CHAPTER 172: CHAPTER 69: RETURN TO THE TERRITORY_2

Lusen exaggeratedly spread his arms, measuring forward, and exclaimed, "Where’s our territory? We left it here, a huge territory, where is it now?"

Duncan also stepped out of the line with his warhammer, standing beside Lusen, looking ahead in shock: "I remember our territory being right here, with over thirty houses and a radiant divine tree, the serene and peaceful Goddess Monastery, and the lovely Little Fishman Camp by the lake. Where did it all go?"

Audrey’s newly contracted entity, Hei Qi, folded his arms over his chest and walked forward arrogantly, surveying ahead: "Is this our territory? It looks decent, just about meets my expectations."

Audrey jumped down from Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, looked ahead in disbelief, and asked Lin Rui: "Lord, is this our territory? How did it turn into such a beautifully dreamy sight in just three days?"

No wonder the soldiers were all astounded; the transformation of the territory was just too great.

Before everyone left, the territory was just a newly developed small village, with a few low houses lined up on the plain, full of rustic countryside scenery, the canopy still adorned with old trees bursting with the natural forest charm. At a glance, it was a small settlement in the wilderness.

But now, the whole look of the territory had changed drastically. A tidy and orderly small town had been built by the lake, with numerous bustling buildings like dwellings, tailor shops, blacksmith shops, taverns, pharmacy workshops, and trading markets.

More importantly, a family manor had already been erected by the lake, surrounded by vast and flat green wheat fields, and golden, romantic Golden Pansy fields spreading across the landscape. The idyllic pastoral charm was so beautiful and tranquil, making one fall in love at first sight.

And on a high slope by the lake, the Golden Pansy Clan’s Imperial Guard Castle was already towering under the blue sky and white clouds.

The entire territory was beautifully and suitably distributed among the mountains, plains, and lake waves, full of the romantic charm of manor castles and pastoral idylls.

[Ding, due to the effect of the special building Golden Pansy Manor, all citizens’ loyalty +5.]

[Ding, the loyalty of the Elite Knight Lance under the Explorer’s command has reached maximum value, unlocking the Loyal to Death trait.]

[Ding, the loyalty of the Elite Knight Lote under the Explorer’s command has reached maximum value, unlocking the Loyal to Death trait.]

[Ding, the loyalty of the Dawn Fanatic Sean under the Explorer’s command has reached maximum value, unlocking the Loyal to Death trait]

[Ding, under the Explorer’s command...]

[...]

[Ding, the loyalty of the Moonlight Apostle Audrey, a Heroic Spirit Level troop under the Explorer’s command, has reached maximum value, unlocking the Loyal to Death trait]

[Loyal to Death: Loyal as a son, loyal as a minister, death doesn’t matter. This soldier will carry out all your orders without hesitation, marching forward even if the way ahead is filled with swords and flames. Morale +10, Critical Strike Rate +5%, Damage Reduction +5%, Fear Immunity.]

A dense swarm of system notifications appeared, and all the soldiers cheered as they rushed into the territory. Nothing comforts the weary hearts of warriors more than such a beautiful territory!

The effects of the completion of the Golden Pansy Manor are: [All citizens’ loyalty +5, housing +30, Golden Pansy flower garden +10 acres, farmland +300 acres, territory’s Golden Pansy production +100%, farmland yield +20%, with an extremely low probability of enhancing plant quality].

The significant increase in the town’s buildings by the lake is due to this effect: housing +30. The soldiers eagerly headed to the lake to find a new residence for themselves.

The territory’s civil servant, Soro, led the Woodland Fairies within the territory to come up, respectfully saluting Lin Rui: "Respected Lord, your loyal citizens welcome you back to the territory."

Lin Rui, with a smiling face, patted Soro’s shoulder, encouraging him: "My civil servant, you’ve done very well. The construction of the territory makes me very satisfied."

"Receiving your praise is the greatest honor of my day. I shall have the tavern prepare dinner for you immediately, my Lord."

"Alright. Don’t be stingy, Soro. Bring out the finest food and the most fragrant wine to reward my soldiers. They’ve worked hard these past few days."

"Your will, my Lord."

Soro left, and Audrey happily hugged Lin Rui’s arm, saying, "Lord, I’m going to buy clothes, accompany me."

Lin Rui flung out a thick stack of Realm Coins: "Here’s ten thousand Realm Coins. Buy whatever you want. I have to go to the Goddess Monastery."

A flicker of amusement flashed in Audrey’s amethyst-like eyes, striving to conceal her mischievous thoughts. Surprisingly, she didn’t pester Lin Rui, took the Realm Coins, and dragged Silver Moon away.

Lin Rui had a bad premonition, realizing this silly girl didn’t mock the Lucky Lady Goddess as a ’green tea.’ Who knows what mischief she’s up to now.

She usually acts more recklessly the higher her loyalty level, and now that her loyalty reached dead loyalty, she would definitely let herself go today. Lin Rui really couldn’t guess what she might do with her quirky mind.

Having no other option, Lin Rui had to go to the monastery to pray to the Goddess of Fortune.

The monastery is situated in a tranquil place deep within the territory, still on that green, serene slope. The Life Ancient Tree below remained dreamily beautiful, its crabapple-colored canopy radiant and colorful, the winds carrying falling petals, scattering them across the air, fluttering around the monastery, with the air filled with the fragrance of grass and the subtle scent of petals.

Lin Rui walked joyfully into the Fortune Goddess Monastery. He was the only one there, silent and peaceful. The goddess statue still exuded a vague beauty, but somehow, Lin Rui felt it was less cold and stiff than before, possessing more spirit and suppleness.

After a while, Lin Rui reached a conclusion — his fiancée’s skin was quite good.

Then Lin Rui joyfully began to pray: "Dear wife above, this time I earned you some face in front of the gods. Such a terrifying abyssal invasion, even if letting the War God followers come over, they probably couldn’t quell it."

"A nation has its law, a family its rules. Just with this wave, surely there must be some private benefits, right?"

"You see, the first thing I did upon returning was to see you, then immediately make sacrifices to you, giving you my entire little treasury. You can’t be stingy, directly grant divine grace, and skip the formalities of sacrifice failures. Saving up money is not easy. Otherwise, next time such a thing occurs, I might not exert myself and just take people to flee."

"In short, in short, dear wife bless!"

It must be said, the Goddess of Fortune truly has a good temperament, very easygoing and lazy.

If it were another more rigid goddess, her Divine Champion daring to speak to her like this would probably result in direct divine punishment.

But the Goddess of Fortune couldn’t be bothered. She didn’t even give a response to Lin Rui’s prayer for increased sacrifice success rate.

Lin Rui didn’t say much more, patted his butt, and left the monastery, having completed his prayers. According to Lin Rui’s observations, the goddess he chose was not a petty woman. She didn’t mind whatever he called her.

The key is to come and pray, to acknowledge her status as the revered deity of the territory. However, this seems no different than recognizing the main lady of the house.

Prayers completed, Lin Rui headed straight for the Goddess Pendulum.

After venturing outside for so long, the rewards were about to come!

First, Lin Rui took out the Hero’s Heart that had been in his backpack for a long time. This was the Hero’s Heart dropped by an Ogre Hero. The Hero’s Heart given to the merchant guild was that of a Little Fishman Hero’s drop.

Anyhow, they were all taken out from Lin Rui’s backpack, and the guild had no idea whether it was the one dropped at that time or not.

Lin Rui didn’t know whether the effects of the Hero’s Heart were the same, but one was dropped by a Tier Three Rare Hero, and the other by a Tier One Ordinary level hero, so Lin Rui obviously chose the former.

Just in case there’s a difference, it’s crucial to use the best one.

Enhancing the quality of this Hero’s Heart was a grand plan Lin Rui had been preparing from day one.

Strengthen this Hero’s Heart to the utmost, then use it with the [Corroded Hero’s Heart] and [Divine Sacrifice] obtained from the Relic Palace to maximize the quality of the hero summoned.

Lin Rui was also eager to see what grade of hero he could recruit from the divine spirit.

Though Lin Rui is the goddess’s Divine Champion, he never relied solely on luck, choosing to strategize and keep everything under his control as his style.

Instead of leaving it to fate and relying on luck to draw a one-in-ten-thousand chance hero from the divine spirit, he preferred to fully stack all conditions, ensuring that he drew a super-tier hero from the divine spirit.