31: Infinite City's "Greeting"

The wind on the high platform carried a faint scent of blood as it brushed past Liora and her companions.

They remained standing, their gazes complex as they looked at the battlefield below the city, which was rapidly restoring order.

Monster carcasses piled up like mountains, and various colors of blood and broken internal organs stained the land outside the city a strange hue.

The city gates opened again, and teams of logistics personnel in gray uniforms poured out.

Upon reaching the battlefield, they efficiently began the work of clearing spoils of war and repairing the ground.

The Heavy Shield Guards retreated into the city, their steps still steady and powerful, as if the battle against the monster horde had merely been a warm-up for them.

The Halberd Warriors, under Mu Yang's command, helped the logistics team sort the monster corpses.

The Azure Lightning Cavalry Guard had already returned to camp to rest, with only Huo Jun still patrolling near the city gates, a hint of fatigue on his gentle face, but his eyes remained sharp.

The archers on the city wall also put away their bows, beginning to maintain their weapons, while Zhui Yun stood at the top of the arrow tower, quietly watching the gradually dispersing mist in the distance.

Throughout the entire process, everyone performed their duties efficiently and professionally.

This professionalism sent a chill down the spines of Liora and the other Elf.

"We... witnessed a... crushing," Fael said with difficulty, his voice a little hoarse.

He tried to find a more suitable word, but found that "crushing" was the most apt description. Faced with such a large-scale beast tide, this human city not only held its ground, but even completely destroyed it in an almost theatrical, effortless manner.

Aila's emerald eyes gleamed with thought: "Their troop composition is very reasonable; defense, assault, long-range suppression, mobile penetration... almost no weaknesses. Moreover, those commanders... their strength is definitely not that of ordinary Silver-tier individuals."

She recalled Huo Jun's earth-shattering "Thunderous Mountain Severing Strike," as well as Zhui Yun's astonishingly wide-ranging "Thunder Arrow Rain," and Stone Rock's "Resonance Shield Strike" commanded by the Heavy Shield Guards, whose power was far beyond what ordinary Silver-tier powerhouses could achieve.

Liora took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She walked up to Su Jin, bowed slightly, and said with a complex tone, "Lord Su Jin, thank you for your hospitality. What we have seen today has truly opened our eyes."

She paused, then continued, "Now that this matter is concluded, we need to return immediately to Twilight Forest to report the situation here to the Elder Council."

Su Jin turned around, a faint smile on his face: "Oh? Won't you stay a few more days? Infinite City still has many interesting places!"

Liora shook her head: "This matter is of great importance. The reasons for the 'world book' anomaly must be made known to our people as soon as possible. And the strength of Infinite City far exceeds our imagination; this may change the entire Adran World."

Su Jin no longer tried to persuade her, nodding: "Very well. Bai Xiao, see our guests off."

Bai Xiao, who had been standing beside him like a statue, nodded slightly at the words, his calm gaze sweeping over Liora and her companions: "Follow me."

Liora bowed to Su Jin again, then, taking Fael and the others, followed Bai Xiao, leaving the high platform.

As they descended the stairs, Aila couldn't help but look back at the young lord standing on the edge of the high platform, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, her heart filled with doubt and an inexpressible awe.

This human, and the forces under his command, seemed to be shrouded in a thick mist, making them unfathomable...

After the Elf vanished from sight, and after resting, Stone Rock, who had been trying hard to hold his tongue, finally couldn't resist. He walked up to Su Jin, and asked in a booming voice, "My Lord, I don't quite understand, why did you let these Elf watch us fight? Are we... really going to form an alliance with them?"

In his opinion, although those Elf were not weak and had seemed relatively docile these past few days, Stone Rock could still feel the arrogance in their bones, as well as their prejudice against humans, making them far from ideal allies.

The battle just now was a clean and easy victory for Infinite City. Apart from a few soldiers who were accidentally scratched by monsters or splattered with acid, resulting in minor, harmless injuries, there were zero casualties.

Upon hearing this, Su Jin turned his head, looking at the honest and puzzled Stone Rock, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "Alliance? Stone Rock, you're overthinking it."

"Huh?" Stone Rock scratched his head, even more confused, "Then what are you..."

"I'm just planting the 'seeds' for them in advance."

Su Jin retracted his gaze, looking into the distance again, his tone flat, "Let them see the strength of Infinite City with their own eyes, let them see that humans are not as weak as they imagine. What they saw today will take root in their hearts."

He paused, a hint of sharpness entering his voice: "A mere Elf of Twilight Forest is not yet qualified to be on equal footing with my Infinite City, let alone form an alliance."

Stone Rock was stunned. He hadn't expected his lord's goal to be so grand, or rather... so "domineering."

As if seeing through his thoughts, Su Jin continued to explain: "Let them go back, let their elders argue, hesitate, and weigh things. When they have seen true power and compared it to their own situation, in the future, when the glory of Infinite City shines upon Twilight Forest, today's 'observation' will reduce many unnecessary obstacles for us."

He chuckled softly, with a hint of playfulness: "Rather than displaying strength to seek an alliance, it's more like giving them a heads-up, making them understand that times have changed. In the future, it will be submission, surrender... not an equal alliance. I just... want to make this process smoother, to shed a little less blood."

Stone Rock suddenly understood; his lord was playing a grand game! His gaze towards Su Jin was filled with admiration.

So, displaying strength was not for the purpose of drawing them in, but to pave the way for future conquest! Such foresight was indeed beyond what a simple, charge-first-ask-questions-later fellow like him could imagine.

"My Lord is brilliant!" Stone Rock praised sincerely.

Su Jin was noncommittal, merely saying lightly: "The results of this battle are satisfactory. The coordination of the new troop types also met expectations, especially the Heavy Shield Guards and the Azure Lightning Cavalry Guard; they performed well."

His gaze swept over the highly efficient "battlefield recycling assembly line" below; those divided monster carcasses were all tangible resources.

With a thought, a light blue virtual light screen unfolded before him, which was the lord panel.

Battle data, resource acquisition, victory rewards... all information was clearly listed. He quickly browsed through it, checking the system rewards.

【System Notification: Successfully defended against the monster siege (one month), obtained basic rewards: Soul Coins * 216500, basic resource pack * 70, territory construction blueprint (random) * 2.】

"Over two hundred sixteen thousand Soul Coins..." Su Jin raised an eyebrow slightly at the number.

This income was quite considerable. The territory's recent expenses were not small, especially the sub-bodies of the Grand Void Azurewood Palace, the Sky-Peering Vine, which were still continuously proliferating for monitoring and early warning. While the individual consumption of those things was not high, the sheer number required was immense, like a bottomless pit. Coupled with the equipment maintenance for new troop types and subsequent recruitment, money was needed everywhere.

This wave of monster siege was quite a timely help.

He continued to look down.

【System Notification: Obtained 'Rot Wolf Essence' * 98, 'Scale Armor Lizard Hard Skin' * 425, 'Mist Demon Essence' * 131...】

A long list of materials was enumerated, in considerable quantities.

"Essence... more essence." Su Jin muttered to himself, looking at those items, "The quality is good, but unfortunately, the territory needs to be upgraded to level five to unlock the relevant troop transformation function. For now, they can only gather dust in the warehouse."

"Hmm, not bad." He was quite satisfied with this harvest, his gaze finally resting on the two blueprint rewards, "Random blueprints... I hope they're useful. Reconnaissance and infiltration units need to be put on the agenda; constantly relying on cavalry and falcons for scouting is a bit lacking in efficiency and stealth."

Thinking of this, he casually opened the [Regional Channel], intending to see what other lords were currently up to...