Doctor?
Hedley and Ines exchanged quick glances, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
Hedley spoke first, his tone cautious:
"...We don't know Babel Tower's exact location."
Vera raised an eyebrow, and Hedley hurriedly explained:
"Babel Tower and the Military Commission are both making urgent preparations for war right now. They won't let outsiders know where they are."
He watched Vera's reaction. Seeing that she did not lash out, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"As for this 'Doctor' you mentioned... sorry, I've never heard that title before. Is it someone's codename?"
After saying that, Hedley waited nervously for a response while Vera lowered her head in silence.
[Second: Fourth, what do you think of what he said?]
[Fourth: Hmm... the part about Babel Tower's location being confidential is probably true. They're at war, after all. As for the rest...]
[Hiss... did I get the timeline wrong? Has Doctor not been dug up yet?]
[First: As a commander, Doctor might be keeping a low profile behind the scenes.]
[Fourth: Oh, right! The war has only just started. Doctor might not have turned into an evil spirit yet.]
[Third: Then what do we do? Search everywhere one place at a time?]
[Fourth: Second, ask again. Even if he doesn't know where Babel Tower is, he should at least know how to contact them, right?]
Vera raised her head and stared at Hedley.
"How do you contact Babel Tower? Don't tell me you don't know."
The doubts in Hedley's heart deepened.
The other side was absurdly powerful, and her goal was clearly to find Babel Tower and "Doctor," yet she seemed completely ignorant of Kazdel's current situation and rules.
And that way of speaking... could she be a Sarkaz who had grown up in Victoria, or somewhere else far from the war?
But why choose this moment to return?
His thoughts raced, but Hedley did not dare show any negligence.
"There's no direct way to contact Babel Tower... They're extremely cautious."
Seeing the displeasure on her face, Hedley quickly added:
"There are only two circumstances in which Babel Tower contacts the outside world: to collect specific supplies, or to recruit capable mercenaries."
"The supplies are usually handled by certain intermediaries in Scar Market. The channels are hidden, and outsiders can hardly interfere."
"As for recruiting mercenaries..." Hedley paused and glanced at the wounded soldiers beside him.
"Whether it's Babel Tower or the Military Commission, they only approach mercenaries or mercenary groups with enough fame."
"We... aren't qualified to be recruited yet."
There was self-mockery in his words, but he had also clearly pointed out the way forward—
To contact Babel Tower, they either needed enough strength and fame for Babel Tower to come to them, or they had to find the supply line hidden within Scar Market.
[Second: That's troublesome... Going by what he said, do we have to slowly grind reputation like in a game?]
[Fourth: Easy, Second! Just find a place and go all out. Whether it's Babel Tower or the Military Commission, they'll come running to recruit you!]
[First: No! That's too dangerous!]
[What if someone can counter time stop? At the very least, we need to wait until I get there!]
[Second: I have no intention of joining either side.]
[What do the lives of these people from another world have to do with us? Besides, it's their civil war.]
[Fourth: Huh? You weren't this cold and heartless toward little Fire Dragon, were you?]
[Second: ...Cubs get special treatment. That's a matter of principle.]
[Third: How about... I come over and join you?]
[Second: No need... Who says you have to personally show up to become famous?]
After thinking it over, Vera looked at Hedley and revealed a smile that made his scalp tingle.
"Mercenary, your name."
"...Hedley."
"Then, Hedley..."
Vera lightly tapped the hilt of the Void Sword with her finger.
"I have a commission for you. Will you take it?"
Hedley remained silent. Looking at her threatening gesture, he ultimately chose to follow his heart.
"Please, tell me..."
The scene shifted to the Ursus Snowfield.
Amid the endless expanse of white, a patch of profound black stood out starkly.
At the heart of the darkness, several faint candle flames flickered.
[Second: All right, the other side has already "agreed" to take my commission.]
[First: Helping him build fame, then using him to contact Babel Tower... isn't that a bit roundabout?]
[Fourth: I thought you were going to slaughter your way through Kazdel and directly draw attention. This is it?]
[Second: Easy for you to say!]
[Like you said, Kazdel is full of freakishly powerful people. What if they realize I'm not a real Sarkaz and gang up on me? What's wrong with being cautious?]
[Fourth: You're overthinking it~ Babel Tower has operators from many other races. There are even hostile Sankta there. Sneaking a non-Sarkaz in wouldn't be a problem at all.]
[First: Sankta?]
[Fourth: Uh... just think of Sarkaz as demons in the traditional sense, and Sankta as angels.]
[First: Isn't this Kazdel's civil war? Why would Babel Tower have hostile angels on its side?]
[Fourth: It's a difference in ideals! Babel Tower is more idealistic. Their leader, Theresa, hopes that all races can coexist peacefully, so they take in talented people from every race.]
[The Military Commission is more realistic. They advocate Sarkaz supremacy and reject, even hate, other races.]
[Third: It sounds like... Babel Tower is the better side?]
[Fourth: Uh... you can't really put it that way.]
[If they follow Theresa's idealistic path, Babel Tower is destined to be destroyed in such a brutal environment.]
[Second: It doesn't matter. Their ideals have nothing to do with us. If the Babel Tower route doesn't work...]
[At worst, when they are destroyed, we'll just "fish" the people inside out.]
[Fourth: That might be a little difficult, but if you really want to take them by force, with your abilities... yeah, never mind.]
[Second: ...It hasn't come to that yet. Let's follow the plan first and see how far things can develop here.]
[First: To be safe, I should head toward Kazdel first.]
[I might as well set off tonight. This lava body of mine doesn't need rest anyway.]
[Third: First, you're not going to get lost again, are you...]
[Fourth: Probably not, right? The Mobile City routes are pretty obvious. If you follow the tracks, you can't get lost... probably?]
[Second: In any case, get here as soon as possible. Be careful on the way. As for Third...]
[You should keep hiding in Ursus for now. Your Wendigo appearance is too conspicuous and could cause unnecessary trouble.]
[Third: Mm... come back first in a little while. I prepared some things for you to protect yourself.]
[Fourth: Wow! Third, you were holding something back! Hurry up and show us!]
Ignoring Vane, Gorth returned his attention to reality.
The shadow beneath his feet writhed and expanded as he tested the limits of his ability.
To his surprise, the shadow he controlled could cover an exceptionally large area, but in return, his energy was drained at a terrifying speed.
Gorth was somewhat uneasy about this. Clearing out fodder enemies was fine, since he could replenish his energy with the talent that restored mana through kills.
But if he ended up in a prolonged battle like First, this energy flaw would be fatal.
What could he do...
[Fourth: Third? Say something, Third! What exactly are you giving Second?]
Gorth casually replied in the group:
[Third: Seeds I compressed using my skill.]
Seeds...
Seeds!
Gorth's eyes lit up. That was it!
He could prepare more seeds in advance and use them as backup energy reserves.
But...
Feeling the energy consumed to make a single seed, Gorth felt that the efficiency was still far too low.
I need a more efficient conversion method...
He summoned them again. This time, the vines bore strange crimson patterns—
They were the mutated vines produced after absorbing Fourth's blood.
Let's try this...
The blood-patterned vines swiftly burrowed beneath the frozen soil and took root firmly.
The scarlet patterns on the vines brightened and dimmed like breathing, drawing the meager nutrients from the earth.
Energy was flowing back... but it was too weak, almost negligible.
Was the quantity insufficient? Or was the soil unsuitable?
Gorth glanced at the number of blood-patterned vines and spoke in the group.
[Third: Is Fourth there?]
[Fourth: Oh my~ Your Majesty has ignored this concubine for so long, and now you finally remember me~]
Gorth glanced at the chat log. Sure enough, it was filled with messages tagging him. He calmly replied:
[Third: I only muted the group messages temporarily.]
[Fourth: ?]
[You can mute it? Is this really a chat group?]
[First: Third, what do you need Fourth for?]
[Third: I need his blood.]
[Fourth: ???]
[Wait... Third, why do you suddenly need that? Did you awaken some cannibalistic urge? Are we finally getting an internal conflict arc?!]
[Third: I just want to make more special vines...]
[Fourth: Oh, that? No problem! For a brother's cause, what's a little blood!]
[First: Is your body all right?]
[Fourth: Don't worry. I'll activate a skill later and dance on my HP bar. The efficiency will be amazing!]
[Second: Mm, then prepare more.]
[Fourth: You're too cold, Second! Shouldn't you praise my noble spirit of self-sacrifice?]
[Second: Oh, you're amazing.]
[Fourth: So perfunctory!]
[Second: Once the blood supply is sufficient, recover your condition.]
[Once you're ready, head out and determine your exact location as soon as possible, so we can plan a route to meet up.]
[Fourth: Hey~ Aren't you worried about me at all?]
[I'm going out alone to explore! Maybe a beautiful girl will capture me!]
[Second: If you can die with Immortal Body active, you might as well start over. It'll save everyone's resources.]
[Fourth: Mission guaranteed! Then I'll come back alive and keep bothering everyone!]
The conversation in the group came to a temporary end, and Gorth silently began making preparations.
Before the blood arrived, he should do something first...
With a thought, the shadow beneath his feet surged.
The next moment, black vines erupted wildly and writhed across a vast stretch of snowfield.
Gorth pondered for a moment. Driven by his will, those black vines no longer twisted about aimlessly, but began to intertwine and fuse together.
They altered their forms, their surfaces mimicking the rough texture of tree bark.
In the blink of an eye, a bizarre and dense forest of dead trees appeared upon the once-white snowfield.
The "trees," disguised from vines, had gnarled branches like ghostly claws reaching toward the sky, silently devouring the surrounding snow.
A silent Gardener had planted a strange garden upon the frozen earth of Ursus.
"Let them absorb energy on their own for now..."
Gorth murmured in a low voice as he walked toward the center of the forest.
"Come to think of it... how are the seeds I sent out doing?"
He did not notice that all the "trees" were slowly growing with the passage of time.
Their growth was slow, very slow... but they truly were expanding.
How far would they spread?
No one knew...
Before you continue