Chapter 713: Persuading the Divine Maiden

The Weizelan Wizards' attempt to build a city on Shield Island failed, and even the Floating City was seized by the Disaster Legion, a fact known to everyone.

If it weren't for Lei En's rise, assisting his teacher Anxiwodasi in overwhelming Duke Hong Shi and the Naiser faction, which brought Weizelan close to seizing the Empire's supreme power, his influence now soars; otherwise, the mere failure on Shield Island would have ruined Weizelan's reputation and made it a laughingstock.

Lei En's city‑building plan inevitably brings to mind a resolution of the Weizelan Six Council, intended to redeem the previous failure and wipe away past disgrace.

It's normal for Kuilu to think that way.

Not only her; when Lei En previously disclosed it to his teammates, everyone thought the same.

However, Lei En decisively denied it, replying, "Ms. Kuilu, this is my personal plan and has nothing to do with Weizelan."

The Moon Dancer's beautiful face flickered with surprise, "Just your own idea?"

She examined Lei En, her eyes full of doubt.

"Yes." Lei En smiled calmly, "Ms. Kuilu doesn't believe I can do it?"

Kuilu slowly shook her head without speaking, but her expression already revealed her thoughts.

Shield Island lies adjacent to Aibolaken, once the most splendid magical city on the New Continent, separated only by a river; it boasts a natural deep‑water harbor, a mouth where multiple rivers converge, forming vast fertile lands along the eastern coast, and no place on the New Continent surpasses Aibolaken's geography.

Building a city on Shield Island is merely the starting point; if Aibolaken can later be reclaimed and a foothold secured, it can serve as a base to infiltrate the New Continent's northeast, extending influence across the eastern plains.

Such a territory with immense potential surely draws the covetous eyes of many.

Humans, blood elves, and Netifu Demons have tried to lay claim over the years, but all have failed.

The countless undead entrenched in Aibolaken are the greatest obstacle; early construction might clear low‑level undead, but once the scale grows, it will inevitably attract attacks from the Disaster Legion.

The Disaster Legion, led by the Death Lord, commands an innumerable undead army; additionally, numerous Liches and Black Wizards form the "Death Knot Sigil," with several Holy Soul Liches alone.

Without a Holy Soul Wizard stationed, how can the undead army's assault be repelled?

A Holy Soul Wizard alone is insufficient; countless resources, manpower, and a sufficiently large and powerful Supernatural Legion are also required for any chance of success.

Otherwise, the failure of the Weizelan Wizards would serve as a cautionary tale.

Kuilu's greatest lifelong dream is to establish a new homeland on the surface for the benevolent Zhor, but the prime western coast has already been taken by humans, leaving only the harsher eastern coast to search for a site. The first places she eyed are Aibolaken and Shield Island; however, she is alone, and the number of kind Zhor is far too few to fend off the undead army.

This is truly too difficult!

Even though she is a Grand Mage and a Dual Divine Chosen, she lacks resources and manpower, so she can only set the idea aside for now.

Lei En isn't even a Holy Soul Wizard, yet he audaciously claims he will build a city on Shield Island!

If Lei En had the support of Weizelan's Floating City behind him, Kuilu would find it reliable, but when Lei En said it was his personal plan, she was instantly disappointed.

Kuilu glanced at Yizite; this Zhor is still too young, yet he believed Lei En's words, running around Mosuobulai City, putting Ilyas's followers into a dire situation and nearly causing irreparable casualties.

Thinking of this, Kuilu felt some displeasure.

The benevolent Zhor are already few; losing even one is a huge loss, weakening Lady Ilyas's divine power.

"Lei En, I admire your ambition to build a city on Shield Island, but you clearly underestimate the difficulties and dangers; I don't want Lady Ilyas's followers to blindly follow you to their deaths because of your impulsive personal idea," the female Zhor said without hiding her thoughts.

The conversation's atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Yizite holds boundless admiration for Kuilu; seeing her not support Lei En's plan unsettles him, making him feel uneasy.

Lei En, however, was confident and said calmly, "Madam, I am well aware of the difficulty of building a city on Shield Island, but I am already prepared."

Kuilu lifted her elegantly shaped chin, clearly unconvinced, as if saying, "Just you?"

"Regardless of where a city is built, what's needed is nothing but money and people." Lei En paid no mind to her doubt, a hint of smile on his face, confidently saying, "In terms of money, my territories, duchy, enterprises, and connections allow me to raise five million Gold Shields at any time. If the timeline is extended by a few years, I could muster thirty million Gold Shields without issue. Madam, do you think that's enough?"

Kuilu's face turned astonished, unable to conceal her reaction: "You're so wealthy!"

The teammates sitting by the campfire, listening to the two, widened their eyes; Belak inhaled sharply, his gaze at Lei En shimmering with golden light.

The Empire's Gold Shield purchasing power has remained very strong; Ai Lun E Si finds that almost all sentient races recognize the value of Gold Shields.

Dragons famed for hoarding treasure usually possess only a few hundred thousand Gold Shields, sometimes even less.

One million Gold Shields can compel some small human realms to erupt into full‑scale war.

Five million Gold Shields already exceed the value of most Legend Grade magical items.

Ten million Gold Shields are enough to construct a Wizard Tower.

Holy Soul Wizards and Grand Mages who have lived for centuries, unless they focus on amassing wealth, typically have net worth around ten million Gold Shields, perhaps a bit less; only a few possess wealth exceeding thirty million Gold Shields.

And constructing a Floating City requires an investment of at least one hundred million Gold Shields!

Lei En is merely a Legendary Wizard, yet he can muster thirty million Gold Shields; he is still so young, having risen only four or five years, which is truly unbelievable.

Everyone was utterly astonished.

In their eyes, Lei En instantly transformed, as if he were no longer a person but a massive treasure!

On the surface, Lei En appears affluent and imposing, but inside he feels helpless.

He is indeed very wealthy now; the taxes from his territories and duchy, the Phonograph and Camera production, the motorcycle factory, the output of the Wizard Tower, mithril mining, and the sale of loot seized in past battles generate three to four million Gold Shields annually. Yet his expenditures are greater: the daily consumption and monthly salaries of the Extreme Legion and Gunwing Knights, the construction of the combat school, the development of the Titan Engine, forging the Bolt Gun, gathering source crystals, and now an added expense of purchasing alchemical materials for the Hes Magic Array, cause Gold Shields to flow out like water.

Every day, even if he does nothing, he spends tens of thousands of Gold Shields.

Since debt is no concern, adding a few hundred million Gold Shields of expenses doesn't faze Lei En; he can also borrow money from the Mechanical Guild.

Given their cooperative relationship, Lei En is confident he can borrow roughly twenty million Gold Shields.

Ai Mi Li Si, as a dragonborn queen with a vast fortune, should also be able to lend him over ten million Gold Shields.

If he cannot repay, he'll sell part of the Sunlight Blood, whose divine magical elixir value can fetch several hundred thousand Gold Shields easily. The Titan elder also possesses a legendary weapon, the "Annam's Dragon‑slaying Sword"; exchanging it for source crystals and auctioning it would net at least a few hundred thousand Gold Shields profit.

Moreover, the "Frenzy Elixir" being developed by the Sparrow Eagle is nearing success, representing another substantial and ongoing revenue stream.

Additionally, recently the Black Dragon Yi Geng has been relentlessly pursued by Blantania's knights in the deep mud marshes, sending multiple distress messages.

Lei En contemplates exploiting this chance to extract the recipe for the "Black Soul Elixir" from Yi Geng's mouth; this top‑tier magical elixir has massive market potential, and mastering it would be like owning an inexhaustible gold mine!

There are too many ways to make money; he simply lacks the time to pursue them.

Thus, no matter how much he spends now, he remains untroubled.

"Building a city on Shield Island, an initial investment of five million Gold Shields should suffice, right?" Lei En asked again, "As the city expands and the population gathers, it will naturally generate income, even if modest; combined with my later investments, isn't that enough?"

"Enough, enough."

Kuilu lightly tipped her chin, her waterfall‑like silver hair swaying like waves; her gaze toward Lei En softened considerably, shimmering with an inexplicable light.

Lei En continued: "Having money also requires people. I have two extraordinary legions, constantly expanding; after city building begins I will transfer part of the force to Shield Island. With the power of an Extreme Warrior Corps, it can sweep away the undead creatures on the island."

"My Augustus Duchy can also recruit an extraordinary army of over ten thousand."

"As long as you pay, they'll do anything."

"Besides, I can tell the lady that in the Aibolaken region there is a blood‑elf tribe; I am confident we can ally with them to jointly resist the Catastrophe Legion. If Ilyas's followers can join us, the city's safety will be greater, which is of course ideal."

One after another he threw out his capabilities, and Kuilu's eyes filled with dazzling colors as she listened.

Yet she still hesitated, saying: "These are only mid‑low‑level forces; you haven't become a Holy Soul Ascension Wizard, how can you resist the Death Lord and the death‑knot seal Lich?"

"I can't, but my teacher can."

Lei En had long considered this issue: "Although building the city on Shield Island is my personal plan, I mentioned it to my teacher; he will act when the Death Lord and Holy Soul Lich appear, avenging the dead Weizelan Wizards."

Kuilu's eyebrows relaxed.

Anxiwodasi's reputation was so great that even though she was a Double Divine Chosen, she sincerely admired him.

However, Lei En's words were not finished: "Besides my teacher, I can also call upon the Ouroin Master for help; that makes two Holy Soul Wizards, and additionally a Titan Elder and an ancient Red Dragon. What more could Lady Kuilu worry about?"

Ouroin Master!

Titan Elder!

Ancient Red Dragon!

Kuilu was dumbfounded; she had naturally heard of the founder of the combat school, the Ouroin Master, but what about the Titan Elder and the ancient Red Dragon?

"Is this true?" the Moon Dancer Huo rose suddenly.

"I, Ryan Augustus, have always kept my word," Lei En said lightly, without any pretense.

Titan Elder Sorim, in exchange for later purging the enemies of the Storm Plane, agreed to intervene three times on his own behalf, and may intervene once early before the goal is reached; the ancient Red Dragon is the "Juyan" on Mount Karl, a massive dragon that enjoys shapeshifting into a human Grand Mage. I have approached him a few times under the pretext of delivering books, have built a decent friendship, and I am about half sure I can ask him to act.

Kuilu was deep in thought, her expression shifting rapidly.

Two Holy Soul Wizards plus a Titan Elder and an ancient Red Dragon—if I also join, counting Yizite, that makes six Saint Ranks!

In sheer numbers, we already surpass the Catastrophe Legion.

In quality, the two Holy Soul Wizards are above Thirty-level, the Titan Elder is unfathomably deep, the ancient Red Dragon is hard to judge, but it doesn't affect overall combat power; we will surely outmatch the Catastrophe Legion!

If I were to swallow my pride and ask the sisters to act…

Kuilu calculated in her mind the number of Saint Ranks and which sisters might act.

Lei En smiled faintly, knowing this Double Divine Chosen had been persuaded. He looked at his teammates and saw they were also stunned.

Yizite's eyes lit up, gaining more confidence in Lei En's plan.

Daon Soth and Belak were shocked by Lei En's power; that he could get so many Saint Ranks to lend aid, each one being among the world's top strongest!

Is this truly the network of the real strong?

After a moment, after careful consideration, Kuilu made a decision, solemnly saying: "Lei En, I've learned about you from the sisters; this time I will trust you. The Moonlight Church and I will join your city‑building plan, becoming the first residents of the new city."

"Welcome, Lady Kuilu."

Lei En stood up and extended his hand; the female Zhor froze briefly before grasping it. A warm, soft touch came, Lei En gently squeezed then released, smiled and nodded: "In the future, you'll be glad you made this wise decision today."

"I hope so," the moon dancer's eyes were full of hope.

Years of dreams saw a glimmer of dawn, stirring her heart, silver hair fluttered, radiating astonishing charm.

The other three men present all stared with slightly glazed eyes.

Only Lei En had no particular thoughts about this black beauty.

Not to mention Asina was nearby; he had seen the Duke of Silver Star and the Storm Queen, both of whom were flamboyant women with three thousand admirers, whose private lives were extremely chaotic. Kuilu, as one of the Seven Sisters and raised in Zhor society, likely had a similarly wild lifestyle.

She would often strip and dance in the wild, truly too uninhibited.

After agreeing to join, Kuilu's attitude toward Lei En became very close; when they discussed some city‑building schedule and details, she unintentionally showed affectionate gestures, proactively moving closer, creating some physical contact.

This made Asina very displeased, raising his guard, and he clasped Lei En's arm to assert his authority.

Lei En could only laugh helplessly.

He had already seen that Kuilu wasn't deliberately seducing him; it was her upbringing in Zhor society, accustomed to bold and direct expression of preferences, freely displaying her bodily charm, establishing psychological advantage in conversation.

After the Soul Eye saw through her routine, Lei En no longer fell for it.

Everyone chatted happily.

Kuilu suddenly thought of something, flicked her long hair, and asked: "Lei En, have you already thought of a name for this new city?"

"I've thought of one," Lei En replied.

Yizite and the others' attention turned to them; Kuilu pressed further: "What is it?"

A smile curled at Lei En's mouth, and he whispered: "Getan."

(End of Chapter)