Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 41: New area

"Achoo!"

Noan suddenly sneezed, feeling a bit puzzled. He wondered, "Did I catch a cold from the freezing night?"

However, he quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.

It had only taken him a day to return to his territory, which was always warm. Besides, his strength was now three times that of an ordinary human—there was no way he could catch a cold so easily.

He assigned Urlgan, Urlgug, Skeleton Hunter, and Skeleton Swordsman to guard the surroundings.

More importantly, Urlgan placed the Angel Zombie's mechanical core about 100 meters outside the territory, covering it with dried branches to keep it concealed.

Urlgug was tasked with monitoring the device. After all, Noan had no idea what kind of danger it might pose, so he wasn't about to bring it inside the territory.

In his private chamber, Noan lay on Vylyss's lap, reviewing his accumulated resources.

Once he finished checking, he frowned, contemplating who he should take with him to the New Area.

"System." Noan asked, "What will happen to my territory here once I move to the new area?"

[Ding! This territory will enter a concealment state. However, if a high-ranking Lord approaches, they can still detect its existence.]

Hearing this, Noan furrowed his brows, feeling a bit uneasy.

But he quickly made up his mind. "Then... if I want to bring all my soldiers and heroes to the new area, how many energy crystals will I need to pay?"

[Ding! Based on your current number of soldiers and heroes, you must pay 40 F-rank energy crystals daily to maintain their presence in the new area.]

Noan took a sharp breath, deepening his frown.

"Forty F-rank crystals per day... it's not much now, but over time, it'll add up to a massive number."

After thinking for a while, he still brought everyone with him.

He had plenty of energy crystals at the moment, and there was no point in leaving anyone behind.

Why didn't he leave a few soldiers or heroes to guard his current territory?

Because Noan knew it would be useless.

If another Lord discovered this place, it would mean that their rank was far above his own.

Leaving soldiers or even Vylyss behind wouldn't make any difference—they couldn't stop someone like Isabell, who could enter and leave his territory as if it were an abandoned house.

Noan sat up straight and gave out some final instructions to his subordinates.

Then, he decided to prepay 400 F-rank energy crystals to ensure his entire army's survival in the new area.

Luckily, there were no restrictions on how he could make the payments. He could even use higher-rank energy crystals to substitute for F-rank ones.

[Ding! Payment successful. Would you like to teleport to the New Area now?]

"Accept!"

[Ding! Teleportation is in progress. Please wait a moment...]

...

Noan opened his eyes again, finding himself inside an old wooden house. Though aged, the structure was still sturdy enough to provide shelter from rain and wind.

Standing up, he took a moment to scan his surroundings before exploring the house further.

Despite its worn appearance, the house had a bedroom, another small room, and a kitchen.

Stepping outside, he saw a fenced garden encircling the house. The wooden fence, made of tightly packed logs, stood over two meters tall.

Estimating the space, Noan figured the house was roughly 50 square meters.

For him alone, it was a decent size. However, if he had to share the space with his soldiers and heroes, things would get cramped rather quickly.

Returning to the bedroom, he noticed a System Notification hovering before him.

...

[System Notification

Congratulations! You have arrived in Chaos Zone #27.

- You and other Lords ranked F and E must coexist in this zone.

- Each house is your territory. It cannot be moved or relocated, but it can be expanded.

- The Lord and Hero upgrade conditions remain the same.

However, a new rule has been added:

Lords can either eliminate or cooperate.

Killing another Lord grants you all their resources and an additional mystery reward.]

[First Event: Zombie Wave - Countdown: 10 days]

...

Noan read through the message carefully, his expression darkening slightly.

"So... Lords can fight and kill each other now? And I'm stuck in a zone filled with other F-rank and E-rank Lords?"

His fingers tightened slightly as he processed the implications.

This wasn't just a survival challenge.

This was a battlefield.

...

Noan frowned as he read through the notification.

He finally understood why the system called this place "The Chaos Zone."

In essence, Lords could now eliminate one another—and the System itself even encouraged it.

However, there was also an option to cooperate and fight together.

He stroked his chin, contemplating his next move before asking the System:

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"When will my heroes and soldiers arrive?"

[Ding! Heroes will appear in 24 hours. Soldiers will be transported here in 48 hours.]

Hearing this, Noan immediately realized that he would be completely alone for the next 24 hours.

At the very least, he had to ensure his survival until Vylyss and the others arrived.

...

[Ding! You can summon soldiers today. You have two options:

Summon soldiers only in this territory. The summoning attempts in your original territory will be saved and stacked for the next summoning session. Use all summoning attempts from both territories. However, transferring soldiers from one territory to the other will require energy crystals.]

...

Noan's eyes lit up when he saw this message.

This meant that he had two summoning cycles per day!

A crucial advantage over every other Lord in this zone.

"System, do all Lords have this privilege?"

[Ding! No. Only you have this privilege because your original territory is located inside the Singularity, which is outside the Federal Government's and the Empire's control.

Other Lords had their previous territories teleported into this zone. You alone are building a brand-new territory from scratch.]

...

Hearing this, Noan almost wanted to shout in excitement.

At first, he had thought that being thrown into the Singularity was a punishment for possessing an SSS-rank talent.

But now, he realized that it wasn't a punishment at all.

It was a cheat code!

Two territories meant two lives.

Two summoning cycles meant twice the growth.

Of course, there were probably more hidden benefits, but Noan wasn't rushing to figure them all out just yet.

With his SSS-rank talent and the "cheat" of dual territories, he was absolutely certain that he could surpass every other Lord.

"System, where is the Summoning Pool located?"

[Ding! There is no summoning pool in this place. When the Lord uses the summoning function, a Void Gate will open, and soldiers and heroes will emerge from it.

Additionally, the Core of this territory is the Lord himself. If the Lord dies, the territory will become ownerless.

However, if the territory is destroyed by another Lord, the original Lord will lose the ability to summon, and soldiers and heroes will lose their 'Absolute Loyalty' trait, making them capable of betraying their Lord.]

Noan read the system's explanation and quickly grasped the rules of this new area.

"Aside from monsters, the other Lords are also a terrifying threat," Noan thought to himself. "If I let my guard down, the ones who kill me won't be monsters—it'll be the other Lords."

However, he wasn't too concerned. He would never be in danger if he had enough strength.

Besides, this place was only filled with F-rank Lords, with the highest being E-rank. There were no overwhelmingly powerful Lords here.

With his talent, Noan didn't believe he could be killed so easily.

"System, I choose to use all of my summoning attempts."

[Ding! Summoning in progress.]

At that moment, a magic circle appeared on the ground, radiating an eerie gray light.

Then, a horde of Skeletons began crawling out from the magic circle as if emerging from a gateway.

Moments later, his small room was filled with forty Skeletons, all kneeling on the ground.

Noan was baffled.

He clearly remembered that he could only summon ten Skeletons per summoning session.

If he counted both summoning attempts, he should have only been able to summon a maximum of 20 Skeletons.

So why did 40 Skeletons appear—so many that they had to spill into other rooms?

[Ding! Congratulations! You have activated the special ability of 'Apocalypse Bunker'—a 10% chance to double the number of summoned soldiers.]

Seeing the notification, Noan immediately understood what had happened.

"This means... the special effect of my territory in the Singularity is still in effect even while I'm here."

At this moment, Noan felt that being sent to the Singularity had been an incredible blessing rather than a punishment.

He activated his 'Almighty Fusion' talent without hesitation, fusing all the Skeletons together.

Even though he currently had 40 Skeletons, he could only use 39 for fusion.

All 39 Skeletons merged together, creating 13 Skeletons at F+ rank.

"Continue the fusion," Noan commanded.

The 12 F+ rank Skeletons fused again, forming 4 E-rank Skeletons.

As a result, Noan could feel a surge of power coursing through his body.

His physical strength was now nearly four times that of a regular human.

"Keep going!"

[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained a mutated Skeleton—Skeleton Shielder - Rank D.]