In the following time, Zhou Yan continued to study while developing his territory, and naturally, his own cultivation was also carried out day and night.
On the foundation of diligent effort day and night, Zhou Yan's realm finally broke through to the seventy-fourth level of the Martial Dao.
This was a breakthrough achieved through Zhou Yan's own hard work, and women like Diao Chan had also made great contributions to this.
Outside the territory, Sun Wu and Bai Qi had almost cleared out the small tribes and began escorting the captives back to the territory, making huge contributions to its development.
They were now attacking the large tribes, which had already developed quite well. Attacking them was no less than attacking a high-level lord.
These large tribes were the overlords of this land, and once they were defeated, the war here could basically be resolved.
These tribes possessed considerable strength, especially in their defense towers, which were not simple but incorporated many elemental defense towers of good quality and decent levels.
However, the people of these tribes were unaware of Sun Wu's strength and did not prepare defenses. Instead, they gathered their armies, intending to fight Sun Wu and his forces to the death outside.
This tribe was called the Tribe of Strength, a group of natural warriors, each standing between two and three meters tall.
They looked identical to humans, except for their height.
Their strength was immense, and they possessed numerous troop types, including ordinary archers, mages, warriors, and cavalry.
The mages of the Tribe of Strength were all composed of the tribe's women; while the men possessed great physical power, the women wielded potent magical abilities.
The Tribe of Strength had a population of approximately five hundred thousand. Upon seeing Sun Wu, they proactively dispatched all their soldiers to attack.
In terms of equipment, the soldiers of the Tribe of Strength were clearly one or two tiers superior to those of other tribes, but naturally, they were no match for Sun Wu's army.
As for tactics, these tribes understood nothing of strategy; they didn't even have formations. A group of soldiers, whether archers, warriors, or mages, would charge forward upon hearing orders, with no concept of coordination or tactics.
In contrast, Sun Wu's soldiers were meticulously arranged, with each troop type in perfect order, and even their mounts remained still.
Moreover, the equipment on each soldier was of a unique design, crafted by the territory. The lowest quality gear was Dark Gold, with most being Diamond quality.
As for the generals, each possessed at least one spiritual artifact, with some even owning two or three.
The Tribe of Strength mobilized its entire population for the battle. As the horns sounded, the people of the Tribe of Strength launched a fierce assault on Sun Wu's soldiers.
Facing these enemies, Sun Wu's method was simple.
One hundred thousand [Elf Archers] flew high into the sky and unleashed a special type of arrow. These arrows did not possess great destructive power but could effectively release a poisonous smoke.
Sun Wu's objective was capture, not annihilation. Even though these arrows were costly, they were well worth it considering the future contributions these soldiers could make to the territory.
Ten thousand poison smoke arrows were fired at the Tribe of Strength. They had no idea Sun Wu possessed such soldiers. Ten thousand clouds of smoke exploded among them. While their physical resilience was strong, they could not endure for long.
As the first soldier of the Tribe of Strength fell, more and more followed.
The [Elf Archers] released a second wave of poison smoke arrows, and another torrent of arrows rained down on the Tribe of Strength, causing another large group of enemies to fall.
After several volleys of arrows, Sun Wu, without losing a single soldier, captured the entire Tribe of Strength.
Subsequently, other soldiers moved forward to apprehend the prisoners. The poisonous smoke did not kill them but merely incapacitated them temporarily.
After Sun Wu conquered the first large tribe, the following period was largely spent transporting these captives back to the territory.
Zhou Yan's daily routine became studying and returning to the territory to construct various buildings. Any buildings that were not needed or of low quality were put away, or their quality was improved.
A full month passed, and all the tribes in the area were finally dealt with by Zhou Yan's subordinates. The territory's population had increased to eight million.
Many of the territory's buildings had been upgraded to their maximum level by Zhou Yan.
First and foremost was the [Great Wall], the territory's most important defensive structure. Its importance led Zhou Yan to upgrade it to the maximum level immediately.
[Building: Great Wall]
[Level: 100]
[Quality: rrr]
[Special Attribute 1: Great Wall Defense +1000%.]
[Special Attribute 2: Territory Soldier Morale +1000%.]
[Special Attribute 3: Territory-wide Defense Attributes +500%.]
[Special Attribute 4: Reduces enemy physical damage to the Great Wall.]
[Special Attribute 5: Reduces enemy energy damage to the Great Wall.]
[Special Attribute 6: Automatically repairs damaged Great Wall, requiring Spirit Coins.]
[Special Attribute 7: During monster attacks on the territory, extra monster drop rates are increased.]
[Special Attribute 8: Increases combat power of all residents by 500%.]
[Special Attribute 9: Can collect a certain amount of luck.]
[Special Attribute 10: When enemies attack the territory, the Great Wall can activate a one-hour god-like state, making it immune to all damage for one hour. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
In addition to the [Great Wall] building, the territory's moat was also upgraded to its maximum level by Zhou Yan. The territory was only allowed to have one moat, but its level was not yet maxed out.
Apart from these, Zhou Yan also upgraded another building to its maximum level: the [Scripture Pavilion].
[Building: Scripture Pavilion]
[Level: 100 (Upgrade Required)]
[Quality: rrr]
[Special Attribute 1: Skill Draw]
[Special Attribute 2: Cultivation Technique Draw]
[Special Attribute 3: Movement Technique Draw]
[Special Attribute 4: Talent Draw]
[Special Attribute 5: Physique Draw]
[Special Attribute 6: Bloodline Draw]
[Special Attribute 7: Eye Pupil Draw]
[Special Attribute 8: Bone and Sinew Draw]
[Special Attribute 9: Soul Draw]
[Special Attribute 10: Mythical Grade Items]
[Description: All skills and cultivation techniques in the world are stored in the Scripture Pavilion. Beginner draw costs 1,000 Spirit Coins each time, Intermediate draw costs 10,000 Spirit Coins each time, Advanced draw costs 100,000 Spirit Coins each time. Uses: 100/100.]