Chapter 432: Darian’s plans For the next period of time, the dark elves continued their conquest of all the kingdoms nearby, and they prepared expeditions to territories even further afield. Their military power had increased exponentially after winning the brutal civil war over the light elves, granting them access to the resources, magical artifacts, territories, and accumulated wealth that the light elf kingdom had controlled for millennia. What had once been a balanced division of power in Aethermoor was now absolute dark elf dominance. The light elves who survived were either enslaved, scattered into hiding, or had sworn reluctant fealty to avoid extinction. Their cities had been conquered, their treasuries emptied, and their military strength absorbed into Darian’s growing war machine. With those resources at his command, Darian had transformed his forces from a powerful kingdom into an unstoppable conquering force that swept across the continent like a plague. Human kingdoms fell one after another—some surrendering immediately when dark elf grandmasters appeared at their gates, others resisting briefly before being crushed with overwhelming magical and military superiority. But conquest itself wasn’t Darian’s goal any more. He had already claimed it all. He wanted nothing but to find Lola—the succubus who had tricked him, who had manipulated events with such cunning that he’d destroyed his own greatest opportunity without realizing it until too late. The shop. That mysterious artifact-producing location that could have made him the strongest being in existence. The source of miraculous items that transcended normal magical crafting, that appeared to generate enhancement consumables from nothing, that held secrets beyond anything Aethermoor’s ancient knowledge could explain. Darian’s fists clenched with rage every time he remembered that day. He had killed the shopkeeper—the human merchant who possessed that incredible artifact—believing he could simply take ownership once the keeper was dead. It should have worked. Every magical artifact he’d ever encountered transferred to whoever killed its wielder or could be claimed through conquest. But the succubus had somehow been granted the power to use the shop, kicking him out when he was inside, next to all the treasures. And he had realized too late the truth that burned in his mind like acid: the succubus herself had wanted the shop. She had used the shopkeeper as bait, manipulating Darian into killing the merchant so she could claim the artifact for herself once he was eliminated. The cunning of it was almost admirable. Almost. She’d known Darian would attack if he discovered the shop’s existence. She’d positioned herself as the shopkeeper’s assistant or companion, someone who would seem like a minor detail rather than the real threat. Then she’d let Darian do exactly what his nature demanded—kill the competition and take the prize by force. Except the prize had never been his to take. The shop’s loyalty or bonding mechanism must have been tied to some specific conditions, or some other factor that made simple murder insufficient for transfer of ownership. The succubus had known that. She’d counted on Darian not understanding until it was too late. And when the shopkeeper died and the artifact vanished, she must have been the one who could claim it. Or perhaps she’d already bonded with it somehow, and killing the keeper simply removed the obstacle to her full control. Either way, Darian had been played perfectly. Used as a weapon to eliminate her competition, then left with nothing while she disappeared with the ultimate prize. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 The humiliation of that realization was almost worse than losing the shop itself. He, King Darian of the dark elves, master strategist who had conquered the light elf kingdom through superior planning and ruthless execution, had been outwitted by a demon. Now she was somewhere out in the world with an artifact that could produce infinite enhancement items, growing stronger while he searched desperately for any trace of her existence. That was the real reason for the expanding conquests. Every kingdom Darian absorbed gave him access to their intelligence networks, their merchant contacts, their communication systems. Every territory under his control became another set of eyes searching for rumors of a succubus traveling with a mysterious shop, or reports of miraculous items appearing in distant markets. He’d interrogated hundreds of merchants, tortured dozens of informants, and executed anyone who withheld information. His agents spread across the continent with standing orders: find any trace of the succubus named Lola, locate any shop selling impossible enhancement items, and report immediately. So far, nothing concrete. But Darian was patient when it mattered. Methodical. He would conquer every kingdom if necessary, control every trade route, monitor every market until finally—FINALLY—some trace of her appeared. And when he found her, when he finally tracked down that cunning demon who had made a fool of him... He would make her suffer in ways that would make his treatment of the light elves look merciful by comparison. He would extract every secret about the shop, learn how to claim it for himself, and then destroy her so thoroughly that not even her soul would remain intact. The shop would be his. The power would be his. And the succubus would learn that tricking Darian came with consequences that transcended death itself. Until then, the conquests would continue. The search would intensify. And every kingdom that fell brought him one step closer to the information he needed. Somewhere out there, Lola was hiding. Growing stronger. Probably laughing at how perfectly she’d manipulated him. But her time was running out. Darian would find her eventually. And when he did, the reckoning would be absolute. Meanwhile, Noah was doing what he done best, selling the items, growing stronger at a rapid rate, and improving the conditions of those around him. The money had arrived, and Sand’s father had transferred what he wanted. Noah was now not just a millionaire, but a real rich man worth in the hundreds of millions. The first thing Noah done was pay out the house they were in, he had it on non-interest payments with the owner, and he paid it instantly.