Above the mage

Chapter 697 The Birth of the Treant Race

The restoration of the travel watch dial is now temporarily complete.

Astral energy is currently in short supply. We can only wait for Yggdrasil to advance further or for Eevee to grow stronger to see if it will bring about any turning point.

Gaode Maps isn't in a hurry anyway.

Having practiced the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture," his lifespan is quite long, so he can easily afford to wait like this.

After bidding farewell to Master Rocksteel, he turned and entered the nearby Flora Forest, arriving at the core area.

Just as they were about to activate the astral teleportation to return to the Plantagenet Dynasty, the leaves of Yugathira suddenly made a soft, rapid rustling sound.

As a contractor bound to Yogg-Sarah and connected by heart, God could clearly sense its overwhelming joy at this moment.

That pure joy flowed through the bond of the contract, infecting his heart and soul.

joy?

Has something good happened?

Gao De looked at Yugathishira, concentrated, and quickly received a faint signal from Yugathishira.

Something good has indeed happened:

The first tree-man has just been born!

When Yugath Hillap was promoted to a second-tier magical plant, he gained the ability of [Enlightenment].

This allows it to enlighten trees over five hundred years old within the opened-up territory, namely the Flora Forest.

This gives them the opportunity to awaken spiritually, gain wisdom, transcend the realm of ordinary trees, and transform into tree people.

Tree People are a race born in nature and living in symbiosis with the forest.

Their bodies are formed from trees, and they are pure in nature and loyal to nature.

Possessing both formidable combat power and vitality, they are the most loyal guardians of the forest.

In the mage realm where Gaode resided, he had never heard of the existence of the Treant race before.

This means that the treants created by Yggdrasil could be a completely new race in this plane.

Gaode had been eagerly anticipating the appearance of the Tree Man.

The only problem is that Flora Forest is a forest that was built from scratch based on the original Yugathira.

In the early stages, there were only a few seedlings and magical plants; there were no ancient trees over five hundred years old.

Therefore, until Yugathira advanced to the third rank, [Enlightenment] had not been able to play a single role.

However, the forestry office had already begun to concentrate its efforts on stimulating the growth of the first batch of 500-year-old trees.

Although during this time, due to various rare magical tree species or other matters, I shifted my focus to more important things.

But as soon as the task at hand is finished, he will immediately start a new great undertaking.

After all, the abilities of the Treant race are extremely important for the development of Flora Forest.

They can normally transform into ordinary ancient trees, perfectly concealed in the forest, acting as omnipresent sentinels, vigilant against any intruders.

Once encountering an enemy, it can immediately transform into human form, using its hard wooden body and natural magic to fight back against the enemy.

More importantly, they are natural-born top forestry experts, having mastered various horticultural and cultivation techniques since birth.

With their assistance, the Forestry Office's work will be much easier, and the growth rate of Flora Forest will surely reach new heights.

Just a month ago, thanks to the tireless efforts of everyone in the Forestry Office, the first 500-year-old ancient tree was finally born in Flora Forest.

In the following month, nearly fifty more ancient trees reached the standard of 500 years old.

Yugathira immediately activated her Enlightenment ability, spiritually awakening each of the ancient trees.

Unfortunately, the [Enlightenment] ability is not 100% successful; in fact, the success rate is extremely low, less than one in a thousand.

These ancient trees failed to awaken their consciousness during the enlightenment process and remained ordinary trees.

Therefore, the first tree person was delayed in being born.

Gaode was prepared for this; he knew it would be a long process and he just needed to wait patiently.

Unexpectedly, this surprise came so suddenly, just as he was about to leave.

Under these circumstances, he had no intention of returning to the Golden Flower Dynasty; his heart was filled with the urgent desire to see this newborn tree person immediately.

Not only was Gao De excited, but Flora, who insisted on giving him a ride, also widened her dark eyes.

Needless to say, even the usually silent and reserved Yugathaira took the initiative to speak up and keep Gaudy from leaving.

The emotions involved are roughly equivalent to human parents having a child and being eager to show it off to their closest relatives.

—A very reasonable analogy. For the newly born tree people, Yggdrasil is their creator, the "parent" who gave them consciousness and life, an existence like Nuwa.

After a brief exchange with Yggdrasil, Goddard located the first tree spirit.

It did not originate in the core of Flora Forest's magical plant area, but rather on the outermost edge of Flora Forest.

That area was planted with a large number of common tree species.

This was actually expected.

After all, cultivating a five-hundred-year-old magical tree requires a hundred or even a thousand times more magical power than cultivating an ordinary tree. From a cost-effectiveness perspective, it is natural to prioritize cultivating ordinary trees in order to quickly accumulate a sufficient number of ancient trees to provide a carrier for [Enlightenment], which is more suitable for the current development pace of Flora Forest.

Guided by the spirit of Yoghathira, God led Flora swiftly along the forest path.

The trees along the way gently stretched out their branches and leaves to make way for them.

Before long, Gaode arrived at an ordinary grove of trees on the outskirts of the forest.

The trees, each with its own unique characteristics, are lush and verdant, their branches and leaves intertwined.

Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Under the rich scent of grass and trees, Gao Deneng could feel that the wood element star core magic crystal in his body had become much more active.

As Flora Forest has grown to its current state, the spiritual energy of its vegetation provides a benefit comparable to that of a third-tier spiritual land for mages practicing the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture".

Standing in the forest, it's impossible to tell with the naked eye which tree is the newly awakened tree-man.

It looked almost exactly like the other trees around it, with a thick trunk and lush foliage.

Without careful observation, one cannot detect the subtle spirituality and life fluctuations hidden within it.

This extreme ability to conceal oneself is enough to make those unscrupulous individuals who are unfamiliar with the characteristics of the Tree People and attempt to infiltrate Flora Forest suffer a great loss.

They can also blend perfectly into the forest, becoming the most concealed and reliable sentinels.

However, all these cover-ups were completely exposed to Gao De's Mandora's Eye and Flora's eyes.

The two locked onto their target almost simultaneously.

It was a grey oak tree.

This oak tree is native to northern forests and is a common tree species with extremely strong vitality.

The trunk is sturdy, the bark is dark gray and covered with irregular cracks, and the leaves are oval.

It has fine serrations on the edges, hard wood, and is drought and cold resistant, so it can thrive even in barren soil.

The classification of tree people should be based on the category of the tree species they belong to.

Therefore, this newly born tree person is actually a gray oak tree person.

"Lady Flora, let's see how it transforms first," God called out to Flora, who was about to approach and touch the gray oak tree.

The two men stared intently at the grey oak tree.

Just then, a soft yet clear rustling sound came from the heart of the forest, carried by the wind across the forest path, and landed on the grey oak tree and in the ears of the two people.

That was the voice of Yugathira, as if conveying a command to awaken her.

The next second, the gray oak tree, which was originally no different from the surrounding trees, made a slight movement.

First, the trunk trembled slightly, and the originally upright trunk slowly bent. The dark gray bark on the surface began to peel off, revealing the light brown, tough wood inside.

Then, the middle of the trunk slowly bulged out, gradually branching out into a thick trunk and limbs.

Two thick but short legs slowly took root in the soil, supporting the entire body.

Two arms extend from the sides of the tree trunk, with tiny wooden joints branching out from the fingertips.

The branches and leaves in the canopy also began to change.

The originally messy branches and leaves slowly gathered and combed together, forming a tuft of messy hair, much like an uncombed afro.

In the center of the tree canopy, the original buds slowly protruded, giving rise to two round eyes. They had no pupils, only a faint green light, exuding pure innocence and curiosity.

He also has a crooked tree scar on his face, making him look like he's grinning foolishly.

The entire transformation process was slow and smooth, without the slightest stiffness, as if it was meant to be this way.

A moment later, the transformation was complete.

Because grey oak trees are relatively short, the grey oak tree person is only a little over three meters tall.

In addition, its sturdy and robust body makes it look exactly like a "shorty".

What's even more comical is that its limbs are somewhat disproportionate.

Her arms were exceptionally long, almost reaching her knees, but her legs were exceptionally short.

It lowered its head slightly, and with its slender wooden fingers, it carefully looked at its own hands, its fingertips gently touching each other. The confusion in its eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hint of curiosity and probing.

Then, it raised its head, its gaze falling on God and Flora, and made a low "woof" sound in its throat, as if it were greeting them.

"Can you speak?" Gao De tried to communicate with him.

The tree-man opened its mouth, its voice hoarse and deep, uttering each word slowly and deliberately: "Oak... Staff..."

Can...speak...

""

It's good that you can speak; it will make communication much easier later on.

Gao De secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his smile becoming even more gentle, and then asked, "Oak Staff, is that your name?"

"The oak...stick...has...its...own...language..."

Call...do...tree...person...language...not...but...oak...

The staff... ...very...smart... ...still... ...will... ...you... ...

"The... common... term..."

"You...speak...too...fast...slow...down."

'

"The oak... staff... is... something I... gave... myself... "

The name

'

"How... is... this... name......?"

'

"Is...no...it's...very......"

"Yes, that's great," Gao De quickly interjected, interrupting Oak's continued speech.

Wasn't he supposed to be as steady as a mountain?

Why does this gray oak tree person seem so incredibly talkative?

Of course, being a chatterbox is just a personality trait, and there's nothing wrong with it.

The problem is that the rubber staff's talkativeness, coupled with its snail-like speaking speed, makes it somewhat unpleasant.

But some questions still need to be clarified, especially regarding the abilities of the Tree People.

Although Yogathhira had some understanding, it was not comprehensive.

After hesitating for a moment, Gao De gritted his teeth and asked again, "Rubber Staff, what abilities do you have? Can you tell us?"

"Oak... staff..." The gray oak treeman paused, its green aura flashing a few times as if it were organizing its thoughts, before beginning to speak slowly and deliberately.

He spoke slowly, but with exceptional seriousness.

According to the staff, the tree's strength is proportional to its age.

The longer a tree-man lives, the deeper its roots and the stronger it becomes.

At its current age of five hundred years, it is far from mature for the tree people, and it is not even considered young.

He can only be considered an ignorant child, and his strength is at the most basic stage.

Furthermore, the lifespan of tree-people is closely related to their original tree species; this is a rule engraved in the very essence of their lives.

Awakened tree beings from ordinary tree species have a lifespan of approximately 1000 to 1500 years.

Tree-people awakened by the Demon Tree often have a lifespan of 3000 years or more, because their bodies contain powerful magic.

However, the lifespan of a Treeman is not fixed.

As the Flora Forest continues to grow, the concentration of natural magic within the forest increases, and the lifespan of the creatures within it will correspondingly extend.

As tree-people, they do not age naturally; they only perish when the forest is destroyed or their own root system is completely destroyed.

Because it was Yggdrasil who initiated it, in the staff's understanding, Yggdrasil is like a parent, giving it life and consciousness.

It will instinctively obey the will of Yugathira, and do everything in its power to protect every inch of the Flora Forest and every plant in the forest, even at the cost of its own life.

As a Grey Oak, the staff possesses extraordinary physical strength, immense vitality, and a steady but slow speed.

Its body is made of hard wood, and the outer layer is covered with the bark of the tree species it is from; the oak staff is made of dark gray, rough bark.

They have extremely strong defenses and are difficult to cut with ordinary swords, but fire and strong acid are their main weaknesses.

Flames will scorch their wooden bodies, making them difficult to repair; strong acids will corrode the bark and wood, weakening their defenses and even causing confusion.

As a tree-person, it also possesses extremely strong vitality.

This is a trait shared by all Tree People:

As long as the root system is not completely destroyed, even if the trunk is damaged and the branches and leaves wither, it can still slowly repair its own damage by taking root in the soil, absorbing nutrients and natural magic from the soil.

It can even regrow damaged limbs.

However, the repair speed is as slow as the speed at which it speaks.

In terms of extraordinary abilities, the staff possesses darkvision, allowing it to clearly see everything around it even in the darkest forest, enabling it to patrol the forest smoothly at night.

It has extremely high resistance to poisons and piercing damage. Ordinary poisons cannot corrode its wooden body, and piercing attacks such as arrows are also difficult to cause substantial damage to it.

At the same time, it is immune to control magic such as charm and petrification. Any attempt to manipulate its consciousness will be neutralized by the natural power within its body.

What's even more special is that tree people don't need to sleep.