Chapter 13: Crushing the Vampire Clan and Seizing the Lord's Manor

Inside the large crater, two golden seeds shimmered. Under the gaze of the Holographic Eye, their information quickly appeared before Su Mu.

[Item Name: Seed of the War Tree]
[Grade: LV3 (Gold-tier War Deity Tree Seed)]
[Growth Potential: Up to Gold Level 9]
[Cultivation Method: Requires a massive amount of Holy Water for irrigation. Each War Deity Tree requires 500 units of Holy Water daily to survive.]
[Growth Period: It takes approximately 1,000 days for a War Deity Tree seed to mature into a giant tree. Please take good care of it. (Once fully grown, the War Deity Tree requires no special maintenance, needing only 100 units of Holy Water daily to provide the holder with an infinite supply of monsters to farm.)]
[Mobility: Can move with the Lord's Manor, but cannot exceed the boundaries of the Manor.]

"I've hit the jackpot! A massive fortune!" Su Mu’s excitement at this moment far surpassed how he felt when he obtained the Sacred Guardian Shield and the Holographic Eye.

This was a War Deity Tree, and a Gold-tier one at that! If he could cultivate it into a mature giant tree, it would mean his territory would never lack warriors—all of them Gold-tier, reaching up to Gold Level 9. With such a group of powerful, infinitely respawning warriors, he wouldn't need to fear anyone trying to raid his home; he could bury invading enemies under pure numbers alone.

Other lords had to go through a tedious process to produce warriors: first building barracks, then spending Spirit Stones. A single barrack cost 1,000 Spirit Stones, and creating one warrior cost 5 Spirit Stones—and that was only for the lowest Bronze Level 1 fodder. A barrack held 500 warriors, meaning a basic barrack setup cost 3,500 Spirit Stones. Furthermore, their warriors were disposable consumables; once dead, they could not be resurrected. A simple siege could cost hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones. Eventually, those lords would be forced to borrow from large war corporations, becoming debt slaves to the big firms.

Su Mu, however, had now completely cast off such shackles. Although cultivating a War Deity Tree required 500,000 units of Holy Water—equivalent to 500,000 Spirit Stones—it was a one-time investment. Once paid, he would never have to worry about manpower again. And if he could acquire a Growth Acceleration Card, it might not even cost that much. Regardless, cultivating a War Deity Tree was far superior to building barracks.

"I've hit the jackpot! A massive fortune!" Su Mu repeated to himself in excitement, carefully placing the two seeds into his pocket for safekeeping.

*Huu~* With that done, Su Mu finally let out a long, satisfied sigh toward the sky.

***

Tonight’s battles were relentless, having already taken down two mini-bosses in succession. The harvest was bountiful, yielding several god-tier items. The final, most crucial step remained: capturing the ruins of the Tier-3 Lord's Manor. Once that place was conquered, he would have a true foothold.

"Blade-Slash, Little Divine Dragon, let's go!" Su Mu set off on his journey once more with his companions.

[Successfully killed Silver Level 3 Death Crocodile, gained 1,600 experience points.]
[Successfully killed Gold Level 4 Giant Tree Monster, gained 6,400 experience points.]
[Successfully killed Platinum Level 2 Rock Giant, gained 16,000 experience points.]

Along the way, they encountered some harassment from dark creatures, but given the current strength of Su Mu’s team, these small monsters were not worth mentioning—they weren't even enough to serve as decent experience farming. Soon, Su Mu arrived at the final destination: the ruins of the Tier-3 Lord's Manor.

Under the radiance of the Holy Light, a stretch of crumbling city walls appeared before him, draped in green vines that masked the scars of war. Not far off stood several dark, dilapidated buildings overgrown with weeds—the remains of the original Lord's Manor. From the darkness, hair-raising screams echoed from time to time, adding to the unsettling atmosphere.

Suddenly, the Little Divine Dragon let out a roar and spat a breath of dragon fire toward a direction in the sky, as if it had discovered something. Su Mu immediately looked up. Under the Holographic Eye, nothing could hide.

In the darkness, over a dozen vampires appeared in the sky, both male and female. The leader, a man in a black tuxedo, held a delicate, slender narrow sword. Behind him were four incredibly beautiful female vampires, also dressed in gorgeous evening gowns; they were likely his wives. Behind these five high-ranking vampires followed a dozen young ones, presumably their children or nephews, also brandishing fine swords and dressed in finery. These vampires shared a uniform look: pale skin, handsome and alluring features, ruby-like eyes, and prominent fangs.

Standing behind them was a different group—vampires dressed only in coarse, ragged clothing. It was clear they had not evolved as completely as the high-ranking ones; some still had visible capillaries on their skin, and others held half-eaten wild rabbits, their mouths stained with fresh blood. There were about a hundred of them, likely the servants of the high-ranking vampires—not pure-blooded, but thralls created after being bitten.

"This must be a small vampire clan," Su Mu assessed, quickly reading the information on the vampire leader.

[Name: Count Coste]
[Race: Vampire]
[Talent: Invisibility, Super Speed, Immense Strength (can lift 30,000 kilograms with one hand; can crush the hardest obsidian)]
[Level: Platinum 4]
[Danger Coefficient: B1]

Su Mu read the info on the female vampires nearby; they were all Platinum Level 1-3 powerhouses. The strongest was a female vampire named Esly, at Platinum Level 3, second only to Count Coste.

"Looks like another tough fight," Su Mu sighed. He ordered, "Blade-Slash, Little Divine Dragon, prepare for battle!"

Immediately, the Holy Light Altar in Su Mu’s hand flared, and the range of the Holy Light rapidly expanded to two thousand meters, enveloping almost the entire ruin. Su Mu had used his only incredibly precious Holy Light Amplification Card on the altar. That card had cost 100,000 Dragon Coins—his life savings, meant for an emergency. But he didn't care anymore. Once he occupied this manor, with its two underground Spirit Stone veins, he would earn his investment back in no time.

*Swish!*

The power of money is infinite. After the Holy Light surged, the area became as bright as day. For dark creatures like vampires, this was equivalent to being thrown into a furnace. Several low-level vampires immediately began to smoke under the light, shrieking as they plummeted from the sky. The high-ranking vampires were forced to cover their eyes.