Chapter 207 - Elder Evergreen
"Your Highness! Look at this!"
One of the other two palace guards with him called out. Leon's gaze was directed and settled onto one of the burnt bodies of the treants, or rather a specific section on their burnt body that had snapped off like weak bark from a tree when they were trying to free the palace guard underneath. However, what lied underneath was not the hard-fibrous substance of plants, but something else entirely.
"This is… flesh?"
Leon was startled by the discovery. No wonder, these treants were so small compared to the ones he knew of in his memory. They were not real treants. That is why the tree spirit didn't care about their life and death. But if they weren't real treants then what are they?
"Your Highness, why did we stop? We should just kill them all. They may not be grateful for the mercy you showed them and may even attack us when they regain their strength and courage." Zorbek said the moment he arrived with the rest of the palace guards in tow.
Leon shook his head and said, "Take a look at their bodies. These treants may be related to the ancient civilization and might be able to help us understand history better."
Zorbek followed the direction of Leon's gaze and landed on the dead body with exposed flesh. However, Leon didn't intend to wait for Zorbek's remark before he continued, "Anyway, we have a bigger problem on our hand that requires immediate attention. Check who is missing."
Hearing this, Zorbek nodded and put on a stern look, albeit with slight traces of surprise remaining in his eyes. He swept his gaze through the group of palace guards and did a quick count. There were two by Leon's side, 16 newly arrived, and one dead for a total of 19 palace guards. One was missing from the original 20.
Zorbek removed the helmet from the dead palace guard, but he was unable to confirm the identity of the deceased. The prince's flame was too strong and didn't leave them much room to identify the dead palace guard by. Everyone pretty much wore the same items.
"Lutheran and Damir are missing from the group, Your Highness. Pardon my incompetence for being unable to confirm the identity of the deceased." Zorbek said subserviently.
"Never mind that." Leon waved his hand and told the group in a cold tone, "Take a look at your fallen brother. This fight was something that could have been avoided. If you find the missing person, treat them as the enemy and apprehend them at once. If they resist, kill them!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Everyone answered with firm determination. The prince didn't explicitly mention it, but it wasn't hard to guess that the first attack wasn't a mistake but a deliberate attack. To think there was a spy among them all this time…
Inwardly, Leon was surprised to hear there two names come up. They were the least suspicious in the group, but upon further thought, being the least suspicious was also the most suspicious in and of itself.
Lilith nudged him and nonchalantly said, "Those tree-people are still looking over here nervously. Perhaps, you should say something to them."
Leon studied Lilith's calm complexion before he nodded. However, he didn't make his way over immediately. The palace guards had trouble breathing with their indented armor. As the only metal-user in the group, he should at least fix their armor.
Leon executed a high level of control with his metal manipulation to return their steel armor to their original shape. It looked almost as good as new, albeit with some white dashes marking the outline of the previous dent.
Leon had realized that regardless of which element he uses, he would be able to execute a high level of control like his fire manipulation. The cumulative strength of his elements relied on comprehension and cultivation, but the control of his elements relied on the coordination and mental strength of his mind.
"All paths lead to the same source huh…" Leon murmured.
When the treants saw Leon making his way over to them, they retreated several steps in fear. Leon smiled guiltily when he saw this and thought these reactions were to be expected. He had literally changed the tide of battle with a single fire attack. Although many survived due to his timely conjuration of water, dozens had still been burnt to a crisp after getting hit by too many fire arrows. Wood simply held zero advantage over fire and only served to fuel it.
The treants hadn't suffered such a devastating fire attack before, but it only took one for them to develop an instinctive fear of it. Leon had traumatized them badly, especially the ones that took a direct hit and suffered the burning agony.
Leon paused his steps some distance away from them and looked at their fearful expressions. If not for the occasional flickering signs of intelligence in their eyes, Leon would have doubted that they could understand him. It's not that they didn't understand his previous words before the fight, it's just that they had simply chosen to ignore it.
However, after getting burned miserably, Leon didn't doubt that they would at least lend an ear to him now.
"This fight was not one that we wished for, but one started by a spy that was hidden amongst us. But for the damage and grief, I have inflicted upon your village, I offer my sincerest condolences for your losses." Leon apologized. To show his sincerity, he performed a 90-degree bow. He was truly regretful for what had transpired. If he had smoked out the rat early, they could have avoided this. Also, his karmic virtue value might have even reduced because of this event.
The treants exchanged glances and began murmuring among themselves. They were slightly at a loss, and unsure how to react to his apology. Thanks to Leon's excellent hearing, he was able to pick up what they were whispering.
"It speaks our language. What should we do? Where do these outsiders come from?" A treant woman questioned.
"They share the spitting appearance of our ancestors. Perhaps, there are still humans dwelling on the surface?" A younger treant expressed her doubt.
"Surface dwellers? Have you forgotten the teachings passed down by our ancestors? The surface was a land of death. No humans can survive there without turning into grotesque monsters. I'm more inclined to believe these fiends had crawled out from the depths of hell. They trespassed into our home and kill our people without warning." A half-burnt male treant harrumphed angrily.
"En, we can't listen to their lies, especially that person. He is a wicked being who wields the flames of the devil. Not only are they evil, but they are also cunning! We should fight to our last breath!" A hotblooded treant expressed his agreement,
"That's not right. That person can also conjure the water of life. How can he be evil? The guardian spirit would not have allowed them to venture so far if they were truly evil." An elderly treant frowned. What the elderly treant didn't know was that their so-called guardian spirit had pretty much been bribed by Leon with his healing pills.
Leon was bewildered by what he heard. Flames of the devil? Water of life? Isn't that too much of exaggeration? He was only using regular one-star flame and water! But no, to these treants that never seen the light of day, it was no exaggeration. Fire gave them hell, and water gave them life.
The burnt blacken parts of the treants could be seen receding at a noticeable speed simply by dipping in the pool of water made by Leon. His water seemed to work wonders like a miracle healing drug on these treants. 'Is it because they never received sunlight and water before?' Leon doubted.
The treants continued to discuss among themselves and Leon soon find his patience waning. With a forced smile and asked, "Is a representative among you to whom I can speak with?"
"What do we do? That fiend looks like it is losing its patience."
"Is it going to attack again?"
The treants looked at each other with worry and continued their whisper. But at some point, all them went silent then moment they heard a walking cane tapping the ground.
"Village chief."
They greeted and parted ways for the appearance of a new treant that looked much more imposing and ancient than the rest of them. Leon's heart shook with each step the treant took towards him as he realized the ancient treant before him, was a Transcendent-level being.
Sweat oozed from his pores as he felt the pressure of the ancient treant's gaze that was filled with age and wisdom.
"Answer me this, human. Did you come from the surface?" The ancient treant sounded like a wizened old man nearing the end of its lifespan.
"Yes," Leon answered honestly. This was a being they could not afford to offend.
The ancient treant wanted to refute the human's answer, but there was no reason to lie in front of its presence. After a short lapse of silence, it asked, "Why have you come?"
"Originally, to understand the history of a bygone era and use its knowledge to improve humanity. Now, we are trying to find a way back to the surface." Leon answered, before coming up with a question of his own. "I wonder if Elder can answer my doubts. Are you all survivors from the Nova Empire? And are you a treant or a human?"
"Neither. We are something that exists in between, born out of necessity for survival due to the harsh living conditions of the underground. To be exact, we are not survivors of the Nova Empire, but their descendants. You may refer to me as Elder Evergreen. I am the eldest of this small village." The ancient treant said.
Leon looked at the ancient treant with doubt, suspecting that it might have missed an 'N' in front of its name. There was nothing green about it and was assuming a withering yellow appearance instead. Knowing it was extremely rude to think as such, Leon quickly banished the thought. He was thankful that the ancient treant seems very accommodating and didn't question him about the 'spy' because even he doesn't know what the spy ran off to.
"Elder Evergreen, dating back, it must have been at least 10,000 years since the fall of the Nova Empire. I'm not sure what the surface was like back then, but it is definitely not a land of death anymore." Leon said, but then thought about the Wildlands and added, "At least not the same as before. Have you never thought about returning to the surface?"
Elder Evergreen looked at Leon deeply, before explaining, "It's not that we have never thought about it, but we can't even if we wanted to. I don't know how you made it here, child, but I commend you for it. We are surrounded by powerful predators as you should know. Even contact between villages is impossible."
'There were multiple villages?' Leon's eyes flickered.
However, Leon was confused by the elder's words. Even without confronting the ants, they should be able to return to the surface by burrowing through the earth above. After all, the earth above the elder tree shouldn't be as hard as the earth at the bottom.
He was going to continue his questioning, but he noticed that the people on both sides had been feeling very jittery like they were waiting for a verdict that decides their life and death. "Elder Evergreen, I would like to continue our talk, but we should probably give our people a peace of mind first, right?"
Elder Evergreen nodded.
"Mm, indeed, we should figure out how we should resolve the conflict between our two sides first. It is rare for us to have intelligent visitors who can speak our language. For that, I would like to welcome you all to stay and talk more. However, that's not possible until you provide an answer that can satisfy me or prove your claim on the spy to my fellow villagers. After all, they don't believe you and their anger is not easily abated by words alone. So, do you have an answer that can abate their anger?"
"I don't know whether I can abate their anger, but I can quench their thirst. As for the spy... I have an idea."
Leon rubbed his chin while glancing at the tree spirit.