Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton-Chapter 487 - 287 Cutting the Tree, Cutting the Tree of Life_2

The parasitic vine, along with most of the vines, relies on other plants for growth. This symbiotic relationship is common in forests. Why would a harmless parasitic vine care?

Who knew that this vine is not a vine at all, and most of the insects are parasitized as well.

Thinking back, the wilting disease I had was probably because of these vines and insects. They excessively drained my life force. The Insect Ash was effective against them, which is why the condition was alleviated.

If it wasn't for Ange's discovery, and the continued parasitism, one day, they would drain me dry and I would fall ill with the wilting disease again.

The Tree of Life was just too large, the feelings were somewhat dull. When it concentrated, it sensed everything on its body in minute detail. But it was too late, the vine had entirely fused with its body and could no longer be removed by conventional means.

Everyone could feel the sense of relief coming from the Tree of Life: "It is not that, the forests, simply forests, are homes for myriad creatures, and I am just one of them, only bigger."

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all parts of life, and I am no exception. The day death comes is inevitable. When a big tree falls, the little grass under its feet will grow even more luxuriant."

"In this world, there is not just one Tree of Life. I am not a solitary creature. Younger life will continue to grow alongside them."

Gailard's eyes reddened instantly as these words hit her heart. Indeed, the Tree of Life did not usually interact with them, but all the elves could always feel its care during their growth. Although it did not speak, it was always there beside everyone.

Yet the words of the Tree of Life seemed to hint at leaving everyone. Could the enemy be really this strong? Was there no other solution?

Before Gailard could become emotional, Negris started to curse, not buying into the Tree of Life's rhetoric: "What part of nature? Pah! If the insects gnaw the forest clean, would that also be part of nature? Then why don't you remove the barrier and let them gnaw away?"

Mattis agreed wholeheartedly, "Yes, yes, why not?"

"I've been sick of your crap for a long time. Elves pick your fruits but don't let the seeds be dispersed, you say it's part of nature. Insects gnaw you, and you say it's part of nature. Then if forests become deserts, and all insects, fish, birds, and beasts die out, can that also be part of nature? Why can't you just go with the flow?"

Negris cursed without noticing that Gailard had already changed her expression drastically and was deeply shocked.

From a young age, she had been educated never to let the seeds of the Tree of Life escape, to prevent other species from also having a Tree of Life. For her, this had already become a natural, undoubtable belief.

When Ange grew the World Tree, it took a long time for the elves to adjust mentally, accepting this reality due to the condition of the Tree of Life. But the seeds were still not allowed to spread.

But Negris' words made her suddenly realize a problem. Did they ever ask for the tree's consent? No elf had ever asked that, they hadn't even considered the question. On what basis did they decide if the seeds of the Tree of Life were allowed to spread?

Thinking of this, Gailard suddenly remembered the words constantly spoken by Kael'danil recently: the Tree of Life does not like elves. Now she understood why the Tree of Life did not like elves. Who would like a species that obstructs its seeds?

"My God, what have we all done?" Gailard muttered absentmindedly.

Negris continued shouting: "Let me tell you, I've lived for more than ten thousand years, and out of all those I once knew, you're the only one still alive. You mustn't die. Stay alive for me. We'll find a way to save you. You just need to cooperate. We have the God of Farming who's good at transforming nature."

Without waiting for the God of Life to reply slowly, he directly asked Ange, "What should we do? Is there a way to save it?"

Ange pointed with his big hand: "Cut it down."

"What? Cut the vine? There are too many, can we cut them all?" Negris asked.

"No, cut the tree," said Ange.

After saying this, Ange left a footprint and stretched out both his hands towards the Tree of Life.

The Instant Death Halo activated at the same time a row of exploding fireballs swept past, hitting the Tree of Life.

The vines wrapped around the tree trunk bore the brunt of the blast and were blown into flying debris.

Gailard panicked and called out loudly, "Lord Ange, no..."

Before she finished speaking, the voice of the Tree of Life suddenly echoed in her ear: "Listen to him..."

Gailard swallowed hard, her face turning red as she struggled to suppress her emotions.

Listen to Ange? Even if Ange was targeting the Tree of Life, were they supposed to obey him?

However, this command was issued directly by the Tree of Life. If the Tree of Life was the God of the elves, this was divine command. Was she going to violate it?

Gailard was stuck in a paradox: if God asked you to hack it down, should you comply?

The magic of second-level explosive fireballs was raining down on the trunk of the Tree like a chain of fire, cutting the vines down faster than they could regrow.

After the vines were cleared, the exploding fireballs hit directly against the trunk of the Tree of Life, splintering wood and quickly hollowing out a large hole.

"You're serious? You really want to destroy the Tree of Life!?" Negris couldn't help but cry out. He initially thought Ange was bluffing, but upon reflection, Ange was the last person to bluff—he probably did indeed want to chop down the Tree.

The vines had already fused with the Tree of Life. If the Tree of Life was not destroyed, it would be impossible to eliminate these vines fully. From this perspective, Ange's actions seemed reasonable.

Now it was Mattis' turn to panic. He atttacked Ange with the lashing vines.

Ange's eyes focused on the vine, ready to adjust his explosive fireball.

At that moment, a slash of sword light descended and shattered the thick vines. There was Gailard, standing in front of Ange, biting her teeth and saying, "Giant Dragon Hunter, Gallardia, I obey your command, Lord Ange."

Given the paradox, Gailard had chosen to follow the divine command.

Negris noticed her expression and couldn't help but ask, "Is this hard for you?"

With a blush on her face, Gailard admitted, "For some reason, I feel suddenly hungry."

Looking at footprints on the ground, Negris didn't feel hungry though; inside the aura's range, a few minutes would equal a whole day.

But with an unseen wave of command, all bugs changed their direction and swarmed towards the Tree of Life.

The legion of bugs had eaten everything in sight within the boundary, their sheer numbers making them look like a turbulent sea.

Ange managed to make some time to pull out a few pieces of candied beets for Gailard. As soon as she bite into them, Gailard's eyes grew wide.

All the bugs in the forest suddenly went mad. Some chewed on flowers, trees, birds, beasts, fish; some had hit the protective shield; some gnawed at corpses of their own kind on the ground.

But with an unseen wave of command, all bugs changed their direction and swarmed towards the Tree of Life.

The legion of bugs had eaten everything in sight within the boundary, their sheer numbers making them look like a turbulent sea.

The white fog had quietly disappeared at some point, leaving the bugs free to rush to the base of the Tree, entering into the Instant Death Halo's zone.

As they flew, the bugs dived to the ground one by one and died without warning after flying some distance.

"What is happening, what is happening? Why are my children suddenly dying?" Mattis called out in panic.

However, some of the newborn bugs lived long enough to cross the zone of the Instant Death Halo and land on Ange's body.

Ange opened his mouth without turning his head, releasing rhythmic bursts of Soul Impact.

The Bone Priest had used this technique against Hemel's bugs. Ange's soul was far stronger than the Bone Priest. Under the impact of the soul, the tiny bugs exploded in clusters.

Nearly all of the bugs could not survive the Instant Death Halo and Soul Impact, and the vines that lashed out could not break through Gailard's longsword. The ongoing exploding fireballs hit the trunk and a question arose: would the Tree of Life be destroyed first or would Ange run out of magic power first?

The question lingered until the Tree of Life caught fire, becoming a towering torch reaching into the sky.