[Congratulations! Your Pink Enchantress has reached maximum experience and successfully advanced to the sixth tier!]
[Congratulations! Your Treant Warrior has reached maximum experience and successfully advanced to the sixth tier!]
Early in the morning, Alex was awakened by two notifications. After a night of accumulated experience, two more of his plants had finally reached the sixth tier. He quickly threw on the fur coat he had recently crafted and hurried out of his Lord's Cabin, making his way to the heart of his territory. There, he found the two plants, now transformed into their new, advanced forms.
[Name: Blood Enchantress]
[Race: Plant]
[Level: Sixth Tier (0/500)]
[Strength: 380]
[Constitution: 385]
[Agility: 295]
[Spirit: 334]
[Skills: Flora's Protection, Venomous Vine Whip, Blood Mist]
[Description: The evolved form of the Pink Enchantress. Its vines are now adorned with crimson thorns capable of draining blood. It can also release a deadly Blood Mist that seeps into enemies, making it a highly lethal plant.]
[Name: Treant General]
[Race: Plant]
[Level: Sixth Tier (0/500)]
[Strength: 390]
[Constitution: 390]
[Agility: 325]
[Spirit: 325]
[Skills: Flora's Protection, Savage Charge, Cleave]
[Description: The evolved form of the Treant Warrior. Its wooden exterior has been reinforced, significantly boosting its strength and defense. With its devastating attacks and ability to lead charges, it is the most formidable vanguard of the Treant race.]
The sixth-tier Blood Enchantress now had dark red thorns covering its vines, which writhed menacingly in the air. The flower atop its head had transformed from pink to a deep, blood-red hue, exuding an aura of danger. As for the Treant General, its size had increased significantly, and its body was now encased in hardened wooden plates, offering complete protection. Its arms, thicker than tree trunks, looked capable of generating hurricane-force winds with a single swing, pulverizing anything in their path. It was the perfect frontline unit.
Nearby, the Wood Drakes fluttered their tiny wings, landing on the Treant General's canopy to play and celebrate its advancement. Then, they flew over to Alex, circling around him excitedly.
"Don't worry," Alex said with a smile. "It won't be long before you all advance too."
He checked their stats and saw that most of them had over 200 experience points. They would likely reach the sixth tier in two or three days. The two plants that had just advanced had been with him longer, having slain numerous fifth-tier monsters and taken many hits for him, which explained their faster progression. Units like the Wood Drakes, which balanced offense and healing, naturally gained experience more slowly.
After reviewing their attributes, Alex headed to the Tower of Units. Over the past few days, he had researched all his units up to the second tier, making them available for recruitment. He assigned a new research task before moving on to inspect the Territory Warehouse. Thanks to his recent material gathering, he had upgraded the warehouse to the fourth tier, significantly increasing its capacity. It could now store tens of thousands of units of resources without issue.
Opening the warehouse interface, a list of resources appeared before him:
[Mana: 37,245]
[Stone Materials: 6,528]
[Iron Ore: 960]
[Copper Ore: 780]
[Fourth-tier Territory Essence: 1]
[Fifth-tier Territory Essence: 15]
In addition to these, there were various miscellaneous items, such as fur clothing, tools, and daily necessities. Thanks to his consistent top ranking on the leaderboard, Alex had accumulated a considerable amount of fifth-tier Territory Essence. Though he wasn't sure if it had other uses, he decided to hold onto it for now. As for the Mana, it had been gathered through hunting monsters, leaderboard rewards, and the Blazing Lotus.
"Still short by over 20,000," Alex muttered. "I'll need to step up my efforts."
The Mana required for the Migration Pearl and territory upgrades was substantial. Relying solely on the Blazing Lotus and leaderboard rewards wouldn't be enough. He needed to continue hunting monsters. Ideally, he'd find a fifth-tier monster nest.
With that in mind, Alex opened the Regional Chat and began scrolling through the messages. To his surprise, he found a post about a monster nest.
"Hey, everyone! I've found a fifth-tier monster nest in the Scorched Wasteland! There are tons of fifth-tier monsters here, and I can't handle them alone!"
"What? A fifth-tier monster nest?"
"Where exactly is it? I'm heading over now!"
"If a third-tier nest dropped third-tier tokens, this one should drop fifth-tier tokens, right?"
"Whoa! Fifth-tier tokens? Where is it? I'm coming too!"
"Count me in!"
The mention of fifth-tier Unit Tokens sent the chat into a frenzy. Everyone was eager to learn the nest's location. Soon, it was pinpointed to a valley in the southern part of the Scorched Wasteland. Over the past few days, many lords had grown stronger and were no longer hesitant to venture into dangerous areas like fifth-tier mines.
In no time, a large number of fifth-tier lords were making their way to the valley, some even rallying their allies to tackle the nest together. As for who would ultimately claim the Unit Token, that would depend on their individual strength.
Initially, Alex was hesitant to join due to the crowd. But when he read that the valley housed hundreds of fifth-tier monsters, he couldn't resist. This was a far greater opportunity than the copper mine he had explored earlier, and the chance to obtain a Unit Token made it even more enticing.
Without delay, Alex gathered River, the two newly advanced sixth-tier units, and twenty fifth-tier units, then set off for the valley.
Two hours later, Alex and his plant army arrived at the valley's entrance. True to the description, the valley was massive, with an entrance several hundred meters wide. Outside, numerous lords had already gathered, cautiously observing the situation inside.
From a distance, Alex could see that the valley was filled with wooden barricades, caves, and makeshift tents made of tattered cloth. Hulking ogres moved around bonfires, roasting what appeared to be animal carcasses. The air carried a faint metallic scent of blood.
This was no ordinary monster nest—it was a full-fledged Ogre Tribe.
Alex knew that such intelligent monsters likely had a leader, and that leader was probably sixth-tier. The other lords seemed to realize this as well, as they lingered at the valley's entrance, none daring to venture in.
As time passed, more and more lords arrived, their anxiety growing. The larger the crowd, the slimmer their chances of securing the Unit Token. It was a situation none of them wanted.