Inside Xing 8 Castle, the treant finally crawled all the way out of the Teleportation Portal with a tremendous racket, drawing everyone's attention.
"Allow me to introduce him. This is Wilken, a mid-rank oak tree. He was once the Guardian Tree of Prince Dara of the Moonwell Clan. He was gravely wounded while fighting a High-level Magic Beast, and Princess Halkara only recently rescued him."
Landen pointed to the oak tree that had just come through the Teleportation Portal and was struggling to get up.
"He once came close to becoming a High-Rank Magic Tree, but because of his injuries, he's currently only mid-rank. Besides him, two other mid-rank trees have come with us. They were both Guardian Trees to the elven royal family. Since they were young, the True Gods of the elven clans have used magic on them, giving them a degree of mobility and magical ability."
Vianis Oak seemed transfixed by something. She walked involuntarily toward the oak tree, which had just straightened up, trembling with excitement.
Wilken finally stood steady. Two Magic Patterns resembling eyes were etched into his trunk. He looked at Vianis and spoke. "Hello, I'm Wilken. You must be Princess Halkara's great-great-granddaughter. From today onward, I'll be your Guardian Tree. As long as I'm here, the Beastmen won't take a single step into the forest!"
"Th-thank you. Thank you, Princess Halkara, and thank you, Marquis Landen!" Vianis, a wild elf, could barely contain herself. She had never dreamed she would become the owner of a quasi-High-Rank Magic Tree.
"These trees are only the first wave of reinforcements. If necessary, Princess Halkara will send her priests as well to help defend the forest."
Landen was still speaking, but the elves present had already gathered beneath the next enormous tree to crawl through the portal,