Vera ultimately chose not to place her palace in the deepest part of Mill Forest.
As the Undead built the magical Great Wall and cleared the forest's interior, she rode her little carriage over the entire forest before finally choosing the bend connected to the Marching Mountains on the western side.
Mill Forest and the Marching Mountains resembled a longbow that had just been nocked with an arrow but not yet drawn, and Vera chose the curve of its body.
The deepest, densest stretch of forest was the upper section of the bow, the part wedged between the Marching Mountains and the Yisi River.
That was also where the most towering trees stood.
But Vera did not choose that place.
Though the depths of the forest were the safest place for creatures living within it, she had the Undead protecting her and did not need to compete with those poor little animals for living space.
Humans might understand that bringing the Undead would bring safety, but the panicked animals did not have the intelligence to understand that. They would only think Vera and the others had come to seize their habitat.
To keep their species alive, animals truly would fight desperately.
Standing in her open carriage, Vera looked at the little animals hiding behind the trees and watching them, then cheerfully waved her flower wand and cast a Natural Blessing.
She was actually quite happy: Mill Forest was in much better condition than she had expected, which could save them a great deal of time and effort.
Though she did not know why those elemental creatures had been so polite this time... given the Fire Genasi's temper, not burning everything that could burn already counted as being polite.
But Vera was still willing to make concessions for these animals struggling