In World of Disorder, any force that survives for a long time will always have its own unique methods.
These methods are not some closely guarded secret, because in most cases, even if people from other factions knew them, they would have no way to replicate them.
Like Graycast Corridor and Eternal Domain—
The former relies on the characteristic that inanimate objects are assimilated by the Demonic Tide more slowly to modify itself, thereby minimizing its disorder before death.
The latter is blessed by the Twin Kings Twin Kings, and their domain is filled with many wonders. Even if they leave the domain of the Twin Kings, their abilities will only be weakened and will not disappear completely.
For the Tree Worship Church Theocracy, the core of maintaining its power lies in the concept of the " Symbiotic Tree."
Implanting a plant that shares life and death with the body can bring numerous benefits to the recipient.
Firstly, once the plant takes root and sprouts in the human body and initially integrates with the recipient, the recipient's need for food will be greatly reduced. As long as they persist in sunbathing and drinking water every day, they can survive. In some areas with continuous rain, the Tree Worship Church Cult do not even need to drink water.
Although the Symbiotic Tree provides a small amount of nutrients, it is enough for the lower-level followers of the Tree Worship Church to live a peaceful life in "energy-saving mode," provided that the intensity of the Demonic Tide does not suddenly increase and the ruling class of the Tree Worship Church does not levy excessive taxes.
The other benefit is easier to understand: for some talented young people, the Symbiotic Tree is not only a source of nutrition, but also an extension of their limbs.
Once these gifted individuals demonstrate their ability to manipulate the Symbiotic Tree, the Tree Worship Church Cult will quickly absorb them, training them to become priests and nuns, thus enabling them to rise through the ranks.
However, in World of Disorder, there are no mutations that only have benefits and no drawbacks. The disadvantages of the Symbiotic Tree are equally obvious, with the body fat percentage of the vast majority of the lower-level followers remaining at an extremely low level.
At the same time, they find it difficult to engage in heavy physical labor like ordinary people from other factions. Although they don't need to do so since they won't starve, their physical condition would obviously make them the easiest group to catch when it's time to run away.
Furthermore, due to the excessive taxes levied by the Tree Worship Church, the Symbiotic Tree, constantly stimulated by the outside world, will continue to oppress the body of the implanted person, leading to a series of adverse effects, such as excessive physical Aberration, premature aging, and malnutrition.
Furthermore, every member of the Tree Worship Church Theocracy knows an inviolable ironclad rule: each person can only have one Symbiotic Tree and one symbiotic plant.
Once a second symbiotic plant is introduced, both plants will sense the crisis and begin to grow and wriggle wildly. The body of the one who violates the natural order will be completely torn apart and drained in the arms race between the two Aberration plants.
This process can last for varying lengths. For ordinary people, it may only take a few hours to a day before they are drained of their essence, while for stronger individuals, they can actively slow down the process.
But just like the influx of Demonic Tide into this world, this process is irreversible.
In other words, from the moment Marba implanted the new symbiotic plant into his palm, his life had already begun its countdown.
What determination and courage this requires!
To complete Lord Sailesi's mission, Commander Marba actually sacrificed his own life.
Looking at the stunned crowd, Marba's expression remained solemn, but he seemed completely unaware that he was heading towards death.
Under the gaze of everyone, he slowly began to speak:
"Everyone, I'm not trying to force you to do anything, I just want to set an example. As the commander of the legion, I will fight to the last moment and shed my last drop of blood for the Cardinal."
"These seeds aren't necessarily for you to plant, but you can keep them for now. If you ever feel powerless at some point, these might be your last resort."
After saying this, he looked towards a spot in the temporary military tent and said:
"Everyone else can leave now. Get ready; we'll be starting the forced march shortly. Gorn, stay behind; I have some things to discuss."
Clearly, Grand Knight Gorn, who had previously led a surprise attack on the rebel stronghold, was the one Marba had chosen to stay behind this time. He would lead the Holy Crusaders soldiers who were able to move but couldn't keep up with the strongmen to undertake the important task of preventing the enemy from returning to reinforce.
Fir City, night.
In the narrow streets, a powerful individual can hinder the progress of many weaker ones, and the Treant Hunter are a prime example.
They were already powerful due to their modifications, and the hidden quests that required players to capture them alive made some conscientious players hesitant to act.
Thus began a protracted battle. Treant Hunter filled every alley, launching heavy attacks on these enemies who violated the curfew rules, while players skillfully utilized their immortality, continuously pouring into the city with the support of their massive numbers.
[ Zhong Lele ] even launched a temporary operation of "one person, one shovel of soil", which allowed each player who passed through the tunnel to take some soil from both sides, making the tunnel appear wider and wider. The tunnel has changed from one where two people could pass side by side to one where two people could pass side by side with their shoulders touching.
According to estimates from professional players, the tunnel is not at risk of collapsing, at least not before spring arrives.
[ Zhong Lele ] has been observing the development of the underground passage and plans to expand it further before designating two or three standard routes, allowing players to move in and out more freely and in an orderly manner.
After the first batch of Holy Crusaders retreated, [ Zhongde ], who had temporarily taken command, issued a new order to the players temporarily under his command—
Capture the section of the city wall near the tunnel entrance.
In fact, [ Zhongde ] has been quite researching cold weapon warfare recently (mainly through playing games). Even in game worlds with strange powers, there are still some universal techniques in low-level combat.
One crucial point is that when your forces have an advantage, you must find ways to expand the battlefield.
With the arrival of those Treant Hunter on the battlefield, many players found themselves in a predicament where they had the strength but couldn't use it effectively.
Those players who are good at hiding in dark corners to trim their toenails have no good way to attack the intricate and extremely resilient tree roots.
Furthermore, many treants have vision that is completely different from humans. Even without eyes, they can see their surroundings. Moreover, these treants have a 360-degree field of vision, making it impossible for players to carry out a sneak attack according to their original plan.
Just then, [ Zhongde ] stepped forward, pointing out a new path to attack for the players who were lost and hesitant.
Why is everyone staring at the Treant Hunter?
Killing them wouldn't be good, but keeping them around would be difficult to deal with. Why don't we come up to the city wall together? There are still quite a few Holy Crusaders up there!