Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Taking Root

As Midi predicted, the few remaining county towns under the Dragon Sealing power’s protection would collapse from resource shortages if Domingo and Queen Skadi allowed the blockade to continue.

During the second week of the blockade, the remaining five thousand destroyer cavalry finally poured out from the capital, Hertonmar.

“Destroyer cavalry again?” Midi’s brow furrowed slightly.

This wasn’t what he had expected.

Until now, the Nibelungen Dragon Sealing Array had used a simple pattern: gather magic for weekly devastating spells. These brief magic waves left no chance to secretly grow new Tree of Life saplings.

That’s why Midi chose hit-and-run tactics—to force the Dragon Sealing Array to maintain thunderclouds over the Scroll branch’s territories. Prolonged magic fluctuations would let their Tree of Life saplings safely draw power from the dragon veins.

But the enemy’s latest move changed everything.

If the Dragon Sealing Array’s new power resembled buffing spells like Blood Frenzy rather than long-range attacks, creating “continuous magic fluctuations” now required endless battles against destroyer cavalry.

Midi didn’t fear combat—it was his element. But he couldn’t be everywhere.

When the Tree of Life saplings matured enough to challenge the Array, he’d need to spearhead the assault on Hertonmar. How could he waste time skirmishing outside?

His Hawk Brigade also couldn’t afford exhaustion. Their main duty remained breaking through the Dragon Sealing Array itself. Even minimal losses would leave them too drained for the final push.

The Golden Branch Legion? Midi dismissed the thought. Heavy infantry and knights stood no chance against pure cavalry like the destroyers. Already halved after the City of Rainbow Light battle, they’d crumble under lightning strikes and cavalry charges.

He wasn’t squeamish about sacrifices, but sending them to die pointlessly served no purpose.

That left one option: the Hawk Brigade distracts the cavalry while Golden Branch elites attack Hertonmar. But could low-tier troops overwhelm the mysterious Pretenders through numbers alone?

Midi wondered, but he wasn’t sure at all.

A sudden commotion erupted outside the central command tent. Barriers clanked open as guards failed to stop an intruder. The tent flap whipped aside.

“Who’s there?” Midi tensed. Why hadn’t Fina or Alice reacted?

“Heard you need a commander.” The voice rang like steel striking stone.

The figure blocked sunlight, backlit into a golden silhouette—a war god stepping from smoke and death.

Midi’s pupils shrank as recognition struck.

“You…*Sir*?”

As this visitor confronted Midi, the destroyer cavalry entered Hamilton territory—lands now enemy soil under the Scroll branch’s control. Only the swift, stealthy Hawk Brigade dared operate here; slower armies risked becoming lightning targets.

The destroyers met no resistance reaching Wisek County, the Scroll branch’s largest stronghold.

Scroll members cheered Domingo’s arrival, but their “top expert in strategy” ground his teeth, eyes burning with hatred.

The City of Rainbow Light had annihilated the Sais family’s three legions, crippled the Golden Branch Legion, and bloodied the Hawk Brigade. Yet the destroyer cavalry hadn’t escaped unscathed either.

The original ten thousand cavalrymen had been reduced to fewer than five thousand. Over half had died in that white mist, with many others struck down by Domingo’s own summoned lightning.

This was a total, crushing defeat—Domingo Hamilton’s humiliation at the hands of Midi Asreks.

Now, Midi dared to attack the Scroll branch’s territory. To Domingo, this was a direct insult to him and his entire faction. He was determined to crush this reckless fool in their next clash!

“Sir, enemy forces spotted!” A captain from a two hundred-man team rushed to Domingo, his face grim.

“Good,” Domingo sneered. “Order a full assault!”

As the destroyer cavalry charged, Domingo noticed discrepancies in the enemy’s composition. These weren’t the high-level adventurers of the Hawk Brigade but soldiers from the Golden Branch Legion. His years among the Hamilton family’s higher-ups let him recognize familiar faces instantly. This was no ragtag force or disguised Hawk Brigade under the three Golden Lions’ banner.

Was Midi cycling the Golden Branch Legion and Hawk Brigade to exhaust the destroyer cavalry? Domingo scoffed inwardly. The cavalry now bore little resemblance to their past selves. Empowered by the Nibelungen Dragon-Sealing Array’s distant magic, they possessed extraordinary recovery to offset Blood Frenzy’s vitality drain. The only cost—a shortened lifespan—meant nothing in this war.

With their enhanced recovery and devastating lightning strikes, Domingo believed he could corner Midi’s forces, whether Golden Branch or Hawk Brigade.

Gazing at the Hamilton family flag flapping in the cold wind, the “top expert in strategy” spurred his mount forward. Five thousand destroyer cavalry surged behind him like molten steel.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in tunnels dug hundreds of meters below the Royal Magic Academy’s camp, magic rippled like tidal waves.

“The magic’s moving! Judging by the speed and volume, this is a continuous spell. We can use this time to grow the Tree of Life!” The elven elder vibrated with excitement.

Midi, Fina, and Alice exchanged nods. Midi produced a rune-stitched pouch holding the Tree of Life’s seed and approached the excavation site. Days of digging aided by Alice’s high-tier Earth Elemental Summons had created a vast underground chamber. At its center coiled a serpentine root—part of the centuries-old Tree of Life from Belmar Duchy.

Midi carefully sliced the root with Black Sky sword, creating a wound into which he placed the nine-pored seed that pulsed like a living heart. The root’s immense recovery sealed the cut instantly. In theory, the seed would now draw from both root and dragon vein to grow.

But grafting one Tree of Life onto another’s roots was unprecedented. Only a desperate commander like Midi would attempt it. Even Dawn Garden’s gardeners couldn’t predict the outcome, let alone Midi, the reincarnator.

Every observer held their breath, senses sharpened, anxiety thick. Would the seed be consumed? Sprout? Or attract the Pretenders’ notice?

Time crawled—minutes, hours, half a day. The roots showed no change; magic flowed untouched through the dragon veins.

Then, precisely six hours later, the magic rippled. The fluctuation was faint, nearly lost in the vein’s currents. Before anyone could react, the python-thick roots shuddered. Cracks spiderwebbed their surface, emitting hair-thin green tendrils. With a woody crack, a jade-hued seedling pierced through, unfurling leaves aglow with life.

Midi’s Tree of Life had taken root.