Chapter 358: Act 119 – Loop of Trade Winds (1) (Second Update)
Nodas had a dream, in which he was surrounded by waves of undead creatures. In the boundless, desolate wilderness, those bones were a yellow-gray, the hollow eye sockets flickering with a bloody fire, surging towards him in waves from the darkness.
In his dream, his comrades fell one by one, arrows protruding from the battlefield, as he looked around and saw corpses everywhere. Erluin’s tattered battle flag drooped exhaustedly, motionless.
Until the last moment, it seemed as if the heavens and earth were collapsing upon him—
Then he woke from the dream, shouting as he sat up on the soft reed grass bed, the early morning chill of the Black Forest still lingering, but when Nodas touched his back, his shirt was soaked, fine beads of sweat covering his pale forehead.
He sat on the bed, panting for a while before regaining his senses, raising his head to see a beam of morning light streaming into the small room from the windowsill—where the window was actually a round hole carved in a tree trunk.
The furnishings in the room were simple, mostly wooden items, with the entire room hollowed out from inside the tree trunk. Some vines hung down from above, creating a natural and simple space.
Nodas held his forehead, finally recalling in a state of shock that he was no longer on that battlefield. It had been several months since he was rescued and brought here by those strange people, yet he still often had such nightmares.
He took a deep breath and stood up, feeling a bit unsteady, when he suddenly heard noisy sounds outside the window, which made him somewhat curious.
This village was usually very quiet.
Was something happening?
Or was the Revival Festival starting?
Nodas approached the window, peering out with a puzzled gaze—
……
The dwellings established by the Druids around the Loop of Trade Winds were located in a town called “Green Tower.” Although it was called a town, it was home to several thousand people, including a large number of centaurs, treants, and some Tania people.
The Druids had long lived in a communal manner with other races in the Black Forest, establishing many such villages—planting a type of ancient tree that grows very quickly and living within the trunks of these magical ancient trees.
The village was built about twenty to thirty meters above the ground among these towering trees, with the entire town interconnected by hanging bridges—those bridges were made of magically entwined vines, with wooden planks laid on top, sturdier than the strongest stone bridges.
Countless hanging bridges spanned between the ancient trees, creating a unique landscape of a city in the air. The Druids worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, but the centaurs had the opposite schedule, preferring the bustling markets and even installing decorative lights on the hanging bridges—a type of lily with large flower buds that looked like lanterns, glowing at night.
However, more common were the thick, spiraling vines leading to the upper levels of the town, where the Druids gathered and the nests of giant eagles were located.
The Druids had been companions and allies with the giant eagles for several hundred years.
As Brendel followed Grand Druid Gray Crow and others slowly up the lush vines, he saw these astonishing raptors soaring between the massive trunks.
The huge canopies acted like clouds for them, allowing them to navigate through this green sky.
Of course, Brendel also saw patrols of centaur guards, clad in shiny armor, passing by with serious sentinel helmets—their long history of symbiosis with the Druids made them a warrior race, with individual strength even surpassing that of troglodytes.
However, in the Black Forest, they still relied on the Druids to survive.
Besides them, the town was also home to many treants, Tania people, and bear monsters, as well as pegasus and unicorns; as long as they believed in the forest goddess Nia, they were welcomed as guests by the Druids.
Yet, the Druids were not responsible for the daily operation of this town. In fact, the defense of Green Tower was supervised by a centaur chief named Xenia, while day-to-day management was handled by an administrative council composed of treants, Tania people, and bear monsters.
The Druids resided in the upper-level Druid area, which had its own independent organization called the Withered Wood Council to handle all internal Druid affairs.
Of course, their primary task was to monitor the Loop of Trade Winds and the changes occurring in the Black Forest.
The upper area of the Druids was much simpler than the town area. The Grand Druids created a plaza with thick vines intertwined between six ancient trees arranged in a circle, with a statue of Goddess Nia at the center. The hollow branches of the six ancient trees formed six halls, with the hall in the west being the location of the Withered Wood Council.
At the entrance of this hall sat two treants, each several stories tall, with stubby branches supporting their upper bodies as they dozed off—these treants appeared to be the hall’s guards but were not fulfilling their duties well.
However, when Brendel and his party approached, the left treant half-opened one eye, glanced at Grand Druid Gray Crow, and leisurely closed it again.
The other treant was snoring, the sound long and melodic like a tune from the ancient woods.
“Please follow me,” Grand Druid Gray Crow gestured to the two treants, then turned back to the others.
Brendel nodded and followed him into the hall—his younger subordinates had long been left in the town area, naturally greeted by the hospitable treants, while Kuran and Repal stayed with them to prevent those energetic fellows from causing trouble.
At this moment, only Xi and Antinna were following behind the young lord. They had never seen such a place before, their eyes filled with curiosity, and even though the noble ladies had to maintain some decorum, they couldn’t help but look around.
This hall was consistent with the Druids’ customary architectural style, simple and natural; aside from a few statues of ancestor Druids and beast spirits, there was no extra decoration—however, the hall was hollowed out around the sides, leaving only columns, making the hall appear as though exposed to wild winds.
Of course, magical ancient trees are very resilient; even so, it would not affect their growth—upward from here, this ancient tree remained verdant.
Brendel saw a circle of people standing in the hall.
Among them was the Druid elder Andrew, whom he had met for the first time, along with several other elders, totaling seventeen individuals. However, he sensed that only two of them held a similar aura to Grand Druid Gray Crow.
This meant that the three Grand Druids of Green Tower were all gathered here.
“They really think highly of me,” Brendel couldn’t help but think, and then he suddenly saw a small figure rush out from a side room, her long green hair trailing behind her as she jumped into his arms.
“Brother Brendel!” Funiya buried her head in Brendel’s embrace, happily exclaiming.
As the chosen one of the forest goddess, she had already known that Brendel had left Cold Fir Territory for this place, and after waiting for more than a month, she finally saw this day.
Brendel paused for a moment before recognizing the little girl; Funiya had grown a bit taller over the past six months, her complexion rosy, looking like the Druids had taken good care of her.
However, he didn’t know that there was a misunderstanding; the Druids did not care for people. In fact, Funiya’s daily life had been looked after by the treant council, which, under the commission of the Grand Druid, ensured that this already hospitable spirit did not slack off.
Brendel stroked Funiya’s head and raised his head to address the Druid elders, “I appreciate those who keep their word; you have not deceived me—I am quite satisfied.”
Seeming to understand that Brendel was going to discuss serious matters, Funiya tilted her head in response to his hand, then obediently stood aside.
Antinna crouched down to hold the little girl’s small hand, smiling at her gently.
Funiya returned a sweet smile.
“Lord,” the oldest Grand Druid among the seventeen elders spoke, leaning on a staff and draped in a long leaf cloak, with gray eyebrows and hair, deep wrinkles, but a pair of sharp, spirited eyes.
However, as soon as he opened his mouth, Brendel politely interrupted him: “Great Elder,” he said, “I am a noble of Erluin, but my identity is meaningless outside the human world, so you don’t have to address me like that.”
“Here, you are the elder and I am the young one; you can just call me Brendel.”
The Great Elder was slightly taken aback, then his expression softened a bit as he nodded. But he looked to Andrew beside him, prompting the latter to step forward and say to Brendel: “Lord, let me speak on this matter—”
Brendel knew this was a sign of respect from the other side, he nodded, not opposing it.
“The Great Elder wants to ask, Lord, you mentioned that you understand the ancient magic of the Druids and even know the secrets within the Black Forest. He wants to know how credible this statement is?”
Brendel thought that these Druids really did not know how to interact with humans. What kind of guests come from afar and immediately dive straight into discussing serious matters without letting others rest first? This left an impression that was rather unfriendly.
However, he rather liked this style; otherwise, if he had to stay here for three days and then discuss serious matters slowly after dinner, it would probably take him half a month before he could enter the Loop of Trade Winds.
He did not have that much time to waste.
He thought for a moment and replied, “I only know a little about ancient magic, which does not mean I fully understand it, much less that I am proficient. As for the Black Forest along the Toniger border, I indeed know some inside information.”
“For instance, is the ruin in the forest indeed Valhalla?” A tall Druid asked.
“No,” Brendel glanced at the fellow and confirmed he was a Druid from the Beast Spirit Circle: “I only mentioned that Valhalla is within the Loop of Trade Winds; as for whether it’s that ruin—one can only say their locations are quite close.”
The Great Elder nodded, Brendel did not make grand statements, nor did he jump to conclusions, which made him feel somewhat credible. However, he did not respond, and the other Druids merely exchanged glances.
……
