A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 355 Recruitment
Shen Tang was utterly shocked and doubted whether she had seen it wrong.

But the earth's core on the altar is indeed gone!

But all those assassins are dead. Apart from those two groups, no outsiders should have been to this underground ruin.

How could the geothermal core have disappeared?!

Who took it?
Could it be... that there's someone else lurking in the shadows?

Shen Tang's face was cold and stern. He had searched the vicinity with Lu Xiao and the others, but they had not found the Earth Source Core. They had no choice but to give up on the matter.

After several days and nights, they ultimately returned empty-handed.

The Earth Source Core is gone, and Shen Li's body couldn't be found, so they couldn't even give him a proper burial.

The system detected Shen Tang's depressed mood and suggested, "[Host, would you like to use the Forgetfulness Potion? Drinking it will allow you to forget your feelings for Shen Li, and you won't be so sad anymore.]"

Shen Tang smiled wryly, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who gets troubled by love?"

You are very sad.

"The inevitable outcome of our meeting is separation. After a few days, I will be able to let go of it."

Does the host really not need it?

"……unnecessary."

After returning home, Shen Tang locked himself in his study. The heavy burden of official duties weighed on him, leaving him no time for sentimentality.

The empire is currently in a very unstable situation.

There has been no movement from the rebels yet, and we don't know what happened, but they remain a major concern and cannot be underestimated.

The nobles and warlords who rebelled within the country were equally ambitious.

In just half a month, several battles broke out and territories were occupied.

Cities under the empire took in more civilians fleeing from other regions.

Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. The smaller nations surrounding the empire haven't made a move yet, but they're all watching with predatory eyes. If the empire shows the slightest weakness, they'll pounce and tear at it, vying for a piece of the spoils!
Even the chaotic areas are restless, with many new forces emerging and establishing themselves as kings of the mountains.

Black Wind Village was one of them at that time.

These newly emerged vagrants and bandits are not to be underestimated. Many of them are talented individuals from the martial arts world who have never submitted to the empire, and their strength is in no way inferior to the empire's regular army.

Although Shen Tang was heartbroken, she really had no time to care about personal feelings at this moment. As the monarch, she had to remain calm and hold every thread in order to stabilize the foundation of the empire and not give outsiders any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

In recent days, Shen Tang has implemented many measures, which have initially resolved the basic defense and food issues of major cities, further enhanced the empire's military strength, and addressed the empire's economic problems as soon as possible.

Since the war, both the domestic and foreign economies have suffered severe damage, requiring the rebuilding of markets, tax reductions, and efforts to attract investment.

Many middle-class people and nobles who had fled to other places also returned.

At the same time, Shen Tang also issued a proposal to appease the chaotic areas, stating that as long as those wild forces agreed to return to the empire, the empire would offer them the most generous treatment.

Unfortunately, it's not very useful.

Those vagrants and bandits were either unwilling to submit to the empire's rule or harbored the idea of ​​"taking a gamble to seize the imperial power." How could they be easily recruited?

Cloud Mountain City, near Green Field City, is a uniquely endowed mining city with great potential, especially as it possesses the empire's largest iron mine.

Iron ore is an essential material for building fortress structures and forging weapons!

The empire is currently in dire need of reconstruction and military development, facing severe resource shortages. Fortunately, the mine in Cloud Mountain City is crucial for maintaining current resource levels; it's no exaggeration to call it a lifeline. However, in the past two days, the mine has been attacked several times, resulting in numerous orc casualties.

The group that launched the attack were refugees and bandits sent by Starfall City, which was located in a nearby chaotic area.

They want to compete for this important mine.

These bandits even claimed that the iron mine had belonged to their Starfall City since ancient times! They demanded that the orcs of Cloud Mountain City get out and return the iron mine to them!
Upon hearing this, the city lord of Yunshan City was furious. These bastards had no shame whatsoever when it came to the minerals! These minerals clearly belonged to Yunshan City; he had personally led the team to mine them more than a decade ago!

The subordinate sighed, "Both Starfall City and Ancient Bell City have been captured by Wolf Fang Stronghold. I heard that the bandits there are ruthless and domineering, and no one dares to fight them. They are very arrogant!"

The city lord of Yunshan City was very troubled. "These bandits and outlaws just want money. Forget it, at this critical juncture, let's not take any action if we can avoid it. Let's just do our job properly. If they want money, let's give them money. It's fine to spend some money to settle things peacefully!"

The city lord sent an envoy to discuss the matter.

The messenger was also a very experienced middle-aged orc.

But when he arrived at the legendary Wolf Fang Village, he saw that the entrance to the village was covered with sharp wooden stakes, with many bones hanging on them. He didn't know if they were animal bones or... The orc shuddered and his face turned pale.

"Oh my, the envoy sent by the Empire has arrived! We must give him a proper welcome!"

"Come in quickly, our boss has been waiting for you for a long time."

"We hope that the sincerity shown by your city will satisfy us!"

Amidst the bandits' ill-intentioned flattery, the envoy cautiously entered the hall.

Leading the group was a wild, middle-aged man draped in a black bear fur cloak. He sat imposingly on the central bench, holding a jug of strong liquor in his hand. To his right lay a long, wide knife that was at least half a person's height. A long scar ran across half of his square face, making him look ferocious, terrifying, and intimidating!

The envoy swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he said, "Greetings, Chief One-Eyed Wolf. I am here on behalf of the city lord to persuade you. We are willing to offer 10 billion star coins in exchange, and we hope your esteemed stronghold..."

"10 billion Star Coins? Are you trying to fetch beggars?!"

Scarface smashed the wine jug on the ground, and gave a sinister smile. "500 billion star coins. Not a penny less, and I'll lead my iron cavalry to crush your Cloud Mountain City right now!"

"This! This is impossible!"

Yunshan City has been upgraded to a mining city, and in recent years, mining and selling minerals has indeed made it richer than cities like Green Field City.

Asking them to come up with 500 billion is no different than selling half a city!
These bandits are truly arrogant and domineering, demanding exorbitant prices! They're not here to negotiate at all!
When the messenger realized that they could not reach an agreement, he turned to leave.

Scarface Wolf swung his broadsword and beheaded him.

Blood mist sprayed out!
The headless corpse fell to the ground and died.

That afternoon, Langya Village led its troops to attack Yunshan City, and the two sides fell into chaos.

Upon hearing the news, Shi Ye and his men from Green Field City quickly dispatched troops to support Cloud Mountain City.

Within just a few days, the major cities in the south and Langya Village were embroiled in a protracted and chaotic battle.

While the two sides were locked in a fierce battle, someone unexpectedly lured in from behind.

The warlord forces that rebelled in the eastern capital launched a fierce surprise attack when both sides were exhausted.

For a while.

The three parties are mired in continued chaos, and the situation is becoming increasingly urgent and far from optimistic.

Let's review the plot. Goodnight~