Volume 4: The End of the World Chapter 13 Underground Root System

When William heard his last name, he was a little surprised.

But then he immediately shook his head in his heart.

It must be just a coincidence...

After all, Kane is not a rare surname, and there is no tradition of changing surnames to avoid suspicion in this world. More importantly, there was no game content such as marriage in "End Watcher" at the beginning, so it is impossible for me to have descendants in this world.

Of course, there are also people who claim to be William's descendants to flatter themselves, but if that is the case, then it has nothing to do with him.

Thinking of this, William asked:

"Do you know anything else about her adoptive parents?"

Being willing to live and settle in Ravenwood means being willing to accept the unique cultural customs of the forest elves. At least in William's time, only the unlucky people who were hunted by their enemies or the very few lunatics with special fetishes would be willing to do so.

According to the information William learned, after Ravenwood was annexed by the Riel Empire, it seemed to have become a place of exile for those who lost in the power struggle within the empire. Even the current empress of the empire, Irene Riel, was sent here for recuperation since she was a child on the grounds of being weak and sickly. Although it was called recuperation, the essence was that the old emperor hoped that his little daughter could stay away from the center of the empire and not become a victim of the power struggle.

"We have investigated. Her adoptive parents were both members of the inner circle of the Platinum Circle. It seems that they offended a member of the Imperial Senate in Platinum City, so they were demoted and sent here to be responsible for the security of the Imperial Ambassador to Jade Province."

Ebony's answer was pretty much the same as William's guess.

But, the platinum magic ring?

After hearing the name of this organization whose presence seemed a bit too high, William was still a little cautious.

After all, the Platinum Circle is a guard organization that only obeys the orders of the emperor of the empire, is responsible for handling extraordinary events within the empire, and protects the safety of the royal family. It is said that it was founded by the first emperor Terra Riel, and has the privilege of transcending the supervision of the laws of the stars.

Well, as an inner circle member of the Platinum Circle, it is unlikely that he would be exiled to Ravenwood just because of something as serious as offending a certain elder.

Considering that their adopted daughter eventually became the Duke of Holy Tree who ruled the Emerald Province, and continued to implement policies leaning towards the Empire after taking office, it was difficult for William not to think in a conspiracy theory direction.

But in this case, it is hard to say whether there is any deeper meaning behind the other party's surname "Kane".

Thinking of this, William fell into deep thought again.

"So, you think so too, right? This matter was set up by the imperial family from the beginning to control the entire Jade Province. That woman is essentially just a puppet supported by the empire. We just need to uncover her true face..."

Perhaps seeing William's thoughtful expression, Ebony said a little excitedly.

William immediately poured cold water on this overly naive view:

"So what if that's true? According to what you said before, Flora relied on real power, not political tricks to sit on the throne by weaving lies to the people. In this case, as long as we can't find the power to defeat the other party, no matter what the truth is, we can't shake the other party's ruling foundation."

Now that things have come to this, will the other party still care about his or her reputation?

William's words immediately dampened Wu Mu's newly-raised emotions.

But he soon cheered up.

"But as long as you are willing to help us, then we will have enough strength to defeat her, right?"

As the chosen one predicted by the "Great Mother" in the revelation who would liberate the forest elves, Ebony once spent a large sum of money to buy information about this mysterious man from the Thieves Guild and the Broken Sword Brotherhood.

Although the other party's true identity is still unclear, based on his movements and habits, it is almost certain that he has a great relationship with the ancient organization called "End Watcher". It is even possible that he is a direct descendant, successor or even a survivor of the extinct "Judgment Seat".

This point had been basically confirmed by Ebony's previous test using the "Frost Witch" life box.

Members of the Tribunal...

It was difficult for Ebony to describe the excitement he felt after confirming this.

Because of the great book burning movement, most of the historical records about the Tribunal were lost , and now only some fragments can be found. But even in those fragmented records, Ebony can feel how terrifying the Tribunal is and how much influence they have on the current situation.

Remedios, the "Shadow Queen" of Ava, Niher, the "Frost Witch" who once froze the entire Fairy Lake in a rage, Sibyl the "Stargazer" who was the founder of the "Blind Sisterhood", and even "William Kane", the incarnation of the Eighth Holy Spirit of the Empire's faith, were once members of the Judgment Seat.

It is no wonder that this man was able to do so many incredible things before - he is suspected of quelling the tide of undead in the Great Cemetery of Thorn City, overturning the Serpent Tower in Nakuland, manipulating the Blackwater Province behind the scenes to expel the imperial forces, helping the Lord of Ava Continent to kill the demon general Massacre in Yuefa City, and it is even rumored that the Sea of Nothingness that appeared in the Mountains of Sorrow was also his masterpiece.

In addition , in the revelation of the "Great Mother", he had done a great job in resisting the offensive of the demon army in the Moon Realm... It is not known which member of the Tribunal the other party was the successor of, or whether he was simply a member of the Tribunal who hid his identity as an immortal and survived to the present.

Perhaps only a character like this, who is like a mythical hero, can help them pull that inexplicably strong woman off the throne.

"As long as you are willing to help us, I believe all this will not be a problem."

Ebony, feeling his emotions boiling, repeated it again.

William, who was walking behind, heard this and nodded without any modesty.

"I said before, as long as you can guarantee that those things are real, I can let you sit on the throne before next week."

No matter how powerful the forest elf named Floro who has the same surname as him is, since she is a magic caster, there is no possibility for her to defeat him.

William didn't say that he would be able to sit on the throne tonight, he just didn't want to scare the other party.

Hearing William's overconfident words, Wu Mu said with a guilty conscience:

"Not really... Even if you can defeat that woman, we still need to spend some time to gain the support of the major tribes and the forest druids."

After all, defeating Flora and overthrowing the current Jade Province government are two completely different things.

This does make some sense...

After hearing what Ebony said, William thought.

After all, there are many forces scattered throughout Ravenwood. If they really want to suppress them all at once, they have to find a way to gather all those in power who support the Duke of Holy Tree together so that they can be solved at once.

In this way, you only need to take action once, which can save a lot of effort.

Thinking of this, William nodded and said:

"You can arrange these things when the time comes. By the way, where are we going? Why do I feel like we've been going around in circles underground?"

Wu Mu immediately replied:

"Please be patient. Do you think we would simply keep those precious things in our own cabinets? The place we are going to now is a very secluded place hidden under the huge and complex root system of the World Tree. There are a lot of defensive barriers arranged, and we must follow certain rules to trigger the entrance..."

At this moment, the two were heading deeper into the underground caverns that were extended by the World Tree's roots. It was rumored that the World Tree's roots extended to almost every corner of Ravenwood Forest. Of course, this was just an exaggeration. In fact, according to the calculations of the forest druids, the entire root network underground, even including the subtrees, should be less than one-fifth of the area of Ravenwood Forest.

Of course, this is already amazing enough for mortals. Under the Ravenwood Forest, relying on the root network of the World Tree, it is entirely possible to build an underground super city. However, due to the covenant between the forest elves and the World Tree, such things that would destroy the underground roots of the World Tree are naturally not allowed.

"But this is an extraordinary period after all. The Great Mother has allowed us to use the roots here to hide our base to resist Floralo's tyranny."

Ebony said so.

"You kept saying 'we' before, but apart from the Holy Tree Mother Temple, who else in the Jade Province is willing to resist Floralo's tyranny?"

William, who was following behind the other party, asked.

After all, according to what the other party said before, the current Duke of Holy Tree not only has the support of the empire, but also the forest druids and the major tribes that worship the beast spirits have surrendered because of the other party's military force.

In response, Wu Mu replied with a little pride:

"Fularo's ruling style is extremely tyrannical. Anyone who dares to oppose her decision will be executed by her. But fortunately, both the execution and the disposal of the corpse are the responsibility of the Holy Tree Mother Temple according to tradition."

Looking at the smile on the other person's face, William roughly guessed what the other person was doing.

"So you take this opportunity..."

Wu Mu chuckled and said:

"That's right. I replaced the dead root sap used for executions with an alchemical drug with a paralyzing effect, and used it to dispose of corpses. The 'Saint Eaters' all obeyed my orders. Through deception and substitution, I saved many people who were willing to directly resist the Duke. Ah, here we are..."

After turning another corner, the two came to a gate made of tangled roots, on which a defensive barrier was engraved with life runes.

Ebony raised his hand, intending to remove the barrier, but William stopped him.

"Is this the place?"

William asked, his eyes lighting up with an emerald green light.

"Yes, it is here. A settlement of rebels."

Ebony, who was stopped by William, asked curiously.

“How many rebels are there here?”

William ignored the other party's strange look and asked directly.

"There are forty-three people in total. Don't underestimate them because they are few in number, but each of them is brave and good at fighting..."

The color in William's eyes instantly turned dark.

“As expected…”

Then he murmured.