Chapter 749 - Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill
Unless one had lived under a rock their whole life, there was not a single person in the Geyser Kingdom who did not recognize the pill symbol of the Venerable Pill Master.
Whether through word of mouth or printed on newspaper, the people of Geyser Kingdom would have heard or seen the Venerable Pill Master at least once in their life.
As a Half-step Paragon, the Venerable Pill Master may not be the strongest in the kingdom, but his status was not inferior to the Sea Emperor and High Priest, who were genuine Paragons, and may even surpass them.
That is how important the Venerable Pill Master is.
"So it was Young Master Neron. Apologies for the offense, the Venerable Pill Master's medallion with suffice."
Lord Quinten Saville began receiving Neron with a warm and accomodating attitude before shifting his gaze to Lina.
"Ah, and I assume you are Young Master Neron's life companion?"
Lord Quinten Saville attempted to earn Neron's good impression with his bold assumption.
Without surprise, Neron beamed with a wide smile.
However, his expression quickly froze upon noticing Lina's displeasing frown.
"Ahem, you are mistaken, Lord Quinten." Neron coughed awkwardly before correcting the person's misunderstanding, "She's my junior sister."
"Junior sister...?"
Lord Quinten Saville muttered with a pondering look before he was given a sudden fright in realization.
"My apologies, Miss Lina. It was very rude of me to have made such a bold assumption," Lord Quinten Saville quickly apologized.
Between the only two disciples under the Venerable Pill Master, many people knew who the Venerable Pill Master Favored more.
Nevertheless, Lina did not care about Lord Quinten Saville's apology.
"Never mind that. We don't have time for idle chats. We still need to stop Baron Cortez's rampage!" Lina objectively stated with a frown.
"Right, junior sister is right. Lord Quinten won't mind us tagging along to assist you, right?"
Neron interjected with a smile while trying to dispel the awkward mood between them.
"Naturally, I have no reason to refuse the help of an Early-stage Seeking Insight Transcendent," Lord Quinten Saville nodded with a smile.
"Full speed ahead!"
"Yes, Lord Quinten!"
The airship crew quickly powered the airship after Lord Quinten Saville ordered.
Rumble...!
Swoosh!
Before long, the law-punishing airship blasted into the distance with a sudden burst of a speed that continued to increase without losing momentum.
Everyone stood firmly on the deck as if wind resistance was non-existent.
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Grassland Region, World Tree's crown
In the palace hall, Elizabeth sat in one of the two main seats while Faelyn and Thessalia sat in the side seats on her side.
Sometime later, Heinrich entered the hall with Elder Evergreen, Supreme Elder Haldir, and half of the Elf Tribe's 12 Elders.
"Since everyone here, we will address the imminent crisis we face," Heinrich spoke after taking his seat beside his wife.
"You've gathered us all on such short notice; this crisis must be very difficult to resolve. What is it exactly, Your Majesty?" Supreme Elder Haldir inquired.
Elder Evergreen and the others waited patiently for Heinrich to continue filling them in on the details.
"Yes, I was just about to talk about it, even if you didn't ask, Senior Eldergreen," Heinrich addressed Elder Evergreen politely before he continued to speak.
"Everyone should have heard how I was attacked by two foreign Transcendents some time ago in the old capital. They were only Preliminary Accession Transcendents, but their combat power was far higher than other Transcendents of the same level."
"Although my son hunted them down, a large group of experts has suddenly crossed our borders. We believe they are affiliated with the previous two foreign Transcendents and have come for revenge."
"Do we have intel on their strength and numbers?" One of the Elf Tribe's Elders asked.
Heinrich shifts his gaze to the elder before replying with a severe look, "There's around a hundred of them with half of them in the Transcendent Realm."
"Their exact strength is undetermined, but given the strength and age of the previous foreign Transcendents and the number of Transcendents they're bringing this time, we can expect them to have at least one Seeking Insight Transcendent or more."
"Not only that, it should be a Seeking Insight Transcendent with above-level combat power," Elizabeth inserted with a deep frown before studying the elders' expressions subtly.
"So not only does the enemy have more Transcendents than our side, but their strongest Transcendent is also likely to be stronger than the Supreme Elder and Elder Evergreen."
After an elf elder made the statement, everyone was hit with a heavy feeling.
"This does seem like it will be a difficult battle," Supreme Elder Haldir uttered before adding, "But not impossible to win. We have to make prep—"
Supreme Elder Haldir did not finish speaking when a shadow guard suddenly appeared next to Heinrich and whispered into his ears.
"I see..." Heinrich nodded after hearing the shadow guard's report. "You can leave."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The shadow guard disappeared shortly after Heinrich signaled him to leave with a wave of his hand.
All eyes were shortly directed at Heinrich as they awaited his news.
"Haiz..." Heinrich sighed before saying, "It would seem that we have no time to prepare. The enemy is already at the door."
Heinrich knew they were short on time, but the enemy still reached them much faster than he anticipated.
Nevertheless, his words quickly took everyone by surprise.
"What?"
Boom!
The World Tree was suddenly attacked, causing the palace hall to shake.
"We're under attack! Follow me!"
Elizabeth shot to her feet and swiftly summoned the swords hanging on the wall before leading the charge outside to confront the enemy.
Everyone immediately stood up and followed, including Faelyn and Thessalia—only to be shortly stopped by Elizabeth.
"You two will stay back!"
"But…"
"No buts! That is final," Elizabeth stated with an unquestionable tone, leaving no room for negotiation.
Faelyn and Thessalia immediately felt dispirited.
As Heinrich walked past them, he patted them on the shoulders in consolation.
"Don't worry. It's the thoughts that count. Leave this matter to the adults," Heinrich said.
However, Elizabeth suddenly shot him down, "You're staying back too, dear. You're not even a Transcendent yet. So what are you trying to achieve by joining the battle? To get yourself killed?"
Heinrich was frozen still with a stunned looked, feeling betrayed as Elizabeth left the palace hall with the other elders.
His wife did not leave him any face after what he just said.
Nevertheless, she made a point.
Faelyn and Thessalia pretended not to have noticed anything to avoid putting Heinrich in an awkward spot, but it only made him more embarrassed.
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...
After Baron Cortez and his people arrived at the Grassland Region, they didn't just attack the World Tree.
In fact, the attack that Elizabeth and the others felt was just one among many of Baron Cortez's wild attacks upon reaching the vast camp.
Seeing so many humans and elves in the new capital construction area, Baron Cortez and his people began attacking indiscriminately with vicious and ruthless means.
Screams and terror rang throughout the region as humans and elves fled for their lives while the brave ones died while confronting the wicked fiends.
...
"We've finally caught up to Baron Cortez and his people, but they've already begun attacking such a large camp!" Lord Quinten Saville stated.
Law-punishing airship arrived on time and floated in the sky as everyone onboard oversaw the situation below.
At the same time, the towering World Tree surprised everyone from the Geyser Kingdom, but it was not the right moment for anyone to admire it.
"So much has changed since I've left..." Lina muttered before quickly shaking her head.
Now was not the time for that.
Baron Cortez and his people were slaughtering innocent lives as she spoke.
Her parents could even be among the masses below.
"Senior brother!" Lina urged.
Neron nodded before turning to urge Lord Quinten Saville in turn.
"Shall we, Lord Quinten?"
"Un. Law-punishing troops, stop—!"
ROAR!
The World Tree exploded with great fury after receiving repeated harassment from the intruders causing chaos in its land.
Its whip-like tree roots moved in a blur and accurately swatted all the troublemakers out of its domain.
Puchi! Puchi!
Jets of blood were sprayed from Baron Cortez and his retainers' mouths, and they flew like broken kites with their strings cut.
Thud, thud, thud...
Their bodies landed a few miles away, creating small pits in the ground, and remained motionless.
Whether it was Elizabeth's or Lord Quinten Saville's sides, both sides were stunned, and brief silence swept across the entire Grassland Region.
Shortly after, Lord Quinten Saville recovered from his shock before leading his people to check on Baron Cortez's condition.
At the same time, Elizabeth also issued similar commands before leading the elders to check.
When they all arrived at the sight, they discovered that all of Baron Cortez's bones were shattered, and his organs were crushed.
The other retainers were in similar conditions.
After being swatted to death by the World Tree, they have all become lifeless ragdolls.
Alas, it was the price for angering the World Tree.