Why is my territory in a 2D anime art style?

Chapter 152 Promotion Waves

Erhu directly voiced his guess, since Line 7 is a newly developed line, and most of the territory in this direction is low- to mid-level territory.

The area around Line 7 is mostly wasteland. In the early days, there weren't many territories to choose from, which led to the late development of this route. To this day, there isn't a single high-level territory along this line.

It should be noted that the earliest four lines, namely lines one, two, three, and four, have already connected to areas more than 500 kilometers outside Jiangcheng, and high-level territories have been created along these lines.

Some of these high-level territories occupy good locations, while others occupy small towns from the old world, just like the territories in Jiangcheng, occupying good geographical locations.

While it cannot be said that these advanced territories all developed thanks to Jiangcheng, the trade routes expanded by Jiangcheng's three major territories connected these territories, which greatly helped their growth.

All four lines are developing towards the east and south. Jiangcheng is located in the north, and the further north you go, the colder and more desolate it becomes. Even in the old world, there were few towns here.

Although the routes to the south cross mountains and lakes and are relatively dangerous, these areas were home to cities in the old world, and after the invasion of the Source Realm, more resources have been exposed.

As for why lines 5, 6, and 7 were subsequently developed, there are many second-generation lines.

Naturally, it's because other routes developed too early, and most of the good places have already been taken. Going there not only brings no benefits but also makes it easy to be suppressed. Unless those mid-to-high-level territories are destroyed by source beasts one day, it will be difficult to change the status quo.

Moreover, the highest level of Line 7 is only a Level 5 territory, while Lines 5 and 6 only have a few Level 6 territories.

The erhu player played with great enthusiasm, but Wang Zhen shook his head.

"The fact that Crescent City is taking away business is only a small part of the reason. The number of small territories on Line 7 has decreased significantly compared to the beginning of last year. Some small territories on other lines have been promoted, while others have been destroyed, but in terms of quantity, Line 7 still has the most."

"However, Erhu, you are right about one thing: Crescent Moon City was definitely nurtured by one of the three city lords, otherwise the Grand City Lord would not have been so calm about the Zhao family's affairs."

"The only ones who can restrain the Great City Lord are the other two city lords. After their three territories broke through to the ninth level, they have been silent for a long time. I don't know if it's because the tenth level is too difficult, or if they dare not step forward to advance."

Everyone in Jiangcheng knows about these things, even ordinary people.

Sui An had no intention of letting these territories descend into chaos: "It's best to keep them all under control like this, otherwise once the fighting starts, I'm afraid I won't be able to buy materials anymore."

"Enough of this nonsense. Give me the source stones and hurry back to Jiangcheng. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back!" Wang Zhen called out to Erhu Fang Si, not intending to stay here and chatter on.

"Okay, I've prepared three thousand level-three source stones for you, so you can carry them with you."

Sui An pointed to the two large bags by the door. This is the troublesome thing about Originium; without spatial equipment, these Originium take up too much space.

Wang Zhen and his group left carrying the source stones, and around 3 p.m., they drove back.

Although Sui An said they didn't need to come to fight the Source Beasts, Wang Zhen and Aunt Zhao still came together.

Sui An's face showed anticipation: "You got the materials so quickly?"

Wang Zhen took out a fist-sized silver metal ball from his pocket. The metal ball looked unremarkable.

"You're really lucky. That resonance core is a mid-grade synthesis material of purple quality, but we happen to have two ready-made in our trading company. I heard that it is also the core material for some purple equipment."

"I bought it for 2500 Originium, and these ten crystals total 7500, which adds up to exactly 10,000. I still have 500 Tier 3 Originium left."

"By the way, why are you using purple materials to upgrade your territory?"

Wang Zhen was very curious, but Erhu seemed to be keeping his mouth shut and didn't say it directly.

"Hey, you'll see later!"

Sui An eagerly took the materials and stored them one by one into the territory core through the auxiliary core. Sure enough, the control interface in front of him showed that all of them had met the requirements.

He was initially worried that this resonance core would be difficult to obtain, just like the purple material, the Void Crystal Energy Stone, which he had searched for for a long time.

He had actually anticipated that this thing was made of purple material, since this evolution option was activated by a purple blueprint, and it was normal for the core material to be purple. That's why he gave Wang Zhen so many source stones to carry with him, just in case he didn't have enough money.

But I didn't expect it to come so smoothly this time. I got it so easily. The difficulty of obtaining it is almost comparable to that of the attribute crystal core.

He looked up at the sky; it was still far from night, the perfect time for him to choose a promotion.

"Everything is ready!"

"You guys drive away and stay far away. I'll come back after I finish the assessment. Fang Si, take your parents and sister with you in the car."

Fang Si nodded and turned to go pick up her parents.

Zhao Feng hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Are you sure you don't need our help?"

"Don't worry, I made another talisman at noon, so I have two now. Even if there's real danger, can you be stronger than her?"

Sui An showed the talisman mark on the back of his hand: "Other people need someone to operate the arrow towers and cannons, but I can control everything myself here, so I don't need so many people."

"Your involvement will only increase the difficulty of the Rift, so there's no need for it."

"Alright, then be careful!" Seeing that Sui An was well-prepared, Zhao Feng stopped worrying.

Sui An's territory has a total of four small transport vehicles, Fang Si's small transport vehicle, and Er Hu's medium-sized transport vehicle.

These cars are usually parked near the territory's perimeter wall, but now the group is driving them toward Line 7.

"Further away!" Sui An shouted from the watchtower. The people seemed still a little worried, so they stayed very close.

But Sui An kept waving until the group was nearly a kilometer away before stopping.

"There probably aren't many people passing by at this point on Line 7, right?" Erhu looked around with his binoculars, but hadn't seen many trains passing by yet.

Wang Zhen glanced into the distance: "It's already three o'clock. If we don't go back now, we'll have to spend the night in the wilderness. Those who should have gone back have already done so."

Erhu was still a little worried, repeatedly turning the binoculars to try and see further: "His territory is only a few hundred meters from Line 7. If a convoy passes by, it will definitely affect him!"

Zhao Feng shook her head: "Probably not. Others aren't stupid. Why would they rush in here when the rift has opened? Aren't they afraid of dying?"

Although she spoke lightly, her gaze remained fixed on the distant territory, and her hands unconsciously tightened their grip on the railing.

For the past seven or eight years, she had treated Sui An like a son, so she was genuinely angry when he ran off to open up new territory while she was on a mission.

Sitting in the car, Fang Nian asked nervously, "Brother, isn't Boss Sui's promotion speed a bit too fast? Could there be some problems with the accumulation of experience?"

Mr. Fang sat quietly to the side. They didn't know much about the affairs of professionals, but the owner of this territory was very easy-going and had no airs. He hadn't gotten angry or cursed anyone during this time, which changed Mr. Fang's impression of him quite a bit.

Fang's mother was somewhat worried: "Isn't there any risk involved in this assessment?"

Fang Si comforted him, "It should be fine. No other third-level territory in the entire Jiangcheng has a stronger foundation than him."

In his opinion, this statement was not meant to be boastful, especially since he was undoubtedly the strongest low-level builder without any professional help.

If someone with such a background is in danger even crossing a promotion assessment rift, then he should seriously question how others managed to get promoted.

A cyan barrier had risen above the distant territory, tightly enveloping the entire area, and dazzling flames rose in the sky.

"Buzz~"

A clear wave swept past everyone, immediately stirring their emotions.

"The fissure has begun!"

Sui An looked at the radiant territory core in front of him with some surprise. The light emanating from the territory core this time was too dazzling, far surpassing the previous two times, to the point that even the Source Crystal Core Tower could not block it.

As the vibrations from the opening of the rift reached him, he stepped out of the stone house and looked at the detection projection, which showed nothing unusual at the moment.

After he climbed the watchtower, he saw starlight shining two hundred meters north of his territory, dazzling even on such a clear afternoon.

The rift gradually widened, eventually stopping at a height of 3 meters. Based on his past experience, rifts of this height usually brought ordinary source beasts, both in number and level.

"In my territory, I'm currently the only level 3 professional, so theoretically this should be the lowest-level rift, right?"

"Awoo~"

A lithe figure leaped out of the crevice and began to howl. It was none other than Sui An's old friend, the Iron Wire Wolf.

Sui An was somewhat stunned: "This size is roughly equivalent to a level 2 source beast, and the rift strength is so low? This is really underestimating me!"

Following the first wire wolf, more and more wolves kept running out of the crevice, though their fur seemed to be somewhat mixed up.

There were gray wire wolves, silver moon wolves, and cyan wind wolves —

These wolves were mostly level 1 or 2, and after they ran out of the rift, they did not rush towards Sui An's territory. Instead, they scattered one by one to make way for the new wolves that came later.

Fifty, one hundred, two hundred —

These wolf packs already include level 3 wolves, such as the Ice Breath Giant Wolf I had seen before, and the level 3 Fire Fang Wolf. Although they are somewhat restless, they still sit in a row, as if they have been given orders and are waiting for a commander to appear.

Sui An knew who they were waiting for. He glanced at the sword star in the sky and chuckled softly, "Isn't it said that at this time, the source beasts have a greedy desire for territory?"

"Isn't this something I was trying to control perfectly well—"

"200 meters away, if I just attack them with a sword right now, wouldn't that be too disrespectful to the wolf king who's about to appear?"

"Why isn't Sui An attacking?"

Erhu, holding up his binoculars, loudly complained, "Has he lost his mind and is trying to reason with the source beasts? A wolf pack with the wolf king in command is completely different from one without him!"

Wang Zhen raised his hand to block the lingering sunlight from the west, squinting as he observed.

"Why are you in such a hurry? A wolf pack of this size wouldn't even be enough for him as a dessert. He probably wants to wipe them out in one go. After all, only the Sword Star Totem can reach them from a hundred or two hundred meters away. That flaming greatsword is too powerful. One strike and these low-level wolves would probably be nothing but charcoal."

"At a time like this, you're still calculating your own fate." Erhu knew he was being a bit impatient, but who knew if there would be any special changes in the Origin Realm assessment? It's like two armies fighting, and you have to wait for the other side to be fully assembled before you start fighting. Isn't that ridiculous?

Zhao Feng nudged the erhu with her hand: "Didn't you say you saw Sui An's promotion information and that the promotion would take 20 minutes?"

"Yes." Erhu turned to look at Zhao Feng. Was there any connection?

"There's no use in rushing. This crack should take at least ten minutes to open." Zhao Feng leaned on the railing, quietly waiting for Sui An's next move.

"I see."

Erhu nodded and turned back to look at Sui An's territory again, but Yu Guangzhong noticed that a caravan seemed to be coming from the west.

"Old Wang, it looks like someone's coming over there!"

This sentence immediately made everyone tense. Wang Zhen took the binoculars from Erhu and looked over. He saw about ten transport vehicles, which seemed to be coming from the direction of Pinghu and passing by here.

"New Moon—this caravan is flying identical New Moon flags; they seem to be a merchant caravan from New Moon City!"

Erhu's face immediately darkened: "New Moon City, isn't this thing extremely unlucky?"

Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment: "Judging from their direction, they should just be passing through here, and it's highly unlikely that they will affect Sui An's territory."

Erhu stood up, trying to get a better view: "Even if they don't cause any problems, their passing by at this time might not be a good thing for Sui An."

"It's just a territory upgrade, what bad things could happen? They probably won't get involved, after all, it's not a blood moon now."

"Hard to say!"

If Sui An could see clearly at this moment, he would recognize the leader of the Crescent City caravan in the distance as the same person who had given him the flag.

Li Heng, who was wearing red leather armor, was also looking at the situation in Sui An's territory through binoculars. As he was looking, a young man who looked somewhat similar to him, who was leaning on the guardrail of the wagon, suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Brother, is this the territory the city lord told us to stop keeping an eye on more than two months ago?"

Li Heng nodded: "Yes, my third uncle said that this territory might be secretly supported by the city lord, and told us not to keep an eye on it."

Li Ping, the younger brother, looked surprised: "But I remember the investigation results said he came to the wilderness last September. That means he only lasted about five months before advancing to a level four territory. That's much faster than Uncle San did!"

As Li Heng spoke, he kept glancing at the direction of the rift: "It's about like this. It seems more likely that he's being secretly supported by the city lord."

"Back then, the bounty was put on the table, and the level 4 hunting party that came to attack was wiped out. The remaining teams ran away in a sorry state, and the bounty was even withdrawn the next day. Isn't that obviously because they have a powerful background? And didn't Uncle San say that the city lord's wife also has the surname Sui?"

Li Ping seemed to understand but not quite. He moved closer and asked in a low voice, "But isn't Third Uncle also backed by the City Lord?"

"Where did you hear that?"

Li Heng's expression suddenly turned cold as he stared at his younger brother, his voice sharp.

Li Ping felt a little scared under his brother's gaze, so he quickly explained, "Now, whether it's Crescent City or Jiang City, everyone's saying that it's all because of the Zhao family father and son incident. They're saying that Crescent City must have been supported by other city lords, otherwise the Grand City Lord wouldn't be so calm."

"You know nothing!"

Li Heng suddenly swore: "Who said the city lord is so calm? The people they came to investigate have already been to Uncle San's territory, but they didn't find anything. The Zhao family father and son were never in our hands. It was Zhao Hong who framed them."

Li Heng's voice was so loud that it couldn't even be stopped by the roar of the transport truck, attracting the attention of the people on the other vehicles.

"Brother, don't be angry. I was just saying it casually." Li Ping didn't expect his older brother to react so strongly, so he quickly apologized and tried to appease him.

Noticing the self-illumination of everyone, Li Heng swept his gaze across the room, and everyone consciously turned their self-illumination away.

"Why can't you break this habit of spreading rumors and gossip? Are you planning to stay a lowly soldier in your third uncle's territory forever?"

"It's because of your personality that you can't get involved in many decision-making and management processes within the territory."

"Don't spread rumors if you don't know the facts. After all, we are both direct descendants of Crescent City. If you speak recklessly, many outsiders will actually believe what you say. Not only will you get into trouble, but you will also implicate your family."

Seeing his older brother start lecturing again, Li Ping was exasperated. He quickly stood up, took his brother's arm, and said, half-pleadingly, "I know, brother, I'll change, I'll change, please don't be angry!"

Seeing his younger brother's attitude, Li Heng didn't say anything more, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

Seeing that his brother was no longer angry, Li Ping quickly changed the subject: "Brother, this rift looks a bit small. Is this all the source beasts are needed for a level three to level four advancement?"

"The gaps in major advancement depend on the number of professionals in the territory."

Li Heng pointed to Line 7, not far from the territory, where several cars were parked and some people were present.

"Look, aren't there people waiting outside over there?"

"He might have come from a territory, which means that the main buildings in his territory are of high quality and don't require extra human control. So there might only be a few low-level professionals in his territory now, which is why his rift is so small, reducing the risk of advancement."

"So that's how it is!"

Li Heng put down his binoculars and waved to the driver: "Go around those cars ahead, don't go that way, to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"I still need to remind my third uncle about this when we get back; the strength of this territory is really suspicious!"

Sui An didn't notice the caravan from Crescent City. He glanced at his newly bought pocket watch, a mechanical wind-up watch from the old world, convenient to carry close to his body.

Seven minutes have passed, and there are probably four or five hundred wolves outside the crevice by now, but they just keep howling at the sky and still have no intention of attacking.

It was as if the allure of territorial advancement did not exist for them.

Where's the promised powerful allure?

Sui An did not choose to attack in a hurry, because he wanted to see what was different about this non-blood moon rift. After all, this might be the most reliable major stage advancement, so it was necessary to understand the whole process.

-

Perhaps this experience will be useful when I level up from level six to seven.

He couldn't guarantee that he would have the same near-absolute confidence when he was promoted to the sixth or seventh rank.

When ten minutes had passed, the wolves that appeared in the rift were no longer the low-level source beasts, but a huge wolf-shaped ferocious beast with golden fur all over its body.

Its thick fur is like red gold, shining brightly in the sunlight. It is four meters long and nearly two meters tall at the shoulder. It has a strong and robust physique with smooth and sharp muscle lines. It is not bulky at all and shows the demeanor of a king.

"That's a giant golden wolf, no, it looks like the wolf king?"

Sui An squinted at the giant golden wolf that was leisurely walking towards the front of the wolf pack. Its wolf head was majestic with sharp horns, and a ridge on its forehead vaguely outlined the shape of a king's crown.

This kind of creature is generally referred to as a born wolf king. The golden giant wolf is a level four source beast race, and the wolf king of the race has the strength of a top elite. It has mastered the metal element source energy and is very powerful in terms of strength, speed and sharpness.

If a professional encounters this in the wild, it would indeed be a major headache.

But now, we are outside Sui An's territory!

"Aww~"

The wolf king roared to the sky, and the five or six hundred wolves of various colors behind him began to stir again. Most of those charging in front were fire-fang wolves and iron-wire wolves, which were the strongest and best at close combat.

Following behind were Wind Wolves and Moon Wolves, who were skilled in ranged attacks and seemed to be planning a troop deployment attack on Sui An's territory.

Sui An looked at the rift behind him and found that no new source beasts had appeared there, and it was already flashing, as if it was about to close.

"Are you kidding me? Is that all?"

Sui An laughed in exasperation. He had been so cautious, fearing that the purple blueprint would make the rift assessment even more difficult.

If I had known, I wouldn't have kicked them out. I would have stuffed them all into my territory and made a fortune.

Despite the laughter, Sui An didn't take it lightly. He still used illusions to attack. A huge illusion suddenly unfolded, and even the wolf beasts that hadn't yet entered the illusion's range were visibly frightened and forcibly stopped in their tracks.

Only the wolves at the very front, unable to dodge in time, were instantly enveloped by the illusion. Even without the blood moon, the purple-quality illusion was still incredibly powerful.

The level one and two wolves broke away from their relatively orderly ranks in the blink of an eye and began to rush madly toward the illusion.

As for the level three Fire Fang Wolves and Ice Breath Giant Wolves, although they offered some resistance, they only managed to stay for two or three breaths before losing control and rushing forward.

Such a bizarre situation caused even the giant golden wolf at the rear to take two steps back. Its massive wolf head tilted slightly, revealing a visibly anthropomorphic expression of confusion, much like a husky.

"Awoo?"