Chapter 92

Gerard and all the elven guards were startled, drawing their swords and looking around, their hearts trembling. The great dragon hunter, who had not noticed someone speaking right next to the teleportation array, was shocked. If the person had intended to assassinate her, wouldn't it have been easy?

What was even more terrifying was that even when the person spoke, Gerard still couldn't see them, as if they didn't exist at all, yet there was clearly a voice.

However, she quickly realized that the only being capable of speaking without her noticing and inviting someone to chat with the authority of a master was one entity.

"World Tree?" Nigris asked tentatively from the teleportation array.

The god of nature, the protector of the elves, the World Tree.

All the elves fell to their knees, and Gerard was no exception. Her proud head, which she would never lower to anyone, was now deeply bowed, exposing her white nape.

"..." Dragon language.

"..." Dragon language.

Nigris unwillingly teleported over.

This underdeveloped bronze dragon that appeared from the teleportation array left Gerard and the other elves with their jaws dropped. The one who had spoken so authoritatively was this cute little thing?

Nigris was reluctant to come because the more information it revealed, the more likely it was to be remembered by the elves. But it had no choice; the World Tree threatened it, saying it would follow the teleportation array to attack if it didn't come.

Nigris didn't know how the World Tree could follow the teleportation array to attack, but the World Tree was a ten-thousand-year-old tree. What if it had a way?

Anyway, it was just a projection. If it died, it would just lose this body.

"Disperse, do not disturb my guest." The voice of the World Tree echoed in the ears of all the elves like a gentle breeze.

Gerard looked at the small yellow figure and had a bad feeling.

"Nigris, long time no see. How did you become a zombie dragon? And so small, did your egg go bad?" The World Tree's deep voice slowly sounded in Nigris' ear before it reached the treetop.

If the high priest Kaelandar had heard this, she would have been terrified. Recently, when she prayed to the World Tree, she often received no response, and when she did, it was just a few words. Nothing like this long speech.

She had thought the World Tree was old and weak, but it turned out the World Tree was just too lazy to respond.

Nigris, having spent a lot of time with lightning, had learned to be sharp-tongued. It replied casually, "Your seeds are the ones that went bad. If I hadn't sold the World Tree saplings to the elves, you would have really gone extinct."

"Even if you sold them the saplings, the World Tree would eventually go extinct in their hands," the World Tree said.

"What do you mean? By the way, why don't you teach them how to germinate and plant? They've already killed two trees," Nigris asked, puzzled.

"I don't know how to germinate, just as you don't know how to give birth to a dragon," the World Tree said.

At this, Nigris was不服气 (unconvinced): "Who says I don't know how to give birth to a dragon? Just find a female dragon and get on top of her."

"Then what? Do you know how the dragon embryo forms, grows, and hatches inside the female dragon?"

"Of course I do. The male and female dragon's life essence combines to form a fertilized egg, the egg membrane hardens to form the shell, and then it is born and hatches in a suitable environment, finally becoming a young dragon," Nigris explained.

The World Tree was silent for a long time before it had to admit, "I forgot you are the god of knowledge. But I don't know how to germinate because when I became self-aware, I was already a huge tree and never experienced the germination stage."

"That makes sense. I don't know how I was born either, but I know how other dragons are born. Unfortunately, you don't have other World Trees to observe," Nigris understood why it didn't know how to germinate.

If the World Tree didn't know how to germinate, it would be very difficult for any seeds to sprout. Seeing the conditions Ang needed to germinate, Nigris felt a headache.

"It's fine. I have thousands of seeds in each fruit. When the flowering season comes, billions of flowers bloom, producing billions of fruits, and each year, trillions of seeds are produced. When they are scattered across the land and the abyss, some will find a suitable environment and sprout," the World Tree said.

Nigris nodded. The germination rate of the World Tree's seeds was very high. Except for the few hundred that were wasted in the early experiments, almost all the remaining seeds had germinated, with a germination rate of 99.999%.

Even if the World Tree didn't know how to germinate and the conditions were very strict, with such a large number of seeds, there would always be some that succeeded.

The World Tree's seed production strategy was clearly one of quantity over quality. With trillions of seeds produced each year, and tens of trillions over ten years, how many would there be in ten thousand years?

"But why hasn't a single sprout appeared?" Nigris asked, puzzled.

"The elves prevent the seeds from being lost," the World Tree said.

Nigris was shocked.

The World Tree needed to scatter its seeds to increase the chances of germination, just like many plants. Some plants make their fruits sweeter to attract birds, which then carry the seeds to distant places.

But the elves, to prevent the World Tree from losing its seeds, stopped the seeds from being lost. After the fruits ripened each year, they would send people to pick the fruits, remove the seeds, and feed the empty fruits to birds and animals. Elves who ate the fruits were not allowed to leave the elven territory for several days.

So, the biggest reason the World Tree couldn't sprout was the elves themselves, and these elves were raised by the World Tree. What a paradox, the species it raised had made it infertile.

"Why don't you tell them? Or teach them how to plant trees?" Nigris asked.

"Isn't this part of nature? If the World Tree is to go extinct, it might mean that this species is not suitable for survival. Besides, a plane cannot have two World Trees," the World Tree said, not very concerned.

Nigris suddenly realized that its view of life was completely different from the World Tree's. It thought death was a terrifying thing, but clearly, the tree didn't feel the same way.

The World Tree believed that extinction was part of nature, and that the species it raised leading to its own extinction was also part of nature's choice. Oh, this conversation was going nowhere.

"Then you're going to die soon. What about the elves?" Nigris asked. The World Tree was the god of the elves. If it died, could the elves continue to thrive?

"Yes, I am very old. I have about nine thousand years left before I die. I hope these elves can find a new way to survive before I wither," the World Tree sighed.

"Nine thousand years? I'm not talking to you anymore." Nigris spat blood and turned to leave. It had been sad about the impending death of a ten-thousand-year-old life, but it turned out that the remaining lifespan was almost as long as its entire life. What was there to be sad about?

Turning back to the teleportation array, it angrily activated it. Gerard, who had not left, hesitated for a moment and finally asked, "Sir, honored guest, are you the god of knowledge?"

Nigris replied without turning around, "Yes, that foolish bronze dragon."

Gerard's face turned red to the tips of her ears. It was one thing to curse someone behind their back, but it was another to be caught in the act.

When Nigris teleported back, it saw Ang. The small tree sapling, which had grown taller and was now above the rim of the pot, sensed the movement and turned, waving its two leaves to send a message: "Grow, grow."

Nigris's eyes lit up, and it turned back to the teleportation array, sending a teleportation request.

Although Gerard was puzzled by the sudden return, she still agreed to the teleportation. Nigris quickly flew to the treetop and said to the World Tree:

"I know someone who is best suited to spread your seeds without the selfish intentions of the elves. If you give me some benefits, I will make him plant the World Tree everywhere."