The Aether dimension was much calmer without the constant flow of the Necrotic mana pumping toward the planar shell. Interestingly, the connection between the dead tree and the shell persisted…
No, not just persisted, I realized as I felt a small flicker of nature mana flowing toward the shell.
The tree was still functioning.
Fascinating, I thought as I followed the connection back to its source, and soon, I realized the tree wasn’t as dead as I had first assumed. I had no idea from where, but there was a little Divine Spark possessed by the dead tree.
Then, a notification popped, warning me about the source.
{-1 Nature Spark, God Forest}
The delay was rather suspicious, but before I could pay attention to that, I had a more important thing to do. I dashed inside, using the same tunnel I had used earlier, to the underground cave with the spring.
Only to see one of the roots of the border tree already burrowing against the first tree, taking control… It was definitely not good news, and I was ready to cut the connection … but not before a little experiment.
{-199 Nature Spark, God Forest}
A bit wasteful, maybe, but after the great haul I had attained, a few hundred points looked like a much more acceptable amount. After that, I destroyed the tree I had created in the underground cave, only leaving the ward to assist the tree.
Then, I went outside once more, leaving the tree to recover. The carved sections were already recovering as the tree devoured most of the mana. Once outside, I tapped into the Arcana dimension once more, creating a similar ward around its magical roots to fasten its conversion rate — this time, with several traps of light mana in case any undead might decide to fiddle with it.
Once that was done, I turned my attention back to the outer defenses, creating a layer of trees to conceal the wards. Once that was done, I started adding several beacons, some inside the defensive line, some hidden away, ready to give me the mobility I needed.
The lack of constant mana drain was certainly useful.
However, as I started establishing the detection wards, I noticed a trigger. Not from here, I realized, but back from the God Forest.
It didn’t feel like the undead, but still, I teleported immediately, right into my basement outpost.
Seldanna was gone, but I could sense her outside, and the rest of the camp was reacting to her movement as well. Curious, I went to the surface, confident my invisibility would hold up without a problem.
The great improvement in my stats made me feel much more confident in the situation.
On the surface, I met with a surprising sight. A great flock was flying toward the camp, consisting of large rocs, and the elves had gathered to greet, with the priestess at the center. The leading bird was a bit different. At first, I assumed it was another roc, but further examination revealed that it was not the case.
No, it was some kind of majestic bird I failed to recognize, but somehow radiating nature mana. As they got closer, I could see a dozen or so elves on top of that majestic bird, each wearing gleaming golden robes, and the rest wearing silver metal armor.
Altogether, there were almost a hundred elves split along a dozen beasts. A great response.
However, I didn’t need to hear the suspicious glances the elves throwing toward the birds to know that it was a bit excessive for reinforcements — especially since, even at a distance, I could feel their strength.
It was hard to perfectly identify the power of the elves from such a great distance, but it got easier once they passed the second layer of detection wards I had established for this exact purpose, allowing me to check their mana potential.
Of course, it was a cursory assessment, difficult to pin down, but still, I could make an educated guess. The silver-armored elves were more or less as strong as a death knight, though since I had no idea about their true combat potential, it was hard to pin their exact combat potential.
Still, at least they were solidly in Chosen territory.
Golden-robed figures were stronger, but it was hard to guess just how strong they were. For the sake of safety, I would assume that they more or less had the combat potential of a regular lich, but that was hard to make sure.
A dangerous force, and certainly not a casual amount of reinforcements. If the elves had enough forces to reinforce each defensive position with such forces, the undead would have a much harder time getting a beachhead in this plane, let alone making such great progress.
Even with my new stats, the power they represented was scary enough that I wouldn’t dare to fight against them in an open field. Luckily, I had long turned my forest into a veritable fortress that I could use from a distance.
Not to mention, the trees were just as capable of draining nature mana as pumping it, which would limit their combat capabilities significantly. If it came to a fight, I was confident in taking them.
It wouldn’t be an easy battle, but it was a winnable one.
Soon, the birds landed outer edge of the camp. First, the silver-armored figures jumped down, their weapons raised, pointing at the other elves, their dismissal easy to read.
And not just for me, if the reaction of our camp was any indicator. The relationship between the outer tribes and central tribes was even worse than I had expected … though, based on the detailed style of their armor and their refined attitude, I was starting to think that the inner tribes were less wild and more urban.
Interesting distinction, though they had hardly cared about it.
“Disgrace!”
It was the first word that left the mouth of the golden-robed figures, though, unlike the warriors, they didn’t even bother leaving their seats — luxurious-looking seats, more of a carriage than a saddle.
The camp fell silent. Well, that was not entirely accurate. The more accurate statement would be that no one in the camp had spoken. The silence was cut by the bows being raised.
“Stop! Lower your weapons,” Saldenna ordered before one of them could actually use their bows. I just watched as she sent a scary glare to the camp commanders, who started working to calm the camp.
Good call. The newcomers were outnumbered one to fifty, but without my assistance, the camp would lose, and even with mine, it would have been a bloody affair. And, a few smirks I could see on the silver-armored figures told me that they were more than happy to start such a massacre.
“We have reached you in the hopes of an alliance between our tribes against the undead—“ Seldanna started, only for one of the golden-robed figures to raise their hands.
“Stop, wildling,” the old man declared. “What kind of dreams of grandeur you’re living in to think that you can ask the alliance of our glorious city.”
That was enough to challenge Seldanna’s control over the camp. She couldn’t retaliate against them directly, afraid of their power,, but her lack of an answer was already impacting the rest of the camp, which was shuffling in panic.
The golden-robed figure was brash and antagonistic, but I had a feeling that it was not a reflex, but something calculated. The whispers of the others behind him reinforced that idea.
Probably a politically expedient reaction, unhappy with the sudden gathering of the outer tribes. Understandable. One by one, they were hardly a threat, but together, they might have some impact.
Especially when supported by a mysterious forest.
“Hurry up,” one of them whispered. “We still need to go to the boundary to assess the changes,” one of the golden-robed figures said, unaware that I was listening.
“I don’t know, this forest gives me a weird feeling. I don’t want to leave this place as well. Maybe it’s linked to whatever that was going on.”
As they argued, I quickly sent a magical message to Seldanna, telling her to accept whatever they had in mind unless they started killing. She didn’t say anything, waiting for their discussion to end, aware that they were outnumbered.
“Enough, we don’t have time to waste,” their leader suddenly bellowed, and a magical pressure radiated off him, which relied on his Divine Spark, which was still in Chosen form, but almost about five hundred points.
A fascinating amount, enough to scare all elves — except Seldanna, but I was quick to send a message to her, to act shocked.
“As per the rules of the silver city, we declare this patch of forest ours. All of you, disperse!” he ordered, then, pointed his finger to Seldanna. “And since you’re the leader of this rebellious band, you’re going to go to the capital for trial.”
Even as they gave the order, two of the golden robes stepped down, staying in the forest with ten soldiers, while two other was already moving to arrest Seldanna.
A fascinatingly quick reversal.
{Strength: 16 Charisma: 16
Precision: 16 Perception: 16
Agility: 16 Manipulation: 16
Speed: 16 Intelligence: 16
Endurance: 16 Wisdom: 16}
{Purified Divine Spark: 2392}
{Pseudo-HP: 2869 Mana: 4140}
{ADDITIONAL SPARKS
Light - Chosen 7.4
Nature - Chosen 10}
{MINIONS
Guardian God Forest - 1809}
Elven Priestess - 70}
[Level: 36 Experience: 631374 / 666000]
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