Certain puzzles have logical explanations now.
For example, there's the question of why the four Heroes tried to kill Nancilia.
They must have been taking orders from Du Mingfeng.
So long as this young city lord doesn't die, then even if Du Mingfeng succeeds in usurping the throne, he'd still have a hard time sitting easy.
When she thinks of the fact that her people are under the rule of an unbelievably ambitious and cruel person, as well as the fact that a large number of elves were purged and butchered, Nancilia was anxious beyond measure.
However, what could a mere prisoner do?
She doesn't have any freedom, nor does she have the power to do anything.
No matter how great Nancilia's status and influence is, Giantree City is already under Du Mingfeng's control, and tens of thousands of elves are currently in his grasp.
With the Ironblooded Heroes and the elite soldiers from Berserk Beast City, the elven citizens wouldn't even be able to run away.
If anything were to enrage Du Mingfeng, then another bloodbath and purge may happen.
What can she do?
It's all her fault for not being strong enough!
At this point, a thought popped up in the elf girl's mind.
Although she herself didn't have the power or armies, Darkness Valley does. If she could convince the Demon King to help, then it might resolve all her problems.
But what about the cost?
Nancilia wavered back and forth for some time before gritting her teeth and falling to her knees with a thump.
Zhang Nu did not expect this young city lord to do something like that. She's a proud descendent of the Elf King, after all, but she was actually lowering her head to the Demon King.
"Giantree City is in a crisis, and so are the elven people. I beg Darkness Valley to deploy your army and help us elves in our time of need!"
Given Nancilia's personality, the pride of the Elf King didn't matter anymore. Anything would be worth it if it's to save her people.
Zhang Nu put on a hesitant front, "Giantree City's walls are strong. With my powers, while a surprise strike might be possible, actually taking the city isn't nearly so easy."
"Besides which, Darkness Valley has no reason to do something without reward. You know me by now, so you know what I want. Have you considered my price?"
Nancilia's heart sank.
Of course she knew what the Demon King wanted.
This Demon King is extremely ambitious too. He also wanted to take over Giantree City from the start, but this too is something that the elves won't be able to accept.
However, why would the Demon King send out his army without a reward?
Does this mean that Giantree City is going to fall no matter what?
Nancilia spoke, "We're willing to present you with the entire wealth of the City as tribute, so can you at least leave the city itself to the elves?"
"No! I want all of Giantree City! This includes all the citizens of the city to pledge loyalty to me! Otherwise, Darkness Valley won't send so much as a single man!"
Zhang Nu is adamant.
Giantree City is the strongest faction in Darkness Valley's surrounding area.
If he could take Giantree City, then how much reward could he get from that?
Giantree City has a general population of 200 thousand, with a permanent residential population of at least 100 thousand. All of them are valuable resources!
Zhang Nu fully realized that this is a precious opportunity.
It just so happened that Du Mingfeng usurped the position of city lord at this time.
And it just also happens that the actual proper city lord is currently in his hands.
Zhang Nu would have a hard time finding such a chance to conquer Giantree City with such a proper justification!
Without it, if he were to conquer Giantree City by force with no justification other than "might makes right", then given the elves' stubborn nature, they would resist to the very end even if it means their deaths.
In such a case, not only would he need to spend a great deal of resources, and even when he wins, all he'd get is a useless ruin!
Right now, Nancilia is in his grasp, so as long as Nancilia gives the order, the vast majority of the tens of thousands of elves and the elven defense army of over 8000 would refuse to stand on Du Mingfeng's side.
Thus, he'll only need to fight two forces: The Ironblooded Heroes Guild and the Berserk Beast City's army!
"Is there no room for negotiation? Any other condition would be fine!"
"No!"
In the end, he's a Demon King!
If he has an opportunity to conquer Giantree City, then there's no way that he could possibly give up the chance.
Nancilia is soft and indecisive. She's worried that she has failed her people and that she would be the sinner who let down the entirety of Giantree City, so how could she possibly make such a decision?
Right now, Giantree City's foundations are still shaky, so there's no way that he could let such a perfect opportunity go.
Thus, Zhang Nu continued, "I'll promise that Giantree City will forever be an elven city. You will continue to be the city lord of Giantree City, and elves will be permitted to keep their self governance!"
His words were clear.
After gaining all authority over Giantree City, Giantree City's highest authority will switch from the city lord to the Demon King.
The defense forces of Giantree City will also be mostly switched out, so as to make certain that the city would now be under the control of Darkness Valley.
However, Giantree City will continue to be governed by the elves.
The Demon King won't interfere with the lives of the elves lightly.
The elven commoners who live in Giantree City will, for the vast majority of the time, never notice any difference from before.
This is the greatest amount of compromise that the Demon King is willing to make.
Otherwise, there's no way that the Demon King would help and deploy his own forces.
After living in the Demon King Castle for the past few days, Nancilia has gained some understanding of the Demon King, and she believes that the Demon King isn't an evil being with no moral guidelines.
She'll gamble on that.
Nancila grit her teeth, "Fine. I'll agree to these conditions as the city lord of Giantree City. In return, please deploy your army right away!"
Very good then!
Zhang Nu was very satisfied.
Thus, he didn't waste any time with words either.
He first removed the seal on Nancilia.
Then he released the 800 elves he had imprisoned.
These 800 elves are all members of Giantree City's professional army. Their combat strength is nothing to sneer at, so they'll be of quite a bit of use. He allowed Nancilia to personally lead them.
Zhang Nu then started assembling a draconian army.
Right now, he has 1300 normal soldiers, 125 high soldiers, 5 super soldiers, 29 draconian battlemages, and 1 mystic draconian battlemage.
He also currently has 180k gold stored up.
He spent 30k to get 300 normal soldiers, 50k to get 50 high soldiers, 50k for 10 super soldiers, and 32k for 4 mystic draconian battlemages.
His draconian army has thus changed to: 1550 normal soldiers, 165 high soldiers, 15 super soldiers, 25 draconian battlemages, and 5 mystic draconian battlemages.
When Nancilia reached the assembly point with her 800 elves, she got quite a shock. Although she knew for some time now that the Demon King's army is powerful, she's still very shocked when she's personally witnessing it.
This army is nearly 2000 in number and every single one of them are Elite units.
Only now did Nancilia know just how powerful the Demon King really is. Plus, it's only been a bit over a month since the Demon King has descended until now.
One could imagine just how fast this Demon King developed and grew.
If he was truly determined to conquer Giantree City, then there will basically be no chance that Giantree City could possibly survive. It's only a matter of time before it's taken by the Demon King's army and Giantree City had nowhere near the power to resist such forces.
When she realized this, Nancilia felt slightly better about her decision.
Zhang Nu asked, "Well? Are you prepared?"
Nancilia nodded, "We can head out right away!"
Zhang Nu then spoke, "Giantree City's magic barrier is very sturdy. Its regeneration speed is also very fast. If we tried to attack head on with force, then it would cause a great deal of battle damage for both sides."
Nancilia then asked, "Is there some way we can decrease casualties then? I hope to minimize battle casualties as much as possible!"
"Of course! Leave it to me!"
A few minutes later, a dragon flew out from Darkness Valley.
After leveling up to level 3, Zhang Nu's body has become even larger than before. At this point, his body is now over 50 meters in length. He truly is a full blown dragon now.
Behind the dragon followed a small squad.
This squad consists of a draconian priest in the form of an abyssal sky drake, five mystic draconian battlemages in the form of wyverns, and 15 flight capable draconian super soldiers.
Although they're not that numerous, they form a magnificent looking group and their combat power is not to be underestimated either.
Zhang Nu soon spotted Giantree City.
When he saw Giantree City, the information on Giantree City also popped up before his eyes again. This was enough to get him quite excited.
[Giantree City]. Level 3 Lord zone. High exploration value.
Description: This is a forest city built by elves with 300 years of history. Total population around 200k. Permanent residents number 120k. It has a very powerful protective barrier and various defensive installations. It's extremely difficult to invade from the outside... (a great deal more description not displayed)
Possible rewards: Shining Mithril Treasure Chest. High quantities of materials, gold, equipment, and various other products of Giantree City, etc...
That's right!
From the information pop up, Giantree City is a level 3 Lord zone.
However, compared to wild and untamed zones, this is an actual city. No matter the invasion difficulty or conquest reward, neither can be compared to any other zones from before.
For the current Demon King, there's nothing that excites him more than taking a city.
This place is incomparable to any of the other zones that Zhang Nu has conquered before!