Miracle City.
Business hours had ended.
Kanzaki Ren finished the day's calculations.
A total of 550 adventurers entered the secret realm today, generating 2,542 soul crystals and a net gain of 4,465 spirit energy.
Current resources:
Soul Crystals: 3,177
Spirit Energy: 6,054
Material Essence: 0 (no income today)
Though today's spirit energy income reached a new high at 5,669, the expenditures also broke records.
The drop rate of souls had been unusually high, including a two-star elite Flamethrower Pursuer Soul.
The cost of deploying such a monster was massive: 120 spirit energy to summon, and another 200 spirit energy lost when extracting its soul from the secret realm. One unit alone consumed 320 spirit energy.
In addition—
With White Crane Hermit taking the lead, Miracle City contracted five more adventurers, costing 150 additional spirit energy.
Miracle City now had 15 contract adventurers.
High expenditures were unavoidable.
But even with that, the overall production scale was something most lords couldn't even dream of.
Miracle City's per-adventurer spirit energy efficiency was five to six times higher than fully developed dungeons.
Souls dropped frequently.
And the rate of successful recovery was astonishing.
Today's production and recovery:
1-star gray souls: 212 recovered / 382 dropped
2-star gray souls: 19 / 41
3-star gray souls: 5 / 9
5-star gray souls: 1 / 3
2-star white soul: 1 / 1
In addition to White Crane Hermit's Tank Soul, one more Tank Soul had been recovered.
Miracle City's soul reserves skyrocketed.
Soul crystals weren't lacking.
Spirit energy wasn't lacking.
Only materials were lacking.
That was a problem.
Regardless of building upgrades or special constructions, material essence was a foundational resource. Without it, territory growth would bottleneck.
Material acquisition typically worked in two ways:
Production — via mines or spiritual fields, then refining raw material into essence.
Conquest — raiding dark races or native tribes and converting their items into essence.
Production was stable.
Conquest was risky but lucrative.
But the issue was—
Miracle City had absorbed too little population.
Red Rock Mountain had a copper mine.
Redclaw Village had spiritual farmland.
But without labor, none of it could be operated.
Expansion was necessary.
For materials.
For land.
For population.
Miracle City had reached the point where war was inevitable.
Kanzaki Ren issued a command:
Recruit 180 mercenaries at once!
Why 180?
Simple—because that was the maximum possible.
The city had two Mercenary Houses:
Tier 2 House: converts 150 mercenaries
Tier 1 House: converts 30 mercenaries
180 temp workers + 15 soldiers = 195 combat units.
Among them were at least:
1 Witch
2 Tanks
2 Chargers
2 Smokers
3 Hunters
A solid fighting force.
Enough to take on the Goblins occupying Blackbone Camp.
But not enough.
They had to wipe out the enemy completely.
A swift, decisive victory.
At minimum cost.
Summoning Begins
[You are summoning: Tank Zombie. Cost: 100 Spirit Energy + 50 Soul Crystals + 1 Tank Soul. Proceed? Yes/No]
"Summon."
Another Tank was created.
Miracle City now had two Tanks.
Kanzaki Ren named them Tank No.1 and Tank No.2.
[You are summoning: Flamethrower Pursuer. Cost: 500 Spirit Energy + 500 Soul Crystals + 1 Flamethrower Pursuer Soul. Proceed? Yes/No]
Expensive.
But worth every unit.
Monster soldiers obeyed perfectly.
They could be further upgraded.
Having a Tier-2 monster unit was crucial.
Summoning successful.
Kanzaki Ren grinned with excitement.
The creature that appeared matched the secret realm version exactly:
A hulking frame, a grotesque face, a black coat, and a massive flamethrower fused into its body.
This weapon wasn't an external prop—it was part of the monster's biological design.
It didn't use fuel.
It burned spirit energy.
As long as its spirit energy wasn't exhausted, the flamethrower would continue firing.
This was the source of its two-star elite peak power.
Now Miracle City's forces consisted of:
180 mercenaries
15 contract adventurers
3 monster soldiers
More than enough for the operation ahead.
Before departure, Kanzaki Ren took precautions.
If the main army left, goblins might strike Redclaw Village or Red Rock Mountain.
So he stationed both Tanks as garrison troops.
With two super soldiers guarding the rear, and an abundance of souls for emergency deployment, Miracle City would be secure.
The Army Gathers
When the Chaos Tide receded, Nanshiriya and other citizens witnessed a shocking sight:
196 combat units fully assembled.
At the front stood Kanzaki Ren himself, controlling the Flamethrower Pursuer.
Behind him:
Witch Bright-Moon-Over-Snow
Tank Raging Little Chicken
Tank White Crane Hermit
Other contract undead soldiers
And finally—
A vast formation of mercenary troops wearing riot armor, helmets, and wielding batons.
"Impressive…" Nanshiriya murmured.
"Miracle City's military might may not be enough to conquer Shadowdark City, but it's certainly enough to threaten Bloodthroat."
A territory achieving this scale in one week without external help was incredible.
"Move out!"
Kanzaki Ren ordered.
The troops passed through the territory core, transported to Red Rock Mountain, then marched toward Blackbone Camp.
Blackstone Hammer King and the Hunters moved ahead for reconnaissance.
They were parkour-like, hooded assassins—perfect scouts in rugged terrain.
Moments later:
"Alert—goblin patrol in the forest ahead!"
"How many?"
"Ten or so!"
A small patrol unit.
Bright-Moon-Over-Snow stepped forward. "My lord! Give me the order!"
"Go."
She charged ahead.
Supporting her were Wool Warrior and Silly Goose—two Smokers capable of long-range grabs and control.
Plus three Hunters.
With such a lineup, the outcome was obvious.
Five seconds.
That was all it took.
The goblins didn't even manage to signal before being wiped out.
Miracle City's forces drew closer to Blackbone Camp.
Adventurers finally saw the goblin army inside.
Blackstone Hammer King gasped. "There's so many?!"
Raging Little Chicken cracked her knuckles. "Good! I've been itching for a real fight!"
She wielded the power of a Tank.
This was the perfect battle for her.
Kanzaki Ren addressed them:
"Today's mission is not only to reclaim Blackbone Camp—but to annihilate the invading dark-race forces!"
"If we succeed, every participant will receive double contribution points!"
That fired everyone up immediately.
The base reward was 10 points.
Double meant 20.
And contributions from Miracle City held significant value.
There was no way they were letting a single goblin escape.
Even without rewards—
Thanks to Kanzaki Ren's promises, the adventurers were full of enthusiasm.
Only by conquering new land could Miracle City unlock new secret realms.