Chapter 82 - 78: Bone Forest Southwest War

Chapter 82: Chapter 78: Bone Forest Southwest War

"I’ve given them a new name. From now on, they’re no longer Tree Monsters. They’re Golden Trees."

"Golden Tree."

Sophie thought the name was lovely. Compared to "Tree Monster," the people of Green Shade Territory would surely find "Golden Tree" more acceptable.

The two returned to the camp with 100 young Tree Monsters in tow, immediately causing a commotion.

At first, the Southern Army thought the Tree Monsters were attacking again. Soldiers poured out of their tents, brandishing torches and weapons.

It wasn’t until Robson shouted Lian’s name that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s Lord Lian! Lord Lian is back!"

"Why did Lord Lian bring a whole crowd of Tree Monsters with him?"

"Lord Lian must have gone to capture the Tree Monsters himself!"

"As expected of Lord Lian, to have captured so many Tree Monsters."

The people cheered, surrounding Lian and Sophie.

The noise woke a sleeping Kob, who emerged from his tent.

When he saw the dense crowd of young Tree Monsters, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

He, too, knew just how precious the paralytic agent made by the Tree Monsters was. Applied to arrowheads, it became an excellent weapon for war, capable of instantly paralyzing an enemy with a single wound.

And when treating injuries, a small dose was enough to spare the Guards from pain.

Sophie had killed all the Tree Monsters back then. Although she had saved everyone, she had also cut off this source of the paralytic agent.

Now, seeing Lian return with such a large group of Tree Monsters, Kob was once again convinced that Lian was the chosen one, sent by the God of Tiger to save Green Shade Territory.

"Lord Lian, we searched for so long and couldn’t find a single surviving Tree Monster, yet you managed to find so many."

Kob said excitedly.

"Kob, from now on, they’re not called Tree Monsters. They’re called Golden Trees."

Lian explained.

The Heart of the Tree Monster trembled and nodded, indicating that it was now a Golden Tree.

"Golden Tree? Golden Tree is great! A Tree Monster’s whole body is a treasure trove, so isn’t that just like gold?"

Kob raised his longsword and cheered,

"Golden Tree!"

The Guards followed his lead, cheering, "Golden Tree! Golden Tree! Golden Tree!"

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers, the bewildered little Tree Monsters were sent to the territory at North District 3.

The Guards worked through the night, fencing off a plot of land for them. The enclosure was placed under special guard.

The old Heart of the Tree Monster was also put in chains to ensure it couldn’t escape.

In the days that followed, the Southern Army was busy clearing the battlefield and expanding the territory.

The entire North District of the Bone Forest was cleared out.

Lian decided to extend the High Wall’s perimeter to encompass this new area.

This would allow more people to come live in Green Shade Territory. It would also directly absorb the villages that were originally outside the High Wall, allowing them to become official citizens of Green Shade Territory.

The villagers would no longer have to fear being attacked by other monsters.

As for the useless Faceless Monkeys, they became dinner for the Guards. At Lian’s suggestion, the army chefs developed all sorts of recipes—braised, steamed, deep-fried, spicy, hot pot, and more. After half a month of continuous consumption, the already small population of Faceless Monkeys was finally driven to extinction.

Meanwhile, after simmering for half a month, the Goblins from the south of Bone Forest and the Corpse Monsters from the west finally broke out into all-out war.

During this time, Lian had been secretly helping the Corpse Monsters, clearing a path for them to the Goblin village to make their advance easier.

Even the various traps outside the Goblin village were covertly disarmed by the human army. The Corpse Monsters had an unobstructed path and advanced smoothly, with many Goblins becoming their next meal.

Scout teams from the Southern Legion were responsible for observing the war’s progress and constantly reported to Kob, who in turn reported to Lian.

Inside the Lord’s tent, Lian was teaching Sophie a game of stones while listening to Kob deliver the latest battle report.

Lian held white pebbles and Sophie held black ones, both wearing serious expressions.

Sophie had never played such an interesting game before and was completely absorbed.

The personal Guards in charge of serving tea and water couldn’t help but watch. They found this game of black and white stones more interesting than King’s Chess, and it seemed much more sophisticated.

Especially when Lian hesitated over a move, deep in thought.

"Lord Lian, the Goblin army and the Corpse Monster army have clashed. The Corpse Monsters have already occupied Southern Region 1, and the Goblin army is in retreat."

Beads of cold sweat formed on Lian’s forehead. He hadn’t expected Sophie to be so clever.

After just two games against him, she was already on the verge of surpassing him.

In this game, she had blocked all his paths. But in the end, he still found a flaw in her formation and forged a new route to victory.

"Sophie, you’ve lost."

Five white pebbles formed a line, declaring Sophie’s defeat.

Sophie stared in surprise at Lian’s connected white stones and began to reflect on her own shortcomings.

"You can’t just focus on blocking me; you have to forge your own path as well. A game is like war. A purely defensive strategy is meaningless. The best defense is a good offense."

Lian said sternly.

A personal Guard wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Kob sweatdropped. ’He felt that Lian and Sophie were playing a children’s game. What was so interesting about this game? You win just by getting five stones in a row? If it were him, he could have beaten Lian countless times already.’

Lian looked up at Kob, whose face was practically screaming with unspoken complaints, and said,

"Goblins are clever, but their combat strength is not on the same level as the Corpse Monsters. I made venom bombs from the Corpse Monsters’ own venom, used them to destroy the Mugwort fields outside the village, and cleared a direct path to the Goblin village for the Corpse Monsters. Of course they’re advancing without resistance."

"But didn’t you say before that you wanted to completely eliminate the Corpse Monsters and spare the Goblins and Skeleton Monsters, since we can communicate with them?"

Kob asked, confused,

"At this rate, the Goblins might be completely wiped out by the Corpse Monsters."

"The Goblins have survived in the Bone Forest for a long time. Completely destroying them won’t be easy. At most, the Corpse Monsters will take Goblin Sector 2 before they face a full-scale Goblin counterattack."

Lian speculated.

Kob turned and walked over to the sand table, pointing to Area 3 in the Southern Region of the Bone Forest.

"There’s a natural Grand Canyon here. It’s indeed a perfect spot for a counterattack."

Lian stood up, patting away non-existent dust from his clothes. He walked to Kob’s side and pointed to Area 5.

"Unless the Corpse Monsters decide to sneak in through here for a surprise attack on the heartland."

Kob shook his head. "The Corpse Monsters don’t have that kind of wisdom. It’s impossible for them to think of a sneak attack."

The moment he finished speaking, Kob had a sudden realization, his eyes lighting up. "But we can. Even if the Goblins manage to rout the Corpse Monsters in the canyon, they’ll still suffer heavy losses. With both sides wounded, we can circle around from behind and attack the Goblins. It would be the perfect time to clean up and annihilate them in one fell swoop."

Lian nodded slightly. "Yes, you’re right. Following your strategy, we could cooperate with the Corpse Monsters to completely annihilate the Goblins. But what’s in it for us?"

"The Goblins are a major scourge. If we get rid of them, at least we won’t have to worry about our people disappearing because they were abducted by Goblins."

Kob scratched his head. "Besides, haven’t we been helping the Corpse Monsters fight the Goblins this whole time?"