[Tree] Chapter 656: Change of Plans (Patreon)

Ashlock watched Thanatos raise the Wavescale Elder as a shadow wraith and decided the test was over. Though Timmy had overlooked the Elder's escaping Nascent Soul, by all measurable accounts, he passed with flying colors.

Admittedly, Ashlock's attention had shifted between Kaida's library, where Elysia was hard at work turning Gorran's men into loyal members of the All-Seeing Eye Cult, and here, so he may have missed a few things. But everything he did see from Timmy went beyond his expectations.

"Honestly, I'm a little jealous. I never realized how powerful earth Qi was in the hands... or should I say, roots of a spirit tree. Especially one that can rely on me for Qi. Because without my help, Timmy would have taken far longer to soak an entire island in Qi." Ashlock paused. "But none of that matters, because Timmy passed the test off his schemes alone. After witnessing this fight, I believe any Nascent Soul Realm spirit tree given access to my Qi could wipe out a bunch of weaklings, but Timmy went beyond that. He ground a cliff into sand, hijacked the fog array, confused their senses, and baited an Elder into a false alcove. And don't get me started on the golem. It was pure genius to use lodestone to make it magnetic!"

However, it wasn't all good. Timmy was still young, and it showed in his inexperience. Letting the infant soul almost escape was one thing, but he had made other blunders. The golem was large and fearsome, but it was helpless when the Wavescale cultivators hid among the trees for cover. Timmy seemed to favor large-scale, loud attacks and lacked finesse.

"I don't need a babysitter!" Timmy complained. "I wiped them all out! I even took care of the airship by myself! I didn't even need Elder Maren or your help, Thanatos."

"Timmy," Ashlock said through Thanatos, causing the shadow Monarch's eyes to blaze golden.

"F-Father," Timmy panicked, his golem dropping to one knee. Elder Maren gulped, quickly followed Timmy's lead, and bowed her head. It hadn't been Ashlock's plan to show even a hint of himself before Elder Maren, but now it seemed like a good opportunity.

"You did a good job defending Saltstone Island, my son," Ashlock said, choosing his words and tone carefully as Elder Maren was present.

Timmy perked up. "Really, Father?!"

"Yes. However... while creative, your execution was far from flawless," Ashlock said. It hurt him to do this, but Timmy was too talented for his own good. Showering him with praise would only feed his ego and stall his progress. "You still have a lot to learn."

"Like what—"

"Are you questioning my judgment?" Ashlock said, flaring his spiritual pressure laced with the bloodlust he had acquired from devouring the resentment of many souls.

Elder Maren paled, and Timmy's golem trembled as the alcove became suffocating.

"N-No, Father. I would never question you. I just want to know what I could... improve. Besides the infant soul escaping, I won't let that happen again. Promise."

Ashlock relaxed his pressure. Elder Maren barely held her composure as she gasped for breath.

"Let's see if you can figure it out yourself," Ashlock said, pointing Thanatos's scythe at Elder Maren. "Why is she here, Timmy?"

The golem glanced at Elder Maren, whose eyes widened with fear. Ashlock felt bad for her, but this was a rare chance to test the logic of one of his most capable offspring. How did a spirit tree see the world? Power and schemes mattered, but so did self-reflection. Was Timmy capable of it? Ashlock wanted to find out.

"She is here... because..." Timmy was getting flustered. "Um, oh yeah! She came to investigate a noise."

Ashlock simply stared at him, waiting for him to connect the dots.

"A noise... that I caused." Timmy paused. "But why does that matter?"

"Disappointing, but understandable, as you're still young," Ashlock said. "The Wavescale Sect came here on a stealth mission. You did a good job eliminating the airship, but you made so much noise that the Wavescale Sect can guess the outcome of their little infiltration, and Torvun may stop waiting and take the field himself."

Timmy rose to interrupt, but Ashlock continued.

"Which would be bad, because this Elder here was pulled away from the battle and ended up having to assist you because you had no way to deal with the Wavescale cultivators hiding in the trees."

"I..." Timmy couldn't find the words and hung his head. "I will do better next time."

"Good, and Timmy."

"Yes, Father?"

"Relying on others isn't weakness." He had Thanatos push the Nascent Soul Realm Ent forward. "This shadow is for you to command."

"Thank you for your teachings and your trust, Father," Timmy said as the shadow wraith moved to stand at his side. "I will not fail you."

Ashlock had Thanatos retreat into the shadows and relaxed his gaze on the alcove. After a moment, Timmy and Elder Maren rose from their kneeling position and exchanged a glance.

"I-I should get back to the front line before something bad happens to Ferrin," Elder Maren said and flew out of the cave before Timmy could get a word in.

His son's golem stared out at the ocean for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Just as Ashlock wondered if he had gone too hard on his son, the golem clenched its fists, and he felt a wave of determination through his roots.

"Clean up the bodies and bring them to the main alcove," Timmy commanded his new sidekick. "I need a moment to think."

Ashlock left his son to his thoughts and portaled Thanatos back to Red Vine Peak on the 9th layer. Timmy had shown he could defend the island against most threats in the isles, so there was no need to leave Thanatos there to babysit. He had far better uses for a Monarch Realm Ent; namely, to hunt down the remaining unaccounted-for Sins.

"I'm growing concerned about the lack of movement from the Burning One and the Yearning One," he told Thanatos. "Especially the Yearning One, as the Still One specifically snatched Korrath away for her before Stella could land the final blow. Track Korrath, and it should lead you to them."

"What about the Still One?"

That was a good question. Ashlock had put off fighting him because he seemed the most reasonable of the lot, but in a twisted way, his inaction against the Still One mirrored the very sin the Still One represented: sloth.

"I don't know why, but he seems the most dangerous," Ashlock replied after a moment of thought. "I'll have Khaos hunt him down once she is done with matters on the 8th Layer. You focus on the other two for now."

"Understood, my Lord," Thanatos said, and vanished into the shadows. While the General hid it well, Ashlock could tell Thanatos was thrilled to be freed from babysitting one of his offspring in a cave.

"Things are progressing smoothly," Ashlock mused as he checked on Elysia. Gorran and his crew seemed to have finally calmed down. Whatever method Elysia was using, it was working. He would be sure to reward them well for enduring her once they became loyalists.

Ashlock's gaze lingered on the bench. "I wonder when Stella will return..."

Her ascension was taking a long time.

Ashlock sighed. The matters of the 8th Layer and the Midas Bank had stolen his attention, but in the quiet moments, he missed Stella's presence. "I hope everything is going well up there," he muttered. "Come home soon..."

Taking a moment to listen to the rustle of his leaves, he realized he could no longer hear the birds chirping.

"Is it because of the height Red Vine Peak sits at now?" Ashlock wondered as he stared out across the great expanse of Sylva's golden canopy. The environment up here was so harsh that without his formations protecting the peak, even he would struggle. "All of that will change after the Red Tide. The outpost will be gone, and I'll finally be able to raise my Sanctuary into the next layer."

His plans for the 8th Layer kept evolving as the situation developed. The perfect example of this was Gorran practically offering himself up by coming down in search of treasure, opening a new avenue for their diplomatic conquest.

"With the fight between the Saltstone Sect and the Wavescale Sect underway, I should discuss with Diana how to handle this development," Ashlock muttered. His vision blurred, and he arrived on Moros. Diana and Morrigan were waiting for him as expected, but a third member was there.

"Master," Khaos said, sensing his presence. "I have a report."

"Let's hear it."

"From what I could gather, Yun Zhilan and the Ninth Wave Sect aren't trying to weaken the other sects by spreading the treasure realm rumor."

"Oh?"

"They actually do believe it's a treasure realm and are hoping to find a cure for Yun Zhilan's condition, which I'm yet to figure out. The reason they haven't sent a search party themselves is because of the approaching Red Tide and concerns that other sects may use the opportunity to pressure them."

"The Ninth Wave Sect feels pressured?" Ashlock said in surprise.

Khaos nodded. "While they are by far the most powerful sect in the isles, Yun Zhilan's treatment is draining their Elders' Qi, leaving them in an unusually weakened position. A combined effort from the other sects could overthrow them."

"Interesting," Ashlock muttered. "Did you happen to figure out what they plan to do after the Red Tide?"

"Yes. They plan to enter the rift with a large fleet the moment the tide is over, as they suspect the other sects will be too weakened after the tide to contest them." Khaos paused. "Depending on the results they observe from others entering the treasure realm, they are still debating whether they should send Yun Zhilan or not."

That wasn't good. Ashlock was certain he could fight off any isle fleet with ease, but Yun Zhilan would be a problem. He didn't know what a Sovereign was capable of yet, but he didn't want to find out in the skies over Red Vine Peak.

"We will have to get in contact with Yun Zhilan right after the Red Tide," Ashlock concluded. "But this information is useful. Thank you, Khaos."

The headless Ent bowed.

"Shall we still proceed with defeating the Wavescale Sect as planned?" Diana asked.

"No, I'm starting to think that isn't our best course of action," Ashlock thought aloud. "The goal of having Ferrin triumph over the Wavescale Sect was to sell the treasure realm rumor. But with the Ninth Wave Sect being so interested in the treasure realm, a massive upset like the historically weak Saltstone Sect defeating the Wavescale Sect in battle might force their hand before the Red Tide."

"Which would be bad," Diana said, crossing her arms. "We need to avoid attracting the attention of the Jade Emperor's Consortium on the Ninth Wave Sect's island before the Red Tide gives us the cover to destroy the outpost with Uldrenneth. A treasure realm giving Ferrin the strength to overthrow the Wavescale Sect is exactly the type of thing that would draw the outpost's interest."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Morrigan asked. "Ferrin is already on the front line, decked out in shiny items and fighting their Elders. It's only a matter of time until he reaches the Wavescale Sect island and faces Torvun."

"I could call him off," Diana offered.

"No, the Wavescale Sect would only press their advantage and try to take over the Saltstone Sect should Ferrin back down. I see only one way this war ends without attracting the attention of the Ninth Wave Sect, and that's if Torvun were to willingly surrender."

Diana snorted. "There's no way he would ever surrender to Ferrin. Even if they are almost equal in strength, he would fight to the death rather than kneel."

"I don't know... I think he could be persuaded if you two paid him a visit."

Morrigan and Diana exchanged a glance, and they both grinned.

"We should head out quickly then," Diana said, unfurling her feathered wings.

Morrigan nodded. "Meet you there," she said, and vanished into the void.

Diana flew off the side of Moros and disappeared into the fog surrounding the islands.

"Make sure no information leaks," Ashlock said to Khaos.

"Not a whisper shall escape the battlefield," Khaos said and vanished after them.

Ashlock shifted his view to Saltstone Island, and by using Gaze of the Tree God, he could see some of the battle through the fog. The disciples of the Saltstone Sect were heavily outclassed by the serpent riders of the Wavescale Sect and had been pushed back to fighting near the shores of the island. They would have been overwhelmed already if not for Elder Maren standing with them. She raised walls of basalt to weather the serpent riders' assault, giving her sect's disciples time to recover and breathe.

"Should they make landfall, they will have to deal with Timmy," Ashlock chuckled. "But the battle should be over before then."

He couldn't see them through the fog, but he could feel the spiritual pressures of Ferrin and First Elder Brannoch in the distance near the Wavescale's island.

"Once Torvun surrenders to us, I'll be able to plant demonic trees on their island," Ashlock mused. "Then, when Gorran has completed indoctrination, I should control half of all the sects in the Sunken Crown Isles, all without having to manage them!"

Diplomacy was a delicate process, but winning the existing leaders over instead of replacing them proved far more efficient.

"Yun Zhilan and the Ninth Wave Sect will be a tougher nut to crack, but I'll cross that bridge after Uldrenneth has swallowed that pesky outpost, freeing me from the scrutiny of the mainland."

Ashlock idly watched the battle near the Saltstone Island shore since he couldn't watch the Patriarchs' and Elders' fight—the fog blocked his spiritual sight, and he didn't want to move Moros closer or open his Evil Eye in the sky and attract Yun Zhilan's attention.

He didn't bother to intervene as Elder Maren had the situation under control, and if everything went well, all these cultivators would soon answer to him.

"It's amusing to think I used to fear cultivators of this level," Ashlock muttered. "But now they look like children hurling water at each other. No wonder the Monarchs never bother to involve themselves in fights like these. It all seems so... trivial."

Ashlock sighed and looked up at the sky.

He had come so far, and yet still had so far to go.

[Author Note]

It's a long holiday weekend here in Japan, so I'm going on a short trip. Because of that, the next Tree chapter will be on Wednesday!