Volume 1: Hell-Tier Lord World Chapter 125: Synthesis Tavern

After killing Kara, Pan laid eyes on the City Heart before him. Upon seeing it, he immediately understood why Kara had chosen to stand there and activate it. The City Heart of Wind-Long City had been buried, and with all other structures in the city dismantled, its existence had gone unnoticed for many years.

To his surprise, this City Heart still held an ample supply of energy. With the right materials, Wind-Long City could quickly be restored to its former glory. Furthermore, there was something Pan hadn't anticipated: every village and town outside Wind-Long City remained linked to it. When the city had originally sealed its Heart, those outlying settlements had followed suit, burying their own City Hearts and dismantling their other buildings to forge weapons and equipment. Once Wind-Long City’s Heart was activated, all the Hearts in the surrounding villages and towns could be activated as well, allowing for total control over the entire region. Pan assumed the undead had come with this very scheme in mind.

In reality, Pan was mistaken. Kara had chosen to activate the City Heart not for the sake of the surrounding villages, but simply because he had no other options. He was merely an undead hero who had escaped the great flood, not a high-ranking officer from any main legion. They had been lucky enough to be far away when the flood struck, surviving only by chance. They had fled to Wind-Long City hoping to seize it before anyone could react, intending to pose as the City Lord to contact the Black Fortress, report the local intelligence, and request reinforcements. Had they succeeded, their future would have been secure—perhaps not as commanders of Grade A legions, but promotion to a Grade B legion would have been certain.

However, they had vastly overestimated their own strength and had failed to account for Pan’s arrival. In the end, three heroes had attacked Pan, only to be killed by him. One had to wonder if dying once had stripped them of their wits entirely.

While mocking the undead heroes, Pan considered his next move. He decided to proceed with activating the City Heart, as it would accelerate Chen Gu’s progress in claiming this territory. However, it would take time, and he needed to inform Chen Gu of his actions to avoid any misunderstandings. Pan quickly scribbled a note and summoned several ravens to deliver it. As they flew off, he couldn't help but sigh, "I must urge the master to establish the brain-worm communication network; this method of relaying messages is quite inconvenient." For Pan to voice such a sentiment was a miracle in itself.

Meanwhile, Chen Gu remained unaware of these events, his focus entirely devoted to the construction of the Forest Garden. To hasten the progress, he was personally processing building stones for the tavern. He hadn't synthesized the City Heart of the Forest Garden, merely using methods to purge the lingering undead aura from it. The building stones, however, were not so fortunate. Unlike those transported from elven cities, these stones had been excavated from an undead city and were saturated with undead attributes. Chen Gu, lacking a ready supply of building stones, had to synthesize them himself to strip away that influence and repurpose them.

He knew exactly what kind of structures the Forest Garden required: pets. The vast array of non-elven units in the elven race provided the perfect new direction for his synthesis—unicorns, pegasi, and perhaps even green dragons. Just the thought of it excited him. He took out a tavern building stone and began considering the first synthesis formula, cycling through the various pets he had previously created. Finally, he selected the most suitable formula and prepared for the process.

[Nest synthesis initiated...]
[Please provide a building stone or City Heart of the corresponding attribute (0/1), a successful synthesis formula (0/1), and ten synthesis materials (0/10).]

"Synthesize new nest: Tavern!"

At Chen Gu's command, the building stone was swallowed by a corpse vine that erupted from the ground. As the materials were added, the color of the vine shifted. Chen Gu noticed the thorns on its surface retracting. The flower bud at the tip of the vine slowly bloomed, its sharp teeth vanishing and being replaced by structures resembling honey sacs, each filled with fine spirits. Finally, the vine curled in on itself, transforming into a new building stone.

[Obtained: Honey-Sac Tavern Building Stone (Green) x1]
[Honey-Sac Tavern Building Stone (Green): Can be used to construct a tavern at a designated location (compatible with elven, natural, and certain human cities). Tavern level cap: 5. Provides services such as hero recruitment, lodging, rumors, and Black-Net quests.]

Once synthesized, Chen Gu checked his map. He had already designated the layout; since the tavern had a level cap of 5, he didn't need to occupy the prime location. He would save the best spots for other taverns, including one for which he was certain to find a purple-grade building stone that could reach level 11.

"Green, level 5 cap. This belongs here."

After identifying the spot on the map, Chen Gu buried the building stone. Instantly, a mass of vines erupted from the earth, growing like a giant's beanstalk until they reached twenty meters in height. The leaves then unfurled, revealing an interior hall and exterior staircases. Yellow flowers acted as lanterns, drawing the eye, while several massive buds and leaf-clusters hung from the exterior, serving as rooms. As the main gate opened, several vines peeked out to survey the surroundings.

At that moment, Chen Gu heard a notification:
[Honey-Sac Tavern construction complete. Current level: 1.]