"Xu Yuan, I know that you want to upgrade the Territory Core to Level 3. Can I ask what benefits you will receive if that happens?" asked Su Wan.
Xu Yuan finally reacted. He seemed interested in her question. He was also curious to know how Su Wan had guessed his motives.
After, finally, seeing some changes in Xu Yuan, Su Wan heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t feel embarrassed any longer. If he had remained indifferent and ignored her, she would have felt very embarrassed.
Su Wan cleared her throat and stared at Xu Yuan. All sorts of thoughts appeared in her mind. Xu Yuan was very mysterious, and she didn’t know much about him. She didn’t know what abilities he would acquire after the Territory Core was upgraded to Level 3.
Xu Yuan was a cloud of fog in Su Wan’s eyes. He was hazy and impossible to explore. However, Su Wan could guess that this upgrade meant something to Xu Yuan because he would acquire some new abilities.
"When the Territory Core upgrades to Level 3, you can take a human form. Is that your ultimate goal?" asked Su Wan. She looked very sure of herself, as though she had already seen through his ruse.
Xu Yuan had been curious to hear her speculations, but, when he heard this, he tilted his head and yawned. He had overestimated this Overlord. He had thought Su Wan was smarter than she looked and that she had found some insight into his plans. It was a pity that all she could think about was him taking a human form.
Xu Yuan didn’t know that Su Wan was relieved at that moment. She felt that, at the least, the awkwardness between them was alleviated.
Su Wan was intelligent. She knew that the Level 3 Territory Core would have more benefits than Xu Yuan turning into a human. She knew that Xu Yuan was a Demon Dragon and that he could transform into a human if he wanted to. She had just said it to ease the awkwardness.
She knew too little about Xu Yuan. From the information that she had so far, she was only certain of the fact that he would gain the ability to transform into a human if the Territory Core reached Level 3. She needed to find out more.
For the moment, Su Wan just wanted to ease the tension, so she could discuss the problems in Xu Yuan’s current plan. It was, however, certain that both the Lord and the hero had only one goal: to upgrade the Territory Core to Level 3.
Su Wan also wanted to make sure that Xu Yuan couldn’t guess her thoughts. But Su Wan had to pay attention and not let Xu Yuan see her thoughts.
"Xu Yuan, our territory is now bigger and stronger. The population is more than a thousand," said Su Wan. "As a Lord, I want to say that I am very pleased."
Su Wan actually wanted to say that it was a pity that the only population they had was composed entirely of skeletons. In the past, Su Wan would have been miffed with only skeletons as her subjects. However, she had changed. Now, she just let it be.
"We can continue to grow bigger and stronger together. Together, we can become legendary in the Overlord Plane!" Su Wan blurted out.
She had, finally, found a reasonable explanation for her goal. She could just say that she was invested in this to become stronger. However, she didn’t know that Xu Yuan was casting a suspicious glance at her.
Xu Yuan was, justifiably, suspicious of Su Wan. Before this, whenever he tried to upgrade the Territory Core, she had been dissatisfied and set some conditions for negotiation. She had made him reveal his abilities. But now, she was willing, even motivated, to upgrade the Territory Core.
’Something is wrong...,’ thought Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan doubted Su Wan was doing this without anything in exchange. He knew she wanted something, but he couldn’t guess what it was.
’The Lord is definitely hiding something. What does she want?’ wondered Xu Yuan.
Su Wan and Xu Yuan both had ulterior motives, but they set everything aside to focus on the main issue for now.
"How can we lure the enemy over? Also, I think it’s better if we screen the troop types before killing them. We shouldn’t bother with weak troop types like the slimes," said Su Wan.
Su Wan felt that she needed to intervene. Xu Yuan wanted to choose the fastest reproducing creatures to fill in the population gap. Slimes reproduced exponentially, so Xu Yuan had been intending to wipe out all nearby slime nests. But Su Wan rejected some parts of his plan.
Although the main purpose was to increase the population, it was best to avoid weak and useless troops. When Su Wan suggested this, Xu Yuan yawned in answer.
"Then I will leave the rest to you," he said. He wanted to see how she would get so many creatures to increase the population in the territory.
Su Wan frowned. She realized the problem. If they did things according to Xu Yuan’s plans, it wouldn’t be difficult to find small and weak creatures like slimes and caterpillars. However, if they rejected these creatures, it would be difficult to find other creatures to fill the population gap.
"Wait!" said Su Wan. "I don’t think we need to think about how to attract the enemies to our territory." A strange smile appeared on her face.
Xu Yuan raised his head a little. He was willing to hear about her plan. Under his expectant gaze, Su Wan said, "We still have the troublemaker Linglong with us. If we invite her to our territory for a while, she will definitely attract some trouble again. In that way, we won’t have to go out of our way to get the enemies to come to our territory."
Su Wan’s eyes lit up.
"That’s a good idea!" Xu Yuan exclaimed.
This was the first time Xu Yuan had so enthusiastically agreed with Su Wan’s plan. The Lord and the hero looked at each other. They laughed.
Shi Linglong, who was far away, did not know that she had become a tool in someone else’s plan. However, at this moment, her rotten luck acted up once again.