Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 242 The Bull Demon and the Tree Shepherd
"Moo moo moo"

A long, hoarse voice echoed in the space ahead.

But the metallic mooing of the cow reminded Rean of the grey dwarf blacksmith's shop in the underground world, filled with smoke and the echoing of metal striking metal.
"Smelling of sulfur, a purgatory species. Wait a minute."

The leopard, with its keen sense of smell, was the first to disappear into the shadows.

The term "Purgatory Species" refers to inhabitants of the lower planes, ranging from lesser demons to demon lords. The difference between the upper and lower limits is enormous, but the sulfurous smell, which seems to be a rule of the plane, is their most easily perceived accompanying characteristic.

"The Infernal Minotaur Clan? The Minotaur Lords?"

Talia's expression wasn't good when she reappeared, Rean guessed casually.

"Neither. It should be considered a separate entity; it looks like this."

This is indeed bad news. Life forms that grow too uniquely in the lower planes of Purgatory are often a big problem. At least, given Talia's level and experience, she doesn't know any specific information about them.

It was a giant bull-headed monster that was at least eighteen meters tall when standing upright; its enormous size forced it to lie down.

Its body is not simply flesh and blood; it is a mixture of blood-red vines, rotten oak, and foul-smelling flesh. Half of its body looks like a natural wood carving, while the other half looks like decayed flesh and blood.

It has four green eyes, all burning with hellfire from the lower planes (green with a foul odor, making it easy to identify), and its curved black horns are covered with cracks. Every part of its flesh has a layer of rotting bark.

"Profane creatures may possess a slight divine quality."

“I observed its shadow, and there was no shadow that exists in the main plane. It is very likely that it does not have the soul that a normal life should have.”

Sometimes, the absence of a shadow or soul in the main dimension is a characteristic of powerful beings who can cross dimensions.

"I dared not get too close. Its range of alertness should not be large, but my instincts told me that getting close would mean death."

The information provided was comprehensive. After considering it, Rean concluded that Talia's intuition was reliable and it was almost time to make a decision.

"Should we go back and gather intelligence first?"

“Yes, I can probably draw it. I’ll ask the mages.” As a top-tier assassin, Talia not only has shorthand skills but also excellent portrait sketching abilities.

Rean nodded, having confirmed that there was trouble on the way and that they could turn back directly.

However, the intelligence came faster than expected. The Knights only had time to rest and have a coffee at Victoria's shop, and Victoria, who was so idle that she was building a house of cards with tarot cards, casually gave the answer.

"Isn't that the Ulda Bull Demon? Uh, that doesn't make sense, there aren't any Druid tribes of Tree Shepherds here."

Alchemists are never the strongest in the world of mages, but their knowledge is often quite extensive. As a "long-lived mage," Victoria actually knows about this not-so-secret monster from the prime plane.

The Ulda Bull Demon is unlikely to be a natural creation, yet it is a purely "natural creation".

The nature faction, at least the druid faction, is practically an enemy of the creatures of the Underworld and the undead. One extreme group, the "Tree Shepherds," even actively seeks out Underworld and undead creatures from all over the world.

What they relied on was actually a World Tree, a powerful tree species that could uniquely support the world and was even regarded as one of the symbols of nature, possessing many extraordinary characteristics.

They often hunt down non-natural creatures all over the world. If they encounter the most troublesome Purgatory invasion or the Land of the Dead, they will plant a World Tree sapling and the extraordinary land will become a natural land. The sapling will grow into a towering tree or even an entire ancient forest.

Tree Shepherds and Druids are not synonymous; it is a multi-racial faction that believes in nature.

The territory is indeed predominantly composed of druids of various races, with a significant number of nature mages, nature warriors, and rangers as well. However, its reputation has always been somewhat mixed, mainly because some of its factions are quite extreme, and their tendency to plant trees everywhere is certainly not a good habit. Originally, it was just an ordinary town. When the Purgatory invaded, it was simply repelled. What needed to be sealed was sealed, what needed to be purified was purified with holy water, and severely polluted areas were sealed off. Other areas were used as needed. The major churches of the Prime Material Plane have already made the process of reclaiming lost territories a routine procedure.

But if the shepherd comes, he might smash down a precious "sacred sapling".

Okay, from here on there there's only forest.

The extremist Tree Shepherds would prohibit the redevelopment of that sacred forest, forcing the original city residents to either become forest savages or migrate elsewhere.

But in a certain year, after a furious lord of the Infernal Minotaur was humiliated by the Treants once again, he humiliated them in return. He invented a blasphemous spell that used large amounts of Minotaur blood, Infernal demon blood, and Infernal materials as ingredients. By borrowing his power, he could transform a newly sprouted World Tree sapling into a creature that was half tree and half minotaur, which is the creature commonly known as the Uldar Minotaur.

It itself will continuously produce blasphemous, depraved, and purgatory substances, causing that area to become otherworldly.

What was originally intended as a seal and transformation of the unnatural has become a mobile creation of pollution, a disgrace to the Tree Shepherds and even the entire nature faction.

"Is it strong?"

"Uh, I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be weak. After all, it's a crisis that can destroy a city. But it's also related to the growth rate of its original World Tree. It shouldn't reach the strength of a normal Ulda Bull Demon."

The precious World Tree saplings are few in number, and the theft of any one of them would drive the tree shepherd mad. This sapling should have been produced by the "Nature Seal" drawing on the power of the deer.

The cultists found it, twisted it, and ultimately created this monster.

But the World Tree is ultimately the core of nature, and it needs to draw on the natural growth of a region. The underground is probably the place that lacks "nature" the most, so the saplings there don't grow very big. The twisted bull demon's strength probably doesn't reach the standard level.

"Uh, it's blocking the passage, so the passage is now useless."

"It must have been done by the Beast Order. If they created it, they probably have some means of controlling it. Using it as a watchdog is indeed a good choice."

The situation is quite clear. The simplest approach is to directly notify the druids and have them contact the Treant.

When that time comes, those extremists will rush over like mad dogs and quickly wipe out this blasphemous creation.

"But it's a pity, because that was a sacred object before, one of the most prized treasures in the natural order. Moreover, to desecrate and distort a treasure of this level, one would need to offer an equivalent Purgatory Treasure."

It's a real shame for Victoria. From the perspective of alchemists who believe in making the most of everything, transforming the World Tree sapling into the Ulda Bull Demon is like connecting a super water purifier that can purify seawater into drinking water to the city's sewer system—a massive waste of resources.

Rean subconsciously tapped the table, thinking that perhaps the knight squad and the alchemists could handle it on their own.

They could even use the mirror demon's livestreaming ability to gain some fame and build momentum for the upcoming hero election.

"It's too wasteful; we can twist it again and turn it into a natural place."

The mushroom people, who are essentially scavengers of nature, seem to have a different opinion.

"Scavengers" are perhaps best at reusing polluted land and repurposing natural resources.

An underground natural world, which could be woodland or a mushroom forest, could also serve as the starting point for a new town.

"It's quite valuable; it's worth a try."

(End of this chapter)