197: Chapter 197 Responding to Mo Yu

Lin Tian stared at the "indentured servitude" style proposal Su Wan had sent, his fingers unconsciously tapping on his knee for a long while.

The night outside the window was as thick as ink, and the Lord's Mansion was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing.

"Working to pay off a debt... emptying out her family fortune..." he muttered under his breath, his mind clicking away like an abacus.

The last time he caught a hurried glimpse of the Moonlight Grove, his deepest impression was of its vigorous natural vitality and the meticulous care the elves took with their plants.

In contrast, his own Lin Tian City was currently full of strong soldiers and sturdy horses, with resources piled up like mountains.

But when it came to sophisticated agriculture—especially those magic plants or high-yield crops that required special environments to cultivate—it was truly a weak point.

He couldn't always have the Earth Spirit Guards plowing the fields and the Crimson Flame Mages ripening the crops, right? That image was too beautiful to even imagine.

If he had Su Wan and her subordinate elves, who were skilled at communicating with plants, to manage things... this task seemed doable.

As for that Death Knight Lord named Mo Yu, the so-called "Death Speaker"...

Lin Tian's eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a cold light.

Being so flamboyant in the channel and playing perverted tricks like "Death Notices," over the past few days, he had probably harvested quite a few other Lords.

He must have raked in a lot of points, and the resources in his hands were likely quite considerable.

"A fat sheep..."

The corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc.

Helping Su Wan was certainly a business transaction, but slaughtering this fat sheep in passing might yield points and spoils of war more valuable than Su Wan's entire Moonlight Grove combined.

Moreover, those high-quality unit Lords jumping around in the regional channel—the likes of Angels and Titans—were, in his eyes, sooner or later just "point packs" waiting to be harvested.

This Mo Yu would just be the appetizer.

Risk? Certainly, there was some.

An Advanced Legendary Death Knight wasn't made of clay. But the gains made his heart flutter even more.

"Let's do it!" Having made up his mind, Lin Tian no longer hesitated and quickly sent Su Wan a message of affirmation.

In the waiting, time seemed to stretch into spider silk, every second entwined with suffocating anxiety.

Su Wan gripped the corner of her clothes tightly, her eyes staring unblinkingly at the faint blue light screen as if she wanted to stare right through it.

Aelia and several other Elven Female Warriors also held their breath, the tree house so quiet they could hear each other's heartbeats.

"Beep beep."

The slight notification sound was like a clap of thunder at this moment.

Su Wan practically lunged at the panel, her gaze eagerly scanning the brief but incredibly heavy reply.

In an instant, the giant stone hanging over her heart fell with a thud, followed by a surge of post-disaster exhaustion and indescribable gratitude.

She had bet correctly! Lin Tian had agreed!

What she feared most was first, Lin Tian flatly refusing, which would mean there was absolutely no way out;

And second, the other party taking the opportunity to demand an exorbitant price, proposing conditions she simply couldn't bear.

After all, in the face of a Legendary Lord's death threat, the past trading sentiments were truly pitiably fragile.

Every man for himself when disaster strikes was the most common script on this Eternal Continent.

Fortunately, fortunately...

She took a deep breath, suppressed her churning emotions, and replied quickly, her words filled with solemnity and promise:

"Thank you, Big Brother Lin Tian! Rest assured, I, Su Wan, am as good as my word. I will not compromise on the conditions I promised you in the slightest!"

The two of them quickly discussed the details for tomorrow.

The attack time Mo Yu "predicted" was roughly between eight and nine in the evening. Lin Tian would lead his army to the Moonlight Grove in advance to set up defenses.

The specific tactics would be decided on the spot depending on the situation.

With the arrangements settled, Su Wan's heart finally returned to her chest for the time being. She began to organize defenses and take stock of the materials she could provide.

As for Lin Tian, he simply closed the communication panel.

"Whew..."

Lin Tian exhaled a long breath of turbid air and rubbed his somewhat aching temples.

Helping Su Wan deal with the Death Knight was tomorrow's main event.

But before that, there were still many names on his own long "hunting list" waiting for him to "visit."

"What a fulfilling day."

He muttered self-mockingly and lay down.

Thoughts were still swirling in his mind.

Tomorrow's hunting route, the unit configurations that might need adjusting to deal with the Death Knight, how Su Wan would work to pay off her debt...

A flurry of distractions, but intense fatigue eventually took the upper hand, dragging him into a deep sleep.

Time passed quietly, and the next morning arrived.

His biological clock woke Lin Tian up punctually.

Without lingering in bed at all, he got up briskly to wash, had a simple breakfast, and then stepped back into that alternate dimension shrouded by the Eternal Blood Moon through the teleportation array.

What hit him was still that familiar, foul air mixed with sulfur, blood, and decay.

However, the scene before him made his brow furrow slightly.

He stood on the high platform of the temporarily constructed forward command post and looked out.

After a day and night of non-stop sweeping, his army of nearly three million had already cleared the area within nearly a hundred miles of the camp.

As far as his vision could reach, no monsters could be seen for the moment.

Further away was a deep, viscous darkness that seemed capable of absorbing all light, along with distorted and strange silhouettes flickering within it.

The vastness of this alternate dimension far exceeded his initial estimates.

At the current advancement speed of the army, they still couldn't see the boundary, and they hadn't even touched the door to the central area.

But what concerned him more was another issue.

"Lin Feng!" He called over the commander who had been supervising the battle here and pointed to the explored area ahead.

"The Void Ranger reported before that the deeper we go, the density and strength of the monsters should significantly increase, right?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Lin Feng nodded, his armor still stained with wet blood.

"The initial reconnaissance reports indeed stated so; the core area is suspected to have high-concentration pollution sources and powerful individuals."

"Then what about now?"

Lin Tian looked at the front line where, although sporadic monsters still emerged from the darkness, their strength and density showed no significant change compared to yesterday or the day before. His voice carried a hint of doubt.

"We've Advanced this far, yet the resistance we've encountered... why does it feel about the same as when we first entered? In fact, some areas even seem weaker?"

This wasn't normal. According to common logic, the closer one got to the core of pollution, the more frenzied and powerful the monsters should be.

But the current situation was as if there were an invisible barrier protecting the true "core," only releasing these "trash mobs" of constant strength to wear down the invaders.

Lin Feng also realized the problem, his expression grave.

"It is indeed strange. The soldiers report that the types and strength of the monsters they encounter seem to have fallen into a cycle, not increasing despite our deep penetration."

"I have already dispatched more Void Ranger to infiltrate and scout deeper, darker areas, but the information sent back is still limited. That darkness... seems capable of interfering with perception."