Volume 4: The End of the World Chapter 3 Wild Hunt and Mind
After parting with Nezemar, William went alone to the heart of the Holy Tree City - the World Tree that was so big that the end of it could not be seen at a glance.
Even William was shocked when he came to the foot of this majestic tree that looked like a mountain. The branches were so thick that people could run on them happily and intertwined with each other; occasionally, dead leaves that were big enough to cover people would fall off the branches and float down, attracting pedestrians under the shade to avoid them.
Thick roots extended from here, weaving into a huge net that reached every corner of the Holy Tree City. Each of the subtrees that served as the "buildings" of the city was connected to their mother, the World Tree, through the root net.
Not only is it huge, but it is also complicated.
It is said that all kinds of plants on the Vic continent can be found growing on the World Tree. The tree itself is an extremely complete ecosystem, or according to William's past world, a living gene bank (if there is such a thing as genes in this world).
William arrived under the World Tree with almost no obstacles along the way, which surprised him a little.
Because this was unimaginable in the past.
A thousand years ago, this was a forbidden area that outsiders could never approach. But now, it seems that even humans can freely enter and exit the core area of the Holy Tree City.
"Maybe it's because of the Unification War?"
William muttered to himself as he walked on the road.
According to historical records, during , Ravenwood, blessed by the Great Mother of the World Tree, repelled seven attacks by the Empire Legion and remained standing. In the end, it was the Great Sage Yeats and his first generation of platinum magic rings who chanted for ten days and ten nights, weaving a great magic called "Calamity Fire" to issue an ultimatum - if they did not surrender, they would burn the entire forest.
The ruler of the Holy Tree City, "Father of the Wilderness", finally chose to kneel. He appeased the anger of the "Big Mother" and expressed his willingness to accept the rule of the empire while guaranteeing the contract between the forest elves and the World Tree.
Eventually, with Ravenwood as the core, the entire southwestern part of the Wick continent was divided into the current Emerald Province. The title of "Father of the Wilderness", who was the sacred marriage partner of the "Great Mother" in the tradition of the forest elves in the past, was abolished, and replaced by the "Duke of the Holy Tree" bestowed by the Platinum Throne.
Perhaps for this reason, many things that were absolutely taboo in the past have now been changed. For example, people like William, who have human appearance, can walk freely under the shade of the World Tree without being troubled by anyone. If it were the era of the game story, William would attract at least half a dozen guards if he approached this area.
When William came to a staircase woven by vines and roots and was about to climb up the tree along the road, a guard wearing shiny beast leather armor and a white bone sword on his waist stopped him.
William thought he had finally met someone who came to stop him from moving forward. He was just about to chant an illusion spell to get away with it, but the first words the other party said made William stunned.
"Sir, please wait a moment. Are you going to the World Tree to sightsee or to worship the Holy Tree Mother?"
"go sightseeing?"
William asked subconsciously.
Does the World Tree still offer tourism now? Isn't this too different from the forbidden holy place in William's memory, where foreigners who approached would be arrested, imprisoned, flogged, or even executed?
"If you're here for sightseeing, then you've come to the wrong entrance. The closest ones are South 4 and South 7. These two tree-hole tracks are the entrances for sightseeing. The Tiansheng Horned Bug Passenger Train runs once an hour. You can't catch the South 4 one now, but you should still be able to catch the South 7 one now."
Perhaps he didn't hear the questioning tone of the word "sightseeing" from William's mouth, so the forest elf guard replied like this.
This answer shocked William.
What the hell is the Tiansheng Horned Insect Guest List?
William knew about the Holy Beetle. It was a sacred insect that was raised by the forest druids in the past. It was only called out to carry sacrifices during sacrifices.
It seems like they are now accepting commercial orders?
The forest elf who stopped William looked quite old. His skin was a light dark brown with some rough wrinkles like tree bark. Seeing William standing there in a daze with an expression of disbelief on his face, he patiently explained:
"The path behind me leads directly to the Cenmu Gate of the Holy Tree Mother Temple. There are 7,800 steps in total. The door will only open when the pilgrims climb up in one breath . Since you are here for sightseeing, you should take the Beetle Train to the Holy Tree. I have seen too many people who got stuck halfway up the steps and could not get up or down."
The Cen Wood Gate is one of the seven gates of the Holy Tree Mother Temple. Due to the influence of the Holy Spirit Church, this gate has become a symbol of the "Holy Mother". In the game, passing through this gate has the same effect as touching the statue of the "Holy Mother".
Although he was surprised, William quickly accepted this setting. After all, after more than a thousand years, this little change was barely within his understanding.
After adjusting his previously out-of-control expression, William cleared his throat and said:
"Actually, I was planning to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Great Mother of the Sacred Trees. I wanted to pray for good health for myself."
After saying this, William was a little worried for a moment that the other party would drag him to buy some incense and candles or something like that.
The sense of déjà vu is too strong.
But the guard just looked around when he heard this, then lowered his voice and said to William:
"If you are here for the blessing of the Great Mother, I can only say that those who say that walking the pilgrimage route can gain health blessings are just rumors. Going to any regular church in the empire is not much different from walking through that door. There is no need to torment yourself by climbing 7,800 steps just for such a rumor."
His tone was sincere.
This is a real person...
William thought secretly.
By adding some harsh conditions to the blessing effect that can be obtained from ordinary churches, the originally ordinary blessing effects can be plated with a sacred aura. This trick is widely used in building faith, managing subordinates, and various PUA relationships. If William really came for a pilgrimage, he might really listen to the guard and take the Holy Scarab Train.
However, the purpose of his trip was to go to the temple of the Holy Tree Mother, hoping to use the power of the World Tree to dispel the remaining corruption curse of the Hungry Lady. So no matter what, he had to go up.
Seeing William's determined look, the guard sighed slightly and said nothing more. He just turned around and walked to the small pavilion that grew out of mushrooms, picked up the eagle feather pen, dipped it in ink and said:
"Then I need to register your identity first."
Before William could give his prepared pseudonym, a dozen or so thin and sickly men, wearing animal skins, carrying rough bone weapons, and covered with tattoos, gradually appeared around the roots of the tree along with thick green light.
With the appearance of this group of guys, the originally noisy environment around them suddenly became silent.
"Who are they?"
Seeing this, William whispered to the guard beside him.
"They are the hounds of the Duke of the Sacred Tree, the Wild Hunt."
The guard answered nervously and even fearfully.
"And the Wild Hunt is..."
William was about to continue asking, but the guard immediately put his index finger in front of his lips and made a "quiet" gesture.
"When the Wild Hunt is around, don't talk too much and attract their attention... They have unlimited law enforcement powers, and they are all crazy."
The guard said in a voice almost whispering.
Before he finished speaking, perhaps because William, a human, stood out among the forest elves, or perhaps because he heard the conversation between William and the guard, one of the Wild Hunts came over to them.
After this man slowly and oppressively walked in front of William, he opened his mouth full of sharp teeth and said:
"Why are you here, human?"
The Wild Hunt's voice was intermittent and lacked conjunctions, as if it was under some heavy pressure.
"I plan to make a pilgrimage to the Temple."
William shrugged.
Perhaps the expression on his face was too calm. After looking William up and down, the Wild Hunter gritted his teeth and said:
"We are trying to arrest an anti-Imperial element who is believed to have fled to this city. Would you mind going to the Green Prison to cooperate with the investigation?"
"That's just right..."
William muttered quietly.
"What?"
"I think that's the way it should be. How can there be no provocations based on race in Holy Tree City?"
William raised his voice slightly.
Then he looked at the man in front of him and said:
"Also, my answer to your question just now is I mind."
