Global Lords: My Territory Heart Is a World Tree

The Mammoth happily began to eat.

"It’s a shame we’ve been gone so long. Any fresh fruit we brought from home wouldn’t have lasted this long, or we’d let you try some. If you came with us, you could eat all sorts of delicious fruit."

Lin Kong casually expressed his regret.

Hearing this, the Mammoth paused. It quickly swallowed the nuts in its mouth, then walked into the nearby jungle and vanished.

It seemed to have truly believed Lin Kong’s story and was no longer worried about them stealing the rocks. Of course, if Lin Kong and his team were to touch the rocks again, it would likely reappear.

...

The team stayed in the largest cavern for a few more days, testing the strength of the other animals and collecting various local seeds to bring back to the territory.

They also used various instruments to survey the cavern and record the data. In a way, this was the territory’s first scientific expedition.

"Dong Lin, we’re leaving now. Want to come with us?"

Before leaving, Lin Kong continued to feed the Frost Mammoth—Dong Lin.

After spending the past few days together, they had become very familiar with each other, and Dong Lin had completely let its guard down around Lin Kong and his team.

"I can’t rest easy leaving this place. Without me to hold down the fort, the young ones won’t be able to defend it, even if they aren’t afraid of the animals outside."

"You could bring your entire clan with you! Our territory is vast, with more than enough room for you all to live."

"No, the temperature in your world is too high. It wouldn’t be suitable."

The exchange came to a halt again. Dong Lin’s concern was valid—every race needs a suitable environment to survive, and the World Tree Territory currently didn’t have one fit for these Mammoths.

Just then, a piece of information flashed through Lin Kong’s mind. It was a message from Lin Yu, transmitted via their soul connection. Lin Kong was overjoyed when he finished reading it.

"Ha, I’ve got a solution! Come with us, Dong Lin!"

"We can provide you with a place full of food and a comfortable environment. From there, you can visit our world and return here at any time. Not only that, but it will bring more life to your world, and you’ll receive a tremendous benefit."

"What benefit??"

"Heh heh heh, I can’t tell you. But for your world, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!!"

Looking at Lin Kong’s sincere gaze, Dong Lin hesitated. It had spent many long years creating everything in this cavern. To abandon it now and follow Lin Kong—someone it had known for only a few days—to an unknown land was just too risky.

And yet, for some reason, it saw Lin Kong as someone completely trustworthy.

Its intuition told it that following Lin Kong would bring immense benefits—not just the better living conditions and more plants he spoke of, but the secret he couldn’t reveal.

Seeing that Dong Lin didn’t refuse outright, Lin Kong knew he had a real chance.

He immediately decided to pull out more bargaining chips.

"If you join us and become a member of our world, you’ll receive many boons and even have the chance to become a ’Spirit,’ just like our team captain Yuan Xiaobo and Niu Armor. You’d gain a human form and be able to switch between it and your original form at will. Niu Armor! Come and show our future companion your original form..."

...

Lin Kong went on, listing a slew of other benefits of the World Tree Territory. In the end, it was impossible to say which words had done the trick, but Dong Lin agreed to take a trip with Lin Kong. However, it didn’t intend to move the entire clan right away; it wanted to scout the place out first before making a decision.

It also requested that Rose stay behind to help look after its fellow Mammoths, driving away the less intelligent, mutated creatures from the outside that only knew how to take and would try to get in.

After a brief discussion, the team members agreed.

The group then set off on their journey home. They had arrived with six people, but they returned with five people and one mammoth.

The return journey was not entirely smooth due to Dong Lin’s immense size. To allow it to pass through the narrow tunnels, the five of them had to excavate and widen the passages.

After several days of stop-and-go travel, they returned to Xijing City.

Because of Dong Lin’s presence, their party attracted a large crowd of onlookers from the Haiqiu Clan People as soon as they reached the vicinity of Xijing City.

Nasnageer and the mayor of Xijing City quickly drove over to welcome them back.

"Mr. Lin, you’re finally back!"

"If you hadn’t returned soon, I was going to send people to look for you."

"By the way, where’s Captain Luo?"

The Haiqiu People’s attitude was noticeably more humble than before, which was likely related to Lin Yan’s battle in the Treasure Fruit Garden.

"He had other matters to attend to, so he’s not returning with us right now. We plan to come back for him in a few days."

"Mr. Mayor, do you have a larger automated lift to the surface? We need to bring him up."

Lin Kong gestured to Dong Lin, who was following behind them.

The mayor was tactful enough not to press for details about Rose. He looked at Dong Lin’s massive frame and thought for a moment.

"I recall that the materials transport platform we brought down during the evacuation is quite large, and its load capacity is pretty high. It should be able to hold this, uh..."

"Dong Lin!"

"...hold this Mr. Dong Lin. But, that platform hasn’t been used for many years. Although it’s had regular maintenance, it probably needs a full inspection. Also, its exit on the surface isn’t inside a tall building, and the ice layer is a bit thick..."