Chapter 362 - Shock

"Mr. Gaven, you are the most incredible person I have ever met, there’s no one else like you," August approached him first thing. "Following you, today has really been an eye-opener for me. Now I’m very curious about what your Ghost Manor is really like. Once the matters here are settled, I hope to visit your manor. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?""Count me in as well. I’d also like to be a guest at your manor, to broaden my horizons," Olive chimed in from the side.

They had lost count of how many times they had glimpsed the ethereal vision of the Weizemay Manor today, their curiosity completely piqued. They were dying to know, what kind of manor could establish such a close connection with its owner?

"It would be an honor," Gaven said jokingly, "I just hope that when you two come over, you don’t treat the place as a nest for the undead and go on a killing spree."

"Of course not. I’m not so far gone that I can’t tell right from wrong. As long as they do no harm, I will definitely not raise my warhammer," assured August.

Olive nodded in agreement, "Not all ghosts in this world are evil. I know a kind ghost who is kinder than most people. We shouldn’t deny everything just because of their special condition."

"Good, the doors to Weizemay Manor will always be open for you two," Gaven then turned to the Thorn Spirit Druid, "Mr. Ian, I need to trouble you with one more thing. I need a large flatbed truck for dragging and transporting the Fine Gold Coffin. The wood can be taken from those dead trees tainted by the corrosion."

"That’s easy," Ian agreed without hesitation.

Every druid is an excellent craftsman, especially when it comes to making wooden wheels, they have a unique advantage.

An ordinary human craftsman would normally need several months to make a wooden wheel, undergoing various preparatory processes, particularly the time-consuming and intricate task of bending the wood.

But for a druid, it was all quickly taken care of with a Wood Shaping Technique.

Gaven had been delayed in the Land of Sealing for another day and night, until the next morning.

There weren’t just one flatbed truck but five.

One was for transporting the Fine Gold Coffin, while the other four were for carrying the trees that had been killed by negative energy.

Although most of the negative energy in these trees had already been absorbed, their attributes had been altered by the negative energy.

These attributes were well-suited to the current state of Weizemay Manor, although he wasn’t sure how they would be used yet.

Gaven’s hoarder instincts told him to stockpile these items first, and figure out their use later—they might come in handy at some point.

That night, Gaven kept his promise and led the soul consciousness of August and Olive into the Dragon Oak Dream Realm.

Contrary to expectations, both were remarkably composed.

First, they had seen so many unexpected things during the day that their resistance had increased.

Second, they had already been well-prepared beforehand. Despite never having experienced a dream realm, they were familiar with the concept. Googlᴇ search Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt

Moreover, both were pragmatists; compared to the illusory dream realm, the tangible material presence in reality was far more impressive to them.

Their fascination with the Dragon Oak Dream Realm was nowhere near as intense as it was for the Fae Race.

When Gaven returned to the Thacel Refugee Camp from the Comanso Great Forest, he was followed by seven Treants and five vehicles.

Apart from Five-Willow, Gaven and Ian had also enlightened two more Enlightened Trees overnight.

The Thacel Refugee Camp was in desperate need of the assistance of these large and strong workers for migration; if not for the time pressure, Gaven would have wished to enlighten twenty or thirty Enlightened Trees to go back with them, as that would have made the migration incredibly simple.

"The sir has returned, Mr. Gaven has returned."

"Why still call him Mr. Gaven? From now on, he is our Lord. We should address him as Lord or Lord Sir."

"Yes, yes, Lord Sir has returned, and he didn’t come back alone—he, he, he..."

"He brought back seven Treants and five heavily laden trucks, full of goods!"

"Treants? Trucks? You’re not joking, are you? How many days has our Lord been gone?"

"Who would joke about such a thing? If you don’t believe it, go out and see for yourself. They’re almost at the gate."

"It’s true, where did our Lord recruit so many Treants from? Could it be that our Lord ventured alone into the Comanso Great Forest to recruit them over these past few days?"

"Venturing alone into the Comanso Great Forest? Don’t joke; even a Transcendent wouldn’t dare enter alone. Who knows what dangers lie hidden under the vast canopy? Only Elves or the Fae Race would dare to venture deep."

"And Treants are reclusive; they don’t like their peaceful lives to be disturbed. Even if it is in tree form, you could pass by it ten or eight times without recognizing its true form, let alone recruit it."

"Of course, I can’t, but that doesn’t mean our Lord can’t. Our Lord is no ordinary man. Could a man who could slaughter vampires be ordinary? Look at Lord Thornspike and Lord Black Nanmu; do you think they’re ordinary Treants? They’ve all been won over by our Lord."

"Stop guessing out here. It’s tough to recruit Treants from nature; they won’t leave the forests that nurtured them easily. When we returned from the land of evil, our Lord was enlightening the Treants there. All the Treants under our Lord’s command were personally enlightened by him, hence their loyalty and fidelity to him," continued another refugee.

"Enlightened Trees? Is our Lord a Druid? I thought he was a warrior?"

"I heard that our Lord is neither a Druid nor a warrior, but a Mage," came another voice.

"A Mage? Are you making this up?"

"Enough, no more wild speculations here. Just remember one thing: the stronger our Lord is and the more powerful his followers, the better it is for us. Think about it, how much trouble have Lord Thornspike and Lord Black Nanmu saved us?"

"Indeed, indeed. All the heavy lifting and loading onto the trucks were done by the Lords themselves; we hardly even had to lift a finger. With the help of these Lords, we almost don’t need to pull the trucks ourselves."

"And most importantly, our safety is guaranteed. With just these few Lords standing there, even the most brazen thieves wouldn’t dare to mess with us."

"It seems we made a wise choice. Now I can hardly wait to go see the Three Rivers Region, Gryphon Hill, and Weizemay Manor. I’ve heard there’s an endless vineyard there, soon to ripen in just a few days."

"I heard we’re not the first residents there; there’s already a group of Demi-Humans and Pikespirit managing a vineyard."

"I’m really curious, where did you hear all this from?"

"Of course from Lord Thornspike. Don’t be fooled by his tall and fierce appearance; he’s actually quite approachable, especially after I helped him find a fertile piece of land suitable for taking root and resting at night. After that, our relationship improved even more."

"You really live up to your reputation as a daring fool to dare to do such a thing."

"Demi-Humans are nothing special, but Pikespirit are rare sightings. They like to dwell deep within the woods, and are hardly seen by ordinary people. Legends say that both male and female are of the highest caliber of beauty and attractiveness, cute and pretty."

"With Treants and Pikespirit among us, our Lord might actually be the legendary Child of Nature!"

"Lord himself has said that he is an heir of the Nort Family!"

"The Lord has another half of his lineage that might just be..."

Gaven’s return with so many Treants caused an uproar in the Thacel Refugee Camp.

They couldn’t differentiate between Treants and Enlightened Trees; to them, those towering figures were symbols and synonyms of power.

The taller the body, the more powerful the entity was presumed.

Everyone’s discussions revolved around this young yet powerful and mysterious new Lord.

The information they had was a mixture of truth and conjecture.

Some were their own speculations, and some were intentionally or unintentionally released by Gaven, deliberately letting them know.

In Felen, it was often the case that Lords and Kings were the strongest in their domains. The stronger their power, the higher the security of their territory, attracting more residents to settle down and live within their lands.

Safety was the top priority; other things were secondary.

This is also the reason why, in places ruled by evil forces and terror, there were still numerous residents.

Even under horrifying and wicked rule, there was at least a chance to survive; escaping into the wilderness, most would end up as bones scattered across the wilds.

Kopofiel heard the news and came out at once, his face bearing an unmistakable expression of apology: "I’m sorry, Lord, I made a decision on my own; we should have waited for you to wake up..."

Kopofiel had received the most orthodox Thacel subject training. Although he pledged his loyalty to Gaven just a few days ago, he was already in character.

In his eyes, leading a team to leave while his own Lord was unconscious and in unknown condition was a very disloyal act, even if it was the smartest decision from a benefit standpoint.

Loyalty and wisdom often do not go hand in hand.

Gaven waved his hand to interrupt Kopofiel and said with a smile, "General, you made a wise decision. After all, I didn’t know how long I would be asleep, and the village couldn’t be leaderless for an extended time. I hope that if you face a similar situation next time, you’ll make the same decision without worrying about me.

My means are far greater than you could imagine, and ordinary circumstances won’t trouble me. If I really am in a difficult spot, trust me, the possibility that you can solve it is extremely slim. Immediately returning to the territory and trying to contact Lord Virginia would be the correct choice. Even if I suffered misfortune, she would be capable of resurrecting me."

Gaven’s response exceeded Kopofiel’s expectations. After mulling it over, he couldn’t help but retort, "You’re really straightforward, Lord. Now that you’ve said it like this, I’ll know how to handle things in the future."

Gaven didn’t care if Kopofiel truly understood or just feigned understanding; he went straight to the main topic, "How are your preparations going on this front?"

Their subordinate relationship had just been established, and there were still many areas that needed to be adjusted.

"Following your instructions, Lord, we organized the people into three groups. The first consists of the elderly, weak, and women, totaling eighty-two people, who will be escorted by the third group towards the Black Feather Bridge to board the Demi-Humans’ ships.

The second group is made up of the able-bodied and led by myself. They will carry all of our luggage and food, traveling from Good Fortune Village through Rosaville Road, taking the Yewen Channel.

The third group is led by Kregi and consists of thirty warriors who will stay behind to guard the farmland until the summer harvest."

The title of Watcher wasn’t just for show.

A warship crewed by hundreds of sailors was expertly commanded by Kopofiel as if it were an extension of his own body. Not to mention, the relocation of a small village with fewer than five hundred people was effortlessly handled.

"Very good," Gaven nodded in approval.

He had initially planned for all the refugees from the Thacel Refugee Camp to be transported to the Three Rivers Region with the help of the Demi-Humans’ fleet, given the convenience of water transportation over land transportation.

But when he realized that the volume of the Thacel Refugee Camp was larger than anticipated, and there was much more miscellaneous stuff to move, he had to change the plan.

Some would travel by water, but most would go by land. Although slower, it allowed the moving of more belongings given the large population and volume than the Demi-Humans’ small houseboats could carry.

The Demi-Humans’ houseboats were not the best option for water transportation; now, they were only useful for emergencies.

Building their own fleet was the top choice.

Previously, Gaven was concerned about having ships but not the sailors to navigate them.

Now, unexpectedly, he acquired a group of sailors, while his own ships were still soaking in the mire, not yet repaired.

This matter needed to be expedited.

Gaven weighed his options briefly and then said, "Kregi."