Mist Lord

Chapter 72 Earthbinding Vine Saplings Return to Territory

That evening, Pei Ye indeed held a grand celebration banquet at the city lord's mansion.

This is both a celebration of this hard-won victory and a thank you to all the lords who came to our aid. Tomorrow, everyone will return to their respective territories and go their separate ways.

Compared to the restraint of the first day, today's banquet was exceptionally lively.

Everyone was all smiles, eating, drinking, and playing to their hearts' content, clinking glasses and making it finally resemble a faction-based team-building event.

"Little brother Xia Yuan, you've done a truly remarkable job this time, why are you being so low-key?"

Wen Yutong walked up to Xia Yuan with a glass of wine in her hand, her face flushed, indicating that she had drunk quite a bit. Behind her were Guan Cang and Lu Zhanting, her protectors.

Compared to Xia Yuan, the three of them were truly here to broaden their horizons this time, remaining completely hidden throughout.

"It was just good luck. The main reason was that the vice leader had a deep foundation and planned things well. I just happened to get a little bit of benefit from it."

Whether Wen Yutong's words were intentional or unintentional, Xia Yuan was not going to fall for them.

After this battle, the matter of the Root Mage can no longer be kept secret. And with the end of the trial, it will soon spread throughout the entire alliance, and even reach the opposing camp.

Especially in times like these, Xia Yuan needs to keep a low profile to avoid being targeted by those with ulterior motives.

"You're being modest, aren't you? Everyone has seen your contribution this time, and you've really made us little lords proud. Come, let's toast to you!"

Guan Cang also stepped forward with a smile to join in the fun.

Even Lu Zhanting reluctantly drank a cup with Xia Yuan, since he didn't have a fourth-tier expert.

Before this battle, the three of them could still flaunt their seniority and show off their superiority in front of Xia Yuan. After this battle, they would have to truly learn to treat Xia Yuan as an equal and get used to seeing him as one.

Didn't you notice that Wen Yutong's gaze towards Xia Yuan was off?

However, the competition between them is far from over.

The quarterly trials for level 3/4 lords will begin next month, and Xia Yuan, as a level 3 lord, will also participate. It's time for Lu Zhanting to prove himself.

He earned his title as the Rookie of the Year through sheer talent.

The celebration banquet ended, and night had fallen.

Xia Yuan thought his trip to Suiye City was coming to an end, but unexpectedly, he was summoned by Pei Ye for a private meeting.

-

"This time, I really owe you a lot."

Even though Pei Ye remained calm throughout the war, she was still shaken by the experience.

She had indeed prepared her trump cards of Earthbind Vine and Root Mage in advance, but she didn't expect the orcs to be so crazy this time, and she almost capsized in the gutter.

Fortunately, Serandis persevered to the very end, squeezing out every last drop of magic.

"Of course, and besides, I have already received the reward I deserve."

Despite the objections, Xia Yuan was grateful to Pei Ye for assigning him a wyvern corpse ahead of time. With the bone dragon mount, Black Armor's combat power would increase significantly.

That's far from enough.

Pei Ye smiled and shook his head, then took out a section of tender red vine with roots and stems from his storage space.

"This is a seedling that split off on its own. Although it is difficult to cultivate, you have the Root Mage, so it shouldn't be too difficult. In time, your territory will also have a mature Earthbind Vine."

He then handed the young plant of the ground-binding vine to Xia Yuan.

"Vice Alliance Leader, this is far too valuable—"

Even Xia Yuan, with his deep cunning, was somewhat surprised by such a gift.

Mutant plants generally have difficulty reproducing. Even relatively common mutant plants like ground thorn grass and bramble vines take two to three years to flower and produce seeds.

For legendary plants like the Earth Vine, it is even more difficult to split off seedlings that can grow independently.

It may take five or six years before a single plant can split off.

This time, the Earth Bind Vine splits apart probably because it's eaten way too much. How much blood and food has it absorbed? If it didn't take this opportunity to split into new plants, it would probably burst from the gluten.

He certainly made a great contribution in this battle, but it was not enough to earn him such a reward.

It's clearly exceeding the standard.

Xia Yuan had some doubts before, thinking that given Pei Ye's previous display of boldness, he would most likely try to get more for him when it came to the distribution of spoils, even if it meant deducting from his own share. However, the result was just average.

So that's what they were waiting for; they just unleashed a powerful attack right away.

"Please accept it. This is also the intention of the Earthbinding Vine, as a return gift to the Root Mage Serandis."

Pei Ye was well aware of the gift's value; her original plan was to leave the seedling to Pei Shuang. Even if it was difficult to cultivate, it would still give Pei Shuang an extra trump card.

Xia Yuan's performance was simply too stunning. Only by making a heavy bet could they keep Xia Yuan tied to the Shattered Leaf faction and form a more solid community of interests.

Investing in a high-potential stock like Xia Yuan should never be approached with just short-term gains. Moreover, even considering only short-term returns, Suiye City has already broken even this time.

Absolutely excellent value for money.

"Then I shall accept it without hesitation."

Having said all that, Xia Yuan could only accept the offer, but he didn't make any further verbal promises. For example, not that he would bring Serandis to the Suiye City trial next year, or that he would fully support Pei Shuang.

This is exactly what the question should mean.

Both are intelligent people; many things don't need to be said so bluntly, everything is understood without words.

Xia Yuan genuinely acknowledged Pei Ye as the true sect leader.

They really do give you benefits when there are them.

Early the next morning.

The lords, carrying their spoils of war, transited through Yunyang City before returning to their respective territories.

They didn't hold any more gatherings in Yunyang City.

I've been away from the territory for half a month, and there's a ton of stuff to take care of back home.

Small, private gatherings, dealing with spoils, or even just showing off can wait a day or two; there's no rush.

This will also prevent people from saying that I lack willpower.

Even so, the bone dragon ridden by the black-armored rider and the bipedal flying dragons carried by Chu Qianxun and the others still attracted a lot of attention, leaving behind a trail of amazement and curiosity.

"The Scattered Leaves department has truly triumphed this time!"

"That's a wyvern, isn't it? The fact that they managed to capture one shows how difficult this battle was."

"A two-star model soldier, you can't argue with that."

After this battle, the lords of the Sapphire faction can now hold their heads high in the alliance; this is more effective than any propaganda.

A flash of white light.

-

Xia Yuan returned to Mingguang Town with Satir, Black Armor, Serandis, Hanbao, and 35 Bone-Winged Bats. He immediately summoned the Healing Scroll and cast a group healing spell on the Bone-Winged Bats.

He did not reveal this trump card when he was in Suyab.

Besides the habit of holding back, the more important reason is that the number of people that the Healing Scroll can heal is also limited. Previous tests showed that it can only heal about a hundred people at most.

The Battle of Suyab resulted in heavy casualties. If we were to pull out the healing scroll, who would we save and who would we leave?

Rather than offending people, it's better to do nothing.

Anyway, Suyab has doctors, priests, and first-aid tents, so it doesn't need his shivering.

"Gurgle~~~"

The bone-winged bats, which had initially only received emergency bandaging and were listless, instantly became energetic again under the group healing aura.

Loyalty levels are also rising rapidly.

Furthermore, upon sensing the presence of their own kind, they seemed to instantly fall in love with the land beneath their feet. The lead winged bat even affectionately rubbed its head against Xia Yuan's trouser leg, as if to show its submission.

"Owner!"

"master!"

"My sword and shield!"

Celia, Elua, Blade & Shield No. 2, Wang Er, Lu Chenggeng, and others, along with the skeleton knights responsible for guarding the base, had all timed their arrival perfectly and were already waiting in the square.

Upon seeing that they had returned safely, they immediately stepped forward to pay their respects, each one looking excited.

"I'm back!"

Xia Yuan took a deep breath; the air in his own territory was still the sweetest, and he felt completely revitalized.

This is his home!!!

More than half a month after leaving home, the development of Mingguang Town has not stopped, but is still moving forward.

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