BOOM—
BANG—
As the Beastman army advanced deep into the clearing, Lin Yu released his control over the Potato Mines.
These potatoes, primed and ready, instantly began to blossom with the flower of life, their beautiful, explosive art unfolding across the clearing.
The simultaneously detonating Potato Mines seemed to trigger a chain reaction, the force of the explosions far exceeding expectations.
The Beastmen at the very center were blown to smithereens, while those on the fringes were sent flying, collapsing to the ground, unable to rise.
Seeing this, the beast packs lying in ambush swarmed forward.
After a wave of chaos, all the Beastmen were dead.
In the Lingxin Department, Lin Yu let out a long sigh of relief.
'I've finally taken care of another wave of enemies.'
'There are still two hero-class units left. Once I deal with them, this 18x trial will be over.'
The Harpy was still outside the World Tree, dealing continuous damage. Although her attack frequency had decreased, she hadn't given up on attacking the World Tree.
'Uh... I'll ignore the Harpy for now. Judging by her state, she can't last much longer. Once her stamina runs out and she falls to the ground, she'll be at my mercy!'
His gaze turned eastward. That terrifying giant Mammoth was still chowing down. It had already devoured over 500 square meters of plants, and now, looking unsatisfied, it was heading towards another patch of forest, as if it still hadn't had enough.
'Sigh... What am I supposed to do about this one?'
'Fighting it is out of the question.'
'It's such a big eater... Maybe I should...'
Lin Yu thought for a moment, then ordered five elephants to each drag a large wooden plank to the warehouse next to the World Tree and wait. He then opened the warehouse doors and had the rest of his subjects (sprites, beasts) load the planks with fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, and other plants.
Once they were fully loaded, the elephants began to drag the food eastward.
...
To the east of the territory, the giant Mammoth was still happily munching on tender leaves, fruits, and grass in the forest. In its wake, the temperature plummeted, and a layer of frost coated the leaves and grass.
Even so, the Mammoth ate very happily.
In the distance, a few ordinary elephants approached slowly. These were very common animals of gray quality, with no skills, and their level was fixed at 1.
The Mammoth glanced up at them, paid them no mind, and went back to burying its head in the trees to eat.
The elephants stopped 20 meters away from the Mammoth. Their legs were trembling and weak, and they couldn't go any further.
Seeing this, Lin Yu had no choice but to order them to leave the wooden planks where they were.
As if a great weight had been lifted, the elephants shook their trunks, quickly undid the rope harnesses, dropped the planks, and scrambled to run back.
The Mammoth gave the fleeing elephants a strange look, then noticed the large wooden planks on the ground, piled high with food. Its expression was a bit peculiar.
Then, it nonchalantly walked over and began to eat with big mouthfuls.
As it ate, it squatted down. Judging by its expression, it seemed quite satisfied with this meal that had been delivered to its doorstep.
'Good, it's eating!'
Seeing this, Lin Yu felt a great weight lift from his heart. Now, it was time to continue with the plan. Seeing the Mammoth's ravenous appetite, he figured these few planks of food probably wouldn't be enough.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to order his beast packs to gather vines and make large wooden planks the moment he thought of feeding the Mammoth.
Thankfully, although the beast packs weren't very efficient, there were many of them, and they had already managed to rush-produce a good number of planks.
Finally, Lin Yu summoned five more elephants, making a total of ten. They dragged planks fully loaded with food and once again headed for the Mammoth's location.
This time, the Mammoth restrained its aura, and the ten elephants were able to walk right up to it without issue.
When the giant Mammoth saw the elephants approaching, it even shifted its butt, making some room for them to place the wooden planks.
These elephants, behemoths in the eyes of an ordinary person, now stood beside the Mammoth looking like pet hamsters next to a human.
Seeing the Mammoth behave this way, Lin Yu felt even more at ease.
After that, the elephants went back and forth another ten or so times, each time dragging ten fully loaded wooden planks of food.
After emptying several of Lin Yu's warehouses and consuming millions of units of food, the Mammoth was finally full.
MOOO—
With a loud bellow, the Mammoth stood up.
Lin Yu was extremely nervous. It all came down to this.
'As the saying goes, "He who accepts gifts has his hands tied, and he who accepts food has his mouth tied."'
'This giant Mammoth ate so much of my food. Surely it wouldn't attack my territory now, would it?'
After standing up, the Mammoth faced the World Tree at the center of the territory, let out another roar, and nodded.
Then, it turned and walked toward the Teleportation Array. The cold aura around its body gradually receded, leaving only the Ice Armor on its body.
Upon reaching the Teleportation Array, a blue light surged from its body and flowed into the seemingly useless runes of the array.
As the energy poured in, a huge Spatial Gate opened above the array's pattern. The Mammoth stepped forward, squeezed inside, and disappeared into the Teleportation Gate.
Losing the support of the Mammoth's energy, the Teleportation Array dimmed once more, and the Teleportation Gate closed along with it.
'Fuck, I finally sent it away!'
'I wonder if what I did counts as passing the trial.'
It's worth mentioning that while Lin Yu was busy feeding the Mammoth, the Harpy had exhausted her stamina and fallen from the sky. She was then attacked by the long-waiting beast packs and surrounding Pea Shooters, dying under the combined assault.
After the giant Mammoth left, there were no enemies left in Lin Yu's territory.
DING~
'You have a new message. Please check it!'
The system notification tone he had specifically enabled rang out. The trial results were in.
[Congratulations, contestant, for passing the High-Tier Trial (18x).]
[You have received the following rewards:]
[1. For passing the trial, you have obtained the qualification to participate in the second stage of the "Cosmic Hegemony Tournament for Civilized Lords."]
[2. Your Lingxin Department has been upgraded to Level 2. Your territory has expanded by 17.5 square kilometers.]
[3. Your Lord level has increased to 2. You may use a Class Change Book to change your class.]
[4. The Points Mall is unlocked. You have received 18,000 points, which can be used for exchanges in the system's Points Mall.]
[5. You have received one Trial Treasure Chest (18x Difficulty). Please collect it during the second stage of the competition.]
[You will be teleported back to your home planet in 24 hours. During this period, you may teleport at any time.]
[Please note: Before the start of the second stage of the competition, you must rest on your home planet for 30 days. During this period, your territory will develop on its own. The time ratio between your territory and your home planet is 100:1.]
Aside from the second-stage qualification that everyone who passed the trial received, the standard unlocking of the Points Mall, and the hard-won territory-doubling reward that was the same as other lords, what remained were the 18x points reward and a treasure chest with unknown contents.
Finally, there was the 100:1 time dilation. The 30-day interval between the end of the first stage and the start of the second meant a 3,000-day gap for the territory—over eight years long.
Going by the territory's current expansion rate, after 3,000 days, its total area would become an absurdly astronomical figure.
To prevent any unexpected changes in the territory after he left, Lin Yu made some arrangements before his departure.
He used almost all of his remaining resources to repair the damaged defensive lines and hastily placed some resource and defensive structures (Potato Mines) in the newly added territory.
Then, after a flash of light, he disappeared from beside the Lingxin Department inside the World Tree.