Three days had passed since he escaped from the capital of the Diam Kingdom. As Roan expected, the people of the Emerald Kingdom believed he was dead and did not send troops to track him down.
His escape was as leisurely as a hiking trip.
Unfortunately, a king who had lost his territory no longer had any income.
Fortunately, on the day the royal capital fell, he gained one hour's worth of experience: 10,000 experience points.
Without being greedy, after gaining one hour's worth of income, Roan decisively and voluntarily abandoned the territory of the Diam Kingdom.
Because if the enemy snatched the territory, a large sum of existing income would be deducted.
To prevent losing more than he gained, withdrawing in time was the most prudent strategy.
To level up from Level 1 to Level 10, 1900 experience points were needed: 900 experience for Levels 1-9, and 1000 experience for Levels 9-10.
To level up from Level 11 to Level 20, 3800 experience points were needed, with the experience required per level doubling.
For Levels 21-30, 19,000 experience points were needed.
Roan used 9200 experience points to raise his level from 5 to 24.
This world actually had no clear level divisions. Before Level 80, strength was measured by the tier of skills learned.
For example, his fiancée, who could use 7th-Tier Magic, no one below Level 80 dared to provoke her easily.
As for Roan, he currently had levels but no skills. In actual combat, he probably couldn't even defeat a Level 10 minion who could use 1st-Tier Magic.
“I need to find a way to accumulate prestige,” Roan thought with a sigh as he closed the panel.
Prestige could be directly exchanged for highly proficient skills.
He no longer hoped to thoroughly master a skill through his own efforts.
Considering it took the original owner five years to raise his level to 5, it was clear how poor this body's cultivation talent was.
To rapidly increase his strength, he could only exchange prestige points for skills or raise skill proficiency.
But acquiring prestige points was easier said than done.
This was much harder than seizing a piece of territory.
“Why are you covering your face? Is it because you're afraid of being recognized?” a loud voice rang out beside his ear again.
Roan's eyebrow twitched, and he already regretted choosing this guy.
He chose Byron not because he knew Byron, but because of how other mercenaries treated him and the fact that he could lead four women, indicating his strength must be good.
He hadn't expected this burly fellow to be such a chatterbox.
Are you in intelligence? What kind of mercenary asks his employer for information about himself?
The employer wasn't responding, and he still didn't have the good sense to shut up.
“You don't look like a local,” he continued to inquire seriously.
Roan raised an eyebrow, “What, do locals get a discount?”
“Don't be angry, I just saw you spending so lavishly and wanted to know where you came from,” Byron said.
“And then?”
“So I can get more good tasks from you in the future,” Byron stated his purpose bluntly.
One advanced magic crystal, you know, was enough to buy half a small manor in the Gray Mist Territory.
Roan also realized he had been too high-profile.
But there was nothing he could do; he had fled too hastily, only able to bring a few light and valuable advanced magic crystals with him.
“I actually have an even more advanced task here, I'm just afraid you won't dare to take it,” Roan said with a smile.
“What task would I not dare to take?” Byron waved his hand, his tone bold, “As long as it's advanced enough, just tell me.”
“Help me take over the Gray Mist Territory, is that advanced enough?” Roan asked with a smile.
“Take over the Gray Mist Territory, easy as... huh? What did you say?” Byron's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard.
“Help me take over the Gray Mist Territory,” Roan repeated.
Byron's expression immediately turned serious. “Little brother, this is no laughing matter.”
I'm not joking with you.
Roan calmly withdrew his gaze.
The war between the Emerald Kingdom and the Diam Kingdom was destined to be a protracted and brutal struggle.
How could he, who knew the future trajectory, miss such a good opportunity?
After escaping from the capital of the Diam Kingdom, he did not choose to head north, away from the vortex of the third War of the Gods, but instead followed the Western Border Forest, entered the Emerald Kingdom, and arrived at the Gray Mist Territory.
Most of the Emerald Kingdom's forces were currently in the territory of the Diam Kingdom. To better carve up the Diam Kingdom's territory, various nobles of the Emerald Kingdom had dispatched the majority of their armies to garrison (and plunder) it.
The rear of the Emerald Kingdom was now quite empty, except for the royal capital, with other territories being very vulnerable.
If he didn't stir up some trouble now, he wouldn't be worthy of his status as a deposed monarch.
He only had one month to regain control of a territory about a thousand square kilometers in size, to avoid being 'blessed' by the Shackles of Servitude.
Starting from scratch to slowly develop a territory to the size of a marquisate was an outlandish idea not worth considering.
Gathering the remnants of the Diam Kingdom was even more out of the question. Not only did he lack prestige, but such a conspicuous gathering of old subordinates would not only alert the enemy, but even if some responded, they would probably be wiped out by the Emerald Kingdom before they could even assemble.
Instant kill upon showing his face!
So, the question arose.
What method could allow him to reach a marquisate within a month without slowly developing a territory from scratch?
It was simple.
That was to take over an existing marquisate.
What if the opposing lord was uncooperative and unwilling to hand over the territory?
Then create chaos and take advantage of the vulnerability.
There was no need to hold it permanently, just maintain it for one day, and the buffer time for the fallen kingdom would reset.
As early as the moment of his escape, Roan had already chosen his target.
Yes, it was precisely the Gray Mist Territory beneath his feet.
The Gray Mist Territory was the easiest territory for him to conquer that he knew of.
It wasn't that the Gray Mist Territory was the weakest.
Rather, the Gray Mist Territory had special external forces that could be leveraged.
He was currently outnumbered and weak; it would be very difficult to control a marquisate without external forces.
Now, he was on his way to borrow those external forces.
He would take over the Gray Mist Territory with lightning speed.
Then make a run for it... By the time they reached Dusk Swamp, it was already past noon.
The weather in the north in September had already turned cool, but today's sun was exceptionally dazzling.
The sapphire-blue sky was without a trace of haze, and a few wisps of thin clouds, like cotton casually sketched on a canvas, drifted leisurely.
Ahead, the gray area that even the scorching light, which made several people sweat profusely, could not penetrate, was their destination: Dusk Swamp.
A gray mist that could dispel magic always permeated an area five miles around Dusk Swamp. At its worst, it could spread for hundreds of miles, and the Gray Mist Territory got its name from this.
After a short rest, the group entered this area that few people visited.
The moment they stepped into the gray mist area, they felt the magic in their bodies slowly dissipating, and their vision was greatly reduced.
Being in it was like being in an overwhelming sandstorm, making it difficult to discern directions.
However, there was no need to worry about getting lost; the terrain of Dusk Swamp was very simple, just a plain.
Upon entering, there was a narrow, winding path, trodden by predecessors, leading to the swamp in the central area.
As long as one saw the swamp, walking straight in the opposite direction, even if one veered off, one could still exit the gray mist area.
Byron walked at the very front, leading the way.
When the winding path reached its end, he seemed to sense something and raised his hand in warning.
Were there magical beasts nearby?
Roan couldn't help but feel nervous.
Byron slowly turned around and said, “Actually, I wasn't scolding you just now. I just wanted to tell you that the Lord of Gray Mist Territory is narrow-minded. If he heard what you said, you'd be in a lot of trouble.”
Roan: “...”