"You think you can just eat shit?"
Tens of thousands of sows pointed to the thatched hut behind them, rolled their eyes at Jiang Hao, and asked, "You think this dilapidated thing of yours will turn into a rich and handsome man in a moment?"
"The city of Jinling was rebuilt by demolishing the original three thatched huts and spending gold coins!"
Oh, Jiang Hao suddenly remembered that Jinling City did indeed have a story about inviting Sirio to build the city. He didn't know the reason before, but now he finally understood.
It seems the city lord of Jinling is quite concerned with his image. Otherwise, why would he have built such a large house for himself?
The monsters at the Black Iron level weren't very strong. Jiang Hao chatted with them as they fought, saying, "What's the difference between a level one main city and a level two main city? What are the benefits of leveling up?"
Tens of thousands of sows simply put their hands behind their heads, and somehow produced another straw, which they casually held in their mouths. They looked up at the sky and said leisurely, "The number of monsters in a level one main city is small, and the structure is simple. A group of monsters doesn't even have a monster boss. No player wants to play it."
"In a level-two main city, there is at least one Iron-level boss in each monster group. Players who defeat it will definitely obtain equipment."
"You've already experienced the level 3 main city, and the monsters in the beginner village are already starting to be bronze-level."
"The reason you insist on upgrading Dingbei City to level four is because you are a player. Even if you become the city lord of a level three main city, half of the profits you gain will still be automatically distributed by Lingxu to the city lord of Jinling City."
Jiang Hao immediately understood the crux of the problem. Even though he had become the city lord, he was still just a small landowner and still had to contribute to his main family's large landowner status.
“A level four main city is different. Although a quarter of your resources will still be allocated to Jinling City, you will eventually surpass Jinling City by two levels and become a level five main city. In that case, you will only need to pay tribute to level six main cities.”
Jiang Hao grasped the key point: surpassing his own main city by two levels to pay tribute to a level six main city. He then quickly asked, "If this city defense lasts for 24 hours, will the main city only be upgraded to level four in the end?"
How could tens of thousands of sows not hear the ambition in Jiang Hao's words? After scoffing, they said, "If you have the ability, you can upgrade the main city to the realm clan level, or even the realm star level, the realm group star level, or even the highest level, the Spirit Ruins level."
The more you know, the more you realize you don't know. The answers from tens of thousands of sows brought Jiang Hao even more questions.
Since it was just clearing out some Iron-level monsters, Jiang Hao didn't feel any pressure at all. So, while waving his staff, he asked, "What's this about Realm Race Level?"
The tens of thousands of sows seemed to have anticipated Jiang Hao's question, and sighed helplessly, saying, "After a main city reaches level five, the next upgrade is a level six main city, also known as a realm-level city. Once Dingbei City reaches this level, all the main cities of human races in your realm will have to pay tribute to you."
"If I manage to reach level 5 main city today, will I have to pay tribute to level 6 main city in this realm?"
“That’s right! It’s just that your realm doesn’t yet have a level six main city of the human race, so we can save the quarter of the tribute fee.”
Jiang Hao breathed a sigh of relief.
The tens of thousands of sows spoke again: "As for the realm star level, it's quite clear. Once your main city reaches this level, all the main cities in your realm, whether they are human, jackal, or black dragon clan main cities, will pay tribute to you. However, you will also have to pay tribute to the main cities of the realm group star level, one-quarter of them!"
"As for the realm cluster star level, hehe, that's impressive. Out of more than 10,000 realms in the entire Spirit Ruins, only 5 main cities are at this star level."
Jiang Hao immediately guessed that it was the sphere of influence of the Realm Cluster Star.
It must be a group of realms composed of many realms!
Jiang Hao had already figured out the main cities of these five realms, so he asked, "Are they the royal cities of the five major clans?"
Tens of thousands of sows finally burst into laughter, and after laughing, they said, "That's right, every time the Spirit Ruins Black Hole expands, hundreds or thousands of realms will merge into the Spirit Ruins. What the five major races are fighting over is the ownership of these realms."
A sense of foreboding suddenly gripped Jiang Hao's heart. The realm he was in had been assigned to the gnolls!
Does that mean that if we upgrade to a realm-level star, we'll have to pay tribute to the jackal king's capital?
Am I aiding the enemy?
absurd!
The tens of thousands of sows seemed to have guessed Jiang Hao's thoughts. They said leisurely, "Once the new realms are divided, even if you erase your own realm, the other four races will have no right to interfere. Not to mention the Spirit Ruins Management Committee, this nominal sixth force."
A thunderclap resounded in Jiang Hao's heart.
These words from tens of thousands of sows made him even more aware of the predicament he was facing.
No matter how much he upgrades his main city, he cannot change the fate of the entire realm being wiped out by the gnolls. Unless he can achieve a meteoric rise and directly upgrade his main city to the level of a royal city, he has no leverage to negotiate with the entire gnoll empire.
Jiang Hao knew he would be rebuffed, but he still asked, "What if it's at the Spirit Ruins level?"
"Spirit Void level? You are already invincible, able to completely transcend the Spirit Void and look down upon the tens of thousands of realms within it. Even if the five major races collectively offered you tribute, you might not even glance at them. With a mere thought, any realm could be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. Do you have that ability?"
At this point, Jiang Hao finally understood the ranking system of the main city. However, one question remained: "How should the main city be upgraded? It can't rely solely on defending the city, can it?"
Jiang Hao pointed to the level 59 Black Iron Magic Boar that appeared in the distance, his meaning was clear: simply killing these monsters would upgrade the main city to a Realm Star level or a Realm Cluster Star level.
Even without observing Jiang Hao's body language, the tens of thousands of sows guessed what he was thinking and said, "Defending the city can only upgrade the main city to level six, which is the realm/race level. If you want to continue upgrading the main city, there is only one way: conquest!"
"If the jackals in this realm are not convinced, send troops to subdue them. If they still are not convinced, simply kill them all, seize the city-building decree, and let the humans build a new main city to replace them. As for the other three major races..."
Jiang Hao turned his head, wanting to see what insights the tens of thousands of sows had.
Unexpectedly, he still rested his head on his hands, a straw in his mouth, and stared indifferently at the swirling snowflakes, coldly uttering two words: "Same as above!"
The snow fell heavily, struggling in the wind, but eventually it all settled on the ground, just like the level 60 Black Iron skeleton monsters that appeared around them.
Jiang Hao's heart turned completely cold, and he slowly raised the staff in his hand.
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