DEMON CASTLE

Two days had passed, and during these two days, Hazard had put in all his effort to search the surroundings. As a result, he managed to locate two Hellhound nests. Through these efforts, he acquired 700,000 gold coins, a level 1 Fire Castle blueprint, a level 2 Fire Wall blueprint, a level 2 Building Upgrade blueprint, a level 3 Fire Furnace blueprint, and 500 Fire Gems from all the treasure chests and by slaying the hellhounds. This made Hazard even more eager to continue hunting the hellhounds. Among these demonic dogs, there was also a level 2 hero spirit.

But there was another kind of loot as well: the corpses of two large hellhounds and 500 smaller ones, with the 500 hellhounds being added to Hazard's army.

After that, Hazard returned to the shrine and started building.

The Fire Castle seemed beneficial to him, and though he had plenty of Fire Gems, he didn't particularly enjoy fire due to his undead nature. So, he decided to put the Fire Castle up for trade. A demonic entity named "Terror," an Archdemon of Fire, exchanged it with him for a Dark Castle blueprint.

Hazard was satisfied with the trade and proposed exchanging gems, which Terror accepted. During their chat, they realized that Hazard's region had an abundance of fire-elemental dungeons, while Terror's region had dark and undead dungeons. This led them to establish an equal business relationship.

Since Hazard lacked a suitable manager for the Fire Furnace, he traded the Fire Furnace blueprint to Terror in exchange for a level 2 Building Upgrade blueprint. He also exchanged the level 2 Fire Wall for 4 level 1 Ghost Towers and all of his Fire Gems in return for Death Gems.

Through their exchanges, Hazard learned that Terror was a level 3 Demon King on the verge of reaching level 4—a well-known and talented figure among the Demon Kings. Hazard looked at his own level 2 power and realized that if he could encounter more heroes, he might be able to surpass the average Demon King level.

The Expansion of Hazard's Stronghold

Another day passed quickly. Hazard's shrine was now almost invisible, hidden within the darkness. A 200-meter-tall Dark Castle surrounded by black flames now stood in its place. On the surrounding mountains, four towering 50-meter-tall Ghost Towers had been constructed.

A few kilometers away, in front of a mine where ordinary demonic undead were extracting Fire Gems, Undead Sorcerers were issuing orders. Meanwhile, Hazard had just completed the construction of the Hellhound Camp and immediately upgraded it. He now reviewed the list of units available for recruitment:

[Hellcat - Rank 2]Health: 20Strength: 15Agility: 35Mana (Demonic): 5Stamina: 15Talent: Strong LeapSkills: Strong Claw (E), Wild Rage (E), Hunter's Instinct (F)Cost: 100 Gold[Great Hellcat - Elite Rank 1]Health: 35Strength: 20Agility: 40Mana (Demonic): 5Stamina: 20Talents: Strong Leap, Night VisionSkills: Strong Claw (D), Wild Rage (D), Hunter's Instinct (F), Beastly Roar (F)Cost: 300 Gold[Hellhound - Elite Rank 2]Health: 50Strength: 25Agility: 40Mana (Demonic): 5Stamina: 17Talent: Enhanced Sense of SmellSkills: Strong Claw (D), Powerful Jaws (D), Scouting (E), Wild Rage (E), Hunter's Instinct (F)Cost: 500 Gold[Greater Hellhound - Lord Rank 2]Health: 600Strength: 350Agility: 80Mana (Demonic): 200Stamina: 450Talents: Enhanced Sense of Smell, Leadership, Battle Roar, Hardened SkinSkills: Fire Claw (B), Strong Claw (B), Powerful Jaws (B), Scouting (C), Wild Rage (D), Hunter's Instinct (D)Cost: 20,000 Gold

Hazard's gaze was heavy as he looked at his remaining gold.

The construction of the Hellhound Camp and its upgrade, along with the Ghost Towers, the castle, and its enhancements, had drained almost all his resources. His initial 700,000 gold had been reduced to 180,000, out of which 150,000 had been spent on summoning 500 elite archers. Now, he had only 30,000 gold left.

After some thought, the Hellhound Camp began to tremble, and a colossal beast emerged—a 4-meter-tall, 12-meter-long Hellhound. The strongest member of Hazard's army so far.

Mounting his new giant Hellhound, Hazard set off toward his shrine.

Unexpected Encounter - The Imperial Knights

On his way back, however, the Flame Tower sent out an alert, enraging Hazard. He had lost contact with three patrol squads, and the only possible explanation was that someone had bypassed his magical barriers.

With that, Hazard issued an order to his 500 elite mounted archers, who had learned Rank F Riding Skills within the past day, and headed toward the location revealed by the flaming eyes.

Meanwhile, 10 kilometers away, a group of 50 armored warriors, led by a man in white armor, were discussing.

"Commander, do we really have to risk our lives searching for a few reckless brats?""Yes.""But sir, this is the Forbidden Mountain! We have no obligation to intervene!""The village chief's son was part of the missing group, and his daughter is married to a noble. That noble is refusing to pay his taxes until the Empire fulfills its duty to protect civilians or at least recovers the bodies of the villagers.""What rank is this noble? How much power does he really have?""He's a minor Baron… but he once fought alongside the Grand Duke Percival."

At this, the captain's expression darkened.A Grand Duke was one of the highest-ranking nobles, just below royalty.

"Then I guess we have no choice…""Exactly. I don't want to be here either, especially with my daughter's wedding coming up. But this region is full of rogue hellhounds from Vlad's army. We might all die here."

Just as the captain was about to speak again, the ground began to tremble.

"Shields up!"

A rain of 300 arrows descended upon them.

The Battle Begins

One by one, notifications appeared:

[You have slain an Elite Rank 1 Human Knight. +60 Gold][You have slain an Elite Rank 2 Human Knight. +90 Gold][You have slain Commander Alex, a Lord Rank 1 Knight. +10,000 Gold]

Within moments, Hazard's forces had wiped out the Imperial knights. Now, his attention turned toward a Level 3 Hero Spirit that had been hiding among them.

Without hesitation, Hazard returned to his shrine, ready to claim his next powerful addition to his army.