Setting aside the death knell, the Death Shooter was, after all, just a mortal skilled in archery and could not harm Bai Qi at all.
All that remained was the Shadow Alliance.
Coincidentally, Bai Qi had recently joined the Illuminati, and the leader of the Shadow Alliance, Lars, was also a member of the Illuminati. It was even more impossible for them to wage war against Bai Qi for mere financial gain.
If the five dared to seek help from the Shadow Alliance, they would likely be tied up and presented before Bai Qi the next day.
However, it was a pity that the five no longer had the chance.
As the five were actively discussing countermeasures, the sound of fighting suddenly erupted from outside the door. Then, the room door was kicked open heavily. A person wearing a tracksuit, with metal guards on their limbs and a metal mask on their face, walked in. Behind them followed a mysterious person whose face was concealed by a cloak.
"Who are you? Where are the guards? Guards!"
The masked person waved their hand impatiently and said, "Stop shouting. They don't have the energy to care about your lives right now; it's up to you next."
With that, the masked person stepped aside, and the mysterious person behind them walked up to the five.
Removing the cloak revealed frighteningly pale skin. Even more terrifying was the person's head. From the forehead upwards, the upper half of the head was completely transparent, and the brain suspended in an unknown liquid could be seen with the naked eye.
The mysterious person placed the middle fingers of both hands on their temples. Before the five could resist, an invisible mental wave enveloped them.
"Look at Pismon, Pismon will make you all forget."
"Forget."
Under Pismon's mental brainwashing, the five soon fainted.
"What happened to them? Don't you kill them off."
"Don't worry, Pismon knows what they're doing. Pismon has already brainwashed them, completely clearing their original memories of Kutor and implanting the necessary ones."
"Very well, let's go."
Although the members of the Illuminati could not directly interfere with Kutor, they could still cause some trouble and divert attention on US soil.
Without any interference, Bai Qi took only half a month to clear out all the warlords on Kutor's three islands. With the support of the Kutor people, he became the legitimate king of Kutor.
Subsequently, the Umbrella Corporation arrived in Kutor with a large number of engineers, greatly promoting infrastructure construction and employment for the local area.
All of this, with intentional publicity, became attributed to Bai Qi's achievements. Although it was his doing, after such publicity, the domestic opposition to a demon becoming king completely vanished.
Unlike other small countries like Kutor that had just ended wars and were starting to rebuild, Kutor, under Bai Qi's support, had no concerns about funding.
The financial resources of the Holy Lord were not to be trifled with. Any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem for Bai Qi.
What to do about national food shortages?
Buy.
Import food in large quantities from abroad.
What to do about backward technology?
Import.
Introduce a large volume of advanced overseas technology into Kutor.
What?
You say they won't sell it to you?
Don't worry, that absolutely won't happen. If they don't sell, the US will be the first to object.
After finally sending that ancestor to the Pacific to tend to their fields, how could they allow them to return so easily?
A significant portion of the food Kutor purchased in large quantities came from the US.
With the push from the US government, sellers made money. Why wouldn't they?
As for advanced technology.
Don't forget, the entire Umbrella Corporation was ultimately built by Bai Qi. After a period of rapid development, the Umbrella Corporation encompassed various cutting-edge scientific technologies from around the world. Now, it was ready for use.
Of course, the above are merely supplementary. To truly make Kutor prosperous and strong, education is the most crucial.
The war had caused Kutor's literacy rate to plummet. Forget children; over half of the adults were illiterate. Making them fight with guns was one thing, but asking them to read and write was harder than killing them.
But even if it was difficult, learning was mandatory.
Bai Qi had the Shadow Legion establish schools on every island, catering to both children and adults.
For children's education, Bai Qi replicated China's plan: nine years of compulsory education and a four-year university system. For adults, it required a slight modification.
It would be too late to start with basic arithmetic; therefore, in adult universities, the first thing to learn was literacy, followed by various technical skills. It was like a vocational school, where everyone had to learn a trade. Upon completion, the state would directly assign them jobs.
With Bai Qi's iron fist and substantial financial backing, it took only one year for the entire Kutor, from a poor and backward war-torn nation, to begin a gradual development in a positive direction.
Bai Qi, because of his actions, was revered as a god by the people of Kutor. A spontaneously organized Holy Dragon Cult even began to deify Bai Qi.
Don't misunderstand; the Holy Dragon Cult that appeared here was not a cult in the usual sense of deception and self-immolation but a legitimate, formal religious organization.
Its form was somewhat similar to Western Christianity, with believers praying to the Great Holy Dragon twice a day, repenting for the sins committed that day.
The Holy Dragon Cult advocated for people to face life optimistically, work hard, and realize their life's value.
When Bai Qi discovered the existence of this church, he did not obstruct it. Instead, while ensuring the purity of the church itself, he offered it some support.
After all, Bai Qi was still a demon. A certain degree of whitewashing and deification was necessary.
To facilitate national administration, Bai Qi also used magic to create an island between the three main islands and built a magnificent palace on it.
Regarding all of this, the people of Kutor showed no dissatisfaction.
The reason was simple: Bai Qi funded the construction of the island and palace entirely out of his own pocket, without spending a single cent of state funds.
Furthermore, under the propaganda of the Holy Dragon Cult, many believers regarded the island as a holy land and Bai Qi's palace as a holy temple. Their greatest dream was to enter the holy temple and behold the glory of the Holy Lord.
However, it was a pity that both locals and foreigners, believers and non-believers alike, were strictly forbidden from setting foot on the holy island. Those who violated the order would be melted by relentless holy fire, body and soul.
The reason Bai Qi prohibited anyone from entering the holy island was simple: to create the illusion that he was always on the island.
This was to make countries like the US relax their vigilance against him.
While spies and agents from the US and other countries could easily infiltrate Kutor, they could not enter the holy island, which was protected by layers of the Shadow Legion.
There were no humans on the island. As long as these spies dared to step foot there, they would be captured by the overwhelming tide of the Shadow Legion in the next moment.