214: Chapter 214 A Massive Army

He made a joke and then waved to Yang Xu, who had just been notified and arrived.

"Yang Xu, come over. This is Lord Su Wan of Moonlight Grove. For the next period of time, she and her elves will assist us in some... well, improvement work regarding our planting."

"You are responsible for the arrangements—daily life, work areas, everything must be handled properly."

"Yes, My Lord! Lord Su Wan, I am Yang Xu, in charge of the territory's livelihood and the settlement of refugees. Please guide me."

Yang Xu stepped forward quickly and bowed to Lord Su Wan with his hands cupped, his attitude respectful yet efficient.

Lin Tian gave a few simple instructions and then stated his core requirements to Lord Su Wan:

"Su Wan, I know you and your elves are skilled at communicating with plants, and you're even better at cultivation and improvement. Outside my city, hundreds of thousands of refugees are farming some... 'special' crops. Their yield and growth speed already far exceed the norm."

"I hope you can use the elves' natural power to see if you can further increase their yield, shorten their growth cycle, or... try to cultivate even better variants. Can you do it?"

Hearing that the work involved her area of expertise and sounded highly challenging and valuable,

Lord Su Wan's eyes immediately lit up. Much of her previous constraint dissipated, and her tone returned to its usual calm and confidence:

"Big Brother Lin Tian, don't worry, leave it to me! When it comes to these kinds of miraculous crops containing special energy, I have quite a bit of experience in guiding beneficial mutations and optimizing traits."

"My Moonlight Grove has successfully cultivated several improved varieties of moonlight-attribute crops. However, this will require some time for observation, experimentation, and the gentle guidance of natural power."

"Very well, that's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Lin Tian nodded with satisfaction.

"I have time, and I have plenty of resources. I look forward to your results. Yang Xu, take Lord Su Wan and her people to the 'Crop Cultivation Zone' outside the east city, settle them properly, and fully cooperate with their work."

"Yes!"

Watching Yang Xu lead Lord Su Wan and the thousand elves away, Lin Tian finally turned and rode his horse toward the innermost core area of the city: the militia recruitment altar.

The troop explosion plan had to continue.

However, just as he was about to begin the large-scale recruitment, a detail that had been overshadowed by his previous ecstasy and busyness suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Right, my talent..."

He sank his consciousness into his body, carefully sensing that power originating from his Soul Origin.

Ever since he successfully fused Lin Yin, Lin Feng, and Commander Lin Yu—the three Mythical-quality generals—last night, he had been caught up in excitement and follow-up matters, not having the time to feel it carefully.

Now that he had calmed his mind, he clearly felt that his talent, "Fusion Evolution," had undergone a qualitative change!

What was originally a vague "Intermediate" feeling had now leaped to "Advanced"!

The most direct sensation was that when activating the talent, the guidance of Mental Energy was easier, more precise, and as natural as moving his own limbs. It was as if he had previously been stirring mud with a wooden stick, but now he had switched to a precision mechanical arm.

At the same time, the range of effect and the upper limit of Fusion targets he could process simultaneously seemed to have expanded significantly!

"Although the description doesn't show earth-shattering changes, for my army of millions, this 'ease' and 'expanded range' will save a massive amount of energy and time!" Lin Tian felt invigorated.

He didn't want to experience that terrifying ordeal again—the one where he fused millions of recruits at once and nearly drained himself into a coma. That feeling was too miserable.

Standing before the towering militia recruitment altar, Lin Tian composed himself, his gaze becoming sharp.

"This time, the goal is five million!"

He steeled his heart.

Since the city walls were large enough, the territory was stable enough, and logistics were expected to improve further with Lord Su Wan's help, then the number of soldiers had to keep up!

He wanted to push the scale of the territory's standing army directly to the ten-million level!

In these chaotic times, sometimes quantity itself was the most despair-inducing quality!

"Recruit! Three million female soldiers, two million male soldiers! Carry it out in batches of ten thousand!"

The altar's light flickered like breathing once more, as massive amounts of spirit crystals transformed into the most basic torrent of life.

Squad after squad, wave after wave of recruits dressed in coarse cloth walked out from the light, their eyes vacant but carrying an instinctive longing for a new life.

Every time ten thousand were recruited, soldiers waiting nearby would quickly step forward to guide them to the super training grounds in the outer city, which had already been planned and were large enough to accommodate an army of millions.

Recruit, guide, recruit again, guide again...

This process was tedious and grand, like a massive assembly line.

Lin Tian stood by the altar, witnessing the birth of this new force.

Even with such an efficient rhythm, by the time the last batch of recruits stepped out of the light and the altar completely settled, time had quietly slipped past noon and into the afternoon.

A full five million recruits, like five million seeds just sown, densely covered the vast training grounds of the outer city.

The sound of human voices vaguely converged into a low ocean, carrying the restlessness and unease of new life.

Lin Tian flipped onto his mount, riding Chiyan into the sky and flying over the training grounds.

He used energy to transmit his voice clearly into the ears of every recruit below, giving a brief but powerful speech, emphasizing nothing more than discipline, loyalty, and future glory.

With the speech finished, the real highlight began.

The soldiers who had been prepared long ago transported the mountain-like piles of various Fusion Materials to designated areas of the training grounds like ants moving a house.

Lin Tian took a deep breath, suspended in the air, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.

"Talent: Fusion Evolution!"

"First batch, one million Heavy Armored Spearmen, advanced excellence!"

"Second batch, one million Moon Shadow Archers, advanced excellence!"

"Third batch, one million Mystic Rock Spirit Guards, advanced excellence!"

...

With every use of his talent power, his majestic Mental Energy acted like an invisible giant hand, guiding the corresponding attribute Materials and the torrent of five-element spirit crystals to precisely "irrigate" the massive phalanxes below.

On the training grounds, five-colored lights shot into the sky in turns. The booming sounds, the surging energy, the clanging of forming armor, and the humming of power infusion...

They intertwined into a grand symphony of evolution!

Thanks to his talent ascending to Advanced, Lin Tian guided five million-level phalanxes through evolution in turns. Although he still felt his Mental Energy being drained like water from an open sluice gate and his face turned slightly pale, it was far from the near-collapse exhaustion of the last time.

The entire process was smoother, and the control more refined.

When the clock's hand passed three in the afternoon, the final crimson light of evolution slowly retracted, sinking into the body of the last newly promoted Blazing Fire Mage.

The deafening noise on the training grounds came to an abrupt halt.

The dust gradually dispersed.

Revealed before everyone were five million new soldiers with exquisite armor, sharp weapons, calm gazes, and the elite aura that excellence-rank troops should possess!

They were lined up in neat formations, silent and lethal. The massive military might they had just birthed combined to make the very air of this world stagnate.

Lin Tian slowly landed on the high platform, softly exhaling a breath of turbid air that was weary yet satisfied.

Though his face was somewhat pale, his eyes were bright.

Five million excellence-rank new soldiers—it was done.