HC: Pacifist | Ch. 306 - War (Patreon)

Roth had only seen this menu a handful of times.

Power Grid, lvl. 5

Hp: 87,000,000

Ep: 40,000,000

Skills: [Anti-Fungal Resilience]; [Bio Illusion]; [Expanded Growth]; [Grid Overload]; [Force Field].

As the treeants connected more roots, the level of their bioenergy grid increased. With each level in the power grid skill, the treeants unlocked a special skill. 

Expanded Growth (Uncommon)

Description: Sharing ingredients offsets any deficiencies in the plants connected to the power grid.

Effects: Active. Roots of plants linked to the grid grow 30% faster.

Requirements: [Bioenergy Power Grid I].

Anti-Fungal Resilience (Uncommon)

Description: Trees share antibiotics between them, making them sturdier and less susceptible to disease and plagues.

Effects: Passive. All plants linked to the grid have 20% more hp and 20% more ep.

Requirements: [Bioenergy Power Grid II].

Force Field (Rare)

Description: Harness the life energy of all treeants and plants to create a powerful force field.

Effect: Active.

Requirements: [Bioenergy Power Grid III].

Bio Illusion (Rare) 

Effects: You can induce illusions by fine-tuning the bio-energy field's electromagnetic impulses. 

Effect: Create an illusion within the sphere's area of influence. 

Requirements: [Bioenergy Power Grid IV].

Grid Overload (Epic)

Description: By squeezing the energy of every plant cell, you can push the grid even further.

Effects: You can use the grids’ plants' hp to feed its active skills.

Requirements: [Bioenergy Power Grid V].

From the moment the Leafies showed him this, Roth had immediately suspected that his pet could recreate some of the miracles he’d seen in Antioch. It had been a leap of faith, but, sure enough, he got the two skills he was looking for. He hadn’t known their names, only seen them at work: [Bio Ilusion] and [Force Field].

[Bio Illusion] had to be the skill that allowed the Lord of the Woods to keep the Palatial Clearing hidden in plain sight. [Force Field] was the skill that had protected Antioch to this day from guilds breaking through using brute force. Reading the skill description, Roth nodded approvingly. No wonder the shield had stood Pegasus’ siege. Attackers had first to exhaust the energy produced by hundreds of thousands of plants before breaking through

Roth smiled from ear to ear. “Well done. We have all the necessary pieces to set the plan in motion. By the way, I also want to ask you something. You and I can now use [Symbiotic Craftsmanship]. Right?" 

"Yes. We can work together more closely now," the Lord of the Oak confirmed.

“How do we do that?”

The system answered for his pet.

Would you like to activate symbiotic craftsmanship? [Y/N]

“Yes,” Roth declared.

Synergies found:

• [Leaf Weaving] and [Ecotailor].
  

Assign tailoring tasks to Leafies. Speed and crafting rate depends on your pet's level and affection.

• [Bioengineering] and [Light Trapping]. 
  

Assign tasks to Leafies. Speed and crafting rate depends on your pet's level and affection.

Roth had guessed about the first synergy and secretly hoped for the second one. Roth grabbed the vacuum maker and one unsealed chest plate from his inventory.

"Can I trust you with a simple task? Every time this machine beeps, remove the equipment under it and put one from the other pile. The machine has to go over this pattern.” Roth illustrated the motion. “Do you think you can do that for me?" 

There was silence. Roth tapped his foot nervously. Each piece of equipment weighed several kilos, and the ants were tiny. This would be an incredible endeavor for them. However, the Leafies' character sheet said they could lift more than 140 kg. That was way beyond what they needed to perform this task.

He’d hate to spend two more days in front of the vacuum maker. If the treeants could do this small thing for him, that would save him a lot of time. Besides, he was worried about Lin and wanted to make amends. Not to speak of how he would need to help Jack kickstart the plan's next step. All the armor in the world would be useless if they couldn’t find sellers for it. He had to be out there making money, not here, sealing traps.

Seal the Armor (Pet Quest)

Description: Roth, the Peacemonger, is a busy man, and he requires the assistance of the heroic, industrious treeant colony to finish a task.

Objectives: Seal all 342 pieces of equipment left by the benefactor.

Would you like to spend ten affection to issue [Seal the Armor]?

Roth accepted it. The price was reasonable. He refused to stay still for 48 hours when he could have the Leafies do that instead. Thankfully, this was only for requests regarding assisting Roth with his professions. He knew he had the Leafies' total cooperation for the next task.

“Now, let’s review the plan.”

*

Ali couldn’t help but walk a little ahead of the group of gardeners. His hands were clammy, and his back was covered in sweat. The last two visits to the greenhouse had been disastrous. Whatever plague or disease infected the precious herb and fruit garden of the Lindstors had grown stronger. 

His only consolation was that the Lindstors weren’t the only ones suffering from it anymore. The Bustards and the Svensters also reported drops in production in their greenhouses. Ali squeezed the handle of the shovel. He had too much to lose here—enough with the passive approach. 

Today, he would dig through the whole garden himself if he had to. He’d given the plants enough time to fight whatever this cursed vermin was. As his tall boots stepped on the green grass, Ali felt a weird sensation. He froze, raised his hand, and signaled the gardeners behind him to stop.

“What is it, Mr. Ali?” one of the NPCs asked.

“Hush. Quiet.”

Ali closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. There was no chatter, laughter, or sound of lovers squabbling or soldiers warning curious onlookers not to draw too close to the glass wall.

“I don’t hear anything,” one of the gardeners said after a moment breaking the silence.

“Precisely. That’s what’s strange. I haven’t seen anyone in the garden but us.”

“So?” one of the gardeners asked, confused.

Ali sighed and resumed his march. Maybe stress was playing tricks on him. Although statistically unlikely, he could be the only player in the garden. Kulvar Lindstor had been giving him a hard time and threatened to replace him as the head botanist if he didn’t give him any results. 

He pressed onward, slightly accelerating, eager to see if the garden’s situation had improved. He saw a dark shape in the grass ahead. He couldn’t tell what it was at first, but once he did, he took off running. 

“What is it, Mr. Ali?!”

“Look, over there! It’s a soldier. See his boots sticking out?”

The group rushed after Ali and found a soldier lying in the bush. He was unconscious. “Guard. Are you OK?” Ali asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the inventory and pouring it on the soldier’s face, hoping that would wake him up.

“Urgh…”

“Soldier. Are you alright? Who did this to you?”

“T-the Busterds. They…” The guard managed before losing his senses again.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Get to the greenhouse! Go, go! You and you. Stay with the soldier. You! Get someone from the garrison! Stat!”

Ali took off running, hurrying toward the greenhouse. He was responsible for the biggest greenhouse on the floor. It was the single most valuable garden he knew of in the game. The garden's price for a week of produce was in the millions of gold. It was invaluable. If anything bad happened to it…

After sprinting past a few more unconscious guards, Ali halted his footsteps. The door of the Lindstors’ greenhouse was slammed open, and a man in a green gardening outfit stood at the entrance, pumpkin oil in the garden’s entrance. “Hey, you! Stop it! Stop it right now!” one of Ali’s assistants shouted.

The man turned. He looked slightly off for some reason, which Ali couldn’t explain, but he still managed to recognize him. He worked for the Busterds. Without taking his eyes away from the group of newcomers, the Busterds’ gardener lit up a flare and threw it in the greenhouse. “NOOOOOOO!” Ali screamed. 

“We need to put out the fire!” Ali screamed, ignoring the man running away.

“How, sir? He has used the oil we usually use to water the ashberry bushes. He must have used all the oil in our shack. There’s no way we can put it out in time.”

Ali took in the scene of destruction. The flames had spread impossibly fast, and the glass was already cracking. Black smoke emerged from the Lindstors’ greenhouse and rose toward the glass chimney, the artificial sun that made this garden possible. Ali massaged his temples with a heavy heart. He was doomed. Kulvar Lindstor would have his head on a stick for this.

Ali slapped the cheeks on his face. No, Ali. The Busterds are the culprits. If I tell the top brass what happened, they will settle the score with the Busterds and take over their greenhouse. Then, I can resume my work as the head botanist. All I need to do is make sure I give the news to the boss and do it fast.

“Get the soldiers to safety!” screamed Ali. Getting the garrisons on their side might be essential to navigate the upcoming crisis.

“Yes sir,” the gardeners shouted in response as they dragged each of the unconscious soldiers away from the flames.

Ali ran off to report to the boss.

Meanwhile, beneath the park's ground, roots pulsed with blueish-white flares. All available treeants hugged the roots, moving their antenna, stretching their mind. Above ground, the Oak Holdings were unscathed. Beyond the fog of illusion, the Lord of the Oak operated the grid, manipulating the brainwaves of the humans outside. Each of them only saw what his benefactor wanted them to see.

*

Kulvar stared at the woman on the other side of the desk. For someone who was screwed, she seemed far too collected. No, she looked angry, even. Kulvar would like to know how on earth she had let this happen and who she was angry at. From what he knew about this woman, she would do anything to avoid an all-out war. She knew the war was terrible for business.

Of all the slavers in Sapphira, only Elaine Busterd could compare to Kulvar. She was a foxy, calculating tactician. While her family’s might was never strong enough to surpass his own, Kulvar had never dared ignore or underestimate her, especially when she allied with other slaver families. They had coexisted peacefully for years now. The only conflicts between their people were the occasional skirmishes between slave hunters or underhanded blows in the city's shadows. 

“I guess you know why you’re here,” Kulvar said. He was furious but maintained a diplomatic tone and even poured precious tea for his rival.

“I do, Kulvar. Are you ready to apologize?”

Kulvar spat his tea. “What did you say?”

“What are the Lindstor planning to give us as a repair for the garden?”

Kulvar blinked a few times, unsure if he had heard his rival well enough. “E-excuse me?”

“Stop playing the fool, old man! Your stinking Ali was spotted burning the Bustards’ greenhouse. Do you have any idea how much money that cost us, Kulvar? What is that? A warning to the alliance?”

The rush of blood that went to Kulvar’s head made his whole blood boil, and his body shake. He didn’t recall a moment when he’d been angrier. “What nonsense are you spouting, Elaine?! It was YOUR PEOPLE who torched OUR GARDEN! YOU will crawl on your knees and beg for forgiveness, or so help me, I’m going to crush the Bustards.”

Elaine stood up. “And here I thought you had called me because you wanted to apologize and do right by the city! Do you think I’m afraid of you?”

“You. should. be.”

“I’ll have you know, Kulvar, you might be a tiger in this city, but even a tiger has to fear a pack of jackals. You might take one or two of us down with you, but we’ll make you bleed!”

“GUARDS! Kulvar screamed!”

“What are you doing, Kulvar?” Elaine warned. “Don’t you dare.”

A dark-skinned woman with a sand-colored cloak covering her face entered through the door, covered by a contingency of soldiers. “You called, sir?”

“Taskmaster, meet our new slave. Elaine Busterd.”

“You’re crossing the line. You wouldn’t dare, Kulvar!”

“S-sir? Are you…”

There was a blur, and one guard fell to the ground, holding his tummy. The Lindstors’ taskmaster brandished her saber, exchanging blows with another cloaked figure. “Yuri,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Get out of here, boss!” the cloaked figure screamed. 

“No! Yuri!”

“Go! GO!”

Elaine bit her lip and took a vial from her sleeve. She spared a last furious look at Kulvar. “The alliance will learn of everything that has happened here today.” She let the vial fall to the floor, filling Kulvar’s office with pink smoke.

“Elaine!” Kulvar roared. “Get back here! ELAINE! Don’t let her leave!”

Yuri kept fighting as hard as he could, but the taskmaster, assisted by five other guards, eventually got a blow in, and the lead assassin of the Busterds fell. 

“Find her! Quick!” the taskmaster hissed as the guards scattered to find Elaine Busterd. She uncovered her cloak, revealing her tattooed face and exotic eyes. “Sir, are you alright?”

Kulvar sunk in the chair and babbled as he wrote a letter to his son. “Rally the men. Call back our slave hunters. Sapphirah is at war.”

Ch. 305 - Symbiotic Craftsmanship

INDEX

Ch. 307 - The First Customers