Chapter 134: Spring Comes Upon A Withered Tree (I)

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Chapter 134: Spring Comes Upon A Withered Tree (I)

【Main Mission—Rescue the living creatures trapped in the wildfire. Completion rate will be calculated according to the number saved.】

Shang Ke had only just regained consciousness when the System issued a mission, without even giving him time for a background briefing. Before him stretched a burning forest, trees for miles around swallowed by flames. Waves of blistering heat rolled toward him, while thick smoke choked the air and made it difficult to breathe.

Active fire elements surrounded Shang Ke on all sides, and he immediately realized that magic could be used in this world. Unfortunately, there was no nearby water source, while most of the water elements in the air had either been evaporated or driven away by the flames. There was nowhere near enough to extinguish the inferno.

There was no time to think. Shang Ke could only gather as many water elements as possible, drench himself from head to toe, then charge into the flames. He released his mental power and searched for living creatures as quickly as he could. The moment he found one, he immediately used magic to send it outside the forest.

Burning pain continuously seared across his skin, and the heavy smoke stung his eyes until tears streamed down his face. Everything around him became warped and blurred. His long hair whipped in the heat, flames reflected in his emerald-green eyes, and every bead of sweat rolling down his body transformed into pale-blue water elements. They hovered around him like scattered stars, tangling and struggling against the fire elements.

One glowing spell after another flew from his hands as he moved through the flames, tirelessly rescuing the creatures trapped in the disaster.

As time passed, more and more rescued creatures gathered outside the forest, all of different species. From the higher ground, they licked their wounds while gazing toward that tiny yet brilliant blue glow moving through the inferno.

Darkness gradually swallowed the sky, while the vast forest continued to wail beneath the raging flames.

When Shang Ke’s mental power was finally exhausted, he collapsed headlong into a small river. The cool water eased the burning pain across his body and washed away the suffocating smoke and sparks clinging to him. Then Shang Ke discovered that he could actually breathe freely underwater. The water itself seemed capable of replenishing his vitality.

But he was far too exhausted to think about it. He simply let himself drift in the river, scarlet firelight reflected across the water as his eyes slowly closed…

He had no idea how long he slept before the soft patter of rain awakened him. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the silvery gleam of the water. The violent fire elements that had filled the surroundings were gone.

【Congratulations, Host, on completing the Main Mission—Rescue the living creatures trapped in the wildfire. A total of 671 creatures were saved, bringing completion above 100%. Reward: one bottle of Healing Water.】

What? It’s already complete? Even an easy world shouldn’t be this easy!

【Do not doubt the System’s judgment. Host has already grasped the essence of heroism: selfless sacrifice and pressing forward without hesitation. Please continue displaying this spirit in future missions.】

This was the first time Shang Ke had ever completed a mission so easily, and he could hardly believe it. Only after swimming to the surface did he realize it had not actually been easy at all. Nearly ninety percent of his skin was severely burned, his flesh split open, swollen, and ulcerated in a horrifying state. His originally smooth, straight hair now resembled dried straw, while only a few scraps of clothing remained, barely covering his private areas.

Although the water elements had protected him, their effectiveness had steadily weakened as his mental power was depleted. So focused had he been on rescuing the others that he had not even realized how badly injured he was.

At that moment, several low cries reached his ears. Shang Ke looked up and found a scattered group of creatures surrounding him: black bears, gorals, sables, leopard cats, foxes, sika deer, rabbits, squirrels, and more. There were also several strange species he could not identify, along with more than a dozen olive-shaped fruits.

At first, Shang Ke assumed they were ordinary fruit, but then he sensed the pulses of life inside them and realized they were actually the eggs of some unknown creature.

Shang Ke slowly stood. Despite his wounded body and ghostlike appearance, the animals showed no fear whatsoever. Their clear eyes contained only respect and affection for him.

These animals possessed an unusual spirituality, completely unlike the creatures he had encountered in other worlds. That quality might have originated from the unusually active elemental energy in this world.

The stinging pain across his skin brought Shang Ke back to himself and reminded him of the Healing Water the System had rewarded him. He summoned the bottle and drank it in one gulp. A wave of relief immediately swept through him, and a faint glow began radiating from his body. His gruesome wounds slowly healed within the light, while his scorched hair gradually became smooth and glossy again and began growing back.

The surrounding animals stared at him in astonishment, their bright eyes filled with wonder and worship.

Shang Ke raised his head slightly. His long black hair swayed lightly, his sword-shaped brows swept upward, and the outer corners of his slender eyes curved with an alluring grace. His irises were as clear and green as emeralds, his full red lips looked soft and dewy, and a pair of pointed ears peeked faintly through his black hair. His pale skin gleamed with a subtle luster. Even his tattered clothing could not conceal his graceful figure or extraordinary beauty.

Behind a cluster of charred rocks, a pair of deep-set eyes silently watched the scene. A beautiful figure was reflected clearly within golden pupils.

Only yesterday, he had happened to witness a blue figure rescuing hundreds of animals from the raging flames. The rescue had continued for seven or eight hours before that blue figure finally disappeared from his sight.

After a night of heavy rain, the fire that had burned for dozens of hours was finally extinguished. Following the animals’ tracks, he arrived at this small river and witnessed a sight he would remember for the rest of his life.

This was an adult male elf—and an extraordinarily beautiful one.

Shang Ke had no idea someone was secretly watching him, because he was currently receiving information from the System.

This continent was called Anglorr and was inhabited by several races, including humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and Forge Wraiths. Humans were the most numerous and had established dozens of nations both large and small. beastfolk and dwarves came next, while elves were the fewest in number but possessed the longest lifespans. These races had coexisted peacefully for centuries. Although conflicts occasionally broke out, the overall balance of power remained stable—until the rise of the Forge Wraiths.

The Forge Wraiths lived in the wastelands, fed on minerals, and excelled at metal and fire magic. They despised all plant life and could not tolerate environments rich in oxygen. Elves, by contrast, loved nature. Wherever they went, verdant life inevitably followed.

Several centuries ago, the minerals within the Forge Wraiths’ wastelands were exhausted. In search of food, they began expanding outward, seizing land and mineral resources wherever they went. The Forge Wraiths were immensely powerful and brutally violent. They could directly convert metal objects into combat strength and were almost impervious to both magical and physical attacks. The only thing capable of harming them was elven nature magic, while the forests inhabited by elves, saturated with natural energy, were lands they did not dare enter.

To eliminate this threat, the Forge Wraiths used the human nations they had conquered to destroy forests throughout the continent and slaughter elves on a massive scale. In only a few years, the elven population suffered devastating losses, while vast stretches of forest were razed to the ground.

Before long, several human nations joined forces with the elves, beastfolk, and other races to declare war on the Forge Wraiths. However, the Forge Wraiths’ strength and brutality far exceeded anything the other races had imagined. With the aid of human traitors, they devised a trap that lured out the Elven King and killed him, then sent forces to destroy the elves’ Sacred Tree and Fountain of Life.

The Sacred Tree was the elves’ Mother Tree and the birthplace of their race. The Fountain of Life was the source of the Mother Tree’s natural essence, granting elves abundant vitality and filling all plant life with endless vigor. As long as the Fountain of Life did not run dry, the Sacred Tree could endure forever.

However, the Forge Wraiths used a mystical vessel known as the Wraith Jade to seal the Fountain of Life within it. Deprived of its source of vitality, the Sacred Tree gradually withered and decayed until it was finally uprooted.

The elves suffered a catastrophic blow and never recovered. Once long-lived and ageless, they began to grow old and weaken, dying one after another over the following decades. If the Fountain of Life and Sacred Tree disappeared forever, the elven race would eventually become completely extinct. And without the elves, the continent would lose the only power capable of destroying the Forge Wraiths.

At the final moment, an elven elder sacrificed his own life to preserve a single branch of the Sacred Tree. As long as the Wraith Jade could be recovered and the Fountain of Life released from its seal, that branch would become the elves’ last hope.

From then on, the allied nations and the puppet states controlled by the Forge Wraiths entered an endless cycle of war.

Between war and their worsening decline, the elven population rapidly dwindled. A century later, pure-blooded elves had almost completely disappeared from the continent, leaving behind only mixed-blood descendants of elves and other races. Whether in appearance, lifespan, or affinity with nature, mixed-blood elves fell far short of pure-blooded elves.

By the time Shang Ke arrived in this world, pure-blooded elves had already vanished, and the alliance was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

【Additional Mission 1—Revive the Sacred Tree.】

Of course. The Main Mission was easy, so the Additional Mission immediately jumped straight into hell mode.

To revive the Sacred Tree, he first had to seize the Wraith Jade from the Forge Wraiths, then locate the Sacred Tree’s final surviving branch.

Shang Ke was not particularly worried about finding the branch. After all, he was that branch—or, more precisely, the elf that the Sacred Tree branch had transformed into.

At present, the two factions were locked in a stalemate. The Forge Wraiths occupied the north and were destroying vegetation on a massive scale, turning fertile land into wasteland. They permitted only the puppet states under their control to grow the basic grains, vegetables, and fruits necessary for survival.

Meanwhile, the humans, mixed-blood elves, beastfolk, dwarves, and other races of the allied nations were searching for an opportunity to seize the Wraith Jade. Only by reviving the Sacred Tree and giving rise to a new generation of pure-blooded elves—or even a new Elven King—would they have any hope of destroying the Forge Wraiths.

After receiving all the information, Shang Ke once again looked toward the dozen or so olive-shaped “fruits” nearby. Before the Sacred Tree was destroyed, it had left behind not only one surviving branch, but also fifteen egg-fruits capable of nurturing pure-blooded elves.

The Sacred Tree Elf had wandered from place to place with those fifteen tiny lives, searching for somewhere safe to settle. After finally discovering this vast forest, he had intended to use its abundant natural energy to nurture the young elves into being, only for the forest to be destroyed by the Forge Wraiths as well.

If Shang Ke had not transmigrated into this body, the Sacred Tree Elf would have been burned to ashes trying to save the egg-fruits. Although “he” was an elf born from the Sacred Tree, he did not know how to cast spells and possessed only pure nature power.

Shang Ke counted them. Of the original fifteen egg-fruits, only twelve remained. Three tiny lives had been lost in the fire.

Twelve egg-fruits. Twelve pure-blooded young elves.

They were the elven race’s hope for rising again…

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