The Hive was located deep inside the mountain. Around the mountain, there were dense forests that could even withstand the effect of Contaminated Soil. It was thanks to the nearby Sacred Tree that the forest could take form.
The Queen did not rest after her defeat. She tried to gain any advantage she could but the three races sought to close the door to her victory. They destroyed Nests and Lairs one after another, realizing the long-term threat.
Her grounds were taken and even the Elves’ Sacred Tree could do nothing to stop the Cerulean Defense Force.
She understood the language the three races had spoken but not their way of strategizing, nor the cards they had.
“They are right on my doorstep. Looks like I need to put my all into this despite the inevitable defeat. Is this how the defeated race that I encountered feels?” The Queen was sitting on the flesh throne that connected to the Hive and had a fearful expression on her face.
During the nine months of trying to gain some advantage, she had found out that the three races were determined to take the entire territory of the Glings and eradicate its effect.
But it as quickly countered by something that some people called Bio Weapon. That was the weapon that could turn every Gling it touched unable to live for a few minutes longer. So there were no evolution to be gained from being exposed to such a thing.
It was a sad reality that the Glings needed to survive to adapt to whatever life threw at them. The fact that the Bio Weapon was so effective became the thing that the three races used against her.
Furthermore, the swarm tactic that the Gling was so proud of became ineffective. If she were truly deployed it in full, it would become a nutrition for the Undead Race to grow stronger and she did not want that.
That was why she often sent Glings tide in one direction, managing to halt the advance of the Cerulean Defense Force. But all they needed was to spread the serum on the large Gling tide to end it. Otherwise, they would use the Bio Weapon before cleaning it using transcendents or Undead Race.
This caused a deadlock in the Queen’s plan and made her doom almost certain. But with the development of the Star Battle and the failure to sever the supply line of her enemies, she could not stop the progress of the three races.
“Call every Gling from the rest of the territory here! Strengthened the defensive structures around the Hive!” the Queen pronounced her intent while relaying it through the Hive Mind, being received by the Glings under her.
They quickly executed her order with high efficiency while the Queen looked at the distance, as if seeing the Cerulean Defense Force already there, prepared to march on.
“I have done my best but it is not enough.” The Queen finally lamented.
-
On the Central Sacred Tree, where the Elf King resided, were the other chiefs from the other eleven Sacred Trees. They had successfully retreated with most of their people but that caused some problems for their population.
“Your Majesty, we are currently in need of consumables like food and drink. If this situation persists, I am afraid that the Elf race will be struck with a great disaster.” One of the chiefs said this with a pleading tone.
The others were also knowledgeable enough to know about this potential issue.
Sybil was sitting on the wooden crafted throne which was directly connected to the roots of the Sacred Tree as he looked around and saw that everyone had a concerned look on their faces. In fact, he knew the source of the problem but solving it was another matter.
“Calm down.” Sybil said while raising his hand, indicating for the rest of the chiefs.
“We are still here to discuss this important matter. First of all, we need to find either a way to multiply our crop yields or to reduce our consumption. But you all thought that the former is more preferable.”
The chiefs nodded their head. Their numbers were already few even for a race. If they reduced it even more, there was a chance of facing potential extinction.
“Our available fighters are reduced due to the ongoing Star Battle so I know that for their families, this is hard to accept. But we lack time and resources to handle the matter at hand.” Sybil continued.
“But if we use the Sacred Trees as a weapon, we may be able to turn the tide of battle.” One radical chief let out his voice to be heard.
“True but the Queen and the Metamorphic God won’t allow us to do it. They’d rather create another transcendent being in their ranks than waste it on something that the enemies will easily destroy.” Sybil replied.
“But we have confirmed that the three races don’t destroy the occupied Sacred Trees.”
“The Sacred Trees have fallen into the enemy’s hands. Trying to retake it through the connections between its roots proved to be easily prevented and even if it is allowed, do you think they won’t prepare to let whoever enters to become their prisoners?” Sybil added.
The rest went silent because that plausibility was the highest.
“Whatever the case, we have to do our best.”
Sybil then discussed other matters related to the deployment of the rest of their forces. Everyone knew that a battle to take the Hive was imminent and that was why the Queen ordered the Elf King to gather all the available forces he could muster.
“Execute the order immediately. You are dismissed.” Sybil said in a loud voice before he sat back on the throne. From his position, he could see the swaying branch of the Sacred Tree. He knew that the Sacred Tree wished for them to be well but the situation was not fine.
‘This is the end. From the looks of it, the three races could gather their forces to take the strongest place at any moment.’ Sybil was deep in thought about the great situation his race was in.
He did not expect that the opponent would use their advantage so skillfully. The opponent understood their own strength and weaknesses and engaged in combat only when it was defending the occupied territory or when they wanted to reclaim another one.
The Elves had their own heritage but compared to the opponents, he felt that it was lacking. Their arrows could get some improvement but they did not have much time to develop such things.
And the Glings were countered so badly with the undead element that their advantage became nullified. In fact, the Queen would not dare to send a tide to the occupied territory if not for an important reason. But her tactics were countered once again by the three races and that happened during the rest of the time in the Star Battle.
Sybil was lost in thought but the one who looked after him did not.
She was focusing on defeating her opponent but it did not work. In the Planet Master Space, she once again realized that the figure opposite of her had a calm expression, as if this matter was not related to him.
As the one responsible for managing the Elves, she could not turn a blind eye to this. But she knew for a fact that winning seemed to be slipping through their hands every second and handed it to her opponents.
Furthermore, she could see that the opponents were a bit different in treating each other. It was subtle but it was there and she picked up on that.
That Planet Master treats those under him well, even giving a pointer or two their way.
Honestly, she was a bit envious since Chikara did not even do that to her. Her treatment was exactly what she had expected from the winner, and she was not disappointed.
Seeing Dian as the opponent made her think about the way he managed things. How did he manage the races under him? She thought to herself.
She saw through the system panel, in its display screen, that the Elves were mobilizing their forces for an eventual confrontation at the Hive.
Even with this much, the three races will not be able to be stopped. Their terrible weapons are more than sufficient to make us troubled, and add the fact that they are also the master of the undead element. We are unable to take any advantage, and that is why we are finished.
She sighed before she looked at Chikara who was distraught and tried to think hard about the countermeasure but nothing came up.
She is despairing. She thought after seeing Chikara’s distraught face.
“What should I do?” Chikara muttered while her whole body was trembling. All the confidence she had previously had was now gone.
Even her voice was trembling.
“May I have a word?” Then Chikara heard a voice. She turned to look at the figure that she often looked down on. Her lively hair also moved following her current mood.
“Frie? What…what can we do at this point?”
At this time, there was no escaping the inevitable result of the Star Battle. Chikara was on her wits’ end as she was unable to do anything to change the tide of battle.
“We just need to stake everything on the last effort. We don’t need to take our entire forces to do this but this will be truly our last effort. We will proceed with the Individual Duel…and win through it. There is no other choice.” Frie said with difficulty.
“But there is no need for that. The Queen will not be enough to defeat the strongest of the three races. It is futile.” Chikara replied.
“No!” Frie raised her voice. She looked at Chikara right in her eyes and with that, her determination could be seen.
“We will fuse the latent power of the Sacred Tree with the Queen of the Gling Swarm. Although this is a last effort.” Frie said while gritting her teeth in frustration.
She did not want to do this, firstly, because this process would reduce the Sacred Trees available. Actually, this was what Chikara wanted from the moment she made Frie a subordinate but was unable to do this for various reasons.
“Why are you doing this now?” Chikara was in a low mood, unlike her previous aggressive behavior and Frie knew the reason.
“Because this is practically our last chance to win. It doesn’t matter if we lose but if we have any chance that we can win, we can practically make a turnaround.” Frie explained.
Individual Duel was something the Second Rank Planet Master could do. Essentially, it was to pit the strongest individual from each of the two civilizations against one another in battle.
It was the most efficient and effective way to measure the power of the civilization under the Planet Master. But most of the Planet Masters were not satisfied with this method.
Obviously, it was because there was power in numbers and the situation could change depending on the occasion. Who would wager all-in for a fifty percent chance at victory or defeat?
Most Planet Masters would not do this unless they were cornered. Basically, this was a last-ditch effort to turn things around. But if one faced this situation, it meant that losing was just a step away.
“They should discuss things regarding the way to victory. Most likely, they will initiate an Individual Duel.” Dian looked up and saw the two opposite of him in a heated discussion.
He did not care about the content of the discussion but what action they would take. As far as he knew, the Sacred Tree of the Elves had a special function to merge with any living being and strengthen them.
If the Elves allowed the Glings to do that, indeed, there is a chance at victory.
But Dian already knew about this possibility and made sure that every single force under him learned the most direct and safe way to strengthen themselves. This caused the individual power levels to increase even the strongest among them also experienced a power boost.
The rest can be handled by them. Looks like building a scientific facility is finally starting to pay off.
The result was that the Transcendent Tree was growing as well as the Technology Tree, achieving a perfect harmony. With the passive bonus, it even hastened the progress of some discoveries and inventions.
As for the strongest transcendent under him, Dian was not concerned at all. He was glad that the current strongest transcendent was Long Wu. He had achieved many things in the Star Battle, even resolving an old grudge in an unexpected twist.
Then he looked at the two who were beside him. Thanks to their effort, the supply lines held in and the logistics could flow properly.
Ghylea was overseeing the condition of the civilization while also looking at the changes that the Spirit of the planet’s awakening had brought to the planet.
Each life form was feeling the change in the air, slowly assimilating it and adapting. Ghylea had never encountered another life form other than undead before so he was fascinated by the growth. This would be his favorite pastime other than watching the Undead Race.
Leif, on the other hand, handled the supply lines, logistics, and battle preparation. He was responsible for managing the matter well and Dian could see the effect on the planet himself. Especially during the short cut-off period when the frontline lost the supply line temporarily, Leif managed to handle the situation with high precision and great timing.
To defeat the enemy fully, I must crush everything they believe in. I am sorry in advance. Dian thought while looking at the two opponents in the distance.
“But the problem is, will he accept such a situation?” Chikara asked the important question.
“I think he will. It is because he wants to thoroughly convince us that there is no other way than losing the Star Battle.” Frie observed most of the time and realized some of the things that Chikara had missed.
She knew more than what she let on and she kept mostly to herself because she did not know what kind of action those who knew her would take if she revealed all that she knew. That was why, when the situation became dire, she would not hesitate to help.
Since it was the only path left for them, she suggested that Chikara take it as soon as possible.
“Alright. Let’s do it.” Chikara held this flicker of hope without hesitation and was eager to see what kind of strength the Queen would have.
Then the Queen received the new information from the Metamorphic God and decided to comply. She contacted the Elf King and began the discussion regarding the matter between their revered figures.
“We are having an emergency meeting right now.” The Queen said while letting her true body be exposed to the elements. She only cared about the orders that came from the Metamorphic God.
This was on the border of the Contaminated Soil of the Hive and the other side was the territory of the Elves, specifically, the Sacred Tree of the Elf King. Her interlocutor was none other than Sybil since he had also received an order from his revered figure.
“It is a fortunate event for us to be truly united and working together.” Sybil let out a polite smile despite the dire situation he was in.
“Spend that chat of yours later. We need to combine our greatest power to have a chance at winning.” The Queen said in an authoritative tone. Sybil frowned but he just needed to do his job.
With the connection he had to the Sacred Tree, he summoned it. The Ether around him trembled and reacted to something, something that became their source of existence.
Then the Queen realized that the ground trembled as a towering figure moved from a distance to her current location.
‘The Sacred Tree is the source of strength for the Elves. So, of course, it has some secret that the Elves keep to themselves. But to think that the Sacred Tree can assimilate to any life form to grant them immense strength.
‘Despite the distance, the effect of the Red Moon still persists. Add that power and I guess I can even rival that.’ The Queen tried to analyze things and she felt doubt coming in.
Ever since she had seen the overwhelming power of the strongest transcendent, she often replayed it countless times in her head and concluded that she needed bigger power greater than her previous estimation for her to even counter that.
Then the Sacred Tree moved to her location, right behind the Elf King. She could see the vitality it had and could not help but think about the power it could give her.
“Because this has come directly from above, I cannot even defy it without repaying kindness with cruelty. Don’t be mistaken, this is a cooperation between us deepening.” Sybil said this while letting the process of assimilation begin.
The Queen had summoned as many of the Glings available to the Hive as possible. Currently, they were encircling the two as the true body of the Queen took the first step outside of her safe Hive. This was her safety net and she was going through with whatever plan the Metamorphic God had.
The Sacred Tree slowly moved its trunk, its branches and its roots. When one looked at it, one would realize that the size of the Sacred Tree became smaller until it was the same size as the Queen’s true body.
Sybil was drawing the circular pattern under his feet with the Ether so his focus was on that. As the patterns became interconnected to each other, the circle became bright as it was activated.
The ritual for the assimilation process had begun. The Queen closed her eyes as she finally felt the great power flowing inside her.
‘So this is the true power of the Sacred Tree.’