Chapter 580: Abyssal Terrace Island

Starting the next day, the national treasury began receiving donated grain in a steady stream, and the streets of Ever Peace were filled with carriages and horses.

Although the Great King hadn't yet gotten hold of it all, a rough calculation showed over two million bushels, and the whole of Ever Peace had been thoroughly plowed by him. This time the Great King's granary truly became prosperous—not only did the Forbidden Army have food to eat, but the Great King was already itching to move south again.

The Marquis of the Eastern Capital, upon hearing this, immediately pressed him down.

Ever Peace is not yet stable, and the 220,000 Forbidden Army has just taken over; pulling the main forces south now would certainly not be a good choice. He insists on waiting for Xie Yuan to arrive, and after the Great King ascends the throne, they will then plan the grand undertaking of unification. Following the officials of Ever Peace, the Marquis of the Eastern Capital also began hoping Xie Yuan would come soon, as the Establish Chapter Palace desperately needs someone who can restrain the Great King's reckless behavior.

The Great King thought so too; he actually knew deep down that now wasn't a good time. He had thoroughly squeezed the gentry and wealthy merchants of Ever Peace, and though he hadn't lightly offended anyone, Mengmeng's six‑year limited‑time task was hanging over him, making the Great King anxious at times—so much so that even a million commoners dared not touch the main quest, unable to bear seeing words like 'deduct' or 'fine'.

Fortunately, news arrived that the earliest occupied Shangdang Commandery and Qinghe Commandery had completed their household registrations.

The Great King clenched his fists, and upon receiving the household registration information of the two commanderies from the messenger, he immediately uploaded it; all that remained was to wait, to wait for approval to see what reward would be granted.

That half‑day the Great King was practically unable to sit or stand still; although he had grain, the number of refugees outside kept increasing daily, and he constantly sent people to persuade them to go farm in the Northern Border, yet the refugee count only kept rising.

Even the imperial court's outdoor porridge shelters merely kept them from starving to death, and this two‑pronged approach had little effect.

There are still far too many refugees and impoverished commoners; the Northern Border is about to harvest, winter prevents farming, and a single‑crop Northern Border still has its limits, so the Great King urgently wants to find them more work. Even if the main quest to unify the world is impossible, isn't this about occupying new territory? At the very least give a border checkpoint, or failing that, build a low‑spec wall like in Qingyu Commandery.

The Great King's mind was elsewhere for a whole day, and just when he thought the household register had too many errors to pass, the main version finally showed some activity at night.

【Obtained the map, terrain, and population data of Shangdang Commandery and Qinghe Commandery.

Congratulations, Lord, on acquiring the new territories—Shangdang Commandery and Qinghe Commandery.

Mission rewards: one 3D full terrain map of Shangdang Commandery; one 3D full terrain map of Qinghe Commandery; one thoroughfare penetrating the whole of Shangdang Commandery; one thoroughfare penetrating the whole of Qinghe Commandery; three c‑level turntables.

Claim now, yes or no?

The Great King was stunned, 'What about building such a huge city? No city walls or checkpoints at all? Just two thoroughfares?'

Bai Ze watched on eagerly, 'What fortifications are they building in Shangdang and Qinghe? They're practically already in the heartland—even a few third‑level turntables wouldn't be bad…'

Only then did the Great King react, his eyes lighting up, 'The best c‑level is Changli; if I could still pull something like that, I wouldn't mind at all.'

Bai Ze couldn't help but splash him awake, 'You could also draw something as cheap as a spring or fruit tree that you can buy anywhere.'

Great King: ……

But he hadn't completed a mission in ages, and the c‑level kids were also thrilled—what mattered was that he could draw again! This guy realistically shoved the inquisitive little Xiao Jin aside with his foot, using hands and feet to try climbing onto Bai Ze's body to touch the horn of the Great Auspicious Beast, feeling that the highest spot was closer to heaven and more spiritually charged.

Bai Ze, already accustomed to the Great King's sense of ceremony, lowered his head in cooperation, letting the Great King happily touch his smooth, jade‑like horn.

After touching it, feeling blessed by the Great Auspicious Beast, the little one began to daydream dreamily, 'Please, definitely make it top‑grade! If it's a mine or something, that'd be perfect—no matter how small, I wouldn't complain!' The c‑level rewards had already started wishing for a‑level prizes.

After finishing the solemn wish, he then clicked a one‑time draw, and three differently colored gift boxes popped up, which the Great King opened all at once.

【Congratulations, Lord, you have drawn the low‑tier reward from the c‑level turntable: 100 live Sichuan pepper trees, now placed in the warehouse—please check.】

【Congratulations, Lord, you have drawn the low‑tier reward from the c‑level turntable: one low‑grade monster pill, now placed in the warehouse—please check.】

【Congratulations! Lord, you have drawn the rare reward from the c‑level turntable: Royal Garden – Abyssal Terrace Island, now placed in the warehouse—please check.】

The Great King glanced over them, first looking at the grade—low, low, two lows?! Huh? A rare reward?!

The Great King went straight to the rare reward, 'What? What is a Royal Garden? Like the Upper Forest Park?'

Bai Ze gave the Great King a sympathetic glance.

'Haha, a rare reward—surely unbeatable! Today I'm so lucky, Bai Ze Sir really comes in handy!'

The Great King had already looked at those two low‑tier items; the rare reward let him forgive everything.

'I already have a hundred Sichuan pepper trees, and now another batch? No matter—I just gave the gentry and wealthy merchants of Ever Peace a slap, so I'll give them a sweet date as a treat; let the top fifty donors each receive two trees! Sichuan pepper trees are so rare, a precious seasoning absent in Great Jin—let me first see what this low‑level monster pill is…'

The Great King opened the warehouse, selected the second item, and clicked to view it.

【Low‑grade monster pill ×1.

【Produced in: Central Continent.

【Core use: crafting pills and feeding beasts.

【Note 1: Main ingredient for Soul‑Returning Pill.

【Note 2: When consumed by monsters, it strengthens the soul and aids advancement; when eaten by ordinary beasts, it strengthens the body and aids mutation‑advancement (interval >365 days).

'Huh?'

The Great King read it twice more, and his grin grew wider and wider.

I don't know how to make pills, irrelevant—but… 'I can feed this to Winnie!'

The bear was just picked up from the wilderness of Youzhou; the Great King asked around and found that this kind of bear, if well fed, can live at most thirty years. Since Youzhou is uneventful, the Great King will definitely have to send it away first. What kind of monster pill is this? It looks even more useful than those expensive beast feed pellets.

'If Winnie eats it and advances, gaining a longer lifespan, wouldn't that be worth more than ten thousand Sichuan pepper trees? With low‑tier comes mid‑ and high‑tier! Hahaha!' The Great King laughed aloud, hands on hips, utterly delighted.

The Great King poked the chubby Wind‑Cloud Beast twice and pulled it out, 'This fat one isn't for sale—I'll send it back to Youzhou to play with Winnie. We haven't been back in ages; it must be lonely.' Sigh, I kind of miss Winnie. If only I'd had Xie Yuan bring it along on the way back, who would've thought I could draw something like this…

The Great King poked the chubby Wind‑Cloud Beast's cub twice, unable to imagine it sprinting fast through the forest. Thinking of Winnie's large build, sigh, he'd make a perfect friend!

'I'll give you a name—from today on you're called Er Pang!'

Bai Ze: ……

That name, he can't possibly run away from it now.

The Great King happily tossed a low‑grade beast feed pellet to Er Pang, then put it away; his whole being was fired up, unable to sleep, and after dawn he clenched his fists and went to work vigorously.

He lay in bed calculating, 'We have two thoroughfares and a garden to build… … Wait—is it appropriate for the Great King to build a garden right now?'

The Great King rose cautiously, 'In this world, the refugees outside are about to starve, and yet the Great King wants to pour resources into building a garden for fun—what would they call him?!'

Bai Ze: …… finally understood.