CHAPTER 1336: CHAPTER 712: MELIKAI’S BIG MOVE

The Forest Queen stood still on Tree Spirit Hill and said, "Here will do!"

After speaking, she drew out a golden longbow and shot an arrow into the sky.

It seemed like a casual shot, but it possessed the power to pierce through the heavens—quite literally.

The plane barrier was torn open into a massive hole, revealing on the other side the temple beneath the branches of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

The hole was neither too big nor too small, just enough for the temple to pass through and plummet toward the location of Melikai.

However, just as it was still ten meters or so above the ground, countless vines shot up into the air like tentacles, covering the entire top of Tree Spirit Hill.

Rather than the temple smashing into these vines, it was more accurate to say the vines caught the temple.

After catching the temple, the vines did not stop growing but instead flowed into it.

Like a thousand quills, they filled in and rewrote the statues and murals that had been lost. The repairs previously done by Lord Virginia using the Dragon Oak Mother Tree were superficial and could not touch the core essence.

The Forest Queen’s additions, however, went far beyond simply restoring statues and murals; she imbued them with her own divine nature and power—multiple kinds, no less.

Filled with the endless aura of slaughter, that was the power of autumn.

Symbolizing the perfect union of sentient creatures and trees, that was the emblem of the Tree Spirits.

Bringing motherly care to all nature spirits, that was the divine position of the guardian of forest creatures.

The overwhelming life force, vast as a green ocean, stemmed from the forest itself. Compared to it, whether it was Lord Virginia channeling the power of Spring Bud Forest or that of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, it was like comparing a small pond.

Ever vigilant, sharp as an arrow, that was the power of the Ranger.

These additions were only the beginning, merely representing the Forest Queen’s past.

In the blank spaces, new murals began taking shape—a colossal tree resembling a Red Copper Colossal Dragon. Who else could it be but the Dragon Oak Mother Tree?

At the tree’s top stood a unicorn facing left, with a golden horn and blue eyes, radiating gentle maternal light as if gazing compassionately at all below. This was the Holy Emblem of Melikai.

At the base of the colossal tree stood three figures side by side.

In the center was a handsome man, flanked by dreamlike women, all exuding a strong aura of nature. They represented Gaven, Virginia, and Radanaxi.

Surrounding them were countless forest creatures, bowing in reverence.

It was hard to distinguish whether these forest creatures were worshipping the trio, the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, or the Forest Queen at the very top.

The moment the murals were completed, the small temple instantly erupted in radiant light, becoming a vital conduit that linked together all the depicted, previously separate existences. The mighty life force flowed from top to bottom—first through the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, then onto the temple, splitting into three streams that passed through the three kneeling before it, and finally radiating outward to all the creatures they influenced.

Each of the three represented something unique.

Lord Virginia’s core represented the Yaling and the fae race living atop the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

Queen Radanaxi’s core embodied the Tree Spirits and all fae races within the Kingdom of Arosh.

The most distinct of all was Gaven. His core astonishingly represented the Gnolls—the Wilderness Kobolds of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, then ordinary Gnolls, the Treants he enlightened, the Dark Treants purified by Mesnoel, the Sodalite Treants, and even a small number of Rangers from the Conqueror Army.

The meaning here could not have been clearer: the Forest Queen had taken this opportunity to acknowledge these existences that once wandered the edges of the forest, accepting them as part of nature.

The significance of this act was monumental.

It meant their innate nature would undergo subtle influence, inclining toward the direction of the Forest Queen. Of all, this shift was most pronounced in the Gnolls and the Dark Treants.

The Dark Treants need no elaboration; they were already part of nature but had been corrupted by Dark Power, rendering them unnatural. Now, they were merely being purified a second time, returning to their rightful place in nature.

The trees and Treants enlightened by Gaven were in a similar situation—they had the missing pieces of nature imbued into them.

The truly noteworthy matter lay with the Gnolls.

Unlike the shaping laws that corresponded to Giant Dragons, the Gnolls’ innate natures primarily stemmed from their race’s god, Kulturmak. This was evident by their visceral hatred for Gnomes, despite many Gnolls never having had any interaction with them.

Strictly speaking, the relationship between Gnolls and the fae race was neither hostile nor particularly amicable.

In the wilderness, survival often led to conflicts between the two sides. Gnolls lacked any concept of forest preservation; they survived by using whatever they could and eating whatever they caught, including the forest itself and occasionally members of the fae race—though their success rate in catching fae was extremely low.

Even when coexisting within the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, interactions between the fae race and the Gnolls were minimal.

Even those Gnolls who entered the Dragon Oak Dream Realm struggled to connect with the fae and integrate. Long periods away from their clans and caves, even in a soul state, made the Gnolls agitated and restless.