Kasi Empire, Ciro City.
Ciro was the capital of the Kasi Empire, with a population in the millions. It was a large city that enjoyed a great reputation. Ciro City had beautiful landscapes and represented the unique cultures of the Kasi Empire. At the same time, it was a city that promoted the martial spirit.
Every three years a big auction was held in the centre of Ciro. At the auction you could buy really rare and precious treasures. Every time it was held, it attracted all the bigwigs of the city. So much so that even certain wealthy people from the surrounding countries would travel long distances to attend the sale.
Past auctions in Ciro City have often featured not only all manner of treasures, but even divine weapons. The divine weapon 'Starry Sky', which is currently in Phoebe's possession after being acquired from Celt, had previously appeared at such an auction. It was resold several times before Celt was able to acquire it.
This festival was a real spectacle. Not only were there auctions, but there were also all sorts of unusual items for sale. If you knew what was what, you could always be sure of getting what you wanted.
Whenever such a large auction was held, it attracted people from all walks of life, and this time was no exception. Even when Han Shuo heard about the grand occasion of the auction from Icicle City, he spent three thousand gold coins and managed to use the magical transportation matrix there to travel to Ciro City through some illicit methods.
Han Shuo, who had not yet fully recovered from his injuries, not only needed some materials to forge Gilbert's body, but also to inquire about the latest situation in the Lancelot Empire. Therefore, he came to the capital of the Kasi Empire, Ciro City.
Compared to Ciro City, Icicle City was just a small town on the borders of the Kasi Empire. The Dark Mantle's footholds had not yet reached this area. Therefore, in order to get accurate information about the Lancelot Empire, Han Shuo had to travel to a city of great importance to the empire, such as Ciro City.
The day before, shortly after Han Shuo arrived in Ciro City, he managed to contact the members of the Dark Mantle in Ciro City, and through their messages, he learned about the current situation in the Lancelot Empire.
Just as Jack the little Fatty had said, Brettel City continued to function as usual, even without his presence. During this time, the army of Brettel City, commanded by Dorcas, in addition to the elite troops sent by King Lawrence of the Lancelot Empire, officially launched military operations against the seven Grand Duchies.
Dorcas' formidable talent, coupled with the full support of the Empire, was a deadly combination.
In the short span of just over a month, under Dorcas' command of an incomparably brave army, and with the seven grand duchies in darkness, they easily occupied Bavenden Duchy. Then, with Bavenden Duchy as their military base, they successfully crushed the hastily united army of Bonton Duchy and Etman Duchy.
As Bavenden Duchy was far from Brettel City, and Dorcas gave no warning before attacking, Bavenden Duchy never expected the Lancelot Empire to target the more distant duchy first instead of the closer ones, and to go far away to defeat them first. Caught off guard, they were unable to organise an effective resistance. Within a week, the military might of the Duchy of Bavenden was swept away, with Grand Duke Alexander Ambridge killed in battle.
The Duchy of Bonton and the surrounding Duchy of Etman, upon learning of the situation, immediately formed an alliance to resist, but suffered a heavy defeat in their first battle. And now, as the two duchies held fast to their city gates, they began to make urgent contact with the other few duchies, intending to join forces to deal with the Lancelot Empire's ferocious invasion.
Of the remaining four duchies, Helen's Helon Duchy and Burt Zili's Boulet Duchy were effectively allied with Han Shuo. After Nehem Beige was killed by Han Shuo, Bisli Duchy fell into a great mess and suffered catastrophic damage under Burt Zili's attack. They wouldn't be able to put up any significant resistance.
All that remained was Benedict Sackville's Narsen Duchy, which could be considered to have some military capability. However, with Helen and Burt Zili wreaking havoc in the dark, Han Shuo could be almost certain that Benedict Sackville would not be able to escape this time.
After learning of the circumstances and progress of the attack on the seven grand duchies, Han Shuo truly put down the stone in his heart. With the full support of the Lancelot Empire, without the obstruction of the old monster Stratholme, and with the secret help of the Duchy of Helon and the Duchy of Boulet, there would be no escape for the Seven Grand Duchies this time.
Nothing changed in Brettel City, which became the supplier of weapons and food to fuel Dorcas' war machine. When Dorcas defeated the enemy, he would use the powers of Brettel City to seize the country's resources and regime, thus containing the situation and effectively administering the territory.
The situation was absolutely fantastic. This was the moment when the Lancelot Empire would begin to rise.
However, while the Lancelot Empire was carelessly invading, the Brut Merchant Alliance was having a hard time. The death of Lightning Sacred Magus Reynold, the late protector of the Brut Merchant Alliance, had caused the alliance incalculable losses. What caused the Brut Merchant Alliance even more headaches were the magical beasts that were pouring in from Tarrag Canyon. These beasts wreaked havoc in the towns surrounding Tarrag Canyon, destroying everything in their path and attacking every human in sight.
The Brut Merchant Alliance was a nation made up of several large merchant guilds. They travelled to and from all sorts of regions and lands, trading with them and making huge profits. However, with magical beasts roaming the land, all these merchants had no choice but to stay at home. This caused insurmountable losses for the Brut Merchant Alliance, a country that relied mainly on trade.
Although the Brut Merchant Alliance was aware that the Lancelot Empire was ravaging the seven grand duchies like wildfire and enjoying the spoils of war to the fullest due to the domestic turmoil, they were fully occupied and had no time to deal with other matters. All they could do was watch helplessly as the Lancelot Empire continued to expand its territory.
Han Shuo understood that the problems the Brut Merchant Alliance would face weren't just like that. For the time being, the Soul Races in Tarrag Canyon had yet to make a move. This was probably because their six-horned tribal king had been injured in the battle with the Church of Light's Saintess. Once that six-horned tribal king recovered, the Brut Merchant Alliance would undoubtedly shed at least a few tears.
Standing on a harmonious street, Han Shuo stopped pondering and continued to examine the stalls for goods that would suit his needs.
It had to be said that this so-called auction sale truly had a well-deserved reputation. Before the actual auction had even begun, Han Shuo had already procured two worthy items from among the various types of materials in the market.
Weeping Wood. A closer look at this wood revealed grain patterns that looked like tear stains. By grinding the wood into fine sawdust and then refining it with a few medicinal herbs, he could make medicinal pellets to soothe the heart.
Vermiculite. When refining certain magical weapons that needed to be pliable but tough, vermiculite could be used to create a weapon of extreme toughness. In reforging Gilbert's body, it would have the same effect. If Gilbert's bones were mixed with vermiculite, his bones would become tougher and more durable.
These were the two things that Han Shuo got hold of that morning. Vermiculite would be especially useful for Gilbert.
If Gilbert had chosen to be reborn as a bone dragon, Han Shuo wouldn't have had to spend so much time and effort. Just sending Gilbert's soul to the netherworld and helping him rebuild his skeleton with bones would be enough. However, since Gilbert had chosen to be a demon, Han Shuo had to expend much more energy. Using his original skeleton as a base, he had to use all sorts of rare and precious materials to build him a new body.
Since Han Shuo felt guilty for Gilbert, he was determined to make it up to Gilbert by forging his new body perfectly. That was why he went over there to gather those unusual materials. He wanted to forge a body that would not only give him strength and energy, but also a demonic body with unlimited possibilities for his evolution.
"Huh? What's that? Can I have a look?" As he walked down the street, Han Shuo kept looking in all directions, searching for materials suitable for Gilbert. At that moment, he saw a deep black, unreflective stone the size of a palm. His consciousness felt faint traces of bizarre energy, so he inquired.
At the helm of the stand was an old woman. She dreamily watched the people passing by. When she heard Han Shuo's request, her attention immediately shifted to Han Shuo. From his outstanding physique combined with his unusual clothing, she could tell at first glance that Han Shuo was generous with his money. Especially when she saw the space ring on his hand, which was another indication of his wealth.
"Of course!" The old woman smiled fawningly and took the initiative to respectfully hand the stone to Han Shuo.
Holding the palm-sized stone in his hand, his Demonic Yuan and consciousness entered the stone at the same time. After a round of squinting and analysing, his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at the old woman with a smile and asked, "Madam, how much is this?"
"This, my grandfather got this by accident. It's been a long time. Since you want it, then five gold coins," the old woman replied after thinking for a while.
Pa! A bag of gold coins flew out of Han Shuo's hand, and he bluntly said, "Here are one hundred gold coins. I'll take it!"
"Thank you, thank you!" The old woman was pleasantly surprised and quickly grabbed the bag of gold coins. She looked left and right, saw that no one was watching, hurriedly put the bag of gold coins away, closed her stall and left.
She had no idea what use the stone was. The price of five gold coins was just a number she made up in her head. One hundred gold coins was definitely a huge amount for her. It was out of fear that Han Shuo might renege on the deal that she left so hastily.
With the yuan storage stone in his hand, Han Shuo was quite satisfied. He continued to look in all directions and walked around randomly.
Suddenly, Han Shuo was startled and looked ahead in surprise.
He saw a youthful, beautiful young lady with a faint, quiet smile looking around at a stall full of life. Shockingly, it was the same beautiful young lady who had shared his misfortune in the Dark Forest - Sophie!