The next day.
Zhang Nu found himself in the Tower of Lost Trials, engaged in a Mirror Trial.
With Death Stare, he swiftly dispatched his own mirror image.
[Trial complete!]
[Performance evaluation: Perfect!]
[You've gained Trial Enhancement. HP +50, MP+50, Strength +10, Agility +10, Constitution +10, Will +10 permanently!]
[You've already obtained 10 Trial Enhancements!]
[Your body has developed resistance to the power of the trials. Subsequent enhancements within the next seven days will be significantly weakened or rendered ineffective!]
Level 5 trials proved to be exceptionally powerful. Even a Great Demon King such as him could still benefit and gain improvements through the trial tower.
But of course, as a Demon King, he did not need to train. Instead, he relied on the sacrificial consumption of Hero's souls to fuel his growth. Therefore, there was no concept of training progress for him.
However, after each trial, all his stats would increase. Although the individual increments were not significant, the cumulative effect was considerable.
Zhang Nu had completed a total of ten trials.
As a result, he had accumulated a permanent increase of 500 HP, 500 MP, 100 strength, 100 agility, 100 constitution and 100 will.
The Tower of Lost Trials possessed two distinctive characteristics.
The first characteristic was that the trials matched the strength of the challengers. Weaker individuals faced relatively easier challenges, while the powerful encountered more difficult ones. In other words, the trials were tailored to their capabilities.
This indicated that the trial tower scanned and analyzed the participants' stats, talents, and abilities, creating trial scenarios that were in line with their individual capacities.
However, there were exceptions to this rule.
The Trial Tower suffered from a bug as it was unable to scan, analyze, or replicate certain advanced abilities.
Powers derived from the Evil God or abilities related to spatio-temporal manipulation, for example, fell into this category.
Due to this bug, Zhang Nu, found his ten trials devoid of any real difficulty. For him, the trial tower was never a place of arduous torment but rather a relaxed environment to bolster his stats.
The second characteristic was that it was impossible to endlessly strengthen oneself in the trial tower.
The strengthening process within the tower had a limit. Every seven days, a maximum of ten instances of trial enhancement could be absorbed. If the limit was exceeded, the effects would significantly weaken or even become ineffective.
This was only natural. In this world, there were no miraculous elixirs or godly artifacts that could provide infinite strength.
If the trial tower allowed unlimited enhancement, who in the right mind would still give a damn about army building?
Zhang Nu could simply hoard all the trial instances for training, participating in a thousand trials every day and accumulating hundreds of thousands of trials within a year or so. It would mean instant godhood without any effort.
The strengthening bestowed by the trial tower was essentially a form of energy enhancement.
It was akin to attribute crystals. When too much of this enhancement energy was absorbed and integrated in a short period, resistance would naturally develop.
Hence, the limitation on the number of enhancements per week was set, likely with a maximum threshold.
Overall, it was still remarkable.
After ten rounds of enhancements, Zhang Nu had already obtained a considerable amount of stats.
If he could go through another ten or even more rounds, the enhancement effect alone would be worth millions of attribute crystals.
After leaving the trial tower, Zhang Nu summoned some of his key subordinates to his Demon King's castle.
Among them were the elves Nancilia and Marilyn, the dwarves Zhang Dachui and Ironbeard, the gnome Segon, the orc Gru, and some others.
Except for the Ironheart City Lord Zhang Dachui, none of them were summoned units. They were all subordinates acquired through submission, and they were now fiercely loyal to the Dragon Demon King.
The Demon King spoke, "From today onwards, your mission is to visit various cities on my behalf and convince them to submit to me."
The Elven King promptly assured, "Your Majesty, you can entrust this mission to us without any worries."
"The Chaos Forest has been in turmoil for far too long."
"This time, it must be unified!"
Marilyn chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured. We will definitely complete the mission, and you can await our good news in Darkness City!"
The orc city lord, Gru boldly proclaimed, "Whoever dares to defy the will of His Majesty shall be annihilated by the two hundred thousand orcs of the Berserk Beast City!"
These subordinates were brimming with enthusiasm, each eager to showcase their capabilities.
Zhang Nu was pleased with their attitude. He entrusted frontline battles to capable subordinates like Zhang San, Li Si, and Long Yi, while assigning the task of subjugating the forest cities and major tribes to the elven, dwarven, gnome, ogre, and giant factions.
As the Great Demon King, Zhang Nu could now comfortably oversee operations from the rear.
The forest cities and tribes would be persuaded to submit peacefully if possible. But if diplomacy failed, they would resort to intimidation and threats. And if all else failed, they would unleash a military assault.
But what if the other party proved to be unyielding?
In that case, there would be no alternative but to resort to extreme measures!
Raze the cities and annihilate the tribes!
In any case, no force would dare obstruct the Demon King's plans. He preferred not to act openly unless confronted by enemies his subordinates could not handle.
However, considering the current strength of the Darkness City and the combined forces of his subordinates, the probability of such an event was quite low.
Zhang Nu declared, "Your dedication and contributions will not go unrewarded. They shall bring abundant benefits and privileges to your tribes, even granting you the opportunity to receive my personal baptism."
The crowd was exhilarated.
They wholeheartedly believed that by following this Demon King, their tribes would prosper and grow stronger.
As for the Demon King's baptism, not only would it instantly ascend their power to a whole new level, but it was also a tremendous honor worth striving for.
Before long, everyone had been assigned their respective tasks.
Nancilia, Marilyn, Zhang Dachui, Ironbeard, and others held influential positions, particularly Nancilia, the Elven King. They were entrusted with the crucial task of persuading the major forest cities.
Segon, the gnome, and Gru, the orc, were responsible for subjugating smaller cities and tribes. Segon, as the gnome city lord of Thousand Fangs City, commanded over thirty gnome merchant caravans and had comprehensive knowledge of various towns and villages.
The rise of the Dragon Demon King was no longer a secret.
The forest cities and tribes were already filled with fear and anxiety.
Once they learned that even Ironheart City and Thunderclap City had pledged their allegiance to the Dragon Demon King, and that the Demon King commanded hundreds of thousands of ogres, several hundred thousand orcs, several hundred thousand elves, and tens of thousands of giants, not to mention an Elven King, anyone with a sound mind would not choose to oppose them.
The young elven king and the others immediately set out to fulfill their missions.
Zhang Nu then summoned two special subordinates, the Hero Su Yan and the Flower Fey Demon King Chen Guoguo.
"Boss!"
"Big shot!"
"What do you need us for?"
Zhang Nu got straight to the point, "Besides the native forces in the Chaos Forest, there are two other forces that cannot be overlooked: the Demon Kings and the Heroes."
Chen Guoguo and Su Yan exchanged glances.
Su Yan immediately spoke up, "Boss, are you planning to deal with the remaining Demon Kings and Heroes? This is a perfect opportunity for the Dragon's Shadow Hero Guild to enhance their strength through this cleansing operation!"
"As far as I know, there are still at least hundreds of Demon Kings in every corner of the Chaos Forest."
Zhang Nu responded, "Whether they are Demon Kings or Heroes, as long as they have value and are willing to sincerely submit and become affiliates of the Dark City, there is no need to exterminate them all. I brought you two here to discuss this matter."
If extermination was the goal, then the task would become much easier.
Zhang Nu could simply lend his Demon King's royal guard squadron to Su Yan. She could lead the members of the Dragon's Shadow Heroes along with this powerful squadron to visit each and every Demon King's stronghold, obliterating them in the process.
Wouldn't that just easily solve the issue?
However, not all Demon Kings and Heroes were driven by ambitious desires.
Chen Guoguo had never laid siege to tribal villages and she had never entertained thoughts of dominating the world.
In reality, as long as the Demon Kings were willing to submit to him, willingly accept military supervision, and voluntarily restrict the size of their combat units, they could continue to live and thrive here.
This was not out of kindness on Zhang Nu's part, his motives were also rooted in self-interest.
The Demon Kings held intrinsic value.
Each Demon King had the ability to summon unique troops. Furthermore, different races possessed distinct capabilities.
Take for instance, Chen Guoguo, the Flower Fey Demon King. Having recently ascended to the fourth rank, she had unlocked remarkable units such as Flower Sprites and Flower Fairies. These units boasted exceptional cultivation abilities.
Zhang Nu had yet to fully exploit the agricultural potential of the Darkness City and the Giantree City.
He still possessed several blueprints of Spirit Field and had continued to make more acquisitions in the Demon King market. The future prospects for farms and cultivation would undoubtedly be vast.
Even if he were to recruit all the elves and goblins of the Chaos Forest, it would still be insufficient to meet the demands of farming, alchemy, and other production tasks concurrently.
Thus, consequently, wouldn't this lead to a significant waste?
As a result, Zhang Nu and Chen Guoguo formed a strategic partnership. The two Demon Kings devised a plan to jointly invest in a large number of farms.
Zhang Nu would provide the necessary funds, land, and strong protection, while Chen Guoguo would contribute the seeds and summon Level 3 and 4 Flower Sprites and Flower Fairies.
For a Demon King, as long as they had the gold, and as long as they could sustain the resources, they could summon followers without any restrictions.
This meant an endless supply of population, combat strength, and productivity!
With these top-tier cultivation masters nurturing the farmlands, the yield of the Spirit Fields would significantly increase beyond their previous limits.
Ultimately, the harvest would be divided between Zhang Nu and Chen Guoguo in a 60:40 split, ensuring a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Zhang Nu would receive 60% of the proceeds, while Chen Guoguo would claim 40%.
With the gold she earned, Chen Guoguo could purchase souls from Zhang Nu at internal prices, or acquire skill stones and other building blueprints she needed from the Demon King market.
In this method, even if she did not recruit a single combat unit, Chen Guoguo could thrive in this world, enjoying a level of comfort ten or even a hundred times better than other Demon Kings.
She would then have a real chance to ascend to Level 5 or 6, becoming a prominent Demon King who rose to power peacefully.
This demonstrated that cooperation and mutual benefit among Demon Kings was possible.
There were strengths and advantages unique to each race. Even the seemingly feeble Goblin Demon King, once they sincerely submit and accept regulation, drinking the blood wine from the Holy Grail, holds significant value.
Therefore, Zhang Nu had a simple plan.
He said to his two subordinates, "I am planning to establish a Demon King Alliance specifically for recruiting Demon Kings who are willing to relinquish their sovereignty and become vassals of the Darkness City. Chen Guoguo, I want you to manage this alliance."
Chen Guoguo fluttered her wings and looked surprised, saying, "Oh my, I've unexpectedly been promoted! So now I'll be the big leader of the Demon King Alliance!"
However, lacking confidence, she expressed some doubt, "But... can I truly handle this job?"
Zhang Nu reassured her, "If Su Yan can successfully lead the Hero guild, there's no reason why you can't excel as the Leader of the Demon King Alliance."
Su Yan chimed in, supporting Chen Guoguo, "Absolutely! With our boss backing us up and with the assistance of little Nancy city lord, even a mere 'salted fish' can soar to great heights. So, don't worry!"
"Well, I will do my best!" Chen Guoguo nodded.
Zhang Nu continued, "There's no time to waste. Both of you should mobilize immediately. I will lend you my royal guard squadron, and together, you will survey all the Demon King territories in the Chaos Forest."
"The royal guard squadron!" Su Yan exclaimed with joy. "That's fantastic! With this opportunity, I can train the members of the Hero guild. After all, apart from me, there isn't a single Level 4 member in the Dragon's Shadow Heroes Guild."
The task had been delegated, and it was now up to them to figure out how to execute it.
With numerous Demon Kings in the Chaos Forest, most of them would be unwilling to surrender.
However, this would work in favor of Su Yan and the Dragon's Shadow Heroes, who could benefit from the situation as they collect the valuable resources and skills.
After Su Yan and Chen Guoguo left, Zhang Nu suddenly noticed that his player log interface had been continuously refreshing with various battle logs since a while ago.
[You've slain an Empire Soldier. Gold +70!]
[You've slain an Empire Soldier. Gold +70!]
[You've slain an Empire Soldier. Gold +70!]
[You've slain an Empire Mage. Gold +100!]
[You've slain an Empire Knight. Gold +150!]
[...]
Zhang Nu did not even need to speculate any further.
It seemed that the Bloody Fortress was already embroiled in battle.
Just the day before, he had received the news of the empire's army and had promptly dispatched Zhang San, Li Si, and Long Yi to the frontline.
Unexpectedly, the Bloody Fortress was already being sieged by the empire's army.
These guys acted quite swiftly!