Chapter 85

Nagris, of course, was just talking. If it dared to chew up all the saplings, Ang could hang it up and have the angel skull give it a Holy Light Flash.

Next, they entered the negotiation phase. However, the Elven Queen revealed a shocking piece of news: "Someone has already sold us a World Tree sapling. He gained the friendship of the elves, and yours is the second, so..."

Although the rest of the words were omitted, Nagris understood the meaning. It was just trying to lower the price. Who sold the World Tree sapling to the elves? Nagris had a bad feeling.

"Who sold us the sapling? Sorry, I can't reveal my friend's information," Gerard said.

"Just tell me the race of the seller," Nagris said.

Upon learning that the seller was a goblin, Nagris inwardly roared: Goblin! Goblin! It's definitely a goblin. The damn silver coin got there first! Does he not fear being caught and having his memory searched, exposing us?

No, no, he has a soul link with Ang and can always request Ang's protection for his soul.

Well done, no wonder the goblin merchant considered everything. It's only right that he got the first deal. Nagris had to admit it.

Since the first deal was taken, he couldn't ask for a high price. Nagris probed, "What price are you willing to pay for the second World Tree sapling?"

...

While Nagris was haggling with the Elven Queen, Ang reached into the Palace of Rest and tended to the fields in the farm. His hand moved through the air, performing a very magical task.

To him, the Elven Queen, the World Tree, the friendship of the elves, the believers, and the soul flames were all trivial. As long as the trees could be planted, grown, and eaten, that was enough.

His life in the Palace of Rest was no different: sowing, watering, fertilizing, pollinating, and harvesting. The Speed of Death aura just accelerated the entire process.

Even without the aura, 'normal' planting didn't seem so bad.

If a bard were to write his biography, it would probably read: farming, mediating, farming, mediating, fighting small zombies, farming, mediating, farming... a miserable poet.

Each seed was precisely sown in its corresponding position, horizontally and vertically, forming straight lines even in the unplowed fields, just as precise as when he harvested.

After sowing the seeds, Ang's hand moved to the edge of the field, performing the pollination spell, sweeping up the soil and sprinkling it over the field, quickly covering it with a thin layer, then watering it.

The entire process was smooth and precise.

This field was now full, and his hand floated over to another field where the crops had already sprouted. The tender tips had broken through the soil, and small green dots covered the surrounding fields, neat and beautiful. It was time to water them.

As he floated, Ang suddenly stopped and tilted his head. He seemed to hear something.

After some thought, Ang's mind entered the Palace of Rest, and he manifested his shadow inside.

The farm was still as quiet, the wind as gentle as it had been for the past thousand years. However, upon listening closely, Ang seemed to hear some sound.

Strain.

Strain hard.

Strain harder.

Pop!

A sound as if something had burst. Ang followed the sensation and saw that a sprout had just pushed out its first pair of leaves.

Ang floated over to take a closer look and found it was the World Tree.

Initially, to test the most suitable environment for the World Tree's growth, Ang had thrown one into the Palace of Rest. The next day, he found it looking listless and didn't pay much attention to it. He didn't expect it to sprout leaves after so many days of neglect.

Could those 'sounds' have been from this sapling?

Those weren't actually sounds but a faint message, like the wailing of a wraith, an unconscious message. It was the first time he could feel it so clearly.

Ang squatted down and observed, hugging his knees.

Dry.

Indeed, it was a message from the sapling. Ang felt it was saying the ground was too dry. Because he was observing it, he had forgotten to water it.

He watered it first, then began to water the surrounding crops. No matter how curious, the vegetables still needed to be planted.

Strain hard.

After watering, the message from the sapling became clearer. It 'strained' for a while, but there was no change. However, when he turned to look, the sprouts he had just watered had grown taller, revealing their first pair of leaves.

Ang tilted his head, seemingly understanding. The sapling's 'straining' was making the nearby crops 'strain.' The soil around it was wetter than the surrounding areas, and it hadn't absorbed the water it had just received. So, its 'dryness' wasn't its own but that of the other crops.

Therefore, this tree might not need water or nutrients; the 'growth' of other crops was its nutrient.

The same was true for the World Tree outside, but this tree could emit messages, making Ang more certain. It seemed he couldn't plant this tree using the usual methods.

Strain, strain, strain, no growth...

While Ang was deep in thought, the sapling's messages became more intense, waking him up. Besides the 'growth' message, there was a hint of disappointment.

What isn't growing? The surrounding plants were thriving, more vigorous than before. Ang looked around and found that the only thing not growing was himself. The sapling's disappointment seemed to be directed at him.

Ang tilted his head, thinking of an idea. He turned his back, removed his right hand, and used his left hand to slowly extend it.

Grow, grow, grow! The sapling indeed emitted a very enthusiastic message.

Idiot! Ang mentally labeled it.

He found a pot, dug up the sapling, and transplanted it into the pot. Since it didn't need water or soil, he needed to plant it in a different way.

He carried the sapling to the center of the area, placed it on the ground, and stepped on the soil next to it.

Numerous crops grew rapidly, those that had only sprouted leaves quickly developed true leaves, stems, and flowers...

Strain, strain, grow!

The sapling emitted a joyful and enthusiastic message, its two small leaves dancing in the wind. Finally, a 'bursting' sound, and the sapling grew taller, pushing out its first pair of true leaves.

Grow, grow, grow, this made it even happier.

He removed the footprint, ran with his scythe, and harvested the mature crops. When he returned, he calculated, surprised to find that the aura had only cost 1,500 soul flames this time.

Was it because of the sapling that the soul flames were saved? Ang picked up the pot, curious. Was it really that useful?

The sapling with true leaves twisted its leaves to face Ang: Strain, strain, no growth...?

It was useful, but too stupid, even stupider than the small zombies.

The sapling needed to stimulate the growth of other plants to grow itself, so it was best suited to follow Ang.

He took it out of the Palace of Rest and held it in his left hand, but it was a bit cumbersome. He switched to his right hand, but it was still cumbersome. Finally, he thought and placed the pot on his head.

The bottom of the pot was slightly concave, fitting perfectly with his helmet. It was so snug that it wouldn't fall off unless he shook his head hard.

With a thought, a strap from his ghost armor extended from his back to secure the pot. Now, even if he shook hard, it wouldn't fall off.

"A sapling for 500,000 magic crystals? Are you kidding? This is a World Tree sapling, not a cabbage. Your offer shows no sincerity."

In the teleportation array, the haggling between Nagris and Gerard had reached a fever pitch.

"But we already have one sapling. The second one can't be more expensive than the first. You don't need those business permits, licenses, and tax exemptions. The first friend who sold us the sapling loved those documents and didn't want money," Gerard said, sounding troubled.

"I'm not doing business in your elven realm. What do I need those for? You elves have so many valuable things. Why not trade with something valuable, like a single elf bean seed, moon wells, life essence, forest spirits, druid hearts, or specialized pollinating and dew-collecting fairies?" Nagris said.

Gerard was silent for a while before asking seriously, "Who are you? How do you know about these things?"

Nagris was startled. Didn't others know? He had asked the World Tree back then. Could these be elven secrets?

He quickly corrected himself, "I asked the God of Knowledge."

"God of Knowledge?" Gerard was surprised. She didn't know who that was.

After asking around, she finally learned, "Is it that silly bronze dragon? Is it still alive?"

"You..." Nagris exploded on the spot. What do you mean 'silly'? You're the silly one, and your whole family is silly. Is this human talk?

He wanted to teleport over and beat the other's head, but remembering that the other was a dragon hunter, he thought better of it and muttered, "Considering your age, I won't hold it against you."

"The God of Knowledge is still alive. He told me that the elves have many valuable things and can certainly pay for the cultivation of the World Tree sapling. We believe in the elves' strength, which is why we spent so much effort and resources to cultivate the sapling. Otherwise, we would have dug it up long ago. Do you want it? Make a sincere offer, or I'll dig it up."

Nagris thought angrily: Dare to call me silly? We'll see who's silly.

Hearing about digging it up, Gerard panicked and said, "Let's talk it out, let's talk it out. We have many valuable things."

After a final discussion, the elves agreed to trade 500,000 magic crystals, one elf bean seed, and two moon wells for a World Tree sapling.

After confirming the trade, Gerard felt a bit cheated. Compared to the first sapling, this trade was clearly more valuable.

Although the silver coin loved those permits, they were just pieces of paper. Even if he got them, he would need to work hard to make a profit.

But this time, it was different. The 500,000 magic crystals were real, and the elf bean seed was the most valuable.

It was a high-energy food. The elf beans were only the size of a thumb but could provide a human with a day's worth of nutrition and a full feeling. One bean could provide a day's worth of food, making it a strategic logistics support wonder.

Because of these elf beans, the elves never had to worry about logistics. Even on a long expedition of thousands of kilometers, each person could carry enough food for hundreds of days, and they could return home to resupply after the mission.

Secondly, there were the moon wells. The silver coin only took 50 liters of moon water, but Nagris wanted two moon wells.

"Damn God of Knowledge, revealing so many of our elven secrets. I'll kill it when I see it and change my title to God Slayer, which sounds better than Dragon Hunter," Gerard said through gritted teeth.

Both sides made a vow and began the exchange. The sapling was easy to transport, but the moon wells took up a lot of space. The current teleportation array could only send one at a time, and there was a risk.

If the moon well wasn't teleported, but a dragon hunter instead, what would they do?

To prevent any mishaps, Nagris called back Luther and the angel skull.

As soon as the angel skull and the small zombie returned, they ran over to Ang, trying to touch the pot on his head.

Ang pushed their hands away.

The angel skull and the small zombie realized they couldn't touch it and obediently retracted their hands, but their curiosity didn't diminish. The angel skull flapped its wings and flew up, curiously examining the sapling inside.

The sapling was startled by the sudden large face in front of it, its two