Chapter 240

The Element Dead Zone, Truth Archmage Estdoria had never felt so lost; the God of Life was angry and had banished the Elf race.

The gravity of this matter was equivalent to the Gods of Light abandoning their followers, ancestral totems no longer protecting their descendants, and the Dragon God rejecting those profligate dragons.

All elves sensed the God of Life's emotions clearly for the first time; previously, they needed the High Priest to interpret the God's will, and very few elves could speak directly to the God of Life.

Yet they could feel the God of Life's care everywhere—like when a young elf fell from a tree while playing, or when a young elf got lost in the forest.

Or when thirsty and unable to find water, a gentle breeze would carry the scent of a stream.

The God of Life's care was everywhere, but only the High Priest and a few elves could speak with it; Estdoria, as the Truth Powerholder closest to the divine, had never felt the God's power—only these taken-for-granted cares, which gave her an illusion.

The God of Life was like the omnipresent elements: with sufficient power, one could control it.

Now, she finally felt the God of Life's power—it was the banishment of the entire Elf race—and she felt its emotion: rage.

Estdoria was carried out; the moment the green mist rose, she cast every defense spell on herself, but it was useless—upon contact with the mist, she lost consciousness, and was later pushed out by a deer.

This shocked Estdoria deeply: the so-called Element Dead Zone, Truth Archmage, was utterly powerless before the God of Life.

Are gods this powerful? Or is the God of Life especially strong? Or perhaps the God of Life is uniquely powerful against elves?

The green mist only rendered her unconscious, but the God of Life could have had the deer that pushed her out step on her head at any moment.

Though angry, the God of Life merely banished the elves and did not harm them.

Geralde was right: the God of Life's rage stemmed from what the elves did to Lord Ang.

He traveled thousands of miles to heal the God of Life, succeeded, yet was chased by elves—ungrateful, arrogant, and brutal.

The only solution now is to find Lord Ang, apologize, and gain his forgiveness. But Lord Ang does not respond to them at all, not even granting them a chance to speak.

This is normal; once mobilized, the elves' power is terrifying. If they didn't come to apologize but to lure them out, they might lose even the chance to flee.

Last time, if the incident hadn't been sudden and if Anthony hadn't acted decisively, Ang and the others would never have escaped.

To give them a chance to apologize, trust is vital—how can they feel safe? The best way is to hold a high-ranking elf as a hostage; if the elves move, kill the hostage.

The Elf Queen is not a suitable hostage; her status is too sensitive. If she becomes a hostage, it implies the Elf race submitting to outsiders—a notion proud elves could never accept.

Besides the Elf Queen, who else has sufficient weight to be a hostage without triggering unnecessary associations?

Estdoria felt she was more suitable: she had enough weight, triggered no excessive associations, and most ordinary elves didn't even know her; moreover, she was the one who originally proposed the idea, so she believed she should take responsibility.

"In summary, I have come. This is the Life Binding Ring; hold it, and you may control my life or death at any moment. This is the Elf race's sincerity. I hope you, in light of our sincerity, grant us a chance to apologize." Estdoria held up a ring with one hand and pointed to the collar around her neck, speaking to Negrilis.

Before Estdoria stood only Negrilis; it was the most suitable for this task, since it was merely a projection—should the elves capture it, they would merely lose a body.

Negrilis picked up the Life Binding Ring and asked: "Has the God of Life awakened?"

Estdoria nodded: "Awakened."

"How is it? Better?" Negrilis asked, fearing all the insect ash Ang expended had been wasted.

"It's healed; all gray patches have vanished," Estdoria said.

"Good." Negrilis nodded, then turned its attention to the Life Binding Ring.

The Life Binding Ring and Life Collar are a set; using the ring, one can control the life or death of any being wearing the Life Collar, whether ordinary or Truth Archmage.

But placing the collar is not easy—it requires the target to be fully conscious and completely cooperative to achieve Life Lock; even the slightest resistance may prevent locking.

Without Life Lock, the Life Collar is meaningless.

Besides the Life Collar, there are many inferior control artifacts—slave collars, explosive collars, etc. but none can lock a Truth Archmage.

Negrilis manipulated the Life Binding Ring, confirming it was genuine, not a deception.

Sliding the Life Binding Ring over its elbow, Negrilis said to Estdoria: "I'm going to test it. Are you ready?"

The Life Binding Ring was real, the Life Collar was real—but were they a matched pair? What if this ring controlled a different collar? Then they'd be in danger.

Estdoria nodded, then froze, her eyes losing their luster, as Negrilis activated the ring.

"Sss, this thing really works—it can lock a Truth Mage. Elves truly mean it; I could stab her right now and kill her." Negrilis circled Estdoria twice, poking her forehead with its short claw.

Releasing the ring, Estdoria's eyes regained their luster. Negrilis said: "Alright, I believe the elves' sincerity now. Send someone to apologize and compensate. As for how the God of Life punishes you, that's none of my concern."

Estdoria smiled bitterly: "The punishment has already come—he banished us."

"Whoa, that harsh? Good job. No wonder you're so sincere," Negrilis clapped its tiny claws in praise.

…

The elves' compensation was sincere: they transformed the environment near Meishencheng, turning this once-barren desert into an oasis.

Estdoria closed her eyes and said: "This was originally very difficult, but since you have the World Tree and the Fengshui Towers, the task became simple."

Behind Estdoria, numerous elves worked busily, transporting larger Fengshui Towers by boat, digging deeper pits—or wells, rather.

After the wells were dug, Fengshui Towers were planted; wind carrying moisture was channeled downward, condensing into the wells and quickly moistening a large area.

Elves buried fertilizer around the tower-wells and planted one seed per tower.

Under the Druids' stimulation, the seeds sprouted and grew rapidly; vines climbed the Fengshui Towers, reached the top, then followed the ropes strung between towers toward other towers and the World Tree.

These vines wove a net across the air between towers and between towers and the World Tree, then grew downy fibers that fluttered in the wind.

Any mage who could sense water elements felt the air's water essence captured by the Rongmao, then slowly Rudong along with the wind to the Fengshui Towers, channeled by windmills into the wells.

The construction was overseen by an Elf Druid and a Gnome Engineer, who said:

"Fengshui Towers and Water Silk down are a perfect match. With Water Silk down guiding them, at least sixty percent of ground-evaporated moisture is redirected back into the towers, drastically reducing evaporation and conserving vast amounts of water essence. Oh, I'm a councilor of the Star Republic Engineering Society, Gnome Herman. Is this Lord Ang? Long time admired, honored to meet you."

Gnome Herman studied Ang curiously but saw nothing special—why was this ordinary human, so fiercely pursued by proud elves, demanded to apologize to?

Ang clearly had no idea how famous he'd become in the human world; he merely nodded casually, leaving the rest to Huang Tong.

Negrilis, fully aware of its role as Ang's spokesperson, took over: "Star Republic? Engineering Society? Long time admired. How long have you existed?"

"Huh? The Star Republic? Or the Engineering Society?" Herman was confused—why ask such a question? Wasn't polite small talk enough?

"The Star Republic has existed for seven hundred years; the Engineering Society for six hundred—oldest industry organization in the Republic."

"Oh, too old. No wonder." Negrilis mentally added: No wonder they don't recognize us.

After some polite exchanges, Negrilis asked: "Is this Fengshui Tower your Society's invention? What's the maximum water conversion per day?"

Herman explained: "Maximum daily conversion is ten tons; with Water Silk down, up to thirty tons. Our Society's patents belong to individuals—this invention is by Master Valigu, a Gnome Engineer and recipient of the Gear Award."

Negrilis and Ang exchanged glances; Ang tilted his head, Negrilis wore a strange expression: "Patents? If we knew Valigu, could we waive the patent fee?"

Herman chuckled: "Ha! Not just waive the fee—if you find Master Valigu, we'll give it for free. Alas, rumors say he was captured by brutal desert raiders; lately, the desert interior has been in constant warfare, chaotic. Our Society has tried rescuing him several times but can't trace his whereabouts."

Negrilis quickly turned and shouted: "Bring Valigu over!"

Soon after, Valigu drove a Tree-Planting Construct Vehicle, clacking rapidly toward them; the vehicle had two large wheels, wide enough to move steadily and swiftly across sand.

Behind the wheels were two large tubes; as the left wheel turned half a circle, the large tube plunged into the sand; as the right wheel turned half a circle, the small tube followed the hole and plunged in, sliding a sapling down.

The left wheel turned another half-circle, the small tube released and withdrew, clamping the sapling's exposed top.

The right wheel turned another half-circle, the large tube released and withdrew. One full rotation of each wheel completed one planting cycle, deeply embedding a sapling.

Someone followed with a cart carrying a water tank to irrigate.

The Tree-Planting Construct Vehicle sped forward, planting a line of saplings behind it.

Arriving before Negrilis, Valigu impatiently said: "What do you want? Speak quickly, don't interrupt my improvements to the Construct Vehicle."

Negrilis looked up at the sky: "Next month I want to cut the budget…"

Before Negrilis finished, Valigu leapt from the vehicle, rushed forward, and earnestly grasped Negrilis's hand:

"Lord Negril, the Engineering Department is your and Lord Ang's most steadfast supporter. Whatever you need, leave it to us. If the Alchemy Department fails to deliver results, Lord Ang can slash their budget."

"Really? Anything at all can be entrusted to your Engineering Department?" Negrilis asked skeptically.

Valigu pursed his lips and nodded firmly.

"Then discuss this with Mr. Herman—the Fengshui Tower project is now your responsibility," Negrilis said.

"No problem!" Valigu patted his chest, then pulled Herman aside: "Come on, brother, let's chat over there."

Once far enough that Negrilis couldn't see them, Valigu turned and glanced back, then, with Herman, simultaneously cursed: "Damn budget lords."

After cursing, the two Gnomes exchanged glances, feeling a deep kinship—shared hatred for budget lords instantly bonded them.

The Fengshui Towers merely condensed water essence from wind into the ground; the Water Silk down were the true miracle-workers, transforming desert soil.

Each morning, the downy fibers shed their saturated old strands, growing new ones; by dawn the next day, a thick layer of down covered the ground, mixing with sand underfoot.

The sand's water retention increased a hundredfold.

The main reason desert soil couldn't be farmed was poor water retention—even torrential rain would quickly drain away, leaving the land dry again within days.

But these Water Silk down fibers were the best water-retaining material; mixed with sand, they improved soil properties.

Additionally, the Water Silk down climbing the Fengshui Towers formed vast shade nets, reducing ground exposure to sunlight; combined, these changes turned barren desert into an oasis suitable for ordinary crops.

Of course, all this flourished only under the World Tree's protection.

After transformation, Meishencheng became a forest city in the desert.

Of course, this was only part of the elves' compensation—there were even more sincere compensations, such as…

"What? You're part of the compensation too? No no no, finish this and leave immediately," Negrilis hastily waved off.

Estdoria smiled: "It seems a blind Truth Archmage isn't worthy of your attention. Then what about a sighted Truth Archmage? I know you can heal my eyes. Heal them, and I offer my loyalty."