226 Information Exchange

Commander Eugene felt his face burning when the second truck fell through the earth. With how regular the main road was used to travel between regions, he did not think too much about the unstable ground. 

He thought that the ground had just grown weak due to poor weather, but who knew that there was a large patch of hollow earth underneath?

Why would the earth suddenly be hollow while they were carrying important war supplies to the eastern camp? Were they being targeted?

"Enemy attack!" Eugene roared. 

The startled cries and surprises must be a distraction. Yes, that must be the case!

Everyone reacted quickly when the two words were uttered. They all whipped out their military-issued firearm, including the young recruits from the second truck that fell. 

Despite falling into empty space, the second truck did not roll down the slope of the underground tunnel. The second truck had been stopped by 6 palace guards with their bodies.

They had just back to the end of the tunnel to resume tunneling their way to the surface when the truck came out of nowhere!

They never realized how close they had been to the surface. None of them had the time to check after the chunk of the earth was removed to flush their ex-captain out of the tunnel. 

After their initial shock and surprises, they became very emotional when they were struck by the first ray of light. 

"It's the surface… we finally made it back to the surface!" 

"Oh, how I miss the sunlight!"

It was like they had been subterranean world for years and finally made it back. However, their emotional celebration did not last long when they found several guns taking aim at them.

"Huh?"

"Who the hell are you guys?" 

The palace guards interrogated squinted. A strong aura emanated from their body as they said so. At their level with full plated armor, they did not fear firearms, especially when it was held by younglings. It was like what was being pointed at them were not firearms but toys.

How could these young recruits hope to bear the weight of the palace guard's pressure? They were at the Body Tempering Realm 2nd layer at best, while the strongest awakened one was only at the 3rd step. 

They all immediately keeled to the pressure with pale faces. Commander Eugene arrived shortly after and wore a heavy look with squinted eyes as well.

It was an oddly amusing yet strange scene of both sides squinting at each other.

Some earth around the perimeters of the hole crumbled and more light shone inside the tunnel. The palace guards were still adjusting to the brightness of daylight, while Eugene and the young recruits were squinting due to the reflective light that shone into their eyes from the palace guard's armor. 

"You guys are all from the army?" One of them asked.

"And you are?" 

…

With the old treant's dwelling, Lilith sat adjacent to Leon and Elder Evergreen while cluelessly and awkwardly listening to them. At the same time, she was jealous of his proficiency in the ancient language.

Leon said he had something to talk about but what was the point of her being here if she wasn't part of the conversation? She could only wait until his attention is turned to her. 

"Elder Evergreen, for this alliance to work, communication is of utmost importance. If our two sides cannot communicate, trust cannot be established, and it will be extremely difficult to work together. That being said, I wonder if your people are willing to learn our Gaian language?" Leon stated calmly. 

"Naturally, whether you agree or not, I will still have my side educated in the ancient language for the basis of communication between our two sides. Although, I do believe learning the Gaian language will be useful for you once you returned to the surface." He continued.

He did not need to speak further to get his message across. The Gaian language was the native tongue of the entire Human Domain of the present era. 

Unless the treants don't intend to interact with the rest of the world and confine themselves to their small village, it was in their best favor to learn the language.

On the other hand, Leon's intention to spread the knowledge of the ancient language had its own advantages. There were many relics scattered across the world that contained knowledge that they could learn from.

Not only that, but Leon had also discovered that the ancient language was actually derived from the runic language. After receiving the inheritance, he could see the signs that the ancient language originated from runes. 

Having his people learn the ancient language will help them build the foundation for a swifter understanding of the runic language.

"Haha, willing, of course, we are willing to learn and integrate with the rest of the world. Judging by your confident manner of speaking, you already found a method to revert us back to our old selves, child." Elder Evergreen laughed lightheartedly. He did not ask about the inheritance. That was Leon's fortune. 

Leon nodded and said, "I've had a look into the problem and if I'm not wrong, what you and your people are experiencing is a variant type of petrification disease. It's an extremely rare disease but not untreatable in the first stage. However, I will need to diagnosis your body to be completely sure."

"Alright." Elder Evergreen smiled lightly and asked, "What do I need to do?"

"You don't need to do anything. Just don't resist." Leon stated.

Receiving the old treant's affirmation, Leon sent out his divine sense to inspect the old treant's body in detail. The situation was as described in the Archive, albeit with some minor differences.

The petrification disease only occurs to organic lifeforms into places of purely wood and earth elements, but even then, it was extremely rare. As for how the entire treant's village got infected by the disease, Leon attributes it to the impure energy spilling from the power source. 

The flawed conversion method to create artificial spirit energy didn't just take the positive properties of the sun's limitless solar energy, but also its negative property, one of which causes the sporadic growth of cancerous cells. 

This was what sped up the process and allowed petrification to occur in their current environment.

After Leon was done with his inspection, the old treant's curiosity peaked. The diagnosis was quick and mysterious. He would have thought nothing happened at all if not for the faint illusion of another pair of eyes staring at him.

"You mention this disease is treatable in the first stage, but what is the second stage? Why is it only treatable in the first stage?" Elder Evergreen asked curiously.

"Well, how should I put it? The first stage is just the partial petrification stage. While you look like a plant outwardly, you are still human at your core. Treating it will just be like removing dead skin to allowing new ones to grow." 

"It's just that these 'dead skin' belongs to the elder tree, which technically makes you all a part of the elder tree like its leaves, hence why you can't leave it. A leaf that left its branch does not live long."

"As for the second stage, it is also the last stage of petrification. In this stage, the whole body will become petrified wood. Even if I am considered a divine doctor, forget about bringing stones to life, I can't possibly revive a dead wood, right?"

"However, there are some complications if you are to go through with the treatment procedure," Leon mentioned after his explanation.

Elder Evergreen looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue explaining the consequences. 

Understanding the old treant's silent gesture, Leon continued. "You will all lose your long lifespan and only be able to live for a few more years."

When this was said, Elder Evergreen did not seem surprised. Such a scenario was to be expected, but it was inconsequential to being human again. He opened his mouth and said, "A few years is enough as long as my people can reproduce again and not have the Nova descendants end in our generation."

"Very well. We can begin after I make my preparations." 

Leon nodded. Truthfully, he had not explained everything.

Although the symptoms and treatment were recorded in the Archive, there was one thing that even the Archive did not have a solution for. 

The crystallized spirit on each of the treant's forehead could not be removed. Removing it would kill the treants regardless. 

He also did not know what problems may arise in the future as a result of leaving it be. Only time will tell.

Nevertheless, it was no longer his concern as long as he fulfills the treant's wishes and brought them to his side.

After Leon finished his talk with Elder Evergreen, he finally turned to Lilith. 

"As you know, I represented my kingdom to establish an alliance with Elder Evergreen's village. I wonder if we can establish an alliance between us too."

Lilith was surprised before she shook her head. 

Whether it was her status in the Skysilver Tribe or the Blackwing Tribe that her Desolate Crow Clan ruled, the tribal chief was the ultimate decisionmaker. 

Whatever agreement she makes to Leon would just be empty words unless she first consults her father, the chief of Blackwing Tribe, and gets his approval. However, she wasn't really willing to return.

In fact, the alliance between the treant's village and the Crawford Kingdom was not Leon's decision to make either. He should be consulting his parents as they were the real rulers. 

However, he doubted that they would reject an alliance that would benefit them in their current precarious situation with the two sects eyeing their kingdom. As such, he had taken action first and only report after he returns.

"I can't make that decision. You have to bring that proposal to the tribal chief." Lilith stated.

"What if it's not an alliance between your tribe and my kingdom but just between us?" Leon asked.

Lilith paused in thought. 

"That is possible, but what is the point? Isn't it better to just be friends?" 

"Then as friends, shouldn't we be more open with each other?" Leon said with a cunning smile.

Lilith put on a difficult expression and knitted her thin brows. 

"Never mind. What are the benefits of an alliance between us?"

"Information exchange," Leon said bluntly.

Lilith was speechless.