Chapter 92
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Chapter 92: A Choice for You
When the elven elder asked this question, he had already prepared himself for death, with no trace of hope left in his heart.
As the head gardener, he knew better than anyone the immense value of the seed of the Tree of Life. Whoever obtained such a divine artifact—a treasure capable of founding a nation—would never allow others to know of its existence.
The dark elf, a true expert, had barely escaped with his life. But for low-level gardeners like himself, survival was impossible. The mere word "silencing" justified their fate.
He didn’t expect mercy from this calm-faced youth. He only prayed for a quick death without torment.
That’s why the elder asked a question that seemed pointless.
To his surprise, Midi smirked mockingly. "You’re seething with resentment, aren’t you?"
"You call yourselves adventurers, but you’re thieves," the elder replied flatly, beyond caring. "This was the Elven Kingdom, not some abandoned ruins. Only the Skyfire disaster turned it into your plundering ground. No excuses are needed."
The other Elves, sensing their doom, finally let their anger and hatred show.
Midi shook his head, sighing as he gazed at them with pity. "Thieves? Ridiculous. When did you Dawn Garden ‘gardeners’ start deluding yourselves that the Tree of Life was yours?"
The elder froze. All his righteous arguments crumbled.
True, the Dawn Garden managed the Tree. But when had they declared sole ownership? These Elves, born into generations of gardening, saw themselves as nobility—equal to royals, superior to others.
Yet when crisis struck, these level-twenty "gardeners" proved useless. They’d watched their Kingdom burn, the Tree of Life wither under Skyfire, until adventurers claimed it like meat on a chopping block.
"In the end, you’re just parasites clinging to the Tree," Midi said coldly, holding the magic-suppressing pouch. "How could weaklings like you deserve a divine artifact?" His tone shifted abruptly. "But it’s not too late. I’ll give you a choice."
The Elves blinked, hope flickering in their eyes. The air hung silent.
"What… choice?" The elder finally rasped, staring hard at Midi as if to pierce his thoughts.
"Leave the Dawn Garden. Swear loyalty to me." Midi’s voice stayed calm. "In return, you’ll live and gain power—no more parasitic existence."
Silence. Agony. Internal war. After exchanging gazes with his people, the elder nodded. "We accept your offer."
Proud Dawn Garden gardeners they were, ready to die nobly. Yet when life beckoned, none refused.
Midi understood—Death’s taste lingered on his tongue. He also knew the elder’s "loyalty" was a stall tactic. Alive, they might scheme to escape later.
But Midi wouldn’t allow it.
He summoned the colossal Star Cocoon with a pendant.
"The Star Cocoon?!" The elder gaped. He’d guessed Midi was some great noble or royal, but not even Belmar Duchy’s princes owned such a rare magical beast.
Noting the elder’s shock, Midi nodded. "Good—you recognize it. No explanations needed. Get in."
"When do we come out?" The elder laughed bitterly.
He’d planned to contact the Belmar Duchy’s Dawn Garden after leaving the Forest of Gran, maybe reconnect with Celia’s faction to escape captive status.
But the Star Cocoon crushed all hope.
The Star Cocoon not only contained vast internal space, but its main strength was being able to hold living beings. However, this required forcibly putting them into a dormant state.
By having the Elves enter the Star Cocoon, Midi essentially trapped them in hibernation. Their awakening—when it would happen, how many years might pass, or where they’d emerge—remained entirely uncertain.
The elven elder sighed deeply at the cunning glint in the young man’s eyes, resigning to fate.
To Midi, these "gardeners" were his second greatest prize after the seed of the Tree of Life, surpassing even the countless legacies within the Palace of Stars.
Securing them meant breaking the Dawn Garden’s millennia-long monopoly on knowledge.
With only the seed, Midi had been clueless about activating or planting it. His last resort would’ve been begging the Dawn Garden for help, surrendering half his hard-won spoils just to let them control the dragon vein’s domain in his future nation.
Now, everything changed. Midi could now build a nation with the Tree of Life and dragon vein, free from the Dawn Garden’s influence.
Touching the pendant on his chest, he mentally tallied his gains, feeling steadier.
These legacies wouldn’t guarantee victory in the Belmar Duchy’s looming civil war, but they secured his Undefeated Position.
The legacies would let him form the Hawk Brigade. The seed and gardeners meant his group could thrive even outside the duchy, carving their own path. That was true "undefeated"—a safety net in war and politics.
He pictured Fina and Alice’s shock when revealing the seed. Surely even the Queen of Magic and Mist Sorceress Alice had never seen such a treasure?
Their faces flashed in his memory, sharpening his longing.
Time to leave. Time to return.
One week later.
"Five kilometers to the Dark Thunder Ruins, then the Deadly Poison Ruins. We’ll exit the Forest of Gran soon!" Alyn chirped.
Midi nodded, relieved.
Their initial adventure had been an upstream struggle, the Palace battle a deadly gauntlet. Now, the return journey flowed smoothly—no risks, no surprises.
Before entering the Star Cocoon, the elven elder had surrendered everything from the elven king, including control of the Palace’s large formations. Using these, Midi located Odel’s group—still dodging Blood Blade Corps elites in the Palace—and teleported them out, blindsiding the enemy.
Without a level 45 expert leading them, the elites crumbled instantly. Morning Star and Mountain Wolf chased the remnants, crushing the Blood Blade Mercenary Corps stationed in Satellite City.
The adventure’s outcome was settled.
The Iron Blood Mercenary Corps, stuck circling Satellite City, never reached the core—a mixed blessing.
With Midi taking the seed, the dying Tree of Life severed its last ties. The dragon vein beneath the Palace fractured with a roaring sound, collapsing into the abyss and leaving only ruins.
In his past life, Midi had assumed these ruins resulted from the Skyfire meteor strike. Even the Morning Star Mercenary Corps, first to loot the Palace of Stars, hadn’t known better.
Now, after witnessing the Branch of Yggdrasil’s final moments, he understood the buried truth.
Through strength, grit, and luck, Midi had won.
He’d shared rewards fairly: the Morning Star Mercenary Corps earned their due, while Mountain Wolf Mercenary Group prospered from Kelvin’s shrewd decision.
For mercenaries, magic and skills trumped rare materials. Since these weren’t consumables, copies were distributed freely—satisfying all.
With arrangements complete, Midi’s thoughts turned to the Belmar Duchy, Fina, and Alice.
Others, however, faced harder choices.
Was it time to part ways?
Staring at Midi’s retreating figure and bird’s-nest hair, Odel felt a dull ache in her chest.
