Read Novel Full Chapter 552- World Tree (2)
Chapter 552: Chapter 552- World Tree (2)
As Reinhardt spoke till here, all eyes advertently or inadvertently darted towards Eldrin and his beautiful wife, Elina.
As Elves, they were more in the know of Elfenheim than others here.
Reinhardt captured their reaction and continued.
"Because of its existence, because as long as the World Tree stood, corruption could not take root, the demons feared it. It made them weaker. When the Era of the Seven Gods ended, and the world entered chaos, demons surged forth from the abyss"...
"Kingdoms burned, races were annihilated, and the seven temples disappeared overnight. Elfenheim was one of the first to fall. That said, the World Tree was an existence on the same level as the Seven Gods themselves, bringing it down was no easy matter"...
"So the demons used the method they were most adept at. Sow discord and spread corruption, disrupting the World Tree’s balance from within. So they attacked its guardians, the elves"...
"Once the elves were out of the way, there was no other force that could stop the demons, and thus the corruption of Valdonia began."
A silence heavy and oppressive fell on the place.
What Reinhardt told them was nothing top secret. It was something that was passed down through the ancient time and with a bit of research, anyone could know about it.
That said, with the fall of humanity and seventy percent of the continent’s landmass captured, very few records weathered the trials of time. The ones that were passed down to this era were incomplete, and there was no way of knowing if there were any discrepancies in the information.
Which is why Reinhardt was looking towards Eldrin, hoping the other party would know something.
As a long lived race, the elves had their own unique method of passing down crucial information.
Sensing everyone’s expectant gaze land on him, Eldrin sighed before nodding his head.
"It is pretty much as Lord Reinhardt described it. The demons sowed discord among the allied races of Elfenheim to weaken it. Then they took this opportunity to poison the mana veins that the World Tree’s roots were connected to"...
"They unleashed all sorts of diseases and destruction to exhaust us. Our ancestors fought until their last breath. However, with the Seven Gods defeated, the Empire and the Seven Temples gone, there was no way to resist the demons anymore"...
"The World Tree began to shake, its branches falling off, and the mana balance was disrupted. When the last elven king realized there was no way to stop the World Tree’s and Elfenheim’s fall, he made the desperate choice"...
"He evacuated the citizens of Elfenheim and ordered them to seek refuge in the other kingdoms. Songs of that battle still remain within our clan, and we know that despite the Elfenheim’s King and the elite warriors holding back the Demonic Horde, Elfenheim fell that very day, unable to muster any resistance."
.
.
So that was what happened.
A heavy silence followed Eldrin’s words.
Hearing the fall of Elfenheim spoken aloud by one of their own made it real in a way half-forgotten legends never could.
The demons, the harbingers of calamity, had completely ruined their previously beautiful world.
The atmosphere turned grim, knights, demi-human warriors all sighed heavily. Everyone present had lost something to the demons, homes, kin, entire ways of life.
Some bore scars on their bodies. Others carried wounds far deeper. No one here underestimated the threat they posed.
Yet as understanding dawned, one question still remained.
Eldrin, the current leader of the village, glanced towards Reinhardt and asked.
"Lord Reinhardt, why did you bring up the topic of Elfenheim? Our kingdom has long perished at the hands of the demons; we do not possess any technology or artifact from that time."
The fall of Elfenheim was a great loss for the elves, as could be seen from the present conditions of the elves throughout the world, forced to live like objects and slaves.
It was not a topic any demi-human liked discussing.
All eyes turned towards Reinhardt.
The latter did not answer and instead closed his eyes. Then he snapped them open, his golden eyes glowing, his aura completely changed.
BOOM...
In that instant, everyone felt Reinhardt’s aura skyrocket, his charisma stealing their attention.
"To fight the demons, we must enter the Tainted Lands."
His words sent a shiver through the room.
"The lands of Valdonia, lands long lost to demons, they can no longer be called lands in any true sense. The soil is buried beneath thick, blackened tar that crawls and breathes corruption as if alive"...
"The skies no longer rain water, but ash like filth that falls endlessly, clinging to flesh and armor like a curse. Even the air rots the lungs".
Reinhardt painted a terrifying picture that the knights were no strangers to. The same could be said for the demi humans who had lived most of their lives fleeing like fugitives and fighting demons in the borderlands.
That said, even they or the knights of the Temple of Light knew nothing about the horrors that lay deep within the Tainted Lands.
Perhaps only the older generations and commanders like Reinhardt and some level 8 knights knew about the threat of the Tainted Lands.
That said, just passively defending and staying confined within the walls after the Bloody Rain event was not a solution.
With more than seventy percent of the land already corrupted by the demons, if humanity sat still, annihilation was just around the corner.
Organizing his thoughts, Reinhardt addressed. "We need to launch an expedition into the hearts of the Tainted Lands."
At those words, all eyes present looked at him with shocked eyes.
Just now, he told them about how terrifying the corruption in the depths of the Tainted Lands was. Yet the next moment he wanted to launch an expedition?
Unbothered, Reinhardt continued.
"Of course, I am aware that in such a condition, even trained knights cannot remain long without their bodies and minds breaking down. Mana itself becomes hostile, warped, and poisonous after all. Less needs to be said about ordinary humans"...
"Nevertheless, if we truly want to win, to secure a future, we must venture inside. Strike their strongholds, destroy their breeding pits, and reclaim the lands that have been stolen from us."
No one interrupted him; they weren’t fools, they all knew that he had some kind of plan.
And just like they expected, he got to the gist of the matter.
"But to do that, we need to purge the corruption. Purging corruption that has swallowed seventy percent of the continent of Valdonia is not something that can be accomplished easily. No fire, holy skills or relics can do that."
Even the one with the greatest purifying power among the Seven Supreme Divine Treasures wouldn’t be able to do that. Though he didn’t share this with everyone so as not to make them more disheartened.
"There is only one existence in this world that has the power to cleanse corruption on that scale... The World Tree."
Reinhardt stressed on the last three words.
"As an existence that has existed even before the Seven Gods, the World Tree has the power to balance the world. Its roots that spread through the world are the only thing that can purify the corruption of the mana veins."
Saying that, he took a deep breath and then announced.
"To fight the demons. To reclaim Valdonia. To allow living beings to once again walk those lands without perishing, the World Tree must be revived."
The words like a verdict echoed across the room.
Immediately, everyone was shocked.
Revive the World Tree.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Such a huge matter that could change the world, they did not know if it was even possible.
The scale of this matter was so great that even the strongest knight or warrior present here felt insignificant.
That said, the ambition to revive the World Tree, the hope that it was possible, rubbed to even them.
Their heart beat in excitement and hope because if Reinhardt was right, then the future of the war and perhaps the world itself could be completely overturned.
While everyone was taking their time to digest his ambitious plan in shock and awe, he, from start to end, only looked at Eldrin and Elina.
Because if his plans would succeed or fail depended on them.
The person in question, Eldrin, could no longer sit still. Almost without realizing it, he rose from his chair.
"How do you propose we revive it? The World Tree fell with Elfenheim. Its branches culled, and its roots burned away by the demons alongside the royal bloodline."
Eldrin explained, traces of sorrow clearly evident on his face. While he was not born at that time, the songs passed through their ancestors told about a tragic fight.
"To revive a World Tree, one must either obtain a World Bough, a special branch severed before the tree grows to adulthood, or its Origin Seed, the very first seed condensed from the Tree’s core."
Remembering those items, he shook his head bitterly.