Chapter 9: The Territory of Devouring

It was the first time.

Someone had invited them to come along.

And when he arrived with the Bartans in tow,

Aleo thought this boy would become a lord who carved his name into history.

When he saved them all and the soldiers and knights erupted in cheers, Aleo and the prisoners witnessed it.

Those rejoicing.

Those shedding tears.

Arthur could have easily captured Carman by sacrificing his troops, but he chose the harder path.

To minimize casualties.

Ah, if only a man like that were my lord!

That thought crossed their minds.

The reason they had become the Blood Slaughterers.

It was their leader.

That leader had forged them into a band of murderers called the Blood Slaughterers.

If only that one were my leader, my lord!

As those thoughts swirled,

A voice like something out of a dream rang in their ears.

The one who would save them!

The one who might become their lord!

It was Arthur de Press.

Aleo cried out in a voice full of strength.

"Please... please save our cursed comrades, my lord!"

And Arthur saw the Important Information View finally react.

His face hardened as he checked it.

'The Ruins of Ten Thousand Years. So they were the soldiers from there...?'

The Ruins of Ten Thousand Years.

Countless secrets related to them had been uncovered across the Asgard Continent.

Artifacts, Dragon Tongue Tomes, the Library of All Things, legendary quests.

And countless more.

Anyone who accomplished something tied to the Ruins of Ten Thousand Years received rewards that could not be ignored.

The challenger lord Raild obtained the sword Anacras, symbolizing his legend, through a Ruins-related quest. The demon great overlord Baal acquired a demon dragon none could rival.

The Ruins of Ten Thousand Years existed even in the higher dimensions above the Asgard Continent.

What was certain was that the rewards tied to them were extraordinary.

And correspondingly, so were the dangers and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficulties.

And the list of confirmed rewards before his eyes.

'A 50-man elite unit of Blood Slaughterers. Or more...!'

From the description, the Blood Slaughterers were undoubtedly remarkable.

But there was a problem.

'A quest I can't tackle right now.'

The Ruins themselves were no easy quest.

It wasn't just overreaching—it carried a high risk of death.

"That's something I can't do right now."

"...Pardon?"

Aleo tilted his head.

He hadn't even explained what it was.

"If I went to the Ruins of Ten Thousand Years, I'd surely die."

'H-how does he know we're trapped in the Ruins of Ten Thousand Years?'

Rumors held that the Ruins' interior resembled the demon realm.

Powerful monsters lurked there constantly, and the locals wielded enough might to easily raze most challenger lords' territories.

'Just what...'

He was just a young boy, yet he saw through everything.

But Aleo knew that wasn't the point.

"It doesn't have to be now. We'll wait ten years, twenty if need be. You alone are the only lord who can save us."

Aleo slowly rose to his feet.

What he pulled from his bosom was a crudely made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠necklace.

'Necklace for Entering the Ruins of Ten Thousand Years...'

With this, one could enter the Ruins exactly once.

Anytime, anywhere.

Arthur accepted the necklace Aleo offered.

"Thank you."

Aleo and the prisoners knew he had accepted its meaning.

The prisoners were moved to tears.

Aleo felt the same.

The Arthur they had seen seemed young, but capable of pulling it off.

The prisoners' forms began to fade.

Aleo and the others, having handed over the Ruins necklace, would no longer be thrown before wolves.

But they would wait eternally in the Ruins, statues awaiting only Arthur.

As they vanished, Arthur received another reward notification.

'40,000 gold acquired...!'

Considering new lords starting territory wars got 20,000 gold, it was an enormous reward.

Then came the follow-up notification.

"Oh."

Arthur let out a small chuckle.

Forfeit the real-world reward.

And select from carefully curated top territories.

The system would pick the best ones and let him choose from them.

'There must be territories even better than the ones I had in mind, hidden away.'

He was certain.

There were so many territories, and even five years from now, far more remained undiscovered than revealed.

"Forfeit the real-world reward and select a territory."

Before warping, Arthur looked at the soldiers and knights watching him.

Korman, the knight who had mocked him upon his arrival, placed his hand crisply over his left breast and said,

"Thank you, Commander!"

"Thank you!"

Arthur returned the salute.

Korman felt the boy named Arthur would linger long in his memory.

A vast chamber.

Arthur appeared there alone.

Holograms of dozens of territories floated before him.

He could even see their shapes in the holograms.

Arthur stepped forward and checked the one at the front.

"...!"

Arthur was so shocked he nearly choked.

"A territory with invisibility from the start?"

It was absurd.

The special functions he had imagined paled compared to invisibility.

And an early-game invisible territory would maximize efficiency.

Most novice lords in other territories had no way to detect it.

He had almost picked the first one.

Arthur shook his head cautiously.

The next territory.

He was startled again upon checking it.

A full offensive territory equipped with dragon cannons, its terrain optimized for attack.

Arthur steadied his heart and examined each one meticulously.

As he did, one territory caught his eye completely.

He liked it so much he closed the info, then checked it again.

It clearly wasn't as helpful early on as the others.

Arthur clicked the details on "Territory Devouring Possible."

And was astonished.

Territories had a total level cap.

Generally, up to 30.

At that point, lords could no longer gain EXP from upgrading buildings.

They needed other actions to level up, capped at 200.

From then on, lords armed themselves with artifacts to grow stronger.

Reinforcing a level 30 territory required superior materials.

But this devouring function broke that limit.

It allowed territories beyond level 30.

In essence, once Valkas reached level 30 and couldn't grow further, it could devour a defeated foe's territory to level up.

Simply put, if Arthur kept winning and devouring, he could level indefinitely.

The implication?

'Individual buildings could unleash power beyond level 30.'

Higher levels unlocked hidden potentials in buildings.

What powers would level 30+ hold? Unimaginable.

But it had a fatal flaw.

'Why Fordail Land of all places...'

Fordail Land.

A mad land teeming with insane lords.

Any novice assigned there randomly lost half their number the moment protection ended.

But Arthur had no intention of backing out.

He had confidence.

He didn't hesitate.

"Select Valkas Territory."

Arthur nodded.

Territory of Devouring.

It suited Valkas better than its actual name, he thought.

Soon, light enveloped his body.

When Arthur opened his eyes, he looked around.

Inside a massive castle.

He sat on a throne, with a lavish red carpet stretching down the center.

This castle was fake.

Currently level 0.

No abilities whatsoever—just an outward shell.

Lords couldn't sleep outside without a castle, so they made it look the part.

The castle was the foundation of all buildings.

Other structures could only reach level 1 once the castle did.

Now the real start begins, he thought.

Then a notification twisted his thoughts and rang out!

A new tutorial format?

This was completely unexpected.

And rewards scaled by stage?

Arthur first checked stage 1.

Stage 1 was the standard novice lord tutorial.

Simple.

Just activate construction on all required territory buildings.

Gather people and use the basic gold and wood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠provided.

Stage 2.

"Hm..."

Definitely harder.

For novice lords.

But easy for him. Stage 3.

'From stage 3...'

Stage 3 was insanely difficult.

But doable with effort.

And the final stage 4.

"Insane..."

Arthur couldn't help cursing under his breath.

"This tutorial is completely mad, isn't it?"

One of stage 4's tasks?

'Solo-destroy a territory still under Lord Protection Period.'

Who wouldn't call that crazy?

But Arthur said something even more shocking.

"Doesn't seem impossible."

Various ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠info flooded his mind.

Knowledge piled up, designs formed and completed.

The conclusion?

'With prep, I can crush another territory solo.'

It was enough.

He wasn't like lords who hadn't tried it before—he had maxed out nearly everything before regressing.

He didn't deliberate long.

"Start stage 4 tutorial."

A hologram appeared immediately.

The tutorial Arthur had to complete in two months.