There was still plenty of time to carry out the earlier plan.
He didn't need everyone. It would be enough if half the people of the Valley of the Wind became his believers.
Setting aside what he spent fighting the toxins, the faith of every hundred people was enough for him to condense the Runes needed to turn two people into Blessed each day.
"Mr. Tree, do you have a solution?" Nausicaä brightened.
"That's right. Remember my plan? With enough power of faith, I can create more Blessed who can use incantations to fight. The Golden Order isn't just for show."
"And seven days is enough time to spread the word, put the people of the Valley of the Wind on alert, and get them to focus on fighting the invaders."
The Golden Order was a nearly perfect system of power, without any weaknesses.
Alongside its supportive abilities, such as eternity, abundance, and healing, it also possessed powerful offensive and defensive capabilities.
Otherwise, how had the goddess Marika united the Lands Between? With a giant treasure chest?
The all-round golden warriors, who combined offense, defense, healing, and enhancement, were the foundation on which the Golden Dynasty stood.
He didn't even need the other abilities. Simply mastering the healing incantation "Erdtree's Favor" would give him an army that was, in a sense, "immortal."
As long as they didn't die on the spot, any injury could be healed with golden power.
Hearing Mu En's reassurance, Nausicaä felt somewhat relieved.
They hadn't found out too late. There was still a chance to set things right.
"Nausicaä, aren't you going to introduce me to the one you've been talking to?"
Yupa suddenly spoke up.
He had noticed that Nausicaä had seemed distracted for some time now.
Most people might have thought her mind was wandering, but Yupa knew that Nausicaä had been able to hear voices others couldn't since she was little.
"Ah, Mr. Tree is helping me think of a way to deal with this... Oh, right, I haven't formally introduced you yet!" Nausicaä slapped her forehead.
She had wanted to introduce Yupa to the Erdtree for some time, but had forgotten after hearing that the Valley of the Wind's very survival was at stake.
According to Mu En, her teacher had the makings of a powerful golden knight.
Without realizing it, Nausicaä had already begun thinking about spreading and developing the golden faith.
If she could make Master Yupa stronger, the Valley of the Wind would gain a stronger ally against those thugs.
"Tree?" Yupa looked somewhat surprised.
"Didn't you say before that they could only express vague emotions and couldn't speak like other animals?"
Teaching a child who could speak to plants and trees was no easy task.
As it happened, Yupa was the one who had taken on that "thankless job."
Plants couldn't speak, most animals were quite simple, and the insects of the Sea of Corruption were even more clever at imitating humans...
All that little-known information had come from Nausicaä.
"Ah, you still remember that, Master?" The sudden mention of her embarrassing past made the girl smile awkwardly, and she quickly changed the subject. "The Erdtree is different. He saved the infected forest in the Valley of the Wind..."
After obtaining Mu En's permission, she told Yupa everything about the Erdtree and the plan to gain faith, even demonstrating the power of Erdtree's Favor on the spot.
She hoped Master Yupa would help her carry out the plan to save the Valley of the Wind.
Mito, who had just come downstairs: ...
Upon seeing the giant weed in the corner that had crushed the castle's wall bricks, he turned and headed for the lower level to fetch a stonemason.
He reminded himself that he had to remember to tell Her Highness not to use those abilities carelessly inside the castle!
Yupa fell silent for a long time, his feelings a jumble.
How was it that all his years of roughing it and exploring on his travels seemed less exciting than Nausicaä's time staying in the Valley of the Wind?
As for whether he would help... this was his homeland, and Nausicaä was his most outstanding student.
He simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Yupa took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and fixed his gaze on Nausicaä:
"Can you take me to meet this 'Mr. Tree'?"
Driven by an intense thirst for knowledge, Yupa temporarily put the grave subject of the invaders out of his mind, eager to see the so-called divine tree for himself.
"Of course. I've wanted to introduce you to Mr. Tree for a long time."
The residents divided the whole Valley of the Wind into four areas.
There were the highlands near the northern cliffs, the smallest area and the site of the village.
Then there were the barren beach and mine near the eastern coast, and the forest to the west, near the deep ravine that served as the entrance and exit.
Lastly, there were the thousand mu of fertile farmland that had once occupied seventy percent of the valley.
They were referred to in the past tense because none of the contaminated land could be farmed anymore.
Unlike the forest, where the contamination had been discovered early and dealt with fairly promptly, the fields had been contaminated after the recruiting officers arrived, when all the villagers had been confined to their homes.
Beneath the plentiful sunlight of the warm wind season, fungi from the Sea of Corruption had spread wildly. By the time the farmers discovered them, a deadly pale-purple miasma had covered half the valley.
Even though the fungi had been reduced to ashes in the flames, the toxins that had seeped into the soil would not disappear.
Unless a miracle occurred, the land could only be used for farming again by digging away the contaminated topsoil or waiting several years for it to recover naturally.
Yupa took one last look at the farmers loading the soil for transport and sighed softly.
Only then did he turn back and pass through the gate in the "wall," which was built of white stone and stood less than twice a person's height.
The wall ran across the Valley of the Wind, connecting the cliffs to the north and south. It marked the boundary between forest and farmland and served as a simple fortification against outside threats.
Besides serving as a dividing line, the stone wall also diverted and guided stream water into the fields.
Just then, a patrol of three female militia members happened to pass along the top of the wall. When they saw Nausicaä arrive, they immediately straightened up and saluted.
"Your Highness!"
"Thank you for your hard work," Nausicaä replied with a smile.
In the Valley of the Wind, most occupations weren't considered things "men could do but women couldn't."
Nearly every woman took pride in a strong physique that was no less impressive than a man's. Girls like Nausicaä, with a well-proportioned figure and delicate skin, were comparatively rare.
Yupa's attention fell on the women's weapons and equipment.
Besides the longswords at their waists, each carried a rifle slung across her back.
They were bolt-action rifles made in the Valley of the Wind's own weapons workshop. The wooden stocks came from the valley's forest, while the barrels and bolts, gleaming from careful maintenance, were specialty products brought from Pejite by caravans.
It's a shame Jihl's gunship isn't here, he sighed inwardly.
In Yupa's view, though the militia were spirited, they had never experienced real combat.
The able-bodied young men and veterans who did have combat experience had long since set out with Jihl.
If these recruits faced the expedition teams with nothing but simple personal weapons, he feared they wouldn't stand a chance.