At last, after Barn and the others took turns talking her down, Fukaloss managed to suppress her urge to charge straight into a purple mission and chose a cyan one instead.
It was rated in the third-highest difficulty tier. They would test the waters first and get a feel for the actual risks and pace of missions during this period of spatial change.
Like Ice Blade 123 Squad, all thirty-three teams tacitly avoided the seven most difficult purple missions at first, choosing lower-difficulty ones to test the waters.
The group exchanged glances as they looked at the ordinary human Sanctuary Guide before them, all somewhat surprised.
The male Sanctuary guide bowed respectfully. "Esteemed lords, my name is Carosso. I'll escort you to a resource site in the far east of Ice Prison Royal City. There are five Tiebo trees there that need to be relocated safely."
Ice Blade Squad had gained a temporary member. The seven of them left the legion's base and swiftly headed east.
Along the way, Carosso explained carefully, "Tiebo is an extremely precious plant. Its wood is as hard as refined iron, and each tree produces a two-meter-long core timber only once every thousand years. It's a top-grade material for crafting Divine Artifacts."
Barn and Declan exchanged a subtle glance.
They both knew that Tiebo was indeed a decent crafting material on the Yulan Continent, but it was only considered precious to those below the Sanctuary level. To Sanctuaries, it was fairly ordinary at best, suitable only as an auxiliary material for crafting weapons.
But conditions in Gobada were extreme, and metal resources were desperately scarce. Even refined iron could serve as the main material for a Divine Artifact's base, so Tiebo naturally became a rare resource at the Royal City level.
Carosso continued, "I believe your team is especially well suited to this mission. Tiebo's primary affinities are Water Element and Earth Element. Your powers are just right to protect it and keep it from withering on the journey."
The group understood.
The escort route was kept secret, so the chances of enemies deliberately intercepting them were actually quite low.
The real challenge wasn't combat, but how to keep these delicate, rare plants alive in Gobada's harsh environment all the way to the Royal City.
The mission had been rated cyan primarily for one reason: the route was too long, reaching the very edge of Ice Prison Royal City's territory.
Fortunately, Gobada wasn't particularly vast. The group traveled underground the whole way, concealing their auras, and reached the mission site in just five days.
"So many rules. We even have to sneak underground to avoid being spotted," Fukaloss muttered unhappily.
But now, the five Tiebo trees stood right before them.
The one guarding this resource site was also a Midgod.
Yet judging by aura alone, the guard was far stronger than Haywood, who had previously watched over the orchard.
"He should be a Midgod who broke through on his own." Since becoming a god, Barn's perception of the god-level ranks had grown sharper. With one glance, he could roughly gauge the man's strength.
"You're here to relocate the Tiebo?" The Midgod's gaze was keen and wary.
Only after Carosso took out the Royal City token and the guard carefully verified its aura and the badges of the team members did he slowly nod.
"The token is genuine, and the badges confirm that you're from Ice Blade Squad. You may take the five Tiebo trees. In case you can't move them all at once, I'll remain here for a hundred years and leave only after you've relocated every last one."
With that, the Midgod led them to the clearing where the Tiebo trees grew.
This resource site was much smaller than the orchard. Perhaps because Spatial Rifts were more densely concentrated nearby, the elemental energy was actually richer.
That was precisely why Tiebo, far more valuable than ordinary fruit trees, could grow here.
The group examined the five Tiebo trees.
They stood only three or four meters tall, their trunks no thicker than a person's thigh. But with "iron" in their name, their hardness and weight were every bit the equal of refined iron.
The biggest problem was that a Tiebo tree's roots spread as wide as its above-ground growth and couldn't sustain significant damage. Otherwise, it would wither and die at once.
Gideon spoke first. "My main body can carry one tree. Two would be pushing it, and I can't guarantee they'd survive."
Blair, in Beholder form, said, "I can carry one with an ice clone, but the icy body might damage the roots. I'll need someone to help protect them."
Declan, in his Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon form, smiled wryly. "I can just about manage one, but I'll be much slower."
His racial talent wasn't suited to brute strength, and the profound mysteries he'd comprehended had nothing to do with power. He was only somewhat stronger than the humans Barn and Julia.
Fukaloss considered it. "Even if I carry one too, we still can't move them all in one trip. And if we're attacked on the way, the Tiebo trees might wither on the spot."
Though she'd initially wanted to risk taking a purple mission, once she'd accepted this one, she'd made completing it safely her top priority. She wouldn't let her temper dictate her decisions.
In the end, the team decided to transport the trees in two trips.
On the first trip, Gideon, Blair, and Julia would each carry one Tiebo tree.
As the strongest member of the team, Fukaloss wouldn't help with the carrying. She would keep watch and serve as their backup in case of trouble.
Gideon thumped his chest. "I have a Divine Clone too, so I can spare the strength to dig a tunnel. We'll travel underground."
Fukaloss nodded. "All right. We'll play it safe on the first trip and travel above ground on the second."
Gideon immediately revealed his true form—
A massive Earth Violent Bear. Using Earth Divine Power, he slowly pulled up a Tiebo tree, roots and soil intact, then carefully handed it to Blair.
Next, he handed a second tree to Declan.
Only then did he hoist one of the incredibly heavy trees onto his own back and take the lead. With his Divine Clone supporting him, he could easily carve out an underground passage while carrying the load.
Fukaloss hovered beside him, alert for any possible ambush.
Julia struggled under the second tree, her steps heavy. Declan followed close by with his bow, guarding her, while Carosso, the guide, helped as well.
Blair walked at the rear.
Barn maintained a steady flow of Water Element Divine Power throughout the journey, gently nourishing the Tiebo roots and keeping Blair's cold from freezing them.
Most Sanctuaries living in the wilds of Gobada had lifespans of only a few tens of thousands of years. They'd never seen anything like this.
The oppressive auras of three gods spread along the route. The Sanctuary prisoners they passed all shrank back in fear, not even daring to raise their heads.
The seven traveled back toward the Royal City in silence.
—
The first trip went surprisingly smoothly. They encountered no enemies along the way and successfully delivered three of the five Tiebo trees. The mission was safely halfway done.
But there was little relief on the faces of the Ice Blade Squad members. Instead, they all seemed to feel a faint, hard-to-discern urgency.
During the time they'd spent hauling the trees back and forth, many other teams in the mission hall had already completed their first mission and started working on a second.
They'd spent a month completing only half a mission.
They'd chosen a cyan mission, which was indeed high in difficulty, but they couldn't make up for how few missions it counted as. A quick calculation made it clear: even with a slightly higher reward, it couldn't compete with the combined rewards from completing two or three yellow missions in succession. In terms of efficiency, they were already falling behind.
Fukaloss had always been proud and competitive. The thought of others pulling ahead made her restless.
"We made plenty of noise on the first trip. There's no point hiding anymore or continuing to burrow underground." She made the decision at once. "On the second trip, we'll fly straight back!"
No one objected.
The seven stopped deliberately concealing their auras and took off together, racing low over the desolate land. Divine Power kicked up the sand and sent it swirling behind them as their figures streaked across the silent wasteland like arrows loosed from a bow.
A journey that had originally taken five days took just one this time. They returned to the resource site and the clearing where only two Tiebo trees remained.
"We're short on time. No more splitting into groups." Fukaloss gave the order briskly. "Gideon, Blair, you'll each carry a tree. We'll fly straight back to Ice Prison Royal City at full speed!"
The Midgod who had broken through on his own and stood guard nearby watched them silently from start to finish.
At the order, Gideon and Blair wasted no time.
Earth Divine Power and Water Element Divine Power surged at once as the two carefully lifted the remaining Tiebo trees, roots and all. The roots were wrapped in moist soil, and Barn had already protected them with Water Element Divine Power to keep them from drying out or being damaged during high-speed flight.
The two heavy Tiebo trees, as if cast from refined iron, settled onto the backs of two enormous figures.
All seven rose into the air together and flew at full speed toward Ice Prison Royal City.
Before you continue