When his territory came under attack, Alex had no choice but to abandon his exploration and rush back with his plant army in tow.
Fortunately, he hadn't ventured too far, and he'd left a contingent of units to guard his territory. They should be able to hold out for a while. Moreover, the mutated plant Ivy was stationed within the territory, making it no easy task for intruders to break through.
As Alex hurried back, outside his territory, Sebastian and his group found themselves locked in a fierce battle against a barrage of enormous vines.
Vines erupted from the ground, lashing out at Sebastian and his units while releasing clouds of toxic mist, forcing them to keep their distance. Meanwhile, other plants within the territory used the vines as cover to launch sneak attacks, further disrupting their advance.
"Boss Sebastian! These plants are too much! We can't get close!" a young man shouted, hacking at an oncoming vine.
But no matter how many vines they cut down, they quickly regrew, entangling them once more. It was as if the vines were endless.
What they didn't know was that these plants had been mutated by Alex's Mutation ability, inheriting the Devour skill from the King of the Man-Eating Flowers. Whenever they were damaged, they would immediately activate Devour, consuming the corpses of monsters left behind by previous beast tides to instantly heal and rejoin the fight.
This was the nature of plant-type units—endless vitality! While their offensive power might not match other units, their resilience was several times, if not dozens of times, greater. As long as their roots remained, they would never die!
"Hmph! A few plants think they can stop me? How naive!" Sebastian sneered, watching the writhing vines. He summoned his angel priest army and raised his scepter high.
"Holy and merciful God of Light, hear my plea and banish the evil from this world!"
"Sacred Light!"
A blinding white light erupted, illuminating the area for hundreds of meters and dispersing the toxic mist, revealing the territory's walls. At the same time, a row of spear-wielding angels behind Sebastian took to the air, raising their weapons.
"Judgment Spears!"
With a thunderous cry, countless spears shot forward, slamming into the walls and exploding, shattering both the walls and the nearby vines. Even the Devour skill couldn't restore them quickly.
"Boss Sebastian is amazing! He broke through their defenses in one move!" the other three cheered.
"Hmph, let's see what else he has to stop us. Let's move in!" Sebastian commanded, leading his angel army over the devastated ground toward the territory. The others followed, clearing the remaining vines.
Their forces were vast, and the plants were already struggling to hold them back. Without Ivy's vines and toxic mist to hinder them, they advanced unimpeded, soon reaching the outer walls.
"Looks like he's not in the territory. Otherwise, he would've shown up by now," one of them remarked.
"No need to worry. Once we destroy the territory core, he's as good as dead!" Sebastian said coldly, preparing to lead his angels through the breach.
But just then, a sense of danger surged through him.
"Whoosh!"
Several Wooden Spikes shot up from the ground without warning! Sebastian barely managed to roll away as the spikes grazed his feet. It was a close call.
"Ah—!"
"Ah—!"
Two screams rang out as two of his companions were impaled, while another was struck in the thigh and collapsed.
"Who's there?!" Sebastian spun around to see Alex walking calmly toward him, flanked by his plant army.
"It's you!" Sebastian's face darkened, his eyes filled with icy rage.
He hadn't expected Alex to return so quickly, let alone take out two of his companions in an instant. When a lord died, their units perished as well. Sure enough, within seconds, the units belonging to the two fallen men let out mournful cries and dropped dead, halving their combat strength in an instant.
"We meet again," Alex said coolly, his gaze fixed on Sebastian like he was already a dead man.
"Hmph! So what if we've met? Since you've come back, don't think you'll leave alive!" Sebastian barked, knowing that destroying the territory core would take time. Without another word, he summoned his angels to his side.
"Boss Sebastian, I'll help you!" the young man with the injured thigh said through gritted teeth, limping to Sebastian's side.
He knew that attacking Alex's territory had made them mortal enemies. To survive, they had to eliminate Alex. Even with half their forces gone, they still had two people left. Dealing with one man should be easy.
"Attack! Kill him!" Sebastian roared.
Over sixty units surged toward Alex, while beams of holy light gathered in the sky, raining down on his position. In contrast, Alex had only twenty or so plant units. The disparity in numbers was staggering.
"Hahaha!!! This is what happens when you cross me!" Sebastian laughed maniacally.
The young man beside him also grinned cruelly, as if they could already see Alex's blood staining the ground.
But the next second, their laughter abruptly stopped.
A figure resembling a Flower Sprite flew out from Alex's side, waving a staff. Countless leaves rose with the wind, transforming into sharp arrows that shot toward their units.
"Thud!"
Blood sprayed as angels fell from the sky, their holy light attacks dissipating. Even the beasts charging on the ground were pierced through the throat by the leaves, collapsing with dull thuds.
They couldn't withstand even a single attack!
"A fifth-tier unit!" Sebastian's pupils contracted in terror as he stared at the figure wielding the staff—River.
To instantly kill fourth-tier units, it had to be fifth-tier! They never imagined that Alex would have a fifth-tier unit, and one capable of AOE spells at that!
In just one encounter, nearly half of their units were wiped out. The remaining ones were entangled by vines, unable to break free. Then, River waved her staff again, and Wooden Spikes erupted from the ground, impaling their bodies. The battle had turned into a one-sided slaughter, leaving them no room to fight back.
"It's over…" Sebastian's legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed, his face filled with terror.
A fifth-tier unit was something they couldn't hope to defeat. He glanced at the young man beside him and began to back away. Then, he turned and bolted into the forest.