Although there was no physical evidence, Ed still sensed the aura of death and decay.
Clearly, Samuer's possessed corpse had just been there and attempted to Drain power from the death of Councilor [ Whale Tail ].
But did he succeed?
It seems not...
Ed's transcendental perception did not detect any obvious fluctuations. He did have some experience with this kind of thing, after all, he had personally witnessed Cardinal Luxiusi's death.
It was a quiet, silent death, like the Descent winter snow covering everything. Even the remaining traces could make one feel a deep stillness, making it impossible to muster any interest for a short period of time.
At the scene of [ Whale Tail's ] death, even though Ed had seen the bones, he still couldn't sense any corresponding remains.
Why is that?
Two possibilities arose in Ed's mind—
First, the Whale Tail was not completely dead.
He had secretly witnessed the players' previous experiments; after the players died, the Skeleton Alliance would collect their corpses, skin them, and make skeletons.
Those skeletons can also be used to resurrect soldiers of the Skeleton Alliance.
Similarly, if a normal skeleton dies, it can be resurrected without damage as long as most of its bones are collected.
So...
[ Whale Tail ] may not actually be dead; if all her bones are recovered, then...
Oh, it doesn't seem like that will work.
After all, the most important " Holy Remains " that made up the core of the [ Whale Tail ] councilors is now completely gone.
Well, it seems that [ Whale Tail ] really can't be resurrected, but it's unclear whether her current state qualifies as dead.
The other possibility, however, requires even greater boldness.
In this world dominated by carbon-based life forms, Ed clearly had no experience designing forces related to crystal clusters.
So, is it possible that the skeletal beings were resurrected because of the effects of the Demonic Tide?
If their fundamental power originated partly from another world, then it's perfectly reasonable that Samuer, who governs death and Drain power from it, wouldn't be able to take a cut from it.
Lacking evidence, Ed could only sigh in despair.
Both sides are possible; that's the answer.
However, this very fact proves that Ed's fishing plan was indeed effective.
After all, he had confirmed that Samuer was also eyeing this battlefield.
That makes things easier.
Ed glanced at the sky.
There, Vanessa, Wens, and the skeleton council members were already locked in a fierce battle.
This fighting will definitely lead to deaths, but there's actually a better way to prevent Samuer from profiting from it:
If I can hold him off, won't he have no time to Drain the essence of death?
As expected, everyone in the Demon Realm has their own things to do.
Thinking of this, Ed placed his hands on the ground at the edge of the riverbank.
Although the Demon Realm was already extremely barren, and although he was at the foot of a mountain that had just been leveled, where there was not even any substance that could be called soil, Ed still had a way.
He looked down at the thick layer of silt and sand at the bottom of the river.
This is great stuff!
On a rainy night in another world, when it's quiet enough, you can even hear the crisp sound of bamboo shoots sprouting after the rain.
In the World of Disorder, there is no need for rain or silence; one only needs a little hearing to hear the thunderous sound of Ed transforming his body into a tree.
Amidst a series of crackling sounds, the Blood Corpse, skeletons, and Soul Returner were all astonished to discover that a giant tree had appeared by the riverbank without them even noticing!
Even now, the giant tree continues to grow, and it's of a type the players have seen before.
That was the Resurrection Tree according to the Second Holy See.
"Yay!"
At the very top of the battlefield, in a place almost detached from this world, several intact souls let out joyful sounds.
Those were the players who died in battle but did not choose to be resurrected, including the [ Ginseng Rooster ] who died in the CG animation and was dissolved into a puddle by Rosalind's digestive fluid.
Based on his understanding of the game " World of Disorder," [ Ginseng Rooster ] believed that Ed's reinforcements would definitely arrive.
During each major battle, Resurrection Tree will spawn on the battlefield.
This was true in Fir City, it was true in Klaf City, and it was true in Holy City.
There's no reason why there shouldn't be Resurrection Tree this time!
He wasn't the only player with similar thoughts, and as a result, after dying, a small number of players didn't choose to reincarnate elsewhere, but instead waited patiently here.
Only when they saw the Resurrection Tree below did they realize that their hard work had not been in vain, and they were almost moved to tears.
For Ed, however, resurrection was just a small bonus.
Standing atop the giant tree, his hands still pressed against the canopy, he manipulated the extensive root system like scooping meat from a hot pot with a strainer, carefully searching for Samuer's whereabouts.
The abilities that one can use from their own past corpse and the remains of the original World Tree of this world clearly belong to the plant system.
For plants to thrive, a robust root system is essential.
Ed began his "river bottom dredging" journey with this in mind.
As it turned out, Ed's idea was very correct.
He actually got hold of Samuer's root and immediately engaged him in battle. A new battle had already broken out a hundred meters underground, just outside the Demon Realm.
However, neither Samuer's true form nor Ed's true form participated in this battle between root systems.
These two were like two players on a Street Fighter game console, each pressing skill buttons and shaking the joystick, fighting each other to the death on the screen in front of them.
After a brief struggle, a ferocious look appeared on Ed's face—
This rebellious son is quite capable!
It wasn't that Ed wanted to take advantage of Samuer. After what happened in the Holy City, Ed carefully considered his relationship with Samuer.
This guy's body is a suit he created himself; his power comes from the residual power within the suit; and his memories are from when he wore the suit.
so...
If this isn't a rebellious child, then what is?
Just as Ed was pondering this, a sharp cry of a falcon suddenly rang out from the sky.
The sound was so similar to a signature sound effect from another world that Ed thought oil had been discovered underground in the World of Disorder Demon Realm realm.
Suddenly realizing they weren't from the same world, Ed looked up and saw a giant eagle with a wingspan of over ten meters swooping down towards him.
The large bird had sharp, hawk-like eyes, and its wings gleamed with a brass luster in the sunlight. The combination of flesh and machine was perfect; it looked more like a work of art than an assassin coming to kill.