Although Byron hadn’t heard the complete intelligence, from the level of historical impact involved he could at least tell one thing.

The Heretical Cult probably wasn’t here specifically for him—or rather, not just for him. They clearly had a target of much higher value.

As long as he wasn’t the tallest guy in the crowd, there was still room to muddle along and fish in troubled waters.

"They really picked the worst time to come. The operation to seize the Kalmar Union’s Crown has only just begun.

If I already had the North Sea Empire’s Crown in my hand, how could I possibly give them the chance to defeat us one by one? I’d be launching a proactive strike right now and dragging them out like stray dogs to beat them to death."

At this moment, the deer-headed, human-bodied [Bizarre Nature’s Wrath], after being riddled with countless Whale Oil Bullets until it was full of holes, had its head chopped off in one mighty swing when the Marquis of Neville invoked the Law.

Rumble...

More oak trees burst madly from its corpse, swelling into a vast oak forest.

A few more soldiers couldn’t dodge in time and were swept into it, and in the blink of an eye became part of the forest.

At the same time, countless green motes of light drifted out from the acorns, like fireflies, carried far away on the wind, merging into trees, rocks, rivers... and other natural things, disappearing from sight.

A few [Oak Sages] also saw what was happening over there, but only said coldly:

"A single [Wrath of Nature] is only the beginning of reshaping this land. Very soon, more and more Nature Spirits will be born here, leaving Humans running themselves ragged.

Nature has its own hierarchy. Lofty trees enjoy better sunlight, while the greatest value of lowly weeds is to rot and become fertilizer for the tall trees.

Only by following the law of the weak being meat for the strong can Nature flourish and prosper.

And the weak deserve to be bullied and trampled by the strong.

This is the Way of Nature!

Humans are the same. Those at the bottom only need to obediently follow the commands of those above, contributing their meager Power. Only then can the upper levels grow strong and the world be stable.

And we of the Druid Church are the crown of all the tall trees."

Byron heard this and sneered inwardly:

"No one gets to stay high above forever. The waxing and waning of all things is also a natural law.

Remnants of an era that’s already been eliminated really shouldn’t be over here imitating the winner’s victory speech.

When the day comes that you’re the weeds at the bottom, being ground under someone else’s heel, I Hope you can still remember what you said today and obediently rot away, contributing your ’value’."

He decided in his heart to keep them under surveillance for now; once he’d followed the vine back to the root and obtained key information, it wouldn’t be too late to deal with them.

After the Kingdom’s reinforcements did a bit of cleanup, they formed up in neat ranks to lay flowers and observe a moment of silence for those who had died in this incident.

Then...

[Wild Hunt Servant] Herman led the Mad Hunt Legion to drag out of the trees all those victims who had just been eaten and hadn’t yet been fully assimilated by the oaks.

Although they definitely couldn’t remain any longer in the Material World, his cousin Edward’s United Pharmaceutical Company at the Edge of the World could take them on seamlessly.

By the time Byron sent his Ravens back here, the HR staff of United Pharmaceutical were already on-site, processing their onboarding paperwork.

The money they hadn’t finished spending while alive would still be recognized down below; they could keep spending it after they got there.

Their property in the Mortal World could also be swapped across Yin and Yang through the Kingdom’s welfare system, worry-free all the way.

It was downright humane.

Byron didn’t show himself. He merely used his [Underworld Authority] in secret to mark, one by one, all the Nature Spirits that the Oak Sages had hastened into being. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Other people’s Laws had no right to rule the "earth," but he did!

He folded them into the Golden Law to bolster his surveillance network, setting up his own "Sky Net" here as if in a colonial land where All Things Have Spirit.

Not only could it be turned around to monitor external enemies, it could also serve as an absolutely selfless inspection and oversight unit, constantly purifying the ruling system.

From this angle, these [Oak Sages] weren’t entirely useless.

Besides, before the Steam Battleships were launched, Heavy Cruisers still needed to be built, and that required a steady supply of high-quality... oak.

[Oak Sages] this useful were basically born to be slaves chosen by Heaven.

"You killed my people, wrecked my machines, and you still want to ride on everyone’s head and act like tyrants?

Sooner or later I’ll let you understand what a ’Blessing of 007’ from a conscientious entrepreneur really means!"