Chapter 136. Following the Light in the Darkness (1)
A corpse, murdered in a gruesome manner, lay sprawled on the red sand.
Its branches had been forcefully torn off and were horribly broken, and its roots, which had been buried deep in the ground, were stripped bare and dug up, revealing parts that should never have been seen.
Looking at the gruesome sight of the fallen Spirit Tree, Beronion felt as though he could hear the final death scream it must have let out as it died.
“Did you find it?”
“……It is not here.”
What was most serious was that its essence, the seed it should have possessed, was nowhere to be seen.
Without it, they could not root a new Spirit Tree to include in the circle of life, so Beronion’s expression darkened as he heard the report.
“We failed to protect it this time as well….”
Beronion felt a sudden wave of fatigue and rubbed his eyes with his hand.
“Are the only remaining Spirit Trees the ones in the World Tree’s forest now?”
There were those who targeted the Spirit Trees rooted throughout the world.
They moved quickly, stealthily, and with thorough planning, murdering the pillars that supported the world.
It was clear they were moving with a distinct purpose, but the problem was that from the perspective of Elbhenin, which had isolated itself from the world, they had no way of knowing what that purpose was.
Still, the one thing that was certain was that those who cut down the Spirit Trees and extracted their essence were by no means acting out of goodwill.
The World Tree, a pillar of this world and a conduit to the goddesses.
And the Spirit Trees, which support the World Tree and regulate the world’s cycle and balance.
It was certain that these unknown individuals wished for the harmony and balance of this world to collapse.
Beronion raised his head and looked at the oasis where the Spirit Tree had been.
It should have been a peaceful desert sanctuary with clear water and healthy trees, but now, as if contaminated by something, the trees were withered and the lake where water had been was empty, its bottom cracked and dry.
The sight seemed to signify some ominous future to come, and Beronion’s heart grew heavy.
“Captain, a message has arrived from Elbhenin.”
One of the Griffin Riders handed Beronion a green piece of parchment.
When Beronion unfolded it, golden letters began to be engraved on the parchment, which had been blank.
After reading them in a single breath, Beronion furrowed his brow.
The frown was more an expression of puzzlement than displeasure.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
At their captain’s command, the elves mounted their griffins in a disciplined manner.
“We are heading to the next Spirit Tree from here.”
At Beronion’s words, his subordinates tilted their heads and asked.
“Captain, excluding the ones in the World Tree’s forest, the Spirit Tree here was the last one remaining….”
Beronion pulled down the goggles that were on his forehead and answered his subordinate’s question.
“A new Spirit Tree has appeared.”
Beronion’s words startled his subordinates.
They could not hide their surprise at the news that a Spirit Tree had appeared which the elves of Elbhenin, tasked with protecting the World Tree, had not been aware of.
“We are going to Norington in the Kingdom of Felix.”
Beronion’s eyes, which had witnessed despair, were now shining with a new expectation mixed with doubt.
With the rising wind, the shadows of winged creatures crossed the red desert.
The only one watching them was the corpse of the Spirit Tree, which had now lost everything.
***
“…”
Under the sun hanging high above their heads, Blanc and his knights stood in silence.
“You heard a loud noise?”
His voice wasn't filled with anger, but it was strangely subdued.
At the sound of it, Jerome unconsciously stood at attention and answered.
“Yes! I couldn’t sleep well because of a loud, drum-like sound that continued all night.”
“You heard a loud drumming sound, but you never once thought to go outside and check?”
“…”
At Blanc’s question, Jerome’s mind went blank.
‘Why did I do that?’
Looking back, he couldn’t understand his own actions of just trying to sleep.
“Barzio, you volunteered for the night watch, and yet you dozed off?”
-I am ashamed, my lord.
Barzio’s white ghost fire, which was always burning brightly, was now flickering about as if in confusion.
The knights had all overslept without exception.
Jerome, the diligent squire, had tried to sleep despite the loud noise.
Barzio, who had overcome the limits of the flesh, had dozed off during his watch.
If only one of these things had happened, it could have been overlooked, but with all of them combined, it became a problem that could not be easily dismissed.
Blanc quietly turned his head and looked at the spot where he had planted the World Tree seed yesterday.
A sprout, already as large as an adult’s palm, was there.
“I know who the culprit is, but…”
Blanc’s worries deepened as he looked at the sprout.
***
It was the fourth day since planting the sprout.
“This is getting scary now.”
At Blanc’s words, the knights watching the young tree that was once a sprout nodded in agreement.
Green grass was rising not only around the young tree but also all the way to where Blanc’s party had set up their tents.
“There’s a puddle of water forming over there…”
Where Sten pointed his finger, a small puddle of water had indeed formed.
Water was pooling in a place where no moisture had been seen for over a hundred years.
In just four days, a small oasis had formed.
Rakshar quietly approached it, cupped some water with his hands, and took a drink.
“I-it seems to be fine, for now.”
Rakshar, who had spent almost his entire life in the forest, didn't go so far as to say that the water tasted similar to the water flowing deep in the forest.
To say that much, the reality surrounding them was already too hard to accept.
Sten suspected that he might be caught in some wicked trick or illusion, but the aura of the surroundings was too refreshing for that to be the case.
“…”
Simon, who had been quietly bowing his head and checking the surrounding momentum, turned his head to look at where Jerome was.
“Jerome, are you alright?”
In Simon’s mind’s eye, he could see strange things hovering around Jerome.
“I-I think there are ghosts here.”
Jerome was now terrified, saying that he no longer heard drumbeats at night, but the chattering of children.
Still, it was commendable that he wasn’t complaining and asking to leave the place in a hurry.
Blanc stood up, looked around at his knights, and said.
“Let’s prepare to leave.”
Just then, at the edge of his vision, people began to appear, running from beyond the wasteland.
Riding on horseback, they carried the banner of Quiesco.
“We’ll leave the rest to them.”
In the middle of the vast wasteland, there was a green mark, as if a single teardrop had fallen.
The moist soil, the sprouting grass, and the germinated seeds that started from there.
In the middle of the reviving wasteland, a single, primly sprouted blade of grass swayed in the coming spring breeze.
***
“This is truly unbelievable.”
Meeting with Princess Isabella alone after a long time, Blanc noticed that her complexion had become haggard.
“It seems the wondrous seed I brought has breathed new life into the dried-up wasteland.”
Instead of speaking plainly about the great existence that was the World Tree seed, Blanc packaged it as something more appropriate for Isabella to accept and glossed over it.
“Did you take the Gorge Where Even Tears Dried Up and the surrounding wasteland with this in mind?”
Isabella asked with a sharp gaze, but Blanc just shrugged his shoulders.
“I did acquire it with various uses in mind.”
Instead of giving a definite answer to Isabella’s question, Blanc decided to subtly change the subject.
“By the way, your complexion doesn’t look well. Are you troubled by something?”
As if she had been waiting for those words, Isabella let out a long sigh.
“I thought ruling a territory wouldn’t be easy, but there are more difficulties than I imagined.”
Isabella had taken possession of Vicious' territory, but she was in a much harsher situation than Blanc, who had reclaimed Norington.
The people of Norington had a sense of loyalty to the Cadmus family, who had ruled them for a long time, but the people here had no reason to feel that way towards Isabella.
Furthermore, there was also a sense of rejection towards the gradually gathering Quiesco refugees.
Because of this, some villages even preferred to belong to Norington rather than Quiesco.
“It is too difficult to gather the scattered refugees of Quiesco and to settle them completely in the territory…”
Unlike Blanc, who had someone to firmly support him from behind, Quiesco had no one to rely on except for Cadmus of Norington.
Perhaps Isabella had been waiting for Blanc to visit like this.
“I see. I understand completely.”
Blanc nodded his head and showed his full understanding of Isabella’s troubles.
Seeing Blanc, who understood her from an equal footing, Isabella felt as if she had been freed from the burden that had been weighing her down, even though it was a small gesture.
“I think I can be of help.”
And Blanc actually presented a solution.
“It’s a bit much to say it myself, but the current Norington is like a huge hole. It craves many things to put into its wide-open mouth.”
Blanc looked at Isabella over his clasped hands and said.
“Not just money, but people as well.”
“…”
Looking at Blanc’s eyes, which were half-hidden by the back of his hand, Isabella thought.
The huge hole that craved many things was not actually in Norington, but in this man’s blue eyes.
“Furthermore, though I can’t be certain, won’t we be able to do something with the Gorge Where Even Tears Dried Up, which is gradually turning into a grassland?”
The man who had just been sympathizing with her worries with a warm gaze had now become a lord with a sharp and cold heart.
“Please, speak.”
Seeing Blanc’s greedily swaying blue eyes, Isabella gathered her scattered thoughts.
She wanted to rely on this man, but she shouldn't.
The moment she fell into the great sea that was Blanc, Quiesco would dissolve without a trace.
“To settle the refugees of Quiesco, the first priority will be to provide them with stable jobs.”
Blanc took out a water bottle and shook it at Isabella, who was crossing the arid desert.
“…That’s right.”
The moment the pitiful traveler saw that water bottle, she felt a burning thirst.
“I would like to hire them.”
Under the darkening sky, the castle of Quiesco was brightly lit by two sleepless lords.
In the dark night.
The young Spirit Tree in the Gorge Where Even Tears Dried Up, the young tree, escorted by the soldiers of Quiesco, stretched its long neck towards the rising moonlight.
It was as if a child was standing on tiptoe towards the moon in the sky.
And under the moonlight, there were mischievous lights hovering around the child.
The young and tender were standing on their tiptoes to move forward.
***
There was a man riding on horseback, bathed in moonlight.
Although it was a dark night, he did not stop, and after passing through the gates of Norington, he finally managed to reach the Cadmus mansion.
“I have come to see the master of this place.”
Ulvent, holding a brass helmet, approached the man, who could be a guest who had visited suddenly late at night or something else entirely.
“Who are you and where are you from? It is not polite to knock on the door late at night.”
The man, who had covered himself with the hood of his robe, said.
“I know it is late, but I have come from the far-off Kingdom of Anton. I wish to meet Count Blanc Cadmus.”
Seeing the man panting as he spoke, Ulvent was certain that he had come here for an extraordinary reason.
“What is your reason for wanting to see the Count?”
Seeing Ulvent looking at him with suspicious eyes, the man threw off the hood that was covering his face.
“I have come to request a knight’s duel with the lord of Norington and honorable knight, Blanc Cadmus.”
His hair, shining under the moonlight, was blond.
“I am Adolf Maximilian of the Maximilian family.”
When the Seeker of the Blue Star, holding the young saintess in his arms, broke through the evil that began in the forest and reached Moirai, an arrogant knight blessed by the goddess had blocked his path.
“I must see him.”
However, the arrogant knight of that time was nowhere to be seen, and now, in front of Ulvent, there was only a pitiful knight who had fled from fear, panting for breath.