Ashen Purifying Sunflower

The commotion last night had been enormous; even Zhang Rui's family, shut inside their home, had heard it.

Zhang Rui gathered his courage and opened the door, seeing the blazing fire outside the fortress as well.

But he did not choose to go out. Instead, he protected his wife and child within the Purification Shrine's range of protection, watching in that direction.

Only after the Dark Veil had been replaced by light did he hurriedly run toward the city gate.

What he saw next shocked him.

Outside the gates, people were sitting or standing everywhere. There were men and women among them, as well as some children.

Their faces were full of exhaustion, but their eyes brimmed with boundless joy.

Zhang Rui understood that feeling, because he had felt it himself before. It was the body's natural response after escaping death, an expression no actor could ever portray.

But what exactly had happened?

Had that man done it?

Zhang Rui's gaze passed over the crowd and focused on the man standing in the middle of the flower field. Then his pupils suddenly contracted.

As the final flicker of flame went out, the once resplendent golden sea of flowers before Longwind Fortress was gone, leaving behind only ashes that radiated faint heat.

The people had been saved, and Longwind Fortress had held.

But the price had been the complete sacrifice of an entire sea of flowers.

The survivors collapsed to the ground, staring at those sacred ashes in shock and awe.

From every perspective, it had been an unquestionable victory.

Lincon slowly crouched down and grabbed a handful of crystalline white ash, within which traces of a sunlight-like aura still lingered.

By now, the calls of the plants' consciousness had stopped echoing in his mind.

He walked a circle through the still-warm ashes before finally finding a completely charred Sunlight Sunflower beneath a mound of gleaming white ash.

This Sunlight Sunflower had nearly turned to charcoal, as though even the slightest touch from Lincon would reduce it completely to ashes.

[Ashen Purifying Sunflower]

[With incomparable conviction, it dispelled the darkness and was reborn from the sea of fire. It preserved a faint spark of life, bathed in Purifying Fire and became an absolute mutant species with an astonishing growth potential.]

[Advancement Path 1: Sacred Flame Sunflower]

[Sunlight Required: 1000]

[Unlock Conditions: Ashen Purifying Sunflower, Holy Flame Seed]

[Advancement Path 2: Solar Sunflower]

[Sunlight Required: 1000]

[Unlock Conditions: Ashen Purifying Sunflower, Fire Stone]

[Hidden Advancement Path 3: Life Sunflower]

[Sunlight Required: 5000]

[Unlock Conditions: Ashen Purifying Sunflower, Holy Flame Seed, Fire Stone, Healing Crystal Core]

Lincon carefully lifted this mutant species, born only once among tens of millions of Sunlight Sunflowers, from the ashes and cradled it protectively before him.

Of that vast flower field, only this one Sunlight Sunflower still possessed a faint consciousness. It made him cherish it all the more.

In his view, they had survived last night's crisis entirely because of the Sunlight Sunflowers' self-sacrifice.

This was the only plant seed they had left behind, making it incomparably precious to Lincon.

"Don't worry. Once I find the materials needed to unlock it, I will definitely bring you back to life," Lincon murmured softly.

Cradling the Ashen Purifying Sunflower, he turned and headed into the fortress.

As he passed Zhang Rui, he instructed, "Leave them to you for now. If anyone refuses to cooperate, have that Li Zhouhai step forward. Tell them I said so."

Zhang Rui could clearly sense that the lord before him was in a poor mood, so he quickly agreed.

"I'll make sure everything is properly arranged."

After Lincon entered the city, Zhang Rui took a deep breath. The breath settled in his chest before surging out through his body, his voice loud and steady.

In that instant, he seemed to return to the days when he had managed a corporate group, facing thousands of employees beneath him without the slightest rush.

"Everyone, men, women, and children alike, gather over here!"

Hearing his voice, everyone shifted their gazes from Lincon's retreating figure and focused on Zhang Rui.

They had just seen Lincon whispering in Zhang Rui's ear, so they naturally understood what was going on.

Still, quite a few people looked in another direction. After all, the leader of their group was still Li Zhouhai.

Noticing people looking his way, Li Zhouhai lowered his head and sighed before taking the lead in walking over to stand before Zhang Rui.

Once Li Zhouhai had set the example, the crowd immediately followed, gathering in a dense mass before Zhang Rui.

"You're Li Zhouhai?"

Zhang Rui was somewhat surprised. He had thought the Li Zhouhai mentioned by the lord would be a mature, composed middle-aged man, or at least a man in his prime. He had not expected an old man.

Li Zhouhai nodded with a smile and voluntarily revealed his identity.

"A D-Class Ability User from Shangmai City. I led some civilians here to escape, and I hope you can grant us a place of shelter, sir."

Upon learning that the man before him was a D-Class Ability User, Zhang Rui's brow twitched.

But he quickly adjusted his expression and clasped Li Zhouhai's large hand.

"In Longwind Fortress, there is only one lord: our City Lord. Don't get that wrong."

Li Zhouhai naturally understood. "May I ask how to address you?"

"Zhang Rui," Zhang Rui replied calmly.

"Understood, Steward Zhang."

Neither of them lowered their voices during the exchange. On the contrary, both deliberately spoke louder so those around them could hear.

Zhang Rui was very satisfied with Li Zhouhai's move.

At that moment, the Ancient Maple Guardian suddenly moved.

It came to Zhang Rui's side and slowly extended its palm.

Zhang Rui instantly understood that this was the helper the lord had prepared for him. Without hesitation, he stepped onto it.

The Ancient Maple Guardian slowly raised Zhang Rui to a suitable height, allowing him to roughly survey the crowd.

Zhang Rui let out a breath and began doing his best to display the abilities he had possessed before the disaster.

The first thing he did was emphasize once again that Longwind Fortress had only one master: Lincon.

"We are merely refugees who narrowly escaped death in the darkness and were saved by the City Lord. If you wish to enter the city, then first, you must obey Longwind Fortress's rules..."

Zhang Rui's voice grew clearer and clearer. Standing on the Ancient Maple Guardian's palm, he could see every expression on the faces below.

If anyone showed contempt or reluctance to submit, he would immediately remember that person.

Anyone unwilling to submit to and feel gratitude toward the person who had saved them from disaster would be reported to the lord, and he would find a way to remove them.

He knew how precious that sea of Sunlight Sunflowers outside the city was to the lord.

Yet overnight, it had all turned to ashes.

If such a tremendous price had been paid yet their hearts could not be won over, then they should be left in the darkness to fend for themselves.

Zhang Rui spoke for a full hour. Only when Lincon came out again did he gradually bring his speech to an end, then fetch paper and pen and begin registering everyone's identity information one by one according to his management plan.

Lincon stood nearby without speaking, merely watching the scene quietly.

He had to admit that Zhang Rui was an excellent steward.

Under his verbal offensive, the hundreds of people had not only become completely obedient, but their loyalty was also rapidly rising.

At that moment, the panel continuously showed people's loyalty exceeding 80, making them qualified to become his subjects.

Seeing that Zhang Rui was struggling to keep up, Lincon had Li Zhouhai lead several people over to help.

Soon, led by the group, Lincon's first batch of subjects entered Longwind Fortress.

Number of people: 832.

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