Chapter 68

Individually, a single territory might not seem significant, but when all the territories obtained by those bosses were combined, they would likely be surprised to find that the area around the Skeleton Cave had already been entirely allocated by Zhou Tian. Once they took over those territories, the area outside the Skeleton Cave would be occupied by the half-orcs only at the Skeleton Cave itself.

Zhou Tian's intentions were now clear. Unfortunately, those bosses did not realize Zhou Tian's plans, or perhaps they realized but did not believe he would act that way.

Regardless, after Zhou Tian allocated those territories to the bosses, the half-orcs and other monsters lived in peace for a few more months.

A few months is neither long nor short. During this period, the新手区 (newbie area) underwent many changes.

After the bosses returned to take over their respective territories allocated by Zhou Tian, they discovered that he had indeed handed over the area outside the Skeleton Cave to them. However, because Zhou Tian still had a large number of half-orcs in the Skeleton Cave and they did not believe he would abandon such a large territory, they ultimately accepted the arrangement without comment.

During those few months, Zhou Tian behaved very honestly. He did not attack other monsters and even reduced his actions against NPCs.

Seeing Zhou Tian's behavior, the bosses mostly felt relieved. However, whether they did not notice or did not care, they seemed to completely overlook the fact that after allocating the territories outside the Skeleton Cave to them, Zhou Tian had not sent any reinforcements to the Skeleton Cave. Any boss who noticed this would have understood the implications.

Unfortunately, the bosses did not timely discover Zhou Tian's plot. Just as they were settling back into their peaceful lives, Zhou Tian had already prepared to吞并 (annex) them.

Although the half-orcs had allocated many territories to the bosses, this did not mean their strength had declined. On the contrary, under the lack of attention from the other monsters, the half-orcs had become the strongest group in the newbie area, second only to the Doll House.

First, they annexed the Skeleton Clan, then forcibly occupied part of the Beast Clan's territory, and finally, despite allocating some territories, Zhou Tian also annexed the Man-Eating Flower Clan. Through these actions, Zhou Tian now controlled several monster factions' territories.

Although Zhou Tian had already occupied a large territory, it took time to fully digest the strength gained from those territories. After a few months of rest and recuperation, the power represented by the large territory he controlled was now firmly in his grasp.

In terms of strength, Zhou Tian, the big boss, had nearly tripled his power compared to when he first became the half-orc leader. The other small bosses, while not increasing as much, still saw their strength nearly double.

Additionally, due to the expansion of territory, the structure of the half-orc clan also changed.

Originally, the half-orc clan was composed of Beast Slaves, Half-Orc Warriors, Half-Orc Heroes, and the Half-Orc Leader. After the territory expansion, although the strength of all half-orcs increased, the structure did not change. Only after Zhou Tian fully digested the benefits of his actions did the structure of the half-orc clan undergo a fundamental transformation.

After digesting the territories, the half-orc clan's structure was completely overhauled. The new monster faction could no longer be called the half-orc clan.

The half-orc clan had become a thing of the past, replaced by the Beast Clan.

The Beast Clan, in terms of both structure and strength, was far superior to the original half-orc clan. If Zhou Tian's current territory were larger, the Beast Clan would already have the potential to challenge the Doll House.

The new Beast Clan's structure and strength levels are as follows: Beast Warrior (Level 18), Beast Archer (Level 20), Beast Guard (Level 25), and Beast King (Level 35).

Compared to the five positions in the Doll House, the Beast Clan, like other newbie area monsters, still has only four positions. However, in terms of strength, the Beast Clan's minimum level of 18 is a significant improvement over the past.

To be blunt, if the Beast Clan undergoes another evolution, it will undoubtedly have the strength to challenge the Doll House. Although the Beast Clan's current strength has not yet reached that level, it is already sufficient to support Zhou Tian's plan to annex a large portion of the newbie area's monsters.

Through the method of killing players to earn troops, Zhou Tian had already replenished his forces to their maximum over the few months. Once his forces reached that number, he naturally launched his long-prepared plan.

In fact, Zhou Tian did not need to make any other preparations. Once his plan began to unfold, the outcome was already predetermined.

After allocating those territories to other monsters, Zhou Tian had not sent any reinforcements to the Skeleton Cave. Although he initially left almost all the half-orc forces there, their ability to hold out for so long was already a miracle.

Unfortunately, since Zhou Tian had already decided to sacrifice those half-orcs, their persistence would yield no results. When the casualties among the half-orcs, or now the beasts, guarding the Skeleton Cave exceeded 90%, the defenses Zhou Tian had set up there naturally lost their effectiveness. The undead monsters from the adjacent undead realm, which was connected to the Skeleton Cave, successfully occupied the Skeleton Cave through that passage.

Losing the Skeleton Cave, a significant territory, was not a good thing for Zhou Tian. After all, although the Skeleton Cave was not large, it still accounted for about one-tenth of his territory. Losing such a large territory significantly weakened Zhou Tian and the Beast Clan.

However, despite losing some territory, Zhou Tian did not show much anger. On the contrary, when he learned that the Skeleton Cave had fallen, he displayed an excited expression.

He could not help but be excited. Zhou Tian had betrayed his conscience, not only plotting against his opponents but also sacrificing his own subordinates. After so much preparation, with his plan nearing completion, how could he remain calm?

If the bosses had truly understood the territories they received, they would not have been so happy. By allocating territories to the bosses, Zhou Tian had dissuaded them from fighting and temporarily pacified them. However, after the bosses accepted the territories without suspicion, they unknowingly fell into Zhou Tian's trap.

Individually, the territories Zhou Tian allocated to the bosses might not seem significant. Each territory was in the heart of the monster region, and while they would still face harassment from NPCs and players, Zhou Tian had undoubtedly given them excellent territories as promised.

However, if the bosses truly understood the combined territories they received, they would not be so pleased.