Chapter 21: Strength Ascends

Whispers of the Departed
Procured Low-Quality "Whispers of the Departed": 153,000 blossoms, cost: 3 gold 6 silver coins
Procured Common-Quality: 1,200 blossoms, cost: 2 gold 40 silver coins
Corpses
Procured 14,000 first-tier corpses, cost: 140 gold
Procured 3,000 second-tier corpses, cost: 200 gold
Procured 500 third-tier corpses, cost: 230 gold
Procured 47 fourth-tier common corpses, cost: 940 gold
Procured 17 fourth-tier elite corpses, cost: 510 gold
Procured 8 fourth-tier exceptional corpses, cost: 400 gold
Procured 5 fifth-tier corpses, cost: 1,000 gold
...
This is the inventory Karen compiled over more than half a month since taking possession of Dorn: the acquisitions of "Whispers of the Departed" and corpses.

In total, over 3,400 gold coins were spent, purchasing more than 17,000 corpses and over a hundred thousand blossoms of "Whispers of the Departed."

From this list, it is clear that compared to corpses, Karen’s expenditure on "Whispers of the Departed" was almost negligible.

Yet, it was precisely this seemingly insignificant investment that granted Karen 1.6 million territory energy.

This influx of resources caused the energy under Karen’s control to swell to a scale he had scarcely imagined before.

...

Karen (Lord)
Territory: Land of Death
Territory Level: 4
Territory Energy: 2.95 million
Territory Buildings: Giant Graveyard Lv.4 (1), Small Mausoleum (1), Tower of Bones Lv.3 (1), Undead Mines Lv.1 (1)
Corpses Available for Conversion: 912 (Tier 0), 16,763 (Tier 1), 3,441 (Tier 2), 622 (Tier 3), 80 (Tier 4), 5 (Tier 5)
Undead Owned:
Tier 0 Undead (1,856)
Tier 1 Undead (10,000)
Tier 2 Undead (1,500)
Tier 3 Undead (100)
Tier 4 Undead: Little Green, Phantom Shadow Leopard, Alice, Husky, Black Iron, Butler
...

Adding this to the remaining 1.3 million territory energy he had before, Karen now wields nearly 3 million territory energy, close to a hundred fourth-tier corpses, and thousands of second- and third-tier corpses.

This is a simplified overview of Karen’s current territory attributes—undeniably powerful with substantial capital backing!

In truth, Karen originally intended to continue acquiring corpses and had reserved several hundred gold coins yet to be spent.

However, before he could use the remaining funds, Old Jack came knocking, urging Karen to halt the corpse procurement.

The reason was that Karen’s corpse acquisitions severely impacted the Bourbon Kingdom, placing great pressure on the Forest Guardians who had vouched for him.

With Old Jack’s personal visit, Karen naturally complied and stopped the corpse purchases. Besides, with the energy he now commands, even the existing corpses are beyond his full consumption capacity.

Moreover, since establishing a firm foothold in the Land of the Dead, Karen began adopting a strategy of stability.

This was only natural—everyone prefers steady development over constantly gambling with their lives.

“Cautious growth, no recklessness!” That was Karen’s current mindset.

Therefore, after ruthlessly extracting resources with the financial backing from Dorn’s three houses, Karen’s next priority was to convert those resources into strength.

Ideally, Karen wanted to convert all 80 fourth-tier corpses into undead, but the territory energy in his coffers was insufficient for such a feat, so he proceeded cautiously with undead conversion.

...

[Notification: You have consumed 5,000 territory energy to build 100 Small Mausoleums!]
[Notification: You have consumed 500,000 territory energy to convert 200 third-tier undead!]
[Notification: You have consumed 1,000,000 territory energy to convert 20 fourth-tier common undead!]
...

In one breath, 1.5 million territory energy was expended. Karen’s forces grew by 200 third-tier undead and 20 fourth-tier undead, causing another surge in power.

At the same time, this experience deeply impressed upon Karen what he was most lacking now.

Territory energy!

All problems circled back to this fundamental need.

Even a small enhancement like this instantly halved his nearly 3 million territory energy reserve.

Although Karen still had over half remaining, he dared not squander it recklessly.

With a growing domain, many aspects demanded territory energy, so he intended to keep at least 1 million out of the remaining 1.4 million in reserve.

Putting aside whether he would actually hold back the reserve, let’s discuss the matter of upgrading his territory.

To ascend from level 4 to level 5 territory, the basic prerequisite is converting 100 fourth-tier undead.

This single minimum requirement would cost Karen at least 5 million territory energy.

Though Karen could gather a few million energy every two months, the sheer scale of this consumption made him realize just how critical "Whispers of the Departed" would be for his territory’s late-stage development.

While Karen could still acquire "Whispers of the Departed" through trade, it was not like ordinary goods.

This resource required a specialized growth environment and grew slowly. After harvesting one batch, if left to grow freely, it would take a considerable time.

Hence, while Karen was consuming territory energy to boost his strength, his mind was also working on a new plan.

Could the cultivation of "Whispers of the Departed" be expanded?

Currently, cultivation within his territory was limited—at most 150,000 blossoms. This might increase later but never to an overwhelming extent.

However, if he could promote its cultivation in the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom, having the populace there grow it and then purchase it back, the situation would be quite different.

Though "Whispers of the Departed" required special conditions, it was not too difficult to cultivate—any graveyard would suffice.

Moreover, tending to it was not complicated; ordinary farmers could manage with simple training.

If Karen could truly spread its cultivation to the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom, the amount of "Whispers of the Departed" he could obtain would become terrifyingly vast.

More importantly, once achieved, this venture would forge extremely close economic ties between Karen and those two nations.

When large populations in both countries depended on cultivating "Whispers of the Departed" for their livelihood, Karen would wield immense influence over them.

At his strongest, he could even compel those nations to act according to his wishes.

Then, Karen would no longer have to worry about threats from these two countries.

Imagining such a grand prospect, Karen couldn’t help but feel thrilled.

Without even taking a moment to examine whether any of the newly converted fourth-tier undead were special, he immediately summoned Cliff to discuss this plan...