On the deserted plains west of Solinburg, a plant of unprecedented scale obscured the sky over the scorched earth, and it was beyond human imagination and even ...... It was beyond Gawain's imagination.

It is not so much a tree as a small jungle with a trunk and countless pillars that seem to be rooted.

Thick dark brown trunks grew out of the cracks in the earth, the surface was entwined with vines, moss, and a large number of unnamed flowers, a canopy almost the same size as the nearby Solinburg was supported at a height of 100 meters, two-thirds of the layers of green leaves covered the plains, one-third had covered the sky over Solinburg, and from all over the canopy hung down many "pillars" of two or three people hugging each other, supporting the canopy in a staggered manner, connecting the earth, on those pillars, There are also a variety of symbiotic plants growing, lush and vibrant.

And under this whole behemoth "giant tree", the western plain of Solinburg, which was originally a scorched earth, has been covered with large expanses of flowers, grasses, and shrubs, and its vitality makes people dare not imagine that it was once the source of the outbreak of the crystal cluster disaster, and dare not imagine that it was once burned into a scorched earth by artillery fire and burners......

Amber's exclamation made perfect sense, as even Gawain's eyes widened in surprise.

"This ...... It's a bit more than I expected," Gawain blinked, "no wonder the previous report said it couldn't be described...... Even if you bring a photo, you can't tell the scale of it. ”

"I think this thing is bigger than the Elves' legendary Origin Tree," Amber muttered to herself, "and it's still ...... Grow like this in a few days? ”

"That's what the report says," Gawain frowned, "the soldiers don't lie about that...... What the hell is going on? ”

As the convoy continued towards the makeshift camp at the foot of the giant tree, Gawain poked his head out of the window and looked further away - he saw that there were some collapsed watchtowers and tent-like buildings in the leafy area at the foot of the giant tree, and that the destroyed camp facilities had merged with the aerial roots or bushes that had spread from the giant tree, and the surface was covered with lush vegetation, as mentioned in the report:

When the giant tree suddenly emerged from the surface, the soldiers monitoring the camp had only time to evacuate people and some of the supplies, and the rest was swallowed by the plants within twenty-four hours.

Therefore, the emergency transfer of the monitoring force set up a temporary camp outside the radiation range of this giant tree, and there are still soldiers who keep an eye on the movement of the giant tree day and night to prevent this thing from suddenly expanding again and "eating" the temporary camp.

The closer you go, the more powerful the giant tree becomes, it stands tall in sight like a castle made of plants (in fact, it is larger than a castle), but in addition to the oppressive force, it also carries an incredible holiness and magnificence - Gawain vaguely felt that this area was shrouded in a magical environment, it was faint and almost hidden in the normal background of natural magic, and it was ...... Seemingly harmless.

The car stopped at the gate of the camp, and as soon as it stopped, a heroic young female knight came to the car: "Your Majesty! Hats off! ”

Gawain got out of the car and nodded to the female knight, "Margarita - it looks like you've taken over here." ”

The female knight was none other than Kant's Margarita, who was one of Wald Perridge's subordinates, but because of her ability, Wald often sent her on missions outside the Rock Fortress - this was to increase her seniority and experience, and the old knight took extra care of his good subordinates.

After the establishment of the empire, Margarita's main task was to assist Byron in cleaning up the remaining crystal cluster monsters on the Holy Spirit Plains, and in the process to establish a series of emergency magic network hubs to form a temporary communication network in the eastern and central regions of the empire She is the person in charge of the surrounding camps.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Margarita nodded solemnly, "we've set up new surveillance posts to the south and east of this 'plant' - the old surveillance camp has been swallowed up by the plants that have suddenly appeared, and the new ones now seem to be safe. ”

"What's the situation like now?" Gawain raised his head and asked, "Is it still growing?" I've heard that it had swallowed the first level of the surveillance camp in forty-eight hours, with the canopy extending to the walls of Fort Solin......"

"It's still growing slowly, but it's slowed down to negligible levels since twelve hours ago, and the druids at the camp have a preliminary judgment that its 'boom phase' should be over, and within twenty-four hours at most, its expansion will stop and enter equilibrium - as for what will happen after that, it's impossible to know for sure."

"What about casualties?" Gawain then asked.

"No soldiers were killed, everyone was evacuated in time, only three soldiers were slightly injured while carrying supplies, and ......"

Margarita frowned when she said this, as if what she wanted to say was too strange and needed to organize the language, she pondered the words for a moment before continuing: "And I don't know if it is the influence of this giant tree, the wounded soldier healed much faster than normal, without the use of alchemical potions, the wounds of the three of them were healed within an hour. I did some tests to confirm that there is a strange environment around the giant tree that can warm the life force, and everyone in the area can quickly recover their physical strength and energy, and even the slightest injuries and illnesses can heal quickly. ”

"Oh?" Gawain couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and suddenly remembered the subtle magical environment he had just felt...... That doesn't seem to be an illusion.

"It felt as if the entire area was shrouded in a constant stream of healing, but neither the druids nor the mana observers noticed any formed mana fluctuations, and the giant tree was unleashing power in a way we couldn't comprehend...... This is beyond the existing theories of magic," Margarita continued, "and we are currently making further observations and calculations of the magic field around Fort Solin, but it is too large to exceed the perceptual limits of any current observation eyepiece or measurement spell, and it may be difficult to depict its magic model by conventional methods......"

"It's okay, take your time, I'm afraid this thing will be enough for us to study for a long time......" Gawain exhaled and walked towards the camp, "We said as we walked. ”

The entourage immediately followed, including Bud Wendell, who is still in a "semi-escort" state, and Pittman, who is a senior advisor.

As he walked towards the giant tree, Bud couldn't help but look up and glance at the miraculous plant with undisguised consternation, while Pittman, next to him, casually asked, "Do you know how this thing came about?" ”

“…… This is beyond my comprehension," Bard said honestly, "to be honest, although I have lived in the Society of the End of All Things for many years, I am only a mid-level priest, in the secret plans I have been exposed to...... None of them have anything to do with the tree. ”

Pittman pouted, "I count on you to know more than I do...... As a result, after so many years, it turned out to be a middle-level ......"

Bud smiled awkwardly, but soon had a vague sense that Pittman's words seemed to have something extra, but before he could speak, Pittman was already walking forward.

At the front of the group, Margarita was still reporting to Gawain on the information that had been gathered so far from the surveillance camp:

“…… It was already certain that the plant had grown from the nest of the Society of the End, its roots rooted in the staggering scale of the fissure, and its underground part of the plant should have a more complex and massive structure......

"At the suggestion of the druids, we dug up parts of the eastern part of Solinburg and the southern part of the Slope Forest Crossing, and did find a massive root system of unknown origin......

"The plants that grow with the giant trees have also been examined, and the preliminary results show no abnormalities, many of the plants are common species, and some of the unrecognizable ones are also subspecies that grow in remote areas......

"We tested the non-toxic ones on animals and found that they could even eat ......

"There is a root structure with voids in the roots of the trunk of the giant tree, and a large number of roots and the rocks and walls of the building form a complex underground pathway, which we suspect can enter the depths of the lair of the End-of-Life Society, but there is a very complex magical reaction inside, and according to your instructions, we have not yet explored it......

"We set up a post and some lighting equipment near the main trunk – the canopy was too large, the central area was poorly lit, it was difficult to see even at midday, and additional lighting was necessary.

"We haven't explored its canopy yet, again because it's too dangerous, and it seems that the deep layers of its canopy are still slowly growing and changing, and it's not yet stable......"

"Yes," Gawain nodded in satisfaction after Margarita's debriefing, "the information is timely and detailed. ”

Margarita lowered her head: "This is what I should do." ”

Gawain snorted and looked at the huge trunk in the distance that seemed to be as huge as a giant tower and as if countless vines were intertwined: "Let's go directly to the 'trunk' area." ”

Margarita subconsciously spoke: "This may be a little dangerous, your status is ......"

"First, I'm here to see the situation myself, otherwise staying in the command post of the camp is no different from staying in the palace; Second, I'm a legend, how can I be so vulnerable, especially since we're going to a surface area that has been explored once and is relatively safe; Third ......" Gawain glanced at the female knight in front of him and patted the latter on the shoulder, "Don't always focus on the issue of 'honorable status', Cecil is all about doing your duty. ”

Margarita was stunned for a moment, and in her momentary stupefaction, Gawain had already taken a big stride, following a path cleared by the soldiers towards the giant tree trunk in the distance.

The female knight hurried to follow.

As we moved further into the main trunk, the shadows created by the huge canopy became thicker and darker, and the soldiers of the camp carved a path through the grass and bushes that had grown wildly overnight, and now the magic crystal lamps supported by iron poles on both sides of the path became the only source of light to dispel the darkness, and Gawain walked along the makeshift path, occasionally hearing the soft sound of the nearby Sissy Suo, the sound of the grass and trees swaying.

Although the growth of the giant tree itself has stopped, the anomalous vitality of the giant tree continues to work, and to this day, new plants emerge from the scorched earth to fill the sudden arrival of life.

After advancing for a while, Gawain came to the root of the giant tree.

The tower-like trunk of the tree and the large, intertwined root system that emerged from the soil beneath the trunk presented him.

Temporary scaffolds of all sizes were fixed between the nearby roots and stones, and high-powered magic crystal lamps hung on the surface of the brackets and the trunks of the trees above, dissipating the gloom and allowing Gawain to see the "entrances" between the knotted roots.

As Margarita had said, there was indeed an entrance - like a specially grown gate, two herringbone intersecting roots forming a triangular gap in the lower part of the trunk, the gap was so wide that it could even be driven into a Warhammer-I tank, and there was a faint light on the inside, as if it were some kind of glowing moss.

Amber stood in front of the entrance, poked her head in, and after two seconds, she came back: "Mom, it's a little scary inside......"

Gawain looked at this shame of all things with strange eyes: "You were born in the Shadow Fortress, and I haven't seen you cowardly when you steal graves and dig graves, why are you still afraid of this bit of darkness?" ”

Amber suddenly widened her eyes and crossed her waist with her hands: "Am I afraid of the dark?" I have a keen five senses! I don't know what's going on, but I always feel that the entire underground space and the whole surrounding area are 'alive'...... Wow, creepy, okay! ”

Gawain didn't care about Amber's explanation and boasting about the first half, but after listening to the second half, he glanced up at the dark and deep canopy above.

"There is no doubt about it...... It's certainly alive ......"

He turned his head and glanced at Bud Wendell behind him.

"Are you ready?"