Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: The Cradle's Collapse (7)
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No matter how much she insisted she was just a lowly branch member, she was still the woman tasked with handling the Wood Spirit King.
I figured it would be tough to take her out in one shot.
As long as my message got through to them, that was enough.
"Bro."
"Yeah."
Sun, holding a large A4 sheet of paper, lifted his glasses and furrowed his brow.
"This woman's a no-go. She hasn't cleared the third trial yet."
The meeting request I'd sent to Banya had, predictably, been denied.
If it had worked, I would've snapped her neck by now, but I knew it wouldn't.
Just getting across that I had her marked as a person of interest was all I needed.
'From the moment they went against the Bead, Flower's already on high alert.'
The Forest Keeper Selection Tournament.
On a stage where even a single mistake was unforgivable, they'd tried to kill the Bead without hesitation.
The result was that she hadn't died, but still.
Who knew when another traitor might catch my eye?
If any Flower members wanted to approach me, they'd have to think long and hard about it now.
"Not bad."
"What isn't?"
"I'm just surprised it's playing out exactly like you said. Guess the king isn't king for nothing?"
Sun smirked and plopped down on the sofa next to me, draping an arm over my shoulder.
I swatted his hand away and replied.
"I'm just making good use of my position."
"Oho, humble now?"
"If I couldn't even do this much, I'd have been dead ages ago. Before I even met White Path, even."
After the third trial, it was clear the Sage was backing me from the shadows.
Her intelligence network definitely outstripped Flower's.
In a situation where they were already on guard, my extreme moves left them no choice but to play it safe.
"If we're lucky, it might even throw off their preparations for infiltrating Flower."
"Doubt that'll go that far."
I nodded silently as Sun shot it down.
"They're not all idiots, after all."
Still, it had its uses.
Things were different now.
Back then, I had no reputation at all. They didn't know me, so they let their guard down.
Dig all you want into my background, and all you'd find was my enrollment records. No surprise there.
Being a nobody had its advantages, and I exploited them.
Now, though, my name carried some weight.
'Heir to the Wood Spirit King, disciple of White Path, backed by the Sage—they'd be fools not to steer clear.'
Time to put that hard-earned reputation to work.
Flower knew it, even if others didn't.
The honors Heavenly Path had screamed about were now mine.
'But for now...'
It was still just leaning on someone else's fame.
"Sun."
"Yeah?"
"Let's hit the training room. Show me what you've got."
Time had taught me something.
Power, fame, money—I was sorely lacking in all of them, and it hurt deep.
At the same time, I kept spotting Flower remnants and World Tree holdouts crossing lines, bit by bit.
"Haa."
My chest went cold.
*****
White jade skin wrapped in a pure white towel.
Black hair cascading down her back, black eyes. No trace of her usual bright smile.
"Hoo."
The sensation of awakening in a puppet body was utterly tedious.
If someone died and was reborn in heaven, it probably felt like this.
Her consciousness sank deep, then slowly resurfaced—enough to inspire that kind of metaphor.
"They really went for it."
Banya stared at the Bead and lightly furrowed her brow.
Crafting a puppet body was grueling work. Especially one sturdy enough to contain a monster like the Bead.
Especially since it involved transplanting a soul—far beyond any shaman's limits.
"Don't go dying on me."
"I didn't want to either."
The Wood Spirit King had gone full hostile.
For the Bead, who'd been using puppet bodies for ages, escape was impossible.
The more she used them, the more their performance degraded. And the puppets themselves were only B-rank hunter level at best.
She'd made it through the first trial thanks to her top-tier skills.
"Not sure if it was to win the World Tree's favor, but there's no way they'd let that slide. Those rotten roots won't leave the Wood Spirit King alone."
Mahogany, a dark-skinned woman, scoffed in disbelief.
The National Tree of the Dominican Republic.
Not just her—the entire Caribbean was under Flower's thumb.
No reach from the World Tree there, naturally.
South America was the same.
Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the powder keg of the Balkans too.
"How long do you plan on using puppets?"
The Bead dressed in silence at Mahogany's words.
Banya, her body etched with runes, glared at Mahogany.
"Can't use my real body to get close to Lee Siheon."
"Why not?"
"Can't hide my magic power."
Even as a nameless breed, the Bead's power made blending into daily life impossible.
To infiltrate near Lee Siheon, she'd always relied on Banya's puppets.
Banya, who'd joined Flower before any other National Tree.
The traitorous National Trees each had their own reasons.
Plum Blossom wanted more battle.
Mahogany sought to heal the ruins of the Caribbean.
Banya had her motives too.
"Hoo."
Her body was drenched in sweat.
Making a puppet took tremendous effort.
About a month per body.
Four years of that routine.
Banya veiled her body's patterns with heavenly script and withdrew her magic.
The third eye on her forehead slowly closed.
'The answer sheet.'
《 Prophecy 》 The power to literally peer into the future.
A force that had never once missed the mark eased her path forward.
It made her a National Tree, led her to Flower, where she became a major asset.
That alone sustained her dreams.
"So."
As the Bead finished dressing, a man entered and removed his hat.
"What's the plan?"
Brown hair. Narrow eyes scanning the room.
National Trees, traitors, Flower elites—all gathered.
All of them here to end the Forest Keeper Selection Tournament.
The thought alone brought waves of ecstasy.
"Avi."
Banya narrowed her eyes.
The most inscrutable person in the room right now.
Even knowing he was with Flower, she sometimes forgot.
"One slip-up, and it could all be for nothing. Just saying this to you, Banya."
The first step was crucial.
This tournament would be Flower's declaration of war.
The premier stage where future leaders gathered—for the worst possible terror act.
It would tarnish Flower's image, but also expose the World Tree's incompetence.
"I know."
Banya snapped at Avi.
Years of prep for this day.
Impossible to fully breach Cradle's decades-old system.
But years of effort, genius, and the wildcard of shamanism had carved a narrow gap.
"Preparations are solid."
"Against the Wood Spirit King? With the Sage backing him?"
"Even the best can't block everything."
"You're getting cocky."
"Whose side are you on, anyway?"
National Trees, cadets, Flower talents assembled here.
Practically Flower's next-generation pillars.
Their enemies were the same.
Who lived, who died here—it would tip the scales of the war.
"Who knows? What about Lee Siheon?"
Avi probed her.
From behind, a masked woman watching silently murmured low.
"Want me to kill him?"
"......"
Pink hair swaying as she grinned. The Bead's brow furrowed watching her.
"Don't touch that man."
"Why?"
"Don't underestimate him. And he can't die."
"But I wanna~?"
The woman in the fox mask with a cracked mouth smirked, her seductive lipstick laced with floral scent.
"Isn't he Flower's enemy? Gotta kill enemies. Who's against it?"
Avi and Banya stayed silent.
Lee Siheon's presence was ominous. An inevitable obstacle to their path.
But not someone they could easily kill.
They'd glimpsed his skill in the first trial. Probably not full power then, and even if they went all out, victory wasn't guaranteed.
"Don't waste effort elsewhere."
Avi reined her in. She stuck out her tongue and flopped boredly to the floor.
"The Wood Spirit King's defenses are thorough."
Just neutralize him temporarily.
Plenty of ways.
Avi had unmatched confidence in his tricks.
His eyelids lifted slightly, eyes gleaming murderously.
"Just nail the first step."
Get off to a good start, and everything falls into place.
Avi had contributed as much as Banya.
Flower folks called him a flashy con artist at times.
But handling one unripe young monster? Doable.
Avi's real power—gripping all of Eastern Europe—outstripped everyone here.
"We've got a monster too."
Heaven-defying talent and skill.
Since the first trial, she'd piled up countless corpses in short order, still ripening.
-Thud.
A man entered, narrowing his eyes as he approached.
Just his footsteps filled the room with the stench of blood.
"Perfect timing. Looks like you've already eaten a few."
"......"
Plum Blossom slumped into a seat, hand on her nape like everything annoyed her.
Crack—her neck bones ground.
"Hoo."
China's National Tree. Killing and covering up unrecorded masses was child's play.
Blood on pale skin gleamed brighter.
She'd long abandoned humanity.
Madness fit better.
'Can that half-baked Wood Spirit King handle this?'
Avi thought, eyeing Plum Blossom.
'Impossible.'
No matter how meticulously that man prepared.
Most here had prepared just as thoroughly.
'Can't win while playing by the rules.'
That was the world.
Can't handle it? Then crumble.
Even if he was Flower's cornerstone. If he didn't break, he'd remain a thorn.
No one here would think otherwise.
'......'
Only the Bead, recalling the face of the man who'd nearly killed her, harbored different thoughts.
*****
Two days.
Unbearably long, in their own way.
We'd vetted our helpers without a hint of carelessness.
"Siheon-ssi, this sofa's super comfy. Come sit quick~"
Saku and Kim Suyeon joined us.
Compared to other National Trees, they were trustworthy and strong.
Unless some wild variable popped up, they'd stick with us.
"...Didn't expect you to know that too."
"Thanks to the Sage lending her power."
"Choosing to help instead of running isn't easy."
Respect and admiration.
Genuine gazes fixed on me.
Her earlier wariness had softened considerably.
'A rare breed these days—full of righteous spirit.'
Not many good souls around me.
Mostly neutral. Unlike my old world, morality didn't carry much weight here. Made Kim Suyeon stand out.
"Quite the crowd."
"I worked hard pulling strings. Impressive, right?"
"All thanks to Sugar again."
Maple huffed, hands on hips.
Enough people to handle civilian control, easily.
My sparse room was packed with sofas and chairs full.
A few standing here and there.
Naturally, some suspicious glances.
"That's the Sage's guy?"
"Doesn't look reliable."
"Cute face... but eh."
Even as National Trees, I was just a cadet to them.
Videos or not, plenty wouldn't buy it.
A few puffed up with national hype.
Most seemed convinced, though.
The powerhouses backed me.
Asia's top two: Korea and Japan.
Europe's duo: France and Italy.
North America's Canada, plus U.S. states galore.
Doubts vanished.
"Didn't expect this turnout. Thanks just for hearing me out."
"No, no. You're doing something huge. Of course we cooperate—especially if it's the Sage's will."
"Siheon-ssi for the win!"
Even that quieted as I bowed entering.
Suyeon's endorsement sealed it—no counterarguments.
Now, prove our skills and lay out our case logically.
"Seventeen of you here. National Trees who make top hunters look like amateurs. Hard to assemble this force even for uncharted dungeons."
That level of talent pool.
Leading it was a bit daunting, sure.
But fine.
Chicken out here, and we'd do nothing.
I turned, scanning the room.
France's: Marronier.
Italy and Portugal: Olive and Cork.
Korea and Japan: Suyeon and Saku.
Africa's rep: Bao, Canada's Sugar Maple.
U.S. was huge.
Northeast, South, Midwest, West.
New England to Pacific isles—National Trees from every corner.
Plus South America's Brazilwood.
A few below par, but my standards were high.
Grateful regardless.
I clasped my hands and smiled.
"Now, let's give those traitor bastards a taste of their own medicine."