Chapter 71
【The conditions for upgrading the territory to level 3 have been met. Would you like to upgrade?】
【Yes】
Level up twice in a row!
Chapter 49
【The Tree of Creation has bloomed, attracting nearby beasts. Please prepare for defense tonight.】
Ye Bai received the same notification as Zeta.
And because he had leveled up twice, the Tree of Creation was now in full bloom, its flowers more vibrant than ever.
However, this time there was no warning about insufficient food supplies in the territory. Thanks to Ye Bai's "strategic planting," the agricultural yield was impressive. Even with the population rising to 120, there was more than enough food to meet their needs. Not to mention, Ye Bai had imported ten crates of long-lasting grains from Mei Luo City.
Now, the food reserves in the territory were sufficient to feed 120 people for six months. Soon, the 【Mill】 and 【Smokehouse】 would process the coarse food from before, further enhancing the villagers' satiety and satisfaction, creating a positive feedback loop.
As night fell, Ye Bai felt well-prepared, unlike Zeta, who was caught off guard.
Among the new villagers, he had organized 30 individuals to transition into 【Militia】 at the basic training ground, forming three teams led by the six mercenaries who remained in the territory—oh no, they should now be referred to as the Lord's Guards, ready to face the monster attack tonight.
The 【Lord's Guards】 were a special honorary position within the territory, chosen directly by the lord. They served as a mobile force under the lord's command, with the maximum number of guards determined by the territory's level. As a level 1 lord, Ye Bai could have up to 10 guards.
The benefits included fighting alongside the lord to gain a 20% bonus to experience points, and as long as their satisfaction met the standard, their loyalty would increase 50% faster than that of other ordinary combat professions. However, the lord would need to pay them extra, as different guards had varying personal recruitment needs.
After issuing orders to the guards, the six members of Blaze were fully alert, brimming with fighting spirit.
This was their first battle since joining Ye Bai, and everyone wanted to make a good impression.
The newly transitioned militia, equipped with standard crossbows, were nervously preparing for combat.
If no boss-level monsters appeared during this territory upgrade, Ye Bai planned to avoid using magic scrolls and let the combat teams handle the situation with traps.
Nothing trains soldiers faster than joining a battle; they gain both experience and skill. With the already transitioned guards and Ye Bai watching over them, the new recruits didn’t have to worry about casualties—it was a different kind of "experience farm."
Once everything was arranged, Ye Bai made his way to the newly constructed wooden fence.
In this territory upgrade, what Ye Bai valued most was the "artificial kudu trap" made from wooden fences, primarily to take this opportunity to keep the wild kudus from the nearby grasslands within the territory. Everything else was secondary.
The Tree of Creation once again radiated light, its trunk shimmering as the glow gathered in the branches, blooming into clusters of bioluminescent flowers that released spores like tiny glowing dots, quickly enveloping the entire territory.
The ordinary villagers, having learned from past experiences, tightly shut their doors, while the combat teams took their positions, waiting for the beasts to arrive.
Soon, sounds of movement could be heard from a distance.
To the north of the territory, Ye Bai's trained explorer, Roman, had improved his skills and expanded his exploration area. Even before the territory upgrade, Roman had spotted new wolf tracks further north.
“Clang, clang, clang…”
Just like last time, as soon as the pack of wolves with glowing red eyes appeared, they triggered the traps laid out on the ground.
‘-120’, ‘-150’, ‘-130’…
This time, the traps were ordinary ones, without embedded energy crystals, dealing standard damage between 100 and 150. The wolves had health points ranging from 180 to 200. After hitting the traps, the pack became agitated and howled in pain.
A team of militia, already waiting nearby, charged forward under the leadership of two professional guards, delivering finishing blows to the injured wolves.
The first wave of seventeen or eighteen wolves was easily dispatched, and the experience points allowed the previously level 1 militia to level up to between 3 and 4.
Ye Bai glanced over and knew everything was under control.
After a while, heavy footsteps echoed from the east. Recognizing that familiar sound, Ye Bai knew it was the old friends—the wild boars. The last bounty of meat had come from them, and now they were back for another round, all of which could be turned into smoked meat, extending their shelf life.
The beasts attacking during the village phase were all local threats. Without preparation, it was a crisis; with preparation, it was a feast.
Before long, the silhouettes of fifteen or sixteen shaggy wild boars appeared, greeted by traps and the crossbows of nearby militia. The team that had just leveled up after dealing with the wolves rushed over, surrounding the boar herd.
Ye Bai observed and realized he didn’t need to intervene.
Time ticked by, and from the south came the familiar heavy footsteps. Ye Bai squinted into the distance; it was…
A large, stout shadow emerged, its red eyes filled with ferocity.
Last time it was from the north; this time, it was a brown bear from the southern distance.
Ye Bai cast a quick insight—level 19 elite monster, nothing to worry about.
The strongest member of the guard team, Blaze, a level 22 swordsman, saw the big brown bear and his eyes lit up with excitement. He charged forward first, exclaiming, “What a big fellow!”
Another guard followed suit, shouting, “We’ll have bear paws for dinner tomorrow!”
The militia, who had been somewhat fearful, were encouraged by this and picked up their crossbows to attack from the side.
Against a large beast like the brown bear, even using crossbows posed little risk of hitting allies. As long as they weren’t aiming deliberately, it was quite difficult to hit a human, who was significantly smaller.
Seeing this, Ye Bai knew he didn’t need to step in.
As the others engaged in battle with the bear, a sudden sound of urgent hooves from the northwest caught Ye Bai's attention. She immediately straightened up, shifting her focus to the direction of the sound.
Here they come! The kudu herd!
After a moment of watching, Ye Bai saw sharp horns emerging on the horizon, spiraled in intricate patterns, followed by the heads of gray-black horses.
The wild kudus ran freely, with a few leading ones appearing to be the core of the group, their sleek gray-black coats glistening, muscles visible beneath their skin.
【Wild Kudu】
Level: 20
Health: 1500/1500
Attack Method: Charge
Weaknesses: Horns, throat, eyes
The kudus' normally oval-shaped eyes turned red under the influence of the Tree of Creation, their upper eyelids forming fierce horizontal stripes, making them look quite formidable.
And these formidable creatures were not just one, but a whole herd.
As they charged forward, Ye Bai took the opportunity to count—there were 28 kudus in total.
By the time she finished counting, the herd had already reached her.
“律 (Lü)…”
As the closest living beings in the territory, the kudus immediately locked their hatred onto Ye Bai.
With a shrill cry, one of them raised its horn and charged at her.
Ye Bai didn’t dare to be careless. She quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact, and used the momentum to slip through the "entrance" of the wooden fence.
Feeling the sharp horn brush past her, even Ye Bai, who was accustomed to battling bosses, felt a chill run down her spine.
The kudus were incredibly fast, using their horns to charge at enemies, dealing over 300 damage with each hit. Their attacks were piercing, capable of bypassing standard armor defenses.
What was worse, once you were hit by the first kudu's charge and entered a state of basic stun from the injury, it often meant another kudu was right behind, ready to strike.
A barrage of ‘-300’ damage could come in quick succession, enough to make even a boss cry out in despair.
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