Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 476 Return of the Green Pine and Tearful Tears
P.S.: My mom had her pacemaker implanted a little over a month ago, and I'm taking her to Nanjing for a follow-up checkup. I'll be taking a day off tomorrow. Also, I'm shamelessly asking for monthly votes again. I'll try to resume double updates next month, or at least partially double updates.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Whether under elven control or human occupation, Green Pine City can be considered a beautiful city.

However, its beauty is perceived in many different ways by different ethnic groups.

What the humans saw was that the city was backed by two mountains, faced a plain, was rich in resources, and was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The elves, however, always remembered the vibrant life force of this city.

This place was once a sacred site for the elven druids.

Although time has passed and a century has gone by, the mountains and rivers have not changed, and the trees have not withered. Although many buildings have been carved out of the eighteen guardian trees, they still stand around the city, their thick roots deeply embedded in the earth, quietly waiting for the moment of awakening.

For this solemn and sacred ceremony, Archdruid Videlran himself came here.

Widlland is very old.

Unlike the elders of the elven race who bathe in the moonlight and whose beauty never fades, the druids, who are overly devoted to nature, have an instinctive aversion to skincare.

"The marks that nature bestows are the most beautiful forms!"

Perhaps this philosophy is also the main reason why males hold an absolute dominant position among elves who choose the Druid class.

Women seem to find it hard to bear the thought of themselves growing old while their friends of the same age look radiant.

The same applies to Earth; women are forever eighteen years old, just as Dongxia is forever a developing country—it's an unchanging theorem.

Videlran stood at the edge of the former holy site, the archdruid's face etched with deep furrows, deeper than the bark of the giant trees beside him, the marks of hundreds of years making his features seem to tell a story.

Since leaving this natural sanctuary, Vydelran has not cut his hair or beard for nearly four hundred years; it is his vow and his obsession.

So much so that when viewed from the side, his long hair hung down to the ground and his beard drooped to his legs, making him look like an old ear of corn with its outer husks just peeled off and its cob covered with long tassels.

This old man, who looked aged, disheveled, and even somewhat slovenly, seemed to cause the grass and trees to stretch and the insects to chirp with every step he took.

The once withered and yellow weeds suddenly straightened up, and tender green shoots emerged from the roots, spreading upwards and sprouting new leaves within seconds.

A few small flowers peeked out from among the grass, white, yellow, and pale purple, and bloomed tremblingly.

Various insects, both well-known and unknown, crawled out of the soil, shaking their bodies and antennae, emitting tiny buzzing sounds.

The arrival of Wedelland was like a viewfinder that moved forward with him as the center. With each step he took forward, the originally silent black and white in front of him was suddenly colored, becoming vivid, warm, and full of life.

The old man's eyes were incredibly bright, quite different from his age. One eye was slightly blue, like an unfrozen mountain spring, while the other was orange, as if flames were burning within it.

This person also has heterochromia...

As the Archdruid's gaze swept over the towering trees, the light in his eyes grew even more intense.

"Five hundred years..."

“Respected Nature Guardian, we’ve only been gone for less than four hundred years.” Another druid quickly stepped forward and cautiously reminded them, “The people of the Vast Ocean are filming us…”

Videlland glanced at the dense array of filming equipment around him—Hanhai's photographers were carrying long lenses and tripods, the Hanhai branch of the Magic Society's gimbal was suspended in mid-air, and several drones were silently hovering around.

The old man forced a smile through his wrinkles: "I mean, these war trees are five hundred years old!"

"Your Excellency, they are over 1,100 years old..."

"From the day I got to know them!"

"..."

The young druid took a deep breath, quickly composed himself, and nodded vigorously: "You're right!"

Being old enough has this advantage: you can always find a point of connection.

Next comes the awakening ceremony for these giant war trees.

The archdruid's voice was somewhat hoarse. Surrounded by onlookers, he kept muttering to himself, sometimes closing his eyes tightly, sometimes crossing his hands, until at one point, he took out an ordinary-looking cloth bag from his bosom.

The bag, seemingly woven from vines, appeared to retain a vibrant, fresh green color, brimming with life. The Archdruid reached out and took out a small, crystal-like sphere, holding it in his palm.

This thing is somewhat like amber, with a translucent body containing a slowly flowing emerald green. It is the heart of the tree-man wrapped in the breath of nature.

The moment it appeared, a pure life force surged forth like a tide, and the surrounding wild grasses grew several inches taller in an instant.

Videlran approached a giant tree, raised his hands, and slowly hung the Breath of Nature onto the trunk.

Almost simultaneously, under the cover of the Vast Sea Army and the Elven Soldiers, the other dozen or so Druids also offered their Treant Hearts to the giant tree.

Once the breath of nature was fully absorbed, the druid leader pressed his rough palm against the equally rough bark, his lips moving slightly as he uttered a long string of ancient incantations.

The sound seemed to rise from the depths of the earth. With each syllable, faint light seemed to emerge from the ground, climbing up Vydelland's calves and finally reaching the giant tree through his arms, where it began to spiral upwards in circles.

From a few scattered lights at the beginning, they gradually transformed into fireflies on a summer night. Eventually, the lights became more numerous and denser, resembling a constellation of stars in the sky.

Those are spirits of light.

The film crew quickly focused their camera and finally captured the true appearance of these little guys. Their round bodies were only the size of a fist, and they emitted a soft green light. Their facial features were not visible, but their movements clearly conveyed their joy.

They flew in flocks, spiraling upwards around the giant trees like flowing rivers of light.

It's unclear when it started, but the druids all took to the front, forming a circle around the spellcaster and the giant tree, and began to chant ancient hymns with Vydelran.

Old, young, hoarse, loud, sorrowful, joyful, deep, high-pitched...

Various sounds intertwined, echoing a wondrous melody across the field.

The spirits of light had climbed up the trunk and branches, reaching the ends of the leaves, where they vanished silently, as if at the end of each branch lay a giant maw that swallowed the orbs of light.

The giant tree underwent changes visible to the naked eye.

Before this, the Green Pine Kingdom had added a great deal of man-made structures to these giant trees, such as bridges, corridors, watchtowers, and safe houses. Now, these things are beginning to detach and disintegrate.

The first things to fall were the small decorative items—wind chimes, signs, and pendants—which started crashing down with a clatter.

Next came the structures in the trees, which seemed to have been forcibly squeezed out of the trees by an invisible force. The seams cracked, the screws flew off, and the entire structure swayed and tilted before finally crashing down.

The metal ladders, deeply embedded in the tree trunks for climbing, are even more exaggerated. They resemble enraged snakes, twisting and swaying, slowly being pulled out of the tree trunks.

With each plucked sapling, fresh wood fibers grow from the original wound, filling the hole completely.

On the giant tree, new buds sprouted from the branches at a visible speed, dead branches and withered leaves came back to life, and years of wounds were healed one by one...

The tree-man has awakened.

Widlland looked up at all of this, his eyes shining like stars.

The ceremony is over.

You think we're going to have a war? Wrong!
Behind Videlran, the Han Hai officer, the Han Hai's special representative to the elves, an old acquaintance of the elves, a special envoy named "Wood," smiled and handed over a folder.

"Congratulations, Master Videlran, the awakening ceremony has been successfully completed."

"Regarding the security costs during this ceremony, Chairman Chen Mo has agreed to a full waiver, but you still need to sign the document. Thank you for your help!"

The old man took the folder, didn't even look at the contents, took out a feather from his pocket, and drew a series of winding symbols in the signature column.

Besides the name Vydelran, there is another inscription belonging to the Archdruid, written in Ancient Elvish script, which means "May nature be with you."

After receiving the signed documents, Mu Tou took out another folder.

"According to the agreement, the Qingsongcheng Nature Reserve Management Committee, which we jointly established, will take over the post-war maintenance and scientific research observation of these war-torn giant trees."

"This is the handover form, which includes the tree number, status record, communication method, control instructions, surrounding warning zone and control zone boundaries..."

"Please confirm, sir, that once we complete the handover procedures, you can enter the city!"

Videlland didn't even glance at it, signing it decisively. After turning around, he suddenly displayed an agility completely out of character for his age, leaping over ten meters in a single bound, and then hopping and skipping as he sped towards Green Pine City.

His long hair and beard were stretched straight in the air, like a banner extending horizontally from his body.

Videlran has longed for this city, the guardian of the druids, for far too long!
He couldn't wait!
As for resistance, there was no resistance left in the city.

Kneeling at the city gate to greet them was Green Pine's surrender team.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The King of Green Pine, Kruger XI, along with his principal wives, princes, and a group of loyal confidants, has long since disappeared without a trace.

This king is a wise man.

You might call him weak, but since taking power he has continuously waged wars, at one point expanding Green Pine's territory to nearly double its size.

When the vast army of the Han Sea pressed in, he resolutely mobilized the nation's troops and resources to fight back, even sending the royal family's core military force, the last trump card, the Green Pine Guard, to the front lines.

The main focus is on fighting to the bitter end.

If you were to say he was tough, he ran away, very fast and decisively.

Even with Han Hai's intelligence capabilities, they couldn't find any trace of his escape.

Having already caused a blunder, Xia Yuanchen gave a severe dressing-down to the intelligence team under his command responsible for monitoring the direction of Qingsong City.

These were several hundred people, and they just disappeared without anyone noticing. Our spies in Qingsong, the sentries monitoring the perimeter, and the radar monitoring team were all completely unaware!
Xia Yuanchen even felt a chill in his heart.

If this cunning fellow doesn't die, he might cause us considerable trouble later. Unlike the worries of the intelligence department in the rear, the Han Hai frontline command was relatively relaxed.

Kruger XI still had some prestige. When the old man fled, he took most of the die-hards with him, so those left in Green Pine City were all surrenderers.

When these bureaucrats and nobles woke up, they suddenly realized it was dawn, and the old guys who had been weighing on them had vanished without a trace.

Looking out again, the sky seemed to have collapsed; the enemy was now only inches away from Qingsong.

What can they do in this situation?

It seems... surrender is the only option!
However, there are nuances to surrendering.

How do we surrender?

What conditions should we offer to surrender?
Who will lead the surrender?

Which family will benefit the most from surrendering?
As a result, a fierce internal struggle broke out in Qingsong City.

In order to seize the right to "lead the surrender," all sides even mobilized the family forces that they had previously been reluctant to send out, even during national wars.

But soon, as information from the outside came in, the surrender faction was stunned.

The Seven Luminaries Garland Merchant Guild of the Dwarfs, Han Hai... uh, no, it was the Seven Luminaries Garland Merchant Guild of the Dwarfs, didn't give Qing Song's side a chance to negotiate.

The dwarf liaison officer in charge of the negotiations was one of the few tall men in the dwarf tribe, standing over 70 centimeters tall. After putting on specially made three-legged thick-soled boots, he was almost as tall as some dwarfs. However, his voice still couldn't change the relatively high-pitched voice of a dwarf.

Whether they are dwarfs, short people, or even freshwater fish-men and short-legged orcs, it seems that every short-statured race particularly likes to speak in a louder voice, as if using the amplification of "voice height" to compensate for the lack of "height".

The dwarf liaison officer climbed to the top of the sedan chair he was riding in and looked down at the pine-covered bureaucrat in front of him.

"What's there to talk about? There's nothing to talk about, just surrender unconditionally!"

"All professionals, please submit your names and we will verify them. Don't worry, as long as you don't resist, we won't kill anyone indiscriminately!"

"Apart from personal belongings necessary for survival, all other assets of Green Pine must be sealed for investigation. If it is later discovered that you have privately divided or embezzled property belonging to the Great Dwarf God—"

"You will suffer the cruelest punishment!"

The Green Pine official's face was grim, and he involuntarily clenched his fists, but after a long pause, he reluctantly loosened them and argued in a resentful tone, "If surrendering only means being slaughtered, then why should we surrender? We might as well fight to the death!"

"Within Green Pine City, there are still tens of thousands of brave warriors and righteous citizens..."

"Alright!" The dwarf liaison officer's voice, like a pigeon's whistle, cut off the Green Pine official's words: "Kruger didn't take you with him when he ran away, isn't it because you're all a bunch of trash?"

The dwarf's mouth was always very sharp, but it always managed to hit Turquoise right in the ribs.

"Those who dared to fight and were capable of fighting would have been wiped out long ago in Liuli Valley, Xinpo River, and Longbei River."

"Those who dare to fight but can't have run away with your king!"

"The rest of you are nothing but a bunch of useless cowards who dare not fight and are incapable of fighting. What are you pretending to be, loyal ministers and generals?"

He straightened up and slightly lifted his robe, which was covering the ground, so that the robe could cover his heels.

"You have one day to consider. If we don't see a white flag by tomorrow, we will urge Han Hai to attack the city."

"Hiring them to collect debts would be quite expensive every day. Even if we dwarfs are rich, we can't afford to delay!"

Before leaving, the dwarf's envoy even went so far as to humiliate the city wall of Qingsong by affixing several crisscrossing seals, which read in bold: "Confiscated items, no unauthorized handling! Lost or damaged items will not be replaced, and the consequences will be borne by the perpetrator!"

Clearly, in the dwarfs' minds, Green Pine City no longer belonged to this dying Green Pine, and the dwarfs were just waiting to take full control of the property.

With the dwarf liaison officer leaving triumphantly, Green Pine no longer needed to fight for it.

Obviously, even if you manage to become the "Chief Surrender Officer," at best you'll just be kneeling a little closer to the front. What's the point?

In this situation, the Green Pine officials, who had just been fighting fiercely for the right to represent the surrender, immediately began fighting over who should be put in that position.

There has to be a scapegoat; we were forced to surrender.

Yes, I was forced to!
After much debate and several stalemates, they actually found a suitable candidate.

Winston, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Green Pine.

The old man was completely paralyzed. When he was carried out of the mansion, his mouth was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and he was drooling. He could not move or speak, and even bending his fingers required a lot of effort. It seemed that the only part of his body that could move was his eyelids.

In any case, the old man is now the highest-ranking official "remaining" in Green Pine City from the Green Pine Kingdom—a duke, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a veteran of two dynasties. His status speaks for itself, and he is quite representative.

Representatives from the Green Pine families stepped forward, explained the situation, and respectfully sought instructions from Winston.

"Your Grace, the King has disappeared without a trace, and all the officials in the city are at a loss. They have no choice but to come and consult the old sir!"

"I know it is inconvenient for you to speak, so I dare to ask. If you think we should surrender, then you don't need to say anything, just agree!"

"If you feel that we should not surrender, then just shake your head and wave your hand, and we will understand your intentions."

Although Winston was paralyzed, he seemed to still be conscious and understood what the other person meant.

This is... pushing me into a fire pit!
The old man, who had been lying on the stretcher with his head tilted to one side, suddenly began to struggle violently, but slightly.

The old man's pupils dilated, he made muffled sounds, his body trembled slightly, and his gray head desperately tilted to one side...

Oh no, he's going to shake his head!
Even though he's paralyzed like this, he can still move. It seems we were too careless.

In a flash, the nearest general rushed over, grabbed the old man's shoulders, and cried out at the top of his lungs.

"My lord, we Green Pine are in dire straits! That bastard Kruger abandoned us and ran away. We have no way to serve our country, so we can only come to you for advice..."

While crying, she quietly pressed Winston's head with her hand.

Winston struggled for a long time, his face turning red, veins bulging on his neck, and his eyes almost bleeding from staring.

But how could a paralyzed old man possibly outmaneuver a strong, healthy professional?
Soon, the old man was completely exhausted and froze there, motionless.

Isn't that tacit agreement?

"Yes, we understand!"

Everyone wiped away another tear of bitterness: "We will obey the adults' arrangements and surrender!"

A group of people respectfully bowed down again. The leading civil official took out a surrender document from behind his back, asked the old man to "press" his fingerprint on it, and then rode away from the city.

At that moment, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then, he let out a long sigh.

Green Pine, finished!
The Green Pine, which once dominated the land, commanded respect from all directions, spanned two rivers, possessed thousands of miles of fertile fields, and was recognized as the fourth strongest nation in the Starry Sky after the three major human races, was ruthlessly defeated and died suddenly.

There was no spectacular final battle, no heroic martyrdom of the monarch, and not even a proper funeral.

There was only a group of officials eager to surrender, and a paralyzed old man who was no longer needed after being used.

The old Foreign Minister's pupils reflected the figures of the bustling kingdom officials, each harboring their own ulterior motives. Unbeknownst to him, a tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hanhai was very satisfied with the price reduction notice received from Qingsong City.

It's much better to take a city without bloodshed than to fight a brutal siege and shed blood on the city walls.

The dwarf was also very satisfied.

Despite their arrogant and overbearing demeanor during negotiations, they actually did a lot of work behind the scenes.

Otherwise, how could these guys in the city be so united?

There's no way around it; money can move people's hearts. Lord Chen Mo has said that the dwarf will receive a certain reward based on the percentage of Green Pine's debt recovered.

Every brick and tile in this city is made of pure silver and gleaming gold coins!

Don't break it!
Besides, the dwarf was hoping to follow this magical lord and get involved in that magical [stock exchange].

Now everything is fine. Green Pine City has surrendered, the assets have been smoothly transferred, the dwarves happily completed the surrender ceremony, and then transferred a contract, selling their claims against the Green Pine Kingdom to the Vast Ocean.

Without a doubt, this is an astronomical figure.

Once the contract was finalized, the huge loan that Han Hai had given to the dwarf was settled in the Wangyue Golden Pavilion system and marked as "repaid".

As for where this loan came from? Well, when the dwarf lent money to Green Pine, he didn't have enough principal, so he borrowed it from Han Hai.

Now everything is fine. The pine tree has paid off its debts, the dwarf has paid off his debts, and everyone is free of debt.

Only Hanhai, which had lent out a massive amount of gold and silver coins on its books, has now only recovered a pile of "non-performing assets" that need to be digested and dealt with slowly, and has taken on all the burdens.

how to say……

Still too young!
On multiple public occasions, Lord Chen Mo of Hanhai severely criticized a series of officials, including the Chief Councilor of Helan, the Minister of Finance of the Territory, the Chief of the Golden Pavilion, and the Director of the Foreign Affairs Department, and issued a stern warning against this behavior of "paying tuition".

Thus, the "Central Plains War," which lasted for about half a year, finally came to an end.

Wait, did you forget something?
Um, yes, the war between the Vast Ocean and the Green Pine is over, but the war between the Green Pine and the Emerald isn't over yet...

The young Dimo, the former prince of the Zircon Territory, is leading a remnant of the Green Pine army, breaking through the defenses of Tianye City and Feiyan City, completely recovering the territory occupied by Emerald, and then continuing to knock on the gates and head north, advancing rapidly and entering the homeland of the Emerald Duchy.

Now, it's the Emerald Duchy's turn again!
(End of this chapter)