[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization":3,"chapter-global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-chapter-43":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Global Lords: Building the Strongest Civilization with SSS Rank Talent",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},831922,1094,"Chapter 43: THE ROTTING DRUID","global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-chapter-43",43,"\u003Cp>\"Time to eat.\" He opened his mouth, anticipating the crunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buzz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The obsidian slab vibrated violently against his hip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ INCOMING CALL: THE ROTTING DRUID (RANK 4) ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red stared at the screen. Then he looked at the hardtack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He prioritized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a bite, chewing slowly as the tablet vibrated. The call timed out, and silence returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red went for a second bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buzz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ INCOMING CALL: THE ROTTING DRUID (RANK 4) ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red rolled his eyes. He deliberately finished chewing, swallowed, and took a sip of spectral water. The call timed out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Persistent weed,\" Red muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buzz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red sighed, wiped the crumbs from his mouth, and tapped [ ACCEPT ] with aggressive force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\" Red snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen flickered. The avatar that appeared wasn't a face. It was a thick, green plant stalk. On top, a single large leaf flopped over like a bad haircut. Two twig-like branches stuck out from the sides, waving stiffly like cartoon hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Greetings, Neighbor!\" The Druid's voice was wet and raspy, like wind blowing through a swamp. \"I hope you enjoyed the housewarming gift. A little fresh air does wonders for the lungs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red narrowed his eyes. \"You call biological warfare a gift?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I call it a hello,\" the stalk-face wobbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen, mulch-brain,\" Red said, his voice dropping an octave. \"I'm letting this slide once because I'm busy. But if you send another cloud... if you even sneeze in my direction... I will burn your entire forest down. I will turn every tree you own into charcoal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Although I am aware I am quite ready to wage a war with another god yet with such low manpower and followers.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Druid didn't seem threatened. The branch-hands waved dismissively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So angry!\" the Druid laughed, a sound like dry leaves crunching. \"Why the hostility? None of your little pets died. In fact, I am the one who lost a Tower. My Colossus is soup. My minions are ash.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The avatar leaned closer to the screen, the single leaf-hair twitching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should be thanking me, really.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanking you?\" Red scoffed. \"For what? Wasting my coal?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For the test,\" the Druid replied smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stalk-face stopped moving. The voice lost its playful rasp and went dead serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I needed to see how you solved a problem like that. A native god would have used a Wind Miracle. Or a Water Barrier. Or they would have just died.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Druid paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you? You built a thermal updraft using the Venturi effect. You understood thermodynamics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red froze. His hand hovered over the 'End Call' button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That confirms it,\" the Druid whispered. \"100%.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are from Earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence in the Void was deafening. Red's heart—or what was left of it—hammered against his ribs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'He knows!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red kept his face blank although it was just a question mark. He forced a confused frown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Earth?\" Red asked flatly. \"Is that some kind of dirt type? I'm the God of the Spiral. I don't know your obscure gardening terms.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Druid stared at him for a long moment. Then, the branch-hands clapped slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Playing dumb. Classic Human move.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whatever,\" Red reached for the button. \"Stay off my lawn.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ CALL ENDED ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red stared at the black screen. The hardtack in his hand suddenly tasted like ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He knows physics,\" Red whispered to the empty Void. \"And he knows I know physics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the map. The neighbor wasn't just a threat. He was a Player.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'But… this is not a game… right? I was summoned here…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Void was usually cold, but now it felt suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red sat on the invisible floor, the half-eaten Mana-Hardtack forgotten in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Earth,\" he whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For weeks, he had buried his past. He was Red, the God of the Spiral. He was the CEO of a monstrous little startup in a swamp. He had pushed Red, the bullied kid who was summoned against his will, into the back of his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Rotting Druid had just ripped that scab open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He tested me,\" Red thought, pacing the empty blackness. \"He didn't check my Divine Power. He checked my knowledge. He checked if I knew what a Venturi tube was.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recalled Gorr's voice from their first trade deal. 'The Soul Density Rule... or \"Levels\" as the gaming generation calls it.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, Red thought the [ SYSTEM ] was translating her divine language into concepts he could understand. A user interface feature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But what if it wasn't a translation?\" Red stopped pacing. \"What if she just... said it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During their call he didn't pay much attention to it as it was also a regular and normal phrase Red used to hear back on earth and his mind just skimmed past it. But now it was coming together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Gorr was a gamer. If the Druid knew physics. That meant they were from Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we all players?\" Red looked at the endless dark horizon. \"Is this a server? Army followers just code?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pain was too real. The smell of the swamp, the taste of the coal dust on Gorak's skin, the fear in the Kobolds' eyes. If this was a game, it was sick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if the Druid and Gorr were players... where were the others? Where were the classmates who had tormented him? The \"Heroes\" who were summoned alongside him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried to pinch the map, to zoom out past the Swamp and the Mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ SYSTEM ALERT ] [ REGION LOCKED: FOG OF WAR ] [ EXPLORE TO UNLOCK ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Useless,\" Red hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed answers. But he couldn't ask the System. And he certainly wasn't going to call the Druid back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That left Gorr.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She helped me,\" Red reasoned. \"But she's Rank 4. She's smart. If I ask 'Are you from Earth?', I give up my leverage. I look like a confused noob.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to be subtle. He needed to sound like a boredom-stricken god making conversation, not a panicked boy looking for a teacher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He composed himself. He fixed his spectral collar, and tapped the obsidian slab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ OUTGOING CALL: GORR (RANK 4) ]\u003C\u002Fp>",1035,"2026-06-03T04:18:47.295Z","2026-06-03T04:18:56.938Z",1,"novelbin.me","3f4ea780eb28af0c4987b4668a95152347079109c9bedba037ac56e49ac51da3","global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-chapter-44","global-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-chapter-42",256,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fglobal-lords-building-the-strongest-civilization-cover.jpg"]