"Still in second place, huh?"
Within his territory, Alex silently gazed at the regional rankings.
Just moments ago, he had spent all of his 1,800 Mana to recruit eighteen fifth-tier units, all of which were rare.
He had deliberately avoided using Mutation this time, opting instead to increase the number of his fifth-tier units as much as possible.
Yet, even with this effort, he still couldn't surpass the top-ranked Ethan Carter. It was clear just how formidable that guy was.
Ethan must have had at least twenty fifth-tier units!
While Alex wasn't entirely surprised by the result, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of astonishment.
As he was reviewing the rankings, a notification chimed in his mind.
[Congratulations! You have secured second place in the regional rankings. Reward: 5,000 Mana, Fifth-tier Territory Essence x2.]
Just like that, he gained another 5,000 Mana, which he could now use for Mutation.
After a quick glance at the rankings, Alex closed the interface and walked over to the newly recruited fifth-tier units.
The advanced form of the Spirit of Flora was a unit called the Essence of Flora.
Like the Spirit of Flora, it was composed of a glowing orb, though slightly larger and surrounded by tendrils of light, making it easy to identify.
This wasn't too bad.
Alex had already grown accustomed to the peculiar forms of these units.
What he found harder to accept was the recruitment cost of fifth-tier units.
It had skyrocketed to 100 Mana!
Including the 100 Mana needed for Mutation, creating a single fifth-tier unit now cost him 200 Mana.
It was absurd.
No wonder so few people had many fifth-tier units.
If it weren't for the ranking rewards, Alex doubted he could have afforded to recruit more than a handful.
But survival was at stake, so no matter how expensive it was, he had to bite the bullet. He immediately used Mutation on one of the Essence of Flora units.
[Mutation of a fifth-tier summoning unit requires 100 Mana. Proceed?]
"Proceed!"
Gritting his teeth, Alex confirmed the prompt, though it pained him to do so.
A flash of light later, the Essence of Flora before him transformed into a towering vine-like plant.
[Name: Pink Enchantress]
[Race: Plant]
[Tier: Fifth (0/250)]
[Strength: 170]
[Constitution: 173]
[Agility: 145]
[Spirit: 162]
[Skills: Flora's Protection, Venomous Vine Whip, Charming Poison Mist]
[Description: An advanced form of the Toxic Enchantress, its venom has been enhanced. It possesses the ability to charm enemies and paralyze their minds.]
"Charm enemies?"
After reading the Pink Enchantress's stats, Alex's expression turned peculiar.
He hadn't expected the Toxic Enchantress to evolve into something like this.
Not only had its size increased significantly, but its form had also taken on a somewhat alluring quality. The bud at its top had turned pink, releasing a fine mist of pollen into the air.
As its summoner, Alex was immune to the effects of the pollen.
But he could sense that it had a charming effect on other living beings.
If the opportunity arose, he could test it on someone to see just how effective it was.
He wondered who the first "lucky" subject would be.
A mischievous thought crossed his mind.
Next, he had the Pink Enchantress test its attack range and found that its vines could now reach over forty meters, up from the previous thirty.
This distance was far beyond what most non-ranged units could achieve.
Even among ranged units, few could match this range.
This was the advantage of plant-based units—growth!
As long as there was soil, they could continue to grow, striking enemies when they least expected it.
After studying the Pink Enchantress's changes, Alex proceeded to mutate the rest of his units.
Half an hour later, all eighteen Essence of Flora units had been transformed into new fifth-tier units.
Among them were seven Pink Enchantresses, two Explosive Mushrooms, all of which had inherited the Flora's Protection skill, suggesting a strong compatibility with it.
There were also four Wood Sprites, like River, which had inherited the Nature's Dominion ranged attack skill.
The remaining five included three Treant Warriors that had evolved into their advanced form, the Treant Chieftain, and two King of the Man-Eating Flowers that had become Tyrant Flowers.
The Treant Chieftain had grown significantly in size and strength, making it an excellent tank.
As for the Tyrant Flowers, they had developed numerous thorns, greatly enhancing their melee capabilities and making them ideal for defending the territory.
With all eighteen units mutated, Alex glanced at his remaining Mana—3,200.
He decided against recruiting more units for now.
Over the past three days, his fourth-tier plants had accumulated enough experience to nearly reach the next level.
With the Ancient Tree of Knowledge in his territory, he was confident they would soon advance to the fifth tier, saving him the Mana needed to recruit new ones.
Besides, he had gathered plenty of Stone Materials recently, so he could use the remaining Mana to upgrade other buildings and research new units.
With that in mind, Alex continued to busy himself within his territory.
Meanwhile, the other lords were still arguing heatedly in the Regional Chat, debating the results of the rankings.
Luke, who had been closely watching the rankings, took a long time to recover from the shock, his eyes filled with awe.
"Second place! He actually did it!"
Luke couldn't believe it.
One moment, Alex had been in the forties, and the next, he had surged to second place. How many fifth-tier units had he recruited to achieve that?
But one thing was certain: Alex must have had at least ten fifth-tier units by now. There was no other explanation for such a dramatic leap.
Ten fifth-tier units…
Even one would be hard for Luke to handle, requiring all his effort to defeat. But ten? It was unimaginable.
At the same time, in a desolate volcanic region, within walls forged from flames, Ryan Mitchell was also staring at the updated rankings, his expression a mix of surprise and solemnity.
"This guy is truly something."
Initially, Ryan had befriended Alex because he sensed a potential rival in him.
But he hadn't expected Alex to exceed his expectations so dramatically.
Leaping over forty ranks in one go wasn't something just anyone could do—not even Ryan himself.
This made him take Alex even more seriously.
In any case, today's rankings had firmly established Alex's reputation and solidified his position as the top plant-based lord.
No one dared to look down on plant-based units anymore, and the notion that they were weaker than other unit types had been thoroughly debunked.
As for Alex, he paid no attention to the outside chatter, focusing entirely on his own tasks.
After upgrading the remaining buildings to the fourth tier, he headed to the Production Workshop to review the available production options. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for.
[Building Name: Wall]
[Production Description: Consumes Wood and Stone Materials to construct sturdier walls.]
Ever since Sebastian had destroyed a section of his territory's walls, Alex had become acutely aware of their defensive shortcomings. They simply couldn't withstand the attacks of certain units.
Since he couldn't upgrade to the sixth tier just yet, he decided to use the materials he'd gathered to reinforce the walls and bolster his territory's defenses. He wasn't about to let someone breach them so easily again.