Chapter 272: Head Held High

Chapter 272: Head Held High

The overly enthusiastic Ancient Tree made Lily feel a little uneasy. Her relationship with the Ancient Tree was not close. Unlike Bran, she had not deeply communed with the Ancient Tree, nor had they truly shared each other’s Spiritual Worlds.

What did this suddenly appearing, slightly crazy fellow want? Full of questions, she descended from the tower and landed beside the Ancient Tree. As she landed, the Ancient Tree began to introduce himself.

“I originally wanted to be named Tansuo, but that name was taken while I hesitated. So I fell into deep thought again and delayed my journey. Please don’t mind.” The Ancient Tree paused and continued, “It’s a long story. We can sit down and talk in detail.”

Seeing the Ancient Tree point once more to the large bed on his head, Lily couldn’t help but recall Bran’s words: “Uncanny kindness comes with no good intentions.” She subtly sidestepped half a step. “I just sat for a while and got a bit tired. I need to stand for a moment.”

The Ancient Tree swayed its crown in disappointment. “Alright. On my way here, I received a message. It also made me think of a new name—Guardian. What do you think? Guardian for us, for this city, and for the land beneath our feet.”

“Hmm, a good name,” Lily affirmed with a nod.

“I knew you would like it. The Fairies wanted to deliver the message directly to you, but I thought it would be better if I told you myself…”

After listening to the Ancient Tree’s explanation, Lily directly jumped onto his head. This made the Ancient Tree very excited. His crown swayed violently due to the excitement, and so Lily fell off again…

Looking at the spasmodic Ancient Tree, Lily decided to cure him. “Just because Bran and the others succeeded doesn’t mean we can too.”

The cure was immediate. The Ancient Tree froze stiff. Then he asked hesitantly, “Why?”

“Because they spent enough time together. They trust and understand each other. Their own Mana more or less carries some characteristics of the other. They have been changing and influencing each other for a long time.

Now look at us. We just met. Our Mana has not mingled or merged. You delayed a lot of time on the road. If only you had come a few months earlier.

I was at Bran’s place for a while recently and made a new discovery. They jointly control the entire city. Their Mana also formed many connections because of that city, leading to some interesting changes.

I don’t mind sitting on your head, and I very much want to be your partner, just like Bran and his Wood. But I feel that whether I sit on your head or not won’t make too much difference.”

“You mean, I should first establish a connection with this city?”

“Yes. Absorbing Mana from the environment is your forte. And this city has long been permeated by my Mana.”

Under Lily’s reminder, the Ancient Tree regained his calm, but his eagerness did not diminish. He began working busily through the night.

Although the Northlanders were no longer unfamiliar with Ancient Trees, it was rare to see one with long legs wandering around. So after daybreak, the Ancient Tree Guardian still drew a crowd.

Now Twinwing City had changed again. Some young Warriors had arrived one after another, constantly injecting new vitality into the city.

Lisha stood out somewhat among these half-grown children. As Lily’s Attendant, she should have been notable, but her presence had always been very low. She had tried to change this situation, tried to give more. Sadly, her abilities were limited, so the effect was not good.

She envied Danny, envied her for choosing Bran. During her time living at the Mountain Villa, she found that Bran was actually very good at taking care of people. Lily was much worse in this aspect. Most importantly, Lily did not see her as a life-and-death partner. Actually, this wasn’t Lily’s fault. After all, they had no such vow between them. And back then, Lily was just a little ignorant girl in her eyes.

The changes afterwards came too fast, so fast that everyone was caught off guard, and she also missed the best time to swear a life-and-death oath.

For a while, Lisha even suspected she had been completely forgotten. The looks people gave her gradually became strange. At that time, she truly didn’t know whether the contractual relationship she had with Lily was fortunate or unfortunate.

During that time, while paying attention to Lily, she also watched Danny. By comparison, a sense of melancholy always accompanied her. Just when she had stopped hoping, Lily summoned her. So she packed her bags and rushed to Twinwing City as fast as she could.

When she first arrived in this city, she was basically idle. Lily never discussed anything with her. It was as if Lily suddenly remembered she had an Attendant, so she called her to her side following tradition and took care of all her needs.

This was not what she wanted. She had not fallen to the point of living on charity. So she focused her energy on some inconspicuous small tasks, trying to take care of the Little Wizards’ daily lives. These children were powerful, but they were still young after all. Some things still needed adult supervision and guidance.

Though the tasks were trivial, her efforts were rewarded. Lily began to communicate and discuss things with her.

First, the White Wolves and Snow Falcons in the city were handed over to her. Then came the Insect Kings left in the city. With the arrival of the young Warriors, the people and affairs she managed grew more and more. Now, she was once again standing at Lily’s side…

Today, some Little Wizards left Twinwing City to begin their Trial. She originally thought Lily would stop them, but instead she saw encouragement and praise.

Lisha did not understand the world of Wizards, but she knew the Northlands no longer supported youths going to the Wasteland for Trials. They just needed to stay home, just needed to train more near the Ancient Trees every day. The effect was very good, much better than her group of old Warriors, and much safer too. If dissatisfied with their clan’s environment, they could also go to the Castle or the Western Territory for training.

Every Northlander was most precious, let alone the Little Wizards who carried everyone’s high hopes.

Xirui stood on the tower, watching the busy Ancient Tree, but her mind was on the Wizard who had left Twinwing City not long ago.

After receiving his Sister’s hug, he walked into the distance with his head held high and his chest out, his face flushed red.

Watching the receding figure, Xirui seemed to hear a call. She knew her own Trial was about to begin.