Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
The meeting began.
Baekyang's condition wasn't completely stable yet, but we couldn't postpone things indefinitely.
However, perhaps my persuasion of Baekyang yesterday helped, as she didn't restrict my actions as much as before. Of course, she still grabbed my sleeve whenever she felt uneasy. But there were still moments of anxiety.
For example, when Soyeon entered, following Jeokmae.
Baekyang invariably bowed her head and tugged at my sleeve.
What did she want me to do? Did she want me to hold her hand?
"...W-what are you doing?!"
"Well, you kept tugging, so I thought you wanted me to hold your hand."
Baekyang kept bothering me, so I firmly held her hand once, and she was startled, chiding me.
No matter what, it hurts when she reacts as if something dirty touched her.
"Still, I'm glad you seem to have relaxed."
"I thought I got goosebumps."
This wicked goblin!
I glanced over and saw her giggling, clearly having been toying with me all this time. Still, should I consider it a sign that she's regained some composure?
She's not trembling as much as before.
Yes, acting mischievously like this is better than being terrified.
Since I promised to help, what else can I do but endure it?
"What will you do now?"
Baekyang asked cautiously. She must be worried.
Even though I promised to help her, I haven't taken any concrete action, so she must be curious about my intentions.
But not yet. Not now.
"First, I need to solve the immediate problem."
I'm busy. The meeting being extended by a day slightly derailed my plans.
I'll probably have to act immediately after this meeting, or even in the middle of it.
Even if I solve her problem afterward, there are still plenty of other things left to do.
There's also my original objective: going to Bongnaesan to persuade Tia.
"Don't worry. I'll figure it out somehow. You just prepare yourself."
"...Prepare for what?"
"Prepare to be brave."
Ultimately, it's the two of them who have to solve this directly. There's a limit to what I can do.
I'm just setting the stage. And presenting a path for her and giving her a push.
Baekyang didn't seem to understand my words yet, but unfortunately, the meeting had already begun.
"Then, let's begin the meeting. This time, we have two rare outsiders, so I ask everyone to act formally. Hey! You over there, no fooling around! You damn brats!"
Bihyeong looked troubled, observing the goblins. Birds of a feather flock together.
The leader usually doesn't act properly, so the others follow suit.
"Ahem, ahem. Anyway, starting now? First, I'll introduce our guests from outside... You already know this one, right? He's the one who broke your arms and legs."
At that moment, a barrage of boos erupted towards me.
“Yes, you brats. It's me. I'm the one who broke all your arms and legs.
But for those of you booing now, just know one thing, alright? The first time is difficult, but the second time won't be, will it?”
"And this is the famous Moon Maiden of the Samdo River."
"Greetings, everyone. As introduced, I am Soyeon, one of the maidens of the Samdo River, the 'Moon Maiden.'"
With Bihyeong's introduction, Soyeon, who began her address, greeted us with a much more restrained demeanor than I remembered.
Indeed, she probably couldn't act lightly, given her dignity as a maiden.
"The reason I have come from the Samdo River this time is to seek cooperation regarding an anomaly encompassing the entire Federation."
"That anomaly you're talking about is the recent change in the forest, isn't it?"
"That's right. Fundamentally, the trees have become monsters."
An anomaly in the forest affecting the entire Federation. And the source of it is none other than the [Goblin Forest].
Of course, Soyeon didn't come knowing that. Maidens must have been dispatched to various different locations.
Here, I am the only one who fully knows the truth of the incident.
The feeling of omnipotence that comes from knowing the future, which I haven't felt in a long time.
Recently, every single thing has been twisted and entangled, making it hard to breathe, so this is truly a comfortable sensation.
"Then I understand that this anomaly is not the Yokai King's doing. But why? Is there any reason for the Yokai King to make an effort to resolve this matter?"
Bihyeong raised a natural suspicion.
[Yokai King] Gangcheol is of an evil disposition, after all.
It's unlikely he would dispatch a maiden for the sake of the Federation.
Unless he's directly harmed, there's no reason for him to act. In fact, since not even a single tree can grow in the Samdo River, it might seem like an unrelated matter.
However, precisely because of that, a phenomenon occurred.
"But the number of travelers using the Samdo River has noticeably increased in the past month."
"Oh, really? But why?"
"Uh..."
Soyeon's embarrassment was almost visible. She seemed to have never imagined that a leader of a group could be so ignorant.
"Ahem, ahem..."
Soyeon cleared her throat a few times, trying not to show her feelings, then answered Bihyeong's question.
"Because of the forest anomaly, strong controls were placed on entry and exit in every village. Some even completely refused to accept outsiders."
"So, because movement was restricted, they flocked to the Samdo River?"
"Precisely."
Soyeon nodded with a dignified yet somewhat cheerful expression.
She seemed quite frustrated.
"As you know, Death King Gangcheol dislikes noise. But recently, with a large floating population, noise was inevitable."
"Floating population, what?"
"...It means many people were coming and going, Goblin King."
"Ah-ha."
I felt embarrassed for him.
How could he know less than Soyeon, who was trapped in the Samdo River and didn't receive proper education?
Did he win his leadership position through wrestling?
Given he's a goblin, that's possible.
"Then, any guesses about the cause of this incident?"
"We are still in the investigation stage."
"Hmm..."
Bihyeong closed his eyes and began to ponder. He was probably contemplating coordination with Soyeon.
The title of Samdo River Maiden alone holds immense influence. The magic they use would also exert considerable power.
However, there are also risks.
The fact that they cannot yet be fully trusted. It's almost a miracle that this meeting could even take place without any prior interaction.
After much deliberation, Bihyeong slowly opened his eyes and said,
"...Should we hear from the other side first and then decide?"
Since he's not very bright, he probably couldn't find an answer even after thinking it over.
It's only now, but I wonder how he, with that intelligence, managed to figure out the seeds I sowed.
Is he just intuitive?
Anyway, it was finally my turn. From here, it would be simple if I followed the original plan.
"I know everything about the cause of this anomaly, its causality, what will happen in the future, and how to resolve it."
"..."
"..."
Goblins and Maiden.
Both sides fell silent. Various emotions, including suspicion and interest, were directed at me. And those emotion-laden eyes eventually converged into one.
'Let's just hear what he has to say first.'
That was the look in their eyes. Now everyone was looking at me expectantly, as if eager to hear what I had to say.
I felt like the protagonist. This is probably why Noah is such an attention-seeker.
"First, let's address each of your premises. What do you all think: who committed this act and for what purpose?"
"I don't know the purpose, but since it's happening irregularly, perhaps someone committed it with malicious intent?"
"Uh, um... I think it's that too."
Soyeon made a reasonably rational deduction, but Bihyeong just threw it out there.
As a leader, one might wonder, but, well, it's fine. It's the wrong answer anyway.
"The causality is reversed."
This wasn't an act driven by someone's purpose. It was a coincidence, merely something that could have happened at any time.
"Trees generally cannot become monsters. Spiritual energy is not an omnipotent force; it's just simple energy, so why would it turn inanimate objects into living beings?"
This is basic common sense.
That's why it's usually approached by thinking it's not a tree problem, but rather that something was done to the trees.
"But there are also trees with will. Those we call World Trees."
World Trees had a clear will that made them more than just simple trees.
After such a World Tree became corrupted, it affected the surrounding trees.
This is the causality of this incident.
"World Tree... Well, let's assume it exists, right? Then who planted it, and for what purpose?"
Bihyeong asked a fundamental question again. My prediction was correct after all. This goblin isn't smart; he just has excellent instincts.
He's foolish but hit the nail on the head.
"A passing Elf must have planted it."
"So the culprit is an Elf."
"...There was probably no malice."
"No malice, yet they thought of planting a World Tree in the Federation?"
"That's a valid point."
Soyeon was suspicious. Whether that Elf truly had no malice.
To be honest, it's a question I can't be sure of either. There was no real mastermind in the first place.
Still, I don't think that's the case.
"World Trees are generally not contaminated by spiritual energy."
Why did this happen only now? If the incident occurred because the World Tree was contaminated, it should have happened when it was a sapling, when its power was much weaker.
But the World Tree remained healthy until this point, having grown to a certain extent and able to bear fruit.
As I said earlier,
"The trees of the Federation grew by absorbing spiritual energy. They could be tens or hundreds of years old."
Because the causality is reversed.
"Because World Trees grow immensely, their roots spread deep, thin, and wide. In doing so, they might come into contact with other trees."
"But this is happening across the entire Federation?"
"How far do you think a World Tree grows, Bihyeong? According to the legends I know, there are no limits to a World Tree's growth."
A tree that grows endlessly.
A World Tree spreads its roots as widely as possible to coexist maximally.
The very fact that such a growing tree is not observed in this world, which has all sorts of races, is why Elves are called a mysterious race.
"Then let's think. If we are poisoned, when would it be most lethal? When it touches our skin? When we are bitten by a poisonous creature?"
"...When ingested directly."
Soyeon answered this question with a gloomy expression. She, too, must have grasped the implications of this incident.
"That's right. If it touches the skin, you can wash it off, and if you're bitten, in the worst case, you can cut it off. But when ingested directly, it becomes a rather troublesome situation."
It would have been fine at first.
A World Tree itself has a purification ability close to divine power.
But if it's roots absorbing nutrients, that's a different story.
If it's spiritual energy not coming from outside but directly absorbed and eroding the interior, it's bound to be fatal.
"Still, the World Tree is better off. It can just expel it again. But where would it expel it?"
The process of expelling what has traveled up the roots through leaves or stems is too long. So then?
It's simple.
"It will go back down the roots. However, this time, due to the 'chaos' characteristic of spiritual energy, something a bit unusual might have been mixed in."
"The will spread through the roots...? Then!"
Soyeon, realizing the direction the situation was headed, forgot even formal honorifics and shouted.
"That's right. All the trees touching the World Tree's roots can be considered potential monsters."
If the roots have spread across the entire Federation, there's no telling how many that would be.
However, considering that in the game, the boss stage was a wave format where you had to fend off several monster hordes for a certain period of time… That means there's a significant number.
"Now, let's make an assumption. The World Tree is repeating this action. The cycle is also shortening. What does that mean?"
If it continues to repeat like this, it's better. Because you just have to defeat the tree monsters that appear.
But what does it mean if it becomes a wave that erupts all at once?
"The World Tree is nearing its limit and will soon let out a death cry. And with that, it will expel everything."
It will try to release all the spiritual energy within its body, including its own power.
If that happens, an absurd number of monsters will appear, along with elites who absorbed the most of the World Tree's power from nearby.
"Three days. In at most three days, all the trees in the Federation will turn into monsters, and it will be a complete mess."
Silence once again fell over the meeting room. Bihyeong and Soyeon seemed to be seriously assessing the situation.
"How do you know that? How could you, who was in Imperial territory until recently, know all this?"
And, as expected, someone who challenged my claims as preposterous appeared.
It was a guy named Cheongmang, whom I had specifically beaten in the mouth.
He clearly holds a grudge, but there's nothing wrong with what he's saying.
"Is that important right now? So are you just going to suck your thumb until you get hit?"
"But isn't it suspicious that you're saying it now? If you had said it earlier, couldn't we have responded with a bit more leeway?"
"I tried to tell you, but you guys threw me in jail."
"No, the first time, okay, but the second time was entirely your fault..."
"Leader! A huge number of tree monsters are approaching outside!"
Cheongmang's aggrieved excuses were cut short.
A goblin, who appeared to be a guard, burst through the meeting room door.
He seemed to have already fought a battle, as his appearance was not normal.
Bihyeong saw him, frowned, and asked me,
"...Brat. Didn't you say three days earlier?"
"Well, it's faster than expected. But didn't I say 'at most'? And what needs to be done hasn't changed."
"What needs to be done?"
"We have to stop them. What else can we do?"
Once started, the waves will relentlessly roll in.
Until either they wither away or we are annihilated.
The war of annihilation between the two sides had begun.