Lin Rui felt a malice seemingly condensed from the entire world gathering upon him before his restless mind could even come to rise.
It was as if the world had developed consciousness and aimed its chilling terror at him, ready to enact a scene where death himself arrives at any moment. This woman must have sensed something!
Lin Rui made his choice at once, opting for the third option: [Human Empire Civilization].
A civilization without people is meaningless.
The Golden Pansy Domain is Lin Rui’s territory, as well as the domain of all the inhabitants! She hopes everyone can have a brilliant and dazzling life, creating a colorful and vibrant civilization.
As Lin Rui made this decision, a continuous stream of the light of civilization burst forth from the Territory Keystone, merging with the light of the Jilun Tower, enveloping the entire territory overhead.
The chilling consciousness that had gathered on Lin Rui also slowly dissipated. The source of thɪs content is ⓝovelFire.net
Lin Rui let out a relaxed breath, then opened the system notifications.
[Ding, territory successfully promoted to Human Empire Town - Golden Pansy Town (renamable once)]
[Ding, territory area expanded to a radius of 65 kilometers (+20)]
[Ding, obtained medium resource point*1, each cycle can yield 10 Spirit Crystal Coins and 2000 units of all kinds of materials]
[Ding, territory successfully upgraded to a town, your influence is no longer confined to this territory alone, and your power will inexorably expand in all directions. The ten nearest villages to the territory will become the Feudal Domains of the territory.]
[Ding, nearby ten Lords have received the vassal order, and will decide within 30 seconds whether to submit. Refusal or delay will immediately trigger the Conquest and War system, successfully resisting the Golden Pansy Domain’s assault will grant 30% of Golden Pansy Domain’s reputation and a 10% wealth compensation.]
[Ding, congratulations, Explorer, Lord Dongg Qingxue has chosen to submit. (Current submission degree 1/10)]
[Ding, congratulations, Explorer, Lord Chen Dong has chosen to submit. (Current submission degree 2/10)]
...
[Ding, congratulations, Explorer, Lord Raven Lady has chosen to submit. (Current submission degree 10/10)]
[Ding, congratulations, Explorer, you have successfully established a vassal system (town level)]
Lin Rui raised an eyebrow, it seems the Explorers are quite cautious, none daring to test their limits. Even with the lure of 10% of Golden Pansy Domain’s wealth, they have no urge at all.
And in the distance, the Explorers who promptly made their choices all patted their chests, muttering that if it weren’t for having witnessed this powerhouse’s influence, they’d have believed this deceitful system.
One would have to be kicked in the head by a donkey to engage in a life-and-death fight with such a monstrous character. Not everyone is as foolish as Noesen Moonlight Forest! May the Earth Mother Goddess bless her followers, so they no longer encounter such monstrosities in the world of the Celestial Kingdom.
On Lin Rui’s side, the town upgrade notifications were not over yet.
First was confirming the success of the Feudal Domains, requiring Lin Rui to establish the vassals’ contribution obligations.
These included land, finances, and soldiers.
Lin Rui needed to issue a conscription order for these three aspects by filling in a number after each.
Regarding land, Lin Rui didn’t want to push too far and first filled in a 1. It meant all Feudal Domains had to cede 1 kilometer of land to Golden Pansy Town, reducing their own land from 10 kilometers to 9, while Lin Rui would cumulatively gain 10 kilometers, equivalent to the Territorial Essence triggering the [Vast Territory] Trait twice.
Then came finances, which Lin Rui handled uniformly; each territory needed to pay 5000 units of various resources each cycle, officially converting previous agreements into vassal contribution obligations.
Soldiers required each territory to provide one Tier One Manor Guard per cycle.
Among these, the soldier obligation was undoubtedly the heaviest tax.
Technically, vassals indeed had to provide Manor Guards for the Lord, but each cycle demanding a village to provide a soldier, reaching 52 soldiers annually, posed a tremendous burden on a village. It almost meant using one-eighth of a medium village’s population each year for vassal contribution.
The newly submissive Lords lamented; a typical village barely had a school class’s worth of newborns annually, sometimes below 52, making potential soldiers even scarcer.
Solely relying on the territory could barely meet the town’s vassal obligations, even when squeezing the populace to the bone.
But Lin Rui felt this vassal obligation wasn’t so hard to fulfill.
Once the Golden Pansy Domain opened its benefits to them, the Explorer Lords actively expanded and governed; not only could they easily meet basic obligations, but they could also grow alongside Lin Rui.
Having been upgraded to a town, the Golden Pansy Domain provided more benefits to its vassals. Beyond aiding their soldiers’ progression, Lin Rui could even choose to share some of the Golden Pansy Domain’s traits with them.
For example, the Golden Pansy Domain’s most powerful Goddess-blessed trait, [Blessing of the Goddess of Fortune: all inhabitants’ luck +1, all probability mechanism determinations see a fixed 5% increase in probability.]
As the Golden Pansy Domain expanded, so did the faith in the Goddess of Fortune, with all ten Feudal Domains forcibly converted to worship the Goddess of Fortune.
This laid-back goddess embraced an angel investor approach, with effortless earnings as long as Lin Rui continued to grow; her realm of faith expanded and her followers increased.
Of course, consequences weren’t absent; with continuous expansion, faith wars would erupt sooner or later. A large-scale war was inevitable between followers of the God of Light and the Goddess of Fortune, forcing the Goddess of Fortune into the struggle.
This world lacks a scenario where followers war while the divine spirits watch indifferently. Once faith warfare breaks out, divine spirits are bound to be involved regardless of preference, showing the firm ties between them and their followers.
No wonder Lin Rui continuously proclaimed "my wife," not just idle imagination.
For the sake of this woman’s reputation, Lin Rui generously shared the Goddess of Fortune’s blessing with all his citizens.
The complaining Explorers, upon seeing the new system notification, widened their eyes.
[Ding, you have obtained the subordinate trait of the Golden Pansy Domain, Blessing of the Goddess of Fortune: all inhabitants’ luck +1, all probability mechanism determinations see a fixed 0.5% increase in probability]
[Ding, you have obtained the subordinate trait of the Golden Pansy Domain, Martial Spirit: Physique +2, Willpower +2, Root Bone +2, Soul +2, Life Value +100, Damage Reduction +1%]
[Ding, you have obtained the subordinate trait of the Golden Pansy Domain, Celestial Country: all resource point outputs within the territory +25%, agriculture, fishery, hunting, and gathering outputs +25%, industrial resources like lumbering and mining +50%, and the probability of all natural disasters -100%.]
All Explorers instantly relinquished their grievances—this was truly a sweet deal!
Luck +1 and a fixed 0.5% increase in all probability mechanism determinations meant the drop rate for equipment and Recruitment Scrolls was secured above 0.5%. Though modest, it was a steady output compared to prior uncertainty!
So long as the Explorers actively fought and explored, the entire territory would steadily advance and continuously strengthen.
Lin Rui particularly appreciated a vibrant domain where everyone thrived and progressed positively.
It’s true that even an ordinary person, aspiring and witnessing gradual self-improvement, would be immensely motivated.
The mystery for men in romance lies in lacking progress visibility, unseen prospects. Yet what people fear most is dim hope and stagnation.
Throughout any era, hope is more precious than gems.
Seeing the system notifications, Lin Rui chuckled; his goddess truly favored him, with his divine grant offering all mechanism determinations a fixed 5% probability increase, while others, despite benefiting from the Golden Pansy Domain, only got 0.5%. For ordinary goddess followers outside the vassal system, only a luck +1 effect might be received.
Finally, Lin Rui noted this territory upgrade did not grant a Territory Spirit but did provide a special choice.
[Ding, upon the second successful promotion of the territory to a town, choose an existing territory building for an upgrade to enhance its building effects.]