Chapter 579: Chapter 359: Fourteen Lord Treemen, The Forest's Defense Line (4K)_2
As he ventured deeper, the forest became increasingly still, until at a certain moment, an ancient breath revived. The earth buzzed and trembled, and on the colossal trees nearing a hundred meters in height on either side, ancient faces appeared.
Mu Yuan had arrived at the area where the Treemen had taken root. Everywhere one could see roots like giant pythons, crisscrossing through the earth, exuding an atmosphere of simplicity and vastness.
'War Treeman: Third-order 9th level'
'War Treeman: Third-order 8th level'
'War Treeman: Third-order 8th level'
Thanks to the recent promotion and baptism, the ranks of the elite Treemen were not low, except for the latest batch of recruits, who were all above the Second-order Elite.
After months of recruitment, and using the 'Soldier Recruitment Order,' the Treeman Troops had also accumulated a certain quantity.
There were 290 of them in total!
This number might seem modest, and completely incomparable to the Undead and human elites, but if the three major corps were lined up, the Treeman Troops would be the most eye-catching.
Without exception, the Treeman Troops were all Excellent Three-star Stage 'War Treemen', each at least several dozen meters tall, more gigantic than the giants, all massive beings.
Within the Treeman Troops, there were 14 Lord Treemen, not including Tree Demon Granny!
Fourteen Epics! Most of them had stepped into the Fourth-order Leader Level, with combat power enough to be ranked on the Tai Xuan Dragon Gate list, or even in the forefront of the Dragon Gate list.
Around him, roots broke through the earth and wriggled to the sides, clearing a wide path.
Above, countless branches swayed, rustling as they shed numerous twigs and leaves.
Amidst the Treemen's chaotic welcome, Mu Yuan took steps forward. The deeper he went, the taller the standing Treemen became, a hundred meters, over a hundred meters, two hundred meters!
At the very center, a colossal tree stood prominently, towering over six hundred meters, with thick roots constantly entwining and intersecting, its brown trunk dotted with faint red marks reached for the sky.
The ancient Tree Demon Granny of Tianyuan!
It gently swayed its branches, causing storm-like waves.
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"It seems to have grown quite a bit again."
Mu Yuan stepped into the air and looked around.
Given Tree Demon Granny's current size, even though it had the ability to move, its mobility was extremely inconvenient. Even if he, Lord Shepherd, could use the Lord's Seal to collect his own troop types within it, it would inevitably damage the surrounding land.
However, he had no intention of relocating Tree Demon Granny and the other Treemen around her anymore.
They had already deeply taken root here, not just superficially.
In fact, this was the most suitable posture for the Treemen to grow and battle. Treemen that were rooted and those that were not had vastly different combat prowess. And between the temporary rooted Treemen and the long-term rooted ones that had firmly connected themselves with the surrounding earth, the gap in combat power was also vast.
It was just that the Treemen of Tianyuan Territory had never truly taken root before.
Mu Yuan was well aware of this, but firstly, the Treemen were inconvenient to move after taking root, and secondly, Tianyuan Territory previously had no suitable environment for rooting.
Although the environment of Treeman Forest was nice, accommodating a few hundred War Treemen would surely be cramped.
If the Treemen wanted to grow and take root, they would need to push aside the native trees. Just Treeman Forest alone couldn't provide enough rich earth nutrients.
After all, the Treemen were environmentalists, at least on their own territory, they dared not draw nutrients from the earth without restraint.
A Tree Demon like Granny, several hundred meters tall, growing within Tianyuan City was also too eye-catching.
Now it was different.
Rooted in the semi-mystic realm of the forest, Tree Demon Granny was no longer restrained from drawing earth nutrients and could continue to grow.
Maybe over time, the Treemen would gradually grow; perhaps it was finally deep rooting, allowing them to access rich nutrients; or maybe it was the invaluable realm of the Treeman Forest providing abundant natural energy...
Tree Demon Granny along with the Treemen grew in size again and again.
This was their normal state.
Even giants and Giant Dragons, other massive creatures, would just be little brothers here. A Dragon of the same rank might even lose to an ordinary War Treeman in the forest.
And the six-hundred-meter-tall Tree Demon Granny was even more terrifying.
Even without mentioning the Tree Demons hanging upside down from it, without mentioning the advanced skills and Epic Skills it mastered, just its very own self, its sheer mass, was enough to make its enemies despair.
Its immense size brought enormous strength and energy, far surpassing the upper limits of the Fourth-order.
Ordinary fourth-order leader-level strongmen, even if dozens or hundreds of them attack at once, could be overwhelmingly defeated.
"The cost is that the treemen struggle to move, and once they emerge from the soil, the power they obtain starts to ebb away, and their stature slowly shrinks, until they revert to their previous level."
The place that truly suits the growth of treemen in the Tianyuan Territory is this semi-mystic Treeman Forest.
If the treemen were to root themselves in the outside world, not only would they be conspicuous, they also wouldn't be able to grow to their current heights, nor would they be able to root together.
Looking at it this way, deep rooting seems rather useless.
The treemen might be powerful indeed, but they lack the space to exert their strength or confront enemies. If the enemy could attack inside this secret realm, Tianyuan would have already fallen.
When Mu Yuan asked the treemen to attempt deep rooting, he had already thought of this.
For this reason, he came up with a conjecture.
——[I am the Forest permanent state]
The skill 'I am the Forest' allows the user to turn surrounding flora into their territory and connect it as a whole.
It is also an embodiment of the extensiveness of a Lord Treeman's power.
Usually, 'I am the Forest' is somewhat limited in coverage, at most two or three times the size of the outside Treeman Forest, and it also consumes a considerable amount of the user's energy.
But now...
The Lord Treemen, having rooted themselves permanently, can draw a great deal of Earth's Force to grow stronger and balance out the exhaustion. Mu Yuan's Tianyuan Territory moreover has enough Lord Treemen, and 'I am the Forest' is essentially a skill similar to 'Land of the Dead,' which can be linked and used together.
Taking a leaf out of the study of the 'Land of the Dead' Linked Skill, under the guidance of Lord Shepherd, Tree Demon Granny and a host of Lord Treemen also gradually achieved the permanent state of 'I am the Forest.'
The concept of a permanent state focuses on extending power and reducing energy consumption.
Initially, the forest territory covered only a kilometer in radius, but then it expanded to two kilometers, three kilometers, ten kilometers, twenty kilometers... covering the entire Treeman Forest!
Today, by transplanting some tree branches from the Lord Treemen, the coverage of 'forest territory' has expanded to encompass the whole Tianyuan City.
Mu Yuan accessed the Lord Treeman template and used the I am the Forest epic skill...
Instantly!
He appeared to merge into the vast forest sea, his vision traveling seamlessly through the forest, and his power pulsating along with it, reaching various parts of Tianyuan City's walls.
"After deep rooting, treemen are not suited for long expeditions, but in a siege defense... as long as the forest territory's power can reach an area, Tree Demon Granny and all the treemen can exhibit strength that seems hardly less than when they are deep within the Treeman Forest."
By then, every flower, plant, and tree outside will be a conduit, able to extend 100% of their power.
And this power is the combined force of Tree Demon Granny, fourteen Lord Treemen, and two hundred and seventy-five War Tree Men, linked together and to some extent drawing on the power of the entire forest primordial realm.
Just how terrifying the full eruption of this force might be, Mu Yuan could hardly imagine.
This is the trump card he prepared for his home.
After all, it's better to be prepared for a rainy day.
Even if legendary realms were to surge in the future, the Treeman Forest would still be a major trump card within the territorial defense system.
"I hope these trump cards will not have to be used," Mu Yuan wished.
Mu Yuan scanned the area, returning to the urban district.
He had heard from Shen Linglong that reinforcements were already on their way.
A Moon Sword Immortal from the Lord of Han Yue City's family was in the Twilight Plains Territory.
He had met with the Lord of Han Yue City in the secret realm just this morning, and she said that someone in his current situation could apply for 'defensive reinforcements' from the Tai Xuan Liangyi.
"Ordinary lords certainly don't have this privilege, but a new star lord can enjoy such benefits, not to mention that a territory like Tianyuan, being an outpost, also holds a certain strategic value to the Tai Xuan Alliance," she had said.
"An opportunity for such benefits should not be wasted," that's what Han Yue said.
Reinforcements dispatched officially are also more reliable.
However, given the long journey and the need to go through official procedures, it would take at least half a month or more to complete the process.
The location of Tianyuan Territory is still too deep in the wilderness.
Mu Yuan continued to prepare his trump cards.