Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five: Seizing Control of the Golden Tiger's Lair

Nest: Golden Tiger (Level 23) (Baron Rank)
Nest Creatures Produced: Golden Tiger (2 per month)
Status: Deployed (Movable)

Golden Tiger (Level 23) (Baron Rank)
Description: A powerful nest creature with gleaming golden fur and razor-sharp claws, known for its speed and attack prowess among creatures of the same level. It enjoys toying with its prey, only killing once it has fully entertained itself.
Evolution Path: After the nest is deployed, it can evolve by feeding the core of the Ghostface Lion nest.

“Can it actually move?”

This was something Li Jie had never expected. After all, among the noble families’ nest cores, those capable of movement were exceedingly rare.

What Li Jie did not know was that the ancestors of the Golden Tiger Baron, after gaining control of the Golden Tiger nest, had established their baronial domain directly upon the nest and had never moved it since.

“In that case…”

Without hesitation, Li Jie immediately claimed the nest core as his own. Upon completing the claiming process, dozens of new controllable targets appeared within his consciousness.

These were Golden Tigers born from the Golden Tiger nest, now under Li Jie’s command along with the nest itself.

At that moment, three or four of the Golden Tigers were attacking the baron’s castle, while many others ran toward nearby villages, seeking to hunt enough prey to nourish the nest.

Li Jie controlled the dozen or so Golden Tigers with his mind, directing their assault on the baron’s castle.

Buzz.

Suddenly, while Li Jie was subtly manipulating the Golden Tiger swarm, a brilliant stream of light burst forth from the nest core, merging into his body.

This was a feedback of power from the baron-level Golden Tiger nest.

“The power feedback is so strong this time…”

After receiving the feedback, Li Jie immediately noticed his psychic energy had increased by one percent.

Though one percent might seem trivial, at Li Jie’s level, even the smallest gain in power was hard-earned. To have his psychic energy increase by one percent from merely assimilating a single baron-level nest was nothing short of a windfall.

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At the same time Li Jie received the power feedback, the defense of the Golden Tiger Baron’s castle quickly collapsed under the onslaught of dozens of baron-level Golden Tigers. The baron family’s three top-ranked lords were torn to shreds by the swarm.

Next, Li Jie personally entered the breached castle and commanded the Golden Tigers to transfer all the treasures the Golden Tiger family had amassed since its founding into the nest.

“Didn’t expect to loot an entire baron family’s fortune this time.”

Sitting inside the nest and gazing at piles of gold, silver, jewels, and artifacts, Li Jie couldn’t help but speak aloud.

Just from a cursory search of the castle, Li Jie had claimed eighty thousand gold coins worth of jewels and antiques, seven swordsmanship manuals, and one extraordinary-grade weapon.

Due to time constraints, Li Jie hadn’t fully explored the castle’s hidden vaults. Given enough time, he could have uncovered even more treasures concealed within secret chambers.

Picking up the extraordinary-grade weapon found in the baron’s castle, Li Jie read the inscription:

“Emerald Sword (Extraordinary Grade)
Description: Crafted at great expense by the Marquess of the Gem Turtle family centuries ago, this weapon possesses immense power and is one of the three components of the Legendary Gem Sword.”

“Emerald Sword?”

The name immediately reminded Li Jie of the final lot at today’s auction—the Ruby Sword.

“That’s right, and then there’s the longsword I got from the Golden Tiger Baron…”

Li Jie suddenly recalled the sword in his possession, which he hadn’t had time to examine closely until now.

“Ruby Sword (Extraordinary Grade)
Description: Also forged centuries ago by the Gem Turtle Marquess family at great cost, this weapon boasts tremendous power and is one of the three components of the epic-grade Legendary Gem Sword.”

“It seems the person who won the Ruby Sword at the auction was the Golden Tiger Baron.”

“The Ruby Sword and Emerald Sword are both parts of the three-piece Legendary Gem Sword epic weapon. Looks like the Golden Tiger Baron intended to assemble a full epic weapon.”

“And he was close to succeeding.”

Li Jie speculated, studying the descriptions of the two gem swords.

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An epic-grade weapon!

Even the Iron Gold family, a noble clan controlling top-tier count-level nest creatures, possessed only a single epic-grade weapon within their lineage.

If the Golden Tiger Baron could obtain an epic-grade weapon while still a baron, not only could he potentially challenge noble houses at the count level, but at the very least, he could hunt a viscount-level nest and elevate his rank accordingly.

Unfortunately, the baron’s luck fell short. Despite acquiring two components of the Legendary Gem Sword and needing just one more to wield the full epic weapon, he was pierced through by Li Jie’s sword and his entire clan was eradicated.

The reason Li Jie extinguished him was simply because the baron controlled a Red-spotted Ant nest core.

This was a case of calamity striking while one was at home—no matter how ambitious the Golden Tiger Baron was in his final moments, all his grand designs dissolved into nothingness.

“Looks like I’ll need to keep a closer eye on any news about the Gem Swords from now on.”

Even Li Jie desired such an epic weapon. Though he possessed the Solar Crown Pearl, a true divine artifact, one never has too many treasures.

After ordering all the Golden Tigers back to the nest, Li Jie stepped outside and merged his consciousness with the Golden Tiger nest core itself.

Rumble.

At his mental command, the Golden Tiger nest emitted a deep humming roar. The nest, along with the Golden Tigers and treasures inside it, gradually shrank and faded into a shadowy form, eventually transforming into a streak of light that merged into the nest core.

Buzz.

The nest core now hovered silently where the Golden Tiger nest once stood, bearing an identical pattern on its surface.

“It’s time to go.”

Li Jie took the nest core in hand. This trip to the Golden Tiger barony had been exceedingly fruitful—not only had he acquired the Red-spotted Ant nest, but also the baron-level Golden Tiger nest, a trove of gold and jewels, two extraordinary-grade weapons, and intelligence on an epic-grade weapon.

Such bountiful gains far exceeded Li Jie’s expectations.