"Only fifty Justice Points? Sigh, what a pity. "
Since a certain mercenary group had volunteered to help me, the only Justice Points I earned from "finding the traitor" was the fifty Justice Points I had earned from providing the fingerprints.
However, those two undead fellows admitted to their crimes without any hesitation. One claimed that he was addicted to gambling and had become muddle-headed, while the other claimed that he had mysteriously been bewitched by a lich. I didn't even need to use any evidence before they took all the blame.
I also unhesitatingly used a forbidden spell to extract their memories. Their brains were completely blank for a few weeks, but I didn't gain anything else worth mentioning. The rookie undead mage Dean indeed believed that he had been controlled by an undead forbidden spell and had become the servant of a lich that might have existed.
Both his testimony and fingerprints proved that he was the one who wrote the letter. However, I felt that the situation wasn't quite right. After all, he couldn't explain how he had obtained such high-level information. All he could say was that it was a rumor.
"Rumor? Indeed, there are plenty of such rumors. There's even a rumor that the Nature God is about to descend. Can anyone believe that? "
Now that I had investigated further, there were no more clues. After all, there weren't any serious consequences. In the end, I could only punish them by depriving them of their status as Contract Heroes. All I could do was be more vigilant.
However, there were some things that made me suspicious and apprehensive. After all, there were times when the memories of the living weren't necessarily real, especially when the opponent was an undead. After all, some undead magic was capable of altering memories and knowledge.
"Increase the defense level of the campsite. Have the magical plants monitor all the important locations. Also, have the following important individuals keep an eye on them …"
That was why, even though I didn't say anything on the surface, I had secretly made many preparations and preparations.
Two days wasn't a long time, nor was it short. However, on the battlefield, where every second mattered, it was incredibly precious.
Perhaps the traitors really were those two brats, or perhaps the true mastermind behind the scenes had restrained himself. There had been no signs of any information being leaked over the past two days, nor had I met any new informants … I had already swapped out all the undead patrols in the area with my subordinates. Unless they had a more secure method, the letters would still end up in my hands. And if they had a more convenient method of contacting me, they wouldn't have needed to send me letters earlier.
Another piece of evidence that everything was becoming peaceful was the fact that the Undead Lords hadn't sent out any large-scale armies in the past two days. This seemed to mean that the undead hadn't discovered anything. This was doubtlessly the best news of all.
At midnight the next day, a magical pattern suddenly flashed in the night sky. It was an emergency signal to summon all adventurers. At this point, concealment was meaningless. Since they were about to be discovered anyway, it would be better to gather all their combat strength and prepare for a direct battle.
However, the adventurers who went out to hunt were worried that they had gone to the wrong place when they returned to the camp. After all, the changes here were too great.
In fairy tales, elves were capable of building a small house in a single night. In reality, the elves were capable of borrowing the power of the forest to build solid defenses. Meanwhile, the wood spirits were far more skilled than the elves. Under the protection of their Mother Goddess, they were capable of distorting reality.
The century-old tree in the center of the camp had already shed its disguise. Its withered bark was blown away by the wind, revealing a gigantic root extending from the ground.
This was an extension of the strongest tree in the Forest of Dreams, the Sky Tree. This ugly and gigantic root had already spread throughout the entire camp. Countless green lights were spilling out from its roots. The wood spirits became even more spirited as they bathed in this light, providing the plants with endless nutrients.
In the next two days, the wood spirits used a small shovel made from the Sky Tree to dig a small hole that was one-tenth of a meter wide and buried two stones in it. This was a ritual to worship the earth.
Next, they would sprinkle seeds from the Forest of Dreams and pray for ten seconds to sincerely thank their mother for her gift. Then, they would pour rainwater from a silver container to remember nature's grace and majesty. Once all three were done, the ritual would be complete. The abundant essence of nature would cause the tiny seeds to transform into a gigantic treant or a dangerous magical plant within three minutes.
"You make it sound so complicated. Isn't it just digging a hole, burying the seeds, watering them, and waiting for three minutes …? Why three minutes? I suddenly thought of instant noodles. Are these all instant seeds?"
When I asked her about this, Samantha pretended not to hear me, but a mysterious red blush appeared on her face. Rosa, on the other hand, was quite happy to tell me.
"Yep, you're right. Actually, there's no need for any ritual at all. All we need to do is bury the seeds and sprinkle them with water. The Mother Goddess herself doesn't like complicated rituals, and she's never stingy with us. However, Sister Samantha says that this is no good and that others will look down on us. That's why we need to make every step a bit more complicated and add meaning to it. "
Alright then, it was likely that many new religions were torturing themselves like this. In the end, they would constantly increase the ritual's procedures and requirements in order to make it seem more dignified. In the end, this would be passed down from generation to generation, causing even themselves to be annoyed.
"Little Samantha, as the ritual is passed down from generation to generation, or from the higher-ups to the lower-ups, the ritual will definitely change to the point where even you won't recognize it. At that time, if you cut off a portion of the ritual, your believers won't recognize it, and it might even cause a religious war. You're just looking for trouble … You're looking for your own death! "
Samantha nodded with a pained expression. She had also noticed this. However, the problem was that the religious ritual had already been passed down, and it wouldn't be so easy to change it.
Cough, let's not even talk about the future. Even Amelia was having a hard time dealing with her own religious ritual. At any rate, the new Forest of Dreams was currently in the midst of a full evolution.
Although the Forest of Dreams lost a lot of its power through the Sky-reaching Tree's roots, and since it was so far away, the Forest of Dreams would only be able to transmit one or two layers of its power. However, the Forest of Dreams itself had nearly limitless power, and the Forest of Dreams' headquarters hadn't suffered any losses, so they could afford to squander it. Originally, the most dangerous part would have been the roots that could be cut off, but now that the most dangerous part had passed, the roots had grown strong enough that it would be difficult to cut them off.
And so, with the help of the endless natural essence, all sorts of ancient war trees and magical plants furiously grew. The temporary wooden fences suddenly grew more than ten times their original size, becoming a sturdy city wall that was more than ten meters tall. The newly grown roots were absorbing nutrients from the earth. Compared to an indestructible city wall, a city wall that was capable of self-repairing would be even more despairing.
Each and every one of the Ancient War Trees was tall and sturdy. However, their eyes were filled with confusion. Without the Mother Goddess's care and the overly short growth period, the Ancient War Trees were nothing more than premature babies with short lifespans. However, they lost their intelligence and growth potential in exchange for peak combat strength and combat instincts born for battle. Under the wood spirits' command, the Ancient War Trees were fearless and unstoppable.
If the ancient war trees were the most outstanding guards, then the magical plants would be the most intricately designed war machines. Numerous gigantic peashooters peeked out from various key locations on the city wall. They were all three to four meters tall, and their cannons were half a meter in diameter. If one got close to them, they would even hear faint sounds of prayers.
"Praise the Holy Light!" "Under the illumination of the Holy Light, all evil shall be purified!" "In the name of the Holy Light, bestow the evil with the flames of purification from the heavens!"
Yep, these Holy Light peashooters were currently praying to the Holy Light. Their roots and storehouses were already overflowing with Holy Light. Since my experiments had already proved that even demons could summon Holy Light, it was only natural that plants could do the same. Of course, there was a slight side effect, which was that the other Holy Knight and Holy Light priests would have expressions of complete disbelief when they saw this scene.
Unfortunately, it was likely that news of what happened in the Northlands had already spread, so nobody argued for the sake of faith. Otherwise, I would have been able to use my new research results to give them a verbal slap in the face. Perhaps I would even be able to create a few more examples of faith collapsing, which would further damage the Holy Church's reputation.
The Holy Light peashooters were only one member of the magical plant army. For example, the fourth generation of peashooters had already evolved to the point of being able to "store Holy Light" and "overload". The magical plants had already greatly evolved, and we were beginning to prepare many "surprises" for the undead.
After all preparations were complete, Samantha, who was lost in the core of the heaven-reaching tree's roots, gently caressed the seed of the Forest of Dreams as she recited the final words of praise.
"Awaken, my sister."
That's right, my sister. During the past two days of adjustment, the Modest Jill of the Three Virtues had fused together with the seed. When the seed awakened, Jill's consciousness would also fuse together with the forest, transforming into the omnipresent will of the entire forest.
When Jill's beautiful wooden face opened her eyes, a faint green divine light ignited the entire world.
The entire world began to change. The sky-covering roots transformed into a towering tree, and a new green divine light rose from the ground. All natural life here felt a mysterious warmth and nourishment.
The air was now filled with a faint green light. Large amounts of nature's essence had caused the seed to sprout. The entire world's order began to distort as a new Forest of Dreams began to grow.
Jill, who already had the ability to transform into a forest to begin with, now transformed into the overall commander of this fortress as well as the new owner of this land.
"All adventurers and Contract Warriors, our goal is to expand the territory of the Forest of Dreams. Soon, the undead will come to stop us. As long as we can hold on for a certain amount of time and allow the new Forest of Dreams to mature, we shall obtain the final victory. All participants shall receive large amounts of gifts and the friendship of the wood spirits."
It was about time for Samantha to state the goal of this Quest. At this point, the Undead Lords' armies would soon arrive, and it would be too late to leave even if they wanted to. Although this was rather shameless and a scam, it was indeed a good method to gather the greatest amount of strength.
"Every adventurer who kills a high-level undead shall receive an additional 100 Fate Points as a gift, as well as a free limb recovery service. The friendship of the wood spirits can also be exchanged for a chance to exchange for an item that isn't for sale. "
Since adventurers were fighting for the sake of personal benefits, we might as well give them actual benefits as bait.
Meanwhile, not only could the undead in Asolivis see the endless divine light that pierced through the clouds, it was likely that even the Cloud Tower on the other side of the sea could see it.
On the city walls of Asolivis, Davey, who had been happily chatting with his host and guests, suddenly stood up. The green divine light in the sky was glowing like starlight, and the Undead Emperors' angry shouts echoed in his ears in unison.
"Davey! If you allow this green thing to grow any further, you'll regret it for eternity! Your soul will shatter into pieces! I'll have you howl in pain until the end of the world … "
The Undead Emperors didn't have good tempers. The furious Undead Emperors immediately gave their representatives the absolute order that if they failed, they would be killed.
Meanwhile, the two esteemed guests by Davey's side also revealed rare expressions of astonishment.
"The will of nature? Could it be the new God of Nature? "
"No, it's even more powerful than the God of Nature. This is a threat on the level of the Creator Goddesses. It reminds me of that insane woman and her older sister … This is a threat to our entire species! We need to eliminate it as soon as possible. "
…
Up until now, the Undead Emperors had always looked down on the wood spirits. After all, there were far too many coincidences involved in the wood spirits' existence. Even their creator, Amelia, wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat any Undead Emperor under normal circumstances.
This arrogance came from their foundational knowledge. It was similar to how old-time nobles would look down on a lucky millionaire who happened to win the lottery. It came from the fact that the undying were used to seeing meteors disappear in the blink of an eye. In their eyes, the wood spirits weren't a threat at all. The only true enemies were dragons and mages. The undying would always treat other undying existences as equals.
In the Undead Emperors' minds, the wood spirits who were like caged beasts wouldn't be much trouble at all. After all, even if they were undefeatable in the Forest of Dreams, not to mention the fact that the forest couldn't move, once the Undead Emperors truly arrived, their so-called undefeatability would become nothing more than a joke. And so, the Undead Emperors even secretly compromised and made concessions to the wood spirits.
In the Undead Emperors' plans, the most important thing right now was to conquer Bardi. If they could unseal the Bardi Empire, it would be even better if they could obtain the assistance of their gigantic allies in the future.
As for the area around the Victoria Harbor that the wood spirits had occupied, they could leave it to them. Even if someone tried to ambush the undead through this area … they could just let them ambush them!
Anyways, a small army wouldn't be worth it to surround and annihilate the entire Undead Calamity. If any country's army really did invade through this area, they would have to face an astronomical number of Undead Calamities as soon as they exited the forest. It was impossible for the forest to move to the undead's core territory, so the undead would have plenty of time to prepare their strategies.
Yes, all of the undead's strategies were based on the most basic of common sense — the forest wouldn't move.
But now, it was moving!
Perhaps the newly conquered forest wouldn't cover a large area, but as long as the seeds were planted and large areas were spread out, the undead's territory would be slowly nibbled away. If both the eastern and western frontlines were at the level of a direct battlefield, it would be taboo for a military strategist to face enemies on both sides. Their entire strategy would likely collapse.
"How can this be! Get rid of those damned weeds and little things! "
The entire Undead Country started moving. Countless high-level undead began summoning their own armies. This was a battle that would determine who would be the ruler of this land. This was a battle of an unimaginable scale.
As for me, I had been waiting for such a long time.
"Frostmourne … Ice Calamity is hungry! It's thirsting for more souls. "
I raised my pitch-black, crystallized magic sword as an endless undead army gathered behind me. The undead would never imagine that someone of their own kind was thirsting for more souls right here.
"I'm not hungry. I only drank two bottles of milk this morning, meow." The silly cat pretended to be naturally cute …
"… Do you really like to make fun of me that much? Can't you just keep acting cool!? "
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