"Your Majesty may not know this, but the elven races are not as united and harmonious as you imagine. Different ideologies, different living environments, and even differing understandings of 'nature' and 'life' have created deep-seated barriers and divisions..."
Alders's unhurried voice drifted slowly through the sun-drenched emerald forest. Leaning on his staff, his footsteps trod upon the soft, thick grass, occasionally stepping over large boulders and rotten logs blocking the path.
Beside him, Chen Yu was treading upon a strange stone sword, flying slowly alongside him, listening carefully to his rambling words.
The cool autumn breeze melted under the sunlight, as if transformed into nourishment to nourish this forest. The surrounding flowers, grass, trees, and vines, even in the autumn season, appeared delightfully lush and green, presenting a scene brimming with vitality.
This was the Rootwhisper Forest under the control of the dryad lord Viola, and one of the few places in the Western Swamp that could still maintain a verdant scene during the harsh winter. For the Slime Kingdom, calling it the kingdom's granary was not an exaggeration.
To meet the kingdom's ever-growing food demands, the Glimmerlings in the forest, with the help of Slime Agronomists and Beetles, had successfully expanded the scale of the swollen stem fields and mushroom fields.
With the Goblin Army's harassment gone, ordinary wild Magical Creatures found it difficult to pass through the tall, strong Oak Treant guards at the outskirts of Rootwhisper Forest to sneak inside and cause trouble.
At this moment, the Glimmerlings and Slime Agronomists were welcoming the first major harvest of autumn.
They busily scurried and bounced about in the forest fields, working together to pull out mature swollen stems, picking plump mushrooms, and then carefully collecting them onto the waiting Draft Animal carts nearby.
The skeleton farmer Old Bloom was resting on a large rock by the field's edge. Even though he couldn't feel the heat, he habitually fanned his straw hat, as if that could drive away the fatigue of his soul.
"Huh?"
He suddenly caught sight of figures emerging from the deep shadows of the forest path—Chen Yu and Alders walking one after the other.
The Soulfire in Old Bloom's eye sockets brightened slightly. He hurriedly stood up, patted the non-existent dust off his body, and went to greet them.
"Bloom pays his respects to the esteemed Your Majesty, and to this..."
"Alders," the old man kindly reminded, a kindly smile on his face, his eyes showing none of the common disgust or fear towards Undead creatures.
"Oh, right! Mr. Alders, please!" Old Bloom exclaimed in realization, quickly stepping aside to gesture.
"Little ones, Uncle Bloom is taking the guests back for a while, you work hard!" Old Bloom picked up the pitchfork leaning against the rock, deftly walking ahead, his voice booming towards the fields.
"Got it, Uncle!" Several Glimmerlings who were struggling to pull out a swollen stem larger than their own bodies chorused in childish voices, their little faces flushed red with effort.
In the fields, the multi-colored Slime Agronomists, seeing the 'King' personally coming to inspect, also became much more excited, bouncing even more energetically, working with greater vigor. Their gel bodies seemed to glow under the sunlight.
Leading Chen Yu and Alders along the field ridges, they once again entered the forest path where tree shadows danced and the light grew soft. That refreshing coolness filtered through the dense canopy washed over them, making the Soulfire in Old Bloom's eye sockets seem to sway a bit more relaxed and content.
Walking ahead, he chattered as he led the way, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet forest:
"Miss Eserin knew Your Majesty was coming long ago. She's prepared a reception banquet on the territory's grassland. I heard there are many freshly picked little tomatoes laid out, all red and bright, looking delightful just to see. Oh, this was my favorite thing to eat when I was alive..."
"And that Dwarf friend and the elven child arrived early..."
"Oh yes, Sister Viola often mentions that Your Majesty should have come to see sooner. Fardoern seems to be on the verge of advancing to Gold-Rank."
Seeing Alders about to inquire upon hearing the name "Fardoern," Chen Yu simply explained: "The name of a silver oak tree. It is the guardian of Rootwhisper Forest."
"Silver oak? Fardoern..." Alders repeated softly, his brow furrowing slightly, as if searching his memory for something.
Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly, and he muttered quietly: "Silver-leaf Oak? A descendant of the Sacred Oak?"
Strange.
According to his understanding, while Silver-leaf Oaks were direct descendants of the Sacred Oak with noble Bloodlines, they typically only reached Silver-Rank upon reaching maturity.
Breaking through to Gold-Rank, becoming a true War Treant or a higher-order treant form—the pathways and key knowledge for such advancement had always been tightly held by the Ancient Tree Council.
This organization, composed of ancient elves and conservative elven druids, now controlled the elven nations and city-states. Due to ideological differences, their relationship with the Forest Sage Council was not good.
How did the treant here break through that threshold?
Just as he was lost in thought, the ground beneath his feet suddenly transmitted a faint, rumbling tremor, as if some colossal entity was approaching from deep within the forest.
Soon, the commotion grew louder, and a massive figure emitting a soft silvery radiance appeared at the end of the path.
From beneath the tree shade, Fardoern slowly emerged.
Its body was much taller and sturdier than an ordinary oak tree, its main trunk requiring several people to encircle.
Most striking was the color of the leaves adorning its crown—a dazzling silver that seemed forged from moonlight and mithril. Under the dappled forest sunlight, each leaf seemed to glow, scattering pinpoints of silvery light, illuminating the surroundings like a dreamlike fairyland.
It radiated an ancient vitality, like a sacred tree stepping out of myth.
"Fardoern, long time no see." Chen Yu greeted this comrade-in-arms who had once fought alongside him against the Filthy Descendants legion.
Fardoern gently swayed its branches in response, producing a low, pleasant rustling of leaves. The silvery halo around its body rippled like water, as if respectfully greeting Chen Yu.
Alders stood frozen in place.
He had not seen this ancient tree during his previous visit to meet Viola.
Now, feeling the natural aura emanating from Fardoern up close...
This... this oak tree was truly nearing Gold-Rank?!
Had Viola found a method to cultivate War Treants?
No, that's not right... Alders carefully perceived, his brow furrowing even tighter.
The aura Fardoern emitted was not entirely identical to the War Treants cultivated by the Ancient Tree Council that he remembered. War Treants focused more on pure power, defense, and physical destruction, their bodies like moving fortresses, filled with a sense of primal wilderness and heaviness.
While the Fardoern before him was similarly tall and strong, it gave him more of a sense of profound wisdom.
This didn't seem like a War Treant, but rather more like a mage among treants, an unseen treant pathway?
Alders's heart was stirred by waves of astonishment.
"This... how exactly was this achieved?" He muttered unconsciously, his gaze fixed tightly on Fardoern, as if trying to see through every leaf, every grain of its bark.
He had only been away from Silver Song Forest for a few decades, immersed in studying treant runes and natural magic. How had the outside world changed so quickly, so fast that an old relic like him was about to be left behind?
The value and significance contained within a completely new treant pathway was probably something no one understood better than they, the Forest Sages who had dedicated their lives to studying the ways of nature and life.
Old Bloom leaned on his pitchfork, chuckling, his tone full of pride for his old companion: "Thanks to His Majesty and Miss Eserin, Fardoern regained its vitality and found a new path of growth."
He walked over and gently patted Fardoern's smooth yet warm trunk with his bony hand, as if patting an old friend's shoulder.
Fardoern also gently lowered a few of its lower branches, brushing Old Bloom's straw hat with its soft silver leaves, producing a soft rustling sound, as if responding to his words.
"Your Majesty?" Alders keenly caught the keyword in Bloom's speech, looking at the slime treading on the stone sword beside him with an "innocent" expression.
A new treant pathway... related to this Slime King beside him?
Seeing that Chen Yu did not speak up to stop him, Old Bloom continued cheerfully: "You didn't know? Fardoern is the leader of His Majesty's Treant Legion, personally nurtured by His Majesty and Miss Eserin."
Alders coughed lightly, trying hard to conceal the surprise within him, but his suddenly brightened eyes betrayed him.
Not only was he himself a Forest Sage, but he could also cultivate treants of a completely new pathway. The secrets hidden by this slime were even more than he had imagined.
He even had a premonition in his heart: if these slimes could truly join the Forest Sage Council... it might bring unprecedented change and vitality to the ancient Council.
If Chen Yu weren't right beside him, Alders might even want to immediately set up a Magic Formation right now, urgently convene a Council meeting, and send this astonishing news back.
Finally managing to barely calm his excited heart, they had walked out of the forest path and arrived at an open forest clearing.
This was where the Glimmerlings lived, dotted with colorful mushroom houses, and also the Greenfield Square where the dryad territory received guests.
Eserin was directing several elves and Glimmerlings, setting up an open-air banquet on the grassland.
Long tables were covered with clean white linen tablecloths, already set with some fresh fruits, baskets of berries, honey jars, and crystal-clear crystal goblets.
Seeing Chen Yu and the others approach, Eserin went forward to greet them, performing an elven courtesy.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Sage Alders."
Before Chen Yu could respond, a figure as short and stout as a wine barrel emerged from a mushroom house not far away, letting out a hearty, booming laugh.
"Your Majesty, I'm here too!"
This voice belonged to Anvil.
Today, he was unusually not wearing his blacksmithing leather apron, but had changed into a relatively neat brown linen shirt and suspenders. His messy red beard also seemed carefully groomed, braided into neat plaits.
And behind him, Little Aileen peeked her little head out from behind the low wall covered with emerald green vines in the mushroom house's yard.
Today, she wore a small dress in an elven style, sewn from soft linen. Her long hair was meticulously braided into intricate plaits, adorned with a few small white wildflowers.
Her large eyes, blue as lakes, moved about lively. When they landed on Chen Yu, her eyes immediately lit up, a happy, brilliant smile appearing on her face as she waved her little hand vigorously.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
She still didn't understand what "Your Majesty" meant, she just thought it was fun to call out that way.
?
Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.
Who would have thought this guy Anvil unexpectedly had a talent for taking care of children.
After more than a month apart, Little Aileen's originally somewhat pale and thin little face had now become rosy and plump, filled with a healthy, ruddy glow.
Her eyes held none of the previous timidity and unease, instead brimming with the curiosity a child should have. She seemed to have completely adapted to her new life in the Slime Kingdom.
But when Alders's pale green eyes met Little Aileen's, the kindly smile on the old man's face gradually faded.
His brow furrowed slightly, and he carefully examined Little Aileen, silently pondering, as if perceiving something complex and troublesome.
Eserin keenly noticed the change in Alders's expression. She signaled Anvil to first take Little Aileen aside to play, or to see how the banquet preparations were going.
Anvil was taken aback. He looked at Alders's serious expression, his mood somewhat heavy, but he still nodded. He crouched down and picked up Little Aileen.
"Come, let's go see what delicious things there are."
Little Aileen obediently wrapped her arms around Anvil's neck, but her gaze still couldn't help but curiously glance towards Alders.
Anvil left with Little Aileen, but deep concern still lingered in his eyes.
Eserin watched them walk away until the figures of father and daughter disappeared behind the mushroom house yard before turning to face Alders.
"Sage Alders, how... bad is the situation?"
Alders did not answer immediately. He still frowned tightly, as if carefully weighing his words. After a long while, he slowly shook his head.
"Strange... In all my long life, I've seen countless elven Bloodlines and curses, yet I've never encountered a situation like this."
"This child's Bloodline is very complex. I sense the purity and spirituality of a Moon Elf, the deeply rooted vitality in nature, breathing with the forest, of a Wood Elf, and even the potential affinity for the powers of darkness and secrecy of a Drow Elf..."
"These types of Bloodlines, within elven society, often belong to different branches or even hostile factions. It's rare for them to be so tightly mixed within a single individual. This in itself is an extremely unstable curse."
"And layered atop this complex Bloodline is that ancient Withering Curse."
Alders sighed. "If it were just an ordinary Withering Curse, perhaps the Sages within the Council skilled in life magic and purification rituals could find ways to attempt to remove the curse. But this child's situation..."
"Her elven Bloodline's origins are mysterious, likely from higher-ranking elves. The Withering Curse she suffers from is also quite special. I'm sorry, I'm afraid I am powerless."
"Higher-ranking?" Chen Yu repeated the word, his round body wobbling slightly.
No wonder this little one's Enchanting skills were so impressive.
"Exactly."
Viola's Spiritual Form leisurely drifted out from the grass. She crossed her arms, looking at Alders with interest.
"This child's mother was no ordinary elf. She very likely came from the Nature Temple of the Ancient Tree Council and served as a clergy member."
"Though I didn't expect you couldn't resolve it either."
"Nature Temple?" Alders was first startled, then a look of realization dawned on his face. He coughed lightly and muttered: "Those old fossils of the Ancient Tree Council haven't learned much blessing magic, but they've delved into natural curses, each more proficient than the last, and always like to use them against heretics..."
He clearly had little regard for this conservative, strict style of the Ancient Tree Council.
"However, it's not completely without a solution."
Chen Yu bounced once, asking: "You have a method?"
Alders coughed lightly, stroking his white beard, his tone becoming somewhat uncertain: "It's not exactly a reliable method. If someone could return to Silverleaf City or Evergreen Glade, where the legacy of the Sacred Oak is preserved, and manage to retrieve some Sacred Oak Water..."
"Sacred Oak Water?" Eserin repeated softly, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
"Correct." Alders nodded. "Sacred Oak Water possesses pure natural power. Combined with some ancient life magic and rituals held by the Council... it might be possible to purify the curse on her body."