90: Chapter 90: Another Troop Potential Enhancement Card

The treasure chest vanished, leaving only a single item in its place. It floated quietly in mid-air, emitting a golden luster that shared the same origin as the previous light but was more restrained and profound.

"Only... one thing?" The look of expectation on Lin Tian's face froze slightly, and his brow furrowed subconsciously. The hope of "absorbing some luck" in his heart was like a punctured balloon, quickly deflating.

"A Gold Treasure Chest... In other people's Gold Treasure Chests, they get two or three treasures at every turn—blueprints, materials, and special scrolls all bundled together... Why is it that when it comes to me, it shrinks down to a single seedling?"

A familiar, faint sadness known as being "unlucky" welled up in his heart.

He sighed somewhat helplessly but still reached out to take the lone item. The object felt heavy in his hand, with an excellent texture; it was warm and carried strange energy fluctuations. It was a palm-sized card, dark gold throughout, with complex and magnificent patterns on the edges. In the center of the card was an abstract golden upward arrow symbol, emitting a heart-palpitating aura of potential.

"Another card?" Lin Tian muttered to himself. With a bit of trepidation and a final sliver of hope, he clicked on the item information.

[Item: Troop Potential Upgrade Card (Rare)]

Quality: Gold

Effect: After use, it can directly increase the potential limit of a Rare quality troop by one major stage (e.g., from Rare High-Grade to Excellent High-Grade).

Restriction: Only for use by Rare quality troops.

"Potential Upgrade Card? Increases by a whole quality grade? Rare to Excellent?"

However, when he saw the striking restriction line at the end—'Only effective for Rare quality units'—the excitement on his face instantly solidified, then turned into a helpless look of being unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't help but raise a hand to support his forehead.

"Another restriction. It's the same type as the one I got last time... and it can only be used by Rare quality..." he muttered in a low voice, his tone full of complex emotions.

This feeling was like obtaining a magical key that could open a treasure chamber, only to find that his own home only had a reinforced concrete vault with no matching keyhole! He possessed a mountain of treasure but could not find the door to enter.

He carefully tucked this heavy, golden [Troop Potential Upgrade Card (Gold)], which could only serve as a decoration for now, into the deepest part of his storage space, placing it together with precious materials like space crystals and gold crystals.

"I'll just leave it there for now. One can never have too many good things. At worst, if I trade it with other Lords, I could probably get a price that would make people green with envy. Overall, it's a win."

Looking up, he found Lin Yin watching him quietly. Her clear eyes seemed to hold a trace of inquiry, as if she were concerned about why he was sighing with his hand on his forehead.

"It's nothing." Lin Tian smiled at her and pointed toward his storage space. "I got a good card, but I can't use it for the time being!"

Lin Yin didn't fully understand, but she could feel the sense of relief and a hint of self-deprecation in Lin Tian's tone, so she nodded slightly and didn't ask further. As long as he was no longer troubled by the matters of the secret realm, she didn't care about anything else.

Unknowingly, the sun had already slanted westward, dyeing the clouds on the horizon a brilliant orange-red. The shadow of the Lords Mansion was stretched very long, and time quietly slipped toward 5:30 PM. The warmth remaining from the day in the air gradually faded, replaced by the cool evening breeze.

Lin Tian came to the steps in front of the Lords Mansion, stretching his shoulders which had become somewhat stiff from long hours of sitting and pondering. His gaze wandered casually over the territory, which appeared exceptionally open as it was undergoing expansion.

In the distance, near the direction of the Lingtian City gate, came a sound of footsteps—heavy yet carrying a hint of lightheartedness—and faint clamor, drawing closer from afar.

Looking into the distance, he saw a large-scale troop winding its way along the newly widened road outside the West Gate.

It was precisely the main force led by Lin Yan and Commander Lin Yu today, which had gone out to clear the surrounding monsters and train the new recruits.

Compared to when they departed, the new recruits had gained valuable experience in actual combat, and their auras had become much more solid.

Most of the soldiers were more or less carrying or shouldering the harvest from today's hunt.

"You're back? Looks like a good harvest!" Lin Tian's eyes lit up, a smile appearing on his face. The slight fatigue in his heart was dispelled by this scene full of vitality. He walked quickly down the steps to meet them.

"Lord!" Seeing Lin Tian, Lin Yan and Commander Lin Yu, who were at the front of the troop, immediately stepped forward to salute.

Lin Yan remained as steady as a mountain, though his armor bore a few more fresh battle marks. Commander Lin Yu had a gentle smile on her face, and a soft holy light surrounded her; clearly, today's healing work had also gone quite smoothly.

"Hard work, both of you." Lin Tian patted Lin Yan's heavy shoulder guards and nodded to Commander Lin Yu. "It seems today wasn't a wasted trip; the brothers all have harvests. Good, very good!"

Turning around, he spoke loudly to the soldiers who had already begun to assemble and unload their harvests: "All of you, listen to my command! All meat and hides hunted today are to be categorized and sent to the warehouse! Move quickly. Once finished, everyone rest and eat!"

"Thank you, Lord!" The soldiers gave a cheerful response, their fatigue seemingly swept away as they began moving and categorizing with nimble movements.

The entire camp suddenly became even more lively, filled with the joy of harvest and the expectation of dinner.

Watching the soldiers busy themselves in an orderly fashion, with the air filled with the bloody scent of fresh meat and the faint fragrance of vegetation, Lin Tian felt a sense of accomplishment in "building a home and feeding everyone."

At dinner time, the large new canteen was bustling with people, and the aroma of meat was everywhere.

Lin Tian also had a simple meal, but his mind was already elsewhere.

While chewing on pork roasted to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, he was rapidly calculating in his mind.

The gains from the secret realm challenge were bountiful, and the city wall expansion and livelihood upgrades had also been completed.

But hoarding resources could not directly translate into combat power, especially those precious special materials like gold crystals and wood crystal stones.

Leaving them unused made them dead objects. He had to quickly transform them into tangible strength upgrades for the territory!

The unknown roars in the dark night, the Minotaur tribes eyeing them from the north, and even the inevitably more severe challenges of the future were all reminding him that time waited for no one.

"gold crystals contain pure gold element power—sharp, sturdy, and carrying an aura of warding off evil and masculine energy... This seems to have quite a bit in common with the 'heavy armor' and 'spear' characteristics of the Heavy Armored Spearmen." Lin Tian rubbed his chin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "If I can try Fusion, maybe I can further enhance the Spearmen's defense and attack power, and perhaps even trigger some special gold-attribute abilities?"

"wood crystal stones are full of vitality and contain wood element power. This is simply from the same source as the moon birch spirit wood fused with the Moon Shadow Archers! Using them to strengthen the Archers might improve their agility, perception, arrow penetration, or add natural effects?"

This idea was like a spark; once ignited, it quickly became a prairie fire. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed!

His Fusion Evolution talent could inherently fuse all things to promote their evolution.

Now that his talent had advanced to the intermediate level, his touch on the essence of energy was deeper. Trying to use these elemental crystals for Fusion was completely feasible!