Chapter 2030 - 2023: Let Me Handle It, I Have Money
"As expected, this lord has come back for revenge!" Those Adventurers of the Ice Demon Race heard Zhang Menglong’s words and immediately confirmed their own guess.
They figured that back then, some Royal Tribe was fighting over the chief’s seat, this lord lost in the struggle and was forced to leave his homeland. Now that he’s back, he’s going to use his own strength to take back everything that should’ve belonged to him.
At once a bold idea popped into their minds: since this lord dares to return, he must be fully prepared. If they could help him out at this timing, and if this lord succeeds in his next moves, wouldn’t they be able to earn a ton of rewards?
They were just ordinary Ice Demons, with no powerful backing, only able to hunt here in groups. Honestly their situation was pretty miserable; if they had a strong patron, their lives would be much better. And right now was their once-in-a-lifetime chance.
"Lord, right now all of the Royal Family of the Ice Demon Race have already moved into the Ice King City and set up their own spheres of influence. If you want to go back, you’ll definitely need someone familiar with the Ice King City to provide intel and information. You saved our lives; we’re willing to serve you!"
"Holy crap? Wild Top-level fence-sitters?" Zhang Menglong hadn’t expected that before he even opened his mouth, these unlucky Ice Demons were already planning to become his lackeys. For him, this was basically dozing off and someone shows up to deliver a pillow.
"That won’t do." Zhang Menglong instantly pulled out the classic hard-to-get act. "I came back this time wanting to take everything back, but the success rate isn’t high. Following me is way too risky for you guys."
Hearing that, their desire to follow Zhang Menglong only burned hotter, and the last bit of wariness they had toward him completely vanished. "Lord, we’ve already made up our minds!"
"That’s right, lord, we’ve already decided!"
"This..." Zhang Menglong looked at their eager, practically tearing-up faces and put on a "troubled" expression. "Since that’s the case, then you can follow me."
Immediately, those Ice Demon Adventurers showed expressions of wild joy.
"If one day I get everything I want, I won’t treat you badly."
Zhang Menglong’s promise made the few of them even more excited.
"Since that’s the case, I can’t be too stingy. Consider this my meeting gift to you."
Zhang Menglong gave each of them a set of armor and a weapon. "Next time you run into this kind of Warcraft, you won’t end up so miserable."
"Supreme Weapon!" They stared so hard their eyeballs were almost popping out. This kind of thing was actually being given to them as a meeting gift?
You have to know, among the entire Ice Demon Race, the number of people who own Supreme Weapons doesn’t exceed a hundred, and almost all of them are in the hands of the Royal Family.
"We’re willing to die for you, lord!"
The few of them went down on one knee, expressing gratitude and submission toward Zhang Menglong.
"Rise." Zhang Menglong said, "My elders left this land back then. This is also my first time entering the territory of the Ice Demon Race, and I’ve never been to the Ice King City. I need to know the current situation of the whole race."
"I know all about that!" The small leader of this group of Ice Demons proactively spoke up. "Lord, my name is Viliz. All of us used to grind in the Ice King City, just not very successfully. But when it comes to the distribution of power there and other info, we’re very familiar."
"Let’s hear it." Zhang Menglong was also a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected these guys to be from the Ice King City. But you could almost picture it—ten out of eight they were about the same as those bridge-dwellers in the Great City of Aiville.
Given this chance to prove his value, Viliz immediately launched into an endless explanation.
Right now, the Ice King City has around fifty million Ice Demons. They’re mainly divided into five major tribes, each founded by a Royal Family. There are of course some smaller tribes, but none of them can compare to the scale of the five major ones.
Among the Humans, there are only a few hundred Dao Realm extreme-level experts. But in the Ice King City, any one Royal Tribe of the Ice Demon Race has close to a thousand Dao Realm extreme-level experts!
The total number of Peak of Dao Realm powerhouses in the entire race absolutely exceeds that of the Humans by more than ten times.
After obtaining the Ice Demon Flower, the Ice Demon Race has grown even stronger. As long as they reach certain specific conditions, they qualify to use the power of the Ice Demon Flower to help them unlock the potential in their bodies.
Every member of the Royal Family has already completed this process.
At present, there are also several hundred Ice Demons who possess the Royal Family Bloodline. Among those several hundred, sixty-two have reached the Peak of Dao Realm—these are the combat power ceiling of the entire Ice Demon Race.
As for the ownership of the Ice Demon Flower, it’s currently held by the five tribes. They’ve spent a tremendous amount of wealth to protect the Ice Demon Flower. Only when people from all five tribes gather together can they unlock the protective seal on the Ice Demon Flower.
If you try to brute-force it open, there’s a chance that not even the Guardian Beast could pull it off!
This information was indeed extremely helpful to Zhang Menglong. He now clearly understood that if he wanted to obtain the Ice Demon Flower, he’d have to first mix his way into the Royal Family circle within the Ice Demon Race. Going in headfirst by force might be insanely risky.
Would such a powerful race like the Ice Demon Race casually trust some suddenly appearing, unknown-origin Royal Family member?
Any new Royal Family face could be a huge hidden danger to the Ice Demon Race. If Zhang Menglong wanted to blend into that circle, he’d first have to establish a certain level of prestige and popularity.
"Looks like it’s time for my Insect Clan army to finally shine," the corner of Zhang Menglong’s mouth lifted in a faint arc.
"I more or less get it now." Zhang Menglong nodded. "I want to go check out the Ice King City."
"We’ll take you there, lord!"
...
Normally, going from the border regions of the Ice Demon Race to the Ice King City would take a long time. But Zhang Menglong was filthy rich, and he’d gotten quite a few Teleportation Scrolls while hunting Warcraft.
These Teleportation Scrolls can perform rapid teleportation over a fixed distance. A basic Teleportation Scroll can cross about one-tenth of a race’s territory, while a medium Teleportation Scroll can basically freely teleport within a race’s territory.
As for advanced Teleportation Scrolls, they can teleport back and forth between different races’ territories.
Of course, the premise for using Teleportation Scrolls is that there’s no spatial blockade.
These medium scrolls are sold in the Royal City, each costing a million Supreme Coins. Normally almost nobody is willing to spend that kind of money on such things, at most they’ll keep one as a life-saving trump card.
Meanwhile Zhang Menglong practically treated Teleportation Scrolls as his personal transportation. He had Jin Kela lead his Insect Clan army onward, while he went with Levitz and the others ahead to the Ice King City.
The Ice King City was just as grand and imposing. However, Zhang Menglong didn’t see any sign of their Guardian Beast anywhere, and had no clue where the Ice Wing Dragon Bat was hiding.
Just like their Great City of Aiville, the Ice King City also had a slum district. But because the overall strength of the Ice Demon Race is relatively high, they’re generally richer than Humans.
Compared to those Humans sleeping under bridges or on benches, these Ice Demons at least have some simple tents or other makeshift shelters. Relatively speaking, their situation is a bit better.
"Lord, sorry, we don’t really have any money, so we can’t arrange lodging for you..."
Zhang Menglong shook his head with a laugh. "It’s fine, I’ll arrange it. I’ve got money."