Tree of the Moon

Tree of the Moon

Year 195

Snek wanted to know how we stood up to the demon kings. I was frank, we didnt. At least, not yet. It was a very depressing conversation, as Snek wanted to know what levels were needed to be able to fight toe-to-toe with the demon king.

In truth, if Edna was alone, she would survive the first day, but shell be dead on the second. So, Level 150 was not enough. No. Even level 200 was not enough. We would need an army of us to do so. To think that the ancient dragons were able to hold the demons back, they had to have many creatures of that tier of power.

Or were the dragons naturally so powerful?

It was a very high bar. Level 200? They would have to gnaw at the demons for decades before they get there, and on top of that, fight the demon king itself. Without the hero fragments, it would be very difficult to actually reach such levels.

But my two compatriots did it. Both Edna and Lumoof did. In Ednas case, she served me for about 50 years when she achieved her [domain]. Lumoof, relatively speaking, got there faster, because of the boost from the dungeons.

Could we transplant this to their world? After decades and centuries of hiding, they were not used to fighting. All they fought were the natural spawns that emerged from the tunnels, and there were powerful monsters even deep underground.

The demon-dragons of their world were not exactly interested in total annihilation, either. They seemed to only care about great crystal spires, the largest of which served as the spawning pools of demon kings. Snek had seen at least three such spawning pools on their worlds, nursed by the energies harvested from their worlds core.

Theres clearly a mechanism in the background, where a world will transform to a demonic world under certain circumstances. Snek doesnt know.

Told you you should not have done shit. Prabu said. Now youve got yourself entangled with Aeon itself.

I wasnt expecting the Empire. Ken defended himself.

Which signs did you miss? The extremely powerful subordinates? The strange compliance from even the peripheral states? The magical beetle creatures thats clearly controlled by someone that can reach the entire continent?

Ken frowned. When you put it like that.

Snek on the other hand, seemed absolutely converted. Its almost embarrassing how much of a fanboy he had suddenly become. Aeon is the hope weve been looking for.

Ken sighed. I really want to send you back, now. I cant stand all this praising Aeon shit. Seriously. What do I need to do to send you back?

No. I need to learn more from Aeon. Our world would do much better if Aeon could help us. Snek was a fanboy, and I felt secondhand embarrassment from eavesdropping.

Where was the crafty clever snake I met? Ken smacked his face. I miss the snarky snake.

As youve once succinctly described it, I had eyes, but I could not see Mount Tai. I have now seen the difference between heaven and earth, and there is much for me to do. Snek answered.

Prabu laughed. Thats the first time Ive seen a spirit turn into a fan-animal. Ken, youve outdone yourself in training your pet.

One must know their place in the world. There are mountains beyond mountains.

Ken sighed. And I regret exposing you to xianxia quotes.

Prabu, the archmage was literally in tears. You absolutely deserved this, Ken. You know, you did all this to avoid the whole hero-shenanigans, and here you are, entangled in the bigger shenanigans.

Yeah. A snakes attempt to save their own world. I dont see how one hero class is enough to change the scales though, at least, from what weve seen in this world, the demon kings clearly can take on multiple heroes.

The snake spirit responded. We dont need to. The demon king, at maturity, would be immediately sent to invade another world. The demons defenses on our world are the demon champions, the greater guardians, and the demonic spawning pools spires.

The spires are defenses? Prabu was curious.

Yes. They are.

Ken sighed. What have I done to deserve this?

Bad karma, dude.

-

Stella was ready, and the crystal batteries charged up. We avoided using daemolite, even though those could store more void mana, simply because we didnt want to leave any trails for the demons to follow. Edna held one of my clones, the [Seed of Aeon], and we waited. Lumoof waited next to him.

Alright. Lets open a portal to the moon.

The portal manifested, and I saw a thread of darkness that seemed to stretch ever further. We had a portal to one of the moons.

Lumoof gulped, took the seed from Edna, and looked at Stella. They nodded. Now was not the time for hesitation. He stepped close to the portal, and Stella and the other void mages felt the void mana drain from the crystals. Portal is ready and stable.

Lumoof stepped through, and I felt a searing pain from Lumoof, as if we were suddenly exposed to something extremely harsh.

My priest was now on the moon, and even though the atmosphere was non-existent, and his skin burned from the harsh, unprotected light of the suns, the sight was breathtaking

Nothing. Not a single mention of a way to speak to the gods, other than prayers. Gods find them, not the other way round.

With, of course, tied in with what Snek wanted to know. How did we speak to the gods?

I cant share that. It is a secret of the Triumvirs. I was on friendly terms with the Snake spirit, but some things should remain secret. They were also not aware of Stellas portal magics, and that was a good thing. Stellas ability to open void portals remains a secret known only to the top of my organisation, just like my ability to create clones. I really wondered whether I should help Snek. I barely knew them, and though he had been honest, I wasnt sure I should.

Shame. My people have many words they want to say to them.

At Prabus recommendation, Ken also got a chance to visit the journal, but sadly, it didnt work for him. He didnt have star mana and the journal could not open for him. It was also their first time to the Valley of the Unrotten, and Snek was particularly sombre.

This reminded me too much of my world.

Ken merely sighed. Thats quite depressing.

-

Back on our homeworld, we discussed where to put the other three more cloned bodies. No, what exactly to do with it.

The other two nearby worlds are a clear candidate. Edna said during the discussion. We could send the high-levelled Valthorns to those worlds, and help fight the demon kings there. This meant we could essentially gain experience from three demon kings over the same period of time.

Thats a whole lot of fighting. Lumoof sighed. Im not sure Im keen to do that much of that.

It was true, and at Lumoofs advice, Ive also increased the dungeon-battles for the other Treeology Patriarchs and Matriarchs. A few of them have gone past level 100 recently. The most recent battle with the demon king made it clear to me that he wasnt that fond of battle. With my clones on other worlds serving as gates, I could definitely send some of my priests and Valthorns there to gain levels.

Edna had another private opinion, one she shared only with me and Lumoof. One tree on the Eastern Continent. For the Aivans who now require our protection.

Another idea was to wait for the demonic rifts, and hijack the rifts to send my seed to the demon worlds. In short, I would invade the demon world with my seed, and use my seed as a springboard for a full scale assault to retake the demon world. I could use my seed, together with the [forest rod] to speed up the terraform, and quickly establish a defensible position. Ill most likely need Lumoof to be in that demon world for some time.

Alka, my scientist, also had a view to use the clones offensively. He proposed that the clone trees be deployed on the continents where the demons were most likely to appear next. Three clones for the next three demon kings. That way, we would be able to significantly support the battles against the next few demon kings, and relieve the pressure on Lumoof.

Of course, this would mean I would also be able to establish a surveillance network on the other three continents. Something that my spymasters would love.

Nay. While that was appealing in a way. I do prefer having the two seeds go to each of the other nearby worlds. Currently, I was already able to learn a lot through my spies, my network of minions and vassals, and through trade. But the knowledge of these two worlds could be radically different, and the combined magical knowhow of the three worlds was likely to be more useful.

Not only that. I wondered whether there are others like me in those worlds. An alliance of spirits across the three worlds would be fantastic.

Id have to send Lumoof for an information gathering visit.

Why, its time for my old priest to have his own isekai adventure on another world.

He gave me a look filled with horror.

Spaizzer

MERRY CHRISTMAS IN ADVANCE, OVERLORDX120

(Before I forget the week after) :P

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