Global Lords: My Territory Heart Is a World Tree

The golden light intensified until Lin Yu was completely engulfed.

When Lin Yu opened his eyes again, the Prayer Room had vanished. Before him stood a colossal statue of a goddess, formed from golden light. Her eyes were closed, and she faced him directly.

Looking at the majestic statue of the Goddess, he felt a sudden urge to kneel and worship, but a chill in his mind instantly dispelled the notion.

"Greetings, revered Goddess!"

He rose to his feet and bowed his head.

The giant statue of the Goddess opened its eyes and looked down at him. "Excellent. I didn’t expect to see a candidate with such promise in this tournament. Your soul is remarkably strong!"

"Will you pledge your faith to me? I will offer everything in my power to aid your development, and I will grant you a place in my Divine Kingdom!"

"Thank you for your generous offer, Goddess, but for now, I’d like to see how far my own potential can take me."

Lin Yu tactfully refused. He knew turning down a woman so casually was a bad idea—especially a goddess—but he had no other choice. If he pledged his faith to her, he would gain her support, but everything about him would be laid bare before her.

"A shame..." The Goddess gave him a regretful glance. "If you ever change your mind, you can contact me at any time. I will keep a place reserved for you in my Divine Kingdom."

"Thank you, Goddess!"

"Very well. Personal matters are concluded. Let’s move on to official business." The Goddess’s expression became solemn once more.

"You’re the lord with the anomalous territory, then?"

"If you’re referring to the lord whose territory is double the size of the continent, then yes, that’s me."

"Explain. How did your territory get so large? Did you use any special items not from the main Cosmos to cheat?"

"Your Excellency, that’s a serious accusation. During the first phase, an inspection team came to check on me. My territory was found to be perfectly normal!"

Lin Yu denied the accusation of cheating. He had followed all the rules, using the Awakening Crystal provided by the tournament to awaken his talent. Then, he’d drawn the World Tree through his own merit. Everything that happened after that had been in complete accordance with the tournament’s regulations.

"Of course I know an inspection team went to your territory in the first phase, but at that time, your territory was merely seventeen-some times larger than a normal lord’s. Just look at its size now!"

"Based on your territory’s growth rate during the first phase, there’s absolutely no way it could have reached its current size! Out with it! What trick did you use?" The Goddess’s voice was tinged with anger; she felt Lin Yu was trying to pull a fast one on her.

’If my growth rate was still what it was in the first phase, I don’t think I’d ever need to go back to the main Cosmos. My own territory would be nearly the size of a cosmos by now...’

Lin Yu grumbled inwardly.

"What? Are you saying there’s something unusual about your territory’s growth rate in the first phase?" The Goddess seemed to have heard his thoughts.

’Huh? Did I just say that out loud?!’

Lin Yu stared at the statue of the Goddess in astonishment.

"Of course not. In this place, I can hear your every thought."

’Shit!’

"Hm?"

"Ah—no, I mean... ’shiitake’! Like the mushroom! A tasty food from the Gobi Desert in my homeland..." Cold sweat beaded on Lin Yu’s forehead as he hurriedly tried to clear his mind and explain.

"No need to explain. I know what you meant. Now, just tell me straight. What is the deal with your territory?"

"Well... alright, Your Excellency. I’ll tell you the truth." Lin Yu struggled to clear his mind of stray thoughts. Fortunately, his soul was now exceptionally powerful, and his control over his own consciousness was strong enough that he managed to quiet his mind completely.

"When I was drawing a Territory Core, I got very lucky. I drew a World Tree Seed as my Territory Core."

"Wait. What grade of World Tree Seed?" the Goddess cut in.

"Huh? World Trees have different grades?"

"Of course. The World Tree is a common type of plant-based Territory Core, so naturally, it comes in different grades. It’s much like the ’Primordial Core’—the tree that ultimately grows depends on its grade."

"I see! Thank you for the lesson, Your Excellency! Anyway, I walked out of the Teleportation Gate and planted it right away. The Territory Core that grew from it has a ridiculously powerful trait: it increases the territory’s current area by 10% every day."

Lin Yu sidestepped the Goddess’s earlier question and continued his explanation.

The Goddess, however, was surprisingly understanding. Or perhaps she had already read the answer in his mind, for she didn’t press the issue.

"Hmm, that trait is indeed formidable. No wonder you thought as you did. With exponential growth, your territory would certainly become comparable to a standard major plane."

"However, you’d be mistaken to think that a large territory alone is enough to survive in the Sea of Chaos."

"A territory that is merely large will only make you a juicy prize in the eyes of various cosmic planes and the Chaos Giant Beasts."

"You, and your entire territory, will be carved up and picked clean."

The information the Goddess revealed sent ripples through Lin Yu’s composure. He involuntarily recalled the corpse of the Frost Giant Dragon in the Glacier World, and the civilization annihilated by the energy that had leaked from its body.

"Oh? You’ve seen such a world? The beasts of the Chaos are far more powerful than any dragon. To a Chaos Giant Beast, a dragon is like a parasite on your skin viewed through a microscope."

Lin Yu steadied himself once more and replied calmly, "That was a world I once traveled to. I spent over half a month there, witnessing its alien beauty and the elegy of a civilization. And all of it was caused by a single fallen dragon."