Chapter 99 – New Troops Have Appeared

To the west of the territory, at its farthest edge, dense forests once grew here, with gray wolves, goblins, and other monsters occasionally darting out.

But as of today, the trees here have thinned out, and the most common sight is tree stumps with cuts that are neither neat nor smooth—after all, Skeleton Warriors are not professional lumberjacks. Their swords may be sharp and their strength considerable, but they always seem to employ some unconventional techniques when chopping trees.

Forward slashes, reverse slashes, side slashes, vertical slashes—essentially, just random slashing.

The fact that they can chop down trees at all is already a sign of their budding intelligence. Lord Mu doesn’t ask for more. It’s just that the environment in this area is a bit unsettling, especially when viewed through the Lord’s perspective, gazing down from the sky.

It’s as if thick hair has been nearly shaved off, leaving behind only clumps of messy, disorderly little black tufts.

This will soon be a thing of the past.

“Confirm”!

Rumble—

A commotion several times, even dozens of times greater than when the special structure was erected, erupted at the western end of the territory.

Having been notified in advance, Deadbone was not alarmed. He merely directed some units to stand by in the distance, ready to eliminate any stray monsters that might appear.

In Mu Yuan’s vision:

Thick black mist, reminiscent of the Undead General at full power, surged forth, spreading hundreds of meters in an instant.

The earth gradually withered within the black mist, transforming into an ancient burial ground, as if it had interred countless dry bones and corpses over countless ages.

The uneven tree stumps withered within the black mist, resembling decayed black stones.

The leaves of the remaining dozen or so large trees yellowed within a mere ten seconds, then fell like the hair of a patient undergoing chemotherapy, rustling down with the slightest breeze.

As they landed, the yellowed leaves continued to decay, soon resembling burnt paper, leaving behind only fragmented, mottled gray-black remnants like charcoal dust.

The withered, blackened trees, stripped of even a single leaf, stretched out like monstrous claws under the black mist.

Walking into such a place in person would inevitably send shivers down one’s spine.

“Thank goodness, I built the Skull Graveyard at the westernmost edge of the territory, still quite far from the core area.”

Skeleton units are great, but living in such a gloomy environment…

No way!

Such an environment, rich with undead energy, is beneficial for Skeletons and Specters but harmful to ordinary people.

The black mist did not spread outward, confined within a range of a few hundred meters.

On one side was brilliant sunlight; on the other, a chilling, eerie gloom.

Separated by a mere line.

Only then did the ground at the core of the black mist slowly rise, forming mound-like hillocks resembling graves, with dry bones reaching out from the gray soil.

These were merely environmental embellishments, all guarding the center—a massive mound about six or seven meters tall.

Facing the Lord Altar, a doorway over two meters high stood wide open on the mound, like a dark, gaping abyss.

“The Skull Graveyard unit building is indeed excellent, and I’m quite satisfied. However…”

Even Lu Renyi, ranked 49th, obtained the unit building ‘Wolf Den.’ Surely, he himself couldn’t have just one ‘Skull Graveyard.’

There would be a second unit building.

This defied past conventions, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.”I originally thought I might obtain a higher-tier unit building, but it seems that’s not the case. Thinking about it carefully, quantity is indeed what I need more.”

Even so, there was still a bit of regret.

A first-order Skull Graveyard already comes with so many special effects—what would a truly high-tier building look like?

Perhaps there will be a chance to see it in the future…

“Ding!”

The final gift of light descended.

“Prompt: You have obtained the third-order unit building ‘Treant Forest.'”

Mu Yuan: “!!!”

——

「Treant Forest」

「Effect 1: At regular intervals, a certain number of ‘Treants (Rare★)’ can be recruited. There is a small chance to recruit ‘Treant Guards (Rare★★★)’ and a very small chance to recruit ‘Ancient Treants (Excellent★).’」

「Effect 2: Within the range covered by the Treant Forest, all trees can serve as the eyes of the treants. Vegetation will grow more luxuriantly, with a certain probability of producing low-tier special materials.」

「Effect 3: Within the range of the Treant Forest, the rank of treant-type units will slowly increase. Additionally, the strength and recovery ability of the treants will be enhanced.」

「Effect 4: Within the influence range of the Treant Forest, the cultivation speed of nature-aligned beings will increase, and their breakthrough probability will slightly improve.」

「Note: When certain conditions are met, the ‘Treant Forest’ can be promoted to the fourth-order unit building ‘Treant Courtyard.’」

Lord Mu gasped sharply.

…

The Treant Forest naturally had to be placed far away from the Skull Graveyard.

Mu Yuan chose a location at the easternmost part of the territory. This area had not been heavily logged and was more suitable for the future treants to settle.

He snapped his fingers.

Hum—

The eastern environment began to undergo a massive transformation, with even greater commotion!

Thick, sturdy trees grew rapidly as if injected with growth hormones. In the blink of an eye, ancient, vigorous trees spread across the eastern part of the Tianyuan Territory, even affecting areas beyond the territory. The lush forest became even denser and more prosperous.

The swaying branches and leaves emitted a refreshing air that invigorated the mind, even diluting the lingering stench of blood from the distant battlefield that had not yet been completely burned away.

The coverage and influence range of the Treant Forest were larger than that of the Skull Graveyard.

However, at first glance, it was not as eye-catching as the eerie graveyard. Instead, it seemed as if the Tianyuan Territory had always been built within a dense ancient forest.

Deep within the lush forest, at the very center, a massive archway formed by the intertwined branches of two ancient, sturdy trees marked the true recruitment site of the Treant Forest.

The Treant Forest was officially formed.

Only at this moment did the heavenly light of the rule’s gift finally disappear at the edge of the sky.

The trial had ended, and it was time to welcome a new beginning.

“Let’s take a look at the inside of the unit building.”

Mu Yuan stood up and summoned the Skeletal Warhorse, which had been somewhat useless during the battle but was perfectly suited for this moment. Riding the bone horse, he called upon the Undead Emperor, Bone Two, Bone Three, and the other skeletons, along with Dolai, who had curiously approached. The group headed to the graveyard located in the western part of the territory.

As soon as they entered, Bone Two, Bone Three, and the other skeletons became as lively as fish returning to a pond.

However, Dolai, who originated from a slime, seemed somewhat depressed and less lively.

Mu Yuan remained unaffected, which was related to his status as the lord.

He made his way to the large burial mound, paused for a moment, and then stepped through the dark entrance. Inside, the space opened up abruptly, with faint soul fires burning and casting a pale blue light.Countless skeletal projections overlapped and intertwined within. As he stepped inside, a prompt sounded at just the right moment.

“Prompt: Current recruitable unit count is 200. Thereafter, 50 units can be recruited every month, with a maximum storage capacity of 500 recruitable units.”

“Prompt: Proceed with 200 recruitments? This recruitment will consume a total of 1000g of Soul Sand.”

“Yes!”

Crack~!

Crack~!

Inside the massive burial mound, one Little Skeleton after another crawled out from the burial ground, their numbers growing rapidly.

So many that the interior space of the burial mound couldn’t contain them, spilling out to the outside.

Mu Yuan had naturally retreated outside early on.

He saw a large group of skeletons emerging from the burial mound. Among those at the front were over twenty Skeleton Soldiers clad in armor, along with two Skeleton Warriors.

“Prompt: First use of a Unit Building guarantees a critical success. You have recruited a Skeleton Warrior with outstanding natural talent.”

One Skeleton Warrior walked with an exceptionally proud and imposing posture, surrounded by a crowd of skeletons.

From the moment of its birth, it possessed initial intelligence, as if born to command.

The bearing of a General!

A promising future!

It came with a destined mission: to assist the Lord and help him ascend step by step to the Peak.

Until it saw the Undead Emperor, as well as Bone Two, Bone Three, Bone N…

Ah, this…

It seemed to have arrived a bit too late.

——

(End of Chapter)