Chapter 192 Florida Man Unintentionally Tames Local Saintess as Pet. Pope Declares Act as Blasphemy.
Days turned into weeks as life on Felix's floating island progressed.
The lamias were thrilled when the town construction project was finally completed. Each of them received a spacious house, causing celebrations to ripple through their community. Meanwhile, the beastmen opted for a more communal lifestyle, choosing to share one large house together rather than splitting into individual homes. Clover, ever resourceful, claimed one house for herself and transformed its rooftop into a serene garden where she could bask in the sunlight and unwind.
However, the 100 townhouses initially built were insufficient to accommodate the influx of 5,000 refugees from Balicano City. Zen, taking charge of the allocation, prioritized housing the largest families first. Fragile women, orphans, and the elderly were then assigned to share the remaining homes.
Recognizing the dire need for more housing, Felix invested an additional ten million years of lifespan to purchase 1,000 more homes for the church's displaced population. Unfortunately, these houses would take over a week to construct, leaving many without immediate shelter. For the time being, the homeless sought refuge in Felix's expansive warehouse. Strict rules were imposed, barring anyone from approaching the sensitive armory storage units where volatile weaponry and ammunition were kept.
The eastern district was rapidly transformed into a bustling agricultural hub. It became the primary workplace for jobless villagers, offering them food in exchange for their labor. Thousands of farmers, paladins, and priestesses brought their tools and began cultivating the land. With their abilities to conjure water through magic, the priestesses and paladins solved irrigation problems effortlessly, ensuring the fields flourished.
Zen's tireless dedication didn't stop there. Inspired by Felix's efforts, she mobilized workers and paladins to construct a grand cathedral in the northern district, near the Fate Plaza. The cathedral would serve as a spiritual center for the growing community. Additionally, Zen dispatched a messenger to the church's headquarters to inform them about their relocation and new circumstances.
Meanwhile, Cornelia remained stationed in Balicano City, commanding a garrison of 1,000 paladins. Her forces safeguarded the city against potential invasions from the Crimson Desert or other northern nations, ensuring a secure link to their former home.
With the new town taking shape and most of the logistical chaos subsiding, the island's population began to settle into a more structured routine. Although some of Balicano City's residents had yet to arrive, the magical carpet transport units continued their work, gradually ferrying everyone to the floating island.
For now, the town management mayhem had come to a temporary resolution, allowing Felix a brief rest before the next challenge arose.
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Main Quest #12: Increase Your Population
Although your territory is well-protected by the system shields, it will never last against fellow system users with better technology levels, manpower, and weaponry.
So far, you've managed to recruit a group of Lamias, beastmen, and some strays. They might be strong individually, but they are not strong enough to compete against armies of established system users of this world.
Your next task will be related to the expansion of manpower. You have multiple choices to finish this quest. But as usual, it will be a time-limited one.
Quest Objectives: Increase your territory population to 2,000.
Current Progress: 5,720 / 2,000
Time Limit: 5 Hours, 12 Minutes
Rewards:
- Permanently increase familiar slots by one, not including the leveling bonus.
- Dim Philosopher Stone x 1
- Emergency Supply Beacons x 100
- War Machine Factory x 1
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Meanwhile, the countdown for Felix's main quest ticked down to its final five hours. Yet, Felix had already far surpassed the required quota days ago.
Despite his progress, he had deliberately delayed submitting the quest. Managing a territory with thousands of new residents proved to be an exhausting endeavor.
Tensions had arisen as their vastly different cultures clashed, but thanks to Zen and Diana, peace prevailed. Their leadership and diplomatic skills ensured that disputes were resolved before escalating into open conflict.
With the foundational infrastructure finally completed, including housing, roads, warehouses, and farms, Felix felt confident enough to move forward. The territory was far from perfect, but it was stable. It was time to shift focus to his next major project.. or rather, his next main quest.
Taking a deep breath, Felix opened his system interface. He pressed the Submit button, confirming the completion of the quest.
As he watched the quest log update, Felix found himself wondering.
How much time remained until the scenario quest began?
*DING*
<You have completed Main Quest #12.>
<You have received a dim philosopher stone, 100 emergency supply beacons, and one war machine factory.>
<You have received Main Quest #13: New Battalion!>
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Main Quest #13: New Battalion
Although it's a miracle that you've managed to gather quite a lot of people under your wings, your kingdom is built on a paper-thin foundation. In addition, you lack sufficient military force to intimidate your rivals.
The next step is quite simple. Build the War Machine Factory that you've received from the quest reward and form an elite battalion of 200 strong infantry, consisting of 200 5th-circle mages and 5-star aura knights.
Quest Objectives: Train 200 5th-circle mages and 200 5-star aura knights.
Time Limit: 30 Days
Rewards:
- Unlock Level Limit
- Class B Super Democracy Pass
Tips: Try to complete this quest as soon as possible to get additional bonus main quests.
. Find more to read at empire
Felix's expression turned dark. He didn't mind self-improving quests, but he hated kingdom-building quests the most for its complexity. The task was worse as it demanded 400 elites within a month.
He turned to Jessica, asking for the demographic information.
"Jessica, what are the current strength of our population? Can we form the unit right away?"
<Scanning…>
It took Jessica a minute to scan everybody's data. She then prompted him with a rough number of his fighters.
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Mage Category
8th-Circle
- Zen
7th-Circle
- Diana
6th-Circle
- Jiji
- Clover
5th-Circle
- 57 Dragonewts
- 345 Dragonscaled Lamias
- 35 Eleanor Priestesses
4th-Circle and Below
- 121 Dragonscaled Lamias
- 100 Regular Lamias
- 750 Eleanor Priestesses
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Aura Knight Category
7-Star
- Jagged Beard
6-Star
- Huchu
5-Star
- 3 Beastmen
- 75 Eleanor Paladins
4-Star and Below
- 6 Beastmen
- 1,250 Eleanor Paladins
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The mage department posed no issue. Felix could draft some capable individuals to fill the battalion quota right away.
However, the aura knights were a different story. Their numbers seemed insufficient. Felix suspected that most of the elite aura knights were still stationed with Cornelia at Balicano City.
"How should I approach this?" Felix muttered, staring at the system screen. His mind drifted to potential solutions. One idea was feeding the knights dragon meat to boost their aura. However, he hesitated. The Lamias' mutations were a direct result of consuming dragon flesh, and he didn't want to risk similar complications among his forces.
Deciding he needed expert advice, Felix sought out Zen, hoping her knowledge of the paladins' training regime might provide insights into strengthening the aura knights.
As usual, Zen was overseeing the construction site of the new cathedral. The craftswomen had made progress, erecting a wooden framework, but the structure still lacked proper walls and pillars. Zen stood with a blueprint in hand, studying the framework and instructing workers.
Felix approached her. "Elder Zen, I need your wisdom."
Zen glanced up, and her expression brightened at the sight of Felix. "What's troubling you, my lord? Oh, by the way, I heard from the new batch of priestesses that you've somehow restored their purity. They're overjoyed and mentioned they'd be willing to serve as your personal maids if needed. Would you like me to recommend them to you!"
Felix's face flushed, and he waved his hands frantically. "No, no, that's not why I'm here! Please don't turn this into something weird. Actually, I need your expertise. I'm looking for ways to enhance the paladins' strength. Specifically, I need to figure out how to get them to five stars within a month."
Zen tilted her head, curious of the unusual request. "Oh, the paladins? It's simple. They build their strength through physical training while offering their prayers to the goddess. But why such urgency? And why five stars?"
Felix sighed, realizing it was difficult to explain the intricacies of his quest requirements.
An intrusive thought suddenly struck him, giving him a way to simplify the conversation. Out of habit, he blurted it out, but he immediately framed it as a joke. "You know, it'd be much easier to explain if you became my contracted familiar. Then, our souls would be linked, and you'd understand instantly… Crap, forget it. That was a joke. Pretend that you didn't hear that from me."
To his shock, Zen's expression brightened with excitement. "Oh, I'd love to be your contracted familiar! Let's do that right now, my lord!"
Felix blinked, stunned. "Wait… what? You're serious?"
"Of course!" Zen giggled, clasping her hands together. "Please bring out the magic contract. I'm ready whenever you are."
"Hold on, you realize this would bind your soul to mine? Forever?"
"Absolutely, you've already bound yourself to our people's well-being. Why not make it official with me?"
Felix's shoulders slumped. He had been joking, but Zen's genuine enthusiasm left him at a loss for words.
Still, Felix had about two more rooms for familiars. He had been saving them for time like this, but he didn't expect to use it on Zen. Though reluctant, Felix formed a contract with her.
…
In a distant paradise, Esen lounged on a pristine beach, basking in the warmth of the sun. The rhythmic sound of waves filled the air as she stretched lazily on her towel.
Suddenly, a sharp sting pricked her fingertip. She absentmindedly scratched it, rolling her eyes in mild annoyance.
Beside her, a half-naked man reclined in a speedo, snoring peacefully under the shade of a palm tree. Despite being sound asleep, his lips moved, muttering faintly as though he could sense a disturbance within his wife's essence.
"An incarnation has left you," mumbled Leo, the progenitor of all Phoenixes and the ancestor of Felix.
Esen scoffed, "Thanks for the update, genius. I noticed."
Leo cracked one eye open briefly. His golden gaze glinted with wry amusement. "As expected of that guy's great-great-great-grandson. The bloodline runs true… unfortunately."
Esen sighed heavily, "Yeah, it's no surprise. He's got that Mao guy's cursed blood running through him. Isn't that why you killed him and made him the final boss for your ridiculous trial?"
"Mhm," Leo yawned and drifted back into his deep, contented slumber.
Esen smirked, shaking her head at her husband's nonchalant attitude. She glanced at the endless horizon before closing her eyes, letting herself drift back into dreamland. After all, even a transcendent being needed a little rest now and then.