Chapter 465: Sacrificing Himself for the Tree

Chen Yu didn't pay much attention to what was happening in the south.

It wasn't that he was indifferent to the half-elves' safety, but rather that a Forest Sage from the Forest Sage Council had already departed for the vicinity of Lothlorien.

As long as the Ancient Tree Council's Legendary didn't leave their domain, nothing major would likely happen to the half-elves.

This was like a game of chess. He had already positioned his pieces on the board, and he didn't need to watch every single move that followed.

Taking advantage of his free time, he went to find Viola.

In the courtyard of the Dryad domain, the massive ancient tree still stood lush and thriving. Beneath its canopy hung a swing woven from vines and flower branches, and Viola was sitting on it.

She looked like she was basking in the sun and daydreaming. Only when Chen Yu hopped over to her did she lazily open one eye halfway.

"Oh, what brings His Majesty here? Come to soak up some sun too?"

"I have something for you."

Chen Yu spat out the Sacred Oak branch and handed it to her, along with Tuiris's message.

Viola reached out and took the branch, glanced down at it, and her expression turned displeased. She couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and let out an annoyed huff.

"Nice one, Tuiris. Not only does she slack off herself, but she can't stand seeing anyone else idle either. So after dreaming for a few thousand years, she wakes up smarter and starts bossing this Grand Sage around."

Chen Yu crouched on the stone table nearby and quietly added: "I think Tuiris is right. Spring has already arrived, don't you think certain trees should end their hibernation?"

Viola turned her head to look at him, then spread her hands: "Alright, alright, you're His Majesty after all."

She held the branch up to her eyes and examined it closely for a while longer, then her tone turned more serious: "The power of this Sacred Oak isn't easy to digest. The divinity it contains has existed for who knows how many years, mixed with the prayers and faith of countless generations of elves."

"I need some time to sort through and purify it before I can truly make it my own."

"How long will it take?" Chen Yu asked.

"It'll definitely be done before the Autumn Brewing Festival." Viola said casually.

"But..." She suddenly changed the subject, her gaze landing on Chen Yu with a hint of cunning in her smile, "Before that, I need His Majesty to do me a small favor."

Chen Yu stood his ground warily, his Gel Body tensing slightly: "What do you want to do?"

"Why, let me have a chat with Tuiris, of course." Viola said with a smile. "As for what we'll talk about, don't be so curious. You'll find out in due time."

Chen Yu stared at her for a moment but didn't press further.

He wasn't too concerned about it, honestly.

After all, the Tree King had given him her very tree body, essentially entrusting everything she had into his hands. If a tree like that couldn't be trusted, then there probably wasn't anyone he could trust.

Rather than puzzling over the little schemes between those two old-timers, he was more curious about something else.

"So why does Eserin insist on returning to the Emerald Crown? I heard you instructed her to."

Viola sat back down on the swing, gently kicking her feet: "That's not it. I just knew she wanted to go back herself."

She paused, then added: "Actually, that child and I have some differences in our paths. She doesn't agree with my ideas, so she wants to save the elves her own way."

Chen Yu's gel skin wrinkled: "Is she opposing you?"

Viola let out a soft sigh, and the swing's swaying slowed: "As much as I'd like to keep her here, she's already grown up. She's no longer that little girl hiding behind my skirt, pestering me to tell her stories."

"Her convictions are firm, and she's a woman of action. I can't stop her."

</path>SupportCauses

She tilted her head, gazing toward the lush canopy in the distance: "Might as well let her try. Who knows, she might just succeed."

Chen Yu fell into thought, piecing together Viola's words with the existing clues. He vaguely sensed that there was something far more complicated hidden behind all this.

"So what exactly does she want to do?" He decided to ask directly.

Viola thought for a moment before speaking: "That child Eserin gave you the Sacred Oak branch, but she didn't tell you the truth. It seems she's unwilling to say, so I shouldn't be the one to tell you on her behalf."

"However, as one of Nature's Blessed, you should be able to guess her intentions."

Chen Yu thought it over.

The problem with the Sacred Oak wasn't just its divinity, but also its humanity.

If even Elwen's own will had fallen into slumber, then there were only two directions to solve the problem. Either purify the divinity, or work from the humanity side, finding a way to make humanity suppress the divinity once more.

And the latter would require someone to enter the Sacred Oak's core and establish a connection with Elwen's humanity.

But the problem was, the Ancient Tree Council wouldn't let anyone near the Sacred Oak easily.

Especially someone like Eserin, a pure-blooded elf raised by the Sacred Oak Grand Sage since childhood. How could the Council ever trust her?

She had long been viewed as one of Viola's people. Letting her near the Sacred Oak would be like handing a key to the person the Council trusted least.

But what if her return wasn't voluntary, but rather she was "forcibly" captured?

An imprisoned Saintess, a bloodline returning after years in exile, a prisoner under the Council's watch under the guise of "guarding the tree." That kind of identity actually gave her a reason to access the Sacred Oak.

Because no one would suspect a prisoner locked inside the temple, surrounded by layers of guards, of being able to pull anything off.

And once she truly chose to enter the Sacred Oak's core, solving the humanity problem would inevitably require some kind of price.

That price was likely so heavy she couldn't bear it, which was why she didn't want to tell anyone the truth.

Chen Yu vaguely guessed the answer.

Did she intend to... sacrifice herself, merging into the Sacred Oak Elwen's will, to fill the void of humanity?

Honestly, he couldn't accept that plan.

Having his own subject sacrifice herself to solve a problem wasn't his style.

Besides, if Arthur ever found out Eserin was planning something like this, that upright knight would absolutely draw his sword the very next second and charge into the Emerald Crown.

And don't think Count Bran, despite his cowardice, wasn't the most loyal. He'd probably flap his wings and follow right behind, cursing "you brainless retainer" the whole way.

That explained why Eserin was unwilling to reveal the truth.

She probably knew that if she actually spoke her plan out loud, no one would agree, and she might even drag her adventure companions into trouble.

However, Chen Yu still had one final question.

He wanted to know what path Viola had been insisting on.

What could possibly make Eserin willing to give her life to walk her own path, rather than follow the one Viola had paved for her?

His gaze shifted to Viola.

Viola avoided his stare, whistling nonchalantly and looking everywhere else.

Chen Yu stared at her: "You're reading His Majesty's mind again, aren't you?"

Viola gave a sheepish smile, her expression carrying a hint of embarrassment at being caught: "Hehe, please forgive me, Your Majesty. This ability of mine... it's like a leaky wooden bucket, I can't turn it off. It's not that I'm trying to eavesdrop, it just slips in on its own."

"Compared to me, Tuiris is far better at mind-reading."

"Think about it. She met you once and immediately trusted you with her tree body. That means she must have read through your entire history front and back before daring to stake her tree form on you."

She slyly shifted the blame onto Tuiris, putting on an innocent "I'm just a little dryad who knows nothing" expression.

Chen Yu couldn't be bothered to argue with her. If they were really going to compare mind-reading skills, this Sacred Oak Grand Sage standing before him was probably just as formidable.

He spat out the consciousness gem he'd been hiding in his belly and placed it on the table: "You two have your chat. I want to see what you two can come up with."

Viola reached out and took the gem. The moment it touched her palm, a translucent figure emerged from within.

Chen Yu had expected these two to start arguing the moment they met.

But what happened was completely beyond his expectations.

The moment they saw each other, they gathered together like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

The two sat side by side. One would speak, and the other would laugh, like two birds perched on a branch, chattering away while preening each other's feathers.

Chen Yu couldn't hear what they were saying, but they kept turning to glance at him from time to time, then covering their mouths to giggle.

He shifted his Gel Body uncomfortably, feeling like a younger generation being quietly gossiped about by two elders behind his back.

It made him wonder if this was some mysterious old-girlfriends' tea party.

He had originally planned to wait a little while, then head back once they finished chatting to handle other matters.

He never expected that wait to last an entire day.

It wasn't until the sky began to lighten again that Chen Yu finally saw the tea party come to an end.

Even as they parted, the two looked like they still had more to say.

On the way back to the Royal Palace, before Tuiris fell into slumber, Chen Yu couldn't help but probe curiously: "What did you two talk about yesterday?"

Tuiris's laughter echoed in his mind: "Nothing much. I was just sharing my experiences from these past years with Viola."

Chen Yu was speechless.

No wonder they could talk for so long. The combined age of these two trees probably exceeded how long the Ancient Tree Council had even existed.

If they really planned to recount their entire life stories from beginning to end, three days and three nights wouldn't be enough.

"Did you two talk bad about me behind my back?" He asked suspiciously.

"How could we?" Tuiris said, barely containing her laughter. "Viola was just telling me that when she first met Your Majesty, you were just a tiny little blob who loved putting on airs."

"Clearly nervous as can be, yet insisting on acting all mature. You'd even clear your throat before speaking..."

"Stop, stop, stop... alright, alright, I don't want to hear any more."

Chen Yu quickly cut her off. He really couldn't bear to imagine that image.

"Fine, if Your Majesty doesn't want to hear it, I'll go to sleep then."

Tuiris's voice gradually faded, and within moments, she had completely fallen into slumber.

Chen Yu returned to the Royal Palace. Just as he sat down to prepare for lunch, Silver Sparrow had a guard deliver a newspaper sent from the south to him.

"Master." Silver Sparrow's voice chimed in at the right moment. "Although Leaf of No Distinction's speech didn't go smoothly, it unexpectedly caught fire. Now all over Dawn City, news of the Lothlorien attack and Leaf of No Distinction's speech is spreading everywhere."

"Let me see."

Chen Yu grew interested. He unfurled the newspaper with his Divine Sense and fixed his gaze on the front page headline.

The moment he looked, he spotted a familiar figure on the cover.

A young half-elf stood atop a wooden platform, blood still streaming from the wound on his forehead. He raised his blood-stained hand high, shouting something toward the front.

There was no fear on Orion's face. Instead, there was a fierce intensity ignited by being pushed to the brink.

And beside him, panicked civilians were scattering in every direction.

The entire scene was like an oil painting frozen at the most tense moment, chaos and determination forming a stark contrast in the same instant.

Chen Yu was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected a journalist to capture the moment of Orion shouting in fury.

Given the composition and tension of the image, if he didn't know it was taken on-site, he would have thought it was some famous artist's propaganda painting.

A leader shouting, and civilians fleeing in panic. Sharp contrast, piercing conflict. It was like the perfect moment artists spent their entire lives searching for.

Though... this scene felt strangely familiar somehow.

Regardless, this was a good thing.

One look at this image was enough to feel the impact rushing at you, making it impossible to look away.

He had a feeling that with a few more days to ferment, this news would be enough to spread like wildfire across the southern kingdoms.

Those assassin attacks hadn't succeeded. Instead, they'd backfired and given the half-elves a helping hand.

He casually asked Silver Sparrow: "Have you found out who's behind it?"

Silver Sparrow's reply was concise and to the point: "We have solid evidence that the masterminds are several nobles within Lothlorien itself. They seem to have long been dissatisfied with the half-elves' overly high status in the kingdom."

Chen Yu's Gel Body wobbled slightly. After a moment of thought, he spoke: "Contact those newspaper headquarters we've been funding and have them spread rumors pointing the finger at the Ancient Tree Council."

"Yes, Master."

But she was a bit confused: "But why? The masterminds clearly come from within Lothlorien."

Chen Yu felt a sense of relief.

Silver Sparrow was becoming more and more human. She was even starting to ask "why" now.

"Simple. This way, we sling mud at the Ancient Tree Council. And if Lothlorien doesn't want their scandal exposed, they'll have to help us cover up the truth while also publicly condemning the Ancient Tree Council."

"That way, this kingdom that's always stayed neutral will completely lean toward the Empire in public opinion."

The more Chen Yu thought about it, the more ingenious the arrangement seemed. He almost wanted to applaud his own brilliance.

He puffed out his belly with satisfaction.

"Master is truly amazing." Silver Sparrow praised him honestly.

"Alright, alright, stop with the flattery." Chen Yu waved his gel hand. "Now we just sit back and wait for things to develop."

Silver Sparrow was a bit puzzled. What did "flattery" mean? Was it some kind of grammatical error in the Common Tongue?

Her wisdom told her she should point out the error and correct it, while also being mindful of her master's dignity.

"Understood, Master. From now on, Silver Sparrow will only pat slime butts."

Chen Yu felt something was off. He had a feeling she'd misunderstood something.

"Whatever. As long as you're happy."