NOVEL WEB Chapter 368 - 368 Reinforcements and Illusions
368 Reinforcements and Illusions
The chaos in Holy Tree City continued and gradually began to develop in the most uncontrollable direction.
The agitated citizens took the streets one after another. They brandished bone weapons and attacked the guardrail outside White Bone Castle. Occasionally, translucent Beast Spirits would appear from the crowd. They roared and scratched, gnawing at the translucent barrier outside the palace, causing the originally stable barrier to be on the verge of collapse.
Inside the barrier, Floral’s guards, who had been trained according to the empire’s military standards, trembled as they looked at the crowd outside, even though they wore enchanted armor sent from the Platinum Province and held spellblades engraved with Sealed Magic runes,
against an absolute numerical advantage, if it weren’t for the barrier set up by the Holy Tree Duke to keep the crowd out, they would probably have been torn to pieces by the enraged citizens in an instant. Even if they were well-equipped and well-trained—in fact, the staff committee members who had stepped out of the barrier with the intention of restoring order thanks to their status as magic chanters had been torn to pieces.
“Well…” Looking at the dozens of Beast Spirits constantly striking the barrier, cracks constantly extended like a spiderweb. A young Imperial Guards recruit who just started his service tugged at the captain’s arm and said with a trembling voice, “Captain, that so-called speech was just a deliberate smear by the opposition to overthrow the duke’s rule… These people are just being used and don’t know what they’re doing… right? We’re the ones in the right, aren’t we?”
The guard captain looked at the fear in the other party’s eyes and hesitated for a moment.
It wasn’t just the new recruit in front of him. Faced with the threat of being torn to pieces just inches away, as well as the Holy Tree Duke’s speech that suddenly echoed throughout Ravenwood, even he, who had served Floral loyally for many years and felt that he could clarify the ambitions of the first Forest Elf duchess in history, couldn’t help but waver.
Therefore, he shrugged off the recruit’s hand and looked sharply at the person and the surrounding people who were also looking around. He used the last of his strength to shout,
“Don’t waste time thinking of such nonsense! We only have one mission now, and that’s to protect White Bone Castle behind us and wait for the duke to return to regain control of the situation!”
That’s right… As long as the duke returns, it would be effortless for her to suppress the riot ahead with her supreme might. Those conspirators who used evil methods to mimic the duke’s voice and incite the people to besiege White Bone Castle and kill the staff committee members would definitely be dealt with.
However…
Turning his gaze back to the angry mob outside the barrier, the captain felt like he was tied up under the World Tree on Holy Leaf Festival under thousands of angry gazes, waiting to be sacrificed to the Holy Tree Matriarch. He couldn’t put up a fight at all.
However… if that speech was indeed said by the Holy Tree Duke we are loyal to… If that duke, who would do anything to enact reforms, is really working with external forces to ‘purge’ their sins and make the entire Ravenwood atone…
What should they do when that happened?
Was it really as the duke had said? They had to choose to commit suicide?
Boom…
A huge boom pulled him back to reality from his temporary daze. The guard captain, who had been battle tested, almost subconsciously gripped the spellblade tight and activated the spellblade sealed on it. At the same time, he turned his head in the direction of the sound.
“What…”
When he saw the source of the intense boom clearly, he couldn’t help but feel his mind go blank.
How can it be that thing…
A corner of the barrier outside White Bone Castle had already been shattered—the kind that didn’t leave any residue. The ones who shattered the barrier weren’t the bone weapon-wielding Forest Elves, the Hunting Clan controlling the Beast Spirits, or even the tree spirits that could mobilize the power of the forest.
The person who broke the barrier was a tall giant wearing clothes sewn from straw ropes and beast hide topped with an antler helmet.
His entire body emitted a faint white halo, and He held a primitive spear tied with flint and wooden sticks. His face was hidden under an antler helmet, and under the deer bone mask, His amber eyes burned with wild anger.
When He used His spear to shatter the indestructible barrier, it was as easy as shattering an eggshell.
“Father… Father of the Wilderness…”
His tone of reverence and fear carried a hint of confusion. The captain and the surrounding people couldn’t help but call out the name of the giant. The existence in front of them matched the description of the god in all the religious scripture and legends.
The God of Hunt, the Beast Lord, the Matriarch’s husband, the Imparter of Skills, the Eternal Victor of the Blood Moon Game…
In the Forest Elves’ traditional faith, there were only two gods who would truly send down miracles.
Although it was only a phantom, why did the Father of the Wild suddenly appear here?
It had to be known that a thousand years ago, He had fallen into a long slumber because He had stopped an evil god from stepping into Ravenwood. Even though His remnant power had always protected every Forest Elf ruler, and the Forest Elf rulers had maintained the faith of the Father of the Wild through rituals to maintain His existence, no one had ever seen a god descend like Him!
No… There’s another possibility…
Recalling a rumor, the captain’s heart couldn’t help but sink.
It was said that the Father of the Wilderness would only return when the Forest Elves faced a major extinction crisis in the future. However, not many people believed in such legends. After all, when the Riel Empire’s invaders wanted to set fire to the forest back then, this god didn’t appear and destroy the empire’s mage team.
But now, He was here.
And He appeared not long after the duke finished her speech.
Could this be a coincidence? Impossible, right?
Floral Kane, the first female Forest Elf ruler in history, the radical leader who constantly pushed Ravenwood to undergo secularization and hoped to integrate the entire Forest Elf race into the empire… Could it be that her true goal was really the same as her previous speech—to make the entire Forest Elf race atone for their sins by letting them destroy themselves?
“The Beast Lord is with us!”
After the phantom of the Father of the Wild appeared, there was a brief silence outside the barrier. Then, with the roar of a bear, the crowd erupted again.
Amidst wave after wave of shouts of “Duke, die,” countless Forest Elves followed the god and passed through the shattered barrier.
The guard captain didn’t dare to think further. He pulled out the spellblade in his hand and threw it to the ground. Then, he undid the buckle that held his armor in place.
“Surrender,” he said calmly.
The people he had berated looked at him with complicated expressions. They also understood that this was a battle they had no chance of winning. However, one of them still asked,
“Weren’t you just saying that you were waiting here for the duke’s reinforcements…”
“It’s too late. There won’t be any reinforcements, nor will there be anything…”
However, before the captain could finish speaking, a few intertwined lightning snakes suddenly flickered between them and the Father of the Wilderness.
The lightning snake coiled out of a spatial rift. Then, a few slender people in gorgeous clothes slowly walked out.
Those people had long pointy-ears like them, but their skin was much fairer than theirs.
The person in the lead wore golden scales and carried a blood-red sword. He walked in front of them and picked up the spellblade the captain had thrown down.
“Under Ms. Remides’s orders and under the orders of the Doomsday Watchers’ Presiding Judge, we are here to fulfill the holy covenant with Ms. Floral. Before everything is settled, the fate of White Bone Castle is equivalent to our fate… May I ask if you have the courage to face the a god’s aegis?”
…
William picked up the bronze Nehe-like fellow and threw him onto the Withering Throne. Then, he thought of something.
He shouldn’t have missed anything, right?
Nehe, who had been produced by Earth Mother in another timeline, only had a soul. And now, the empire’s mysterious organization that studied the Moon Realm—Obliteration Tower—could perfectly replicate Nehe’s body.
As a son of Earth Mother, a son and a mother were one. It was precisely because of this that Camilla made the incarnation only give birth to a soul to ensure that she was the only candidate for the rebirth ritual.
And now, a bronze statue that could replace Nehe’s body had ‘coincidentally’ been delivered to him. It was difficult not to guess that this was the intention of another Void Sovereign—this was also very in line with that fellow’s style of beating about the bush when handling matters.
However, Her motive was still very suspicious. Could it be that She only wanted to replace the reborn Nehe and snatch the Lady of Starvation’s Moon Realm throne ?
Although the outcome wasn’t bad, William didn’t dare to bet on what kind of will controlled the reborn Nehe soul.
Boss, I see the arrow. Coupled with the wound on the other party’s neck and the mark you left on the wound, I can send it to you through Trade, but there’s only one chance. Moreover, the price you have to pay afterward is terrifyingly high. Are you sure you want to continue this deal?
Relying on the contract, the voice of Greed echoed in William’s mind again.
Cut the crap.
This was William’s answer.
It was better not to care about the ritual. As long as he could reach the other timeline and destroy everyone holding the ritual, no matter what conspiracy it was, it would only be an illusion.
Let’s begin.