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Chapter 229: Right, It’s the Ascarts

The moment the humongous skeleton wrapped in crimson light appeared in the midst of the Karon Forest’s mountain valley, the movements of the assailants immediately came to a halt, be it the frantically shouting Rodney and Wood, or the warriors who had charged forth valiantly.

It was a frightening sensation of stiffness that made them doubt that their blood had stalled to a halt, followed by an unbearable pressure crushing down on them. It took just a split moment before all of the believers of the Strength Sect fell to their knees and lowered their heads. Only the high transcendents, Rodney and Wood, were barely able to remain on their feet.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries of the Unyielding Sect also felt a heavy pressure on their bodies. Having received a notice beforehand, they didn’t fall into a panic. Still, Grandar’s powerful existence forced them to avert their gazes deferentially. Only Cynthia was barely able to maintain her gaze upon this mighty existence, but the more she looked at him, the more astounded she was.

High-level transcendents possessed sharper senses that allowed them to better perceive the existence of gods, discerning their nature and their strength. Based on what Cynthia was feeling, the crimson skeleton was an existence that wouldn’t pale in comparison to the great Earth Goddess she worshiped.

Worshiping two gods at once? How is this possible?

Words couldn’t begin to describe how shocked Cynthia was.

Ancient gods were strict and severe. They demanded absolute loyalty from their believers. A believer could lose a god’s grace just by marrying a woman disfavored by the god, let alone doing something as sacrilegious as worshiping another god.

Yet, such common sense didn’t seem to apply on Roel.

Cynthia was unaware that Roel was in an equal contract with Grandar and Peytra. He was a guide who had brought them out of their eternal slumber, becoming the bridge that linked them to the present reality. Their existences were mutually beneficial to one another, unlike the other believers who implored god’s grace through their faith.

She suddenly found the black-haired boy standing before her turning into an unfathomable existence, a being whose strength she would never know the depths of.

Meanwhile, the members of the Strength Sect fell into utter silence until Wood finally spoke up.

“O’ esteemed One, your undeserving believers beg your pardon for the great disrespect we have shown upon Lord Holy Son.”

...

An hour after the chaos, the believers of the Strength Sect had all tossed aside their weapons and were humbly squeezed together in front of the convoy like penguins. Meanwhile, some distance away, Roel stood alongside an obedient Alicia as he gazed upon the mountainous scenery with a staff in his hand while listening to Rodney and Wood’s explanation.

Over the past hour, he got a detailed explanation about the Strength Sect’s current predicament—basically the reason why Grandar’s believers ended up becoming a bunch of beggars plundering a merchant convoy passing through the area. To his surprise, this actually had something to do with the Sorofya House attempting to develop the Land of Chaos.

Precisely due to that, Alicia was filled with sympathy for the members of the Strength Sect, and she impassionedly criticized the evil power oppressing the innocent masses.

“Lord Brother, Charlotte really is a bad woman!”

While Alicia was dealing out heavy blows toward Charlotte, Roel gazed upon the scale he had just received from Rodney and began communicating with Peytra.

‘Scale of the Snake God’, this was basically a scale from one of the Earth Goddess’ descendants. From Peytra’s point of view, it was a relic left behind by one of her great-great-great...-great-grandchild, so naturally it was not something that could catch the eye of the previous Queen of Saint Beasts. That being said, it was not entirely useless either.

It had been many years since Peytra departed from the world, so it was extremely hard to find mediums that could harness her power. The scale from her descendant was indubitably a rare item, harnessing the potential to become something far more than an artifact that simply rallied a couple of snakes with its lingering aura once it was blessed by Peytra.

It was worth noting that the Strength Sect was extremely conservative, such that their respect and faith in Roel was far greater than that of the Unyielding Sect. All it took was a single encounter for all of them to surrender to Roel right away. They didn’t even know what Roel’s name, standing, or position were then!

Grandar’s appearance did contribute partially to that, but still, it was noteworthy that they didn’t hesitate to hand over the Scale of the Snake God, something which they had refused to submit to the evil cults all this while, to him.

Based on Rodney’s account, the members of the Strength Sect were intending to set off and look for Roel within the next few days. This was the first time they were engaging in banditry, and it was under someone else’s request that they did so.

Roel took a look at their clothes and decided to believe them. Considering the fact that they had two Origin Level 3 transcendents on their side, if they really had no qualms with robbing others, they should have long struck it rich by now. They wouldn’t have been so pitiful as to be dressed in scraps... though what he was more concerned about was the reason why they were robbing him.

“Wait a moment, someone requested you to do so?”

“Yes, it was to repay the grace shown upon us by the Master of the Forest that we tried to rob your convoy.”

“I see... Who is the Master of the Forest though? Is he a heretic from the Land of Chaos too?”

“Ah, that’s not it. Well...”

Under Roel’s perplexed gaze, Rodney and Wood hesitated for a long while before finally deciding to reveal the truth.

“The Master of the Forest is actually an ancient treant.”

“!”

Roel widened his eyes upon hearing those words. He asked a few more questions to better understand the situation, but it only deepened his shock. He would have never thought that a day would come where a tree would plot to rob him, and what made it even more ridiculous was that the other party had sent Grandar’s believers after him!

And when he learned that the treant was actually aiming for the twenty vats of atrociously disgusting Cadi wine, he immediately understood the meaning behind Isabella’s words back at the Witness State.

I see. There was no need for me to do anything at all. Anyone who brings a large quantity of Cadi wine with him into the Karon Forest would be able to meet the Drunkard Treant.

Such a thing probably hadn’t happened in a while since no merchant convoy would be willing to supply such a cheap yet disgusting wine, let alone transport it into the dangerous Karon Forest. In fact, ever since the Era of Adventure, most of the roads leading toward the Karon Forest had become dilapidated.

Given the circumstances, Roel reckoned that it was the truth when Ancient Treant Kayde mentioned that it hadn’t had any Cadi wine for nearly a hundred years. Meanwhile, Rodney and the others were glad to learn that they didn’t have to be torn between their loyalty toward Roel and the debt they owed to the Master of the Forest. Together, they began making their way toward the depths of the mountain valley.

...

It was springtime. Buds emerged on tree branches, and birds could frequently be seen circling above the forest. It was yet another season of awakening for the Karon Forest. Yet, in the depths of a mountain valley, Kayde’s eyes remained firmly closed.

This actually concerned the secret as to why the ancient treant was able to enjoy such great longevity—NEET.

If it was possible not to move, Kayde wouldn’t move at all. It lived its life as though an ordinary oak tree, living quietly through the generations, silently witnessing times of prosperity and disaster. Having witnessed almost everything the world had to offer, there was not much that could catch Kayde’s attention, especially after the departure of a group of close acquaintances. Before it knew it, its life had returned back to serenity.

Nothing could disturb him, and nothing dared to disturb him.

The descendents of those cursed by the gods had become its guards, and in return, it mellowed down their instincts and became their emotional stabilizer. This mutually beneficial exchange brought unprecedented peace to the Karon Forest, and it had remained that way for several hundred years now. But on this very day, a powerful aura broke the peace of the forest.

The moment that powerful aura broke out, a pair of deeply wrinkled eyes opened on the towering ancient tree. The terrifying presence of the god alarmed it, forcing it to take the situation with utmost graveness. Its body began to shudder as a faint glimmer of light shone in the depths of its trunk. The surrounding earth began to tremor as dust rose into the air, scaring away flocks of birds.

This was the first time in decades that Kayde had unrooted itself from the ground.

At the same time, over a hundred shadows flitted in the darkness of the forest—werewolves. An ancient promise compelled them to offer their aid to the Master of the Forest if the latter was in a dangerous position. Following right after were the powerful demonic creatures whom Kayde had contracted with as well. Humongous birds circled the sky warily, and lethal venomous scorpions rose from their burrows.

“They still managed to find me in the end?” murmured an ancient, hoarse voice contemplatively.

It looked in the direction where the sound of footsteps was gradually echoing clearer and clearer. To Kayde’s surprise, the army came to a halt over a thousand meters away; the only one that approached it was an individual.

It was a black-haired boy dressed in clothes that weren’t too extravagant. He had an appearance that could be considered to be above average amongst the humans, and he gave off an air of nobility. Holding onto an old staff, he looked at Kayde with composed golden eyes. His presence wasn’t imposing, yet no lifeforms dared to carelessly approach him.

A beautiful golden jeweled snake had risen from the staff and was resting calmly on the boy’s hand, and the demonic creatures in the area shuddered in its presence. Behind the boy stood a humongous giant manifested with crimson mana. It glanced lightly at the werewolves in the area before finally turning its eyes to the towering treant.

Kayde stared intently at the approaching boy with gradually widening eyes. The fact that the auras of two ancient gods were coming from a single person seemed to have jotted its memories from a long time ago, dredging up fuzzy reminiscences. While its mind was still wandering, the black-haired boy finally halted his footsteps.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, the great Master of the Forest, Mister Kayde. I am Roel Ascart, the descendant of one of your acquaintances. I beg your pardon for my abrupt visit.”

In accordance with ancient etiquette, Roel placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly. Before him, the eyes of the ancient treant suddenly lit up brightly.

“Right, it’s the Ascarts...”