Chapter 483: Act 231 – The City of Trees (2)
The World Tree grew to about ten meters in radius and then stopped growing. Its vast crown spread out around it, coming to rest as if it had taken centuries to develop, each layer of emerald green leaves overlapping and merging with the surrounding forest, creating a tranquil whole. Rays of golden light streamed through the leaves like swords, and Brendel looked up to see the green veins on each leaf clearly visible, as if a network of jade-colored blood vessels spread across the entire canopy.
An ancient tree quietly sat at the center of an ancient and arcane magical circle—
Romaine was simply stunned, and the Business Lady stared wide-eyed in surprise, seemingly letting out a short ‘ah—’ sound. Xi, behind her, could not help but widen her amber eyes as well; since following Brendel, she had encountered many bizarre events, and this strong-willed ponytailed girl had more or less developed a certain composure. Therefore, her eyes only held a hint of disbelief at this moment.
Medisa, formerly the youngest princess of the Silver Elves, displayed a slightly calmer demeanor. At least she maintained a degree of modesty befitting the People of Silver, though her eyes sparkled with intrigue.
Only Miss Flour, the sister of the Wild Elves, retained her perennial poker face. It was not so much her personality as it was her role as part of the wayfarer’s entire set of rules—unlike Medisa, who later became a ‘Knight’, her experience was far greater. Having undergone more unbelievable things, even the sight of a real World Tree growing before her now seemed less shocking.
“Brendel, did you just plant a seed?!” The first to speak up was Little Romaine, her expression on the Business Lady’s face reflecting confusion mixed with eager curiosity, seemingly believing that Brendel had done something remarkable again. “How did a tree grow like this, and so quickly! Am I dreaming? Brendel, pinch me!”
Brendel shot her a glare and snapped back to reality. The Business Lady’s way of thinking was always beyond the comprehension of a normal person, much like when Buche first encountered the undead of Madara and expressed her fear with, “Brendel, are they going to eat us?” Her curiosity often manifested in exclamations like, “Wow, how amazing, Brendel!”
“This is the World Tree, isn’t it?” Medisa turned to ask, a glint of reason flashing in the silver of her eyes without jumping to conclusions. “Lord?”
“No, rather—” Brendel looked up at the tree, which could be described as ‘huge’, shaking his head.
This tree, rather than being a World Tree, seemed more accurately described as ‘a town shaded beneath a massive canopy’. In some respects, it indeed resembled the World Tree of Valhalla, with its expansive canopy and intricate roots, almost like a miniature model. Yet this tree spread wide at the top, and even beneath it, one could see a large platform above.
It was more fitting to refer to it as a square under the vast shade of a tree.
The brown trunk formed towering walls, protecting a plaza above, with finer branches growing along the edges weaving into railings or handrails. From a standard military perspective, it could be seen as a battlement or a parapet.
In summary, this tree had become a small natural fortress—
“It looks like a castle; it’s beautiful…” Xi gazed dreamily at the tree, or rather, this little castle, resembling the forest castle described in fairy tales where sleeping princesses resided, with dreamlike lush colors. Even though the red-haired girl had tied her long hair back like a true mountain dweller, taking up a long spear to fight, she occasionally longed for the days of dreaming about fairy tales.
After all, compared to this, she preferred to be just an ordinary girl from a common family, entitled to the right to dream. Of course, if Lord Brendel were willing to gift her such a castle… ah, Xi couldn’t help but get a bit lost in thought.
Romaine had already started circling around the tree; it was evident she wanted to climb it. After a while, this cute girl discovered something exciting: “There’s a ladder here, Brendel!”
Behind the ancient tree indeed was a ladder, as if welcoming guests—or rather, welcoming its master—a spiral staircase that descended from the treetop. It grew naturally from vines clinging to the trunk, yet it appeared neither coarse nor rough, resembling something woven by hand—exquisite and beautiful.
Each step was perfectly spaced, and upon first glance at the ladder, one could tell that walking up would require no effort. Furthermore, it exuded a warm feeling, dispelling any doubts of it being a trap.
“Shall we go up?” The Business Lady looked up, her beautiful bangs sliding to the sides to reveal a smooth forehead beneath; she blinked and asked Brendel.
Brendel glanced at the others.
Having developed a habit from past games, he instinctively sought the opinions of his teammates, even though here, aside from him, there likely wasn’t any ‘player’. The quiet Silver Elf princess, though very disagreeable, would not defy his commands, while the Wild Elf sister—now also serving as his inseparable head maid—was a recognized subordinate. Even Little Romaine and the mercenary girl Xi, who followed his every whim, were part of the group headed by him.
Brendel quickly realized the habitual error he had made and couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head; after all, habits from games couldn’t be changed overnight.
The elf princess noticed the lord’s embarrassment and smiled gently: “We elves are very sensitive to the essence of nature; this tree gives me a feeling of closeness. But it’s not merely spontaneous; it feels like ‘home’, as if it is inviting us up.”
“Yeah, I actually have that feeling too,” Brendel nodded, though his words were not entirely true. For him, the connection to this tree felt more like a subordinate relationship because the city core he planted was bound to him, leaving him with a vague sense that he could control everything he saw, even commanding the staircase.
This feeling was so strong that Brendel could not help but give a mental command. “Retract.” He commanded, and a soft rustling sound followed—miraculously, the naturally drooping vine ladder actually retracted, as if the vines had come to life, withdrawing to become just another plant clinging to the trunk.
“Ah.” Romaine yelped in surprise, quickly hiding behind Brendel.
“You can command it?” Medisa asked in astonishment.
Brendel nodded, feeling curious himself, but this curiosity was tinged with a foreboding suspicion. If this suspicion proved true, then everything would indeed be astonishing.
“Let’s go take a look,” he said immediately.
At this point, everyone was somewhat drawn in by curiosity; even the expressionless Flour couldn’t help but carefully observe the re-descending vine ladder. The ladder was sturdy, and as expected, the group climbed up the spiral without much effort, as if the ancient tree were lifting them. Soon, everyone had reached the top of the trunk.
In front of them appeared a circular small plaza, enveloped in lush shade. The plaza stretched about a hundred steps from one end to the other, wider than they had imagined. Surprisingly, the ground was paved with stone slabs instead of wood, and a small fountain stood at the center, the water glimmering with shiny pebbles at its base. On one side of the plaza, there was a hall, constructed in the style reminiscent of the elves’ houses, with a pure wooden structure formed by arches, creating a fantasy-like design.
Everyone was stunned.
“This… the city hall.” Medisa recognized the architecture, incredulity flashing across her eyes for the first time: “Could it be that this tree itself is a magical town?”
“You might be right…” Brendel felt as if he had been struck by a colossal surprise.
It was exactly as such; originally he had merely suspected, but upon seeing the hall, he was convinced—Valhalla was a tree, a living city—a city that could grow naturally, needing no human expansion, its branches and leaves sheltering the entire territory, and the city itself was a whole, making defense significantly easier.
So cool!
This was definitely the territory Brendel had long dreamed of; although Valhalla was still small, only about thirty meters from one side of the ancient trunk to the other, it already exhibited the form of a magical town. In the city hall, Brendel saw the complete map of Valhalla. The map was presented on a wooden platform at the center of the hall—or rather, it resembled a natural tree stump, from which a crystal grew, and the entire structure of Valhalla was projected inside this crystal—it was hollow, with stairs leading down from all four sides of the plaza into the hollow branches of the ancient tree.
Below was divided into numerous rooms, seeming to serve as both the living quarters and natural storage for the town’s inhabitants. Brendel discovered that this area could be entirely transformed into a barracks, or perhaps its original intent was indeed so.
Additionally, there was a downward passage in the town hall, connecting to three rooms on the lowest level of the trunk; each of these rooms housed a natural magic pool—these magic pools were linked to the ground via the ancient tree’s sprawling roots, allowing for a continuous supply of magic. Such rooms were called nests of magic, serving as the dwelling place while also transformable into crystal pools or alchemical laboratories (wizard towers).
“Three magic pools!” Medisa gazed at the holographic map in shock: “Even such a small magical town can only be considered a basic territory!?”
“Basic territory? What’s that?” The other girls looked back at the elven princess in confusion.
……
(PS: A few days ago this area was undergoing network maintenance, so I didn’t update; it seems the nearby internet cafes couldn’t connect either, so I didn’t notify on QQ. It looks like there are about 3-4 chapters missing; combined with the rewards, I’ll make it up with 5 chapters—though completing all in a single day isn’t realistic, I’ll do 2 updates over several days to keep it steady.
Also, I apologize for the few days of absence; it was truly beyond my control. As a cat would say, I was leading a group when it dropped—so embarrassing, I am on my knees.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please feel free to recommend vote and monthly vote on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation.)
