In Giantree City, accompanied by Nancilia and Merilyn, Zhang Nu visited once again, this time to see the Ent King.
Ent King Grootroot was staying in Giantree City, and compared to two days ago, his condition had significantly improved. The ents have three forms: the archtree form, the ent form, and the half-ent, half-tree form. The Ent King was currently in the half-ent, half-tree form, with a towering figure hundreds of meters tall, its massive roots embedded in the soil of Giantree City, radiating with vigorous vitality.
"Grootroot, we've come to visit you!" Nancilia asked with concern, "How do you feel now?"
The Ent King responded, "The damage caused by the Black Phoenix has fully recovered. I'm back to my prime, thanks to His Majesty the Demon King."
Grootroot had been in Giantree City for some time now. After spending this period getting to know more about Giantree City, Darkness City, and the Chaos Federation, he held immense respect for the Demon King and understood why the proud elves were so devotedly following him. For Grootroot himself, it was a rebirth granted by the Demon King. Otherwise, with the Black Phoenixs divine fire corroding him, he wouldn't have lived much longer.
"If you like the environment of Giantree City, you're welcome to live here from now on," Nancilia continued. "With a senior from the era of the Ancient Elven Empire like you protecting Giantree City, it's bound to develop even more prosperously and securely."
Without hesitation, the Ent King agreed, as the importance of the Eternal Tree to the ents, and the benefits it could bring, were second to none to the elves. Living in Giantree City and the Giantree Forest was a blessing for most ents.
Zhang Nu was very satisfied with the complete allegiance of the ent race and planned to scatter them throughout the Chaos Forest, turning them into natural guardians and sentries of the forest. This way, no matter what kind of enemies they faced, they would not be able to invade Giantree City.
During his last adventure, Zhang Nu obtained two blueprints, one for the "Ent Altar" and another for the "Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch." Both structures were Level 5 special buildings, expensive to construct but not a significant issue for Zhang Nu at this point. Seizing the opportunity, he constructed the Ent Altar within the Chaos Forest. A giant altar, resembling a tree stump covered in branches and leaves, quickly rose from the ground, emitting an aura of nature.
The Ent Altar had two main functions. The first was to strengthen ents, and the second was to summon them. Similar to the Giant Altar in Thunder City, the Ent Altar could efficiently enhance the strength and aptitude of ents at a relatively low cost.
Unlike typical barracks-type buildings, the Ent Altar had no limit on the number of ents it could summon, only limited by the area of the forest. The larger the forest area within the Demon King's controlled territory, the more ents it could produce. For every 1,000 square kilometers of forest, it could summon a Level 5 lord ent. For every 10,000 square kilometers, it could summon a Level 5 overlord ent.
The cost for individual units was lower than that of other Level 5 overlord units. Zhang Nu's territories contained a vast amount of forest, with the Chaos Forest alone covering over 5 million square kilometers, of which at least 4.4 million square kilometers were forested areas. Including other territories' forests, theoretically, it was possible to summon 500 Level 5 overlord-class ents. This represented a formidable force capable of intimidating any power. The ents had a unique ability to connect directly through the forest, strengthening their collective defense as their numbers grew.
With the addition of the Ent Altar, the Chaos Forest, the very heartland of the Chaos Federation, would become impregnable.
Apart from the Ent Altar, Zhang Nu also summoned the Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch, similar in effect to ordinary Spirit Fields but with rapid production capabilities. The difference lay in its principle of operation: while Spirit Fields accelerate crop growth by concentrating energy and mana within the soil, the Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch accelerates time itself.
In essence, once seeds or animals to be planted or bred are placed inside, a certain amount of gold can be spent to activate the acceleration, instantly speeding up time within the farm from a year to even a century. This meant that in the blink of an eye in the outside world, many years could pass within the farm.
Zhang Nu discovered that the Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch was not only capable of growing crops but could also breed various magical beasts, including long-lived creatures like true dragons, possibly allowing them to cultivate within the farm.
However, the Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch, being a Level 5 building, and primarily a breeding ground rather than a training ground, has its limitations. Units above Level 5, as well as intelligent beings like humans, elves, and ents, cannot exploit it to bypass their natural growth processes. Despite these restrictions, Zhang Nu was still able to recognize the value of this facility. It certainly held more potential than a standard farm, as it could breed magical beasts in addition to growing crops. Moreover, certain special natural treasures, due to their unique quality and type, require time to mature and cannot be hastened simply through Spirit Fields. In such cases, the Hyper Spatial-Temporal Breeding Ranch becomes invaluable.
This was another excellent facility! Zhang Nu's collection of top-tier buildings and facilities was already extensive. By fully utilizing the existing resources of the Chaos Federation, he could easily conquer any neighboring empire-level power.
However, at that moment, Su Yan brought new intelligence. "Boss, there's fresh information. The Dragons Shadow Hero Guild has received simultaneous alerts from various channels that the empire's new army has begun to mobilize."
Zhang Nu nodded in response, "Oh, is that so? They're finally making a move? Where do they plan to attack from?"
Su Yan answered, "Based on the current movements, the Elro region will definitely be the first to be threatened. The Chaos Federation currently controls the Chaos Forest area, the Kregi region, the Elro region, and the waters around Holy Tides City. Among these, Elro was the most recently conquered. The federation's integration efforts in the Elro region are still insufficient, and the deployed troops are relatively few. Moreover, the Elro region, being a major agricultural area, is very flat, consisting mostly of plains."
"If the empire's army enters from this region, it will be difficult for the Chaos Federation to defend comprehensively. They can advance from any direction, making it easy to attack various cities and forcing a passive defense. The supreme magitek fortress would not be very effective in such terrain. It can only be stationed in the main city of Elro to prevent it from being destroyed during mobilization. This explains why the empire has chosen to attack there first. After all, the empire has suffered many losses at the hands of the Chaos Federation. Retaking a region with the lowest difficulty first allows them to test the current strength of Darkness City and boost morale through this battle."
Zhang Nu remarked, "It seems the empire's command is being very cautious this time."
Su Yan, somewhat worried, asked, "Boss, what should we do?"
Zhang Nu reassured, "It's nothing serious."
He quickly made arrangements for Long Yi, Zhang San, Li Si, and others to lead the Abyssal Dragon Legion, the Royal Guard Legion, and an army consisting of aerial units to intercept the attack.
The empire's army, at least a million strong, was unlike any ordinary army of a million. It included forces like the Guardian Knight Order. Zhang Nu's dragon legion consisted of just over a hundred abyssal dragons, and the Royal Guard Legion had only a few thousand dragon guards. Even with the addition of the Draconian Super Soldier Legion and the Federal Aerial Squadron, the total was barely over a hundred thousand.
Defeating such an enemy under these circumstances would undoubtedly be an extremely difficult task. While Zhang Nu could deploy more troops, the scale and strength of the enemy posed a significant challenge for the current Chaos Federation. Although they could compete, the time, effort, and cost would be enormous.
However, Zhang Nu had a better plan and an experiment he had long wanted to conduct. Among the many buildings in Darkness City, the Rift Tower of the Ancient Land of Stars was a unique existence. Each rift had its specialties, and the Ancient Land of Stars specialty was various Evil God Altars. These altars were all Level 5 special buildings with diverse functions, expensive to construct, and single-use.
Zhang Nu had a "Blood Moon Altar," a reward from clearing a challenge earlier, which he had yet to use. Unlike ordinary altars, this one could summon an avatar of the Evil God "Unifier of All." However, summoning an avatar required a vast number of sacrifices, which Zhang Nu did not have access to.
But now, with the empire's army pressing in, weren't they the perfect sacrifice?
Zhang Nu personally went to the Elro region to make preparations. In a forest, he spent a hundred million gold, along with nearly a hundred thousand gemstones of various attributes, to summon the Blood Moon Altar.
[The Blood Moon Altar] Level 5 special building. Summons a Evil God blood moon using the creatures within a 3000-mile radius as sacrifices. The more sacrifices consumed, the stronger the avatar of the Evil God that is summoned. This altar can only be used once.
"Done," Zhang Nu said, looking at the altar filled with an evil aura. He was very satisfied. There were no human towns within a 3000-mile radius, and even the villages had been relocated.
The next step was to lure the empire's forces into the area. Once they stepped into this trap, a spectacular scene was bound to unfold."