Chapter 228 The Demon King and His Gardeners
While the players of the Invincible Group are busy expanding their business, the Demon King's minions are not idle either.
The cemetery is in full swing at the moment.
Spurred by the huge reward, players throughout the necropolis became excited and devoted themselves to the activity of transplanting rare magic plants to underground planting areas.
They were either carrying heavy magic plant seedlings on their backs, or wielding tools to level the land gnawed out by the burrowing spiders, planting the magic plants they had worked so hard to obtain into new underground planting areas bit by bit, to open up territory for the Demon King's back garden.
Affected by this, Brother Yiyi's fertilizer plant order was almost postponed for more than a month, and Beifeng City's rail tracks and water pipes were sold out!
Including metal materials used to make magic conductors, as well as magic crystal lamps and farming tools, etc. are also in short supply!
However, just when all the players were working feverishly, one planting area fell into an eerie silence.
"...MMP! Withered again!"
A skeleton covered in rags looked solemnly at the collapsed plant in front of him. The originally vibrant phantom magic vine had completely turned into an old dead vine, as dry as dehydrated beef jerky.
His name is [Desert Shore], and he is a professional player who was qualified to join the game in the late A07 version.
After training in one version, he thought he was familiar enough with the game mechanics, but now it seems that his knowledge reserve is still shallow.
Cultivation of magic plants is a profound knowledge, which is much more difficult than ordinary farming.
"How many times has this happened?" [Milk needs to be sweetened] gritted his teeth and stared at the remains of the cane, squeezing the bones of his fingers tightly, "We followed the tutorial on the forum, the soil quality, magic power concentration, humidity, and even the posture are exactly the same, so why can't we plant it?!"
"That's outrageous! Even ordinary magic plants are not so delicate, right?"
Complaining in agreement, [Bone Card] hugged his broken staff, with two points of nether fire beating violently in his eye sockets, and continued in an uneasy tone, "How much money have we spent on this thing? It would be uncomfortable if nothing comes out in the end..."
The Illusion Magic Vine is a specialty of the southern part of the Whirlpool Sea, and its seedlings are not cheap to buy from the hell dwarves.
The air fell into silence, and an atmosphere of frustration gradually filled the surroundings of several players.
They have put a lot of effort into cultivating these phantom magic vines, but they seem to be unreasonable and will show up to them whenever they disagree, without any discussion.
There is no progress bar in this game, and there is no system reminder, so they don’t even know where they went wrong.
"...How about we change our thinking?" [Midnight Bell], who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said.
"Do you have an idea?" [Milk needs to be sweetened] immediately turned to look at him.
【Midnight Bell】 nodded slowly, with a hint of thoughtfulness in his tone: "We have been trying the traditional magic plant planting method, but it doesn't work at all. Using natural magic to ripen it is even more outrageous. This thing will die of old age just to show us."
He paused for a moment and then changed the subject.
"So, since magic plants are also a form of "life"... why don't we change the angle and try necromantic magic on its corpse? Anyway, we have already tortured this thing to death, so there is no loss in failure."
The surrounding air was quiet for a while, and suddenly became restless.
[Bone Brand] looked at him with bright eyes and said excitedly: "Wait a minute, you mean - we use the undead summoning technique to summon the "dead soul" of this plant?"
"Magic plants are also life," [Midnight Bell] nodded and said faintly, "Theoretically, they should also have souls... Well, I guess."
The skeletons stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, their eyes gradually brightened, and they suddenly felt that this idea seemed to make some sense.
"Anyway, let's try again!"
In a chaotic arrangement, they quickly set up a rough necromantic array - skeletons arranged in a circle with broken finger bones, with the remains of a recently dead phantom magic vine piled in the center.
Pushed away these dumbfounded guys, [Bone Card] raised his staff, and the fire of the netherworld burned in the air.
“Souls sleeping in the abyss, please obey my command——”
He waved the staff in his hand and shouted loudly.
"Resurrection! My plant!"
The sound of the spell echoed in the dark cave, the air became moist and cold, and the dead vines nearby seemed to be slightly frightened by this breath.
But the spell lasted for a full five minutes, and the phantom magic vine in the center of the eyes still didn't move at all.
[Milk needs to be sweetened] frowned: "...No response?"
"Should we increase the power?" [The other side of the desert] tentatively suggested.
【Bone Card】grit his teeth and cast the spell again. At the same time, he reached his right hand into his arms and pulled out a precious steel-level undead magic scroll!
This was earned from a drunk hell dwarf at the tavern in Beifeng City. The hell dwarf insisted on dragging him to drink, and there was a competition to see who could drink better. As a result, he peed all over the floor in disgrace, and the guy simply fainted.
Although this scroll is worth a lot of money, the five million reward is even more tempting.
For Brother Long's undead war horse——
He risked his life!
As the magic input power increased, the energy of the entire magic circle fluctuated violently in an instant, and the dead phantom magic vines also trembled slightly, which seemed to have an effect.
【 Desert Shore 】 held his breath and said excitedly.
"It seems... it has an effect?"
The next second——
"Hiss--!!!"
The magic vines suddenly burst out, twisting crazily in the cave, and the tiny tendrils whipped around like whips!
Gray mist spurted out from its trunk, and then, the dead vine turned into a group of wriggling tentacles, thrashing and writhing crazily on the ground!
The dust in the cave is stirring!
In just a few breaths, the red tentacles that were tangled together like earthworms increased dozens of times in size, filling half of the cave!
[Midnight Bell] Suddenly startled, he exclaimed: "Wait, wait a minute, does this thing grow a little too fast?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a dark red vine whipped out and hit him in the chest.
Caught off guard, the broken skull flew out like a ball and hit the cave wall directly, breaking into a pile of bone residue.
Milk needs to be sweetened: "Damn! Sneak attack!?"
"Get ready to fight!" [Beyond the Desert] made a prompt decision, roared, pulled out his axe, and rushed forward.
Seeing that this guy was about to chop his "own son", [Bone Card] screamed and stopped him, rushed forward and grabbed his ankle, and the two skeletons fell to the ground together.
"Wait a minute! Don't attack it! I sacrificed a magic scroll to summon it!"
[Beyond the Desert] said angrily: "Damn it! What time has it been -"
It turned out that it was too late to take action.
A few black iron-level skeleton soldiers are no match for this monster at all.
The vine monster expanded rapidly like an awakened giant beast, and several octopus tentacle-like tendrils twitched wildly in the cave. Each swing was accompanied by a violent impact, throwing several skeletons directly away, smashing against the rock wall, and falling to pieces.
The violent tentacles swept across the narrow passage, shattering the load-bearing beams, stirring up dust and gravel all over the ground, leaving nothing but a mess wherever they passed.
In a moment, the entire cave was wailing, and it had become a tentacle-ridden restricted area...
… …
At the same time, Helen, who was wandering nearby, heard the movement and came over, staring at the chaotic scene in stunned silence.
"How...how did this happen?"
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, she did not dare to hesitate and immediately called for reinforcements.
As luck would have it, her father Tyrell happened to be in the nearby North Peak City purchasing goods needed by the Gray Wind Tribe.
Hearing that there was a problem in Lord Demon King's back garden, he hurried over without saying a word.
Walking to Helen's side, Tyrell, holding a long stick of dead wood, frowned and observed the rampaging "magic vine".
After a moment, he whispered in a deep voice: "...No, this is not the phantom magic vine."
Helen blinked in confusion.
"What is that?"
Tyrell reached out and picked off a leaf on the vine, and blew lightly on it.
As a breeze blew by, the leaves with flesh-red spots on them quickly twisted, and flesh-red silk threads stretched out, as if they wanted to wrap his hand in it.
A wisp of fire burst out from Tyrell's fingertips, burning the blade to ashes in an instant.
His expression became complicated as he looked at the wreckage dispersed by the wind.
"...It should be some kind of symbiotic fungus. I once smelled a similar smell on the dead phantom magic vine, but it was not as strong."
Since the Lord Demon King brought the knowledge of the Demon City and the homemade microscope, the night elves of the Gray Wind tribe have kept pace with the concept of microorganisms, but they are not sure how to interfere with the life process of those little guys through magic.
Now it seems that the corrupted life is not within the scope of natural spells, but the scope of necromancy spells.
As for why, he didn’t know.
Obviously some mushrooms can grow faster through natural magic, but some cannot.
Helen was stunned: "You mean, what we saw... was the resurrected fungus?"
Tyrell nodded: "The phantom magic vine has long since died, and these skeletons are resurrected by parasitic vines. The symbiotic fungi on the vines are like zombies. They not only resurrected, but also assimilated other living fungi into undead bodies, and then they became what they are now."
After a pause, he said with a wry smile.
"This is just my speculation. As for how they did it specifically...I don't know."
Sometimes he admired these minions of Lord Demon King.
These guys are not very good at magic, and their knowledge is even shallower, but they can always pull off some operations that even him are stunned.
Just like now.
Even Gray Feng couldn't figure out what this mass of flesh-red stuff was, so he only suggested that he get rid of it as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, even her father did not understand. Helen was completely shocked.
She has seen many magic plants and monsters... but this is the first time she has seen a dead individual evolve into a brand new monster due to the effect of necromancy.
But, can this be considered a brand new monster?
She was also confused.
Since getting to know these "players", she feels like she is witnessing something new and unprecedented every day.
Perhaps the Demon King can give her a clear answer.
Apart from her father, that gentleman was the wisest of all the people she knew.
On the other side, [Bone Card] has been resurrected and is coming from the direction of the cave entrance.
Looking at the wildly rampaging tentacle monster in the cave from a distance, the green soul fire in his skull was trembling, and he clenched his fists in excitement.
He heard the exchanges between the NPCs and looked excitedly at his companions standing nearby.
… Wait, that is to say, we created a brand new monster?”
Five million!
Is this coming? !
【Milk needs to be sweetened】After a moment of silence, he said in a difficult tone.
"I'm afraid things are not that simple..."
It is indeed so.
The resurrected monster is still expanding, with a strong tendency to spread to other caves, and shows its hatred of all living creatures and its desire to eat.
Fortunately, there are enough caves here, so it will not affect the planting areas in the distance. Otherwise, their contribution will be deducted.
"...Does this thing have the value of nurturing?"
Helen looked at Tyrell with a slightly expectant look in her eyes.
It would be a good idea to use this thing to torture the intruders, it will definitely scare those adventurers out of their wits!
She had already seen its power just now. Black iron-level skeleton soldiers were crushed into pieces like ants in front of it!
Tyrrell fell into silence and weighed the risks and benefits for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and slowly raised the dead wood staff in his hand.
Luo Yan sat in it, staring at the crystal ball quietly, his sharp eyes looking down at the underground planting area through the milky white mist.
In the underground cave, Tyrell raised the deadwood staff high, and the rich green magic power condensed on the tip of the staff, slashing it down like thunder, accurately hitting the tentacle monster lying across the tunnel.
erated by by by ) by the way ——! )
With a piercing scream, the tentacle monster twitched violently, its vine-like limbs trying to struggle.
Tyrell's expression was stern, not giving him a chance to breathe. The long staff in his hand was like a burning green torch, and he walked forward steadily while whispering a spell in his mouth.
The huge shadow blade was like a flying wheel, piercing the monster's body continuously within a few breaths.
Dark green putrid juice splashed on the rock wall and evaporated quickly, like water droplets splashed on a hot pan!
In just a few breaths, this aberrant creature completely disintegrated and turned into flying ashes.
The battle came to an end quickly, and everything was as Luo Yan expected, without any suspense.
Facing a gold-level magician, this newly born tentacle monster is still a bit too young.
Tapping his fingertips lightly on the armrest of the throne, a thoughtful smile appeared on the corner of Luo Yan's mouth.
"I didn't expect necromancy magic could be used in this way... it's interesting."
Let the necromancy fungi devour the living symbiotic fungi, thereby occupying the bodies of dead monsters or magic plants, forming a zombie creature similar to the Stitch Monster...
This unexpected result provided him with a fresh idea.
If used on the battlefield, it may have miraculous effects.
Luo Yan is not very worried about accidents that happen in the planting area.
Since returning from the inspection that day, he asked Youyou to spread his territory to that area.
As Luo Yan waved his hand, the picture in the crystal ball quickly changed, and a completely different scenery came into his eyes.
In an unusually wide cave, skeleton players were busy transplanting various precious magic plants. Crypt spiders shuttled around, using spider silk to stabilize the structure of the cave. They cooperated with the moles of Iron Fang City to fix wooden supports under the rock mass.
The air is filled with faint fluctuations of magic power, and everything is progressing in an orderly manner.
Several skeleton players gathered in front of a transparent thorn and had a heated discussion.
"This plant can store magic power, maybe it can form a symbiotic system with other magic plants?"
A player flipped through a magic book that he had found somewhere and thought in a low voice: "Theoretically it is possible, but it requires a stable magic power cycle, otherwise the magic plant will be out of control..." Luo Yan's index finger moved slightly, and the screen flickered again. This time, what came into view was a group of little demons, galloping noisily in the cave. They moved quickly and had the same goal, chasing after a white radish that was running wildly.
That is not an ordinary radish, but a magic mandrake that contains powerful magic power and is used to refine curse-breaking potions.
Generally speaking, it would not be so manic, but it seems that those players made some outrageous operations that drove it into panic.
The mandrake struggled to swing its short legs, trying to escape pursuit. Its round leaves trembled and made a series of rapid screams. The cave echoed with the protests of the short legs and the laughter of the demons, and the scene was comical and chaotic.
"Hurry and catch it! Don't let it go to the poisonous mushroom area!" One of the little demons shouted loudly, while jumping up and trying to knock down the mandrake, but was dexterously avoided and fell solidly.
Another demon with quick eyes and quick hands waved a fishing net and caught the mandrake before it rushed into the dark cave.
"Haha! Mine!!" The little devils surrounded him excitedly and caught the frightened little one.
“Don’t let it scream too loud, be careful of the impact of its magic sound!” The veteran player on the side quickly warned, and hurriedly wrapped the roots of the mandrake with a sack painted with Hades to prevent it from emitting strong magical resonance.
The chaos finally subsided, and the demonized mandrake was still twisting feebly in the bag, and finally became frustrated and quiet.
Looking at the lively scene in the crystal ball, the corners of Luo Yan's mouth raised slightly, and his eyes showed satisfaction.
A huge magical forest is quietly taking shape in the cave, and those professional life players who are busy doing activities are the best gardeners.
I believe that it won’t be long before this place will become the most valuable magical plant cultivation ground in the entire underground world. Maybe even Prince Caesar Colin’s old sweetheart Lady Edonia will cast an envious look at him.
Luo Yan was deeply impressed by her garden.
That place is probably the place with the richest species in the entire hell.
Withdrawing his thoughts from his distant hometown, Luo Yan's eyes fell to the throne and he spoke in a majestic voice.
"Aracto."
"The little one is here!"
Hearing the voice of the Demon King, Arlacto, who was crawling under the steps, immediately cheered up, swung his eight legs, and walked to the steps of the throne.
"Master Demon King, what are your orders?"
A majestic voice floated slowly from the throne, and the candlelight on the wall flickered.
“I need you to supervise and assist the work of these ‘players’. If there is a cave that needs to be expanded, you will bring your brothers from the Shadow Weaver clan to help them dig. In addition, I also need you to ensure the safety of the planting area and call for reinforcements as soon as you find the situation.”
"Remember, the planting area of Beifeng City is an integral part of my plan, and I don't want to see any mistakes."
Hearing the Lord Demon King's instructions, Arlacto immediately straightened his huge body and said in a loud voice.
"Lord Demon King, please be at ease! I will definitely take good care of these players. As long as I am here, they will never get into trouble! If anyone wants to cause trouble, I will eat him!"
Luo Yan coughed lightly.
"That's not necessary... If you find an intruder, catch that person and wait until I come back to punish him."
"Follow your orders!"
Beside the steps, Sarah walked forward slowly, with a trace of reluctance in her eyes.
"Master Demon King, are you leaving again?"
His keen intuition told her that the Demon King, who had just returned home not long ago, was going on a long trip again.
And as expected, this time I have to stay and look after the house.
Looking at Sarah with droopy cat ears, Luo Yan nodded slightly.
"Yes, I want to go back to the Magic City."
Recently, the corruption plan of the Principality of Campbell has entered a critical stage, and the integration of the labyrinth is on track, including the stabilization of the Chaos Gate... These results need to be reported to the Demon King Management Department in the Demon City in exchange for support from the Demon City, even if it is spiritual support.
In addition, the territory of the Dragon family he took over has also been developing rapidly in these months. With the help of the Padrich family, the magic crystal cannon factory located near Blackwind Castle has been officially put into production, and the prosperity of Blackwind Castle has also attracted a large number of Goblin craftsmen and other technician races to settle here.
It is impossible for him to be a completely hands-off shopkeeper and leave everything to Miss Mia. As the local lord, he still had to visit the area and at least declare his existence to the people there.
Looking at Sarah with a disappointed expression on her face, Luo Yan's heart moved slightly, and after pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke.
"Sarah, after I leave, you will be responsible for assisting Arachto in maintaining order and supervising his work. The player's exploration speed is much faster than we expected, and Arachto's carelessness makes it difficult for me to rest assured. I will feel more at ease if you look after him."
Hearing the important task entrusted by the Demon King, Sarah's mood really became high, and she nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, Lord Demon King, I will make proper arrangements!"
Luo Yan nodded.
"I will come back as soon as possible. I'll leave it to you while I'm away."