Chapter 274 No one knew the true strength of Blackwood
His once pristine clothes were now tinged with yellow.
Luna, with her curly hair, leaned weakly on Nathan's shoulder, snowflakes settling on her long eyelashes.
Where soldiers once guarded, now stood an elder from Glory City.
For three hundred days, the Druids outside Border town had multiplied, gathering six tribes, growing increasingly restless over time!
Below Border town, countless Druids advanced, pressing towards the solitary bastion like a tide!
The six tribes' High Priest floated above, leading a robust and handsome man in a purple robe adorned with the radiant sun, moon, and stars, a streak of purple lightning at his brow.
"I, Mike, apostle of the Bird Totem, pay my respects to the most admirable foe of my Druids."
Mike nodded respectfully towards Nathan.
Behind him, countless Druids surged forward like a dark cloud.
Yet, Nathan's eyes showed no fear, his gaze remained sharp, his hands strong, the natural energy above him overwhelmingly powerful!
Mike, a high-ranking figure among the Druids, knew there were greater Druids above him.
These weren't individuals but believers in the Druids' totem, including apostles and elders, managing all their tribes.
Mike had traveled widely and met many people.
Despite Cloudview County being abandoned by the Emerald Empire, Nathan chose to share its fate, a fact that earned Mike's respect as an apostle.
As Mike finished speaking, Harris, the High Priest, lamented, "Mr. Nathan, leave this place. Your and your wife's vigil here is pointless. Today marks the agreement between my Druids and the Emerald Empire. Cloudview County is now Druid land, and with the border region's eleven counties under Druid control, Cloudview County stands alone. Your continued presence makes you an invader."
"Don't you see? Your resistance is futile. The Emerald Empire never cared for the twelve counties of the border region; you are expendable! You will receive no aid, not even your children have come, have they?"
Mike smiled, "You have another choice. The Emerald Empire has forsaken you, and Blackwood is now free. You, Nathan, could simply surrender to my Druids. There's an old human saying, 'Those not of our kind must have a different heart,' which was the fundamental cause of the great war between Blackwood and Clark. But this isn't without a solution."
"More than a hundred descendants of Blackwood exist. Just one child from Blackwood's lineage marrying into my Druids, one child inheriting our blood, learning our magic, and believing in our Bird Totem, would make them one of us."
Upon hearing this, the six High Priests' expressions changed.
They had felt Nathan's terrifying power!
They even sent skilled warriors from the Competent Force to probe him, but in just a short time, they learned nothing; Nathan's coffin blocked all their senses.
When the deathly aura in the sky dissipated, their priest stood behind Nathan like a puppet on strings.
Nathan alone was enough to instill fear in them.
Yet, they knew Nathan was not the strongest of Blackwood; the strongest from three tribes gathered outside the natural magic formation that day said it was the closest they had come to death.
No one knew the true strength of Blackwood.
If they truly became part of the Druids... all present Druid tribes would worry their totem might be taken by Blackwood.
Millennia later, Blackwood might usurp their place!
But Mike ignored the High Priests' concerns, needing Blackwood as a powerful ally, confident their Bird Totem could become Blackwood's most fervent belief!
Mike, impassioned, declared, "Sir, stand behind my Druids, and I assure you, you will become the most trusted member of our Bird Totem!"
"Our Bird Totem is not the Emerald Empire; we do not abandon our people or our lands like the Emerald Empire does!"
"You Blackwood will join us in battle, your glory and achievements will be engraved on the Bird Totem, your memories will live on!"
Watching Mike's frenzied actions.
This time, Nathan finally reacted, he suddenly raised his head, looking around at the Competent Force experts floating above.
He naively smiled at Mike.
"Okay, then I have one condition, give me Cloudview County, can it be the territory of my Blackwood?"
"You agree?" Mike now squinted his eyes, "If it's just Cloudview County, then it's okay."
Nathan's mouth curved up, with a hint of sarcasm, "Apostle sir, since Cloudview County is now our Blackwood territory, there's no need for a large army anymore. From now on, I am one of the Druids. How about this, you go back now and bring a thousand of the most beautiful Druid girls here, I still have many descendants who aren't married."
Then.
Mike's face completely darkened, "Why didn't you hesitate at all? Are you playing me?"
"It's you who's playing me."
Nathan's playful smile disappeared, his face expressionless again, "Even if my Blackwood surrenders to the Druids, no matter what we do, generation after generation will be suspected by you Druids. Look at them, Apostle sir, you've driven me to a dead end."
Mike looked towards the High Priests Nathan was pointing at.
These High Priests, each one on alert, even if Mike's persuasion had truly succeeded, these Druids would not hesitate to storm into Cloudview County, to kill Nathan!
"I..."
Mike was suddenly choked up, his spur-of-the-moment idea, but he had forgotten to consider the other Druid tribes!
No one would want to let Blackwood into the Druids, it would be unclear whether it's the Druids' Blackwood, or Blackwood's Druids!
Nathan sighed deeply, "Thank you for your appreciation, Apostle sir, it's a pity, our family has a child who has already tried for our Blackwood, we find it hard to live on the same land."
"He chose to walk alone to Clark, to die to show his resolve, to tell everyone in the Emerald Empire that we Blackwood still stand with them."
At that moment.
Mike and those six High Priests felt Nathan's fighting spirit rising!
"So..."
"Put away your pity, put away your sympathy."
"Come fight!"
With Nathan's roar, the elders still on the walls of Glory City, facing the endless Druid army, they were the first to beat the war drums, to blow the horns!
Even though they were less than a hundred strong!
Outside Border town, the Druids who were originally advancing, stopped in their tracks at this moment!
The sound of the war drums and horns from Border town was so faint, yet so clear and audible, as if the whole world only heard the sound of Border town.
In the snowstorm.
Dozens of elders, picking up their weapons, jumped down from the walls of Border town, they lined up neatly, even though they were as small as dust in front of the Druid army, they still stood straight!
They were old, but like the toughest pines, unafraid of the snowstorm, fearless of life and death!
"Ah."
Mike sighed, he and the High Priests moved towards Nathan, their movements slow, staring at the distant Nathan, "Sir, after you die, I will hold the grandest human funeral for you."
Nathan ignored Mike, he could feel the strong presence of the seven experts!
He gently looked at Luna, "Wife, are you scared?"
"Not scared."
Luna's eyes curved like crescent moons, "I heard that in the underworld there's a Ferrywoman's soup, after drinking it you forget everything, in the next life when we meet again, you must remember me first, you have to help me lift the red veil again, otherwise, you're done for."
"Hahaha, what more could I ask for in this life? What more could I ask for!"
Nathan and Luna rose into the air, their faces full of smiles, facing the Druid experts!
One by one, the priests surrounded them in the sky, Nathan and Luna remained unafraid!
Nathan looked down at the Druids surging towards Border town like a tide.
His voice was loud!
Every elder in Glory City could hear his voice.
"One day in the future, our children will step into Cloudview County again."
"Old buddies, today we old folks will set an example for our descendants."
"Charge!"
Then.
They gripped their weapons, laughing as they charged forward, charging!