Chapter 101

The sudden appearance of the World Tree, the people of Liguo have already begun to accept it; this huge tree, just like that, the Red-clothed Devil slowly achieved his plan.

The Red-clothed Devil gently stroked the tree trunk, then said to the trunk: "Old buddy, don't rush; believe you'll be out soon."

The soldiers looked puzzled at the Red-clothed Devil's actions, but still said nothing; they watched the Red-clothed Devil skillfully do these things, then poured their own blood onto the base of the tree roots, and then softly said: "Oh dear, it seems I have to do this?"

The soldiers looked puzzled at the Red-clothed Devil's actions and listened to his words, they thought of a ritual, a ritual often mentioned by an old man, said to require human blood to activate……

"Sir, what are you doing?" The soldier finally couldn't hold back and asked the Red-clothed Devil.

Hearing the soldiers' question, the Red-clothed Devil stopped his work and countered: "You say I'm doing what?"

"Looks like I'm doing something powerful!" The soldier hastily brushed it off, not knowing why, regarding what the old man said, the soldier felt this couldn't be spoken of.

The Red-clothed Devil smiled, then walked up to them, patted their shoulders, and said: "Looks like the city gate guards should change shifts, right?"

Upon hearing the Red-clothed Devil say that, the soldiers realized they hadn't changed shifts in a long time. At first they thought the city guards had already accepted this duty, but now they felt a strange sensation.

The more the soldier thought, the more frightened he became, cold sweat trickling down his back, then he asked the Red-clothed Devil: "Sir, what do you think will happen?"

"I don't know; I'm not all-knowing, nor do I have clairvoyant eyes—you should send someone to check." The Red-clothed Devil deliberately made up an excuse to brush them off, then gestured for them to leave.

Watching the soldiers slowly leave, the Red-clothed Devil himself slowly walked to the giant tree and continued: "Old fellow, you should show up now, right?"

The soldiers dared not look back; they slowly walked away, leaving only the Red-clothed Devil. The Red-clothed Devil again slit his arm, watching his blood be absorbed by the so-called World Tree, then muttered: "O great tree at the world's summit, can you let me hear the gods' wails? The will at the pinnacle of the divine realm, can it once again rule this world? I am your most faithful servant; I offer you this sacrifice—please appear again and fulfill my wish!"

However, the World Tree gave no response; it merely accepted the Red-clothed Devil's goodwill without answering.

"Looks like it still won't work—can the forcibly inverted World Tree only achieve this much? Just this?" Feeling unwilling, the Red-clothed Devil slammed his fist hard onto the tree trunk.

Then a branch fell and struck the Red-clothed Devil on the head. He found it odd, picked up the branch, thought it over, went into his laboratory, took out a rope, summoned the soldiers, and had them tie him to the tree.

At first the soldiers thought it unbelievable, quite surprised, then asked: "Is this okay? Sir, I think it's not proper."

The Red-clothed Devil also felt uneasy; after thinking for a long time, he solemnly nodded and ordered: "Tie me up—this is your only way to victory, there's no alternative, so tie me up."

"Victory? The only method? Weren't the Dwarves died of thirst outside?" The soldiers had many doubts, but ultimately followed the Red-clothed Devil's order, tying him to the tree and hoisting him aloft.

The soldiers slowly withdrew; the Red-clothed Devil exhaled, then looked back at the tree and said: "Is this really the only way? To sacrifice myself to this so-called World Tree? Although someone already did this before and received no reward."

The branch was planted upright by the Red-clothed Devil in the ground, pointing at his abdomen; though still some distance from touching his body, just looking at it was chilling, but he could no longer hesitate; the Red-clothed Devil steeled himself, closed his eyes, and chanted: "Great World Tree, hear my call—I will offer myself as sacrifice……"

As the words were spoken, the tree seemed to respond, beginning to extend its body, followed by the sound of its roots digging downward……

In the palace, the king sat beneath his throne, hearing the soldier's report, learning that the Red-clothed Devil had tied himself to the World Tree, he couldn't help but laugh loudly, then said: "This guy, is he stupid? How do I feel he's lacking in intelligence? Tying himself to a tree and chanting spells? Or is this our nation's only way to victory? Look, those Dwarves are already done; before long, those two adventurers will be too!"

The messenger soldier kowtowed, then knelt on the ground and replied: "Your Majesty the King is right; our country now faces no threat—once those two adventurers are eliminated, Your Majesty can rest easy!"

The king snorted coldly, saying: "Hmph! I certainly know that, but I'm more curious about one thing: where exactly did they come from, and their weapons are all treasures of other nations; I think, even if those nations were generous, they wouldn't possibly give away their own national treasures to them."

"This…" The soldier had no reply, knelt on the ground with his head buried deep, looking like a little lapdog.

The king waved his hand, signaling the soldier to leave.

After the soldier left, he turned to his attendant and said: "You! Go summon Yang Xin!"

At that moment, Yang Xin was still sipping tea, savoring its aroma, then sat in the recliner, eyes half-closed, smacking his lips, and contentedly said: "Good tea……"

This feeling, reminiscent of old age, made Yang Xin feel very comfortable—was it a dream? Yes, this isn't reality? No, their sensations remained, their memories remained? But what exactly is this? Escape? Longing? Leisure? They weren't sure; they couldn't return to their world, staying here, and at the same time earned the title—Adventurer.

Here they received welcome, respect, even praise; Yang Xin was a bit reluctant to go out.

The soldier looked at Yang Xin on the recliner and said: "The King requests your presence."

Having said that, he immediately left; Yang Xin felt quite displeased, yet still headed toward the palace.

Yang Xin felt quite strange; earlier he felt the ground begin to tremble, then stop. He wanted to go find Wang Tingwan to talk, to clarify some issues, but she kept her door shut and never opened it for him.

Yang Xin felt uneasy; walking the palace hall corridor, outside the corpses had already been cleared, yet his nose was always filled with a pungent smell; finally he entered the hall, where the king, wearing a crown, awaited his arrival.

"You've come—this time I summoned you for something very important!" the king said.

"What matter?"

"What matter?"

"That box!"

In this question-and-answer exchange, Yang Xin felt that their victory lay in this.

On the city wall, the Dwarves 'guarded' Liguo; the two of them wore a single outfit, from afar there seemed no flaw, their coordination was also good; without close inspection, one would think it was a single, unquestionable figure.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao stood on the city wall, watching the Dwarves inspect incoming and outgoing merchant ships; merchants handed the Dwarves coins, which they accepted without hesitation and then let the ships pass one by one. Seeing everything peaceful, Feng Yan finally set aside his worries and said to Chen Hao: "That said, how did the old king die?"

"A fire." Chen Hao replied, then pondered and added: "But I don't think it's that simple."

"Tell me, I'm listening." Feng Yan became interested.

"The chance of the palace catching fire is very low." Chen Hao said.

Feng Yan nodded and replied: "That's true."

"So…"

"So it's the box problem!" Feng Yan shouted.

Suddenly the ground began to tremble; in an instant it became hard to stand firm. Feng Yan and Chen Hao looked up and saw the World Tree violently shaking!

"Looks like we don't have much time." Chen Hao raised his head and said to the tree.

"Yeah, we should launch an attack too!" Feng Yan said.