Matthias looked at his group and said, "Let's go talk to the leader of the Treants." The group approved, especially Lanros. Matthias looked at Guin and asked, "Are you coming too?"
"N-No. Thanks." She shook her head and replied. "Okay." Matthias nodded and walked together with his group.
He and his group strode to the huge tent and went to Sally who was currently talking to her generals. "Princess Sally, can we join?" General Lanros asked.
Princess Sally looked at them and nodded, "Sure, you can. It is important for you to join." She replied.
They sat on chairs and listened to Princess Sally discussing the strategy.
In front of her was a table where a map of Aqiartha was laid out, "If we marched directly to the domain of The Tyrant with our joint armies, we are going to just court death because of our visibility and vulnerability. What do you suggest we do?" She asked.
General Lanros moved forward and pointed at the west of the hills, "The army of Ganae would move directly towards the hills to confront the enemy. I suggest that the Refuge Army take the path through the Valley of Light southwest of the Hills. Although it would be risky because of the hot and rocky terrain, it would be hidden from the Ichtir's sight because of their innate disgust with heat."
"You forgot that they have Spirits allied with them." Princess Sally rebutted.
"I'll protect the army through the Valley of Sorrows." Matthias volunteered. "Me too." Isabelle seconded.
"Then, we'll rely on you two, Mister Matthias and Miss Isabelle." She nodded with approval.
"The only problem we have now would be if the other two refuges would receive the message in time and if the army of the Forest of Ganae could catch the attention of the Ichtir enough." She muttered worrily.
"Don't worry about that, Princess." General Tatec smiled with confidence. "Give Matthias the locations of the two refuge and he will alert them for you. About the latter, once *that* finishes completely, even the Tyrant would need to be apprehensive in front of our army." He replied.
"Princess, because of the urgency of this matter, we really should go back. But first, can we visit the Triant King?" General Lanros stood up and asked.
After thinking for a while, Princess Sally nodded and answered, "Yes, you could. General Dariel, please lead them there."
"As you wish, Princess." A dwarf stood up and nodded at the Princess. "Follow me, friends." He then left the tent and went to the back of the tent with Matthias and his group behind him.
There, a huge tree stood high and mighty. General Lanros gasped and looked at the dwarf, "I thought the Ents were already awake. Why is the Triant King still inanimate?" He asked.
"The Triant King is the core of Ciandor Abode. Once he awakened and stood from his position, the Abode would be seen by all, exposing it to the outside world." The dwarf answered.
"Oh.." Lanros nodded. He then walked forward and touched the tree. He backed off and prayed, clasping his hands together and kneeling.
Seeing him do it, Matthias and the others also did what he did and prayed. Matthias suddenly perked up and noticed that something immaterial was rising up from them and gathering towards the tree.
"Isn't this.." Matthias remembered something and gasped.
"Faith Energy. Yes, it is." Old Man Sanyi, who hadn't spoken for a while now, suddenly spoke.
"It really is Faith Energy?!" Matthias gasped. It has been a long time since he had last encountered Faith Energy. Now that he saw it once more, he was reminded of how significant that energy was before.
"Hold up, Matthias. Faith Energy is still important for you." Reading his mind, Old Man Sanyi said.
"Hmm? I think so. But how can I track my Faith Energy?" He asked.
Old Man Sanyi sighed and replied, "Although you could be intelligent sometimes, you still could be stupid also."
"Just like your Creation Energy, you can sense your Faith Energy manually. That's needed because you mustn't rely on any systems because you are a god. Relying on something material like systems is as stupid as a professional driver relying on a driving instructor to teach him how to make a sharp turn or Albert Einstein relying on a calculator to solve 8+7."
"Oh.." Matthias then closed his eyes and sensed the energies around him. When he opened his eyes once more, he was amazed when he saw the sight in front of him.
Countless specs of light flew towards the tree. In the material world, the gigantic tree was ever so glorious. But in Matthias' sight, the glorious tree that the others were seeing couldn't even be compared to the shining golden tree that has a huge manifestation of a golden deity-like figure that has its eyes closed. At its back were 108 arms circling, two of those were clasped together in front of his body, looking like a Buddha made of rocks and soil with trunks of trees circling its body, acting like the apparition's Buddhist Robe.
"This.." Matthias gawked with shock. "That's the Everlasting Deity of Aqiartha, its glorious shining pillar, Triant King Verdana." Old Man Sanyi revealed.
"If The Triant King Verdana had been outside the Immortal Territories, the only existences that would be able to restrain him would be a Grand God, something that even I can't fight currently with my level." He also added, terrifying Matthias.
"Even you?" Matthias gasped. He already saw how terrifying Old Man Sanyi's power of the void is. Something that even his innate power of creation feared. With the void that Old Man Sanyi made, he conjectured that anything that it touches would cease to exist. But he was shocked that even that has a weakness.
"It isn't a weakness." Old Man Sanyi reprimanded. "Us Juniors have limited authority over the power that we possess. The Seniors, Elders, and the Senate Representatives can combat other powerful existences with their power. Worlds like the Immortal Territories are just playgrounds for them. The truth is, every place is a playground for them."
"They can cross universes and puncture Universal Barriers, crossing to multiple dimensions as far as they like. The Hell Emperor is one of those that crossed. As you can see with his outfit, he came from an alternate Earth, living there with his wife. That damned corpse. We Awakened at the same time but he has already reached that far." He spat with envy.
"Anyways, you can continue praying in Verdana. Although you are a god, gods have hierarchy too. They can ask support from higher gods if they need to. Although The Triant King Verdana could be considered an inferior god that can only grant blessings and support, unlike you who can create, he is still currently more powerful than you, with his God Manifestations reaching 108 arms, also known as the All-reaching Manifestation." Ood Man Sanyi advised with sincerity.
"Manifestation?" Matthias asked with curiosity. "It's not the time for you to know it yet. You will know it sometime in the future, but not now. You don't even have your God Authority. Pass this test first."
"Sure." He nodded. He then clasped his hands together and continued to pray. Inside his mind, Old Man Sanyi taught him some things about Faith.
"Sense the flow of energy in you and the surface of the Triant King's body. The flow of Faith on him would be beneficial for your comprehension in Faith in the future."
"Now, although Creation is the main driving force of gods, Faith is equally powerful too. The strength of your creation's faith in you directly adds or even multiplies your power and authority over them as their god. That is why gods can sometimes dictate the fate of their subjects. Gods can befall punishments upon creation and not experience backlash. Gods can also place blessings and protection upon their believers, making them invincible against their foes with their undying faith."
"Wait. Gods can experience backlash if they place upon punishment to their creations? Why didn't I experience that when I slaughtered the infidels of Alphan?" Matthias wondered.
"First of all, they were killed by your subjects, demons and angels. The only thing you did was call upon them. Second, even if you did personally punish them, you wouldn't experience backlash because you have believers on the land." Old Man Sanyi answered.
"How did you know that? Speaking of which, how did you know all of those, even the details of my life when you reprimanded me?!" Matthias gasped.
"We have been watching you grow all these time, Matthias. Although we didn't do so materially, we know of the things that you experienced." Old Man Sanyi answered.
"Anyways, that isn't important. You need to learn, and some of the things that we are talking about right now are already too advanced, so finish your training first." Old Man Sanyi then went silent once more.
Matthias was left gaping his mouth. But still, he continued to pray.
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