Temporary Victory

Kalei naturally could not waste the time that Arenia and the others had bought for him with their lives, so he began to rapidly gather natural energy.

Initially, Kalei had assumed that because the natural energy in this area was tainted by shadow power, it would be difficult to gather.

To his surprise, while the portion of corrupted natural energy ignored his call, the uncorrupted portion welcomed his arrival with enthusiasm.

They gathered rapidly around his body and took the initiative to summon even more natural energy from the distant mountains and forests to join their ranks.

Kalei gathered all these leaping energies around him, but he did not issue commands as he usually did, instructing them on how to attack or defend.

He remembered his mentor once saying that natural energy itself possessed an ancient will; like the wind and streams in the mountains, it could only unleash its most majestic power when acting according to its own nature.

Sure enough, a portion of the natural energy soon gave him a pleasant surprise; sensing the ancient consciousness imprisoned within the Ancient Magic Tree, they spontaneously began to assemble in the direction of the tree.

At first, it was just a few faint wisps of green light, flickering in mid-air like fireflies, but as more and more natural energy converged, the green light gradually gathered into a surging torrent, flowing toward the roots of the Ancient Magic Tree like a winding river.

The effect was not obvious at first, but as the gathered natural energy increased, the Ancient Magic Tree was soon affected.

The Satyr leader hiding atop the Ancient Magic Tree suddenly discovered that his control over the tree was weakening.

This startled him, jolting him out of his rage.

He realized he had been tricked by these pointy-eared ones, which infuriated him. He wanted to make them pay, but he now had to deal with that brat first—the one who posed a massive threat to him.

A strong sense of crisis compelled him to drive the Ancient Magic Tree toward Kalei at all costs.

Kalei felt the tremors coming from the ground and knew he was about to face a difficult test: retreat or hold his ground?

Ultimately, he chose to hold his ground. From the moment he made up his mind, he gained the recognition of even more natural energy, which converged to form an even more powerful torrent of nature.

This torrent surged out from Kalei's body, transforming into streams of green light that rushed toward the approaching Ancient Magic Tree.

Endless green light seeped into the body of the Ancient Magic Tree, awakening the consciousness sealed within the ancient tree.

As the consciousness of the Ancient Magic Tree awakened, the Satyr leader clearly felt his control over it plummet.

"No... no..." the Satyr leader screamed in frustration, forcing the Ancient Magic Tree to attack Kalei. Unfortunately, due to his waning control, the tree moved as slowly as a snail and was blocked directly by Ugo's immense strength.

When he tried to control the Ancient Magic Tree again, he found that his will had been isolated by the natural energy, and he had completely lost the ability to manipulate it.

The Satyr leader had not expected the situation to take such a sharp turn for the worse. Shocked and enraged, he jumped down from the Ancient Magic Tree and cursed, "Damn brat of the Nightdew family, you've always ruined my plans! I will kill you sooner or later!"

Kalei was surprised that this Satyr leader knew his surname. His heart stirred, and he opened his eyes to ask, "Who are you? Why do you know my surname?"

The Satyr leader laughed wildly, "Guess!"

Kalei desperately wanted his panel to tell him the name and background of this Satyr leader, but unfortunately, the panel could only scout the opponent's general strength; otherwise, it was completely useless.

However, hearing the opponent's laughter, a scene he had seen before flashed through his mind. He suddenly looked up and shouted, "You... you are the Satyr who led the attack on our village 40 years ago!"

The Satyr leader said smugly, "Correct, you guessed right."

Kalei's eyes narrowed, and he stood up in anger, "So it was you, you lackey of the devil! I will kill you!"

The Satyr leader sneered, "Oh, you want to kill me? Your father Malka was an idiot; I didn't expect you to be just as stupid as him."

Kalei was stunned and hurriedly asked, "So that means you met my father that night? What did you do to him?"

The Satyr leader grinned hideously, "You want to know? Go to hell and ask him!" As he spoke, he pointed at the Ancient Magic Tree and then vanished into thin air.

The group was about to pursue him, but Kalei suddenly sensed an unusual aura coming from the Ancient Magic Tree. He sensed it for a moment, his face changing drastically, "No! That traitor detonated the shadow power inside the Ancient Magic Tree! The tree is going to explode, run!"

Everyone was startled and turned to run. Arenia and the others were further away from the ancient tree and quickly left the blast radius. Kalei and Ugo's three Furbolgs were too close to the Ancient Magic Tree; they had only taken a step or two when they heard a muffled sound behind them.

Kalei thought the Ancient Magic Tree had already exploded and, unable to worry about the three Furbolgs, prepared to use the Magic Blink he had just learned to escape. To his surprise, no sound came from behind; instead, he heard the long-lost voice of the system.

Received a message from the Ancient Magic Tree Anlong: Thank you, young Druid. You have saved me with your courage and wisdom. May the spirits of nature always look upon you with favor.

You have gained the favor of the Spirits of Nature. The Spirits of Nature have gifted you a Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree.

You have obtained the special item: Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree. This seed will exist within your body in a soul form and requires activation before it can be used.

Kalei turned his head and found that the Ancient Magic Tree had indeed exploded, but at the moment of the explosion, Anlong, having regained his senses, had purified it at the cost of his own life.

These purified energies drifted slowly through the air like fireflies dancing across the sky.

The nearby Spirits of Nature seemed moved by Anlong's sacrifice; countless tiny threads of light converged from all directions, carefully collecting the fragments of Anlong's soul scattered in the air and condensing them into a crystal-clear seed. In the eyes of everyone, it drifted slowly toward Kalei and finally merged into his body.

Kalei could clearly feel the presence of the seed within him, containing Anlong's ancient and gentle will.

He had not expected this arduous battle to end in such a way. His heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions—regret for Anlong's sacrifice and joy at receiving the gift.

However, the Satyr leader's words about his father before leaving completely shattered this joy, leaving him unable to feel happy.

Over the years, he and his mother had never found any trace of his father. Now it seemed that his father's disappearance must have a direct connection to those Satyrs.

Those Satyrs had likely taken his father away, but why would they take him, and how was his father now?

Chaotic questions swirled in Kalei's mind, but he could find no answers. He could only sigh in his heart, stop thinking about it, and focus on the matter at hand.

The explosion he had anticipated did not occur, and the group gathered around once more.

Felicia asked softly, "What just happened?"

Kalei told the group the truth, and only then did they realize that the Ancient Magic Tree had sacrificed itself to save them all.

Everyone could not help but feel both fortunate and regretful.

Jinli laughed from the side, "You little guy are really lucky. You actually obtained a soul pet so simply, and a soul tree at that."

Luna asked, "What is a soul pet?"

Jinli replied, "You don't even know this? For a hunter, there are three types of pets: the first are ordinary pets, the second are magical beasts, and the third are soul pets."

"Ordinary pets are everywhere, magical pets generally require personal cultivation, but soul pets are rare and sought after. These pets can reside within their master's body and grow stronger alongside them. Your captain's Soul Owl is also considered a type of soul pet."

Luna looked at Arenia, and Arenia nodded with a smile.

Only then did everyone realize that Kalei had obtained something extraordinary, and they all marveled at his good fortune.

Kalei had not expected such an unexpected gain, and he was naturally overjoyed.

After chatting for a while, the group began to discuss their next steps.

Although the Magic Tree had been purified and the source of the corruption plaguing this land removed, the other Corrupted Furbolg remained, posing a hidden danger to both the Bristlelimb Tribe and the Night Elf.

Linda put away her bow and arrows and said, "Strange. When we were fighting them earlier, Corrupted Furbolg kept running over to investigate the commotion, so why are there none now?"

Jinli leaned against the wall, wiping the stains off her blade, and said, "Could it be that these guys found out the result of the battle here and ran away?"

Arenia frowned and said, "That is a possibility, but other changes may have occurred. We had best go and investigate. What do you think?"

Everyone agreed.

Chief Ugo was most concerned about the situation of these Corrupted Furbolg, so he was naturally eager to do so.

Thus, the group followed the entrance the Ebony Priest had used to enter, left the now-purified large cavern, and headed toward Bearclaw Valley.

Along the way, they discovered that the place was indeed, as Ugo had said, a labyrinth of passages with forks everywhere. If not for Ugo and the other Furbolg who were familiar with the area leading the way, it would have been very easy to get lost.

Led by Ugo, the group bypassed several tunnels, only to discover that the Furbolg in this underground maze had not left; instead, almost all of them had fallen into a coma.

After checking, they discovered that the shadow energy within these Furbolg had been cleared, but due to long-term erosion by that shadow energy, their vitality was severely depleted, forcing them into a comatose state.

Kalei and the other Night Elf were somewhat surprised by this result, but they could accept it.

Ugo and the three Furbolg were ecstatic; they no longer had any desire to wander and were desperate to save their purified kin.

Having experienced a life-and-death adventure with Ugo and the three Furbolg, Kalei and his companions could not simply stand by.

They used their own abilities to provide whatever help they could.

Throughout the afternoon, with the help of Kalei and his companions, Ugo saved over a hundred Furbolg, simultaneously rescuing the Bristlelimb Tribe from the brink of destruction.

As night fell, Kalei and his companions bid farewell to the Furbolg.

These creatures, who appeared simple-minded but were cunning at heart, knew that Kalei and his companions were in a hurry to return home, so they did not try to keep them.

However, before Kalei and his companions left, they provided a generous reward for the Night Elf's actions: an Arcane Scroll recording how to create an Ancient Magic Tree.

This scroll was worthless to the Furbolg, but it was a priceless treasure to the Night Elf.

Kalei and his companions joyfully accepted this priceless treasure and discussed how Kalei would hand it over to the Cenarion Circle, which would surely be of great help for his entry into the organization!