Chapter 73: World Tree Seed
It was already dawn.
Sitting alone at the study table, Kane sifted through Firlia’s administrative documents alongside the intelligence ripped from the scouting camp commander.
Overlapping maps covered the wood.
He finally saw the true board.
This wasn’t the flawed narrative spoon-fed to the royal war room, nor was it the limited data the game originally provided.
Rolling his shoulders to ease a lingering stiffness, Kane brought up his status screen.
Checking his numbers hadn’t been a priority since stepping onto the tournament, but he needed a clear inventory of his current capabilities.
[Name: Kane]
[Stage: Warbrand - Late]
[Level: 38]
[Strength: 228]
[Vitality: 191]
[Agility: 102]
[Dexterity: 84]
[Intelligence: 52]
[Wisdom: 47]
[Charisma: 156]
[Dominance: 71]
[Gold Coins: 798]
[Active Skills: Berserker Rage Lv2 - Bloodlust, Conquest Bond, Harem Bond Lv2, Inspect Lv2, Allocation Lv2]
[Passive Skills: Body Enhancement, Primal Seed, Afterglow, Primal Resonance, Battle Mate - Kessa, Conqueror’s Presence]
[Weapon Bond: Mjoldr - Soul Brand active, Evolution: Stage 2 pending]
[Sovereign’s Brand capacity: 12]
[Title: Empire Breaker]
’Stage two is just sitting there,’ Kane pondered, staring at the weapon text.
That grumpy market dwarf swore the axe was still becoming something else. Beating the royal heir was supposed to trigger the final shift.
Divine bloodline mixing with fallen energy. But the shift paused at the edge of completion. Something else is missing.
Flicking the notification away, a new blue box chimed into existence.
[Tournament Champion Reward - Delayed Collection]
[You may select one item from the following:]
[Option 1: Elven Spellblade — Enchanted weapon, Warbrand tier, deals magical and physical damage simultaneously]
[Option 2: Sovereign’s Codex - Ancient tactical document containing 200 years of Elven Imperial military strategy. Grants permanent +15 to Intelligence and Wisdom upon reading]
[Option 3: World Tree Seed - A cutting from the World Tree. Can be planted to establish a minor node of divine energy at a location of your choosing. The node provides permanent magical enhancement to all bonded members within 500 meters]
[Option 4: Dragonblood Awakening Elixir — Temporarily awakens dormant Dragonblood genetic markers. For users with barbarian bloodline: permanent +30 to Strength and Vitality. One use only]
’Wow.’
’That elixir is practically a cheat code,’ Kane thought, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his jaw.
’Thirty permanent points to my primary combat stats just for drinking a potion. That would solve a multitude of problems if I’ve to fight a general.’
Glancing at the second option, he considered the tactical document.
’A codex filled with two centuries of strategies. That closes the blind spot I’ve been fighting since my game knowledge ran out. It makes me a smarter warlord.’
Yet his eyes kept drifting down to the third choice, refusing to look away.
’A node of divine energy. Placed literally anywhere I want. Permanent buffs to all bonded members within five hundred meters.’
Tapping his fingers on the table, Kane let his mind spin through the possibilities.
Grieselda’s mark was already doing strange things as her seal slowly dissolved under his influence.
Furthermore, he now possessed twelve open Sovereign’s Brand slots waiting to be filled with elite killers.
’This seed doesn’t just make me hit harder,’ Kane deduced, forming a lethal conjecture.
’It turns my entire inner circle into a walking nightmare for whoever we face.’
Looking back at the map, his eyes locked onto the western pass.
That was the exact bottleneck Menual’s siege engines intended to squeeze through in less than a week.
’What happens if I plant a divine energy node right in the middle of a warzone?’
Pressing his finger against the blue interface, he finalized his choice.
[World Tree Seed acquired]
[Note: Plant carefully. What grows from this cannot be unplanted.]
[Note: The queen is going to have questions about this. She’s going to ask where you got it. You received it as a tournament reward from her own empire’s prize pool. That conversation is going to be exceptionally interesting.]
A genuine laugh escaped Kane’s lips.
’I’m stealing her sacred tree fragment using her own tournament prize system. I almost want to see the look on her face when she realizes.’
Caelindra stepped into the doorway, snapping his focus back to the present.
She carried the expression of a woman trying desperately to do her boring bureaucratic job while secretly obsessing over something infinitely more dangerous.
"Firlia received confirmation," the secretary announced, her voice crisp and clear.
"The Empress of Milfheim responded within twelve hours. She demands a direct meeting."
"Where does she want to do this?" Kane asked, casually crossing his booted feet on the edge of the desk.
"She proposed the Ironveil Pass," Caelindra read from her meticulously organized parchment.
"Neutral territory sitting right between the two empires. Three days from now."
"Send a bird back immediately," Kane ordered.
"Tell her I’ll be there in two."
Pausing, Caelindra carefully noted the sudden schedule change.
"You’re planning to meet the Millenia Empress before the Menual cavalry even reaches the western pass."
"Yes."
"And you theorize you can somehow convince a foreign, hostile ruler to redirect her entire military west based on a single conversation," she pressed, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"In two days."
"Is my ambitious schedule a problem for you?"
Staring at him for a long moment, she finally snapped her portfolio shut.
"No. I’m coming with you."
"I already knew that," Kane chuckled, dropping his boots to the floor.
Fighting a small grin, Caelindra turned sharply on her heel and marched back down the hall, her posture slightly less rigid than before.
Rutheus barged into the study barely an hour later.
Carrying a dented cup of wine in his remaining hand.
"You look too bored, old man," Kane greeted, gesturing to an empty chair.
"Please tell me we are going to ruin someone’s day."
"We’re going to ruin an entire empire’s day," Kane corrected him, sliding the annotated map toward the Dragonblood warrior.
"I need everything you know about the northern mountain approaches. Specifically the goat paths and hunting trails the royal elven scouts always ignore."
"They are bringing siege equipment, right? Those fancy catapults cannot climb steep grades. I conjecture they have to use the flat valley floors."
"Exactly," Kane agreed, leaning over the map.
"They will be funneled tight."
"If we take the high ground along these ridges," Rutheus deduced, his eyes lighting up with tactical glee, "we turn those valleys into a complete slaughterhouse. But the footing is treacherous. Regular soldiers will break their ankles trying to march up there."
"Good thing I don’t employ regular soldiers," Kane smirked.
Somewhere beyond the mountains, twelve siege engines were already moving toward their graveyard.
