Volume One: The Infernal Lord’s World Chapter 25: The Transformation of the City

As Chen Gu entered his name, the color of the Heart of the City visibly shifted, and green vines began to appear around its exterior.

Soon after, Chen Gu noticed changes throughout the Council Hall: the floor, walls, pillars, and decorations all transformed. The ground became a woven mat of vines, while the pillars were now entwined with blooming creepers. Flowers of the Corpse-Eating Vine replaced the silver pine needles in the corners, becoming the dominant motif. The entire Silverpine Vale was affected—withered vines on the council hall’s facade and the city gate quickly transformed into carnivorous vines. These vines spread along the stone walls until the entire ceiling was draped in verdant tendrils.

Only after the ceiling of Silverpine Vale had fully transformed did Chen Gu receive a new message.

[Commencing transformation of internal structures. Please make your selections promptly.]

[Farmland detected—transformation available. Would you like to proceed? If so, specify the method…]

[Blacksmith detected—transformation available. Would you like to proceed?...]

[...]

[Heroic Altar detected—transformation available. Would you like to proceed? If so, specify the method…]

“Goodness, are they asking me to transform everything?” Chen Gu muttered, then began to review each prompt carefully.

After a thorough review, he realized that transformation was not mandatory; rather, the system was asking if he required any changes. If so, he was to propose a plan for each. Some plans were vine-related, clearly indicating a shift in Silverpine Vale’s development path.

Chen Gu sat before the Heart of the City, pondering for a while before issuing commands for each existing structure in Silverpine Vale.

“Blacksmith: modify it. Previously, the blacksmith focused on producing arrows, and the armory’s output was primarily ballistae, which suited Silverpine Vale’s established path. After all, this was an elven domain. But I’m different—I need endurance in battle. Change the output focus from arrows to armor, and convert the siege ballistae into emergency tents.”

Under his command, the riverside blacksmith shop underwent visible changes. More chimneys sprouted above the workshop, and the woodpiles beside it dwindled, replaced by heaps of steel and leather.

“The farmland needs adjustment. Previously, with elves as the main inhabitants, food production leaned towards fruits and crops. I need a substantial supply of meat.”

“The barracks also require alteration. My units aren’t all humanoid—there are beast squads as well. The barracks must be adapted accordingly…”

With each directive, a structure within Silverpine Vale transformed. Beginning with utility buildings and moving on to unit training grounds, Chen Gu evaluated each one, making changes where necessary and leaving the rest untouched.

His primary focus among utility buildings was the city walls and the magic tower.

These two areas were crucial to Chen Gu’s adjustments. The city walls included the one blocking his entrance to Silverpine Vale, as well as the entry and exit points along the underground river—both upstream and downstream. There were also defensive measures for the ceiling and the undercroft. Even without a prompt, Chen Gu knew these needed modification. If left as they were, other elves could use their Hero Tokens to enter, and his domain could be stolen in his absence.

Thus, he made his requirements clear and demolished the entire city wall.

As for the magic tower, the rationale was even clearer. The original tower was attuned to nature magic, suitable for elven study. While Chen Gu could enter and purchase a spellbook, many spells were inaccessible to him or he could not master them fully. Why not then have the magic tower refocused, so he could at least learn spells within his grasp?

Following his thoughts, the magic tower underwent transformation. The level-2 tower now had two floors and offered a choice of nine spells in total—five on the first floor, four on the second.

Regarding unit training, Chen Gu prioritized the modification of the level-2 Elven Lodge and the level-1 Stone Circle. The Elven Lodge was originally for training wood elves and elven archers—the backbone of the elven army. Wood elves referred to well-trained, non-specialized elves who could serve as rank-and-file soldiers. Allen, for instance, wanted such wood elves as vessels for his subordinates’ new bodies. This was central to the elven city and not something Chen Gu could alter.

However, the elven archers were another story—Chen Gu made significant changes here. The elven lodge became a hunting lodge, and the elven archers became elven hunters. Like their predecessors, these hunters fought with bows and excelled in forest combat, but their abilities no longer included knockback arrows or the typical double shot. Instead, they bonded with animal companions.

[Unit Attributes]
Name: Elven Hunter

Race: Elf
Trait: Perception
Level: 2 (max 3)
Stats: Attack 6, Defense 4, Health 100, Ammunition 12
Starting Skill: Friend of Nature (At level 1, can bring 1 Fire Spirit Crow; with each level, may bring +1. At level 2, can add a Bloodshadow Wolf; at level 3, can add a bear companion.)

Description: Trained from wood elves, these soldiers gain more than half their combat power from their pets, which depend on the creatures under your command.

One glance at this information, and Chen Gu understood the situation. If he had no Fire Spirit Crows or Bloodshadow Wolves, then level-1 elven hunters would be accompanied by owls or regular crows, and at level 2, by gray wolves. But with his own pets, the hunters’ companions would change accordingly. This, he realized, was the true meaning of nest synthesis.

Just as the elven lodge became a hunting lodge, the Stone Circle underwent similar changes. The circle, once used for training elven druids, was a place where raw recruits entered as novices and emerged as druids—though only the most basic kind.

After Chen Gu’s adjustments, these druids changed as well, now accompanied by Corpse-Eating Vines just like the elven hunters.

[Unit Attributes]
Name: Vine Druid

Race: Elf
Trait: Perception
Level: 2 (max 5)
Stats: Attack 5, Defense 5, Health 120
Starting Skill: Magic Vine (Comes with a vine companion: level 1 druids have Corpse-Eating Vines, level 2 gain Poison Vines, level 3 Sun Vines, level 4 Bramble Vines, level 5 Magic Vines.)

Description: Druids can freely summon any vine they have mastered, rather than being limited to a single companion based on their level. They can also synergize various vines to cast different spells in battle.