Chapter 260 - The Solution

"My dear lady, do not confine your gaze to just Spring Bud Forest, how vast is this world? Beyond Spring Bud Forest lies the Court of Summer, and beyond that, three other major courts. Outside of the Fairy Wilderness, there is also the Material Plane. Where are there no members of the Fae Race? And our Dragon Oak Dream Realm, our War Giant Trees of Dragon Oak, are unique. With the Phoenix Tree, are we afraid we can’t attract a Golden Phoenix?"Gaven’s face bore an uncontrollable look of pride as he said, "To the east of Rocklands lies Kosoman, the largest forest in Felen’s domain, its area dozens of times larger than that of Spring Bud Forest. The Fae Race that live there number in the millions. Even if we could mobilize just a small part of them, it would surpass the total population of Spring Bud Forest."

He had finally found the perfect opportunity to bind Lord Virginia and Spring Bud Forest to his chariot of war.

To drive the War Giant Tree, she would have to support his expansion plan in Kosoman with all her might.

The fully committed Lord Virginia, with no time to correct Gaven’s address or mind his large hand playing on her, furrowed her brows and posed a new question, "Even if we could attract new members of the Fae Race, Spring Bud Forest itself has a limit to what it can sustain; it’s impossible to accommodate millions of people."

"You’re thinking too small, too small. How have you still not stepped out of the concept of Spring Bud Forest?" Gaven guided Lord Virginia to expand her thinking, "What are we trying to use as the main control system for the War Giant Tree of Dragon Oak?"

"The Dragon Oak Dream Realm," Virginia instinctively replied.

"Exactly," Gaven emphasized, "Ours is a dream realm. Who says you must be in the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, or in Spring Bud Forest, to enter the dream realm? What we need to do next is not only on the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, in Spring Bud Forest, in the Fairy Wilderness, in the Material Plane, but even in the higher planes, to enter the Dragon Oak Dream Realm through dreams. At that time, would we still need to worry about the matter of souls?"

With each word Gaven spoke, Lord Virginia’s eyes brightened more.

His words had opened up a whole new world for her.

For Gaven, this was nothing original.

It was merely changing from a local network to a connected network, just through the means of dreams.

But with a new method proposed, new challenges arose. Virginia asked, "But how can this be achieved? We haven’t even managed this in Spring Bud Forest."

"It’s up to us to make it happen. What we can’t do now doesn’t mean we can’t do it in the future. Didn’t we piece together the Dragon Oak Dream Realm bit by bit?" Gaven was only providing a line of thought, lacking ready solutions himself, but he was still brimming with confidence.

Because he had suddenly recalled something.

Last year, the Illusion Goddess Laila, a deity of tricks, was slain on Black Feather Bridge in Feather Wing Valley by the God of Conspiracy, Shylock, with the Divine Calamity Sword, seizing her corresponding divine roles.

But a deity never falls so easily, even one with meager divine power.

Especially Laila, known for her countless tricks.

At the moment of her death, she sent a segment of her godhood away, ensuring that the God of Conspiracy would not be able to seize her divine roles in short order.

And so it was. Shylock had only merged most of the roles of the trickery domain due to his main role as the God of Conspiracy, but the illusion role had not been fully integrated even up to his imprisonment and judgment. Many of Laila’s loyal servants steadfastly believed she had not perished.

Their ability to perform Divine Arts to this day is the best proof.

Laila indeed had not died, but neither could she be said to be unharmed and alive.

She had a piece of godhood nearby the Rocklands.

If they could find this segment of godhood and integrate it into the Dragon Oak Dream Realm, he believed their current problems would be easily solved.

After all, illusion and dreams often overlap, and Laila, the Illusion Goddess, was often mistaken for a deity of dreams.

The pressing issue now was to locate this fragment of godhood. Gaven only had a rough idea of the area, but not the exact location.

Gaven knew about this matter so clearly because, in his past life, the Shylock Faction of the Santarin Association, to which he belonged, had been actively searching in the vicinity, but to no avail.

This was greatly due to the nature of the illusion role. The place where the fragment of godhood lay would surely be riddled with illusions, concealing itself deeply.

Another reason was that the Santarin Association’s influence around Rocklands was severely limited; they could not conduct a full-member search as they could in the Moon Sea Region.

In this regard, Gaven now had conveniences they lacked. When the time was ripe, he could send out a large force of Fae Race search teams.

As for the Gnoll search parties, Gaven didn’t even consider them.

With their poor perception, even if the Illusion Goddess’s fragment of godhood were placed before them, they wouldn’t sense it, fooled and spun around by various illusions.

Although Lord Virginia was unaware of the plans brewing in Gaven’s mind, his words had inspired her with confidence.

This confidence did not come from nowhere; it was based on the miracles the man before her had created recently.

Not only had he risen in the Rocklands with a group of Gnolls by his prowess alone, but he had also helped her break through years of stalemate, allowing her to see hope for a counteroffensive, hope to reclaim her old territories from the Foul Giants.

The precondition for all this was the activation of the War Giant Tree of Dragon Oak—a war weapon terrifying enough to threaten the Ancient Evil Fairy Realm sealed beneath the Black Forest.

Looking at the greatly changed Dragon Oak Mother Tree, Gaven suddenly thought of a new issue, "What about those villages that used to live in the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, in Floral Speech Village? Were they affected?"

At this mention, Lord Virginia’s expression betrayed an undeniable pride, "When the Dragon Oak Mother Tree entered a state of war, although most adjustments were spontaneous, we weren’t just watching in the Dragon Oak Dream Realm. Not only were they unharmed, but we also rebuilt part of them. Come, let me show you... Let go, you wouldn’t really want to go down like this."

"I wouldn’t mind, it’s a question of whether you do," Gaven chuckled with a hint of mischief.

He could sense a new change in Lord Virginia’s mood, it was no longer just a matter of accepting him.

The relationship had clearly progressed one step further, with her words becoming naturally bolder and more explicit.

"If you mess around again, I’m going to get angry," Lord Virginia put on a serious face, but the amorous look in her eyes greatly weakened the threat.

This only aroused Gaven’s interest even more—he loved it when she was all prim and proper, as it felt even more like an achievement when she melted into a puddle of spring. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt

"We’re discussing serious matters here!" Lord Virginia, helpless against Gaven’s shameless persistence, could not control the reactions of her own body, which she found quite enjoyable.

"Aren’t we always discussing serious matters?" Gaven’s face was serious, but his actions were anything but.

"Let’s wait until we have some free time," Lord Virginia changed her tone to a softer appeal, "I’m really a bit tired now and can’t handle another round of turmoil."

"Next time, we’ll try it here," Gaven stepped back slightly, aware that what Virginia said was true.

"This..." Such unrestrained behavior was somewhat hard for Lord Virginia to accept.

"If you don’t agree, we can try it out right now," Gaven threatened with immediate action.

Scared out of her wits, Virginia hastily agreed, "Fine, fine, I promise you."

When this guy went wild, he dared do anything, so for now, she could only stall for time.

"Hehe..." Gaven, having gotten his way, temporarily let go of Virginia to let her tidy herself up.

Then he flew towards the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, now prepped for battle.

Observing it up close was a different feeling altogether.

From a distance, it pulsed like green blood vessels, a verdant area throbbing with life.

In reality, there was no actual green liquid flowing here; it was the cavities within the War Giant Tree of the Dragon Oak.

Indeed, a massive amount of life force was surging here, but it was at most mist-like, not even a bit denser than the mist that perennially enveloped the Fairy Wilderness.

These cavities were not empty but housed numerous intricate little treehouses belonging to Pikespirits, Flower Spirits, and Little Fairies.

Some treehouses, just like in Nectar Village, hung suspended in mid-air.

Most were embedded into the crevices of the tree, becoming one with the War Giant Tree of the Dragon Oak.

Just like in non-war times, the Dragon Oak Mother Tree was still laden with a plethora of flowers, plants, and trees.

Previously, it had only pared down its body, and the flora and fauna on it were unconsciously protected, shifted to regions more suited to their existence.

Now, compared to the original scattered distribution, they were more densely packed, more orderly, and had more layers.

The Pikespirit’s Nectar Village and the Flower Demon’s Floral Speech Village, originally on two separate trunks and four or five kilometers apart, had become neighbors—one above the other, less than a hundred meters apart, yet on different main branches.

As Gaven and Lord Virginia approached, not only a great number of Fae flew out on alert.

Dignified old faces appeared on the trunks of tall trees.

This indicated that they were no longer just trees, but had become Treants akin to Thornspike.

After recognizing Gaven and Lord Virginia, these venerable faces showed friendly smiles. The trunks swayed as if greeting and bowing, then disappeared without a trace.

This situation was unexpected yet reasonable.

The Dragon Oak Mother Tree changed form, shedding parts of its body—parts so vast that even a trickle of life force leaking through the crevices was more than enough for the beings living on it.

Especially when deliberately stimulated, the Dragon Oak Mother Tree would surely birth a multitude of guardians to protect its massive body, preventing enemies from breaking through from inside.

The trees that had grown on it for who knows how many years were the most suitable choice.

Gaven turned to Virginia and asked, "How many trees on the Mother Tree have taken the opportunity to become Treants?"

"Just over a hundred on the main body, but there are up to a thousand Enlightened Trees, two thousand various intelligent beast species, and the count isn’t complete on the surrounding area—it should be even more as they are still making their way here," Virginia gave a rough figure, clearly not having had the chance to tally the details.

Upon hearing this, Gaven adjusted his view and looked down, and sure enough, he saw countless slow-moving figures advancing towards the direction where the Dragon Oak Mother Tree stood.

There were newly animated Treants as well as beasts whose eyes flickered with the light of intelligence.

These beasts belonged to different species, carnivores and herbivores alike, but when they encountered each other, they did not fight; instead, they moved harmoniously in the same direction.

In the future, they would all be part of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, forming a segment of its defense mechanism.