Negotiating Envoy

Deep in the Green Forest—the Twisted Treant Clan.

Apart from Yin Ming himself, only Johnny Green, the councilor in charge of exploration, and Chairman Robert Kava were natives of the Green Forest Region.

The other councilors had originally lived in Hurricane City in the Lansya Region, within Warlock Alliance territory. They knew little about the Green Forest Forbidden Zone.

As a nonhuman power on the Prime Material Plane, the Twisted Treant Clan rarely dealt closely with other factions, even after affiliating with the Warlock Alliance. They remained mysterious, which was why the depths of the Green Forest had been designated a forbidden zone.

"This is serious trouble!"

Klee Gler took a deep breath and broke the silence. "There are at least a thousand Twisted Treants around Hell Valley. I can see five Second-Ring individuals, and too many First-Ring ones to count. We can't beat them. Is there any way to escape?"

Escape?

That was certainly an option.

When all else failed, retreat was the best strategy!

If a Twisted Treant dared leave the Green Forest Region, someone would gladly carve it up for extraordinary materials, no matter what ring it was. But first, they had to get out!

Robert Kava shook his head. After a pause, he said, "They've set up a Wood-Spirit Barrier overhead, maintained by four Second-Ring Twisted Treants. We can't fly out."

"There used to be a tunnel beneath the castle leading out of Hell Valley, but the roots of those extraordinary vines destroyed it."

Hell Valley lay in ruins.

Yatote Feir's innate witchcraft had wrecked nearly everything. Only a few Flame-Burners Association buildings and the underground wizards' meditation chambers had escaped collapse.

"The Green Forest has expanded dozens of miles and swallowed the entire area around Hell Valley. Taking a tunnel would be no easier than