Battle of All Races: Lord of Fertile Lands! (Kingdom Building)

Kaiden wasted no time.

The moment his forces had fully assembled, he began explaining what he had discovered in the depths of the earth — speaking of the enemy lurking in the ground beneath their feet and the tunnel that had been silently extending toward the heart of the territory.

With every new piece of information he shared, gasps of shock and disbelief spread through the gathered crowd.

Kaiden didn't dwell on the details any longer than necessary. This was not a discussion — it was preparation for battle.

So he said directly:

"In any case, now that we've uncovered the enemy's plot and know of their existence, it goes without saying that we will not sit and wait for them to execute their treacherous ambush."

He was still holding a dry branch he had used to sketch the discovery's details on the ground during the briefing.

He pressed it hard between his fingers until it snapped in two, threw it to the ground, and continued in a voice filled with iron resolve:

"We will teach them the price of meddling with our territory!"

His tone rose further as he looked across his soldiers.

"And we will bury them with a surprise strike before they have a chance to move!"

The dancing flames of the torches reflected in his soldiers' eyes as their gazes locked onto him with absolute focus.

Then Kaiden lowered his voice slightly and said:

"Now… here are the details of the enemy, their numbers, and the battle plan."

---

At the same time, deep underground inside the tunnel Kaiden had discovered, the figure he had assumed to be a squad leader overseeing the digging operation was in truth the Lord of that Licker-like race.

His name was Gilont, and he belonged to an alien species called the "Liclron."

At that moment he was standing in the exact spot Kaiden had seen him earlier, watching his forces continue their relentless digging while lost in his own thoughts.

Hmm… I think the distance is sufficient now.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, his spirits visibly lifted — the decisive moment had finally arrived.

No one else knew the weight of pressure he had carried through these past days.

Gilont exhaled with relief and turned his head to look behind him.

Thanks to his exceptional night vision, he could see a wide tunnel stretching far into the distance, extending beyond even the reach of his sight.

This sight filled his heart with pride.

And finally…

The moment he would be rid of that cursed nightmare that had haunted him for days was drawing near.

Had the Liclron race possessed the ability to cry, this moment would have been perfect for Gilont's tears to flow.

In truth, Kaiden's deductions had been very close to reality.

For Gilont's plan was indeed to carry out a swift and clean decapitation operation the moment the protective barrier disappeared — exactly as Kaiden had anticipated.

But the rest of the details were somewhat different.

First, it hadn't been Kaiden's expeditions that had failed to find Gilont's territory.

They had never been meant to find it at all.

For Kaiden had never expected the existence of underground territories from the start.

Gilont's territory had been established in the earth's depths from the moment of his arrival, connected to the surface only through a small opening.

And even as the Lord's Crown advanced and his territory expanded, that expansion occurred underground rather than on the surface.

This was not unusual — the Liclron race to which Gilont belonged was not the only one that lived beneath the earth.

There were numerous other races dwelling in the depths as well.

In truth, the underground world was no less exciting or dangerous than the surface world.

It held underground monsters of various kinds, treasure chests, rare resources, warring races, and a countless number of complications, dangers, and opportunities no less than what existed above ground.

The second thing Kaiden didn't know was that Gilont hadn't been targeting him personally.

At least, not in the way Kaiden had imagined.

In reality…

Gilont was a desperate man who wanted nothing more than to survive.

To understand the matter better, we must go back a little to the beginning of events — to the first day.

To the moment Gilont arrived in this world. Like all other Lords, he received the Lord's Crown power, the Lord's Hall, and a territory talent unique to him.

And the talent he received was considered extraordinarily powerful.

Its name was: Vision of Fortune and Calamity — an A+ tier territory talent.

But this talent was somewhat unusual.

Gilont had no control over when it activated.

It triggered passively and at random, sending him different visions from time to time.

Some of those visions revealed valuable opportunities.

Others warned him of approaching dangers.

Gilont adapted quickly to his unique talent and benefited greatly from it — thanks to it he had located numerous treasure chests and various types of opportunities. He had also been able to anticipate the timing of certain monster appearances and avoid many dangers before they materialized. He had even uncovered a number of threats tied to the end of the seven-day Beginner Protection period, giving him enough time to devise countermeasures and prepare in advance.

So Gilont had been enormously pleased to have acquired such a powerful territory talent. But it took only one day for that happiness to end.

A vision appeared — no, nightmare was the more accurate word — a recurring nightmare depicting a tragic end for him and his territory at the hands of monsters and soldiers belonging to a strangely-appearing race. He later learned this race was called the humans.

Every one of those nightmares ended with the same scene: the smile of that human Lord as he watched his forces brutally tear through Gilont and his territory.

That despicable human Lord was powerful in a way that defied reason — as though he were cheating. On his own, he possessed a force equivalent to an entire army.

He could freely manipulate the earth, move from place to place in a fraction of a second, and possessed numerous other abilities that made Gilont feel powerless every time he witnessed them.

As for his forces — they were even more terrifying. He commanded many soldiers of the Silver rank, each of whom was a problem unto themselves. And it didn't stop there — he also had pets, chief among them that massive, horrifying monster.

In the nightmares Gilont had witnessed over and over, their underground defenses were shredded before that creature as though made of cardboard. It appeared from multiple locations across the different nightmares, spreading death and chaos wherever it passed. In most of the visions it was the one who claimed the greatest number of his forces — and Gilont himself had met his end many times within those nightmares after finding himself inside that bloodied suction trap filled with razor-sharp saw teeth.

Gilont was desperate. How he wished he could run — but there was no way to relocate his territory. Had such a way existed, he would have been willing to cross oceans of fire and walk roads of thorns just to put as much distance as possible between himself and that human monster.

He had even considered forging an alliance with the surrounding Lords to rid himself of this human plague — but the idea was riddled with problems. Language was the first obstacle. And even if that could be solved, earning the other Lords' trust and convincing them of that human's danger was near impossible.

The cultural and racial barrier between different races was no joke. And even if he managed to ally with one or two races, their chances would still be slim against that irrational power he had seen in his visions. So he ultimately abandoned the idea.

Escape was not an option. Alliance was not a practical solution. And direct confrontation was pointless suicide.

After long deliberation, a dangerous idea came to him — one that required him to seize the initiative instead of waiting for catastrophe.

Through the many visions he had witnessed, Gilont had learned numerous details about that human Lord: the number of his forces, the approximate location of his territory, and some characteristics of his race. And here the plan began to take shape in his mind.

Yes — he still had a chance.

Humans suffered from poor night vision, and the problem worsened in pitch darkness. His race was the exact opposite — night was their hunting time, and darkness was their true home. So Gilont drew up his plan and directed all his population's resources toward digging.

The digging had not stopped for a single moment over the past days. Teams rotated continuously — one after another, day and night without pause. Because of this, his territory's development had ground to a near halt.

For despite having started strong thanks to the treasures and opportunities he had obtained, his plan demanded enormous effort, and the loyalty of his residents had rapidly declined, the pace of development had slowed, and rest periods had vanished.

Even Gilont himself had sacrificed sleep, resting only an hour or two during the day before returning to personally oversee the digging operations.

Gilont bore all of it in silence and patience. If he could kill that human Lord, everything would be fine. He would return to the right track of development, his people would have more food, and the residents' loyalty would rise again. He just had to hold on a little longer — just a little — and everything would return to normal.

Gilont emerged from his thoughts and looked at the dozens of his kind absorbed in digging. According to his calculations, they had already reached the depths of the human Lord's territory. All that remained was to begin digging upward. And he still had roughly two days — more than enough time to reach the surface quietly and without drawing attention.

So when he saw his exhausted soldiers, his heart softened. He raised his hand, preparing to signal them to stop and rest — but at that very moment his territory talent activated without warning.

A new vision appeared.

The instant it appeared, his body froze in place — then his face transformed into absolute terror.

In that vision he saw a familiar monster tearing through the very tunnel they were standing in right now, and the moment it appeared a bloody massacre of his forces began. It was a vision unlike all the previous ones — it depicted his death at a time that was not far off.

There was no time for shock or deliberation. Gilont screamed at the top of his lungs, his heart filled with despair and dread:

"Fall back! Flee! The enemy has found us! He's coming!"

Then another hysterical cry:

"Withdraw immediately! The protective barrier will shield us!"

Gilont didn't wait to see his forces' reaction. The moment he finished screaming, he spun around and bolted at maximum speed on all four of his three-clawed limbs.

He had to survive no matter what. If he survived, he would still have two days of protection to think of another solution — but he had to survive first.

As for the rest of his kind — they didn't hesitate. For Gilont had given them a glimpse, over the past days, of the kind of terror that awaited them.

So the moment they heard his hysterical scream and saw him fleeing at top speed, they began scrambling and fleeing along the sides, the ceiling, and the floor at maximum speed as well.

---

"Damn it!"

Up on the surface, Kaiden let out an angry curse as he watched the scene through his skill.

The plan had already been finalized — all he had wanted was one last look at the enemy before execution. But instead, he had stumbled upon the moment of the enemy's complete collapse and sudden flight.

Kaiden was not foolish. It was clear the other side had discovered them somehow. As for how — it didn't matter to him. All that mattered now was that his precious prey was attempting to escape.

That was something Kaiden absolutely would not allow. He spun toward Ibla and shouted at the top of his voice:

"Ibla! Dig diagonally toward that tunnel — at maximum speed!"

---

— End of Chapter Fifty —