Chapter 343 The Pack’s Decision
The core of the forest,
Right now, only a gigantic tree sprawled itself over the whole core. It's canopy so thick and wide that the shadow it cast was enough to accommodate hundreds of people beneath. That was only if it was safe to be under such a dangerous being's shadow.
The whole area was filled with some sort of reddish fog and once subjected to that fog, one would not have their consciousness anymore.
Within its thick trunk lay a cocoon made up of its very own branches. The only difference being that the branches were thicker and redder than the rest of the tree. Albeit strange, the cocoon housed a few humans as they were covered in a thick sap like liquid while suspended within the cocoon. Their bodies were still and their consciousness empty. The tree had put them in some sort of induced sleep which led to them being in this manner.
Unknown to everyone else, the tree had a plan of its own and the humans it had captured were going to be its pawns.
"All my thralls, come to me," a mental message was sent by the tree as it called everyone it had infected with the seeds. From the weakest being to the strongest of the forest lords, the tree had called everyone in one place.
The core of the forest wasn't big, it was half the size of an average territory controlled by a forest lord and with most of the beings of the forest coming to the core, the tree had to do some changes.
Waves of red energy were erupted from the tree as an illusionary aura appeared over it. The tree was a devilish existence and its aura was as such. A corrupt and vile being that controlled others and fulfilled its goals and purposes. The tree swept the whole core with its aura and then slowly released its energy bit by bit. It's strength was unknown but its was clear that the power of the tree was on par to a Celestial and that its magic was strong enough to overpower one too.
Within seconds, the whole core of the forest was filled with its reddish energy. The thick fog seemed to solidify as its precipitates started to fall to the charred ground that remained. The tree vibrated ever so slightly as something formed above it.
Like an illusion taking form in the very sky, a being with white wings and pure holy radiance appeared above the tree. It's eyes were solemn while a while a crown remained floating over its head. The crown was studded with reddish gems and intricate runes that were even hard to concentrate at.
The being opened its mouth as it spoke, "Finally, after such a long time; i can see the world with my own eyes again but i need more strength. In this state, i can barely keep myself afloat," as the being said those words it did so in such a calm and soothing manner that people would be compelled to follow its every word.
After all, the being wasn't just some nobody but someone who had attained a special status long ago but had taken the wrong side and was felled by his own comrades.
"This time, i will make sure everything goes right," it thought and waited for its thralls to appear.
Meanwhile, the whole forest was moving and the only place that seemed to be unaffected was the region of frost lord Alden. His pack was busy helping out the humans as it built defenses and other machinery to face against the enemy.
A few scouts appeared in front of the forest lord as they relayed their latest findings to him. Alden moved at the speed of sound and appeared behind the head nurse, startling her but the news he brought made her forget everything as a frown appeared on her face.
"The forest is moving towards the core," Alden relayed as he sat down on a stone and rubbed his temples. The tree was moving faster than he had anticipated and it meant only one thing; the tree was ready and would attack very soon.
"We need to hurry," the head nurse spoke.
"How much faster can we go? We are already being as fast as we could, I don't think we could go any faster than this," Alden replied.
"Not if we get help," the head nurse answered, a smirk on her face as seeing her act like this made Alden question that what if the head nurse knew something he didn't.
"What do you plan to do?" Asked Alden as he really didn't have any other plan nor did he wanted to fight or get involved in one. He knew that asking for reasons and explanations would further delay them and hence he decided to trust the woman in front of him.
After all, what other choice did he even have? At one side wa death if he revolted and that he had done and even if the tree accepted his apology and let him live, he wouldn't be free and would live under the shadow of a tree and be controlled by it. It was something that Alden found worse than death and considered death to be more humble than this.
"See, we will do as we are doing but we will not blow the trees. We will just skip that part and complete our preparations," the head nurse replied.
"Okay, that will increase the chances of us being backstabbed but even that won't be enough. Fighting against a whole forest is too much for us and lets say we are able to deal with the monsters here, the other lords are also Celestial and I'm nowhere close to defeat them, even with you combined," Alden answered.
"That's where my plan comes in," the head nurse said. She turned around and looked towards the other side of the forest. Far east to the forest, where the grasslands were. Looking at there, she pointed her finger in that direction as she said, "We will prepare decoys and run. We will slowly retreat while we fight, using the trees as our cover; we will vanish from the forest until help comes,"
"Have you gone mad?" Alden shouted, his voice rising in intensity as he looked around himself and then spoke, "Do you know what this place means to me? I was raised here, i hunted here, gained my strength and everything in here and you want me to leave this place? And to where? The grasslands? That place has nothing except for grass, we would die of hunger before anything else,"
"Do you have any other idea?" The head nurse asked, her voice as clam as ever as a cold and calculating glint shone in her eyes.
Hearing her words, the proud and powerful lord of the forest turned silent, "No," he whispered as he thought to himself of how bad the condition. He tried to think of something but nothing came to him and he knew it in his heart that the woman in front of him was speaking the truth. A bitter truth he couldn't come to accept and a fate he didn't wish to resign to.
"Give me some time, i need to contact my pack and ask what they say," he said to the head nurse and called upon his pack. The scouts, the fighters, the children, the mothers, everyone was called as within minutes; the whole pack stood in front of him.
The Warmacks were truly wonderful. They could communicate in their minds and shared everything they had, like a huge family and even the leader they had was different. He was elected upon and the wisdom and strength of every previous leader was passed onto him.
"Are you sure you are a distant relative of Wargs and not Wargs yourself?" The head nurse questioned skeptically to which Alden just shook his head and replied, "Yes, we share a lot with the wargs but one thing we don't share is their bloodlust and that's why we are here and they are just a thing of the past,"
Hearing his reply, the head nurse nodded as Alden went off to discuss everything with his pack. The head nurse waited for his answer as she saw the pack show various emotions that even she as a human had forgotten long ago.
The emotion of sadness and familial love had been a distant thing because as far as she remembered, she had worked to get stronger and to heal but the reason for it she didn't remember but was sure, that she had made a promise when she was young. A promise to heal and use her powers for the betterment of people and society.
Reminiscing about those times and trying to uncover the secret of her memory she didn't seem to remember, she was interrupted by Alden.
He stood in front of her as he looked at her, his eyes full of conviction as he answered, "We will follow your plan. It's either us or the forest but not all. I will stay and fight, you will take the kids and the weaker ones away to safety. That's what the pack deems right,"
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