Several more days passed, marked in the Valley of Eternal Darkness by relative peace - if one discounted the peculiar, moan-filled games of her succubi, who had apparently decided that the best form of sentry duty was the mutual exploration of each other's capabilities.
The most significant visual change during these days was the massive wall that finally enclosed the Valley's borders, transforming it into a true fortress. However, it wasn't the stone fortifications that made Lilith unable to sit still this morning. Today was the day of the first harvest on the Goblin Farm.
She performed quick mental calculations and could hardly believe them herself. "It's been less than five days since planting…" she muttered, walking toward the fields.
Normally, growing Giga Potatoes takes at least three months. But the combination of the Fields of Spirit Cultivation, the goblins' natural agricultural talents, and the magic of the territory itself caused the plants to shoot from the ground at a rate that bordered on a game-code exploit.
For Lilith, this was life-saving news. Although her power was growing, the goblin population had suddenly become an "embarrassing problem." Having over a hundred mouths to feed meant that the food supplies Lilith had previously recklessly sold on the chat began to disappear at an alarming rate. For the past two days, she had almost trembled with fear that her new subjects might start dying of hunger before the harvest.
As Lilith and Lysandra reached the site, they beheld a breathtaking sight. A whole swarm of goblins was busy in the dust, yanking gigantic tubers from the earth.
"This is… unreal," Lysandra whispered, staring at the piles of vegetables.
Almost all of the 2,000 planted seeds had reached full maturity. This single harvest brought them a staggering 200 000 kilograms of food! Graaz ran up to Lilith, wiping his dirty hands on his wretched robes. His nose was still slightly battered and crooked after its encounter with Lysandra's foot, but pure excitement burned in his eyes. "Great Lady! Look! The earth has blessed us!" he cried out, pointing to a potato the size of a small watermelon.
Lilith personally tasted a piece of potato roasted over the fire. The flavor was surprisingly intense - saltier, creamier, and far tastier than any variety she knew from Earth.
"Very good!" she assessed briefly, a smile lighting up her face.
With such a harvest and such an efficient patch of Spirit Fields, the specter of famine vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Lilith looked at Graaz, who was hopefully awaiting her reaction. "Good job, Graaz," she said, and the goblin immediately threw himself to the ground, wallowing in the dust and praising her name to the heavens.
Lilith nodded, slowly getting used to his shrill, servile language. "Set aside enough food to last your people for several months," she commanded. "The rest, we sell."
Graaz froze, and tears welled up in his large eyes. He was shocked. In his understanding, goblins were only given scraps to keep them from dying. The thought that their new Mistress was providing for them months in advance nearly overwhelmed him.
He wanted to crawl forward and kiss Lilith's feet, but one frost-filled glare from Lysandra made him quickly abandon the idea.
"Thank you… thank you, Most Gracious Monarch!" he sobbed with gratitude.
"No time for tears," Lilith cut him off, looking at the now-empty furrows. "Prepare to plant the next batch. I want these fields never to rest."
Graaz scrambled out of the dust and looked at Lilith with a mixture of fear and a strange, feverish glint in his eyes. He shifted shyly from foot to foot, nervously kneading his dirty robe in his hands.
"Great Lady... if... if you would permit an old servant a word," he choked out, bowing low. "In this forest, across the river and toward the mountains, there are more of my kin. Other goblin villages suffering under the boot of Minotaurs or perishing from hunger. If... if I tell them of Your grace, of fields that bear fruit in days, not months... they will surely want to come here and fall on their faces before You!"
Lilith raised her eyebrows, surprised by this sudden initiative. She looked at Lysandra, who also seemed surprised, but after a moment's thought, the elder succubus slowly nodded. "More hands to work means faster cultivation and more goods for trade," Lysandra murmured.
Lilith shifted her gaze to the gigantic mountain of potatoes that continued to grow thanks to the goblins' labor. Only yesterday, she would have worried if she had enough supplies for another hundred mouths, but with the productivity of the Fields of Spirit Cultivation, food had ceased to be a problem and had become ammunition.
"Very well, Graaz," Lilith announced, squaring her shoulders. "Send your fastest people to those villages. Tell them that under my wings, work awaits them, but so do full bellies. If they wish to serve the power of the Valley of Eternal Darkness, the way is open."
The old man practically jumped with excitement. "I will do it at once! At once, Most Radiant One!" he cried and, tripping over his own feet, ran toward a group of younger goblins to assign them their diplomatic mission.
Lilith no longer concerned herself with the logistics of the venture or how Graaz intended to convince them. She was in an excellent mood. Looking at the sea of brown tubers, she summoned the trade chat interface. She knew that most Demon Kings had managed to secure their own needs by now, but maintaining growing armies and populations of subordinates was still their greatest headache.
Giga Potatoes were the perfect product - nutritious, strengthening, and cheap in terms of seed cost. Lilith was not naive enough, however, to immediately flood the market with tons of goods, which could drastically drive down the price.
She decided to operate in batches. She divided the harvest into portions of 50 kilograms each. She priced each such batch at 10 gold pieces. To start, she listed exactly 1000 batches.
As soon as the advertisement appeared on the global channel:
[Lilith]: "Selling bulk quantities of high-quality food. Ideal for subordinates and military. 50kg batch – 10 gold. 1000 batches available!"
A true commotion erupted among the other Demon Kings. In a world where most were still fighting for survival and counting every bite for their servants, the appearance of someone dealing in "bulk quantities" of such nutritious goods was like a thunderclap. Questions and purchase offers began flooding her inbox at a rate even she hadn't expected.
"Holy crap! You guys see this?!"
"Someone just put 50,000 kilograms of food on the market! Where did they get it?!"
"What's up with this big shot? That much supply is a logistical monster. This move is terrifyingly huge!"
"They must have an army of thousands of minions if they have that much food to spare... but the price! 10 gold per batch? It's highway robbery!"
Despite the wave of complaints about "gouging," the reality of the Forest of Chaos was brutal: hunger did not discriminate. For many rulers whose armies were starting to eat their own tails, Lilith's offer was the only lifeline.
System notifications began pouring in one after another, obscuring the view of the valley:
[Transaction successful! You have gained 10 gold!]
[Transaction successful! You have gained 10 gold!]
[Transaction successful! You have gained 10 gold!]
[...]
Lilith watched the extraordinary spectacle with fascination. A golden, intricately decorated pipe materialized in the air every few seconds above the pile of potatoes. Like a gigantic vacuum, it sucked up counted portions of vegetables with a soft, ringing whistle, then vanished, only to reappear a split second later.
So this is what it looks like to sell items I don't have directly in my inventory... she thought, feeling a thrill of excitement.
In just over a dozen minutes, her budget swelled by a flat 10,000 gold coins. Lilith smiled broadly, "dollar signs" burning in her eyes. The profit margin was borderline absurd. The only real cost had been the seeds from Izera, which in bulk cost her pennies compared to what had just flowed into her account.
She looked at the vast Spirit Fields. The area utilized so far didn't constitute even 1/10 of the available surface. Her imagination supplied an image of the entire valley covered in the green shoots of Giga Potatoes, hundreds of bustling goblins, and a ceaseless, golden waterfall of coins flowing straight into her pocket.
This wasn't just a business anymore. It was a gold mine.
She turned her gaze to Graaz, who was currently dismissing his young messengers. This time, she looked at the old goblin with almost tender impatience. Every subsequent village he "converted" to her side meant more free labor, larger crops, and even greater market dominance.
"Bring them to me, Graaz," she whispered under her breath, clenching her fist. "Bring them all to me."
The Valley of Eternal Darkness had just ceased to be a mere fortress. It had become the granary of the Forest of Eternal Chaos, and Lilith intended to become its sole and wealthiest mistress.