In the wilderness, a Magic Support Vehicle was speeding recklessly across the open plains.
Inside the vehicle, Richard was leisurely steering the Magic Support Vehicle, humming a tuneless melody.
Not long ago, he had almost effortlessly captured the town of Three Wolves using the connection function of the Nightmare Artifact. Under the forced connection of the Black Pyramid, the Nightmare Power of those Nightmare creatures had been completely drained by Richard, causing them to plummet into becoming Nightmare Spirits. Even those protected by Nightmare rules had been blown to pieces by Richard's spells.
The only survivors were those who had coincidentally taken refuge in the Suicidal Drunkard's Tavern.
This battle alone had brought Richard nearly 1.5 million units of Nightmare Power. The only regret was that the Nightmare rules possessed by these Nightmare creatures would vanish immediately upon their deaths. Even with the Miracle Furnace, Richard hadn't gained a single Nightmare rule.
This had left Richard frustrated for quite some time.
The Nightmare Power obtained from Three Wolves, combined with what Richard had previously accumulated, was enough to replenish his mental strength to the limit of a Second Circle Wizard.
But while the Nightmare Power was sufficient, refining it all had become a problem.
Given the current quality of Richard's mental strength, the cost of refining a single strand of Nightmare Power had decreased from 0.01 units of mental strength to 0.005 units.
However, refining over two million units of Nightmare Power would still require nearly ten thousand units of mental strength.
To fully recover his mental strength, Richard needed eight hours of deep sleep. With his current 100 units of mental strength, he would need to sleep continuously for about forty days to refine all the Nightmare Power.
Of course, in practice, this time would be significantly reduced because he would be refining while simultaneously enhancing his mental strength.
But it was undeniable that this was still a somewhat tedious task.
Breaking through to the Third Circle wasn't particularly urgent for Richard. Although his knowledge level could be considered masterful among First Circle Wizards, among Second Circle Wizards, he was just an average Wizard. At most, he had a bit more Magic Essence than other Second Circle Wizards.
As for Third Circle Wizards... in the history of the Wizard World, there had probably never been a Third Circle Wizard as mediocre as Richard.
Therefore, Richard hadn't been in any particular hurry to refine the Nightmare Power recently.
He spent at most half of his daily mental strength as fuel for the Miracle Furnace, while the other half was reserved for daily tasks.
He was currently following the guidance of a map, searching for new lawless lands.
He planned to methodically devour each of the lawless lands marked on the map.
Of course, he wouldn't be as brutal with the remaining lawless lands as he had been with Three Wolves.
That would be too conspicuous.
He only intended to secretly consume a portion and then quietly move on to the next lawless land.
Richard had calculated that it would take about ten years to traverse all the lawless lands in this ring.
Then he would head towards the outer ring of the Nightmare Circle.
After accumulating enough Nightmare Power in the outer ring to become a Nightmare Knight, he would cross over into the domain of the Fourth Circle Tower of Truth.
The Nightmare Land was a blessed place for him, so he planned to establish a territory there, cultivating it meticulously to provide himself with a steady stream of Nightmare Power.
This way, he would have an endless supply of Soul Essence.
And upon reaching the Fourth Circle Tower of Truth, Richard could operate within the Wizard World.
He could build a Wizard Tower in the wilderness and establish a mortal nation around it.
In this way, within two hundred years, Richard would have a populous Nightmare territory without having to compete with other Nightmare Lords.
Imagining the beautiful vision of freely using Soul Essence, Richard accelerated the Magic Support Vehicle, speeding towards a black dot on the horizon.
...
Graveyard City, a large lawless land.
In ancient times, this lawless land had once been a prosperous Nightmare territory. But as humans migrated in the material world, this once-thriving land was abandoned by its lord and gradually became a paradise for free Nightmare creatures.
Five kilometers outside Graveyard City, Richard reabsorbed the Magic Support Vehicle into Nightmare Power.
The Magic Support Vehicle was somewhat conspicuous, and its style didn't quite match the creations of the Nightmare World, which didn't align with Richard's desire for a low profile.
As the last component of the Magic Support Vehicle turned into Nightmare Power, Richard called out to Bone, "Let's go,"
and entered Graveyard City on foot.
In the outermost area of Graveyard City lived a group of Nightmare Spirits who hadn't even reached the level of minor Nightmares. In this area, there were also a few humans living, and the Nightmare Spirits barely survived by exploiting these humans.
Even in a lawless land, the exploitation of Nightmare Spirits was unavoidable.
But compared to Nightmare territories, lawless lands had an additional rule: mutual plundering.
These Nightmare Spirits would kill each other, and often within one or two tax collection intervals, one or two minor Nightmares would emerge from the chaos.
This was almost impossible in a Nightmare territory.
Because any experienced Nightmare Spirit was the property of the lord, a hen that continuously produced Nightmare Power.
Upon entering this area, the terrifying aura emanating from Richard and Bone immediately caused a large group of Nightmare Spirits to retreat.
For them, a major Nightmare was already an overwhelmingly powerful figure.
Passing through the outer city area inhabited by Nightmare Spirits, Richard soon arrived at the inner city area.
The buildings in the inner city were dilapidated, having been weathered by time, with many of them partially collapsed. The walls and ruins were covered in moss and vines.
The minor and major Nightmares of Graveyard City lived here.
And in the center of this lawless land, there was a place called the City Lord's District.
Legend had it that a powerful Nightmare Knight resided in the City Lord's District.
After understanding the structure of Graveyard City, Richard couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.
Aside from the fact that Nightmare Spirits were allowed to kill each other and the population was too sparse, requiring minor and major Nightmares to venture out for the black tasks assigned by the territory,
there wasn't much difference between this place and a typical Nightmare territory.
"When the population reaches a certain level, order inevitably emerges," Richard mused.
Not long after they entered the inner city area, they encountered a two-headed ogre standing nearly three meters tall.
The ogre's four eyes carefully examined Richard and Bone. Then one of his heads, with broken tusks and a scarred face, spoke in a deep voice, "Outsiders, residing in Graveyard City requires paying taxes."
Immediately after, his other head screeched in a high-pitched voice, "Major Nightmares must pay 500 Nightmare Crystals per month, and minor Nightmares must pay 50 Nightmare Crystals per month.
Shorty, are you a major Nightmare or a minor Nightmare?"
The ogre's "shorty" naturally referred to Richard, who stood beside Bone.
Bone's body was already robust, and after donning a suit of Adamantine armor, his height approached three meters, just a head shorter than the ogre.
Richard, at about two meters tall, naturally appeared short in front of these two giants.
"Taxes?" Bone said coldly, "I ran away from the territory to avoid paying taxes!
If I have to pay taxes whether I leave the territory or not, then what was the point of running?"
With that, Bone gripped the Adamantine greatsword on his back, seemingly ready to fight the ogre.
"Iron man," "Don't get excited," "These are the taxes the City Lord demands," "If you refuse," "When the City Lord awakens,"
"we'll all be doomed!"
The two-headed ogre's heads alternated their sentences, their deep and high-pitched voices intertwining, creating a disconcerting cacophony.
However, Richard understood what he meant.
Graveyard City, like any other Nightmare territory, required paying taxes to the lord.
And it seemed that the City Lord of Graveyard City was quite irritable. If the taxes weren't paid, he would personally deal with the Nightmare creatures who hadn't paid.
Or perhaps, he would wipe out all the Nightmare creatures in Graveyard City.
"Is that so," Richard said indifferently, "I don't think the City Lord would awaken just for small fry like us."
"I've said my piece," "If you don't want to pay me," "someone else will come to collect."
"But if it's someone else," "they won't be as easy to talk to as me!"
The two-headed ogre alternated threats with each head, and seeing that Richard and Bone still refused to pay taxes, he immediately turned and stomped heavily towards the interior of Graveyard City.
As he ran, he shouted loudly.
"Someone's not paying taxes!" "Someone's not paying taxes!"
In response to his shouts, Nightmare creatures began emerging from the dilapidated buildings in the inner city area.
"Another newcomer refusing to pay taxes?"
"Ha, look at those two idiots, just standing there. When the Tax Chief arrives, they'll be torn apart and eaten."
"Iron man, shorty, good for you, don't pay the taxes!"
...
Listening to the surrounding Nightmare creatures' discussions, Richard's expression remained unchanged.
Since he intended to secretly consume Graveyard City, he naturally needed to understand the local power structure.
If this Tax Chief was powerful, he wouldn't mind paying a bit more in taxes to satisfy the Tax Chief's appetite.
After all, it was a case of the sheep shearing the sheep; the Nightmare Power he lost would eventually be recouped in Graveyard City.
Soon, a series of orderly footsteps could be heard approaching from the depths of Graveyard City.
At the sound of these footsteps, all the Nightmare creatures fell silent.
A ghostly carriage driven by a skeletal coachman appeared first, followed by a lavishly decorated black pyramid that was slowly "flying" over—underneath the black pyramid, hundreds of black humanoid slaves were carrying the massive structure on their shoulders and backs.
Looking at the pyramid, Richard's lips curled into a slight smile.
"It seems I've run into an old acquaintance."
The ghostly carriage stopped in front of Richard, and the skeletal coachman immediately got off the carriage, bowing respectfully to Richard and saying, "Master."
This coachman was the Nightmare creature Richard had once named—"Coachman."
Upon hearing the term "Master," the surrounding Nightmare creatures who had been eager to watch the spectacle were dumbfounded.
Why was this lapdog of the Tax Chief calling another Nightmare creature "Master"?
Soon, the black pyramid also arrived in front of Richard.
An eye opened on the black pyramid, its pupil rotating before locking onto Richard. Then the black pyramid rapidly shrank. The black humanoids carrying the pyramid also shrank and connected end to end, forming four stick-figure-like limbs attached to the pyramid's body.
"Wizard, long time no see," the Tax Chief said.
Richard replied indifferently, "Yes, long time no see."
The Tax Chief of Graveyard City was none other than the Nightmare Lord Richard had once made a deal with—the Pyramid.
(End of Chapter)