While Gu Xi was patrolling the territory with his subordinates, Luna had already completed the arrangements for the city gate construction.
Luna placed the city gate near the well; the entrance of the gate was not directly connected to the main street but rather to the front of a pile of collapsed huts.
As the construction of the city gate proceeded, the ruins of the collapsed houses were also being cleared. It was evident that Luna intended to clear these ruins and turn this area into a military square.
In the meantime, the materials from the ruins could be stored for future use in building the city walls or other constructions.
When Gu Xi arrived at the city gate, it was only halfway built. Upon reaching this point, Gu Xi noticed that there seemed to be no one handling the gate, yet the woods and bricks were stacking themselves up.
He was quite puzzled by the situation.
Standing in front of the gate for a moment, Gu Xi realized that the estimated time of four hours given by the system was just right, neither early nor late.
In addition, Gu Xi could see that the city gate would be ten meters wide, and based on the arrangement of the gate, it would be nearly fifteen meters tall when fully completed, qualifying as a large city gate.
There would also be walkways on the gate for people to walk on, with room for gates and iron doors to be installed later.
The future city walls would also start from this side and extend outward. The height and thickness of Gu Xi's future city walls would all relate to this city gate.
This was extremely important to Gu Xi, so he took a few more looks at it.
At this moment, Luna floated out from the Assembly Hall.
"Luna, how big do you estimate that area of the Lower City District to be?"
Gu Xi pointed to the same area known as the Lower City District.
"It's small, only about 0.4 square kilometers."
Luna immediately understood Gu Xi's thoughts and also regarded the Pier District as the best place to attack.
However, the current troops of Gu Xi were clearly insufficient, and attacking might lead to unpredictable situations.
"Master, we currently don't have enough troops."
"I know. Once the city gate is completed, you will send me to Victoria City. I'll check there to see if there are suitable skeletons to transport back.
To supplement the troops and negative energy, regarding these units..."
At this point, Gu Xi glanced at the Combat Squad beside him, hesitated slightly, and finally said, "Leave all these units to you. If foreign enemies invade while I'm not around, you'll handle it."
This was Gu Xi's first time utilizing the Death City skill, and he was contesting a territory. He couldn't determine whether other areas were focused on him.
So he hesitated a bit and decided to station the forces in Yalidov City.
Luna knew how important Yalidov City was to Gu Xi.
Hearing this, Luna readily agreed.
Gu Xi took Luna for another round inside the city.
After completing the circuit, Gu Xi discovered a serious problem.
There was no food in Yalidov City that he could consume.
Having been locked in a cell, Gu Xi was already famished, and now he was almost too hungry to respond.
"Master, should I arrange for someone to search for food in other districts?"
Seeing Gu Xi continually drinking water to deceive his stomach, Luna was also a bit worried about him.
Since signing the contract with Gu Xi, Luna had never seen him eat.
Not only hadn't he eaten, but he had been continuously fighting, consuming a lot of physical strength.
Even though upgrading replenished Gu Xi's life and mana, hunger couldn't be removed with just a level-up.
Luna was somewhat worried about Gu Xi's condition.
But Gu Xi was unconcerned. Holding a wooden cup, he took a sip of warm water and smiled, saying, "It's okay; in a few hours, once the gate is built, I'll leave immediately.
With money in hand, there's always something to eat in Victoria City.
Plus, I'm so hungry now that eating tons of food would not be good for my body. Drinking more water to trick my stomach will do for now until I get out."
Hearing this, Luna didn't push further and quietly lingered by Gu Xi's side.
After sipping some warm water, Gu Xi found a spot to sit down and closed his eyes.
"I'll rest for a bit. Wake me when it's time," he said naturally, hiding how ravenous he'd become.
He just wanted to fall asleep quickly so he could forget the emptiness in his stomach.
Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu Xi didn't need Luna to wake him; the 'ding' sound in his ear startled him awake.
[Ding! Construction of a small building - City Gate completed. City experience +1, city level upgraded to level 2.]
[City Name: Yalidov
City Orientation: Death City
City Traits: Contested Territory (More than half of the city is unconquered. The city may be attacked by enemies from unconquered areas at any time. Capturing the city will automatically expand its territory.)
City Level: Level 2 (0/50)
Core Buildings (1/2): Assembly Hall (Provides 500 negative energy points daily)
Large Buildings (1/2): Evil Church (Can train 20+10 Skeleton Soldiers per week)
Medium-sized Buildings (1/3): White Candle Factory (Provides 300 negative energy points daily, 30 units of white candles weekly)
Small Buildings (2/8): Well (Increases soldier training capacity by 50% weekly), City Gate
Supporting Buildings (0/20): None
Garrison Hero: None
Garrison Forces: None]
Seeing the information pop up before him, Gu Xi quickly stood up and greeted Luna.
"I'm leaving now. When resources are sufficient, first build a warehouse. That treasure chest at the gate can't store much. Don't worry about me in Victoria; just manage Yalidov City well.
As for the Skeleton Soldiers, have them patrol regularly and keep a Combat Squad stationed at the city gate."
Having given all these instructions, Gu Xi prepared to leave by storing the Bone-breaking Wooden Rod and Mysterious Skull.
"I'll send you off, Master!"
Luna said honestly without much elaboration.
Gu Xi nodded without further words, stepping forward only to experience a dizzying sensation as though being flung from a roller coaster.
This was, in fact, the greatest feature of Death City.
An Undead Mage who mastered the Death City skill could freely enter and exit the city if alone.
The entry and exit points were fixed so that Gu Xi's entrance from Death City was in front of the Assembly Hall.
In the real world, where he entered from, he'd exit accordingly.
This time, however, Gu Xi had entered this world from the Victoria Tower.
Because the method of entry differed, Gu Xi was randomly tossed out upon exit.
After making half a spin in the air, Gu Xi found himself falling into the Isis River running through Victoria City, mouthfuls of foul-smelling sewage flooding into his mouth with a splash.