Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic

Chapter 16 Ancient Tree of Life - Upgrade!

His messy, reddish-brown beard cascaded down to his navel like a waterfall, with several brass rings woven into the ends.

The dwarf wore heavy leather armor and carried a huge warhammer almost as tall as himself on his shoulder.

"this……"

Kakashi became alert.

Qingwu waved his hand, summoning four centaurs as well, before saying, "Senior, you see, the architecture is merely... well, how should I put it, merely a medium!"

Kakashi had already seen the centaur, and upon hearing this, he waited for Qingwu to continue explaining.

Qingwu knew that Kakashi was essentially the Third Hokage's eyes and ears, so he simply laid it all out:

"My awakened bloodline is completely different from that of the First Hokage; it leans more towards... psychic abilities."

"Summoning?" Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.

He had already witnessed the abilities of the Deadwood Guardians and the centaurs, so this newly appeared 'dwarf' creature...

Qingwu commanded the dwarves to swing their warhammers, saying, "That's right, I can communicate with them through a medium and then command them."

Kakashi: "..."

"And when they exist, they consume very little natural energy. If the number of spirits is small, they can even exist indefinitely!" Qingwu continued to spout nonsense.

Summoning beasts in the ninja world require a continuous consumption of chakra, but their soldiers do not.

This way, we won't have to explain things further later.

"I know what you're probably thinking, senior."

Qingwu continued, "The seniors might think that I'm taking a shortcut, and they might feel that improving myself is more important."

"..." Kakashi looked over. "No, if everyone were as strong as it and could protect you, you wouldn't have gone astray in your ninja way."

Kakashi refers to the withered tree guard he had fought.

That powerful defense was so strong that even Fire Release techniques couldn't work!

Qingwu stuck out her tongue inwardly, realizing she had guessed wrong.

However, it's good that Kakashi thinks this way, so that he won't have to explain to the Third Hokage later.

"I will report everything that happened here to the Hokage!" Kakashi said.

Qingwu smiled, and Kakashi's honesty showed his growing respect for him.

"Of course!" Qingwu said, "This is your task!"

Kakashi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the withered tree guards, dwarves, and centaurs before he vanished.

"call……"

Qingwu wiped away non-existent sweat.

There may have been some loopholes along the way, but we managed to get through it.

Turning around, Qingwu looked at the dwarf who stood silently.

"The first humanoid creature in the Bulwark faction requires some extra persuasion."

He muttered to himself and gave the dwarf the order to gather the materials.

Without even glancing at the surrounding trees, the dwarf took off running towards the rocky mountain.

Qingwu understood.

The description of the [Dwarf Village] is very clear: Stone mining efficiency +15%.

In other words, dwarves can not only be used as combat units, but mining is also their main occupation!

Compared to the difficulty of movement of the Deadwood Guardians, although the dwarves have short legs and are not as fast as the centaurs, their mobility is not "crippled".

After checking the remaining natural energy, Qingwu did not follow the dwarves to the rocky mountain.

While remaining within the territory and accelerating the restoration of natural energy, Qingwu began to study the seedlings of the ancient tree of life.

as predicted.

Once the unlocked Centaur Stable and Dwarf Village were completed, a new construction quest was triggered.

【Ding! 】

The Ancient Tree of Life (sapling) meets the upgrade requirements.

[Consume 150 Natural Energy and 150 Gold to build: Ancient Tree of Life (Growth Stage)]

[Effect: Territory Core, greatly increases natural energy regeneration and unlocks more buildings]

Qingwu: "..."

With the addition of dwarf troops, he could see that he would not be short of wood and stone for the time being.

However, natural energy is the most important factor in the upgrade requirements of the Tree of Life.

It only costs 50 points when you're a seedling, but now that you're upgrading, it's tripled.

The embarrassing thing is that his current maximum value is only 150 points.

Even after it's fully restored and meets the upgrade requirements.

It will drain him dry again, causing him to fall into a coma!

"Damn it, I have a feeling this damn system is doing this on purpose," Qingwu complained.

After waiting for the natural energy to recover, I recruited six dwarves.

In any case, accumulating resources is still the top priority right now.

After the Tree of Life is upgraded, other barracks will likely be unlocked, which will also lead to a high demand for wood and stone.

[Received: Stone Ore *4]

[Received: Stone Ore *4]

[Received: Stone Ore *4]

【…】

As a tier 2 unit, dwarves are several times more efficient at mining stone than centaurs.

Of course, this is also due to the current bonus of +35% stone mining efficiency.

Although it is still not as efficient as the Wood Guardian in collecting wood.

But you should know that there is only one Deadwood Guardian.

The construction of the fifth-tier barracks is a long and arduous task.

Qingwu, who has played the game, knows very well that acquiring resources and troops in the early stages is not difficult.

However, in the later stages, each step requires a significant amount of time and resources to accumulate.

The mining efficiency of six dwarves is comparable to that of the Deadwood Guardians.

This is only the first week.

Qingwu wasn't quite sure whether this week was calculated from the day he awakened or from real-world time.

If it's the latter...

He looked up at the already dawning sky; it was Sunday.

Monday will be after midnight tonight, at which point the existing barracks will be able to summon 8 centaurs and 6 dwarves...

"Hiss~"

"That's incredibly expensive!"

Qingwu looked at the panel:

[Heart of the Fortress (Level 1) Bound to: Thousand Hands Green Willow]

[Natural Energy: 72.6/150]

Gold Coins: 600

Timber: 90

[Stone Ore: 45]

After borrowing 50,000 ryo from Kakashi and exchanging it, the gold coins once reached 1520.

It cost 800 to build the dwarf village.

Then recruiting 6 dwarves cost another 120.

"Tsk tsk, they really don't last long!"

"They built most of it in one night."

Based on current resources, we should have enough money to recruit Tier 1 and Tier 2 units next week.

But what about the future...?

Qingwu knew very well that first- and second-tier troops could only be used as cannon fodder in the ninja world.

Before their numbers become large enough, their role in combat is negligible.

Currently, he only has some confidence because he obtained the Drywood Guardian from the newbie gift pack.

He needs to at least get the Tier 3 ranged unit, the Great Elf, before he goes to the battlefield to gain experience.

Thinking of this, Qingwu got up and walked towards the dwarf village.

It will take time for natural energy to fully recover.

Let's put aside our plan to try our luck at the mission center today!

Move the beds from the centaur stables to the dwarf village.

The conditions are not necessarily better than before.

At least... the dwarf village looks more like a place for people to live than a stable...

Qingwu didn't wake up until the afternoon.

I glanced at the natural energy, which had been restored to full.

"put up!"

Forget about feeling dizzy, let's unlock the other buildings first!

Emerald light bursts forth from every leaf and every inch of bark of the seedling!

"Click—click—"

The seedlings visibly grew taller and thicker in the light.

The tree canopy stretched outwards like an explosion, and new branches and leaves sprouted, unfolded, and flourished at an abnormal speed.

Kakashi appeared beside her again without her noticing. "You're never still for a moment, are you?"

"No, I just woke up," Qingwu replied casually.

The two stood side by side, observing the changes before them.

Throughout the process, all the natural energy within the territory boiled over.

A moment later—

After an initial period of rapid growth.

As natural energy gradually stabilized, the changes in the seedlings also slowed down.

Qingwu glanced at the panel: [Estimated completion time: 12 hours]