The blossoming of the Tree of Creation attracted the surrounding beasts. Tonight, be prepared for defense.
Ye Bai received the same notification as Zeta.
And because she had leveled up twice, the Tree of Creation's flowers bloomed even more abundantly this time.
However, this time there was no warning about insufficient food reserves in the territory. Thanks to Ye Bai's "strategic farming," agricultural production was thriving. Even with the population now increased to 120, the food supply was more than enough to sustain everyone. Not to mention, Ye Bai had also imported 10 crates of long-lasting grains from Melo City.
Currently, the food reserves in the territory could support 120 people for six months. Soon, the newly built [Mill] and [Smokehouse] would process the raw food, further enhancing the villagers' satiety and satisfaction, creating a positive cycle.
As night fell, unlike the unprepared Zeta, Ye Bai was more than ready.
From the newly recruited villagers, Ye Bai had assigned 30 people to undergo basic training at the territory's training ground, transforming them into [Militia]. These 30 were divided into three teams, led by the six mercenaries now stationed in the territory—or rather, they should now be called the Lord's Guards. They were prepared to face the monster attacks tonight.
The [Lord's Guard] was a special honorary position in the territory, personally selected by the lord. They served as the lord's direct mobile unit, with the maximum number of guards determined by the territory's level. As a Level 1 lord, Ye Bai could have up to 10 guards.
The benefits of being a Lord's Guard included a 20% extra experience aura when fighting alongside the lord. As long as their satisfaction met the standard, their loyalty would grow 50% faster than other combat professions. However, their wages had to be paid out of the lord's own pocket, and sometimes individual guards had unique recruitment requirements.
After giving the guards their orders, Blaze and his five comrades were brimming with fighting spirit.
This was their first battle under Ye Bai's command, and they were eager to prove themselves.
Meanwhile, the newly recruited militia, who had just recently been trained, were now equipped with standard-issue crossbows, nervously preparing for the fight.
If no boss-level monsters appeared during this territory upgrade, Ye Bai planned to let the combat teams handle the situation with traps and coordination, without using any magic scrolls.
There was no faster way to train troops than through actual combat. It boosted both personal experience and skill proficiency. With the experienced guards and Ye Bai overseeing the battle, the new recruits didn't have to worry about casualties—they were essentially "experience fodder" in another sense.
After making all the arrangements, Ye Bai herself went to the newly built wooden fence.
The main focus of this territory upgrade for Ye Bai was the "artificial antelope trap" made from the wooden fence. Her goal was to capture the wild antelopes from the nearby grasslands and keep them in the territory. Everything else was secondary.
The Tree of Creation once again began to glow. Light flowed through its trunk, gathering on its branches, where fluorescent flowers bloomed. These flowers released spores that quickly spread throughout the territory.
The experienced villagers closed their doors and windows, while the combat teams took their positions, waiting for the beasts to arrive.
Soon, noises began to emerge from the north.
Ye Bai's territory explorer, Roman, had improved his skills and expanded his exploration range. Before the territory upgrade, Roman had spotted new wolf tracks further north.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
Just like last time, the wolves, their eyes glowing red, immediately stepped into the traps laid out on the ground.
'-120', '-150', '-130'...
These traps were simple ones, without any energy crystals embedded. Their standard damage ranged from 100 to 150, while the wolves' health was between 180 and 200. After stepping into the traps, the wolves howled in pain and chaos ensued.
A team of militia, led by two professional guards, rushed forward and finished off the injured wolves.
The first wave of seventeen or eighteen wolves was easily dealt with, and the experience gained boosted the Level 1 militia to Levels 3 and 4.
Ye Bai glanced over and knew this side was under control.
Not long after, heavy footsteps echoed from the east. Recognizing the familiar sound, Ye Bai knew it was the wild boars—her old friends. Last time, they had provided a large amount of meat, and this time, they would contribute even more, which could be turned into smoked meat for long-term storage.
At the village stage, the attacking beasts were usually from the nearby area. Without preparation, they were a threat, but with preparation, they were essentially free meat.
Soon, fifteen or sixteen wild boars appeared. They were greeted by traps and crossbow bolts from the nearby militia. The team that had just dealt with the wolves in the north also arrived, surrounding the boars.
Ye Bai observed and realized she didn't need to intervene.
Time passed, and from the south came the familiar heavy footsteps. Ye Bai looked over and saw...
A large, burly shadow appeared, its beady red eyes filled with ferocity.
Last time, it had come from the north. This time, it was a brown bear from the south.
Ye Bai cast an insight spell—a Level 19 elite monster. No big deal.
Blaze, the strongest among the guards, was stationed in this direction. As a Level 22 swordsman, he was thrilled at the sight of the bear and charged forward. "What a big guy!"
Another guard followed, shouting, "We'll have bear paws tomorrow!"
The militia behind them, initially nervous, were encouraged by their enthusiasm and joined in with their crossbows.
Against a large beast like a bear, even crossbows were safe to use. As long as they weren't aiming for their comrades, it was hard to hit the much smaller humans.
Seeing this, Ye Bai knew she didn't need to step in here either.
As the battle with the bear raged on, a rapid clatter of hooves from the northwest caught Ye Bai's attention. She immediately straightened up, her relaxed demeanor gone, and focused on the direction of the sound.
They were here—the antelope herd!
Before long, sharp, spiral-patterned horns appeared on the horizon, followed by the gray-black heads of the antelopes.
The wild antelopes galloped freely, their leader and a few core members with sleek, muscular bodies.
[Wild Antelope]
Level: 20
Health: 1500/1500
Attack Method: Charge
Weak Points: Horn, Throat, Eyes
The antelopes' usually oval-shaped eyes were now red, their upper eyelids forming a fierce horizontal line, making them look extremely aggressive.
And these aggressive creatures weren't alone—there was an entire herd of them.
As they charged forward, Ye Bai quickly counted: 28 antelopes in total.
By the time she finished counting, the herd was already upon her.
"Neigh..."
As the closest living being in the territory, the antelopes immediately locked their hatred onto Ye Bai.
With a snort, one of them lowered its horn and charged at her.
Ye Bai didn't dare to be careless. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, and used the momentum to slip through the "entrance" of the wooden fence.
Feeling the sharp horn brush past her, even Ye Bai, who was usually calm when facing bosses, felt a pang of fear.
The wildebeests were incredibly fast, attacking by charging at enemies with their horns. Each strike dealt over 300 damage, and their attacks were of the 'piercing' type, capable of breaking through armor, rendering most defenses useless.
What made things worse was that when you got hit by the first wildebeest's charge and were left in a stunned state, it often meant another wildebeest's attack was already on its way.
A barrage of over twenty '-300' damage hits in a row would make even a boss cry out in despair.
Seeing Ye Bai dodge the first strike, the wildebeest herd, now fully engaged in combat, wasn't about to let her go and immediately gave chase.
After rolling away, Ye Bai didn't even have time to look back. She scrambled to her feet and bolted for her life.
The wildebeests' movement speed was twice that of a player's base speed, and in their frenzied state, they were even faster. Even though Ye Bai had created some distance with her roll, the gap between her and the herd began to close rapidly once she started running.
10 meters, 8 meters, 6 meters…
If it weren't for the Featherlight Set that increased her movement speed by 40%, Ye Bai would have already been caught by the herd.
Just as the distance between Ye Bai and the lead wildebeest narrowed to less than 2 meters, she finally dashed through the wooden fence-lined 'corridor' and entered the double-layered square area.
1, 2, 3—Ye Bai counted the seconds in her head. At the wildebeests' speed, all 28 of them would enter the area in no more than 3 seconds.
"Close the gate!"
At Ye Bai's command, the militiamen outside the wooden fence cut the ropes holding the gate.
With a loud *thud*, the reinforced gate slammed down, separating the square area from the rectangular one, trapping all 28 wildebeests inside the double-layered wooden fence.
Of course, Ye Bai was also trapped inside.
However, at this point, Ye Bai wasn't the least bit worried.
With another roll, Ye Bai landed in the shadow cast by the wooden fence. Just as the wildebeests charged at her, she activated her skill, **[Shadow Steps]**.
*Thud!*
Three wildebeests in a row crashed into thin air, their horns embedding into the wooden fence. They shook their heads several times before managing to pull them free.
Meanwhile, Ye Bai had already appeared behind a haystack outside the fence—a pre-prepared 'artificial shadow.'
The unique shadow-traversing ability of Shadow Steps often allowed it to function as a teleportation skill that could bypass physical barriers.
With that done, Ye Bai climbed up a nearby watchtower and looked down at the wildebeest herd trapped inside the wooden fence.
"Neigh, neigh, neigh…"
Having lost their target, the wildebeests circled aimlessly within the fence. Drawn by the Tree of Creation, they repeatedly charged forward with their horns, but their efforts were futile against the thick double-layered fence.
Seeing this, Ye Bai smiled. Her man-made wildebeest trap had worked perfectly!
