Magic Industrial Age.

Chapter 552, page 550: Another Unexpected Turn of Events (Bonus Chapter from Yesterday)

During the great war between the Allied Forces and the Empire, the Allied Forces once summoned a cloud giant capable of altering the terrain and shaping mountains and lakes.

This magical race, existing in the wilderness, whose purpose was to transform the flat land into a landscape of ravines and undulating mountains, was unique to that era.

However, the Cloud Mountain Giants can only change the landscape. To truly cover the earth with green, we must look to another ancient race—the Tree Shepherds!

Tree shepherds, as the name suggests, are living beings that herd the trees in the forest.

They existed in the later stages of the primitive era, active on every piece of land, sowing plant seeds and covering the barren earth with vegetation.

Plants exist, then herbivores will appear; and with more herbivores, carnivorous monsters will emerge...

Only when the food chain is complete can the reproduction of life form a closed loop and usher in a period of rapid development.

It can be said that the Tree Shepherds are an important part of the prosperity of life in the Herka world.

However, with the development of the times, they, like the giants of Yunshan, were eliminated and abandoned by the times.

Of course, the destruction of the Tree Shepherds was, in general, a choice made by the times, but it was the Elven race that directly caused their demise.

Elves also originated from the forest and were born from the World Tree. Logically speaking, they were also children of the forest and were the first to master the power of nature and the elements.

However, the tree shepherds believed that their actions towards forests and plants were more about seizing life and endless exploitation.
Rather than maintenance and reproduction.

This contradicts the Tree Shepherd's philosophy, and even led to a fierce conflict.

During the years when elves became the main characters on the continent, the elven pantheon relentlessly hunted down the Treants, leading to the extinction of the Treant race.

Groot, the Tree Shepherd, was the last member of the Tree Shepherd race. He was born during the height of the Elven rule and was the Tree Shepherds' last effort to reproduce.

However, by the time he was born, the Tree Shepherds had already fallen into extreme decline and could only hide in hiding.

One can imagine how miserable his life must have been during this period, but it was also during this time that he met Virgil the Red Dragon.

At that time, Virgil the Red Dragon was still a young dragon, and an orphan abandoned by his mother, struggling to survive.

Their meeting had an element of coincidence, but the fact that two abandoned people came together seemed almost inevitable.

They helped each other and struggled to survive.

The combination of the Tree Shepherd and the Red Dragon was unbelievable to most, yet they still relied on this contrast to carve out their own territory.

However, when Virgil the Red Dragon grew into a young man, he went out hunting and when he returned, the Tree Shepherd had disappeared.

To this end, it searched the entire Old World, made many acquaintances, and even earned the reputation of 'The End of the Burning,' but still could not find its older brother Groot.

The only thing that brought him some comfort was the Isis Wine Spring that Groot, the tree shepherd, hadn't had time to take with him when he left.

As for Groot the Tree Shepherd, where did he go?
It's actually quite simple. During the time that Virgil the Red Dragon left, Mara the Dark God came looking for him, defeated the Treant in one fell swoop, and captured him alive.

At that time, Mara was building his own divine kingdom. He pieced together fragments of space from the astral plane and anchored them outside the prime material plane.

However, the barren land was not what Mara needed.

Moreover, simply piecing together the earth is not stable and can easily lead to soil erosion.

So Mara captured Groot, the tree shepherd, to graze the forest!

Groot, the tree shepherd, did not refuse, because his racial instincts prevented him from standing by and watching the land lie fallow.

Moreover, there is a saying: "A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."

It was because he was taken captive by Mara into the Kingdom of God that he escaped the cleansing of the Elves, survived the long years, and lived to this day.

Even after the fall of the Dark God Mara and the transformation of the divine realm into the Blood Moon Forest demiplane, controlled by the vampires, he still lived peacefully.

The only setback during this period was when the Toredo clan had just taken over, and the Grand Duke of Toredo approached the Tree Shepherd Groot.

Back then, he was quite humble and respectful, always saying things like, "The demiplane is mine, and it's yours too. We should all work together to build a better home."

It's also because Groot, the tree-keeper, really doesn't have much cunning. Although he's lived a long time, he hasn't seen much of the kind of scheming and backstabbing that people do.

Deceived by Grand Duke Toledo's sweet talk, they actually believed his lies and cooperated in completing the demiplane transformation.

Thus, the Blood Moon Forest was officially formed!
However, immediately after the renovation was completed, Grand Duke Toredo turned his back on him, though he didn't use any drastic measures.

Instead, they subtly set up dark magic arrays, polluting the very essence of the trees and spreading curses.

By the time Groot, the tree-shepherd, realized what was happening, he had already been blinded and become the puppet of the Grand Duke of Toledo, who also became his last trump card.

The story wasn't particularly exciting, but it spanned a considerable period of time. After listening to it, Roy only asked one question: "Your Majesty Groot, have you ever thought about revenge?"

Groot lowered his head slightly, his eyes, though weathered by time, still pure, looking at Loy, and said, "I am not human, but I still believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

Luo Yi clapped her hands: "Then what else is there to say? Let's storm Blood Moon Castle and destroy Torid's lair!"

……

the other side,
On the way to Blood Moon Castle, there is an unnamed mountain peak.

"No, no, Your Majesty, spare me! Spare me..."

A fallen angel was held in the hand of Grand Duke Bruch, and a powerful surge of dark energy rose up, but it had no effect whatsoever.

A dense blood demonic power clung to those claws that resembled chicken skin, and in a few swift movements, it ripped off the jet-black wings. Then, twisting its head, it took a bite.

As the blood flowed, the fallen angel's aura visibly weakened, its skin turned deathly gray, its eyes rolled back, and it became a dried-up corpse.

The aged vampire's aura immediately stabilized, and a trace of color returned to his pale cheeks, only to quickly fade away. Beside him, the Dark Werewolf Progenitor reverted to human form, his hands transforming into wolf claws as he dismembered a high-level magical beast, a giant forest bear.

First, it removed the hind legs, then tore open the fur, and began to gnaw on it in large bites.

In just a few bites, bones and all, blood splattered everywhere.

The Giant Forest Bear is the largest carnivorous magical beast in the Blood Moon Forest. Adults can reach a height of five meters, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, thick fat, and firm meat that is impossible to bite if you don't have strong teeth.

Of course, with a weight of over ten tons, the yield of meat is naturally quite considerable.

But under the tearing of the Dark Werewolf Progenitor, in no time, only a mess of entrails and skeletons remained.

For the Dark Race, eating is healing; after they eat, their injuries are mostly healed.

The progenitor of the Dark Werewolf spoke first: "Alessandro is dead."

The aged vampire nodded slightly, then slowly shook his head: "He only died once; he did not truly perish."

Having operated this place for thousands of years, he has resurrected himself through more than one means.

"Resurrection always comes at a price. No matter how quickly he recovers, he will be weak for a period of time."

"Therefore, this is our best chance."

"That's what you say, but taking this step would truly mean tearing off all pretenses. As fellow members of the Thirteen Clans of the Vampire Clan, I'm afraid you won't be able to explain this to yourselves, will you?"

"Heh, given Alessandro's reputation and credibility, countless vampires wish he were dead. What's there to be ashamed of?"

My worry right now isn't him, but that illegitimate child from Flower Lane!

“You’re right. Compared to the lonely Alessandro, that illegitimate child is the real trouble.”

Not to mention his elite magic-powered legion, four legendary figures have already appeared.

Rumor has it that there's another legendary assassin; has he arrived? Or is he already hiding in the shadows?

"Given the illegitimate child's style of doing things, which is both bold and cautious, I think the latter is more likely."

There might even be other legendary tales as a backup plan.

"Then what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, let's stop beating around the bush and just give us a heads-up. Tell us how many people we can each invite."

"I'm fine with it, but you go first!"

“Alright, there are four legendary experts I've arranged to come here, not counting myself. As long as they provide the dimensional coordinates, they can come at any time.”

"I have five people here, but there's only one requirement!"

"Sharing this demiplane?"

"Yours too?"

"Of course!"

The aged vampire and the progenitor of the dark werewolf looked at each other, and for a moment, they even had the illusion of mutual respect.

The old vampire sighed, "The calamity has already struck, and even legends have fallen."
In this era, the battle for supremacy is raging, and even legendary powerhouses are being forced to seek a way out.

Just thinking about it makes my heart race and keeps me awake at night!

"I just hope it doesn't turn into a second War of the Stars."

"I don't want this either, but there's a saying in this world: things don't always go as planned! Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a hurry."

"Getting back to the point, including you and me, there are a total of eleven legends. Even if we were to turn against each other, we could easily slaughter the entire Flower Territory Guard."

"It's best not to. That illegitimate child has immense potential. If he escapes and becomes a legend, we'll have a hard time facing him."

Therefore, it's best to persuade him gently and let him back off on his own.

"At that time, we, as legendary beings, will divide this demiplane, each taking a piece of territory, and then sign a non-aggression pact, and that will be fine."

"That's acceptable to me too. Tell me, is Alessandro stupid?"
They have the best resources but don't know how to utilize them. They sent out so many invitations, and only the two of us came.

"Actually, it's not that he couldn't think of it, but that he couldn't bear to part with it."

After all, given enough time, he probably forgot that this demiplane belonged to the Thirteen Clans of the Vampire Clan, not just him personally.

“You’re right. In that case, we should head back.”

"Let's go!"

The two legends left, not together, but at different times, and their paths diverged slightly.

However, not long after they left, two orbs of light rose into the sky, one red and one black, radiating an astonishing aura as they ascended straight upwards.

They not only broke through the clouds and the turbulence, but even broke through the dimensional barrier of the demiplane.

Ultimately, it shone brightly beyond the plane, emitting strange fluctuations that traveled far away.

As a result, the legendary powerhouses, whose whereabouts were unknown, stopped what they were doing and looked up into the distance.

Their gaze seemed to transcend the limitations of planes and distance, reaching into the demiplane of the Blood Moon Forest.

They were all excited!
(End of this chapter)