Act 32: The Forbidden Orchard

The mist in the forest dispersed, and the battle was almost over. The sudden attack launched by the young men of the human guard had indeed achieved some unexpected results against Madara's vanguard at first, but once Cabes gathered more powerful undead, the situation quickly became clear.

The forest fell silent—

"Lord Cabes." The pale-faced necromancer apprentice placed a hand on his chest and bowed respectfully to the tall skeleton before him.

"I thought you maggots wouldn't come to see me, Rosko."

The skeleton general, clad in brass armor, had flames burning fiercely in its eye sockets. It sat with its legs spread wide atop a pile of corpses, one hand gripping its double-bladed battle axe, the other resting on its knee. It looked down at the scrawny apprentice with utter contempt.

The Dark Lords and Necromancers had always detested each other. Their unification this time under the call of the Mercury Staff was merely a facade. As for the Bloodline races, they had always maintained their own circles, rarely involving themselves in Madara's affairs—this kingdom had endured centuries in such a divided state—until recently, when a darkness like smoke and clouds broke free from its stable shell.

These were the exact words of the banshees' prophecy, and they also aligned with the goddess Ilene's revelation about "the spread of darkness from the East." Whether Dark Lords, Necromancers, or Bloodlines, all believed that this era was coming to an end, and a new era would be ushered in by Madara.

Rosko chuckled. Cabes was a main general under Tagus, while he was merely a minor squadron leader; the gap between them was immeasurable. The fact that this bony structure would condescend to lecture him was simply because his vanguard had stolen the spotlight from the entire border army. With three hundred skeletons and over twenty wights, they had crushed the Bucci guard, then orchestrated the complete annihilation of Green Village's self-defense force, allowing Cabes to advance unimpeded. Finally, cooperating with the latter to annihilate Bucci's guard, such achievements could only be described as glorious.

According to Madara's tradition, the vanguard of the army was generally used as cannon fodder to deplete the enemy's strength, or at best, to delay and act as a buffer. Such vanguard forces were composed of skeleton soldiers and lower-ranking wights. Eluin's forces, with only a third of that scale in their guard, could easily defeat them.

In Tagus's plan, Rosko was merely a pawn to disrupt Bucci, while the true spearhead of the attack was Cabes on the flank and Vesa the "Ghoul"—but this one-eyed vampire commander hadn't expected the great surprise this necromancer apprentice named Rosko had given him. Just as he hadn't expected Vesa the "Ghoul" on the right flank to make a significant mistake. The battlefield was always full of variables; even the most excellent commanders couldn't maintain an advantage at every step, let alone Tagus, who was known for his steadiness.

However, this lowly necromancer apprentice didn't know his future path at this moment, so he naturally wouldn't retort. On the contrary, Cabes's words were more like an honor to him. After all, they were directed at all necromancers, but it indirectly elevated his status.

He glanced at the row of cold Black Knights behind Cabes, feeling a pang of envy. He had plundered many good things during the invasion, but most of them had to be handed over, and what remained was not enough to summon a Black Knight. He heard there was a Templar knight's tomb in Green Village, which would be the best vessel, but unfortunately, that area was now Cabes's territory.

A pity, but it was fine. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Madara had come for spoils this time, and all the generals had their eyes on this opportunity.

He thought for a moment and replied, "Lord Cabes, a few stray rats have fled north. We also didn't see the refugees we saw yesterday afternoon. I suspect they are using a feint; their main force has entered Dagger Riverbank to the north."

That was enough said. The north was Vesa the "Ghoul's" controlled territory. If he wanted to pursue those "living materials" or at least get a share, he would need Vesa the "Death God's" nod. He, a mere squadron leader, couldn't bear that responsibility.

But Cabes wasn't foolish. It glanced at the small necromancer apprentice and suddenly realized the latter's impure motives. It couldn't help but adjust its jaw, making a creaking sound. "You want me to clash with that bald Vesa? What benefit would I get, you little maggot?"

"To further expand your own power, isn't that enough benefit, my lord?"

"Hmph, they are just a disorganized mob. I have no interest in those weak skeletons."

"I heard that the Bucci guard had an eleven-month war veteran, who was the captain of those humans."

The flames in Cabes's eyes flickered. "It's not worth the trouble, and Vesa that kid would get the benefit."

Rosko sighed, knowing his persuasion had failed. He looked up, about to take his leave. After all, he and Cabes were not in the same system. If not for this matter, he really wouldn't have come—don't underestimate Death God Cabes, a main general in the army; as a necromancer, his vanguard could completely disregard its orders.

But at this very moment, his heart trembled slightly, and he couldn't help but look south.

The tall skeleton also looked in that direction—their gazes pierced through the forest, falling into the shadows of the mountains in that direction.

Such powerful magical energy—

"It's Xavier Mountain Pass." Cabes sniffed the air, as if it could smell the magic wafting from the direction of the Yunsong River.

Rosko didn't reply, as he immediately felt a stronger magical fluctuation emanating from that direction.

What was that Golden Demon Tree doing? Such a strong reaction would be felt by any wizard tens of miles away. He suddenly felt a bit worried, wondering if the sorcerers of the White Mane Legion in the direction of Ridenburg would notice anything.

"We'd best send some people out first, Lord Cabes."

"Hmph, I know without you saying so. We undead creatures are far more sensitive to magic than you are. Wait until you become a lich before lecturing me."

Rosko smiled.

Brando, Freya, and Romane emerged from a rugged crevice in the cliff face. He immediately gestured for them to stop. From here, they could see the entire sunken valley below—surrounded by bare mountains, a gray rocky area dipped downwards, with sharp stalagmites protruding from the ground—a massive, sprawling golden oak tree was quietly rooted in the center of the cracked valley.

This was the Forbidden Orchard.

The Golden Demon Tree absorbed nutrients and free magical particles from the earth, causing the land to wither. The earth elements, losing their cohesion, rose into the air, creating this scene. Brando looked up; the sky above the entire valley was gloomy, as if heavy clouds were pressing down, which was also caused by the imbalance of elemental power.

Due to the disintegration of earth elements, a large number of other elements were attracted to this place, leading to extremely chaotic elemental order. Elemental order was a rule established by Martha during creation, controlled by the four Elemental Kings, but order was not necessarily stable and unchanging, just like everything the Golden Demon Tree did—human factors often disrupted the environment.

In the past, in this valley, due to the abnormal elements, the power of elementalists would be suppressed by 30%. For this reason, at the beginning, almost no parties would accept elementalists in this instance—this history was called the "Three Years of Blood and Tears" by elementalists. Of course, the subsequent rise of that profession was another story.

Romane and Freya stared blankly at the strange Golden Demon Tree. They had only heard of such creatures in bedtime stories before, and they never expected to see one with their own eyes one day, feeling as if they were dreaming.

Moreover, the beauty of the Golden Demon Tree presented a strong visual conflict with the desolation around it. It was like seeing a real-life illusion, full of fantasy.

"Wh-what is that?" Freya couldn't help but ask, somewhat dazed.

"It's so beautiful, Brando. Is that the Golden Apple Tree from the myths? Are those monsters its guards, right? I never expected such a beautiful creature to exist in such an environment!"

"That's an oak tree, Romane," the future Valkyrie sighed.

"I-I know, of course. It's just a golden oak tree, at worst!" the merchant girl retorted hastily, her eyebrows raised.

"Don't be fooled by its beauty. This should be the most dangerous creature you've ever seen. No, it should be a monster." Brando's gaze meticulously scanned the entire valley. He quickly found a patrol of Treants. Those monsters, covered in vines, were slowly advancing across the rugged rocky surface—

This matched his memories from the game.

"Monster?"

"Yes, the monsters we encountered before were all born from it."

"How can that be?" Freya couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

But she and Romane had also seen the patrol of Treants. However, they weren't particularly nervous facing these monsters now. They had encountered these servants of the Golden Demon Tree many times during their journey so far. Brando himself had gained 65 experience points and obtained a Tree Crystal from an adult Treant.

This item was a crafting material in the game. He wasn't sure how the production skills worked in this world, but he decided to keep it just in case.

However, he noticed that Freya and Romane had also grown significantly in combat. Especially the future Valkyrie; her strength and agility had increased rapidly—after several battles, she was almost at the level of a guard academy student. Brando still didn't understand how they gained experience, as it seemed much slower than his from the surface.

Normally, killing a few high-level monsters like Treants should have leveled Freya's pure Militia class up several times, but in reality, he felt it wasn't even as fast as his secondary profession, Mercenary.

This made him a bit puzzled.

Of course, all doubts had to be set aside for now, as they had more important things to do. If the Golden Demon Tree discovered them first and summoned the Withered Beasts from outside, they wouldn't have much time left. Brando had calculated during his time playing the game that from the start of the battle until the first wave of Withered Beasts arrived, they would have at most fifteen minutes, which was exactly one cycle for the Sacred Sword. If they couldn't defeat the Golden Demon Tree before then, they would have to consider retreating.

However, Brando wasn't considering engaging in battle immediately. Firstly, setting aside how they would deal with the patrolling Treant squad, he himself still had another question to answer.

With that thought, he couldn't help but glance towards a higher cliff face on the other side.

"Wait for me here, and absolutely do not get discovered," he said, turning back.

"Brando?"