As the first light of dawn broke, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in the ears of every lord.
[Congratulations to all lords for surviving seven days on the Primordial Continent.]
[The World Channel has been unlocked. Basic territory buildings are now available. Please check within your territory.]
[Attention! The safety period has ended. All protections have been removed. Regional barriers have been lifted.]
[The Beast Tide is imminent. All lords, prepare yourselves.]
The series of announcements jolted everyone awake, pulling them from their slumber in a panic.
"Is it here? Is the Beast Tide finally coming?"
"It must be. The safety period is over."
"That was too fast! I'm not ready yet!"
"I think I hear something. Good luck, everyone."
The previously silent regional channel exploded with activity, messages flooding in one after another.
Just as panic began to set in, a loud crack echoed across the horizon. Cracks appeared in the sky, growing larger and longer, stretching from the ground upward until they formed a dense web.
Finally, the cracks shattered, raining down fragments like a broken mirror.
"ROAR!!!"
A deafening roar swept across the land.
The heavens and earth seemed to tremble, the ground shaking violently as the sound grew louder and closer.
"Is it finally here?"
Alex stood outside his wooden cabin, feeling the ground quake beneath his feet. The distant roars were unmistakable, rapidly approaching his territory.
There was no doubt—the Beast Tide, held back by the walls, was about to descend.
"Everyone, get ready! It's time to fight!"
Alex turned and shouted to the plants within his territory, gripping the bone spear he had crafted earlier and holding it across his chest.
The plants, following his command, quickly dispersed to the edges of the territory, taking up defensive positions behind the fences.
The once lively atmosphere of the territory was now replaced with a tense, murderous air.
A moment later, Alex's eyes narrowed.
"They're here!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, trees in the distance began to fall one after another. Massive, ferocious beasts burst through the forest, charging straight toward his territory.
"ROAR!!"
Leading the charge were four-legged, tusked beasts, each standing half the height of a man. Their numbers were overwhelming, a dark, surging tide.
[Name: Tusked Beast]
[Race: Beast]
[Tier: Three]
[Strength: 50]
[Constitution: 45]
[Agility: 50]
[Spirit: 45]
[Skill: Savage Bite]
[Description: A common lower-tier monster, bloodthirsty and fast, with highly aggressive tusks.]
Though they were only Tier Three monsters, their sheer numbers were staggering. The ground shook as they charged, a sea of tusked beasts closing in.
Alex didn't dare hesitate. He immediately ordered his plants to attack.
In an instant, the two forces collided.
Vines lashed through the air, mingling with the endless roars of the beasts. The fences shuddered under the impact, the sound of wood cracking filling the air.
The King of the Man-Eating Flowers, already ravenous, leapt over the fence, tearing into the oncoming tusked beasts.
Roars and screams echoed endlessly as more and more tusked beasts fell to the plants' attacks, piling up outside the territory into gruesome mounds.
Some beasts crashed into the traps Alex had prepared, or fell into pits, only to be trampled by those behind them.
The carnage was brutal.
Meanwhile, the remaining Explosive Mushrooms in the territory weren't idle.
Climbing onto platforms, they hurled Explosive Spores over the fences, triggering a series of explosions that sent tusked beasts flying.
Alex's ears were filled with constant notifications.
[Killed Tier Three Tusked Beast. Gained 10 Mana.]
[Killed Tier Three Tusked Beast. Gained 8 Mana.]
[Killed Tier Three Tusked Beast. Gained 11 Mana.]
[Killed Tier Three Tusked Beast. Gained 9 Mana.]
In just a few breaths, Alex had gained two to three hundred Mana, and the number continued to rise.
But this didn't last long. A thunderous roar in the distance interrupted the chaos.
Less than a hundred meters from the territory, a horde of massive, one-eyed monsters appeared, their gaze fixed on Alex's land.
As they approached, a new set of information appeared before Alex.
[Name: Cyclops Troll]
[Race: Humanoid]
[Tier: Four]
[Strength: 90]
[Constitution: 75]
[Agility: 66]
[Spirit: 75]
[Skills: Heavy Smash, Frenzy]
[Description: A rare humanoid monster, corrupted by demonic energy, it has lost its sanity and possesses immense strength.]
Alex's pupils contracted as he read the information.
He had expected Tier Four monsters in the Beast Tide, but not in such numbers—more than his entire plant army!
In the blink of an eye, two Treant Warriors were torn to shreds.
Even the vines of the Toxic Enchantresses were ripped apart, the monsters yanking the plants toward the fences, where they were quickly overwhelmed by the Cyclops Trolls.
Alex lost several units in an instant.
"Hold the line! Don't let them breach the fences!"
Alex shouted urgently, using his Mana to recruit more King of the Man-Eating Flowers and applying Mutation to quickly fill the gaps in his ranks.
But even so, his units continued to fall, the Cyclops Trolls relentlessly slaughtering his forces.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Another series of explosions rang out.
A large group of Cyclops Trolls fell to the plants' attacks, but Alex's forces were also being torn apart one by one, rushing to defend the fences and platforms.
At this point, Alex could no longer afford to conserve Mana. He continuously recruited new units to replace the losses.
If the fences were breached, his territory would be destroyed, and he would not survive.
The only silver lining was that, amidst the battle with the Cyclops Trolls, other Tier Three monsters continued to appear, providing him with a steady stream of Mana.
After a round of fighting, he managed to barely break even.
Using this strategy, Alex managed to hold off the Cyclops Trolls, creating a brutal stalemate both inside and outside the fences.
The monsters seemed to throw themselves at his territory without regard for their own lives.
Time flew by as Alex issued commands and replenished his forces.
Before he knew it, half the morning had passed.
Alex had lost count of how many monsters he had killed or how many units he had recruited.
He only remembered the most dangerous moment, when the Tier Four monsters nearly breached the territory by climbing over the piles of corpses.
Thankfully, he reacted quickly, using his spear to push them back and ordering the plants to clear the bodies, averting disaster.
"ROAR!!"
After what felt like an eternity, the beasts outside the territory let out a final roar, gradually abandoning Alex's land and moving toward other areas.
The fiercest wave of the Beast Tide was finally showing signs of weakening.
"It's over! It's almost over! Hold on, everyone!"
Alex's body trembled as he thrust his spear through the throat of a Tier Three monster, shouting excitedly to his plants.
At that moment, a notification sounded.
River, who had survived the entire battle, had finally maxed out her experience and advanced to Tier Five!
[Name: Wood Sprite · River (Royal)]
[Race: Plant]
[Tier: Five (0/250)]
[Strength: 150]
[Constitution: 150]
[Agility: 185]
[Spirit: 200]
[Skills: Nature's Dominion, Aura of Affinity, Thorny Vines]
[Description: A royal among plants, capable of commanding other plant-based units and skilled in natural magic.]