329: Main battlefield firing range—R country

Shang Wan Ning opened the system panel.

The translucent light screen unfolded before her eyes, and deep blue characters slowly flowed across it.

Character: Shang Wan Ning

Identity: Netherworld Empress (Highest ruler of the Underworld)

Cultivation: Eighth Tier Peak

Buildings: eight views of yin mountain, Yin Street, Underworld Building, Empress's Traveling Palace... incense value: 673.936 billion

The number was massive, glowing with a cold, blue light.

Little Four asked in confusion, "great host, isn't that a lot of incense offerings? It's enough to buy one-fifth of Mercury."

Shang Wan Ning twitched the corner of her mouth, the curve devoid of warmth. "Tsk, buy Mercury?"

Her hand hovered above the light screen and tapped open the holographic projection of the Mercury Plane. The azure planet rotated in the darkness, appearing so fragile that it looked as if it would shatter upon contact.

"Is it possible to construct a protective barrier sufficient to cover it?"

Little Four fell silent for a moment, rapidly performing calculations.

"Host is referring to... constructing a defensive shield covering the entire Mercury Plane? Using incense value as the foundation to resist the impact of late Ninth Tier?"

"Mm." Shang Wan Ning let out a soft hum from her nose, her gaze blazing as she locked onto Mercury.

"Sabrina has temporarily retracted her claws, and those old fellows from the Source Realm are about to awaken. The aura of Mercury's Spiritual Energy Revival can be smelled even across planes."

She swiped across the projection, creating ripples. "My territory must be protected first."

The data stream on the light screen refreshed quickly.

Little Four: "Maximum protection plan simulation complete. Covering the entire Mercury domain, normal defense level: early Ninth Tier."

"Peak tolerance: one full-strength strike from late Ninth Tier. incense value consumption..."

A bright red number jumped out, blindingly stark. "Daily consumption: 100 million incense points. Annual consumption: 36.5 billion. Basic reserve for one hundred years of maintenance: 3.65 trillion."

=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰● |||)

Shang Wan Ning stared at the astronomical figure, the knuckles of the hand clutching her phoenix robe turning white.

Six hundred billion?

It was a drop in the bucket, not even enough to cover a fraction of the hundred-year maintenance cost.

"No wonder great host has recently turned into a ground-scraping maniac," Little Four complained with a hint of helplessness. "You even scavenged the glowing pith stones in Wormrock City."

Shang Wan Ning ignored the system's teasing.

"The protective shield is just the shell. If a real fight breaks out, I intend to press the battlefield onto Mercury itself."

She lightly touched the Mercury projection, and a narrow archipelago—the territory of R Country—was conspicuously highlighted.

"Change this place into the Main Battlefield Target Range for me."

The light screen's view zoomed in rapidly, clearly displaying the topography of R Country.

"great host, the reason?" Little Four asked.

"It's small enough, remote enough, and I won't feel bad if it sinks after being bombed," Shang Wan Ning replied, her tone as calm as if discussing the weather.

"Last time Zhu Yan infiltrated the Netherworld and damaged the Ghost Gate Pass; the repair costs still sting when I think about them."

She tapped the archipelago on the light screen with a bent finger. "Let the riff-raff below Ninth Tier come in and fight. Use their divine blood to charge my defensive shield."

Little Four sorted the information, integrating large amounts of data in the background:

Geographic Factor: Island Nation

Risk of affecting the main continent: Low

Ecological impact of sinking: Controllable

"Energy Dispersion Control: Requires pre-laying a 'Netherworld Bone-Corroding Vine' Spore Matrix around the four islands (Incense consumption: 50 billion) to construct an energy absorption/confinement field. Approximately 30% of dispersed divine power from the battlefield can be converted to supplement the defensive shield."

"Spatial Stability: This region is located at the intersection of the Pacific Plate, with active geology. Existing volcanoes and seismic zones can be utilized to pre-embed 'Nine Netherworld Prison Suppressing Nailss' (Incense consumption: 30 billion) to reinforce spatial nodes and prevent battle repercussions from tearing the plane barrier."

"Estimated total consumption for battlefield construction: 100 billion incense value."

"Battlefield Sustainability: Estimated to withstand three to five skirmishes involving early Ninth Tier deities (≤3 individuals), or one full-strength strike from a mid-Ninth Tier. Exceeding the threshold will lead to the disintegration and sinking of the island structure."

"Post-Sinking Resource Recovery Plan: The 'Yin Mountain Relocation' project can be initiated (Incense consumption: 5 billion) to drag the main peak of Mount Fuji and parts of the island base rich in spirit veins into the Netherworld, converting them into 'New Yin Mountain' construction materials."

"Estimated recovery rate: 15%-20%."

The data stream stopped, and the light screen froze on the final assessment.

Plan Codename: Sunken Firing Range

Comprehensive Assessment: Strategic Feasibility 87.3%

Economic Efficiency: High

Risk: Controllable

Suggested Modifications: ... Shang Wan Ning scanned through the points one by one, and a sliver of the coldness in her eyes finally melted away.

She absolutely loved this plan!!!

It was ruthless enough, economical enough, and allowed for recycling waste materials.

"Sunken Firing Range..." The Empress softly chewed on the name, her index finger pressing heavily on the location of "R Country" on the light screen.

"Little Four, I approve."

"Netherworld Bone-Corroding Vine, Prison Suppressing Nail, and bait, prepare them with the highest priority. incense offerings..."

She glanced back at the six hundred billion figure, her teeth feeling a little sensitive. "Allocate it from my internal treasury first. If it's not enough, have Ling Qi press Olexia for her incense offerings commission."

"That wretched woman is selling 'Desire Perfume' on the Underworld APP; her commission is due."

The system's response came with a prompt: "Instruction received. 'Sunken Firing Range' plan initiated."

"Resource allocation in progress..."

"48-hour countdown has begun!"

Shang Wan Ning lowered her eyes and closed the system panel.

The Jiaotai Palace sleeping chamber returned to silence, with only the agarwood silently burning.

The Netherworld Empire, built upon six hundred billion incense offerings, seemed so fragile when facing the soon-to-awaken old monsters of the Source Realm and the covetous gaze of Sabrina.

The incense offerings in the internal treasury had to be scraped up, Olexia's commission had to be squeezed out, and Mercury's defensive shield had to be cast quickly... Meanwhile, far on the other side of the Ativi Continent.

The wind, carrying the stench of rust and sweat, swept through the slums of Cana, the capital city of the Kingdom of Barbatos.

The air here was perpetually murky, mixing the smells of cheap ale, rotting garbage, and animal dung.

Low shacks were squeezed together, their walls plastered with mud and straw, most of them cracked and drafty.

Sewage flowed slowly in the muddy ditch, carrying floating vegetable leaves and unknown filth.

This was the dwelling place of the lower-class Beastmen.

Pigmen, Kobolds, Rabbitmen, Lizardmen... they were hunched over, their fur dull and lifeless, their eyes murky and numb.

Shackles had chafed their ankles and wrists, leaving behind brown scabs.

The overseer's whip cracked near their ears from time to time, accompanied by vulgar curses and the suppressed groans of some unfortunate soul.

The mine entrance yawned blackly, like a giant maw waiting to devour people.

Ragged Beastman slaves lined up in a crooked queue, carrying ore baskets, and filed in one after another.

The sharp edges of the black iron ore in the baskets weighed down their bent spines.

When they came out, the baskets were empty.

The people were even more hunched, their faces covered only by a layer of ashen deathliness.

Tudor wore an unremarkable gray cloak, the brim pulled low, obscuring most of his face.

He stood in the shadow of a shack, his figure almost merging with the filthy wall.

The judges brush rotated in his sleeve, its tip surrounded by a coil of Yin energy.