsting for blood entered the range of the Orb of Hostility, it would show crimson dots in the monster’s direction. The stronger their bloodthirst the brighter the crimson dot.
On the other hand, if someone invaded their territory it would show a blue dot. The stronger the invaders the brighter the blue dot.
Meanwhile, a green dot would appear for all monsters and invaders that had been registered as non-lethal or friends.
This included the three Bilrox younglings that had grown a lot during the past few days.
The Orb of Hostility consumed lots of energy, which was quite expensive over a long period, but Michael was fine with the expenses.
It was the price he was willing to pay for safety. Of course, Michael was fine paying!