Chapter 228 The Devil and His Gardeners

While the players of the Invincible Group were busy expanding their business, the devil's minions were also not idle.

The cemetery is currently in full swing.

Stimulated by the huge rewards, players in the entire cemetery were excited and plunged into the activity of transplanting rare magical plants to the underground planting area.

They either carried heavy magic seedlings on their backs, or wielded tools to level the land eaten by crypt spiders, and planted the magic plants that they had obtained with great effort little by little into the new underground planting areas, opening up new territory for the Demon King's back garden.

Affected by this, Brother Yikou’s orders for the fertilizer factory were almost scheduled for more than a month later, and the rails and water pipes in Beifeng City were sold out!

Including metal materials used to make magic conductors, magic crystal lamps, farming tools, etc. are also in short supply! However, just when all the players were working hard, a planting area fell into a strange silence.

“…MMP! It’s dry again!”

A skeleton wrapped in rags looked solemnly at the collapsed plant in front of it. The originally vibrant illusion magic vine had completely turned into a dead vine and old tree, as dry as dehydrated beef jerky.

His name is [Beyond the Desert], and he is a professional life player who obtained the closed beta qualification and joined the game in the late A07 version.

After practicing one version, he thought he was familiar enough with the game mechanics, but now it seems that his knowledge is still shallow.

Cultivating magical plants is a profound science, which is much more difficult than ordinary farming.

"How many times has this happened?" [Milk needs sugar] glared at the remains of the vine with gritted teeth, clenching his bony fingers tightly, "We followed the tutorial on the forum, the soil quality, magic concentration, humidity, and even the posture are exactly the same, why can't we grow it?!"

"That's outrageous! Even if it's an ordinary demonic plant, it shouldn't be so delicate, right?"

Complaining and agreeing, [Bone] held his broken staff, two points of nether fire in his eye sockets throbbing violently, and continued in an uneasy tone, "How much money have we spent on this thing? It will be sad if we don't get anything out of it in the end..."

The Phantom Magic Vine is a specialty of the southern part of the Whirlpool Sea. It is not cheap to buy its seedlings from the Hell Dwarf.

The air fell silent, and an atmosphere of frustration gradually spread around the players.

They put a lot of effort into cultivating these phantom magic vines, but they seemed to be unreasonable and would die in front of them if they disagreed with them without any negotiation.

This game has no progress bar, let alone system reminders, so they don’t even know where they went wrong.

"...How about we change our thinking?" The [Midnight Bell], which had been silent for a long time, suddenly said.

"Do you have any ideas?" [Add sugar to milk] immediately turned to look at him.

Midnight Bell nodded slowly, his tone full of deep thought: "We have been trying to use the traditional magic planting method, but it doesn't work at all. Using natural magic to ripen it is even more outrageous. This thing will just die of old age in front of us."

He paused for a moment and changed the subject.

"Well, since magical plants are also a form of 'life'... why don't we try necromancy on its corpse? We've already tortured this thing to death anyway, so it won't be a big deal if we fail."

The air around was quiet for a while, and suddenly became agitated.

[Bone Card] looked at him with sharp eyes and said excitedly: "Wait a minute, you mean - we use the necromancy to summon the 'ghost' of this plant?"

"Magical plants are also living things," Midnight Bell nodded and said faintly, "In theory, they should also have souls... Well, I guess."

The skeletons stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, their eyes gradually brightened, and they suddenly felt that this idea seemed to make some sense.

"Let's give it one more try!"

In a chaotic arrangement, they quickly built a crude necromancy array - the skeletons arranged in a circle with broken finger bones, and the remains of a newly dead phantom magic vine were piled in the center.

"What's the spell?"

"Just summon the dead!"

"Do you remember the spell?"

"I'll do it!"

Pushing these stupid guys away, [Bone] raised his staff, and the netherworld fire burned in the air.

"Soul sleeping in the abyss, please obey my command——"

He waved the staff in his hand and shouted loudly.

"Resurrection! My plants!"

The sound of the spell echoed in the dark cave, the air became damp and cold, and the nearby dead vines seemed to be startled by the breath and swayed slightly.

But the spell lasted for a full five minutes, and the phantom magic vine in the center of the formation still didn't move at all.

[Add sugar to milk] Frowning: "...No reaction?"

"Do you want to increase the power?" [Beyond the Desert] suggested tentatively.

"I still don't believe it!"

[Bone Card] gritted his teeth and cast the spell again. At the same time, he reached his right hand into his arms, made up his mind, and pulled out a precious steel-grade undead magic scroll!

This was the money he earned from a drunk hell dwarf in the tavern in Beifeng City. The hell dwarf insisted on dragging him to drink and wanted to compete with him to see who could drink more. As a result, he peed all over the floor in shame, and the guy simply fainted.

Although this scroll is worth a lot of money, the reward of five million is more tempting.

For Long Ge's undead warhorse——

He risked his life! As the magic input power increased, the energy of the entire magic circle fluctuated violently in an instant, and the dead illusion magic vine also trembled slightly, which seemed to have an effect.

[The Other Side of the Desert] held his breath and said excitedly.

"It seems... to be effective?"

The next second——

“Sizzle——!!!”

The devil vine suddenly sprang up, twisting wildly in the cave, its tiny tendrils flailing like whips! Gray mist gushed out of its trunk, and then the dead vine turned into a bunch of wriggling tentacles, whipping and tumbling wildly on the ground! The dust in the cave was agitated! In just a few breaths, the red tentacles entangled like earthworms had increased dozens of times in size, filling up half of the cave! [Midnight Bell] was suddenly startled and exclaimed: "Wait, wait a minute, isn't this thing growing a little too fast?"

Just as he finished speaking, a dark red vine suddenly whipped out and hit him in the chest.

Caught off guard, the shattered skull flew out like a ball, hitting the wall of the cave directly and shattered into a pile of bone fragments.

Milk needs sugar: "Damn! Sneak attack!?"

"Prepare for battle!" [Beyond the Desert] acted decisively, roared, drew out his battle axe and rushed forward.

Seeing that this guy was about to chop off his "own son", [Bone] screamed to stop him, rushed over and grabbed his ankle, and the two skeletons fell to the ground together.

"Wait! Don't attack it! I sacrificed a magic scroll to summon it!"

[Beyond the Desert] said angrily: "Fuck! What time is it——"

It turned out to be too late to take action.

A few Black Iron-level skeleton soldiers are no match for this monster at all.

The vine monster expanded rapidly like an awakened beast, and several octopus-tentacle-like tentacles twitched wildly in the cave. Each swing was accompanied by a violent impact, which threw several skeletons directly into the air, smashing them against the rock wall and shattering them into pieces.

The violent tentacles swept through the narrow passage, shattering the load-bearing beams and stirring up dust and rubble on the ground. No grass grew wherever they passed, leaving only a mess.

In a moment, the entire cave was filled with wailing, and it had turned into a forbidden area where tentacles were rampant...

…

At the same time, Helen, who was strolling nearby, heard the noise and rushed over, staring at the chaotic scene in amazement.

"How...how did you get this?"

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, she did not dare to hesitate and immediately called for reinforcements.

As luck would have it, her father Tyrael was in the nearby city of Northpeak purchasing goods needed by the Grey Wind Tribe.

Upon hearing that something had happened in the Demon King's back garden, he rushed over without saying a word.

Walking to Helen's side, Tyrael, holding a long dead wood staff, frowned and observed the runaway "magic vine".

After a moment, he whispered in a deep voice: "...No, this is not the Illusion Demon Vine."

Helen blinked in confusion.

"What is that?"

Tyrael reached out and plucked a leaf from the vine, blowing gently on it.

As a breeze blew by, the leaves with flesh-red spots quickly twisted, stretching out flesh-red silk threads, as if trying to wrap his hand.

A flame shot out from Tyrael's fingertips and instantly burned the leaf to ashes.

Looking at the wreckage scattered by the wind, his expression became complicated.

"…It should be some kind of symbiotic fungus. I once smelled a similar smell on a dead Phantom Demon Vine, but it wasn't this strong."

Ever since the Demon Lord brought knowledge from the Demon City and his homemade microscope, the night elves of the Grey Wind Tribe have kept up with the times and understood the concept of microorganisms, but they are not quite sure how to use magic to interfere with the life processes of those little creatures.

Now it seems that that kind of corrupt life is not within the jurisdiction of natural magic, but the scope of necromancy magic.

As for why, he didn't know.

It is clear that some mushrooms can grow faster through nature magic, but some cannot.

Helen was stunned: "You mean, what we saw... was a resurrected fungus?"

Tyrael nodded. "The Illusion Vine has long been dead. These skeletons were resurrected by the symbiotic fungi that parasitize the vines. They are like zombies. Not only did they resurrect, they also assimilated other living fungi into undead bodies, and then they became what they are now."

After a pause, he said with a wry smile.

"This is just my speculation. As for how they did it specifically... I don't know either."

Sometimes he admired the minions of the Demon Lord.

These guys weren't very good at magic, and their knowledge was even shallower, but they could always come up with some operations that even left him dumbfounded.

Just like now.

Even Huifeng couldn't figure out what this flesh-red thing was, so he could only suggest that he get rid of it as soon as possible.

Helen was completely shocked to find that even her father didn't understand.

She had seen many magical plants and monsters... but this was the first time she had seen a dead individual evolve into a completely new monster due to the effects of necromancy.

However, could this be considered a new monster? She was also confused.

Since she met these "players", she feels like she is witnessing new things every day.

Perhaps the Demon King could give her a clear answer.

Next to her father, that gentleman was the wisest man she had ever known.

On the other side, [Bone] has been resurrected and is rushing towards the cave entrance.

Looking at the tentacle monster running wildly in the cave from afar, the dark green soul fire in his skull trembled and he clenched his fists excitedly.

He heard the conversation between the NPCs and looked excitedly at his companions standing next to him.

"...Wait, so we created a new kind of monster?"

Five million! Is this going to be in my hands?! [Milk needs sugar] After a moment of silence, he spoke with difficulty.

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"I'm afraid it's not that simple..."

That's true.

The resurrected monster was still expanding, showing a tendency to spread to other caves, and showing hatred for all living things and a desire to eat.

Fortunately, there are enough caves here so that the impact will not affect the distant planting areas, otherwise their contributions would be deducted.

“…Is this thing worth cultivating?”

Helen looked at Tyrael with a slightly expectant look in her eyes.

It would be a good idea to use this thing to torture the invaders. It would definitely scare the adventurers out of their wits! She had just seen its power. The Black Iron-level Skeleton Soldiers were crushed into pieces like ants in front of it! Tyrael fell silent, weighing the risks and benefits for a long time, and finally shook his head and slowly raised the deadwood staff in his hand.

"I have no idea……"

"But right now, we'd better figure out a way to fix it."

…

In the audience hall of the necropolis, dim flames flickered, illuminating the towering rock throne.

Luo Yan sat in it, staring at the crystal ball quietly. His sharp eyes pierced through the milky white mist and looked down at the situation in the underground planting area.

In the underground cave, Tyrael held up a dead wood staff. Rich green magic power condensed at the tip of the staff, which chopped down like thunder and accurately hit the tentacle monster that was lying across the tunnel.

"laugh--!"

With a shrill scream, the tentacle monster twitched violently, and its vine-like limbs tried to struggle.

Tyrael's expression was grim, and he didn't give it a chance to breathe. The long staff in his hand was like a torch burning with green light. He walked forward steadily, chanting a spell softly.

The huge shadow blade was like a flying wheel, piercing through the monster's body continuously in a few breaths.

The dark green corrupt juice splashed on the rock wall and evaporated quickly, like water drops on a hot pot!

In just a few breaths, the deformed creature completely disintegrated and turned into scattered ashes.

The battle ended quickly, and everything happened just as Luo Yan had expected, without any suspense.

Facing a gold-level magician, this newly born tentacle monster was still too young.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the armrests of the throne, and a thoughtful smile appeared on Luo Yan's lips.

"I didn't expect that necromancy could be used this way...interesting."

Let the dead fungi devour the living symbiotic fungi, thereby invading the bodies of dead monsters or magic plants, forming a zombie creature similar to the stitched monster...

This unexpected result provided him with a fresh idea.

If used on the battlefield, it might produce miraculous effects.

Luo Yan was not very worried about the accidents that happened in the planting area.

Ever since he came back from the inspection that day, he asked Youyou to expand his territory to that area.

As Luo Yan waved his hand, the picture in the crystal ball quickly changed, and a completely different scene came into his eyes.

In an unusually wide cave, skeleton players were busy transplanting various precious magical plants, crypt spiders were shuttling around, using spider silk to stabilize the cave structure, and they were working with the mole people of Ironfang City to fix wooden supports under the rock.

There was a faint magical fluctuation in the air, and everything was progressing in an orderly manner.

Several skeleton players gathered in front of a transparent thorn and had a heated discussion.

"This plant can store magic power. Perhaps it can form a symbiotic system with other magic plants?"

A player flipped through a magic book he had found from somewhere and thought to himself, "It's theoretically feasible, but it requires a stable circulation of magic power, otherwise the magic plant will go out of control..."

Luo Yan's index finger moved slightly, and the screen flickered again. This time, a group of little demons were seen running noisily in the cave. They moved quickly and had the same goal, chasing after a running white radish.

That is not an ordinary carrot, but a magical mandrake that contains powerful magic power and is used to make curse-breaking potions.

Generally speaking, it wouldn't be so crazy, but I think those players did something outrageous and made it anxious.

The Mandrake struggled to swing its short legs, trying to escape the pursuit. Its round leaves trembled and emitted a series of rapid screams. The protests of the short legs and the laughter of the demons echoed in the cave. The scene was funny and chaotic.

"Catch it quickly! Don't let it run to the poisonous mushroom area!" One of the little demons shouted loudly, and jumped up to try to knock down the mandrake, but was nimbly avoided and fell hard.

Another demon was quick-witted and wielded a fishing net, catching the mandrake before it rushed into the dark cave.

"Haha! Mine!!" The little devils excitedly surrounded and caught the frightened little guy.

"Don't let it scream too loudly, be careful of the impact of its magic sound!" The old player nearby quickly warned, and hurriedly wrapped the roots of the mandrake with a sack with underworld words painted on it to prevent it from emitting strong magical resonance.

The chaos finally subsided, the demonized mandrake was still twisting weakly in the bag, and finally it became quiet in a deflated manner.

Looking at the lively scene in the crystal ball, Luo Yan's mouth corners slightly raised, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

A huge magical forest is quietly taking shape in the cave, and those professional players who are busy with activities are the best gardeners.

I believe that it won't be long before this place will become the most valuable magical plant breeding ground in the entire underground world. Who knows, even Prince Caesar Colin's old lover, Lady Edonya, will look at him with envy.

Luo Yan was impressed by her garden.

That's probably the place with the richest species in the whole of Hell.

Withdrawing his thoughts from his distant hometown, Luo Yan's gaze fell towards the throne and he spoke in a majestic voice.

"Arakdo."

"The little one is here!"

Hearing the voice of the Demon King, Arakdo, who was crawling at the bottom of the stairs, suddenly perked up, swung his eight legs, and walked to the bottom of the stairs of the throne.

"Master Demon, what do you want?"

A majestic voice floated slowly from the throne, and the candlelight on the wall flickered.

"I need you to supervise and assist the work of these 'players'. If there is a cave that needs to be expanded, you will take the brothers of the Shadow Weaver Clan to help them dig. In addition, I also need you to ensure the safety of the planting area and call for reinforcements in time if you find any problems."

"Remember, the planting area in Beifeng City is an integral part of my plan, and I don't want to see any mistakes."

Upon hearing the Demon King's instructions, Arakdo immediately straightened his huge body and spoke in a muffled voice.

"Master Demon, you can rest assured! I will definitely take good care of these players. With me here, nothing will go wrong for them! If anyone tries to cause trouble, I will eat him!"

Luo Yan coughed lightly.

"That's not necessary... If you find an intruder, arrest that person and I will deal with him when I come back."

"Yes, sir!"

The crypt spider retreated quietly, leading several of its minions to blend into the shadows outside the audience hall.

Sarah walked slowly forward to the stairs, with a hint of reluctance in her eyes.

"Master Demon, are you leaving again?"

Her keen intuition told her that the Demon King, who had just returned home not long ago, was going on a long journey again.

And if nothing unexpected happens, I will have to stay and look after the house this time.

Looking at Sarah with her cat ears drooping, Luo Yan nodded slightly.

"Yes, I want to go back to the Magic City."

Recently, the corruption plan of the Principality of Campbell has entered a critical stage, and the integration of the maze has also been on track, including the stabilization of the Chaos Gate... These achievements need to be reported to the Demon King Management Department of the Magic City in exchange for support from the Magic City, even if it is only spiritual support.

In addition, the territory of the Dragun family he took over has also been developing rapidly in recent months. With the help of the Padrich family, the magic crystal cannon factory located near Black Wind Castle has officially started production, and the prosperity of Black Wind Castle has also attracted a large number of goblin craftsmen and other technician races to settle here.

He couldn't just be a hands-off boss and leave everything to Miss Mia. As the local lord, he still had to go there to take a look and at least announce his presence to the people there.

Looking at Sarah with a lost expression on her face, Luo Yan's heart moved slightly. After pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke.

"Sarah, after I leave, you will be responsible for helping Arakdo maintain order and supervising his work. The players' exploration speed far exceeds our expectations, and Arakdo's carelessness makes me feel uneasy. I will feel more at ease if you look after him."

Upon hearing the important task entrusted to her by the Demon King, Sarah's spirits indeed lifted and she nodded with a determined look.

"Don't worry, Lord Demon, I will make proper arrangements!"

Luo Yan nodded.

"I'll be back soon. I'll leave you alone while I'm gone."

(End of this chapter)