Chapter 58: The Powerful Druid 1 |
Chapter 58 The Powerful Druid 1
What benefit did this actually bring Xia'er?
Truthfully, not much.
If this Nolan failed and the Shao Yi Chamber of Commerce sent a smarter person to replace him, it might even have the opposite effect.
But Xia'er was just that wanton and unrestrained.
Purely for fun.
An evil dragon should act like an evil dragon!
If a Green Dragon didn't instigate, wouldn't that be a waste of being a Green Dragon?
Constantly suppressing one's true nature would eventually lead to problems.
Just a small indulgence of a Green Dragon's power.
However...
She also needed to display her own strength.
This Nolan, upon returning to the human duchy, would definitely organize everything he had seen and heard into a report and submit it to that Grand Duke of Shao Yi. Just like with the Dwarven Kingdom, it would become part of the intelligence collected by humans.
"These humans' intelligence-gathering capabilities aren't weak. Over these past few years, they've already mapped out almost all the surface cities of the Dwarven Kingdom... It seems news of the Star Mist Archipelago must have gotten back to them as well. But seeing only a group of Young Dragons, and given the caution humans have shown towards the Dwarven Kingdom, they won't make a move before confirming everything clearly."
Xia'er thought to herself as she stepped out of the stone Royal Court.
Xia'er slightly stretched her pair of dragon wings, large enough to blot out the sky. The wing membranes gently billowed in the breeze carrying a salty, damp moisture, like two enormous emerald sails.
The dim daylight filtered through the thin mist, falling upon the Dragon Scales and refracting a dark, luxurious shimmer.
Xia'er's pair of vertical pupils swept across White Pearl Island. What met her gaze was no longer the pure desolation and gray-white rock of her memory.
Near the outer perimeter of the Royal Court and along the roads leading to the docks, some low, tenacious saplings had taken root. They were newly planted, their trunks still appearing slender and tender green, their leaves trembling timidly in the gentle breeze.
These tiny signs of life were the result of the kobolds carefully cultivating some of the seeds transported from the south, following her will.
As for grain?
White Pearl Island itself wasn't large; there was no need to plant grain.
Just fill it all with trees.
An indescribable sense of comfort, like melting snowwater in early spring, quietly flowed through Xia'er's cold dragon heart.
This feeling stemmed both from the twisted satisfaction derived from toying with human hearts moments ago on the throne, and from the sight of this land beginning to sprout with life.
As a Green Dragon, Xia'er had a natural affinity for forests and lushness. This barren island was changing because of her will.
This was also why Xia'er chose White Pearl Island as her 'capital'.
She could make plants cover the entire island!
"Very good."
Xia'er murmured to herself, then no longer suppressed the surging natural might within her body. Pure and immense power erupted outward from Xia'er like an invisible tidal wave.
Thick, nearly tangible green magical radiance, like a living thing, coiled around Xia'er's massive form, then transformed into countless pliant, life-filled streams of light.
The light streams, like thousands of spirit snakes, eagerly burrowed into the rock crevices beneath her feet, seeped into the recently rooted young saplings, and covered the entire island's barren soil.
A miracle unfolded in the span of a breath.
Those saplings, originally only as thick as an arm and barely taller than a person, seemed injected with the essence of a thousand years of time.
The tree trunks emitted a series of cracking, popping growth sounds, shooting upward at a visible, frantic pace. In the blink of an eye, they grew into trees several meters tall.
Rough bark covered the gnarled branches. Expansive, layered canopies spread out like magnificent canopies. Leaves in shades of dark green, emerald green, and tender green densely emerged, greedily absorbing the magic and sunlight.
But this was only the beginning.
Wherever the green magical light streams reached, countless tough vines burst forth from the hard, cold rock crevices, coiling and winding around the giant trees and newly formed jagged rocks like dragons and snakes.
All sorts of unnamed cold-resistant shrubs, ferns, and mosses seemed awakened from slumber, proliferating and spreading wildly, covering every inch of exposed ground.
Flowers adapted to the cold climate bloomed from tender buds to full glory in an instant, dotting the boundless greenery with specks of brilliant color.
The thick fog itself seemed somewhat dispersed by this overwhelming vitality.
White Pearl Island, originally gray-white, cold, and hard, dotted only sporadically with tenacious weeds, was utterly transformed within a few short moments.
Lush, verdant forests replaced the desolation. Rich, teeming life replaced the lifeless silence.
The fresh scent of vegetation mixed with the fragrance of damp earth permeated the moist air, forming an emerald oasis brimming with primal life force, starkly different from the cold, damp atmosphere of other parts of the Star Mist Archipelago.
At the island's edge, the kobold warriors on guard duty and the patrolling lizardmen and Bullywugs all halted, staring in astonishment at this miraculous sight.
They prostrated themselves on the ground in reverence, paying homage to the massive emerald figure standing at the center of the newborn forest, its body still faintly glowing with residual green light.
And above these crowns of emerald green, Xia'er's massive form appeared even more mysterious and unfathomable, almost enveloped in this aura of green radiance.
On the small boat that had just departed White Pearl Island, Nolan's mind was still in turmoil. He kept pondering Xia'er's instigation, unsure of what to do.
The mage Edwin beside him also remained silent.
This was the employer's family matter; it had nothing to do with him.
If the employer truly decided to act, he would also have to pay him a hefty sum for his silence.
Just as Nolan's mind was in chaos, fiercely debating the Green Dragon's tempting and sinful whispers, the boat suddenly rocked slightly, pushed by a strangely surging energy.
"Hmm?"
The guard mage Edwin looked up alertly, his gaze first shooting towards the direction of White Pearl Island. Then his pupils abruptly contracted, and he let out an incredulous gasp.
Nolan instinctively turned to follow Edwin's gaze.
When he saw the scene on White Pearl Island, in that instant, Nolan felt as if struck by lightning, instantly petrified!
In his line of sight, White Pearl Island, originally dominated by coarse rock with only sporadic new greenery, was now undergoing a miraculous, dramatic transformation!
Countless streams of thick, tangible dark green light erupted from the center of the Governor's stone fortress, spreading outwards like ink splashed by the God of Life.
Wherever the light streams passed, countless thick, tough vines burst forth from the hard, cold rock crevices like awakened giant pythons, madly coiling and climbing.
But even more jaw-dropping were those recently planted saplings, barely taller than a person. Within a few breaths, they seemed to be yanked upward frantically by an invisible giant hand!
The barren island edge of a moment ago transformed in the blink of an eye into a lush, vibrant, primeval forest!
The dense, overwhelming emerald green, set against the backdrop of the gray-white sea mist, radiated a heart-palpitating, overwhelming vitality, as if a jadeite island had materialized out of thin air.
Nolan was utterly dumbstruck. His mouth hung open unconsciously, but no sound came out.
Edwin was even more astounded: "Plant... Plant Growth?! Such a spell! That Star Mist Governor is actually a powerful Druid!"
Although adult Green Dragons could also master this ability, Edwin had been silently observing Xia'er earlier and judged her to be, at most, a young adult dragon, far from reaching the level of an adult Green Dragon.
Mastering this spell at this stage only had one possible explanation.
This Star Mist Governor was a powerful Druid!
That would also explain why this dragon group would let a young adult dragon govern the Star Mist Archipelago!
"It seems the Dwarves are about to face utter disaster," Edwin thought silently to himself.
This sudden Plant Growth plunged everyone into a long-unfelt state of shock.
But this had little to do with Xia'er on White Pearl Island.
"This spell... is draining..."
Xia'er's vision darkened, and she almost fainted.
She felt like she had pulled an all-nighter surfing the web, her steps unsteady and weak.
It felt less like she had cast a spell called 'Plant Growth' and more like she had been beaten up by a spell named 'Plant Growth.'
Fortunately, Xia'er's current strength wasn't so low that she couldn't support this spell.
If she maintained this for over ten days, she could permanently alter the terrain here, allowing herself to gain the strongest positional advantage on White Pearl Island.
However...
Xia'er now felt even more ravenously hungry.
"My servants, bring the stored food here!"