After calculating the total losses and reporting to Asher, he lost the joy of the victory. It was as if he returned to the first time he had fought a battle with the Ashbourne recruits. The battle took the lives of 80 Bladebreakers, 71 Stormbringers, and 30 King Swordsmen!
These were elite soldiers, troops belonging to the terror grade and above. The loss hit him like a tide, along with the exhaustion he felt. As for those who were alive, the majority were injured, and their armor was damaged!
Fortunately, none of the Desolate Wolf Infantrymen were killed, and all the orcs were slain. It was a complete victory, but the pain of his losses dug deep into Asher’s chest.
Seeing their Lord’s expression, Alex and Alec didn’t know what to say.
Asher got to his feet with a grunt and looked at the battlefield with a passive expression. He began to walk toward the town, a step at a time. He held Euodias, sheathed into its scabbard tightly while looking left and right; some places were his men’s bodies.
When he walked past the ruined walls, he saw Sapphira on her knees, attending to a stormbringer. The fairy’s flawless face was marred with dirt and bloodstains from her contact with the soil and the soldiers.
Just from their little time, he knew she was particular about being neat, one of the reasons she didn’t even bother to wear shoes, but now dirt was almost on every part of her body.
Her priestly garment was also stained.
As if noticing his gaze, she turned, and their eyes met.
Sapphira’s violet pupils shook.
She could superimpose those cold white eyes and that ice-cold expression on his current expression. She never knew he had such a frightening talent inside of him.
As a fairy, she knew about the world of spirits, and when Asher opened himself to the spiritual, she could see two powerful spirits inside his body. It was a blinding and scary sight to behold.
Asher lifted his head and saw a large number of Nimrim citizens with their elders and their ruler at the forefront.
Tobiah was the first to half kneel, followed by the elders and the crowd of hundreds that stretched far into the street.
[Ding! You have conquered Nimrim, the olive town. Would you like to transform this place into one of the wonders of the world? Upgrade Nimrim, the olive town, to become the Olive Expanse. Yes or No?]
‘Do it.’
Asher had no idea what the system wanted to do, but he welcomed it. The death of his elite soldiers weighed heavily on him; he needed something to elevate his mood.
Rumble!
The earth trembled, causing some people to gasp. The trembling stopped, but when people were about to breathe a sigh of relief, it started again with greater force. The tremor even caused Asher to kneel in order to gain balance.
A green light burst into the sky in the distance. Another burst out from the north, another from the south, another from the west, and the light approached the town at a great speed. They covered the olive trees and blinded everyone.
When the light died down, Asher opened his eyes and beheld a gigantic tree 100 meters tall standing far away from the town. The tree was so thick that not even five hundred adult men could wrap their hands around it!
It spread out its branches that blocked the sky. Lustrous green leaves could be seen on the tree, making it look mezmerizing to the eyes. There seemed to be something like a golden ball at the top of the tree, like a mini sun.
On the tree were an innumerable number of olives, twinkling like jade!
The roots were thick and dug into the earth, spreading far. Some could be seen in the town, and it seemed as if the roots gave off life. The soil became healthy in mere minutes, and the corpses were all wiped away, except for the human soldiers.
The ruins of the wall were disintegrated, and large warehouses where the olive could be turned into pure oil appeared in great numbers. An endless patch of green grass spread out throughout the city, making it look like a paradise of peace.
Flowers fell from the sky, gently dropping on rooftops and the heads of some people. One dropped on his palm.
Asher looked at the new town that looked like it wasn’t meant to be with the feudal world. He could now see why it was called a wonder.
A certain soothing effect settled into his heart, and it wasn’t him alone. Everybody felt it.
All the olive trees had been fused together to form this upgraded and unseen version.
[Host, this upgraded wonder tree can produce an oil named Evergreen Olive Oil. These are the advantages:
> It is ten times better than the normal olive oil and with continuous intake, an average person with or without talent will keep growing until they reach the bronze rank!
> The oil refreshes the skin and makes one look better!
> When used for treatment, it fastens the healing process by several folds!
These advantages alone made Evergreen olive oil an oil that would take the world by storm, gathering lots of gold coins into his treasury.
At this point, he was in dire need of money. The continuous increase of his troop numbers was drying his treasury. He needed to work on gaining lots of revenue, or this vampiric method will cripple his domain.
Asher turned back to the Nimrim people and saw the awe-stricken looks in their eyes as they looked at the magnificent olive tree.
Sapphira covered her mouth with one hand, but it still couldn’t hide the shock in her violet eyes. Clearly, the beauty had never experienced anything of this sort.
Even though the system gave her prior information, a wonder was still a wonder.
“We pledge to forever be your subordinates!” Tobiah kowtowed, hitting his head against the ground continuously.
“It’s enough. You’re now my people. Arise, all of you.”
With words of gratitude, the people got to their feet, and Asher left them to the temple, the only place that was serene.
Some time later…
[Ding! Your BloodBlades are available for an upgrade!]
A notification woke him from his slumber, and to his shock, a pair of violet eyes were not too far away from his.