Chapter 100 – Tree Demon Granny

Mu Yuan’s territory was rich in skeletal talents, boasting not only the Undead Emperor but also heroes like the reckless Bone Two, the unruly Bone Three, and Nigula the Fourth.

Adding another promising young recruit was merely the icing on the cake.

Though in good spirits, his mind had already wandered to the neighboring Treant Forest.

“The first recruitment has a critical mechanism, meaning I can directly recruit an ‘Ancient Treant’ of Outstanding One-Star rarity here in the Treant Forest.”

He never expected the third Outstanding-tier unit in his territory to be a new type of soldier.

Recruiting units could be done with a single thought, but since it was the first time, Lord Mu, seeking a sense of ceremony, rode his skeletal warhorse to the Treant Forest in the East.

Upon stepping inside, the experience was entirely different from the Skull Graveyard.

Sunlight filtered through the lush foliage, casting dappled patterns, while the fragrance of grass and trees filled the air, invigorating visitors. It was undoubtedly an excellent dwelling.

The verdant trees swayed gently, as if welcoming his arrival.

Walking further, he arrived at a massive archway formed by the intertwined branches of two ancient trees. Mu Yuan stepped through.

Just like the burial mounds, the root archway contained a vast interior space—this was the true Unit Building. The surroundings were merely an environment altered by its influence.

Inside the archway, it resembled an ancient forest, with the shadows of small trees flickering beneath towering ancient trees.

Ding~!

“Prompt: The current number of recruitable units is 30. Thereafter, 10 units can be recruited every month, with a maximum storage of 100 recruitable units.”

“Prompt: Proceed with 30 recruitments? This recruitment will consume 1500g of Soul Sand in total.”

“Yes!”

The 30 consecutive recruitments had begun.

Within the recruitment space, the shadows of small trees descended like sparks of spiritual light merging into the earth. Soon after, tender sprouts broke through the soil, growing rapidly over a dozen breaths.

In an instant, a treant—standing about two to three meters tall, with roots for feet and numerous fresh green leaves sprouting from its body—stood before Mu Yuan.

At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary small tree, especially if it remained stationary and rooted itself in the ground.

“Treant”

“Rarity: Rare One-Star”

“Skill: Entangle”

A skill that allowed branches or roots to extend rapidly, ensnaring and even strangling enemies to death.

Mu Yuan ordered the treant to test it out.

The treant moved very slowly, and once rooted, it took considerable time to uproot itself. However, when using the Entangle skill, its roots spread and shot out with remarkable speed.

It was a fairly effective control skill.

His territory lacked strong control abilities.

“Treants move slowly, but they are highly suitable as defensive units stationed in the territory. Besides this skill, treants possess certain inherent traits, such as blending seamlessly with the surrounding forest environment when rooted, making them extremely difficult to detect. Additionally, in a rooted state, their recovery ability is significantly enhanced… They might even have the effect of enriching soil fertility?”

At this stage, the treant was still small, but after a few levels in the Early Stage, it would quickly grow into a towering tree.

And soon—

Hum—Two rare three-star units, ‘Treant Guardians’, who bore some resemblance to the treants before him but with thicker trunks and darker hues, suggesting significantly stronger defenses, were recruited and emerged.

Following them, an ‘Ancient Treant’ slowly stepped out—a much more gnarled and ancient presence. Though merely a two-to-three-meter-tall sapling, it exuded an aura of antiquity and primal simplicity.

Its leaves and branches were a deep cyan, adorned with plump, enticing green fruits.

Its roots were exceptionally thick, coiling like massive brown serpents slithering across the earth.

Swaying its branches and leaves, it bowed slightly in a gesture of reverence.

「Ancient Treant」

「Rank: Outstanding One-Star」

「Skills: Entangle, Fruit Missile」

「Talent: Natural Breath」

——

「Natural Breath: Can absorb the essence of flora to slowly enhance its base attributes or temporarily moderately increase the power of its skills. It can also return the refined plant essence to nourish the forest.」

Possessing a talent, this Ancient Treant was undoubtedly one of the more exceptional individuals among Outstanding-rank units.

Yet, it was still not a perfect specimen.

It could still be further perfected through evolution.

However…

“Treant-type units start at rare one-star rank. They are powerful, but their numbers are quite limited, and further evolution might be rather time-consuming.”

Even without evolving, leveling up this Ancient Treant would make it plenty strong.

It would become the Guardian Tree of the territory.

“From now on, you shall be stationed in the Treant Forest and focus on increasing your strength as much as possible.”

High-rank units level up faster in the early stages.

Mu Yuan took out a Soul Crystal and handed it over.

The treant extended a branch to receive it, and a vague, aged face appeared on its trunk.

“This old one obeys.”

Wow, this one’s a Tree Spirit Grandma?

…

Given its low level, Tree Spirit Grandma might not even be a match for a level 9 large goblin at this point.

Naturally, for an important location like the Treant Forest, Mu Yuan had to assign elite troops for defense.

Undead units were out of the question—their compatibility with treants was too poor. While units were loyal, as a good lord, Mu Yuan would make more suitable arrangements whenever possible.

He dispatched several Sharpshooters and a group of Silver Slimes to patrol the area.

…

With the trial just concluded, the newly appointed lords had stepped into a new world, yet each was overwhelmingly busy.

Mu Yuan even more so.

Typically, new lords wouldn’t utilize their entire territory at once. They would gradually expand their domain while recruiting refugees and constructing various facilities.

This approach allowed for a sufficient buffer zone; if any monsters entered the territory, the lord would detect it immediately.

Mu Yuan also wanted to maintain an ample buffer, but unfortunately, the two Unit Buildings took up too much space.

Such were the troubles of excellence.

He had no choice but to spread his forces out and constantly control several Hurricane Falcons and War Falcons to scout and keep watch around the territory.

His Tianyuan Territory had formidable military strength, but after the territory expanded more than tenfold, it still felt stretched thin.

If a monster horde of thousands were to attack at this moment, he would inevitably suffer losses.

In response,

Mu Yuan began bolstering the territory’s power. He retrieved the three random Breakthrough Materials from the basic rewards and pondered briefly.At this time, there were quite a few experts within Tianyuan Territory who had reached ‘Apprentice Realm Great Perfection’ and ‘Half-step Professional Tier’.

Among the skeleton series, Bone Twenty had already accumulated overflowing experience.

The Imperial Guards and Sharpshooters had all reached Great Perfection Rank under the baptism of gifts.

Thus, Mu Yuan summoned ‘Red Robe’, ‘Lu Liu’, and ‘Seventeen’, reserving the slots for these two individuals and one spirit. Among them, Red Robe had undergone mutation, causing her combat power to skyrocket. Once she broke through, she might become the territory’s third strongest fighter, second only to Deadbone and Dolai.

As for the remaining skeletons, Imperial Guards, Sharpshooters, and Slimes who met the criteria, Mu Yuan sent them to the ‘Breakthrough Dojo’ for training.

In as little as half a month, or at most a bit longer, the Professional Tier combat power of Tianyuan Territory would experience an explosive growth.

Even now, he already had nine Professional Tier powerhouses here.

“Oh, and that’s not all.”

“I almost forgot about myself. This Lord is also at Professional Tier, and stands among the top of this major rank. Perhaps defeating Bone Two, Red Robe, or even Dolai wouldn’t be out of the question.”

It wasn’t arrogance on his part.

Rather, he truly could be this powerful.

After being promoted to a formal Lord, Lord players gained a signature ability—Lord Power.

(End of Chapter)