Chapter 57: War Tree!

Bick’s tears were unexpected by Gervas; he had indeed been cultivating an image, but this was just the daily life of a lord!

Of course, he understood the emotional outburst of someone who had endured immense pressure for days and now faced the risk of execution.

He offered no comfort, letting Bick release his stress—less than half a minute later, Bick had regained composure and repeatedly apologized and begged for mercy.

Only then did Gervas help him up with both hands, and under Bick’s eyes, bright with awe and faith, Gervas and his party headed toward the apple orchard.

Of course, before leaving, Gervas dispatched Knight Captain Lei Meng to fetch water from Tianehu.

Because the Caoyi Swan's settlement was still in a critical phase, it could not be disturbed by major commotion.

He didn’t trust others to supervise it.

“My lord, this is the withered apple orchard—all the apple trees on this hill have withered!”

“Bick, do you remember where the apple trees first began to wither?”

“My lord, the first trees to wither were clustered at the hilltop—three of them had yellowing leaves at first; I thought it might be insect damage.”

“But later we found no insects, no disease—and yet the withering could not be stopped!”

Gervas nodded; discovering the blight on the first day proved Bick was truly diligent.

Remember, the combined orchards of several wealthy households spanned over a thousand mu.

Though other serfs helped out, manpower was still tight.

He went straight to the hilltop, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed—immediately, he detected something unusual.

At a specific spot on the hilltop, elemental and magical fluctuations were extremely intense.

Following the sensation, Gervas arrived at the epicenter of the strongest elemental and magical surge.

The ground showed no visible anomaly yet, but with system data, Gervas could verify whether the War Tree was here.

“Lei Meng, have them start bringing water!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Then the serfs lined up to draw water from the carts.

One basin after another of Tianehu spring water was poured into the spot Gervas specified.

As this proceeded, the magical and elemental fluctuations grew ever more intense.

Even Lei Meng noticed something was amiss.

“My lord, this… what is this?”

Such obvious magical and elemental fluctuations could only occur on a beast.

But the problem was, the fluctuations came from beneath their feet—if it were a beast, that made little sense.

“Lei Meng, you’ll know soon enough!”

Gervas didn’t spoil it; otherwise, he couldn’t explain.

But the answer came quickly—after pouring over two carts of spring water, the ground suddenly rose slightly, like a spring bamboo shoot about to break through the soil.

Of course, the area of upheaval was larger—at least the size of a washbasin.

And the emergence continued, visibly accelerating.

Puff!

The soil was fully pushed aside, and a patch of green appeared on the ground.

The green grew upward steadily until it stood over ten centimeters above the soil, then stopped.

“This… this is the War Tree?!”

Though the War Tree sapling was only ten centimeters tall, it was already unmistakably different from ordinary trees.

First, its most striking feature was its thickness—the stout trunk looked like a small stump; it was a sapling, yet shaped like a thousand-year-old tree!

Second, its trunk bore faint human faces, and symmetric, fan-like branches—large as palms—grew on both sides; below, two thick roots protruding slightly from the ground resembled powerful legs ready to lift off.

Though all had seen the War Tree for the first time, they could identify it at a glance.

This cry of astonishment came from Knight Captain Lei Meng—his shock revealed just how precious the War Tree was.

“L…Lord, is this truly the War Tree?” This time it was Mi Gen asking; no longer did they need Lei Meng to explain—they’d all heard of the War Tree’s fame.

“Correct. When Zhui Yue told me earlier, I already suspected this—now it’s clear Zhui Yue’s guess was right!”

“Good heavens, it really is the War Tree! This is a fearsome weapon only the elves possess! Legend says the mightiest War Trees can fight even ninth-rank beasts!” Mi Gen and the knights stared, eyes gleaming.

“It can indeed fight ninth-rank beasts—but that requires a War Tree of at least several hundred years.” Gervas said.

“My lord, ninth-rank beasts are too distant for us, but legend says a War Tree reaches maturity in over a hundred years—then it can at least handle seventh- or eighth-rank beasts.”

“And if we lower our standards further, in just forty or fifty years, it can fight fifth- or sixth-rank beasts—and take on several at once, rivaling several Golden Knights!” Lei Meng added.

Gervas nodded; the War Tree was thick-skinned, high-health, and an absolute multi-target asset—grow it forty or fifty years, and it would truly rival several Golden Knights.

The elves’ population was nowhere near that of humans or beasts, yet they could stand against both—this was thanks largely to the War Tree’s protection.

So once it matured, placing it at the castle gate would make it a mighty guardian.

There was another way to make the War Tree grow stronger quickly: the Life Spring.

Legend says, in ancient times, the elves faced annihilation—and used the Life Spring to rapidly grow countless mature War Trees, saving their race from extinction.

Gervas decided he must find a way to obtain some Life Spring in the future.

With the War Tree’s location confirmed, next came protection and care.

The War Tree was still in its sapling stage—lacking consciousness, unable to move.

“Old John, when we return, notify the Civil Officer to send men tomorrow to remove all the withered apple trees, then build a wall along the hill.”

“From now on, no one may enter without permission!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Gervas turned to Bick. “Bick, from now on, you are responsible for watering this War Tree.”

“You need at least three carts of Tianehu spring water daily! I’ll have the Civil Officer assign you carts and personnel!”

“Yes, my lord! I will care for the War Tree with all my heart!” Bick was overwhelmed with emotion—he’d heard every word of the lords’ conversation.

This was a treasure worth over a thousand gold coins—a sum he’d never dared dream of.

“By the way, Old John, what was Bick’s daily wage before?”

“My lord, ten copper coins per day.”

“Raise it to match the castle servants—twenty copper coins daily! And add three jin of smoked dried meat monthly!”

Thud!

“Thank you, my lord, for your grace!”

Bick had knelt on the ground—not because his knees were weak, but because his lord’s favor was beyond repayment.

Ten copper coins a day was already generous—it fed his whole family, kept them from hunger.

But compared to castle servants, it was still far less.

Castle servants already surpassed over 99% of serfs.

Above them were the elite—such as Old John or Carol’s personal maid—positions ordinary people could never attain in a lifetime.

So upon hearing Gervas had raised him to castle servant status, even if Bick were ordered to die now, he wouldn’t flinch.