[NR] Unknown Lords - Chapter 536 (Patreon)

Next morning everyone is very happy they didn’t leave yesterday. Even with a favorable wind and precautions, they could smell the repellent in the settlement. Just a whiff was enough to wake everyone up.

Though apparently the bad smell by itself was more of a side effect. The reason it took a few days to set off wasn’t because they wanted to wait. Rather, each new giant beast needed a new repellent concocted. To those in town it might have smelled bad, but to the giant snake’s retinue, it was like a literal punch to the nose.

This wasn’t even too much of an exaggeration, either. Some of the ingredients would apply physical pressure on the snakes. Pressure so strong that it would assure any eggs that they have laid would shatter and any newly born monsters would die.

It was honestly a little extreme, but the kingdom had tried lesser methods and nothing worked. If you didn’t clear those left behind, it almost assured the settlement would be lost. While none of them would grow to the same size as the original giant beast, they still all ended up larger than normal and quickly. You could almost see them as a bioweapon in and of themselves with how they strip the local area.

Nevermind trying to categorize them as things like carnivore, herbivore, or even omnivore. Jason was tempted to call them ecovores, except some people used that for a while to mean those who ate eco-friendly foods. You know, instead of those literally eating the environment.

Even the topsoil wouldn’t survive them if not managed. The kingdom was lucky enough to find this out early on and cleared them out. Still, it took them over a decade of planting and magic to get the Deep Wilds to whisk away the devastated areas. It would have been quite a blighted area if the kingdom had already claimed them from the Wilds when it happened.

Such things were used to show just how ruthless the Deep Wilds could actually be. I’m an area of infinite forests, species that devastate large areas to such a degree don’t even put a dent in things. Plus, as the saying goes, there is always a bigger fish. Just as there are creatures devoted to destroying, there are those devoted to preservation and regrowth.

The catch is that those types tend to be just as dangerous, if not more so, to others. An ancient treant guarding a kingdom sized area of forest will actively take out those trying to claim it instead of just occasionally sending an attack. Some even believe that the giant beasts aren’t actually trying to attack them. Rather, they believe the giant beasts are just migrating away from already devastated areas and the kingdom set up shop in their way.

That or this was a challenge by the Deep Wilds to see if the kingdom is worthy of taking the land. Though that last option is the least popular. While some folks do try to worship the Deep Wilds, all signs point to it not being one thing or being, but rather a chaotic collection of possibilities and lost lands.

The closest to a “God” that the Deep Wilds are rumored to have are the mythical domain lords. Those who have claimed enough of the Deep Wilds for themselves that their control over that claimed area becomes more direct and divine in nature. Of course, they are mythical in the more classical sense of the word as no one currently living in NeoRealm has come across one and all the historical records are at best second hand. Even that kingdom the party had heard about existing in the Deep Wilds didn’t know more.

Deep Wilds Domain Lords are more like the various old pantheons from irl. Lots of stories about them, but no current believers. Which is honestly quite strange when Jason considers it more as the group walks towards the forest. After all, the Deep Wilds itself has people worshiping it and yet not beings described as having divine power? When there are literal deities to choose from as well?

Even the demons and devils have their cults, and yet the lords don’t? That sounds pretty fishy and the other two agree. Of course they have a good reason for it as well. The System doesn’t allow it.

While demons, devils, angels, elementals, and other such beings come in from outside of NeoRealm, they end up under the System’s restrictions when blessing their followers and sending in minions. The Deep Wilds don’t play by the same rules. Hints of this came up when Peter talked about it, but while the System tried to take charge in there, once you go deep enough that isn’t the case anymore.

Worse, from the System’s perspective, those things which break the rules can be brought into NeoRealm and resist the System. Artifacts and so on which remain “unique” under the rules. So what is to say the minions and blessings of a domain lord can’t make the transition as well without losing their uniqueness?

If that was the case, it would only make sense why the System didn’t allow any domain lord cults to exist. Unlike when a government tries something like that, the locals can’t hide their beliefs and it would take much effort to squash them. The only problem would be any travellers getting into that kind of thing.

Which is likely why all actual accounts of them have also vanished. If all it takes to find them is to go deep enough, someone will have. There are level capped beings out there who would do anything to breakthrough. To have a chance at that hidden behind just having to go deep enough into a forest, no matter how dangerous? No chance people won’t have tried it, failed, and returned.

Though those thoughts are for later. While the conversation about it managed to take up their time, it is now getting towards night and the trio are deep into the forest. So, for the moment, they focus on finding a campsite for the night.