The final point was having a sufficiently vast territory.
To realize the vision of developing the Vampire race, Li De estimated he would need at least 50,000 humans in the early stages, growing to as many as several hundred thousand later on.
Several hundred thousand humans would be more than enough to sustain a small number of Vampires. Moreover, the high-end combat power in this world was extremely formidable; the Vampires, supported by the humans, would be fully capable of protecting them and ensuring their safety.
This necessitated a vast territory.
As luck would have it, he already met this condition.
It was this very location.
The castle towered on the edge of a cliff; from the front, it appeared as a fortress that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
However, the area behind the castle was completely different.
The region where the castle was situated was a gourd-shaped basin surrounded by high mountains.
The castle was merely situated at the mouth of the gourd.
Behind the castle lay a fertile land, thirty li wide and stretching for a full twenty kilometers.
Then, the terrain narrowed sharply, forming the neck of the gourd.
The landscape constricted from a width of thirty kilometers to just two, flanked on both sides by mountains that pierced the clouds.
Five kilometers past the neck lay the rear section of the gourd basin.
The soil here was no less fertile than the land directly behind the castle.
More importantly, this stretch of fertile land was a hundred and fifty kilometers long with an average width of sixty kilometers.
All of this fertile land belonged to Li De alone.
The castle, built at the mouth of the gourd, stood as a steadfast guardian over this prosperous land.
This was Li De's greatest source of confidence.
In his eyes, this land was a god-given sanctuary for farming.
Located deep within the Distant Mountain Range, transportation was extremely inconvenient; most of the terrain could only be crossed by flying.
Coupled with the fact that the gourd basin was surrounded by peaks three thousand ren high, there was no way in except through the castle at the front, effectively isolating them from most natural enemies.
Even among flying magical beasts, perhaps only dragons could soar over such towering peaks.
Furthermore, the soil in the gourd basin was fertile, the temperature was mild year-round, and it was far removed from the threats of war and magical beasts.
As long as there were humans, this land could burst with life.
Even Li De, with his insights from modern society, could not stop praising the land the Vampire Progenitor had found.
On Earth, this land might be considered useless due to poor transportation, but in this chaotic world filled with war, it was the perfect base of operations.
Inconvenient transportation meant isolation, which meant absolute safety.
Moreover, with him in Green City, communication with the outside world wouldn't be an issue at all; they wouldn't fall behind just because they were remote.
In the memories of the Vampire Progenitor, this was a fertile land he had found after exploring the Distant Mountain Range for over a decade.
It was a pity the original Vampires had no idea how to utilize it; even the original Vampire Progenitor only felt it had potential without knowing how to unleash it.
Vampires were not a race skilled in farming; these gifted members of a Superior Race ranked among the top in Glory World when it came to combat.
But as for farming, they wouldn't even be able to catch the dust behind the humans' heels.
Fortuitously, Li De had arrived and inherited the wealth left by the Vampire Progenitor.
This land would come to life in his hands.
"So, Patriarch, you plan to keep a group of humans to work for us?"
The one speaking was the second-ranked among Li De's seven Blood Descendants.
Frey.
A Vampire with a somewhat thin build and sharp eyes.
His long aquiline nose carried a hint of coldness, and his blue eyes held a gaze that was difficult for outsiders to decipher.
The idea of keeping humans was not foreign to him; a hundred years ago, when the Vampire race still had over three thousand members, he had managed over ten thousand humans. He didn't have a good impression of those greedy and weak food sources.
Li De nodded and spoke his thoughts without reservation.
"Correct. The Holy Race's current way of life is extremely dangerous. If we continue with a development model based on preying on humans,"
"We will forever be hidden in the Distant Mountain Range, living like rats in a sewer."
"Whenever Green City discovers us, we will be forced to abandon this territory of ours."
"If you do not want the Transcendent Mages of Green City to come knocking one day, if you do not want Green City's army to break down our castle gates, burn our kin, and plunder our wealth,"
"Then you must follow my plan."
External conflict was indeed the best way to divert internal conflict.
Moreover, the deterrent of that Transcendent Mage in Green City far exceeded Li De's expectations.
The Vampires' expressions didn't fluctuate much at the mention of Green City's army, but the title of Transcendent Mage made everyone's faces turn extremely grim.
"Patriarch, your will is the direction of our path."
To his surprise, all the Vampires bowed in unison and shouted this oath with utmost solemnity.
Seeing this, Li De breathed a small sigh of relief; he had actually overestimated the difficulty of the task.
No, rather, he had underestimated the significance of the title 'Vampire Progenitor' within the race.
It wasn't just as simple as being the head of a family or a race; it was being a ruler with supreme authority. Matters deciding the fate of the entire Vampire race had always been decided by the Vampire Progenitor alone.
No one could defy the Progenitor's majesty; this was not just a tradition but a shackle etched into the very bloodline of the Vampires.
"Good. Now, I give my orders."
"First, starting today, clear out the southern area of the castle to accommodate the incoming humans."
"Furthermore, all members of the Holy Race are forbidden from harming humans, forbidden from directly drinking human blood, and forbidden from plundering human wealth."
"Second, activate the Holy Race's contingency plan. For the next six months, all Vampires will be fed from the blood pool."
"I repeat, whether outside or in the castle, harming innocent humans is forbidden,"
"Except for those who harbor malice and attack us first."
"Third, tomorrow morning, everyone is to come to the main hall to re-learn the history of the Holy Race, which I will explain personally."
After issuing the three consecutive orders, Li De paused, giving the Vampires below a few minutes to digest the information.
"The task of clearing the southern district of the castle is assigned to Audis; it must be completed within five days."
"Once the blood pool is activated, Frey will continue to be responsible for its security."
"The seven of you stay; the rest may leave. Everyone will gather here at nine tomorrow morning."
Li De waved his hand, signaling the seven Second Generation Blood Descendants to remain.
The Vampires once had as many as thirty Second Generation Blood Descendants, but after the war with Green City a hundred years ago, only these seven remained.
To ensure the survival of the race and avoid discovery by the Transcendent Mage of Green City, the Vampire Progenitor had been suppressing the race's power, which was why their numbers had stayed around 200 for all these years.
Li De paid no further mind to the varying expressions of the Vampires and sat alone on the jewel-encrusted main seat.
He closed his eyes in deep thought.
He had to admit that the framework of this plan he had come up with on the fly was still very general, even crude, and there were countless details that needed refining during execution.
But Li De would never let this opportunity slip by.
In three years, the Players would descend. If he didn't gather enough power before those 'natural disaster' troublemakers arrived, the Vampires might truly be forced to hide in these lonely Distant Mountain Range forever.
Moreover, given the Players' knack for stirring up trouble, the existence of the castle might not remain hidden; when that time came, it would be a catastrophe.
The Vampires were his roots; his identity as the Vampire Progenitor determined that.
Vampire Progenitor: You are the progenitor of the Vampire race, possessing a powerful bloodline and immunity to sunlight. You can create one Blood Descendant each month. The loyalty of all Blood Descendants and their offspring to you is fixed at 'Die-hard Loyalty.' Each Blood Descendant provides you with 1 point of character experience per month.
The castle currently had 200 Vampires, and each Blood Descendant could provide him with 1 point of experience every month.
The experience required to level up from Level 10 to Level 11 was 5,000. Even if he did nothing, he could level up in just two years.
An outsider might underestimate a single level, but Li De knew very well how difficult it was to level up after Level 10.
In Green City, with its population of over a million, there were only 20 High-level Mages who had reached Level 10. The higher the level, the more exaggerated the difficulty of leveling up became.
"glory" was not a game where you could level up just by killing monsters; it had an extremely complex calculation system that Li De was still far from understanding.
Furthermore, as the number of Vampires increased in the future, this number would continue to rise.
If he had 5,000 Blood Descendants, how fast would his leveling speed be?
What a massive bug.
If he abandoned the Vampire race, he would truly be nothing more than a Vampire hiding among humans.
His advantages would be slashed by more than half. Therefore, the top priority now was to develop the Vampire race so they would have enough power to protect themselves within three years.