Mission Rewards:
Three-Star Fiend: 30,000 inkstones, 10 Fiend Points
Two-Star Fiend: 1,000 inkstones, 3 Fiend Points
One-Star Fiend: 10 inkstones, 1 Fiend Point
"What? There are Fiend Points as well?"
When the Fiends saw the mission, the expansion itself didn't surprise them.
Anyone with even a little insight knew that the Fiend Castle would never be confined to a single city.
What truly shocked them was how fast the expansion came.
Only ten years after its founding—and the Fiend Castle was already expanding.
And not just one city at a time.
Three cities at once!
Still, no one felt there was any real risk.
Fiend Rockpeak and Fiend Ryan were legendary figures within Rockpeak City, and together with Fiend Locke, they were currently the only three Five-Star Fiends in the Fiend Castle.
As for Fiend Locke himself, merely being labeled the founder and strongest of the Fiend Castle was enough to make his strength self-evident.
With those three leading the way, let alone establishing Fiend Castles in three cities—even overthrowing the city lords and seizing full control would not be difficult.
What truly stunned everyone, however, was the appearance of Fiend Points.
Fiend Points were the Fiend Castle's exclusive hard currency.
With enough Fiend Points, one could exchange them within the Fiend Castle for intelligence—or even other precious items.
And if one accumulated enough Fiend Points…
One could exchange them for a soul-defense divine artifact.
A soul-defense divine artifact!
Something even rarer than an Uppergod divine spark.
From that point alone, Fiend Points instantly surpassed inkstones in value in the eyes of every Fiend.
Moreover, Fiend Points were non-transferable, making them even more precious.
Normally, tasks issued by outsiders did not grant Fiend Points at all.
Only missions personally released by the Fiend Castle itself carried such rewards.
Every Fiend Point mission—even without inkstone rewards—would be fought over like madness.
No one wanted to miss out because someone else completed it first.
Fortunately, the Fiend Castle was fair.
For any Fiend Point mission, strict limits were placed on how many Fiends could accept it.
Unless earlier participants failed, the mission would not reopen—ensuring that those who accepted and completed the task would all receive their rewards.
Previously, such missions were restricted to Two-Star Fiends and above.
But this time…
Even One-Star Fiends could earn Fiend Points.
Two-Star Fiends would gain five points.
How could anyone not be excited?
In an instant, Fiends flooded the registration counters.
Many even used their divine clones to notify friends and teammates to rush over.
In less than three minutes, all slots were filled, and the mission was taken down.
Latecomers could only shake their heads in regret.
Although they could still head to those cities and develop as Fiends, they would receive no Fiend Points—only the most basic rewards.
Even so, some Fiends still chose to go.
They knew the Fiend Castle's expansion would not stop here.
There would always be another chance.
Besides, over the past ten years, "Fiend" had become synonymous with "powerhouse" in Rockpeak City.
Even a One-Star Fiend wearing a Fiend Badge would earn admiration and respect.
After all, every Fiend had survived life-and-death trials to earn that badge.
To further demonstrate Rockpeak City's recognition of Fiends, anyone wearing a Fiend Badge could enter and exit the city without queueing or paying entry fees.
Though a single inkstone meant little to them, the envious gazes of others were priceless.
Some mischievous Fiends even made a hobby of repeatedly entering and exiting city gates—just to bask in those looks of envy.
"This… this is a soul-defense divine artifact?"
After leaving the top floor of the Fiend Castle, Rockpeak and Ryan dripped blood to bind the spatial rings Locke had given them.
The instant the blood merged, an immense surge of soul energy poured out, forming a solid soul barrier around their souls.
The two exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
They knew Locke's situation better than anyone else.
Although Locke had mastered all six Water Law profundities, only four were close to great completion.
The remaining two—Water Waves and Soft Roundness—were merely at the minor completion stage.
Until those found compatibility points with the other four, Locke's strength would not change.
That process could take thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years.
Meanwhile, Rockpeak had found his path forward, and Ryan had already begun fusing two profundities.
Once they advanced further, it was entirely possible they would surpass Locke.
Under such circumstances, Locke's greatest means of restraint was his terrifying soul attacks.
Yet now—before sending them out—he had personally refined soul-defense divine artifacts for them, perfectly compensating for their final weakness.
Judging by the strength of the soul barrier, these were unquestionably top-tier Uppergod soul-defense artifacts.
With these equipped, even Locke's soul attacks would barely affect them.
Did Locke truly not fear that they might betray him and seize control of the Fiend Castle?
Rockpeak knew better.
This had nothing to do with their recent progress.
Even Ryan's breakthrough had only just been revealed.
These artifacts had clearly been prepared long in advance.
Shaking his head, Rockpeak let out a sigh.
"Lord Locke's breadth of mind… far exceeds my imagination."
"We're his subordinates," Ryan replied bluntly. "The stronger we are, the stronger he is. What's there to think about?"
"Honestly, I don't get you."
With that, Ryan cheerfully slipped the soul-defense artifact onto his finger.
Rockpeak froze—then laughed.
"Ryan… you don't misunderstand me."
"You understand me far too well."
He nodded slowly.
"We follow Lord Locke."
"And if we don't reach the peak together with him…"
"That would be a lifetime of regret."
The Fiend Castle moved swiftly.
The mission was issued in the morning.
By afternoon, everyone had assembled.
Six hundred Two-Star Fiends.
One thousand five hundred One-Star Fiends.
Nearly two-thirds of Rockpeak City's Fiend Castle strength.
With the three Five-Star Fiends departing, three Three-Star Fiends remained behind.
The strongest became the new city lord.
One became vice city lord.
The last took charge of Fiend Castle administration.
The Fiends were divided into three squads.
Each:
200 Two-Star Fiends500 One-Star Fiends
At noon, Locke, Rockpeak, and Ryan arrived as promised.
Three metallic lifeforms flew out from their spatial rings.
Rockpeak's transformed into a flying tiger.
Ryan's into a black tortoise.
Locke's into a sleek aerial warship, brimming with futuristic elegance.
"Fiends," Locke's voice rang out.
"Board the metallic lifeforms in order."
"You are the bravest of Fiends—the pioneers of the Fiend Castle."
"Today, you are honored because you are Fiends."
"One day, the Fiend Castle will be honored because of you."
"Now—set out!"
"Let all of Hell know—the Fiends have arrived!"
"OH—!!"
The cheers shook the sky.
Whether departing or remaining behind, every Fiend roared in response.
Though the Fiend Castle was founded by Lord Locke, many had found purpose, dignity, and strength within it—things they once only dreamed of.
Before the Fiend Castle, bandits roamed freely.
Tribes were plundered without end.
After its rise, those bandits became Fiend missions—and were wiped out one by one.
Of course, greed never truly vanished.
When one wave of bandits fell, another would rise.
But now—
They would face Fiends.
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