Chapter 189 – Entering the Burial Ground

In Tianyuan Territory, Mu Yuan sat on a reclining chair in the courtyard, gazing at the azure sky where white clouds shifted and transformed.

Occasionally, Storm War Falcons with wingspans of two to three or three to four meters circled overhead, their sharp eyes scanning the earth, forests, and hills, forming the territory’s first line of defense.

On the ground, second-line elites such as Imperial Guards, Master Archers, and Halberdiers patrolled around the clock, leaving no blind spots unchecked.

These two were the visible lines of defense. Covertly, Wraiths lurked in the shadows, only their dark eyes peering out as they monitored the surroundings.

These were the three main lines of defense.

Beyond these, the areas housing the Unit Buildings on the eastern and western sides each had their own methods of protection.

Lord Mu and Isloria, who resided permanently in the territory, would also periodically use their Lord/Hero vision to activate a satellite-like Heavenly Eye, inspecting and filling any gaps.

At this moment, Mu Yuan appeared to be lounging, but in reality, he was diligently working.

For instance, the dozens of Mental Link threads he maintained daily consumed a significant amount of energy—he kept them active while eating, bathing, and even sleeping. He had further developed and upgraded his ordinary Mental Link talent into a private communication network channel, a testament to his hard work and dedication as Lord Mu.

The rapid development of Tianyuan Territory was undoubtedly due to his earnest efforts.

Just then—

“Ding~!”

A mental thread vibrated, with the caller ID showing “Real World · Sophia.”

「60-Second World Digest (Sophia’s Curated Edition)」

She had printed out the materials and hung them on the wall, then turned the laptop screen—which could serve as a medium—to face the documents.

She also switched on the lights to ensure ample illumination.

“Lord, these are the more important events from the past two days. Are there any among them that require special attention, crow?”

She left this message in the Mental Link.

In addition to studying, catching up on lessons, purchasing Remnant Souls, and working part-time as a maid to clean the villa, Sophia’s daily responsibilities included collecting and filtering important information from the internet and forums.

In just a few days, she had become quite proficient in using computers and mobile phones.

Of course, both the phone and computer were specially bought for her by Boss Mu—no one else was to handle these devices!

He had also, in his capacity as Lord, vouched for Sophia to register a real-world identity—Mu Fei—a privilege all Lords possessed—and enabled Sophia to have her own forum account.

This way, she wouldn’t need to log into his, Mu Yuan’s, account.

Mu Yuan shifted his focus to the real world.

「Xuan Nation Releases the Sixth Set of National Body Tempering Exercises, Open to All Aged Twelve and Above Without Major Health Issues.」

「In the Past Week, 19 New Border Zones Have Emerged Domestically, While 3 Old Border Zones Have Disappeared.」

「Beast Tide Erupts in Miandian Region, Suspected Presence of Lord-Level Vicious Beasts.」

…

「Large Recruitment Site Discovered in West Ridge City Area, Over Twenty Lords Currently Competing, Six of Whom Are Veteran Lords.」

「Foul Nest Appears in Longchuan City Area, City Lord of Longchuan Urges Lords to Form a Joint Expeditionary Force.」

「Large Relic Unearched in Xishan Region, Labyrinths Within.」”A new Epic Unrivaled is about to emerge, having been recruited by the Lord of Tenglong Territory. His father, Duke Beiting, stated, ‘My son Wang Longteng has the potential to become a legend.'”

“Taixuan Liangyi has dismantled a black market player stronghold in the Twilight Plains region, eliminating over 30 wanted criminal players.”

Taixuan Liangyi is one of the most important departments in the Alliance, serving as the counterpart to the Pioneer Group.

While the Pioneer Group focuses on external affairs, Taixuan Liangyi handles internal matters, responsible for maintaining stability and defense.

The stronghold they dismantled this time was likely not merely a black market den, but rather a secret base constructed by the Eye of Divine Radiance around Taixuan.

Mu Yuan pondered to himself.

After all, he had connections higher up, so he was well aware of many unpublicized messages on the Taixuan Forum.

The Divine Radiance Empire could only send ‘nobodies’ for these covert schemes, so labeling them as wanted criminal players wasn’t entirely wrong.

After reading the carefully curated information in his hand, Mu Yuan nodded slightly.

Sophia had indeed selected the more important news. Considering her talents and skills… Mu Yuan stroked his chin, “If Sophia truly has aptitude in this area, she could potentially serve as the territory’s intelligence officer in the future.”

As he contemplated, Dolai and Isloria flew back.

Isloria returned to her post. Dolai, meanwhile, began pulling the spoils of war from its belly, holding a storage safe that couldn’t be placed into dimensional space.

Thud—

The Mechanical Dragon, resembling a large, plump golden insect, was carried by Dolai and gently set down outside the City Lord’s Mansion.

Mu Yuan stepped into the chubby abdominal cavity of the Soaring Dragon.

This vehicle wasn’t large in size, with an interior space similar to an extended RV, but it was quite luxuriously appointed. There were cushions made from high-quality rare beast leather; a refrigerator with storage and cooling functions; bottles of red wine frozen in space, still unspoiled; and various exquisite, small yet elegant decorations.

This Mechanical Dragon was less of an armed airship and more of a luxury vehicle.

Mu Yuan was quite satisfied.

A Lord sometimes needs to pay attention to appearances, and the Mechanical Dragon could serve as that prestigious facade—if he had to spend valuable Soul Crystals on such luxuries, he’d definitely be reluctant, but since it was obtained for free, he wouldn’t go so far as to sell it.

An outstanding vehicle, after all!

“Now for the main event.”Large recruitment point emphasizes the word ‘large.” It covers an entire area, equivalent to the combination of many single recruitment points. Unlike Unit Buildings, it can’t continuously produce recruitable units, but the number recruited at once is quite substantial. Moreover, large recruitment points always yield high-level units.”

Mu Yuan recalled the strategy guide he had just consulted.

Many veteran Lords aim for the latter.

They might already possess advanced units, but after experiencing their strength, they desire more. Besides, high-end units also have their own tiers of quality.

Mu Yuan was different; he wanted both the former and the latter.

He took the torn map from Dolai and retrieved another, slightly smaller one from his own space Ring.

He placed the two together.

The left fragment looked as good as new, with a faint, rotating glow even though a small part was torn away, clearly extraordinary at a glance. The right fragment appeared old, wrinkled, and dry, like toilet paper crumpled in a pocket.

But when the two fragments were pieced together, their jagged tear edges fit perfectly, and a subtle blue light emerged, spreading continuously along the seams.In the blink of an eye, the two torn map fragments merged together, with the right portion restored to a pristine state by a mysterious force, showing no trace of having been torn.

「Large Recruitment Point: Land of Buried Bones」

「Prompt: Use this special item?」

“Yes!”

As Mu Yuan confirmed, a dazzling azure radiance burst forth, forming a winding, seemingly endless azure star trail before him, leading to the Land of Buried Bones.

This was a spatial track.

Following this path would lead directly to the destination.

「Prompt: You have activated the large recruitment point ‘Land of Buried Bones.’ Key holders may enter this area directly via the spatial track.」

「Prompt: If the key holder fails to fully conquer this recruitment point within one week, the ‘Land of Buried Bones’ will manifest in the real world.」

The now-activated key blueprint transformed instantly, displaying images of towering mountains, great rivers, and a grand city standing firm. Among them, a faint blue dot flickered, marking the true location of the Land of Buried Bones.

“So it seems the large recruitment point that appeared earlier in the West Ridge City area might have been activated by a lord who failed to secure it, leading to a free-for-all scramble.”

Mu Yuan silently mourned for that lord who had seized the opportunity only to lose it.

But then he reconsidered—he shouldn’t mourn too soon. What if he couldn’t conquer it either? Ordinary recruitment points were guarded by powerful monsters, let alone such a large recruitment site.

At this moment, the Undead General was not home. After some thought, Mu Yuan summoned Dolai, Lu Liu, who had just returned to the territory, and a group of elites to first scout the situation at the Land of Buried Bones.

As for Isloria…

He glanced back. The best worker was still busy, so he decided not to burden her with additional tasks. The territory needed a top-tier expert to hold the fort.

“Let’s go.”

General Lu Liu took the lead, Lord Mu positioned himself in the center, and General Dolai flanked from the left.

Accompanied by a group of elites—even if they were considered second-tier in Tianyuan, they were still the envy of countless lords—Mu Someone stepped onto the azure spatial track.

The spatial track wound like an endless serpentine path.

As Mu Yuan stepped into it, it felt as though he were traversing a spatial tunnel, with gray mist enveloping both sides. He didn’t spend much time; after just a few dozen steps, the world before him suddenly opened up, and the spatial track came to an end.

He set foot on the ground.

「Ding!」

「Prompt: You have arrived at the Land of Buried Bones.」

Behind him, the gray mist wall arched, enclosing the entire area.

Ahead, the ground was parched and cracked, with stubborn weeds sporadically growing in the fissures. The further in, the less greenery there was, until only shades of gray and black remained.

Mu Yuan didn’t see any bleached white bones, but in the distance, behind rocks and mountains, conspicuous beams of light emerged.

Within the light, figures clad in armor flickered, appearing and disappearing.

These were the recruitment points!

A large recruitment site was composed of numerous smaller recruitment points.

Maintaining formation, Mu Yuan cautiously advanced and soon reached the first recruitment point. As he reached out to touch it, the prompt sounded as expected.

「Ding!」

「Prompt: Current recruitment point contains ‘Skeleton Mage × 2’ and ‘Skeleton Soldier × 10.’」

「Prompt: Proceed with recruitment? This recruitment requires Soul Sand.」

“Yes!”

Crack, crack~!Under the influence of the rule’s power, the flowing light and shadow solidified.

A skeleton wielding a white bone staff and clad in gray robes emerged from it, followed by ten familiar Skeleton Soldiers.

Simultaneously, as he completed the recruitment, the beam of light before him dimmed and vanished completely.

Mu Yuan continued forward.

“Ding!”

“Ding!”

“Ding!”

Within just over ten minutes, he had visited three more recruitment points, acquiring several rare units and dozens of ordinary ones.

And this was merely the appetizer in the Land of Buried Bones.

He looked forward with anticipation, then suddenly halted.

“I knew it—a place this vast couldn’t possibly be devoid of any monsters.”

First Update

(End of Chapter)