Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

This was not a friendly start, but a silent test.

The wood elves wouldn't let them see the ancestral tree so easily; the mental attack they just received was a warning.

How could Mike be the kind of person who wouldn't fight back when bullied?

In an instant, a bright blue light flashed in his eyes. Just then, the branches of the ancestral tree trembled once more, and several leaves fell from the sky, landing between the two people and the elf.

The elf's initial apology was likely the beginning of his probing, and the ancestral tree's actions were intended to reconcile them.

The elf looked at the fallen leaves and nodded slightly: "Alright, since it's the ancestral tree's request..."

He walked lightly past Mike and Muirses, and as they brushed past each other, the elf whispered, "You are strong. You have shown me a different kind of scenery. The humans of this world have never regained their past glory, but you are an exception."

Mike remained silent, as if the other person did not exist, until the elf had gone far away, at which point he slowly let out a breath.

In his balanced form, he was difficult to detect mental attacks. If it were in his human form, An would have instinctively resisted the moment the elf activated the spell. As for his demon form, well, forget about it. He wasn't planning on turning against the wood elf yet, at least not for Muelseth's sake.

The water sprite breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she was a combat idiot, she should understand what had happened. The other party was not friendly about the Ancestral Tree.

Even now, Mike still held onto Muirsey's hand, unwilling to let go. They were like a couple taking a walk, enjoying every moment of tenderness.

"Doctor, I think we'll be attacked again before we leave here."

"You actually used the word 'attack'?"

Mike looked at Miu Miu with some surprise. The water sprite regained her usual demeanor, put her other hand on her hip and said, "Of course, don't underestimate me. My intuition is very sharp."

“Alright, I admit you’re right. The wood elves won’t let us off easily, especially since we’ve seen the Ancestral Tree, and the Ancestral Tree won’t let them eavesdrop on the conversation.”

"It's like strangers coming into your house. Even though you don't know them, the elders in the family say that everyone else should go out, leaving only the strangers to talk."

"Your analogy is very apt, but I'd like to know, what would happen if this happened in Colombia?"

"If it were me, I would definitely stay and listen in. If there were any further questions, I would use my staff to kick the other person out."

“That’s great. We shouldn’t be considered to be judging others by our own standards.”

Mike sighed and went down to the foot of the ancestral tree. He now wanted to know what was so mysterious about it.

Unfortunately, he couldn't understand the language of the elves, and the ancestral tree only gently swayed its branches.

Even if it's Morse code, this frequency is too low.

Muirsey, standing nearby, said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "What's the use of just standing there? There's a very simple way to communicate with the Ancestral Tree: stretch out your hand and place your palm on the trunk, and you might be able to hear its voice."

"Really? That's amazing."

Mike was startled and quickly stepped forward, placing his palm on the tree trunk. Instantly, everything went black before his eyes, and his vision rapidly expanded.

He seemed to see the veins in the tree trunk, the fine lines weaving together the annual rings of the ancestral tree.

In just a few seconds, my vision returned, the ancestral tree was still the same ancestral tree, and I heard an emotionless voice.

"Hello."

Mike quickly replied, "Hello to you too."

"What just happened..."

"Oh, I understand. The kids at home are disobedient. It's okay, a good beating will fix it."

As soon as Mike finished speaking, he was met with a long silence from Zu Shu.

Perhaps such language is simply too difficult for a tree to understand.

To break the ice, Mike continued, "Did you send us here to tell us something? Something about this land, or about the Sami Icefield? I have to tell you, my abilities are limited, and for anything too complicated, you'll have to ask someone else."

Having veered away from the previous topic, the Ancestral Tree's voice rang out again: "So this is how the guardians of this world have become?"

Mike's expression froze for a moment, then quickly vanished. He said firmly, his face expressionless, "I am no longer the guardian of this world."

"Don't be surprised. I witnessed your prowess before, powerful human warriors. I could sense some changes in you. I want to know what happened that made you abandon your mission and choose to be ordinary people."

"You want to know my secret? Sorry, I'll give you the same thing: I don't know, I know nothing."

"is it?"

Zu Shu responded with a single sentence, then fell silent again.

This time, Mike didn't bring up the topic again. He turned to look at Muirsey beside him. The water sprite also had her hand on the tree trunk, but the girl had a puzzled look on her face. She hadn't heard anything.

When Zu Shu communicated with Mike, he shielded her senses because some messages could not be transmitted.

"What should I call you now? Guardian, or..."

"Don't use that name anymore, I don't want to hear it."

"Alright, so that's the Guardian. I forgot to tell you, this isn't the first time you've met me. We've met like this several times before. Every time you make a change, things on the Sami Icefield will change accordingly, whether for better or worse, only you know."

"Is that all you wanted to say? I've received similar answers from Elchi before, but unfortunately, I don't know what will happen next."

"Yes, this is also part of the plan. I only have one sentence to tell you."

"what?"

"If you want to save the Sami Icefield, if you want this world to have a brand new future, only Anma knows the answer."

97. You are! You are!

"Anma, that Sami Beast Lord?"

“You’re wrong. He is indeed the Beast Lord, but not the Beast Lord of Sami.”

Mike slowly closed his eyes, immersing himself in the illusion provided by the Ancestral Tree, where countless threads converged and wove together to create a scene that made him feel as if he were there.

The majestic mountain range stretches to the horizon, where the vast white snowfield is cut off. Humans walk slowly on the ground, like tiny ants. The wind blows up endless snowflakes, and the tiny humans hide behind the rocks for shelter.

In despair and cold, all one can do is hug their clothes tightly and pray to the gods.

Whether one is devout or not, it doesn't matter.

A tall, white figure emerged from the snowstorm. It raised its head, revealing a pair of enormous horns. Its hooves swept across the snow without leaving a trace, like a ghost without substance, passing by the praying humans. The snowstorm then subsided.

When humans struggled out of their snow-covered tents, all they saw was His departing silhouette.

Anma's love arrived silently and left just as quickly.

"interesting."

Mike opened his eyes, the azure light dissipated, and when he looked at the Ancestral Tree again, he sighed, "I've seen similar conceptual incarnations before, and I roughly understand what's going on. The Sami's will kept the Wood Elves in this land, probably so that you could also become carriers of information."

His hand left the tree trunk, and he could no longer hear the ancestral tree's response; what followed was no longer important.

Muirsey looked at the doctor in surprise; perhaps something had happened that she was unaware of.

"Perhaps the wood elves can be of some use, but I don't need them. Your people aren't very friendly to my people, you understand what I mean. I only value your personal connections. Give me what you have, or I'm leaving."

Is it even possible to do this?

The water sprite never thought it could negotiate with the ancestral tree of the wood sprites, but for the professor, it seemed like there was nothing it couldn't do.

In front of the two of them, the ancestral tree shook its branches again, and three emerald green new leaves floated down in front of Muirsey. The water sprite was flattered and quickly reached out to catch them, putting them away as if they were treasures.

Mike stroked his chin, shifting his gaze from Muirsey to the Ancestral Tree, and couldn't help but laugh, "There's no need to make excuses for your people. We don't like future generations debating our scriptures, nor do we like anyone erecting statues of us, since they'll be toppled anyway. You've reminded me of some forgotten parts of the past."

The branches trembled, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

"Alright, alright, no need to reminisce about the past. I don't remember many things from the past."

Mike comforted the ancestral tree, then looked back at the path they had come from: "Now that we're out, your tribesman should still be waiting outside. Do you need me to teach him a lesson? You know that wood elves have been dependent on humans for a very long time, and there's only one wood elf among us. Never mind, you don't need to answer me. I'll definitely help you with this."

At this point, Muirsey's eyes were practically sparkling. The doctor seemed to have said a lot of impressive things, but unfortunately, she could only understand a limited portion of them.

"Shall we go back?"

"now?"

"Of course! We've been gone for so long, the research station must be worried. When you get back, you'll be thoroughly interrogated."

The water sprite shrank her shoulders: "How could you do this? I didn't do anything..."

"Do you think saying that will make a difference? Or are you hoping something will happen? That the fake will become real?"

Muirsey blushed; she wanted to say yes, but didn't dare to actually say it.

Even though she is Colombian, she still hopes that Mike can be more proactive in these matters.

In truth, Mike felt the same way. Several times during his friendly interactions with the operators, they had all initiated things, making him, the Doctor, seem less than manly. Perhaps he should start with Muirsey, letting her know what happens when you challenge the Doctor's patience.

Unfortunately, this thought only lasted a few seconds, because Mike remembered something else: Rhodes Island's landship was just outside the Sami Icefield, and a squad had already ventured deep into the icefield, meaning that Kal'tsit could jump in front of him from anywhere at any time.

For other people, Mike doesn't need to hesitate so much when he wants to do something, but if the person standing in front of him is Kal'tsit, the situation might be different.

Muirsey was unaware of Mike's plans; seeing the doctor's eager expression, she assumed things had gone well.

The girl covered her face, only daring to peek at the doctor through her fingers.

She hoped that after the mission on the Sami Icefield was over, the two of them could take a trip across the land, just the two of them, without anyone else.

……

A few minutes later, Mike led the water sprite away from the location of the ancestral tree and appeared at the wood sprite's dwelling. Sure enough, they saw the same figure from before, with the sprite wearing a flower wreath standing opposite them.

Perhaps because something was about to happen here, the surrounding wood elves had all dispersed, leaving only the three of them.

"Outsiders..."

"I agreed."

The elf was about to say something more when Mike suddenly interrupted her, and her expression froze.

"Do you know what I'm going to say?"

Mike released Muirsey's hand and gently patted her arm, indicating that she should go to the side and protect herself.

He turned to look at the elf opposite him and said calmly, "It's nothing more than that you think outsiders shouldn't come to the wood elf's dwelling, and even saw your ancestral tree, so you wanted to cause me trouble. I agreed."

The elf fell silent, a smile appearing on his fair face: "You're quite an interesting human. You guessed right, that's exactly what I was thinking. Take out your weapon, sword, knife, or staff, it's up to you."

"No, no, you're wrong. I should be the one saying this to you: if I pull out a weapon, you might not be able to leave here standing up today."

Faced with such provocation, the elf fell silent.

For so many years, no one in the Wood Elf's abode has been his match. He even left the Elf's territory to go to the Sami Icefield, where he met the Sami hero and challenged him three times. The result was self-evident.

Today he felt his dignity had been insulted; how could a human being say such things?