The territory further south, due to its distance from major Sanctuaries, hosts numerous small Sanctuaries scattered throughout the region.
From here, traveling to Lindong is too far. Luckily, the density of Demonized Beasts in this area isn't very high—a few Demonized Beasts occasionally venture here in larger groups, enabling the Sanctuary's Awakeners and survivors to defend themselves using traps and weapons.
People had grown accustomed to this way of life.
Weak Sanctuaries struggled to survive, searching daily for food to barely get by. Gradually, some weaker Sanctuaries were either absorbed or opted to join stronger ones to seek protection.
The largest Sanctuary, built around a small town, had even constructed an earth wall over three meters high surrounding the town. Although the wall looked somewhat crude, it was a demonstration of strength.
This Sanctuary was home to more than twenty thousand survivors, a scale that far exceeded other small Sanctuaries, qualifying it as a medium-sized Sanctuary.
Among the survivors in this region, Lingshan Sanctuary was undeniably the overlord.
It was also the place most coveted by survivors. Unfortunately... unless one was a strong, healthy young man, it was not so easy to become a member of Lingshan Sanctuary. However, it was still quite easy for Awakeners to join. Most Awakeners held positions of authority in other Sanctuaries and were unwilling to abandon their power to start anew elsewhere.
Lingshan Sanctuary's City Lord Mansion... The original townhouses here had been connected and transformed through extensive renovations, displaying the plaque of the City Lord Mansion.
The person in charge here did not like to be referred to as the director but preferred the title "City Lord."
He felt it made him appear more formidable and commanding.
At this moment, the City Lord of Lingshan stood in the City Lord Mansion, his expression somewhat gloomy.
"Hmph, do they really think I would abandon my vast enterprise to go to Lindong Sanctuary? Impossible!"
He said this as he tore up a letter in his hands and tossed it into the wastebasket.
The letter generally thanked him for rescuing survivors and offered him a director position in Lindong as well as some critical supplies, on the condition that he cooperate with the military dispatched from Lindong to escort the survivors to Lindong Sanctuary.
The inquiry had an undertone that brooked no refusal.
Lindong aimed to consolidate survivors from other Sanctuaries, promising rewards and striking a deal with the directors.
Because his Sanctuary housed over twenty thousand survivors, Lindong valued it highly and thus offered him a director position—even if it wasn't in a key department, it still came with substantial perks and power.
However, for the Lingshan City Lord, that bit of power was nothing compared to what he had now, where he controlled everything and no one dared defy him.
This was his city, his domain.
A middle-aged man with a flattering smile on his face cautiously asked, "In a few days, when the military arrives, should we reject them? Could this provoke dissatisfaction from Lindong?"
The Lingshan City Lord pondered for a moment before responding, "No need to reject them outright, just stall them."
"Take a look at this." The Lingshan City Lord sneered and tossed an invitation card to the middle-aged steward.
The steward unfolded the card and read carefully, "Is this an invitation from Green Shadow Sanctuary? Isn't that the rather famous Sanctuary that suddenly became well-known recently, planning to build a large commercial zone and inviting us to attend?"
"I remember Green Shadow doesn't have many survivors. To waste such manpower and resources on this face project—it's not Lindong Sanctuary. Even if the commercial zone is built, how many people would specifically travel to Green Shadow for trade? Also, with increased visitor traffic, it could easily attract Demonized Beasts. Aren't they afraid of being wiped out by the Demon Tide?! Their brains must be flawed!"
The middle-aged steward shook his head, then hesitated and asked, "What does Green Shadow's invitation have to do with Lindong?"
"Fool!" The Lingshan City Lord walked to the window, standing with his hands behind his back, "Lindong's integration of Sanctuaries doesn't target just us at Lingshan—Green Shadow is also one of the regional Sanctuaries. And with Green Shadow currently in its prime, even construction/fwlink/?LinkID=414257&clcid=0x409"> commercial zones right at this critical moment..."
He shook his head dismissively, "Considering Green Shadow's stance, they are likely to directly reject the Military, and the Military won't stand idly by. But for us, just dragging our feet and watching the drama unfold is enough..."
In his heart, he left unsaid that if the Military was concerned about repercussions and didn't adopt overly aggressive measures, then he would have enough ground to refuse them.
If Green Shadow were quickly taken down by the Military, despite his reluctance, he could only helplessly give up.
"Better them than me, for shooting the first bird. Fortunately, Green Shadow serves as such a focal Sanctuary; otherwise, the headache would be mine."
However, the Lingshan City Lord didn't know that Tang Yu hadn't even received the letter from the Military about taking over the Sanctuary!
At this moment, Lu Jianjun was still troubled about how to deal with Green Shadow.
The middle-aged butler by his side hastily showed a flattering demeanor, showering him with compliments, greatly satisfying the Lingshan City Lord.
Then, recalling something, the middle-aged butler spoke with a tone of worry, "My Lord City Lord, I heard that recently several small Sanctuaries were attacked by a Demon Tide. No survivors remained, including the Awakeners. We should have the Reconnaissance Corps be extra vigilant about the movements of the Demonized Beasts."
He initially wanted to say that unlike the larger Sanctuaries, there could be danger here, but he quickly changed his wording.
As a confidant of the City Lord and an absolute high-ranking official in the Sanctuary, the middle-aged butler shared the same idea with the City Lord, unwilling to relinquish the power in his hands, even though Lindong was indeed much safer.
Lingshan City Lord frowned:
"Do you think I need to be told that? A Demon Tide is, after all, a small probability event, and even if we really encounter one, we have city walls, an Awakener Corps of three hundred, and just a few Demonized Beasts. What is there to fear!"
Tang Yu learned that the construction progress in Luoxia was extremely fast.
Having shown their military capabilities, the high ranks of Luoxia were keen on forming good relations, and many construction tools were provided for leasing, with survivors being the least of their shortages there.
It was said that the tasks Shay released in the labor center for a thousand worker slots were swiftly filled, and later even more were added.
Not only that, but Shay also posted tasks at the Mercenary Union, recruiting ten Earth Series Awakeners and eight Metal Series Awakeners. Even though these people had differing specific abilities, they all helped with construction, greatly enhancing the efficiency of the projects.
Whether it was equipment or personnel, Luoxia had far more resources than the territory.
Tang Yu felt that by the time Luoxia's Martial Arts Hall, stores, and the associated real estate were complete, the commercial district here, which had started construction several days earlier, might still not be finished.
This was quite awkward...
"But that's good, after the construction in Luoxia is mostly done, we can start the sales plans..."
And his parents could also move into the newly built villas.
He had originally planned to bring his parents back to the Territory, but since his parents had their friends and social circles there, bringing them back would mean having to bring relatives along, and those relatives had their own relatives...which could become rather chaotic.
Of course, he could choose to bring only a few people if absolutely necessary, and Tang Yu would indeed do so under such circumstances.
But now, having established a Sub-territory in Luoxia and with many followers staying there, safety was already sufficient. He just needed to visit occasionally through the Transmission Array.
"However, after the construction of the Luoxia marketplace and the commercial district in the territory are complete, the number of sales for equipment will definitely increase substantially. This would mean that inventory might become insufficient and, given the production speed of the workshop, providing a large volume of equipment could be troublesome."
With this thought, Tang Yu frowned.