The Tree Witch Has Betrayed Him
But why?
Ruben Reed's face twisted, revealing not anger, but malice.
Judging from his unsealed intelligence, the Tree Witch was far from being invincible and respectable. For someone as ruthless and cunning as him, there were only those who could live and those who could not.
The Tree Witch directed all the contradictions and focus onto him, and then, just as he had just figured out, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
The difference is that he was wrong just now. The Tree Witch's primary target was not Roy, the follower of the Wood God, but simply because he was a threat to his position, so he wanted to get rid of him as well.
Rather, the Tree Witch's original target was him! As for Roy... the Tree Witch dared to transfer the task entrusted to her by the Wood God to him, which was already a great disrespect. Would she really still faithfully work for the Wood God?
If Roy kills him, the Tree Witch might not even bother to punish Roy; on the contrary, she might have already achieved her goal through Roy.
So why... Ruben Reed took a few steps forward, his bare feet sinking into the soft, muddy ground, the veins on the back of his feet standing out.
He stretched out a hand almost piously and placed it on the outer wall of the altar; the cold touch made him even more lucid.
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Ruben lowered his head humbly, closed his eyes, and murmured softly, "Lord Wood God, what do you want to tell me by lifting the influence from me?"
"Tree Witch betrayed you, didn't she?"
"Perhaps you will not respond to me, for this is neither the Tree of Reception nor the meditation cushion. Please forgive my intrusion, but I merely wish to draw strength and faith from you."
After saying this, he opened his eyes and placed his hand on his chest.
He was devout. Although some of the believers in the Underground City were scheming against each other and concerned about their status, they were all devout to the Wood God, because their very existence was a gift from the Wood God.
But now, the only explanation for the Tree Witch's actions is betrayal. Just as he was about to realize this, the Wood God seemed to acknowledge him, not only removing the intellectual seal that everyone had after coming underground, but also restoring some of his abilities.
Now, even if the vengeful spirit wanted to kill him, it would take some effort. If Roy and the vengeful spirit appeared at the same time, he would definitely be able to kill Roy before the vengeful spirit could kill him.
And then there's the Tree Witch. Judging from the Wood God's attitude, he probably wants to replace her with a loyal Tree Witch.
The new Tree Witch wouldn't be him; it would probably be Amber or Klaus. He knew very well how many times more powerful the Saintess and the leader were than him when they carried out their missions on Earth, so Ruben Reed was self-aware.
This made him even more concerned about why the Tree Witch was targeting him.
The last time he was in the city, the Tree Witch treated him the same as she treated everyone else—cold and indifferent—and he rarely had the chance to come into contact with the Tree Witch.
What's different about this trip compared to the last one?
Because he went out on a mission.
Therefore, the problem must lie with this mission... Yin Du.
He must have done something in the underworld that the Tree Witch found out about, which is why the Tree Witch wanted to kill him and set up this scheme to use the new believer Roy to kill him.
Sigh... If only he had broken free of his intellectual block sooner, he would never have provoked Roy. Such an obvious trap wouldn't have harmed him at all if it were on the ground.
However, he did not complain about the intelligence seal set up by the Wood God. Back then, the previous leader explained that the believers who came to the Underground City were all extremely wicked people with extremely high intelligence. If it were not sealed, the Underground City would never have a peaceful day.
Amber appears so cheerful and outgoing here, but everyone knows that the crimes she committed on land were those of a pirate at sea, robbing fishing boats and other pirates... leaving no survivors.
On one occasion, she robbed an unarmed elderly man who was searching for his family. The man was on a tourist boat heading to an island to stay with his son when the tour wrecked. Apparently, something strange happened on the ship, and the old man managed to escape alone in a lifeboat, taking all his belongings with him.
The old man's life savings were all stolen by the pirate king Amber Bradley. She ignored his desperate pleas for mercy and, after taking everything, threw him overboard.
The old man drowned, of course, but his son was actually the military commander-in-chief on that island. After the old man's body was recovered, the commander-in-chief investigated everything and mobilized all forces to attack Amber. The huge scar on Amber's face was cleaved open by the commander-in-chief's sword.
After her death, she was accepted as a believer by the Wood God and given a new life.
She completed each of her subsequent missions perfectly, albeit with bloodshed.
If her intelligence wasn't sealed, this vicious woman alone could turn the Underground City upside down.
But all of that is beside the point. Ruben could only sigh and recall his experiences during his mission in the Underworld.
This mission was really difficult. He spent a full twelve years in that world to make all the necessary arrangements, assimilating everyone in the Wang family into monsters that were neither human nor ghost, and cultivating the heart that the Wood God needed in their hearts.
As a result, the people of Yindu are all affected by this evil heart. Sometimes, someone will suddenly turn into a monster. In order not to attract the attention of the "fangshi" of that world, he uses various methods to hide the abnormality and silently speed up the process.
Unfortunately, just as he was about to test his results, two young sorcerers arrived in the underworld and ruined his plans.
In order to obtain the cultivated heart, Ruben Reed had no choice but to secretly activate the Great Blood Array, which had been buried for twelve years, while the two sorcerers gradually uncovered the truth. At the height of the commotion, he sacrificed all the people of the Underworld, turning it into a hellish place.
Of the two sorcerers, the older one also died in the blood array, while the younger one, who looked sickly, escaped, and it's unclear what methods he used to almost leave him there.
If the Tree Witch was targeting him because of his mission, then the reason must lie with those two sorcerers.
He had been deceiving the other people for twelve years, and the Tree Witch had never gone to that world to stop him. Only two sorcerers arrived suddenly, and the Tree Witch didn't have time to stop them.
Is it because of the bigger one, or the smaller one?
The elder one is dead. Could the Tree Witch have been from that world, perhaps with some past connection?
Or perhaps it's because the younger one knows the Tree Witch, which is why they asked the Tree Witch for help to find and kill him.
Ruben Reid's analysis had already grasped the key points.
He no longer cared about Roy, because Roy was just a fool who had his intelligence sealed away.
The only enemy he could take seriously was the Tree Witch. Due to his status and duties, the Tree Witch did not need to seal anything, which meant that he had to face an extremely terrifying and powerful figure alone.
"Give me some time to think of a solution..." Ruben Reed muttered, his gaze shifting towards the entertainment area.
Yu Xing only learned after returning to the residential area that these believers had actually had their intelligence sealed.
Amber caught up with him and explained that Ruben Reed was so reckless because his intelligence was sealed.
He immediately understood.
No wonder he's such a little idiot.
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Tree Witch Betrayed Him