Chapter 2313 I Want It
Fang Heng casually probed the Leaf tribe"s limits, realizing he couldn"t gain any more advantage. He shrugged and said, "Alright, I"ll need to get the sacred tree branches first."
"Fang Heng, whatever happened before doesn"t matter now. Cooperation is the only way to achieve mutual benefit," Senzo remarked, nodding towards Yuri. "Elder Yuri, please a.s.sist."
Yuri nodded slightly, adjusting his breathing against his injuries. "Wait here, I"ll fetch the sacred tree branches."
"Are you satisfied now? Should I call off our forces outside?"
"Good."
Fang Heng nodded, controlling the retreat of the Lickers outside the Leaf tribe"s habitat.
Soon, Yuri returned with two Leaf tribe guards, presenting the sacred tree branches to Fang Heng.
[Hint: The player triggered mission-Trade with the Leaf tribe.]
Mission name: Trade with the Leaf tribe.
Mission difficulty: S~ (Variable difficulty)
Mission description: You have struck a secret deal with the Leaf tribe to confront the Wood tribe jointly. As part of this agreement, the Leaf tribe has advanced the sacred tree branches to you as collateral.
Mission requirements: Collaborate with the Leaf tribe to confront the Wood tribe and achieve a mission completion rate of at least 50%.
Mission reward: Increase the affinity of the Leaf tribe, tree spirit tribe reputation points, and receive the reward of the Leaf tribe.]
Additional description: Mission completion will change the subsequent progress of the game.
When Fang Heng saw the game notification, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The deal with the Leaf tribe was real.
As for whether there were other traps inside, that was another matter for now.
Fang Heng took the sacred tree branch from Elder Yuri"s hands.
[Hint: The player obtains item-the sacred tree branch (mission item).]
Description: This item contains a special tracking marker. If the marker is destroyed, the item will be destroyed.
Warning: This item is a special mission item. If it is damaged, lost, or traded, it will significantly reduce friendship with the Leaf tribe and affect the player"s current mission.
Fang Heng quickly glanced over the game hint.
The game only mentioned that the sacred tree branch could not be destroyed, not that it could not be used.
No problem.
He would use it when he got back!
Fang Heng stuffed the branch of the sacred tree back into his backpack.
"Good, it"s the sacred tree branch. You can release the spatial lock now."
Elder Yuri glanced at Senzo, concentrating an imprint before him.
The green light emanating from the sacred tree gradually dimmed.
"Elder Senzo, I"ll release your people once I return. By the way, I"ll be taking the Prayer Temple in your Inner World. When you"re ready, come to the temple and find me."
"You..."
Vannes heard this and his blood pressure, just now under control, skyrocketed once again.
Of course! He knew it! There couldn"t be such a coincidence!
Senzo intercepted the angry Vannes, looked at Fang Heng, and said coldly, "Fang Heng, I hope you will keep your promise."
"Of course," Fang Heng replied. His figure slowly faded and disappeared from everyone"s sight.
Watching Fang Heng leave, the people of the Leaf tribe suddenly showed expressions of resentment.
When had the Leaf tribe ever suffered such a huge loss?!
Vannes was the first to step forward. His face was filled with obvious dissatisfaction as he said in a deep voice, "Great Elder, what Fang Heng has done is heinous. Are we going to cooperate with him? Do you still want to give him the branches and leaves of the sacred tree?"
"Vannes, control your temper," Senzo said with a somber expression. "Fang Heng"s actions are reprehensible, but his time will come."
"At present, Fang Heng has allied with the Federation. While their combined strength may not directly threaten the sacred tree, it poses significant challenges for us. To win the battle for the sacred tree"s cultivation, we must endure silently and use Fang Heng"s power to maneuver against the other three tribes."
There was a moment of silence among the a.s.sembly.
Indeed, the sacred tree"s power was formidable, but the Leaf tribe"s current situation was dire.
How long could they sustain a confrontation with Fang Heng using the sacred tree"s power? And how much leverage did they truly have against him?
"Vannes, you need not involve yourself in this cooperation with Fang Heng," Senzo continued, his voice carrying weight. "I have more important tasks for you to attend to."
Senzo knew that Vannes had a bad temper and could not control himself. He was worried that there would be a mistake, so he was prepared to hand over Fang Heng"s cooperation to another elder." Remember, our cooperation with Fang Heng is only temporary. Once this matter is over, Fang Heng will die no matter what."
"Understood, Great Elder!"
Everyone present knew deep down that the Leaf tribe was gradually heading toward defeat in the battle for the sacred tree"s cultivation.
During Fang Heng"s absence, the Leaf tribe had not been idle. They had been secretly planning and preparing to strike against the Wood tribe.
They had formulated a preliminary plan.
Though the timing wasn"t ideal, they were running out of time.
They had to take a chance while they still had one.
Doing nothing would certainly lead to their defeat!
Even without Fang Heng, they would have acted soon enough.
Currently, Fang Heng"s presence gave them a chance to increase their odds of success.
Despite their intense hatred towards Fang Heng, the Leaf tribe had never been threatened in this manner before.
Senzo"s voice was cold as he said, "Once this matter is settled, Fang Heng will surely pay for his actions!"
"Report! Great Elder!"
Just as Senzo was rallying the morale of the Leaf tribe, a guard hurried over and reported, "Great Elder, we have just inspected the Sacred Tree cultivation area, and we found..."
Yuri sat up straight, his gaze intensifying on the Leaf tribe guard. "What did you discover?"
"We found the vessel of sacrifice obtained earlier from the exchange with the Soul tribe..." The guard"s forehead beaded with sweat, pausing before continuing, "...it"s gone."
Instantly, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Gone!
Who else could it be?
"Fang Heng!"
Senzo clenched his fists.
"If I don"t kill you, it will be difficult to appease the hatred in my heart!"
...
Outside the Leaf tribe settlement, emerging from a spatial projection, Fang Heng swiftly headed towards the periphery of the settlement.
The Licker creatures around the Leaf tribe"s habitat had already retreated rapidly, leaving only a group of vampires observing from the nearby dense forest.
Upon seeing Fang Heng return, all the vampires kneeled in unison, "Your Majesty!"
Fang Heng raised the sacred tree branch in his hand and said, "I"ve got what I came for. Let"s go back."
The vampires" eyes flickered with excitement.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Together, they withdrew.
Once the communication interference caused by the ripple of the sacred tree sapling"s power from the Leaf tribe subsided, a message came through wirelessly from the Federation, "Mr. Fang Heng, are you okay? Has the attack ended?"
"Yeah, I"ve got what I needed. Also, I"ve reached an agreement with the Leaf tribe. If all goes well, we"ll strike against the Wood Tribe within two days."
Upon hearing this news, the senior officials within the Federal Command immediately became alert.
"Fang Heng, there hasn"t been significant friction between the Wood tribe and the Leaf tribe during this period. Based on the information we"ve gathered, while there have been skirmishes among the tree spirit tribes, from our observations, neither side has reached the point of all-out war. Be cautious; there may be deception at play."