BXBX NOVEL Chapter 108 - 92 Benefit A Little_l
Gailard and all the Elf Guards jumped in fright, drawing their swords in all directions, their hearts trembling. The mighty Giant Dragon Hunter was actually touched and spoken to at the Teleportation array without her noticing? If the other party wanted to assassinate her, wouldn’t it have been effortless?
What was terrifying is that even though the other party spoke at this moment, Gailard could not see their figure, as if they did not exist at all, but there was clearly a voice.
However, she quickly realized that the only one able to conceal their voice from her in this place and invite others to chat in the tone of a master was one entity.
“World Tree?” came Negris’s tentative inquiry from the teleportation array.
The God of Nature, protector of the elves, the World Tree.
All elves fell to their knees in a whisper, and Gailard was no exception. The proud head that would not bow to anyone was now lowered, revealing her clean and white nape.
Spoken in Dragon Language.
* &#* * Also spoken in Dragon Language.
Negris was unwilling to be teleported here.
When such an underdeveloped Bronze Dragon appeared from the teleportation array, Gailard and the other elves were jaw-dropped. The one who was talking to them in such a grumpy manner was this adorable little creature?
Negris was reluctant to come because the more information exposed, the easier it is for the elves to remember him, but he had no choice when the World Tree threatened to go and beat him up through the teleportation array if he did not come.
Negris did not know how to beat anyone through the teleportation array, but what if the World Tree, an old tree that has lived for hundreds of thousands of years, had a way?
Anyway, he was just a projection, if he died, it was no big deal, he would just abandon 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.
Gailard watched that small yellow figure with a bad premonition in her heart.
“Negris, long time no see, how did you become a corpse dragon? And so small, is it because your egg was broken?” Negris hadn’t flown to the tree crown yet when the deep voice of the World Tree slowly sounded in his ears.
If High Priest Kailandel heard this, she would be scared enough to lose her hair. When she recently prayed to the World Tree, she often didn’t receive its response. Occasionally when she did, it was just three to five words long, not like the long paragraph being spoken now.
She used to think that the World Tree was not responding due to old age and lack of energy. Little did she know that the Tree just couldn’t be bothered to respond to her prayers.
Negris, having spent a lot of time with Lightning, hadn’t learned much else, but he managed to pick up some sass. He replied casually, “It’s your seeds that are spoiled. If I hadn’t sold the World Tree saplings to the elves, you would have gone extinct.”
“Alas, even if you do sell them saplings, in their hands, the World Tree will eventually go extinct one day.”
“Ah? What do you mean by that? By the way, why didn’t you teach them how to germinate and grow seeds? Even two trees were dead because of them.” Negris asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know how to germinate, just like you don’t know how to have a juvenile dragon.” The World Tree replied.
Negris was not convinced, “Who says I don’t know how to produce juvenile dragons? Just get a female dragon to lie on top, that’s all.”
“And then what? Do you know how the juvenile dragon combines, grows, and hatches within the mother dragon?”
“Of course I know. The life essence of the male and female dragons fertilizes to form a fertilized egg, then the egg membrane hardens to form the eggshell, and then it comes out, hatches in an appropriate environment, and finally becomes a juvenile dragon,” Negris explained.
The World Tree was stunned for quite a while before it had to admit, “I forgot that you are the God of Knowledge. But I don’t know how to germinate, because by the time I became self-aware, I was already a huge tree and had not experienced the sprouting stage.”
“Fair enough, I don’t know how I came into being, but I know how other little dragons are born. Well, it’s a pity, you don’t have any other World Trees to show you.” Negris was beginning to understand why he couldn’t grasp the concept of germination.
If the World Tree doesn’t understand germination, it will be very difficult for its seeds to sprout. Looking at the conditions required when Ange germinates, Negris felt overwhelmed.
“Don’t worry, within a single fruit, I have thousands of seeds. When the flowering season comes, billions of flowers bloom at once and give birth to hundreds of millions of fruits. In a year, there are hundreds of billions of seeds. When they scatter across the earth and the abyss, some of them are bound to find a suitable environment and take root and sprout.”
Negris nodded. The germination rate of the World Tree’s seeds is very high. Apart from the hundreds wasted in the initial experiments, almost all the remaining ones had successfully sprouted, with a germination rate of 99-999%.
Even if the World Tree doesn’t understand germination and the conditions are harsh, even if there’s only a one in a trillion chance, against such a huge base rate, success is always possible.
The number of seeds produced by the World Tree is clearly a reproduction strategy based on quantity over quality. Hundreds of billions of seeds a year, trillions in ten years, how many would there be in a hundred thousand years?
“But why is it that none of them have sprouted yet?” Negris asked, puzzled.
“The Elves prevent the loss of seeds,” the World Tree said.
Negris was shocked to the core.
The World Tree needs to scatter its seeds far and wide, relying on sheer numbers for the chance of germination. Many plants do this, some making their fruits even sweeter to entice birds to eat them, then fly afar and excrete the seeds.
However, the Elves, in order to prevent the loss of the World Tree, have stopped the seed dispersal. Each year after the fruit ripens, they would remove the fruits, scoop out the seeds inside and feed them to the birds and beasts, while the Elves who ate the fruits weren’t allowed to leave the Elf territory for several days.
So, the biggest reason why the World Tree could not sprout was the Elves themselves, the very creatures the World Tree had bred. Great, the species it nurtured ended up sterilizing it.
“Why don’t you tell them? Or teach them the art of tree-planting?” Negris enquired.
“Isn’t this a part of nature too? If the World Tree is to go extinct, perhaps it just means that this species is not suitable for survival. Besides, a plane isn’t suitable for housing two World Trees,” said the World Tree, seeming not to care much.
Negris suddenly realized that his perception of life was vastly different from that of the World Tree’s. He saw death as a horrifying thing, but clearly, the tree in front of him didn’t seem to share his views.
The World Tree believes that extinction is a part of nature, and its own bred species causing its extinction is also a part of nature’s selection. Good god, there’s no talking to this tree.
“But what about the Elves when you’re about to die?” Negris asked. The World Tree is the god of the Elves. If the World Tree truly dies, can the Elves continue to reproduce?
“Yes, I am very old now. I have little over nine thousand years left. I hope these Elves can find new ways to survive before I wither and die.” The World Tree sighed.
“Pfft, Nine thousand years? I am done chatting with you.” Negris spat out blood and stormed off. He was initially sympathetic toward a creature that was about to die after living for a hundred thousand years. Who knew that it’s remaining years were nearly as long as his own entire lifespan? What is there to sympathize with?
He turned around and headed back to the teleportation array, grumpily carrying out the activation process himself. Gailard, who hadn’t left yet, hesitated several times before finally asking, “Excuse me, distinguished guest, are you the Lord of Knowledge?”
Negris replied without turning his head, “Yes, I’m that foolish Bronze Dragon.”
Gailard instantly blushed up to his ears. Being caught talking behind someone’s back was indeed embarrassing.
Upon teleporting back, Negris saw Ange. The little sapling that had grown a bit taller above the pot sensed the commotion, turned around, and waved its two leaves, sending out the message: Grow vigorously grow vigorously.
Negris’ eyes lit up. He returned to the teleportation array and sent out a teleportation request.
Although Gailard was confused why he left and returned again, he still agreed to the teleportation. The returning Negris quickly flew to the tree crown and spoke to the World Tree:
“I know a most suitable candidate to spread your seeds without any personal agenda like the Elves. If you give him some benefits, I’m sure he’d be more than willing to plant World Trees wherever he goes..”