Chapter 16: Jessica's City of Blessings

Li Bin looked at the Heart of the City Jessica took out and asked in confusion, “What, are you planning to switch careers and become an undead?”

“Of course not,” Jessica replied helplessly. “It’s just that my father can’t simply give me a Heart of the City above level 3. But he did say that if I offered this to you, you’d trade me the Heart of the City from your Sanctuary.”

What? Li Bin nearly jumped up—this was clearly a setup! Swapping a level 2 Heart of the City for a level 4 one—what kind of deal was that?

But Jessica didn’t notice Li Bin’s displeasure. She grabbed his hand and said, “Now I’m your subordinate, right? My city is pretty much your city, too. And it’s not just a straight trade—I’ll throw this in as well.”

As she spoke, Jessica produced a small horn. Li Bin saw it was a level 5 artifact: the Charge Horn. This horn could lock onto a troop type, and when blown, their first attack would deal double damage. However, it could only be used once per day, and after each use, it required a Holy Light ritual to be used again.

Seeing Li Bin’s puzzled look, Jessica smiled and said, “I heard you recently got a level 5 artifact that can convert an item’s properties to undead. Isn’t this horn perfect for your Death Knights?”

Annoyed by Jessica’s persistence, Li Bin finally said, “Fine, when we arrive, I’ll give you the Heart of the City.”

Jessica cheered, “That’s wonderful! I’ll work hard to develop the human city, and one day surpass yours, making everyone turn from evil to good…”

Seeing her excitement, Li Bin wondered if Damon had gotten tired of her and sent her away because of her exuberance.

After returning through the portal to the new continent, Li Bin found their location was only about 150 kilometers from his Dwarven village’s hill and stone quarry.

The area was surrounded by open plains, split into four sections by two rivers.

“This is it!” Jessica called out loudly as soon as they arrived. “When I first chased Water Moon Sky here, I planned to build a city—this place is perfect for human development.”

Li Bin glanced around and said, resigned, “Do as you like.”

“That won’t do,” Jessica protested. “You don’t realize how important the location of a branch city is for you. If I build here, once the city reaches level 4, its control radius will be 200 kilometers, connecting with your hill quarry and then linking up with your Ghost Butterfly City. That way your entire territory becomes a unified whole.”

“All right, let’s settle here then,” Li Bin relented under Jessica’s persuasion.

Jessica dragged Li Bin off to start building the city. Since Li Bin had no ghost-fire slaves to dig, he had to get his hands dirty under Jessica’s insistent direction.

After Jessica jumped into the pit with the Heart of the City, Li Bin realized he’d forgotten to discuss the settings for this human city with her.

Once she placed the Heart of the City, Jessica grinned and said, “You don’t need to worry, master. I’ve already set everything up—the city’s administrator is me, but the owner is you. Except for seven layers of resources reserved for city and troop development, everything else will be sent to Ghost Butterfly City.”

With Jessica’s assurance, Li Bin had nothing left to say, watching as the earth was quickly refilled. Suddenly, a squad of human laborers and a marble double-story city hall appeared before them.

Looking at the angelic reliefs on the city hall’s exterior, Jessica exclaimed excitedly, “Wonderful! I’ve always wanted a city like this since childhood—this is Jessica’s Blessed City.”

Li Bin’s attention was drawn to the three fountains outside the city hall. These fountains were slightly smaller than those outside his own city hall, and instead of negative energy, they emitted positive energy. Occasionally, small gemstones appeared in the pools.

Behind the city hall was a small tax office, which provided Jessica with a daily income of 1,000 gold coins.

After completing the city hall, Jessica didn’t rush to issue any decrees. Instead, she led the squad of human laborers three kilometers south of the city hall.

Curious, Li Bin followed, wanting to see what Jessica was up to. But when he saw her directing the workers to dig another large pit, he immediately asked, “Jessica, are you planning to place another Heart of the City here?”

“Yes, is there a problem?” Jessica looked at Li Bin.

“No problem, just wondering why,” Li Bin replied, uneasy under her gaze.

Jessica laughed and said, “I forgot you’re still a rookie. Let me explain…”

With Jessica’s explanation, Li Bin finally understood her reasoning. In the game Judgment, Hearts of the City above level 7 were exceedingly rare, especially those with properties to upgrade other Hearts. Legendary level 13 Hearts were even more elusive. Yet so many cities managed to reach level 13 because local lords used a conversion method.

This was the internal ‘three-for-one’ exchange rule: for every three lower-level Hearts of the City under absolute control, a higher-level city could be upgraded by one level.

In other words, if a level 5 town controlled three level 4 towns absolutely within its radius, the level 5 town would become level 6.

The calculation was simple, and Li Bin immediately grasped it. However, he noticed Jessica was about to bury a level 2 Sanctuary Heart of the City, which seemed to have no effect on her Blessed City.

Jessica laughed again at his question, “A level 2 won’t affect a level 4, but within a level 4 Heart’s range, two level 2s equal one level 3.”

She produced five or six more level 2 Sanctuary Hearts, leaving Li Bin at a loss for words.

Jessica ignored his expression and said casually, “Anyway, I have lots to do—watch if you like, just don’t disturb me.”

She buried the Hearts of the City, and Li Bin watched as Jessica placed another nearby. When two city halls appeared, the surroundings changed again.

As the main fountain of Jessica’s Blessed City sent forth a beam of light, the fountains before both city halls merged, followed by the city halls themselves, so the two level 2 cities became a single level 3 city.

Jessica moved on to the next site. At this point, Li Bin couldn’t take it anymore. He rummaged through his pockets, finding only a level 2 undead Heart of the City and a level 2 infernal Heart.

He swallowed and called out to Jessica, “Can I ask—if Hearts of the City from different factions are placed together, will it have any effects?”

“That depends on your choice,” Jessica replied with a smile.