"This is Lord Central City? It's so magnificent!"
Lu Xuan exclaimed.
It is said that this place was jointly created by some powerful Lords as a venue for them to communicate with each other.
Any form of conflict is prohibited here.
Even weak beginner Lords can boldly explore and move around here.
"The people here seem... a bit few?"
Lu Xuan noticed that there were only a handful of Lords in Lord Central City.
"Lords are very rare."
"However, these Lords all seem very arrogant."
Lu Xuan observed the few Lords he saw; all of them had an air of arrogance, as if they were high and mighty figures.
The Lords passing by also didn't communicate much with each other, all appearing cold and distant.
It's understandable for Lords to possess some arrogance, given their noble status.
After all, everyone who can become a Lord can be said to be a chosen one, one in ten thousand.
"Let's just look around first."
Lu Xuan made his decision and walked out of the palace.
Upon arriving outside the palace, he found that the surrounding buildings were all palaces and castles, and the roads were very wide, wide enough for ten carriages to pass through together without appearing crowded.
However, there were even fewer pedestrians on the road, almost none visible.
"Is it really this deserted?"
Lu Xuan couldn't help but wonder.
At this moment, he heard some discussions and pricked up his ears to listen.
"Sigh, several Lords have died in District One recently, haven't they?"
"Yes, Adventurers aren't attracted to Dungeons, so they can't get soul crystals, and without emotional crystals, they lack the power to resist the invasion of the Dark Tide, thus they can't sustain their Dungeons and ultimately meet their demise."
"What should I do? My Dungeon's income isn't very good right now either. Do Adventurers not like Dungeons? Do they not like the rewards I put inside?"
"How is your Dungeon set up?"
"I just followed the teachings of those great Lords: hide treasure chests deep inside, put powerful monsters at the front, set more traps, and also set up many Fork in the Road in the passages…"
"Then what's going on? I do it the same way, so why don't Adventurers come to my Dungeon? Those great Lords also grew up like this, so how could it be wrong? Could it be that I haven't made it difficult enough, and Adventurers think it's not challenging and won't come?"
"…"
Lu Xuan heard the entire conversation between the two Lords.
After listening, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth in exasperation.
"This…"
Their thinking is simply flawed!
If they do it like this, it would be strange if Adventurers went to their Dungeons.
However, he wouldn't offer any extra reminders; he was just a small figure now, and how many Lords would be willing to listen to what he said?
It's better to improve himself first.
As he pondered, he arrived at a plaza.
There were many people here.
There were more than a dozen people visible, and judging by their posture, expression, and attire, most of them were Lords.
They were all enthusiastically exchanging experiences about Dungeon construction in pairs.
They would even argue when their words became heated.
No physical conflicts occurred.
After all, physical conflicts would be very serious and would result in severe punishment from the administrators here.
This was also a rule of Lord Central City.
Lu Xuan's purpose for this trip was not only to see Lord Central City but also to complete an important task!
That is to hire mercenaries!
Mercenaries are somewhat different from Adventurers; Lords can directly hire mercenaries and then command them.
What is the purpose of mercenaries?
It's simple!
They are used to expand territory!
A Lord's territory is not naturally generated; it must be seized.
Seized from whom?
Of course, from the Dark Tide!
The Dark Tide has swallowed many worlds and occupied an unknown amount of land.
Lords can become the center of the world because they can directly send people to plunder the Dark Tide and seize territory from it.
Moreover, many of the rewards that Lords set for Adventurers are also plundered from the Dark Tide.
Therefore...
Hiring powerful mercenaries is a very important matter for a Lord and must not be taken lightly.
After several searches, Lu Xuan finally found a circular domed palace, which was a place where mercenaries could be hired.
The people coming and going were not just Lords, but also some fully armed mercenaries carrying weapons.
Mercenaries are not slaves; they can also move freely.
They are just restricted in their range of activity.
The mercenaries here are all formidable individuals from various worlds, all experts; even the lowest-level mercenaries have extremely high growth potential.
Lu Xuan stood at the palace entrance, narrowing his eyes slightly as he surveyed his surroundings.
The words "Mercenary Sanctuary" hung high above the building.
This was a towering and magnificent building, with several fully armed guards at the entrance, their cold-gleaming armor and long spears silently proclaiming the majesty and order of the place.
This building had several entrances.
The entrances had different level indicators.
As a Black Iron Lord, he could only go to the entrance designated for Black Iron Lords.
After all, he couldn't control mercenaries above Black Iron level right now; it was correct to look for mercenaries he could control.
The Black Iron level entrance, as its name suggested, had heavy doors made of some kind of dark metal.
He took a deep breath and, with a curious heart, stepped inside.
Inside the dark doors, it was a domed palace style, even more spectacular than outside, with exquisitely complex patterns carved on the walls, casting mysterious and eerie shadows in the dim light.
In the center of the hall were several rows of heavy wooden tables and chairs, where some mercenaries were chatting or cleaning their weapons, with occasional low laughter and the sound of metal clashing.
Lu Xuan slowly walked inside; in a corner, a middle-aged man with a full beard sat there, wearing simple leather armor, but his muscular lines were vaguely visible, as solid as iron, and his eyes were sharp like an eagle's.
Seeing Lu Xuan enter, he scanned his entire body, then stood up and bowed respectfully to Lu Xuan.
"Respected Lord, do you need mercenaries?" the middle-aged man's voice was hoarse but not lacking in strength, "My name is Hader, and I am the person in charge here."
Lu Xuan nodded: "That's right, I need a strong team."
Hader stood up from his chair and led him to a huge stone tablet, on which were densely inscribed the names, levels, and brief information of the mercenaries.
Each name was followed by some numbers, which were records of their past combat victories.
In the most prominent position, several names were specially marked with red symbols.
Lu Xuan couldn't help but look at them a few more times.
Noticing his gaze, Hader pointed to the red marks on the stone tablet and slowly began to speak: "These are specially recommended mercenaries; their strength and experience are both outstanding. They can fully serve as your main mercenaries."
Lu Xuan carefully looked at the names and asked curiously: "Their fees must not be low, right?"
Hader nodded: "Indeed, but these mercenaries are very powerful and worth your resources. If you want more cost-effective mercenaries, I can also introduce them to you."
"No need!" Lu Xuan shook his head, pointed to the three red names, and asked: "Could you introduce these people to me in detail?"
Hader looked at Lu Xuan in surprise, then pointed to the first name: "This is 'Black Wolf', a Black Iron superior, skilled in night combat and sneak attacks, who once led a small team to successfully raid a Dark Tide stronghold and brought back a large amount of resources."
Then he pointed to the second name: "This is Iron Fist, a Black Iron superior, extremely strong in close combat, who single-handedly fended off the attacks of dozens of Undertide Creatures."
The last name piqued Lu Xuan's interest: "Withering Shadow?"