This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 146

In the heart of the oak forest, ancient power surged back to life.

Summoning the forest guardians was a laborious task; the innate constraints of plant life made them less dynamic than animals.

Matthew's forest was still young. In natural circumstances, producing oak guardians would take centuries.

However, the presence of the fairy princess broke this limitation.

Lysanna's incantation drew power not from the floral realms but from an inner plane—the "Multiverse Tree Sea."

The Tree Sea served as the birthplace of all flora across multiple universes.

The inner plane corresponded to the outer ones, yet it remained more covert, concealed within the starry expanse.

Druids considered entering the Tree Sea the highest honor and the pinnacle of their lifetime endeavors.

In the myths of the Enlightenment Age, even the gods lacked the qualifications to access the Tree Sea, except for one who became the deity of nature and another who was the god of travelers.

But both are currently incarcerated in the Tian Lun Palace.

The Tree Sea served as the ultimate destination for all plants in the druidic understanding. Every fallen leaf's ultimate fate was the Tree Sea, where, called by mysterious forces, their "souls" as plants ascended.

In summary, the Tree Sea was undoubtedly sacred and enigmatic for plants.

Harnessing the power of the Tree Sea was exceedingly rare, a gift only possessed by fairy princesses born from its depths.

Matthew had long known Lysanna hailed from the Tree Sea. Given the scale of his oak forest, birthing oak fairies was improbable without this source.

Hence, Matthew decisively asked Lysanna to summon the oak guardians.

Lysanna didn't disappoint. After the enchantment, four oak trees in the forest awakened as oak guardians—a ratio beyond belief.

More exhilarating for Matthew, alongside the oaks' stirring, a fleeting temporal fissure appeared before them.

A sturdy figure emerged—a centaur.

"May I serve the Princess," he bowed to Lysanna.

He was a male centaur!

Obeest, the Centaur Treekeeper (LV18), spurred by Princess Lysanna's call, had left the Tree Sea to follow her.

Obeest boasted a robust upper body, his thick mane and beard fused into a reddish-brown visage. His weapon was a spear, complemented by natural magic.

As a treekeeper, Obeest instinctively tended to the forest, meticulously inspecting and nurturing each tree daily.

The treekeeper's nature allowed him to gain XP as the forest expanded—larger the forest, greater his gains.

"I'm not the forest's owner," Lysanna shyly interjected as she darted behind Matthew, who had resumed his human form. "Matthew is."

Obeest regarded Matthew solemnly. "Necromancer?"

Matthew extended his right hand, activating the Undead Domain. Obeest's disdain turned to astonishment.

"Impossible! You command both the 'Undead' and 'Oak'?" Obeest was taken aback. "Aren't you afraid of repeating Death God's second son's mistakes?"

"What mistake?" Matthew inquired.

Obeest recounted, "Death God's second son, Maibalon, attempted to fuse death and nature domains. He nearly drove himself insane, almost perishing due to this folly! The Multiverse Tree Sea also suffered injuries near Maibalon's scars, where many elves work tirelessly to mend the damage."

Matthew felt a sinking feeling. Trying to forcibly merge two grand domains wasn't an easy feat. Failure was unsurprising; just because others failed didn't mean he would.

"I lack Maibalon's noble heritage or ambitions to merge two domains. I walk the path of balance and transformation," Matthew declared. "I am a necromancer, yet every oak in this forest is my planting. If you mind my identity, leaving now is an option. But I hope you stay."

Obeest remained expressionless. "I choose to stay, trusting the Princess's choice. But if I find discrepancies, I reserve the right to leave."

With that, Obeest knelt, touching his forehead to the ground—a gesture of respect.

"You gained a follower, 'Centaur Treekeeper Obeest'! Your racial affinity +1 (Centaur). Obeest will reside in the oak forest. Prepare a spacious treehouse for him."

Your oak forest gains the trait: 'Friend of Small Animals.'

Friend of Small Animals: Centaurs are naturally welcomed by all small animals. Attracted by Obeest, your oak forest will soon host several small creatures.

Fulfilling Obeest's request was effortless. Without Lysanna or Matthew intervening, he began constructing a treehouse using spells.

Meanwhile, the four awakened oak guardians approached.

To Matthew's surprise, one of them was a Treant! Oak guardians were the manifestation of awakened oak spirits, resembling treefolk but more potent.

Matthew quickly assessed. Each regular oak guardian had six abilities:

1. Catapult: Provided appropriately sized stones, they served as natural catapults.

Effective Range: 150-180 meters

Firing Rate: 1 every 30 seconds

2. Power Charge: They could root and charge, accelerating toward enemies at three times their usual speed.

3. Malicious Binding: They summoned vines to entangle foes, a natural spell equivalent to a fourth-tier Group Vine Spell. Twice per day per oak guardian.

4. Weight Crush: Doubling their weight, they could crush enemies in close combat. Current weight: 1 ton, max: 2 tons.

5. Sighing Tree Wall: Two or more guardians could merge into a tree wall, boasting high innate armor and 10% damage reduction.

6. Radiant Sprite Nests: Each oak guardian harbored 10-50 Radiant Sprites that aided in sowing, nurturing, pest control, and simple construction tasks.

A comprehensive set of abilities—ranged, melee, defensive, and a construction crew—the Radiant Sprites, a race of creatures.

They resembled fuzzy light spheres, feeling sponge-like to touch, always preferring collective actions.

However, they lacked individual intellect and only operated as a collective under commands.

They weren't just the cheapest forest workers but also the "previous lives" of all fairy creatures, including high-ranking ones like Wood Nymphs or Night Sprites.

Legend among fairies stated that based on their efforts, they'd be reborn in different forms—lazy Radiant Sprites would become minor fairies, diligent ones could ascend to greater fairies or Wood Nymphs, and the laziest could be reborn as druids.

Matthew had heard this legend before. It motivated most Radiant Sprites to toil tirelessly, accumulating blessings for their next lives.

Three ordinary oak guardians were LV14, while the Treant-transformed oak guardian was an astounding LV16.

Evidently, the absorption of Tree Sea power had caused its mutation, granting additional abilities:

1. Bloodthirst: After consuming sufficient quality blood, the Treant guardian's agility and strength increased by one, gaining a 'Frenzy Aura.' Aura duration: 60 minutes, cooldown: 24 hours.

2. Predator's Wall: The Treant could camouflage as a tree wall, lurking among Sighing Tree Walls, waiting to ambush foes.

A remarkable array of abilities. Matthew contemplated the significance of these newfound powers for his oak forest.

In addition, Matthew discovered that the Man-Eating Tree Guardians had a much faster lateral movement speed than the Oak Guardians. His appearance greatly enriched the defensive tactics of the Oak Guardians and compensated for the slow lateral movement speed of the Oak Guardians. The only thing that bothered Matthew was that he had to find a way to teach this fellow not to eat people. As the owner of the Oak Forest, the Oak Guardians naturally obeyed Matthew directly. But just born, they were similar to the undead and could only execute the simplest commands. Deep communication was impossible. Matthew and the Man-Eating Tree Guardian engaged in several rounds of friendly interaction. In the end, Matthew decided to hang a sign on him— "I am a Man-Eating Tree, come close and be eaten!"

"After this, I'll have to figure out his appetite and feed him blood regularly," Matthew thought. After some emotional bonding with the Oak Guardians, Matthew asked Lulu, "Can you turn me into a fairy at any time?" Lulu replied, "Only in this Oak Forest, and the transformation duration won't exceed six hours. My transformation only infuses part of my own power into you. If you want to fully wield the power of the scepter and crown, you must become a true fairy."

She obviously sensed Matthew's thoughts. Matthew shook his head regretfully. The attributes of the Princess set were just too good, but he could only use them in fairy form. Lulu's transformation couldn't fully activate their power. It seemed that he needed to master the true transformation into a small fairy! "Even if I turn into a fairy, due to my limited mastery of nature spells, it won't have much effect," Matthew said. "On the contrary, the soul form has some potential. I have the 'Soul Projection' ability, but it's too dangerous."

Matthew carefully stored away the obtained Princess set. Then they both conducted the 'Forest Enemy' ritual. The purpose of this ritual was to communicate with the will of nature and identify the potential threats to this forest. The ritual itself wasn't complicated, but it consumed a lot of energy from the host. Matthew was worried about Lulu's endurance, but she stubbornly insisted that she could handle it. At that moment, with Lulu in the lead and Matthew supporting, they laid out a circle of leaves on the ground, with Matthew standing in the center. Lulu began communicating with the will of nature. Under the moonlight, her crown shimmered brightly, and a crisp, low hum echoed. Matthew activated the Oak Domain to lighten Lulu's burden. Soon after, a powerful magic surged into Matthew's eyes, and countless clouds obscured his vision. A voice whispered in his ear, "Are you tracking the enemies of the forest?" "Yes!" Matthew loudly replied. "Southwest, 120 kilometers, not on the ground, but in the clouds," the voice said matter-of-factly. In an instant, the clouds in front of Matthew dispersed rapidly. He saw a single vine hanging down from the sky, neither knowing where it led nor where it came from. There was a vaguely visible platform on the vine, with some small houses on it. Several figures were moving around the doorways. Matthew couldn't see clearly. When he tried to rub his eyes for a better view, the scene vanished rapidly. However, his mind gained a vague coordinate. This coordinate didn't provide specific directional cues, but no matter where Matthew was, he could sense that scene and its relative direction. "It's in the northwest!" "That's towards Torrent City!"

"Hint: You've discovered the temporary camp of the Withering Cult, Cloud Inn! Cloud Inn: A hunting cabin built by Cloud Sprites, currently suspected of being abandoned and used as a gathering place for the Withered Ones."

"Well, that's something. It's up in the sky. No wonder Eli's dog nose didn't react at all," Matthew guessed. The white cat wasn't a Withered One; the true Withered Ones were hiding, most likely communicating over long distances in some way. This wasn't simple. But considering the Midnight God's involvement with the Natural Disaster Sect, it wasn't surprising for the Withering Cult to have a true god as an ally. Matthew stared towards the northwest without making any hasty moves. This was an excellent opportunity to exterminate the Withered Ones. He had to prepare thoroughly and then give it his all. He had to wipe out all the pests who dared to eye his Oak Forest!

The next morning, Matthew went to the Lord's Mansion to discuss the matter of exterminating the Withering Cult with Reiga and Zeller. However, as soon as he entered, he encountered Lolan. The latter looked exhausted. As soon as he saw Matthew, he somewhat dejectedly said, "Matthew, I'm here to bid you farewell." Surprised, Matthew asked, "Are you leaving now? Won't you stay a few more days? Wait, didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to take Eli out to see the world?" Lolan sighed, "I was just about to tell you that it's because of Eli that I've decided to leave early— I was planning to leave anyway. You've even gotten Eckmonde out of the Far North Floating City; what big things can happen in Rolling Stone Town? I plan to try my luck in Highleaf Territory, maybe catch one or two big news pieces."

Curiously, Matthew asked, "What happened to Eli?" Lolan said, "Yesterday, I took him to the Sweetheart Tavern. Although he hesitated, I successfully persuaded him. Also, to provoke the Withering Cult's undercover agent, I asked Eli to bring the white cat to the brothel." Matthew frowned, "Isn't that a bit too much?" Lolan glanced at him askance, "From what I know, you seem to do this kind of thing often." Matthew coughed lightly and changed the subject, "What happened later? Was he unwilling to go in?" Lolan helplessly said, "That's right, but with my eloquence and charm, I finally persuaded him. He went into the room of a woman named Lily." Matthew asked, "Who's Lily?" Lolan replied, "She's the top girl at the Sweetheart Tavern. You don't need to worry about who she is; you just need to know she's doing well. Unless you also want to arrange something, then I can tell you about her physical features and her usual working hours." Matthew shook his head, "And then what happened?" Lolan said, "I tricked Eli into Lily's room, along with the white cat. At first, it was quiet inside, but not long after, I heard Lily's giggles. I thought everything was fine, so I left to find some fun for myself. But an hour later, when I returned to Lily's room, I heard laughter inside! I realized something was wrong and immediately pushed open the door. Guess what I saw— I saw two cats, one white and one black, frolicking on Lily's bed. They were playing and having a great time. And Lily was there, amusing herself with the cats. She seemed overjoyed!"

"So, my judgment about the druids is correct. They play wild. Even with a naked beauty nearby, he insisted on playing with the little female cat all night. What else

can it be but a special preference? Afterward, Lily told me she has professional ethics and was planning to seduce Eli. But she couldn't get amorous with a small cat; she just couldn't do it!!!" With a sigh, Lolan said, "I admit I was boasting, Matthew. I've never seen a guy like Eli. I thought he was just infatuated with youth, but he really has a problem. I can't change his mindset without hurting him. Now it seems like he's only interested in any female other than that little white cat. You'd better tell him the truth soon; otherwise, he'll get deeper into this mess. And it'll hurt him the most."

At that moment, Reiga, in his pajamas, walked over. He was very interested in the conversation between the two and asked, "Who are you talking about? Some lovesick teenager?" "Hurry up and tell me; no one understands how to solve these boys' problems better than me."

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