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

Chapter 166 Source Beasts and the Pursued

The previous Quenching Source Fruit Trees had similar habits.

However, each seedling or seed of this plant costs one or two hundred Origin Stones, which is quite expensive. It would be a waste to keep buying seeds, so it's better to cultivate it yourself slowly.

Ye An'an didn't quite understand, but when she heard that there would still be one for her, she nodded in agreement.

The moment he and his brother entered, they were stunned. Putting aside the other effects of the building, the concentration of energy here alone was comparable to the second-tier special buildings of the Second City Lord.

They may lack confidence, but that doesn't mean they lack experience.

This building must be the special treatment Sui An mentioned. It is indeed very attractive to other territories. If it were announced, it would certainly attract covetous eyes.

Sui An glanced around, thought for a moment, and then asked with a smile, "Take a look and see what other useful source energy plants, besides the Source Tempering Fruit Tree, are suitable for the growth environment of this Energy Devouring Giant Tree. I'll go and buy some later."

"Boss, we've actually already discussed it. If we were to recommend, we'd say Dawn Grass and Ground Sleep Flower."

Unexpectedly, it was her older brother Ye Pingping, who was usually quiet, who gave her the answer directly and even provided an explanation.

"Actually, the Source-Quenching Fruit Tree isn't really suitable to grow together with this. According to the information on the list, the Energy-Devouring Giant Tree will enter its frenzied growth period in another month. Its canopy is huge, and its root system is extensive, so it will take up most of the sunlight and underground space."

"The soil will become unsuitable, and the Quenching Source fruit trees will struggle to bear fruit due to insufficient sunlight and nutrients, and may even wither and decline!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Sui An was stunned. He hadn't expected that he had only considered the similarities in habits and hadn't taken into account the factor of competition among similar species.

When it comes to professional matters, it's best to have professionals handle them. Sui An suddenly realized that he had underestimated the role of these two.

After thinking for a moment, Sui An humbly asked, "Then why are the two methods you mentioned acceptable?"

Sui An's question seemed to have touched Ye Pingping's G-spot, and he actually smiled, which was quite rare. His white teeth were particularly dazzling against his somewhat dark face.

"Both Dawn Grass and Ground Sleep Flower are shallow-rooted herbaceous plants. They do not need to compete for deep soil space, and they do not have a high demand for sunlight. There is no need to worry that the Energy Devouring Giant Tree will steal sunlight as it grows."

"They mainly absorb free energy from the air as nutrients through their lush leaves, so they can survive with just a high concentration of energy. In the absence of enough soil, they can even be hydroponically grown using special water rich in energy."

"Moreover, Dawn Grass is the main ingredient for making low-grade green energy potions. The seeds are easy to buy and there is no worry about sales. The problem is that the concentration of energy in the wild is not high enough, making it difficult to grow. In places with high concentration, there is not enough space, making it difficult to cultivate on a large scale."

"Ground Sleep Flower is the main ingredient for making low-grade source energy potions of green quality. Similar to Dawn Grass, it is basically easy to sell."

Ye Pingping spoke eloquently, a stark contrast to the timid and reserved person she had interviewed.

Sui An stared wide-eyed, as if he had witnessed a miracle.

He thought of the top student he had met in his previous life, who had consistently ranked first in the entire school. He was someone like that: he seemed ordinary most of the time, but the moment you asked him to explain a math problem, his demeanor would instantly change, radiating confidence and becoming completely different from his usual self.

People who are deeply immersed in a certain field will have a special quality that makes others subconsciously feel that they are very persuasive!

Perhaps Ye Pingping genuinely loves the profession of planter, rather than being assigned to it by the Origin Realm and passively growing as a planter.

But even with this kind of talent, he still hasn't broken through to the intermediate level.

Sui An suddenly realized that given their personalities, in the Second City Lord's Planting Department, they might not only be overlooked, but they might not even exist at all.

Given their unassuming and taciturn personalities, even a good boss might not be able to discover their strengths.

According to their self-introduction, planters are a profession that relies heavily on resources, and unlike other professions, the resources they rely on are actually very precious.

That is a space that is safe enough and rich in energy.

These places have long been claimed by their predecessors; the new generation of planters must either reclaim new land or venture into developing territories.

To find a way to make a living.

However, not everyone will plant crops on their land. The reason is simple: without special methods, if you plant these crops and try to sell them on the market, you will most likely lose money.

For example, Sui An uses a lot of useless blood mud as nutrition. If you don't have that, you have to use source beast meat. Isn't that a cost?

Or maybe others mature in three months, but you take five months. Does that mean time is a cost?

Sui An didn't know if Ye An'an was that talented, but he felt that Ye Pingping was definitely limited by resources, and that she might be able to break through to level four soon under his guidance.

Thinking of this, Sui An suddenly felt like he had found another treasure!

He smiled and nodded: "I will purchase them as soon as possible, and then you can plant them."

"However, as I mentioned before, I will use this building for other purposes later, so you should focus your main efforts on the other one."

"Next, besides transplanting the remaining two young Energy-Devouring Giant Trees, you also need to transplant the five Source-Quenching Fruit Trees to another one. As for the remaining space there, you can decide how to utilize it. Once you've decided, just submit the plan to me. I'll go and purchase the seeds."

"Okay, boss!"

Ye Pingping resumed her sullen demeanor, but her expression was no longer as bitter and resentful as before.

Sui An ignored him and turned to leave.

With the arrangements for the two planting bases made, the rest is up to them to complete their tasks.

"This is how a lord works!"

"Waaaaah~ Waaaah~"

Just as Sui An was walking in the courtyard, the watchtowers on the west and south sides of the city wall suddenly sounded a muffled alarm horn at the same time.

This was the first time he had ever heard someone on duty blow the horn.

"A terrifying source beast is approaching!"

The sound from the loudspeaker came from the city wall. Sui An's expression changed, and he immediately ran towards the southern city wall.

At the same time, the people who were digging in the soil at the North Gate also hurriedly ran towards the city gate.

"What's going on? What kind of source beast is invading in broad daylight?"

"Quick, let's go up to the city wall and take a look!"

The guards dropped their shovels and other tools and rushed toward the city wall stairs.

When Sui An arrived at the watchtower, the scene before him surprised him.

About two or three kilometers southwest of the territory, a huge, special source beast can be seen chasing a vehicle with a rather unusual design.

The vehicle didn't seem to be a typical transport vehicle; it was much faster, probably about twice the speed of a normal transport vehicle, which is why it wasn't caught up by the giant beast.

Their vehicle was traveling along the river, seemingly intending to cross it via a nearby stone bridge.

This will definitely get closer to their own territory!

"Give me the binoculars!" Sui An took the binoculars from the guard and, with their help, was able to make out the appearance of the giant beast in the distance.

It seemed to be a crocodile-like source beast, crawling and running wildly on the ground. Although it was huge, it was not as fast as expected.

Its body was covered in jet-black scales, and its limbs were surrounded by blue energy that seemed to be accelerating it. Its huge mouth was slightly open, and you could even vaguely see its ferocious teeth.

Even though it was a reptilian beast, it was still much taller than the car. Judging from its body length and thick tail, it was probably over ten meters long!

"What kind of source beast is this?!"

Sui An had never seen them in the illustrated guide. The illustrated guide that Wang Zhen gave him mostly contained low-level source beasts and a small number of mid-level source beasts, so the number was ultimately limited.

"Let me see!" Aunt Zhao and the others had also arrived at the top, and they retrieved the stored binoculars from the watchtower and began to examine the area.

"We've never seen this before. It seems to be some kind of water-attribute source beast, and it looks to be of a high level."

"Whose car is that? Are they trying to lure the Source Beasts here?"

"But this is a wilderness area, how could such a tall source beast be hiding here? Could it have escaped from the Lianyun Mountains?"

"This direction suggests Pinghu is more likely. Could it be that the people in this convoy stole some treasure from Pinghu and are being chased by this source beast?"

As they observed and discussed, the group, all of whom had experience venturing out, quickly arrived at a plausible hypothesis.

"Judging from this, they don't dare drive directly across the frozen river; they'll definitely have to pass by here. I just don't know if they're panicking and taking the wrong route, or if it's intentional!"

"However, judging from the fact that this giant beast is slowly approaching, they probably won't be able to hold out until they reach the bridge."

Erhu grinned, rubbing his hands together eagerly: "So, is it helping or killing?"

But Zhao Feng glared at Erhu: "From this distance, are you sure this behemoth isn't a high-level source beast?"

Erhu frowned: "It shouldn't be. If it's a high-level source beast, it's unlikely that the small cart could barely keep up with the speed of the giant beast."

"Have you ever seen a mid-level Origin Beast of this size?"

"Whether they are or not, they will definitely pass through here, and they might think we are in cahoots."

"Let's prepare for battle!" Sui An reached out and stopped the two from discussing, and began to actively allocate firepower. The first thing he allocated was his own detection station.

In reality, the detection station can only distinguish source beasts with a building level of +2. It itself is only a level 3 building, and at most it can accurately identify 5.

As for level 6 or above, it is impossible to distinguish them; they will all appear as black dots.

But Sui An still put it on the table.

However, if they got close enough, Zhao Feng and the others could still distinguish between intermediate and advanced levels.

He deployed all four golden flower cannons, one of which contained metal-attribute rose crystal bullets that he had specially prepared, one contained water-attribute rose crystal bullets, and the other contained reserve fire-attribute rose crystal bullets.

The remaining one is a regular, attribute-neutral crystal bullet, in case of emergencies.

At this moment, Sui An also began to convert all of it into metallic crystal bullets to attack these powerful single-target source beasts.

The effect of the bullet is significantly stronger!

As the cart and the beast drew closer, Erhu, at Sui An's instruction, picked up the megaphone and began to shout.

"Friends in front, please do not approach further, otherwise we will consider it an intrusion!"

He repeated himself three more times, but the car showed no intention of changing direction. It continued to drive close to the river, as if Ping wanted to pass through the gap of only twenty or thirty meters between Sui'an territory and the river and leave via the stone bridge.

Just as Sui An was preparing to include the vehicle in the attack, the people in the car suddenly raised a flag despite the strong winds, which read "Yuncheng Wolves".

Someone on the vehicle finally started shouting from a distance, "We are from the Cloud City Wolf Pack territory! Please help us intercept this beast, and we will reward you handsomely!"

"Cloud City!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise when they saw the words on the flag.

"This can't be real, right? Yuncheng is about 400 kilometers away from here, why would they come all that way to our city!"

"Yuncheng is considered a large city, but it's still quite chaotic there. The major high-level territories haven't completely ceased hostilities yet."

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"If this offends those high-ranking territories in Cloud City, wouldn't things get really bad!"

"Let's hurry up and save them. If they die near us, we won't be the ones to take the blame."

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Erhu suddenly let out a loud shout.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

His gaze swept across the crowd: "They've brought danger upon themselves. Why should we take on such a huge risk to help them, just for empty words?"

Ye Tengyang frowned and said in a low voice, "Xiao An, the Cloud City Wolf Pack Territory is one of the four level-eight territories. This territory is a bit troublesome, especially with those specially made flags. It's best not to make enemies with them unless absolutely necessary!"

Just as Erhu was about to retort, a warning sound finally rang out from the detection platform next to him, but it did not come from the giant beast.

Instead, it was the people in that car: one in black, two in red, and three in orange!

This means there are three Level 4, two Level 5, and one suspected Level 6 professional.

Immediately afterwards, another warning sounded, and a new black dot appeared.

"As expected, it can't be detected!" Sui An frowned and turned his gaze away from the projector.

Just as Sui An was hesitating and struggling with whether or not to make a move, or to take a chance and see if the giant beast would treat its territory as an accomplice of the car,

However, Zhao Feng offered her assessment: "It's definitely not high-level! The aura of a high-level source beast carries a relatively strong deterrent effect; it would have been transmitted at this close range long ago!"

"Then let's fight!"

Hearing Zhao Feng's assessment, Sui An felt half relieved. He didn't want to fight a level seven being unless absolutely necessary.

But at level six, we must fight the source beasts and spare the people!

Even if these people are wrong, they still have to stay!

The two golden cannons on the city wall trembled slightly. The next second, an ice-blue rainbow beam crossed a hundred meters and immediately struck the terrifying crocodile-like beast.

However, the Crocodile Source Beast seemed to be on guard, its body already enveloped in a thick, aquamarine source energy. Moreover, it reacted extremely quickly, even attempting to shift its body during its run in an effort to dodge the icy blue projectile.

However, at such close range, the enormous body could not completely dodge and was ultimately hit on the edge of its hind leg by an ice-attribute crystal bullet.

The crystal bullet did not explode violently as everyone had imagined. Instead, it scattered ice crystals like a snowball, and countless visible wisps of cold air instantly spread from the point of impact, forcing the giant beast to stop its charge and slide dozens of meters on the ground.

"Click~ Click~"

The sound of countless ice blocks shattering came from the giant beast's hind legs; it was merely the chill from an ice-attribute cannonball, utterly ineffective.

The law froze the giant beast.

It abruptly turned its head, its ferocious gaze instantly fixed on the vast territory beside it. Just as it was about to raise its head and roar a warning, a second ice-blue crystal bullet appeared.

This time it was extremely enraged and actually raised a claw, intercepting the crystal bullet at an extremely fast speed.

The ice flowers bloomed again, but the fully prepared behemoth could not cause any damage. It slammed its frozen forepaws into the ground, and countless ice crystals shattered instantly, leaving it completely unharmed.

But at that moment, a huge roar resounded from the city wall.

The ten golden crystal bullets formed a dazzling rainbow, and Sui An emptied the magazine almost instantly.

The "Desperate Measures" effect is incredibly useful in burst damage battles.

Sui An had no intention of trying to counter this level 6 behemoth by firing shells from a level 4 building one by one.

He went all in!

The behemoth clearly hadn't expected such an unreasonable cannon; its massive claws had barely touched the ground before it was bombarded with so many shells.

But it was no ordinary crocodile. Suddenly, it opened its huge mouth and, almost without any preparation or gathering of strength, unleashed a breath of icy blue light that surged towards the golden light. The terrifying breath instantly spread for dozens of meters, with cold air rising and icy mist spreading, looking extremely exaggerated.

However, the metallic crystal bullet had extremely strong penetrating power, and the icy breath could not intercept it at all. The massive breath was forcibly torn apart, and the crystal bullet struck its back.

"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~"

A series of dull thuds echoed from the back of the behemoth, accompanied by the explosion of countless ice-blue energy sources and the splashing of golden light.

The beast's energy, scales, and physique all seemed extremely powerful. Ten crystal bullets hit it in succession, and blood splattered only in the latter half of the attack.

This means that it took six or seven crystal bullets to forcibly break through its three layers of defense.

"roar!"

The crystal bullets that had entered his body exploded one after another, creating a wound the size of a human head. Countless scales and flesh burst open from the inside, turning into a huge wound about two meters long.

The giant beast roared in pain, its whole body trembling. Even with such a large wound in its flesh, it did not die immediately, but its breath suddenly dropped sharply.

The fleeing vehicles ahead seemed to have noticed the situation as well, and were suddenly slammed on the brakes, even swerving to stop. Three fully armed figures jumped out of the vehicles.

The leader, a burly man, was wearing black chainmail with specially made leather armor underneath, and stood on the edge of the vehicle, carrying a thick spear.

He looked at the scene behind him and his eyes widened in surprise.

"What terrifying power!"

"What kind of cannonball could shatter the body of this Ice Source Crocodile like that in a single hit? Isn't this more than just a level four territory?"

"This is a level 6 elite-grade behemoth! It would be very difficult to take it down without three or four level 6 professionals!"

The two people behind them were also surprised to see the target that had led them to flee.

But the big man shook his head. He was of a higher rank and naturally knew more about what had just happened.

"That last golden cannonball wasn't a single shell, but ten of them fired at once!"

"Looks like we've found a territory that's not to be trifled with."

Despite the massive injury, the behemoth still emitted a light blue energy emanating from its wound, seemingly healing itself and preventing excessive bleeding.

It struggled to twist its body, trying to escape.

"My God, they're still alive!"

Erhu saw it: the special cannonball that shattered the head of a level 5 Dark Breath Silver Scale Beast the night before. This guy took many shots at once, yet he still managed to run back.

Sui An clearly hadn't expected this giant beast to have such strong vitality.

But it's not a big problem. Although he cleared out one of the Golden Flower Cannon's metallic crystal bullets, he still has one ready to be used.

Another golden crystal bullet was fired. This time, Sui An did not prepare to empty the cannonballs. The severely injured behemoth's movement speed obviously decreased rapidly. Even without the ice bullet to reduce its movement speed, it could still be easily hit.

The crystal bullet even struck the huge wound again, piercing through the newly accumulated blue energy once more. This time, without any scales or other defenses, the crystal bullet penetrated very deeply, seemingly hitting a vital point.

With a muffled explosion, the fleeing behemoth came to an abrupt halt. After a series of convulsions, it collapsed onto the ground, completely still, and the black dots on the detection projection gradually dissipated.

"Is he dead?" Not far from the city wall, a few people near the car stood there blankly, somewhat at a loss.

One of the professionals, dressed in light red armor, stepped forward: "Brother, what do we do now? They won't kill us too, will they?"

"What are you afraid of? We belong to the Wolf Pack Territory. What can a level four territory like his do to us? Aren't we afraid the lord will send a large army to wipe him out!"

Another professional carrying a shield scoffed, "Besides, anyone with a bit of knowledge knows that our Wolf Pack territory's flag has a location tracking system. If they dare to attack us, we'll just send out a signal. People can run, but can territory run away?"

"Shut up!"

The leader suddenly gave a soft shout, startling the one carrying the shield.

The burly man in black armor glanced coldly at the shield-bearer: "Tiemu, let me tell you, you'd better shut up from now on. If you cause the other side to want to fight us to the death, I'll kill you first to give them an explanation!"

Never underestimate someone's determination to fight to the death!

The black-armored giant exuded an overwhelming aura of power, and Temu awkwardly raised his shield, trying to shield himself from the captivating gaze.

"Let's go, let's give them an explanation!"

On the city wall, Sui An and his group cheered when they saw the giant beast destroyed. Anyone who saw such a huge source beast would find it hard not to be terrified.

But after Sui An dealt with it with just a few shots, everyone's emotions turned to amazement, especially the newcomers who had not yet experienced the baptism of the new Blood Moon Rift, who were dumbfounded.

Sui An looked at the group of people near the car, who seemed to be discussing something together.

At this moment, he had not yet made up his mind on how to deal with these people.

Logically speaking, since I saved these people, any sensible person should come over to thank me and then leave.

I didn't really want to find out what treasure they had obtained; it's better to avoid trouble.

By relying solely on powerful buildings to deal with the rifts, one is destined to grow stronger. It would be a waste to fight to the death with other forces for a little bit of resources.

"Uncle Ye, what's the deal with the flag from the Wolf Pack territory you mentioned earlier?"