Chapter 402: The Immense Value of the Underworld
The development of the Underground City did not slow down because of Siluo’s pregnancy; instead, it accelerated, mainly due to external influences.
Chaos is only temporary, at least in the Main World. After all, even if all forces want to annex other forces and recreate the glory of the Empire, they can’t just fight wars without production.
Besides, after nearly thirty years of chaos, they have fought and rebelled. Those who could be annexed have already been annexed, and the rest are helpless, only able to maintain a stalemate. Moreover, the wealth they obtained when the Empire was divided has been almost squandered. Therefore, driven by reality, almost all forces have unanimously prioritized stability, because only stability can ensure production, accumulate more power, and launch a new round of war in the future.
But this is not easy. Lords want stability, civilians want stability, but there are always those who are restless, especially members of various evil organizations and criminals who like to fish in troubled waters, because stability means that they will lose the chaos on which they depend for survival.
During this time, the Divine Shield supported by the three alliances of the Northland has performed remarkably well, practically leaving no room for those evil organizations and criminals to survive. They constantly carry out joint air and ground strikes. Who can stand this?
Other forces followed suit, intending to establish similar organizations, but they soon discovered that the success of the Divine Shield is not that simple.
First, there is the mobile fortress, the Magic Ship, then there are mature systems and institutions, and efficient air-ground integrated strikes. These are not things that can be learned just by looking. Therefore, the fastest way is to learn from the Divine Shield.
However, the Divine Shield offered even better conditions. Other forces are responsible for providing funds and personnel, while the Divine Shield helps build magic ships, train personnel, and sell equipment. It can be said that as long as the money and people are in place, everything is negotiable.
Few forces would refuse such favorable conditions because they have great confidence in the loyalty of their subordinates. At the same time, they also have the idea of wooing and corrupting members within the Divine Shield and then annexing it, so they not only gave the green light but also strongly supported it.
As a result, branches of the Divine Shield have been established everywhere, gradually developing from a regional organization into a huge organization spanning half of the Empire.
Let’s not talk about how many internal problems and hidden dangers have been caused by the large-scale expansion of the Divine Shield, at least for now, the Divine Shield, which has recruited talents from almost half of the Empire and received huge support, is unprecedentedly powerful. Almost no evil organization can confront it head-on, not even veteran organizations like the Flesh and Blood Church. They can only choose to hide and avoid direct confrontation.
This is because it has the joint law enforcement power granted by various forces, so the Divine Shield is not restricted by local lords to a certain extent. It can pursue evil personnel across regions immediately and has the right to mobilize local forces. In this way, the efficiency is naturally extremely high, causing the originally rampant evil organizations and criminals who take advantage of the chaos to have to avoid its edge and hide everywhere.
But the segmented encirclement and suppression of the Divine Shield is not something that evil organizations, which cannot form a scale and lack an army, can resist, so they can only go to uncontrolled chaotic areas.
Right now, apart from the wilderness outside the original territory of the Empire, there are two major chaotic areas. One is the former site of Academy City, which has become a paradise for demons and monsters, like the reappearance of the Abyss. Ordinary evil organizations would probably not even leave a trace if they entered.
The other one is the fallen Imperial Capital. Several major evil forces have divided the territory, and it is simply a gathering of demons. Going there is just to be cannon fodder. It is as difficult as climbing to the sky to want to stand out.
Under such circumstances, the Underworld, full of opportunities, is undoubtedly full of attraction to these desperate people. Therefore, a large number of people and resources have poured in during this period, and Owen’s Underground City has also benefited a lot.
Now, the Underworld is no longer a secret, and even the high-level officials of the Northland know about it, but the entrance to the Underworld is not easy to find. It’s not something you can just dig down to find. Otherwise, digging a well would not produce water but become an elevator shaft.
Not to mention that the Underworld not only has complex terrain but is also full of monsters and even large-scale underground cities. It is not so easy to develop.
The Northland Noble Alliance is an example. After discovering an entrance to the Underworld, they secretly mobilized thousands of alliance troops and tens of thousands of armed civilians to enter. It went smoothly at first, but only one-tenth of the people came out, and the entrance was also destroyed.
This matter is too big to be concealed. Besides, the Divine Shield has already penetrated deeply into the three major alliances of the Northland, so Owen also has relevant information.
After reading it, Owen could only say that they were purely asking for it.
The Northland Noble Alliance learned from somewhere that there is a Mithril City in the Underworld that is rich in mithril and has a huge silver mine. Legend has it that the city walls are made of silver, the soldiers are made of mithril, and the gates are made of adamantine, possessing endless wealth.
After learning about this, the Northland Noble Alliance decisively sent troops to attack, without considering the consequences at all. As a result, they almost died before they even got close. If the passage hadn’t been blown up quickly, they would have been counterattacked by the Underworld on the surface that day.
These people are blinded by greed and don’t know what Mithril City represents at all. It is one of the largest underground cities in the Underworld. It is said that there are several legends alone, and there are as many as two digits of affiliated forces. Its comprehensive strength is even higher than that of the Northland Noble Alliance. How tired of living must they be to take the initiative to attack the other party?
Thinking of this, Owen couldn’t help but shake his head and fell into deep thought because the situation had changed so much that he needed to consider how the territory would develop next. However, he found that his mind was full of recipes and the two women playing around, with no serious matters. He hurriedly switched to his original body to think.
The original body is now integrated with the Golden Tree, spotless, without a single thought, and with an ethereal mind. Therefore, the speed of thinking is incredibly fast. It’s better to switch over here than to think until his head smokes.
Sure enough, as soon as he switched to his original body to think, his thoughts immediately became clear.
Right now, although the Northland Noble Alliance suffered a big loss when developing the Underworld, Owen is very clear that this will definitely not dispel anyone’s prying eyes on the Underworld because the Underworld is too rich.
The impurities brought about by the backflow of the Secret Realm are not something else but precious minerals and treasures born from the broken origin of each world.
The laws of the Main World are perfect, and the origin is stable. Therefore, although there are precious minerals, the quantity cannot be too much, because to derive more precious minerals, it will consume the origin. This is not worth the loss for a perfect Main World.
But the Secret Realm originates from countless broken worlds in the Void, and the origin contained in it is constantly being lost because of its broken state, giving rise to countless precious minerals and treasures.
Right now, most of these minerals have settled into the newly formed Underworld. This is also the reason why a dream-level city like Mithril City would appear in the Underworld, which was formed not long ago.
And this also means that whoever controls the Underworld will be able to obtain a steady stream of precious resources. By then, it will be a huge help whether it is for development or war.
Therefore, the casualties of the Northland Noble Alliance are not a problem at all, but rather confirm the authenticity of the situation.
Under such circumstances, the Northern Glory Alliance cannot miss out either. Otherwise, even if Owen cheats, he will face tremendous pressure.
