The whistling wind swept past, carrying a hint of coolness.
Lei Lin rode his horse, gazing at the scenery on both sides — vast stretches of farmland spread out as far as the eye could see, with dense clusters of farmers tilling the soil.
Along both sides of the road, purification towers could be seen everywhere.
These were specifically designed to neutralize the radiation pollution that Wizards inadvertently emitted from their bodies, allowing ordinary people and Wizards to coexist without harm.
In the end,
"My Lord Marquis! Your noble title recognition and territory certificate have both come through. From now on, your rank will be recognized across the entire Central Continent! And the plains east of the Blackmarsh Mountain Range all fall within your domain — all ordinary people living here will automatically become your subjects!"
A gray-haired second-rank warlock spoke up from the side.
"Bring me the map!" Lei Lin dismounted, and Gubule immediately produced a yellowed scroll and unrolled it.
With the map laid out, the contours of the territory became far clearer. Not only was the domain vast, encompassing several fertile plains, it even included a stretch of coastline with several excellent ports.
A Marquis on the Central Continent carried far greater prestige than one on the South Coast — the territory could rival that of an entire large kingdom on the South Coast.
Of course, for Lei Lin, who had once ruled the entire Dark Zone with fifty million subjects under his command, this was nothing particularly staggering. Not worth getting excited about.
Gubule and the second-rank warlock, on the other hand, had expressions of pure envy on their faces.
The output from a territory of this magnitude, even if converted into
"Gubule! Go find some dedicated administrative talent and set up a governing structure here. Oh, and my noble crest — use the secret imprint as the design!" Lei Lin issued the order casually.
Gubule lowered his head respectfully to show his understanding.
Seeing this, the white-haired old warlock glanced at Gubule, a flicker of envy passing through his eyes.
In his view, Lei Lin was a Comorin Giant Serpent warlock who had taken a Morning Star Wizard as his master, possessing limitless potential. Gubule was his first vassal and enjoyed deep trust — his status would naturally rise with the tide.
Whereas at Robin's side, even after a lifetime of climbing, the old man had barely managed to enter the inner circle.
Comparing the two only deepened his envy and jealousy.
"My Lord! As a Marquis, you still need a castle to serve as the core of your authority!" Gubule offered the reminder at just the right moment.
"Mm. Then purchase some slaves, and also offer food and money as wages to recruit some of my subjects to build it. Let's set the location here!" Lei Lin pointed casually at a spot on the map.
It was a plain relatively close to the coastline, just a short distance from the ports further out.
"As you command, merciful master!" Gubule praised.
In truth, once the Ouroboros Circle had granted this entire land to Lei Lin, he held the power of life and death over every living creature in the region. He was even permitted to establish armies and found a kingdom.
Meanwhile, on the Central Continent, subjects were expected to unconditionally answer their lord's summons every year, bringing their own provisions to bear a certain amount of labor service and war logistics work — without any pay at all.
Now Lei Lin was even offering salaries. Naturally, that was incomparably merciful.
"Name the castle 'Black Castle.' Go gather a batch of scholars and craftsmen first. Once the design is complete, bring it to me for review!"
Lei Lin couldn't have cared less about such minor details and delegated authority right away.
What he truly cared about lay beneath: "And next to Black Castle, I intend to construct a Wizard Tower!"
"A Wizard Tower!" The two people nearby immediately let out a cry of astonishment. That implied an enormous expenditure of resources.
"Yes, and it must be built to the highest standards!" In Lei Lin's eyes, Black Castle was merely a center of mortal authority. The Wizard Tower was where he would actually reside from now on.
"Why not build it at headquarters? You could receive resource support there, and it could be defended in conjunction with the others," Gubule suggested.
"Out of the question!" Lei Lin shook his head and flatly refused. Building at headquarters might offer certain technical and resource support, but the Wizard Tower's core would have to be integrated into the joint defense system — and that was something he absolutely could not tolerate!
He had far too many secrets. How could he possibly let others see inside?
Moreover, a Wizard Tower was a necessary prerequisite for conducting the Star Gate experiments. For that reason, Lei Lin had made up his mind — it had to be built independently on his own territory.
"In that case! The design and the cost..." Gubule's mind reeled after just a moment's consideration.
"I'll handle the design myself. As for the expenses, don't worry about them," Lei Lin said with a faint smile.
He had plundered an entire Dark Polar Domain after all. Though it was far less wealthy than the Central Continent, when all those resources were concentrated in one person's hands, the amount was still terrifying.