Chapter 906: Lord of the Plateau

Unify the Saen Plateau?

Lei En looked at Captain Malius, and did not answer immediately.

During the Third Epoch, before Ji Lì Màn fell into a grievously wounded slumber, the Ma Kula Ge tribe, even at its peak, had not unified the plateau, occupying only a quarter of it, yet that was already the greatest glory of A Si Ta Te.

Since the New Era, the Saen Plateau has always been a scattered mass.

Dozens of different barbarian branches, hundreds of tribes of all sizes, and an equal number of trolls, ogres and numerous primitive, backward intelligent races are scattered across the vast plateau, and a true overlord has never appeared.

This situation is largely related to the Empire; the Empire does not allow the Saen Plateau to be unified, lest it become a threat to the Empire.

However, the Saen Plateau is not Empire territory.

Lei En's face looked thoughtful as he asked, "Captain Malius, do you know why the Empire has never incorporated the Saen Plateau into its map?"

"Because it's not worth it," Malius replied immediately.

Lei En nodded.

Indeed, not worth it!

The Saen Plateau is so large, almost half the size of the Empire; although not precisely surveyed, it is estimated to be forty percent of the Empire's area.

Yet in such a vast region few valuable resources are found; they are not entirely absent, but scarce, and the rugged terrain and extreme altitude make transport difficult, with shipping costs exceeding the resources' value.

The Saen Plateau's environment is also extremely harsh, with huge day‑night temperature swings, low oxygen, hurricanes, extreme cold, and so on, making it unsuitable for ordinary people. Only naturally strong and hardy races such as barbarians, ogres and giants can adapt, and even they live uncomfortably, merely scraping by.

The intelligent races living on the plateau total perhaps less than twenty million.

It should be noted that Kangjiatuo, whose area is only one‑twentieth of the Saen Plateau, has an even harsher natural environment, yet a population of thirty million.

Moreover, the tribes on the Saen Plateau are extremely scattered.

Resource scarcity and sparse population make the Saen Plateau almost valueless to conquer; since the Empire's founding, no one has ever thought of unifying it.

Further west lies the impassable Shi Jie Shan Mai, which together with the Saen Plateau forms a natural barrier on the Empire's western side; no enemy would invade the Empire from there, so without conquest the Saen Plateau is already within the Empire's sphere, merely lacking a formal name.

"Since Captain Malius knows how difficult it is to unify the plateau, why does he still entertain this idea?" Lei En asked, puzzled.

The Ma Kula Ge tribe has developed rapidly in recent years, following the path to become Extreme Warriors, yet its total population remains under ten thousand.

Without Extreme Warriors, unifying the Saen Plateau is impossible, let alone defending A Si Ta Te.

The pact between Ge La Mo Gen and A Si Ta Te does not impose this obligation.

Malius glanced at the Thundercast Celestial Soldier in the mechanical alchemy chamber, a hint of hesitation on his face; he did not know the Thundercast Celestial Soldier was a duplicate, and Lei En was unwilling to explain, so he opened a portal.

"Come with me."

Lei En led him through the portal to an empty meditation chamber at the Jin Gang Fort base.

"Lord, I seek to unify the plateau not for myself, nor for the tribe," Malius said with a solemn expression, as if he had contemplated for a long time and finally decided to reveal a major secret, adding gravely, "I do it for my lord Ji Lì Màn."

"Oh?" Lei En guessed vaguely.

Malius whispered, "My lord Ji Lì Màn fell thousands of years ago; my people thought He had fallen into slumber, unable to answer prayers, but He will awaken one day."

"Isn't that so?" Lei En asked knowingly.

"No, it isn't!"

Malius shook his head, "My lord did not fall, but was gravely wounded. At the end of the last epoch, Ji Lì Màn was attacked by the Lord of Darkness during the divine war, leaving a terrible wound on His divine body. The Lord of Darkness's divine power corrupts my lord, difficult to purge; Ji Lì Màn could only shut down His divine realm, using all divine power to heal the injury, yet it remains unfinished..."

"My lord focuses on healing, having no surplus divine power to bestow blessings, and the followers gradually disperse."

"Later, even the 'Glory' divine office was taken, my lord's prestige declined, followers dwindled, and only we, the Ma Kula Ge, remain steadfast."

Malius's expression was heavy.

At this point, he stared intently at Lei En: "Actually, my lord Ji Lì Màn has always been able to answer the followers, but to conserve divine power, only the successive chieftains of Ma Kula Ge know this secret, sharing it only every few years."

"The last time we communicated with my lord was the night before you came to A Si Ta Te,"

Lei En showed a hint of surprise, a look of realization on his face, sighing, "So that's it." He had already guessed Malius's purpose, or rather, Ji Lì Màn's purpose.

Unifying the plateau seeks not territory, but those twenty million people.

"Ji Lì Màn wants to rebuild his followers?" Lei En asked.

"Yes!"

Malius nodded vigorously, full of hope, saying, "My lord's injuries are gradually improving, but He lacks followers to supply divine power. If the plateau's barbarians can return to my lord's embrace and pray to Him, it will take only a few years for Him to fully recover and awaken."

"Is this what Ji Lì Màn told you, or your own conjecture?" Lei En asked thoughtfully.

"My lord said it personally," Malius asserted.

Lei En gave a slight nod.

The Soul Eye confirmed that Malius spoke truthfully; I have also seen Ji Lì Màn with my own eyes at the A Si Ta Te Temple, and His condition matches Malius's description, so it should be genuine.

To be honest, he does not wish Ji Lì Màn to awaken.

Extreme Warriors are crucial to him; each Extreme Warrior is his symbiont, yet they are all followers of Ji Lì Màn, devout and steadfast. Even though he has forged them into the world's strongest legion, he could not sway their faith.

Ji Lì Màn's divine true form resides in the A Si Ta Te Temple, which is His divine realm; once He awakens, He will surely rely on the Extreme Warrior corps to restore His prestige and reclaim the 'Glory' divine office.

Then, he will inevitably be drawn into the gods' conflict.

"Glory" divine office now belongs to the "Knight and Glory God" Wei Wei An, who is commonly called the "Lake Fairy," residing in the northern Empire's "Blantania Knight Kingdom," whose entire populace are followers of the Lake Fairy.

Although the Lake Fairy is not the strongest among the gods, she ranks just below a few deities and is certainly far more powerful than the near‑fallen Ji Lì Màn.

Lei En is reluctant to oppose the Lake Fairy and her kingdom on Ji Lì Màn's behalf.

With conflicting interests, whose command should the Extreme Warrior corps follow?

He cannot guarantee that the Extreme Warriors will abandon their faith; moreover, the corps' power is built upon the "Element" of "Primordial Symbiosis," a super‑absolute Element granted by Ji Lì Màn to the Ma Kula Ge barbarians.

A god can grant blessings, and can also withdraw them.

"Lord!"

Malius seemed to have guessed Lei En's thoughts; this matter he had mulled over for over a month, "My lord explicitly told me that unifying the plateau with Extreme Warriors is not gratuitous; my lord is willing to offer something of equal or even greater value as payment."

"What reward?" Lei En raised an eyebrow, quite interested.

"Please see, my lord."

Marius took out a beast‑skin map from the dimensional space attached to his power armor; Lei En recognized at a glance that it was a map of the Sain Plateau, finely made, showing the plateau's area shape, as well as mountain ranges and river courses, and marking many locations.

He noticed that the map had dozens of red markings, very conspicuous.

"This is the mine distribution map of the Sain Plateau," Ma Li Wu Si said. "Everyone knows the plateau's resources are barren, and overall that is indeed the case. Yet even in such barrenness, a plateau this large must hide some huge mines underground; the biggest difficulty is locating them."

"My lord was the ruler of the plateau over ten thousand years ago, governing the mortals here, familiar with every place on the plateau."

"No one knows the locations of the mines better than my lord."

He pointed to a mark on the map and said, "For example here, this is a mithril vein of enormous reserves, certainly not inferior to the Empire's largest mithril mines; if extracted, the annual profit could reach tens of millions of Gold Shields."

"And here."

"Beneath that mountain lies a gold vein of high quality, easy to mine, and not far from the Empire's border in the Osi An Province."

Ma Li Wu Si consecutively pointed to several red marks, reciting each mine they represented as if counting treasures; there were as many as five gold mines, plus other magical metal veins—iron, copper, coal, and so on—totaling dozens.

These mines are scattered across the entire Sain Plateau; some are easy to extract and transport, while others are too distant, making extraction costs very high.

But undeniably, the map's value is incalculable.

This is not merely a map; it is a treasure map!

If it were to spread, who knows how many Empire nobles and high‑ranking officials would go mad for the Sain Plateau, turning this once‑ignored barren land into a coveted golden realm in an instant!

Lei En's heart fluttered instantly.

The economic returns of the mines need no further explanation; their greatest use is to supply materials for building Star Destroyers. In his plan, there will be more than one or two Star Destroyers—perhaps three, five, even over ten—and they will grow larger and more powerful with each construction.

Each Star Destroyer consumes countless metal resources; purchasing them all would require an astronomically high procurement cost.

And even if he had that much money, the market could not provide enough materials.

By mining the Sain Plateau and supplying raw materials, he could drive the cost of building Star Destroyers to the lowest, with surplus profit to spend elsewhere, such as buying other manufacturing materials—perfectly solving his ship‑building plan!

Manufacturing Star Destroyers on the Sain Plateau is also highly covert.

The mining work could be coordinated with the Mechanical Guild, enlisting dwarves adapted to the plateau's climate. Dwarves are currently experiencing a population boom, and he could promise them some territory to establish new homes, relocated from the Shi Jie Shan Mai.

Lei En's mind raced, conjuring many schemes.

He must seize the Sain Plateau and make it his base for building Star Destroyers!

But he was not blinded by profit; looking at the towering Ma Li Wu Si, he smiled and said, "I haven't agreed yet, yet you've already shown the mine distribution map—aren't you afraid I'll oppose?"

"My brothers and I fully trust your noble character."

Ma Li Wu Si praised sincerely.

Then he added, "My lord said this mine distribution map is only one of the rewards. When He awakens, He will give you an even more precious gift."

An even more precious gift?

Lei En couldn't help but be curious; even a deity's eye would deem it precious, of higher value—could Ji Li Man be planning to give him a divine artifact?

He considered it seriously.

Ji Li Man is a renowned benevolent god, loyal, upright, noble, and brave, cherishing honor above his own life, and has never been known to lie; his promises are trustworthy, and the chance of deceiving himself to help Him awaken is very low.

Unifying the plateau to aid His awakening poses no problem; with the strength of the Extreme Warrior Corps, it is not difficult.

The difficulty lies in the potential future divergences.

"One minister cannot serve two masters; the Extreme Warrior Corps cannot have two overlords."

"Unless I and Ji Li Man rank one above the other, with one pledging loyalty to the other. But Ji Li Man is a god, and I am merely mortal—would a god pledge loyalty to a mortal?"

Lei En did not think that was possible.

Hmm…

He fell into deep thought; since he could not resolve the conflict between Ji Li Man and himself, he would address its root: the Extreme Warrior. The Extreme Warrior Corps' current fame and power stem half from the Extreme Warriors and half from the power armor.

Yet on closer inspection, the Extreme Warrior is not irreplaceable.

If he equips a Thundercast Celestial Soldier with power armor, it can still unleash the armor's might—perhaps slightly weaker, because the Thundercast Celestial Soldier's own strength is only Legendary Early.

If the Core Brain Heart is upgraded, raising the Thundercast Celestial Soldier's ceiling to Legendary Mid-stage, it would be perfectly adequate.

Even stronger, and more reliable!

In fact, he had long entertained the idea of fitting a Thundercast Celestial Soldier with power armor; the Thundercast Celestial Soldier is better suited as a tool, and the Core Brain Heart creates only a limited number of sub‑brains, each one costing one, so he had to conserve, which is why he never tried.

Now perhaps he could give it a try, to guard against any issues with the Extreme Warrior.

Lei En's thoughts diverged outward.

He could go further: the power armor need not be worn; he could remotely control sub‑brain crystals to command the armor in battle, achieving a 'cloud‑based' combat effect.

Reverse‑thinking, he would now secretly modify the power armor's control system, leaving a backdoor.

If an Extreme Warrior disobeys, defying his orders, a mere thought could revoke their permission to the armor, sever the symbiosis, causing the Extreme Warrior's power to plummet, trapping them inside the armor, turning the once‑mighty suit into their prison.

Ma Li Wu Si waited for a long time.

Seeing Lei En's eyes flicker and a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, he could not help but ask, "Sir, what have you decided?"

"I agree to your unifying the plateau," Lei En replied cheerfully.

Ma Li Wu Si was overjoyed, then heard Lei En continue, "However, it must be unified under my name, making it my domain."

"Your domain?" Ma Li Wu Si asked, a bit puzzled.

He didn't care who owned the Sain Plateau; as long as its inhabitants worship Ji Li Man, Lei En wanted to designate the plateau as his domain—he didn't mind, but didn't know how to achieve it.

Lei En smiled, "Captain Ma Li Wu Si, have you forgotten that I have just become a Holy Soul Ascension Wizard? Empire law stipulates that the Supreme Council's Holy Soul Wizard is qualified to confer the Title: Duke and designate a piece of Empire land as a duke's domain."

Ma Li Wu Si was enlightened, understanding immediately.

Lei En set his sights on the entire Sain Plateau; if this land became his domain, it would be the largest ducal fief in history!

(End of chapter)