Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"Damn German...cultists! Chase them!" Leslaufer picked up the greatsword and rushed out first, while Patrick stayed behind to make sure there were no ambushes around to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

The dense forest was forcibly parted before everyone's eyes by the Archdruid's mighty power, and a small clearing soon appeared before Reslaufer. The "young fawn," having just transformed back into its original, burly form, breathlessly spoke to their leader. When the druids saw the mercenaries, who looked like they had been pulled from a sea of blood, the horror on their faces couldn't be faked even by the most gifted artist!

"The Archdruid's plan really worked. After driving the beasts to attack us, you actually dared to follow us? Want to go to the temple of Eldath? Go with your spirit!" Leslaufer grinned and strode forward.

"Instigating... an attack? You were the ones who started it—" The leading druid was completely lost in Reslaufer's barrage of criticism, but in the end, he grasped the crucial point. "You know the location of the Temple of Eldath? Go ahead! Eliminate all the irrelevant personnel except Rufo!"

Chapter 139 Taking a day off

Take a day off today

Chapter 140 The Expelled

Although the leading druid was unfamiliar to everyone, he obviously knew Rufo. With his greeting, the druids around him either began to cast spells or simply transformed into wild beasts and rushed towards Leslaufer.

"O wind of the woodland, help me repel the enemy!" The leading druid chanted loudly, summoning a strong wind that swirled in the small clearing. The leaves and even the branches of the surrounding vegetation were blown off, turning into sharp blades that melted into the wind wall and swept towards the mercenaries.

"Sander! You're here too!" The Archdruid of the Quiet Creek Society rushed over from behind. When he saw the druid, instead of being surprised, he showed a matter-of-fact expression, "Of course you're here!"

"Rufo!"

Sander saw the Archdruid as if he had seen an enemy, his eyes immediately reddening. "If it weren't for our great cause requiring your insight, I would have torn you into pieces right now! When you expelled me from the society and left me to fend for myself in the wilderness, did you ever imagine this day would come?!"

Expelled from...the association?

Bella was using her oak stick to fight off a giant centipede summoned by the druids. She was taken aback when she heard this: "Rufo, you said at the beginning—"

"You're not the first one I've 'expelled' from the Order," the Archdruid raised his hand, summoning a beam of bright moonlight from beneath the gloomy trees. The moonlight wasn't illusory, but seemed to burn with a ghostly flame, scorching all that came within its reach. "Some, like you, have gained a deeper understanding of nature and balance, and so I've allowed them to return."

"Some still believe they are right, and I will consider whether to accept them back depending on the situation."

"And some cannot withstand such blows and tests..."

"Screw your test, you old fool!" Sander was furious. "You left me in the wilderness when I didn't even know the most basic spells! You left me to live among wild beasts. You turned me into a beast!"

"Okay, now I have done what you wished for. Are you satisfied? I have joined the Returners and have completely converted to the most original nature! Look, I have gained even more powerful strength because of this!" Sander clapped his hands three times and stomped his feet twice. A soft emerald green magic barrier covered his entire body, making it impossible for the moonlight summoned by Rufo to hurt him at all.

"Now even you can't do anything to me! Do you know how many times I've dreamed of our reunion? Did you ever expect this day to come?"

"And you, sister I've never met," Xander said, looking at the red-haired girl. She seemed to be one of the members expelled from the society by Rufo. "This old man treated you like this, and you still want to stand on his side? Maybe you had no choice before, but now, you have a new opportunity."

"Join us and sever all ties with him! Neither he nor the Quiet Creek Society deserves your loyalty. Join us, and you will truly understand the true meaning of nature!"

Faced with such enticement, Bella's expression became strange: "Um... Actually, I don't think..."

"I can see that you're just an apprentice now. You must have gone through a lot of hardships in the wilderness. Where was this old man at that time?"

"Inducing vomiting in Barut... probably," Bella glanced at Rufo with a guilty look. "Actually, it wasn't that hard back then. Those Chocobos were all good birds. Even though I asked so much of them, they actually listened to me..."

"It wouldn't take months to induce vomiting in Barut," the Archdruid was somewhat speechless when he spoke of this matter. "But I did provide it with psychological counseling for a long time... Your methods were too rough, and they left a significant psychological trauma on it. It probably doesn't want to see you again in its lifetime..."

Xander: “???”

Why does this sound so different from his experience?!

"Look, Xander," Rufo sighed, "I'm not as evil as you think, and surviving in the wilderness isn't torture. It's just that you lacked the resolve to find balance back then, so I tried to let nature guide you further."

"But I'm glad you're willing to give Bella a 'chance'. How about this: I'll give you one too: leave the Returners. Their ideologies are narrow-minded and extreme. Return to the Quiet Creek Society, and your past mistakes will be washed away..."

Rufo looked at Sander calmly and frankly to make his position clear, and under such a look, Sander seemed a little regretful, but then his expression became more ferocious.

"No!" he yelled. "Rufo, your trick might fool a simple girl like this, but it won't fool me! Cleanse? It should be cleansed! I won't be fooled by such a crude lie. Just surrender!"

"withered!"

An illusory hand filled with the power of death penetrated the wind wall and grabbed Rufo fiercely, as if to drain all the vitality and moisture from him. Rufo quickly cast a spell to resist, but perhaps because of his old age, when he defended with all his strength, the moonlight disappeared, and he lost the threat to Sander for a while.

"You're too old!" The Returner sneered. "It's better for you to die peacefully. At least you're still valuable as fertilizer!"

He turned to look at his companions: "What are you still dithering about? Kill the others! He's already caused us enough trouble, we can't be held up any longer!"

"Lord Sander, are you sure it's them...?" A druid approached him cautiously and asked in a low voice, "Compared to what we've experienced, don't they seem a little too weak?"

Those warriors were indeed extremely brave, but after all, they were just "ordinary people" without the ability to cast spells. Unless they showed their true forms, it would be difficult for them to pose any threat.

"Don't underestimate this old man," Sander snorted coldly. "I don't know why he's restrained right now, but I can only hold him back and deny him the opportunity to control the surrounding vegetation and creatures. A quick victory is needed."

The druid nodded, clasped his hands together, and after chanting a few incantations, he suddenly separated them, and a pair of flaming blades suddenly appeared in his palms. Like a monkey, he leaped several meters high, and using the strong wind created by Sander, he swung his blades, leaving long tails of flame, and rushed straight towards Leslaufer.

Chapter 141 Tree Man

The strong winds stirred up by the druids would cause those things that were not strong enough to dance with the wind. When moving within the wind wall, one had to not only be careful of being blown away by the wind, but also be careful of those things that had been moved. But these were just minor problems for Leslaufer.

Leaves and branches clattered against his armor, and his robe was blown up by the strong wind like a tattered cloak. The mercenary looked up at the druid who came with the wind, raised his hand, and swung his sword.

The black flame sword collided violently with the two swords that were actually burning with flames. The druid's method was quite slick. He avoided Reslaufer's attacks several times and almost let the high-temperature flaming blades get close to him.

However, even with the trailing flame tails, the length of the two blades still couldn't compare to the greatsword. When the druid tried to repeat his trick, Reslaufer seized the opportunity and stepped forward. The nearly two-meter-long greatsword was already close to the druid's face before the two blades could hit him. The druid raised his hand to block, but the sword suddenly turned at an angle and chopped his lower body with the back blade!

His thigh was nearly severed at the root. Under normal circumstances, this injury wouldn't immediately render him incapacitated. Reslaufer needed to maintain as much distance as possible to prevent a desperate counterattack. However, at this moment, the mercenary lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into him. Amidst the raging wind, the druid, having lost his leg and balance, was instantly lifted up by the wind. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a corpse amidst the wind, carrying branches, leaves, and even sand and gravel.

"Bon voyage!" Leslaufer sneered, quickly rushed through the more dangerous wall of gale, and headed straight for Sander.

The druids summoned numerous creatures from the forest in an attempt to stop the mercenaries, but this was merely a temporary solution. Reslaufer's advance was limited only by the speed at which he could cut down these creatures. Worse still, as more and more druids turned to block him, Patrick, Vondar, and the others also freed up their hands, nearly crumbling the returnees' defenses.

Seeing that the Returner Druid named Sander was getting closer and closer to him, Reslaufer could not help but quicken his pace and charge forward. He swung his sword forward, but to his surprise, the sword went through the Druid's body without any delay and hit the ground under his feet. Just when he was stunned, a fishy wind suddenly rushed towards him from the side. Reslaufer quickly turned around to avoid it. Although he avoided the vital points, he was knocked away!

"Old Lei!" Feng Daer looked at the mercenary who was swatted away by a lion transformed by a druid in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"Why are you swinging your sword into the open?"

space?

Leslaufer turned over and stood up, but the next second he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. The problem was that he could not see who the attacker was, and the place where he had just swung his sword, the place that the dwarf claimed was an open space, was still standing there intact!

He's been under the influence of magic! When did this happen?!

The mercenary swung his left fist forward. Although it looked like he was hitting the air, the feedback from the tip of his fist told him that he had indeed hit the enemy. Even if the enemy still held on stubbornly and refused to let go, the next step was already very simple for him.

Fists rained down like raindrops. Even if he couldn't swing his sword, Leslaufer, holding the Broken Halberd alone, was still a deadly weapon. In a short moment, his right arm was free again, and the black flame giant sword immediately fell back into his hand, sweeping forward with all his strength!

Empty!

"It's gone!" Vondar's voice came from another direction, but Reslaufer couldn't even see his position at this moment. "If you are too tired, retreat! You are in a very dangerous state now!"

"Tell me about the situation around me!" Reslaufer rushed towards the "Sander" again. It was still some kind of illusion, but Reslaufer could not give up this possible opportunity. He had to take action. Perhaps this would cause his physical strength to be exhausted before the enemy fell, but it was better than still having physical strength left when he fell.

"Left! Front! Right - damn, he's moving! I can't tell you the direction in time!" The dwarf angrily used the shield in his hand to push away a stag beside him. The creature's antlers hit his shield. Although the weight of the deer prevented the dwarf from using the characteristics of the shield to turn it over completely, Vondar still used some clever force to push the guy away.

"Then don't continue, okay?"

"What are you talking about? You want us to surrender? No one—no one!" Vondar was shocked. Not only him, but the holy warrior next to him also immediately made an attacking move. Even the long sword in his hand once again lit up with a dazzling holy light.

"Stop! Fighting solves nothing." Right beside the dwarf, a tree as thick as the dwarf's waist suddenly began to buzz. On the rough trunk, features resembling human faces emerged from the bark, creating a compassionate expression. "Although this dispute wasn't initiated by you, enough creatures have died at the hands of that man."

"...Tree Man?" Rufo was slightly taken aback. He noticed that the other person was shrouded in a layer of magical aura. "Are you using magic to influence Reslaufer?"

"It's me. Stop fighting," the tree man rumbled. "Make him stop."

"This is impossible!" Leslaufer shouted angrily, "Who are you? Although I can't see you, I can hear your voice! Don't let me find you, otherwise I will skin you alive!"

"I'm sorry, but I have no flesh and no bones," the tree man replied woodenly. He had intended to use a tough stance to force Reslaufer to submit, but when he saw that Reslaufer had actually turned around and rushed towards him, the tree man had to speak again hurriedly, "Don't be impulsive! I'm right next to your companions, and you might hurt them!"

"You're taking sides!" Daisy protested, jumping up and down. "Old Lei! Come over here and chop down this old tree! Listen to my music, and I'll show you the way!"

The matte immediately began to play a flowing rhythmic flow. Within that music, a certain veil of ignorance seemed to be ripped away by Reslaufer, and the mercenary immediately saw the ancient tree with a human face. Filled with rage, he once again passed through the wind wall. Black flames roared in the wind as he charged towards the tree trunk, slashing at it!

"Boom!"

It seemed to have hit something wooden, but Reslaufer was certain it wasn't a tree trunk, as the greatsword wasn't slashing horizontally. In the eyes of everyone except him, the tree man with a human face twisted some of its branches together to form a strong arm. It raised its hand and used this arm to resist the mercenary's blow.

The price he paid was that the Black Flame Sword almost cut it in half.

The music continued, but Leslaufer's vision gradually began to return to the way the world should have been. He saw the tree man, and the tree man's arm that was almost split apart. At the same time, the tree man's stiff voice also reached his ears.

"I mean you no harm—let's talk, okay?"

Chapter 142 Accident

"It's either all or nothing." Leslaufer tried hard to pull back his sword, but he underestimated the power of the tree people rooted in the earth. Even so, the mercenary was not ready to compromise. "Unless you control them too, don't even think about making me lay down my weapon."

The tree man thought for a moment and nodded: "What you said makes sense."

Several thick branches slashed through the gaps in the woods, binding Sander and the others tightly before they could resist. Without the support of the spellcaster, the wind wall subsided, and a mess of debris was flung from the air in all directions. However, by this time, no one paid any attention to it.

Several faces emerged from different tree trunks. It was clear that the tree people had come prepared. "Now, how about we sit down and talk together?"

The methods used by the Tree People on those who returned were more brutal. Many of them could hardly be described as being tied up, but were simply "kneeled" against the tree trunks, completely unable to move. On the other hand, only the mercenary's own sword was stuck.

Apparently, even the tree people were prone to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, but Leslough had no intention of missing this good opportunity to take action. He sneered and was about to speak when Patrick held his shoulder.

"We agree, let's talk."

The paladin's grip was quite strong, and snatching the sword from the treeman was equally difficult. After he spoke, Reslaufer had no choice but to abandon his original plan. Perhaps sensing Reslaufer's weakened hostility, the original treeman reconstructed its arms into several branches and lowered the Black Flame Greatsword.

"I am Rufo, the Archdruid of the Quiet Creek Society." Sander's spell had failed, allowing Rufo to escape. He stood in front of the tree and introduced himself. "Tree people, if our battle disturbs you, please forgive us. We can continue elsewhere."

Treemen usually prefer to meditate quietly like ordinary trees rather than make noise. Perhaps their battles have affected these creatures - after all, whether druids control plants or animals, they will cause quite a stir.

"Returners, Sander," Sander on the other side also spoke up. Most of his companions were tied up and unable to move, which made him feel quite nervous. "We don't mean to disturb you. In fact, it was these people you couldn't control who first-"

"Quiet," the tree man interrupted him, "Don't argue about right or wrong. My friends and I have no interest in this."

"But we have heard you speak of the 'Temple of Eldath.' Why would you go there? The children of peace do not care for noise."

The priests and ministers of Eldath are called Sons or Daughters of Peace, so it is not surprising that the Ents have some connection with them.

"Although you all have no interest in our conflict, unfortunately, this is the very reason we're fighting," Rufo spoke again before Sander could. "The Returnees have been increasingly aggressive recently. We suspect they're attempting to steal artifacts from the temple, control the civilians, and even the 'Golinotto's Bite,' potentially causing disasters and returning the reclaimed land to its pristine state."

"Don't spit bloody words at me," Sander's expression was uncertain, and no one knew what he was thinking. "We're planning to ask a peaceful person to mediate the recent misunderstandings!"

"Do you mean burning the monastery of the Evandra believers to the ground? Or pretending to be a mount and killing all the knights and peasants?" Daisy immediately retorted, "The cultists are really innocent!"

"Alright, stop arguing," the tree people began to buzz again, halting the verbal battle between the two sides. "Whatever your purpose is, I can tell you this: you cannot enter the Temple of Eldath. Stop arguing and stay away."

"Of course it would be best if nothing happens," Bella breathed a sigh of relief, then asked hopefully, "Can I go and visit? As a pilgrim? I'm also a follower of Eldas, uh, the kind who doesn't really follow the dogma."

"I also want to revisit the old place," Rufo said immediately. "More than forty years ago, I went to the temple and practiced for a while. If you still remember..."

The treants began to chatter among themselves, a conversation that even the druids couldn't understand. After a moment, the first treant to emerge spoke, "Forty-six years ago, we remembered you. Unfortunately, we can't this time. Leave now."

Disappointment flashed in the young druid's eyes. She sighed and said to Reslaufer, "That's unfortunate, Reslaufer. Let's leave. I wonder how long it will take to cross the Golinoto Mountains from here..."

"Sorry, you can't cross the mountains. Please return the way you came."

"You said 'can't climb over'?" Rathlough looked suspiciously at the tree people's wooden faces. "What do you mean?"

"Since you remember me, then at least tell me more," Rufo said quickly. "Why do you say that? People of peace shouldn't do such things. I request a meeting with the Arbitrators of Tranquility—or at least a private meeting with Desipa!"

"Sorry," the tree people said, not seeming to be deliberately making things difficult for them. "You can't see the arbitrators, nor can you see Desipa."

"This is not what the people of peace want, but ours—that's why we're staying here."

A certain feeling of unease spread among the crowd, and unexpectedly, the returnees also seemed to become anxious.

"Please explain yourself right away!" Xander shouted. "Did something happen in the temple? We can help, let us through—you can't just kick us out like this!"

Something unexpected happened? Rufo and Bella immediately looked at the tree people, trying to find the answer from their expressionless faces.

The tree man was silent for a moment. "A few days ago, before you, some druids had already gone to the temple, and Disipa was in charge of receiving them."

Rufo immediately looked at Sander, who avoided his gaze. The Tree People might not be able to tell which side was which, but Ivan, the leader of the Quiet Creek Society, had been killed by the giant ape. Furthermore, the Returners likely learned the temple's location from him.

Daisy played a sad note on her piano. "You're not saying the temple's artifacts have been stolen, are you?"

"We don't know anything about the artifact," the tree man said, sounding like he wasn't lying. "Nothing major has happened within the temple. If something important was stolen, we would definitely know. Peaceful people don't hide things from trees, and vice versa."

"It's just that since then, the forest has become much quieter, which is a good thing. We need to maintain this tranquility and not let outsiders disrupt it."

"But you should know that people can't be as quiet as trees, right?" Rufo's uneasiness became more and more obvious, and he himself noticed this. "Take us there before something worse happens."

This time, the tree man was silent for a bit longer than before. "Of course, humans can be as quiet as trees. They have gone further than you in following the ways of nature. Leave and don't disturb the children of peace."

Chapter 143 Arrival in the Dark

After saying that, the tree people began to shake violently. Their roots pulled out from the ground and turned into legs or tentacles, pulling their huge bodies out of the soil.

They did not intend to leave, but instead surrounded the crowd, as if they would come to help if these "animals" were not prepared to leave on their own.