Up close, Caleb realized the monster before he stood over 2.5 ters tall. Its skin was pure black, as if forged from the hardest tal.
Its eyes glowed an eerie purple, and two razor-sharp fangs curved upward, adorned with faintly glowing magical symbols that shifted and twisted along their surface.
Caleb could feel the breath of death right beside him.
This was a truly terrifying creature. It wasn't even moving—standing there and staring at him was enough to instil overwhelming fear.
His breathing grew ragged, and sweat dripped from his forehead, yet all he could feel was an icy chill.
Whoosh!
Urlgan's breath hit him like a gust of wind, forcing Caleb's head to tilt back slightly.
Urlgan raised its spiked mace high, ready to crush Caleb instantly.
Whoosh!
The air splitting rang again from the bloodstained mace as it swung down with maximum force and speed.
In this brief, fleeting mont, Caleb felt regret.
Yes, regret.
He regretted ever coming here.
He regretted not running away when he had the chance.
But regret was aningless now.
There was no ti left.
All he could do was wait for death.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, just as the mace was about to make contact—less than five centitres from his face—it stopped.
The wind from the halted weapon brushed against his skin, sending a jolt of terror through his entire body. His heart skipped a beat.
Urlgan furrowed its brow, withdrew its weapon and turned away without sparing Caleb another glance.
It vanished into the dense fog of dust.
Only when Urlgan was completely out of sight did Caleb regain so clarity.
"I… I'm still alive?"
He murmured to himself, but the fear gripped him so tightly that he remained frozen, unable to stand.
"I'm still alive… I'm still alive…"
Caleb sat motionless, struggling to suppress his trembling.
After a while, as the dust settled, he hastily fled, bringing the Stone Golem with him.
Why hadn't he ordered the Stone Golem to attack that monster?
Because he was afraid.
So afraid that he couldn't even speak.
So afraid that he couldn't even move.
Besides, the Stone Golem had an extrely low intelligence. Without a direct command, it was nothing more than an ordinary rock.
Even if its master was in danger, it wouldn't move without an order.
As soon as Caleb fled, sothing unexpected happened.
The massive rock beside him began to shift its form, twisting and reshaping itself.
Then, it transford into a Skeleton clad in a dark cloak.
That's right.
It was Malrik.
"Kekeke…" Malrik let out a sinister chuckle, sounding exactly like a villain in a dark fantasy novel.
"Urlgan, don't you think my plan was brilliant?" Malrik spoke arrogantly between his laughter. "Kekeke… Thanks to my intelligence, every one of those Lords and their monsters was easily slaughtered."
"You barely even had to put in any effort against that swarm of insects."
"Oy! Why are you so quiet? Answer !"
Urlgan: "…"
Seeing Urlgan remain silent, Malrik didn't seem annoyed. On the contrary, he continued laughing and speaking as if nothing was wrong.
"Kekeke… I get it. You're shy. Or maybe you're just too stunned by my sheer genius."
"You know, in the past, I was known as the Legendary Skeleton, an existence of great— Oy! Oy! Oy! Why are you raising your mace at ?"
"Oy! Stop! Have you lost your mind? Oy!!!"
…
At Noan's territory, he had just returned from his latest "harvest."
Seated comfortably on the sofa, he gazed at his spoils with satisfaction.
Over 7,000 units of stone and wood, a small amount of at, fruit, and water. In addition, he had collected more than 300 F-rank energy crystals and a random architectural blueprint.
It was worth noting that, despite his Resource Center being at level 1, it could only produce 200 units of wood, 200 units of stone, 200 food pills, and 50 F-rank energy crystals daily.
This ant that to accumulate 7,000 units of stone and wood, he would need to wait 35 days.
But in just two days—after killing 14 Lords yesterday and 16 more today—he had acquired the sa amount of resources that would have taken 35 days to gather.
'It seems… eliminating other Lords is the fastest way to amass resources.'
Even though he had already accumulated a considerable stockpile, it wasn't enough to construct the Combat Simulation Room.
Moreover, this particular building required iron as a material.
However, at this stage, iron was nowhere to be found. Not even the other Lords would have access to it.
With no other choice, he decided to use the Territory Blueprint.
[Ding! Do you wish to consu 3,000 units of stone, 3,000 units of wood, and 100 F-rank energy crystals to activate the Territory Blueprint?]
"Yes!"
Imdiately, the exact amounts of stone, wood, and energy crystals vanished from his Storage.
Another notification popped up.
[Ding! Paynt successful. Please arrange your new territory layout as desired.]
Right after that, a three-dinsional map appeared before him.
No, calling it a map wasn't quite accurate.
It was a sandbox model.
However, at the mont, the sandbox model displayed nothing but an empty plot of land and a small house with all essential functions.
What stood out was that the sandbox also indicated its total area—9,000 square ters.
'So my new territory will expand to 9,000 square ters?' Noan thought.
Currently, his territory is only 40 square ters. It would beco massive if it expanded to the size displayed in the sandbox.
'That will attract attention…'
Noan frowned. Although he wasn't afraid of other Lords—since, at present, he was the most powerful existence in this region—he couldn't predict whether stronger Lords would erge in the future.
Initially, he assud that the blueprint would only slightly alter the structures within his territory. But in reality, it expanded his land significantly.
Perhaps… he needed to be more cautious and delay constructing his new territory.
While examining the sandbox, he suddenly noticed a small question mark (?) at the bottom of the interface.
Clicking on it, a detailed information panel appeared:
[Almighty Territory: Once construction is completed using the sandbox, the new territory will be automatically built.
After that, you will have the ability to either conceal or reveal the new territory's appearance.
If you choose not to display the new look of your territory, a magical illusion barrier will cover the area, preventing others from noticing any changes.
The new territory will also be protected by a shield strong enough to withstand a full-power attack from a Rank C Level 2 monster.]
Reading the description of the Almighty Territory, Noan let out a sigh of relief.
With this, he no longer needed to worry about attracting unwanted attention.
He imdiately began designing his territory using the sandbox.
Calling it construction wasn't accurate—this felt like a base-building ga.
All he had to do was select the buildings available and place them inside the sandbox model.
However, for now, he could only build walls, roads, and landscape elents for the territory. As for structures, the only available building was the Main House for the Lord.
Noan left nine empty zones around the area to place future buildings. He then constructed roads connecting these zones and added a central plaza.
Luckily, the Almighty Territory granted him three invaluable assets that would make other Lords green with envy, perhaps even desperate to the point of madness.
These were the Eternal Water Pool, Farmland, and a residential area with five houses for inhabitants.
Eternal Water Pool: A 20-square-ter pond, 2 ters deep, providing an endless clean water supply. Farmland: Usable for agriculture, with an initial area of 1,000 square ters. Farr Houses: Residential hos designed for the territory's inhabitants. Each house had full anities and could accommodate two people (x5 houses).
At this mont, Noan truly realized how lucky he was to have obtained the Legendary Treasure Chest.
With these resources, even if he couldn't venture outside, he could survive in this barren region for an extended period.
It was important to note that most Lords could only obtain drinking water from the nearby river—and access to that river was controlled by Caleb's group.
Food and water shortages aren't too severe, but over ti, scarcity becos more apparent.
At so point, chaos would be inevitable.
And when that ti ca, violence and brutality would reveal themselves in their purest form.
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