Thorne controlled the lake water, sweeping it in a reverse current, dragging all the scorpions and lizards still fighting on the shore into the lake. Then, he stirred up waves, killing them all in the water.
Those magic beasts had already exhausted their strength in battle, and in no time, corpses floated to the surface. The lake was filled with bright red blood, and the shore was littered with severed limbs and tails—a gruesomely bloody scene.
Thorne first refined all the corpses in the water, handing their blood and souls over to the Ghost Thorn Tree to devour.
From the memories Thorne had obtained so far, the simultaneous arrival of these two races at the lake was indeed no simple matter.
In the memories of both the scorpion general and the lizard general, Thorne saw the same figure—an elf. Though cloaked in darkness, the wings and pointed ears betrayed his identity.
This elf had ordered the two races to thoroughly investigate the desert and report any anomalies.
Why would the elves investigate this desert? Thorne didn't think it was just for Grandi. If it were only about Grandi, there'd be no need to probe the entire desert for irregularities.
Thorne felt a twinge of unease, a sense of unprecedented danger pressing down on him.
"Am I going to clash with the elves again so soon? Looks like I need to prepare early."
With nearly two thousand corpses in the water, plus the earlier kills of the scorpion general and lizard general, Thorne earned nearly 20,000 energy points this time.
"Jackpot, jackpot! War profits really are the best."
Thorne couldn't contain his joy as he looked at the three to four thousand corpses still on the shore. Happiness came so suddenly that he felt a bit dizzy.
But Thorne restrained his inner desires and didn't continue devouring the shore's corpses.
Seeing the energy points on the system panel break into five digits for the first time, Thorne was even happier than when he'd earned his first five-figure paycheck in his past life.
After a moment of contemplation, Thorne decided it was time for a big upgrade.
"System, I want to raise my level to 5 and upgrade Spring Breeze Rain, Water Bind, and Water Arrow to Level 5."
"Upgrade successful. Congratulations to the host for gaining a new skill: Water's Deterrence (can exert pressure with the might of an entire lake), consuming 500 energy points per use."
Looking at the system panel again:
Host: Thorne
Identity: Lake
Level: Lv5
Energy: 5000
Skills: Spring Breeze Rain Lv5, Water Bind Lv5, Water Arrow Lv5, Water's Deterrence Lv1
From a total of over 20,000 energy points, only 5000 remained, and the next upgrade would require 30,000 points.
Sure enough, money came fast and went faster—energy points were no different.
But Thorne had a terrifying suspicion. If it proved true, no amount of energy points would be enough.
Since the scorpion and lizard tribes were under elven orders, other races likely were too. This desert might well be entirely under elven control, making a confrontation with them inevitable.
The scorpion general and lizard general had come to Thorne's lake this time precisely because they'd detected something unusual and came to investigate, only to clash by chance.
Fortunately, they hadn't had time to report back before Thorne dealt with them, giving him some breathing room to prepare and avoid being too passive.
As Thorne racked his brain to figure out how to break the current situation, the Ghost Thorn Tree, Chu Ming, sent news of its own advancement, excitedly calling out to him.
Thorne took a look—wow, the tree trunk, once just three or four meters tall, now stood over ten meters, fully qualifying as a large tree, with an even more intricate root system beneath the soil.
Now, the entire tree grew within Thorne's lake. Luckily, Nether Thorn no longer needed to absorb large amounts of lake water, or Thorne might not have been able to sustain it.
Checking Nether Thorn's status through the system, it had also reached Mortal Tier Level 5. Its skills hadn't changed, but recalling its methods against Kuruth's soul, Thorne imagined the upgraded Ghost Thorn Tree would be even more fearsome.
"Master, I'm hungry. I want to eat the food on the shore."
The "food" Nether Thorn referred to was naturally the corpses on the shore, but now wasn't the time to feast. Thorne had a purpose for keeping them.
Since the scorpion and lizard tribes were controlled by someone behind the scenes, their disappearance would surely prompt an investigation, eventually leading back to Thorne.
Thorne figured he'd leave the corpses to create the appearance of a mutual slaughter. When someone came and saw this, noticing the absence of the scorpion general and lizard general, they'd likely suspect the leaders had taken the remaining beasts and chased survivors elsewhere.
This way, as long as Thorne hid well, whatever entity was behind this wouldn't focus too much on the lake itself.
Moreover, these corpses were free food for other carnivorous creatures, likely attracting more magic beasts and bringing Thorne additional energy points.
A deep sense of crisis weighed on Thorne. When there were no beasts to hunt, he planned his future development, practiced his three attack skills, and trained with Chu Ming to improve their coordination.
Thorne discovered that his three skills gained a power boost when used alongside Spring Breeze Rain. Additionally, his new skill, Water Force, paired exceptionally well with Chu Ming's Ghost Thorn.
In his downtime, Thorne observed the plants and animals growing in the lake.
Nurtured by the lake's spiritual water, the creatures within grew remarkably fast. Watching the fish and shrimp swim about, Thorne wondered if he should cultivate his own shrimp soldiers and crab generals someday.
"Huh? What's that?"
In Thorne's perception, a peculiar small creature appeared on the shore.
It resembled a gecko but had black wings on its back, somewhat reminiscent of the dragons from foreign movies in his past life.
Though its size was quite small.
In the months since arriving in this world, the creatures Thorne had seen were all much larger than those in his previous life.
Even the scorpions from a few days ago were half the size of a horse, yet this gecko was no different from the geckos of his old world.
At that moment, the gecko was preparing to burrow into a scorpion's head.
The scorpions' bodies were encased in hard shells, making it no easy task to break in.
Yet this gecko effortlessly sliced a small hole with its claw and slipped inside, emerging shortly after with a satisfied air.
Then it raised its head, cautiously scanning its surroundings, before gleefully targeting another lizard corpse, its tiny eyes brimming with liveliness.
This scene piqued Thorne's interest.
He quietly cast Water Bind, sending a water rope slithering along the ground toward the gecko.
As the gecko emerged from the lizard's head, Thorne's water rope was already waiting, swiftly binding its delicate body.
The gecko struggled frantically, its sharp claws slashing at the rope.
This time, it miscalculated. Water had no fixed shape—however sharp its tiny claws, how could they cut it?
Just as Thorne, with a playful heart, prepared to toy with this strange gecko, it suddenly vanished.
Thorne was shocked. Under full perception, he realized it had somehow slipped into a scorpion corpse.
"How did it break free? And how did it get into the corpse?"
Thorne was baffled. The water rope in the air still held its binding shape, proving the gecko hadn't broken it with brute force.
"Interesting. Let's see how many times you can escape."
Unconvinced, Thorne conjured four or five water ropes, all reaching for the gecko at once. Even hiding in a scorpion corpse wouldn't help.
Sure enough, the captured gecko vanished again, only to reappear nearby. Thorne immediately sensed it and sent another water rope its way.
After four consecutive attempts, Thorne finally saw how the gecko escaped.
Each time it was bound by Thorne's water ropes, its tiny wings fluttered, and its body "whooshed" to another spot.
"This must be some kind of spatial innate ability. But with the gecko's current power, it seems unable to teleport far, which is why it always reappears nearby."
"And it doesn't seem to control the direction either."
Thorne watched as the gecko crashed headfirst into the Ghost Thorn Tree's trunk, a plan already forming in his mind.