Chapter 178: Planting the Seeds

Edgar spent the next few hours moving around the Fortress and repairing everything that the system could restore.

He selected each damaged section through the system and confirmed the reconstruction one after another.

Every time he activated the system, Nightmare Stones floated from the nearby piles and cracked open in the air.

White light spread across the ground, and the broken stones around the Fortress began moving as if they had suddenly gained a life of their own.

Large pieces of rubble were lifted from the ground and placed back into the walls, while smaller pieces filled the gaps between them.

Edgar watched the process for a while before moving toward another damaged section.

The work was surprisingly fast.

What would have taken dozens of workers several days could now be repaired in a matter of minutes through the system.

Still, Edgar didn’t simply stand around and watch.

He walked through the Fortress while checking the reconstruction and occasionally changed the locations of certain structures.

Some of the damaged defensive towers were rebuilt slightly differently from how they had been before.

He also repaired several roads that had been torn apart by the battle.

Broken stones were removed from the paths, damaged buildings were reconstructed, and several storage areas were restored.

As the hours passed, the Fortress slowly began to look less like the remains of a battlefield.

Edgar occasionally stopped to give instructions, but most of the work was being handled by the workers and the system itself.

By the time he finished repairing the major structures, the appearance of the Fortress had changed completely.

There were still many smaller buildings that needed repairs, but the Fortress was once again capable of defending itself.

Edgar stood on top of the wall and looked across the territory. ‘Much better.’

He glanced toward the places where the Nightmare army had once gathered.

There were still large patches of destroyed land outside the Fortress, and several deep craters remained from the battle.

The battlefield was far from clean but that could wait.

There was something else Edgar wanted to check.

….His Soul Guardians.

Edgar climbed down from the wall and walked toward the main gate.

The large gates opened as he approached, and he stepped outside the Fortress.

The battlefield stretched ahead of him. The sight was far different from what it had been during the battle.

The enormous Nightmare army that had once covered the land was gone.

Only scattered corpses, broken weapons, and countless Nightmare Stones remained.

But among the remains stood hundreds of figures.

….The Soul Guardians.

Edgar stopped when he saw them.

There were roughly one hundred and sixty Soul Guardians still standing after the battle.

The number was much lower than what he had brought into the fight.

Still, seeing so many of them standing after everything that had happened made Edgar feel slightly relieved.

At the front of the group was the largest Soul Guardian.

The Nightmare Giant.

Its enormous body was covered in wounds and dried blood, but it looked far less damaged than most of the others.

Edgar’s eyes moved over its massive frame.’Still the strongest.’

The Nightmare Giant had inherited the Talent known as Nightmare Devouring.

During the battle, it had consumed the remains of countless Nightmares.

As a result, its physical strength had increased even further.

Even among the Soul Guardians, the giant stood apart.

Edgar could already imagine how much stronger it would become if it continued consuming powerful Nightmare corpses.

His attention shifted toward another familiar figure.

A headless knight slowly walked toward him.

Its heavy armor was damaged in several places, and one of its shoulders had been partially broken.

Even so, it moved with the same discipline it had always shown.

The Headless Commander stopped several steps in front of Edgar.

Then it lowered its headless helmet and bowed.

Edgar looked at it for a moment before giving a small nod. “Good work.”

The Headless Commander remained still.

Edgar’s eyes moved toward the other Soul Guardians.

That was when his expression became slightly heavier.

He remembered the Gorilla Commander.

The massive Soul Guardian had fought beside them throughout the battle.

It had survived countless fights yet in the end, the Nightmare King had killed it.

Edgar let out a quiet sigh. ‘Maybe I could have saved him.’

The thought had crossed his mind several times since the battle ended.

If he had acted faster, perhaps things would have been different but there was no way to know.

Edgar shook his head and folded his arms.

Thinking about it now wouldn’t bring the Gorilla Commander back.

His eyes moved across the remaining Soul Guardians.

Most of them were created from the ancient corpses he had found beneath the old mining area.

Edgar stared at them silently. ‘Should I give them rest?’

The thought had been sitting in the back of his mind for a long time.

They had already suffered enough.

Part of Edgar wanted to do exactly that but he looked around the battlefield again.

There were still countless dangers in this world.

The Nightmare King had been defeated, but that didn’t mean the Nightmares were gone.

The Eternal Night was still out there.

He needed every bit of strength he could obtain. He also needed workers.

If Edgar released them now, he would lose a workforce that he desperately needed.

Edgar slowly lowered his arms.

‘Not yet.’ He looked at the Soul Guardians once more. ‘I need you.’

There was a small amount of guilt in his heart as he thought about it but he wasn’t going to use them forever.

‘I promise I’ll free you one day.’

He didn’t say the words aloud.

He turned away from the Soul Guardians and began walking back toward the Fortress.

Edgar passed through the gates and entered the Fortress again.

He had only taken a few steps when a familiar sound suddenly appeared in his mind.

A system screen appeared in front of him.

—

[Warning]

Abnormal structure detected beneath the Fortress.

Previous structural analysis was incomplete.

Unknown energy detected.

Depth: 1,842 meters.

Classification: Unable to determine.

—

Edgar blinked. ‘What?’

His thoughts immediately returned to the ancient being that had been buried beneath the ground.

The ancient seal. Azhurak.

The enormous cracks that had appeared beneath the Fortress during the battle.

Everything suddenly felt connected. ‘So the system couldn’t detect it before?’

Edgar looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

There was no visible change but nearly two kilometers beneath him, something was still there.

Edgar remained silent for a while. He wanted to investigate.

The idea of leaving something unknown beneath his own Fortress didn’t sit well with him.

Especially when he didn’t know what he would find down there. ‘I’ll deal with it later.’

There was someone else he wanted to talk to first. ‘I’ll ask Semele.’

Edgar dismissed the system window.

He would investigate the underground structure eventually but for now, he had another task.

He turned toward the warehouse.

Edgar walked through the large doors and began checking the stored materials.

Most of them were the new items they acquired from the last fight.

He walked deeper into the warehouse until he reached a smaller storage area.

His eyes moved across the items before finally stopping.

…The World Tree Seed.

Edgar carefully picked it up.

The seed was small enough to fit comfortably inside his palm.

Edgar stared at it for a few seconds. ‘Hopefully this actually works.’

He had no idea how long it would take for the seed to grow.

Edgar placed the seed carefully inside a small container before leaving the warehouse.

He walked through the main gate and continued away from the Fortress.

He didn’t stop until he had traveled approximately six hundred meters.

The Fortress was still clearly visible behind him.

Edgar looked back at the walls. ‘I’m planning to expand beyond this point eventually.’

That was one of the reasons he had chosen this location.

The Fortress needed room to grow.

If the World Tree Seed actually developed into a World Tree, he didn’t want to discover later that he had planted it directly in the middle of a future building or defensive structure.

He looked around. The area was relatively quiet.

Edgar crouched down.

Using his hands at first, he cleared away some of the loose soil before creating a small hole.

He carefully placed the World Tree Seed inside.

Then he covered it with the soil and pressed the ground down lightly.

He waited another few seconds before shaking his head. “Well, I guess I just have to wait.”

Edgar stood up.

He didn’t know if the seed needed water, energy or something else entirely.

Perhaps the system would give him more information once it began growing.

For now, he decided to protect it.

Edgar raised his hand and took out Nightmare stones.

He used the system to shape the material into a small circular wall around the seed.

It wasn’t very tall. It was only enough to prevent someone from accidentally stepping on the area.

Edgar looked at the little stone enclosure. ‘I’ll have to remember where this is.’

He took a few steps back and looked at it once more. The seed was now completely hidden beneath the soil.

There was no indication that anything special had been planted there.

Edgar started walking back.

‘I hope this works.’ He glanced once more toward the small stone wall. ‘Because I’m going to need the space.’