C25 A Huge Harvest

Surveying his surroundings, Wang Changqing considered placing the teleportation gate in the Lord Hall. However, after giving it some thought, he realized that if he were to conquer the Rank Two Plane in the future, the bidirectional teleportation array would certainly be bustling with activity.

Installing it in the Lord Hall would mean a constant stream of people and other creatures passing through his domain daily. Sitting on the steel chair in the Lord Hall, he would be on display like a zoo monkey, constantly observed unless he chose to be elsewhere. The mere thought sent a shiver down Wang Changqing's spine.

Decisively, he stepped out of the Lord Hall and selected a spot on the periphery of the Lord Mansion to establish the bidirectional teleportation array for the Rank Two Plane.

The setup of the bidirectional plane teleportation array was complete, and the associated reward had been distributed. To activate the teleportation gate, it required the embedding of 18 magic cores of Level 5 or higher, all sharing the same attributes.

Details regarding the Rank Two Plane would have to be uncovered by the Lord himself. Note: Once the two-way teleportation gate is operational, it cannot be shut down unless the plane is conquered or the Lord opts to abandon it. Upon the initial activation, the location within the Rank Two Plane is random, but the Lord is granted a single opportunity to relocate the teleportation gate.

Wang Changqing gave the two-way teleportation portal a thorough inspection but chose not to activate it immediately. He resolved to wait until all preparations were in place before embarking on his quest to conquer the plane.

In the recent battle against the Wild Beasts, he had lost all his Defender combat robots. Crafting new ones would take time, and he had succumbed to exhaustion and sleep right after the fight ended.

The battlefield had been cleared, and the spoils of war organized by his mechanical butler, Rafe, though he hadn't yet reviewed them.

Seven days into his lordship, Wang Changqing had become quite adept at issuing commands. "Rafe, how did the battlefield cleanup go? How much loot have we gathered?"

As a Lord, surely it wasn't too much to ask for someone to read the reports to him?

"Master, thanks to the Mechanical Legion and the residents of our territory, the battlefield has been thoroughly cleared. All recoverable resources have been transported back, but we're still tallying the spoils of war. So far, we've accounted for spoils from 55,231 Wild Beasts, but the rest of the inventory is moving at a snail's pace. The explosion left us with scant resources to collect; most were obliterated in the blast. The Mechanical Legion is now scouring the depths of the crater for anything that might have survived..."

Wang Changqing felt a sense of satisfaction at having harvested over 50,000 Wild Beasts. Given the magnitude of the explosion, salvaging anything more was a tall order.

"Master, the Nano Reconnaissance Robot has just reported back. Twelve kilometers from the edge of the explosion, a level 10 Magic Core has been discovered. It's presumed to belong to the level 10 Centaur Leader, though no bodily remains were found."

Finding remains that far from the blast would be a miracle. Yet, the survival of the level 10 Magic Core was testament to its exceptional durability.

Soon after, a mechanical soldier delivered the Magic Core to Wang Changqing. Roughly the size of his palm, the crystal-like core shimmered in shades of green, with dark green filaments visibly weaving through its interior.

Hefting it in his hand, Wang Changqing noted its substantial weight. Upon reflection, he realized the level 10 Magic Core held little immediate value for him. While it would certainly stir up excitement in the Lord's Trading Market, it would likely only incite envy and jealousy.

Few would be willing to pay top dollar for it. To the Lords of the Blue Planet, who typically wielded level 3 or 4 cores, a level 10 Magic Core was a mere extravagance—coveted but impractical in the short term. And those willing to purchase it wouldn't offer a price that would please Wang Changqing.

Casually stowing the core in his storage space, Wang Changqing strolled out of the Lord Hall with a relaxed gait, eager to inspect his hard-won treasures.

Despite the late hour, the small square in front of the Lord Mansion was ablaze with light. Over 800 residents of Dawn Territory, ranging from elders in their sixties and seventies to children as young as four or five, were bustling about.

They were engaged in various tasks—bleeding, skinning, deboning, sectioning, and storing—with each process carried out in an orderly fashion. Although they couldn't match the speed of the robots under Rafe's command, Wang Changqing was quite pleased with their dedication.

"Lord, you're awake. Have we disturbed you?"

"Lord, you're incredibly powerful. To think, these are over a hundred thousand wild beasts!"

"Lord, we're grateful for your protection!"

Upon Wang Changqing's emergence from the Lord Mansion, the residents, previously engrossed in their work, dropped everything. They seemed to behold a deity among them, hastily abandoning their tasks and, undeterred by the blood-soaked ground, knelt in unison, erupting into cheers.

Wang Changqing took in the scene with a modest air, though the upturned corners of his mouth betrayed his enjoyment.

"Stand up, everyone. There's no need for such formality," he said. "In my eyes, the Lord and the residents are one and the same. Protecting you is protecting myself. Please, continue your work with peace of mind."

He then addressed Moo Niu with a commanding tone, "Tonight, each person who has contributed to the work will receive three gold coins, plus additional compensation based on their labor."

"Thank you, Lord, for your generosity!"

After exchanging pleasantries with Moo Niu, Wang Changqing made his way to the meticulously arranged spoils of war that lined the mansion's wall.

With a satisfied rub of his hands, it took him five minutes to transfer all the organized spoils into his storage space. He was fortunate that his storage space had been upgraded to level 8; otherwise, it would have been a tight fit. Yet, even that would have been a delightful dilemma.

These spoils, combined with the substantial and high-level magic cores Wang Changqing had harvested from the battle, would be released onto the Lord's Trading Market in phases. Rafe's calculations suggested they could be exchanged for a wealth of resources. Coupled with the output from several new resource points within his territory, they would enable Wang Changqing to assemble an impressive Mechanical Legion, comprising 40 level 9, 400 level 8, 4000 level 7, 8000 level 6, and 10,000 level 5 Combat Robots.

The thought of his Mechanical Legion soon exceeding the 20,000 mark brought an uncontrollable smile to Wang Changqing's face.

The size of his mechanical forces had edged yet another step closer to the vast mechanical ocean he envisioned!

And it was a solid step at that!

Once past 20,000, the leap to 50,000 wouldn't be far off; after reaching 50,000, 100,000 was within grasp; and with 100,000 under his belt, could a million be all that distant?