"The rumors we heard stated that a large man, as tall as a house, lived in this forest, cutting lumber. The rumors also stated that you weren’t a cultivator, and that your wife was hopelessly weak, yet she was still accepted into the sect." The Hermit smiled, "I refused to believe that a man of your size could be anything but special. Otherwise, the great noble clans would’ve killed your wife and dragged you into the families to enrich their bloodline."

He leaned forward. "The fact no one was able to do that was all that I needed to know that you were either extremely powerful, or already had the backing of one of the Elders."

Arad crossed his arms. "You came here fully believing that I was strong, so why did you believe that?"

"I asked around the sect and learned that the Elder of the World Tree was the one to issue a direct order to let your wife into the sect, and that she even got in the way of any clan trying to claim you." He smiled, "And that hag is a cold, stern, and utter believer in the Sacred World Tree; she doesn’t care about mortal affairs and only follows the Tree’s will."

The daughter finally spoke. "If she is moving, it had to be under the Sacred World Tree orders. So the one protecting your wife is the Tree itself, not some clan." She stared at Arad for a while. "So, if the World Tree’s roots are being eaten, and she was protecting your wife, we thought it would make sense for you and your wife to be powerful enough to save the tree, or at least have a role in its future."

The Hermit nodded, "You are far more impressive than I could’ve ever imagined. I won’t ask where you come from or how you got that power, but we have to ask for your help to protect the World Tree. Without her, this world would crumble."

Arad stared at them and sighed. "I understand that we don’t need to leave now, since you two were spending your sweet time looking for me. For today at least, you can rest at my house. We’ll discuss this later when I get more information about what those monsters could be. Care to tell me what you know?"

"We call them Worm Blight, they are, as the name suggests, massive worms that leech off the world tree roots deep underground, weaken it, and also break ley lines. If left alone, they would first destroy all of the ley lines, starving us cultivators, and then kill the tree, ending the world as we know it."

As the Hermit started describing the worms in Details, Arad, back at the private quarter, was already about to start an urgent meeting with his wives, who knew the Yggdrasil best.

Inside a massive bedroom, Cerilla sat on the couch, sipping on a cup of tea. Jasmine was beside her, relaxed with both of her feet on the table, and unlike Cerilla, she had a large pitcher of milk in her hand. But those two weren’t the only ones. Today, besides being called by Arad, they have a few special guests to welcome. Dalla and D were standing beside their masters, and behind the couch, all of the armed forces protecting those two Queens were lined up, but not in full armor. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The private quarter was the safest place ever, and the only reason they were called was because whatever meeting Arad wanted to hold, it could end up with his two queens deployed to a potentially deadly place, so the guards needed to know.

But facing them was an unfamiliar face, a young, blood-elvish woman, a tall build, large, powerful legs, yet a chest flatter than a rectangular slab of steel. The blond, blue-eyed jewel of the wood elves sat facing the two queens, all the muscles beneath her olive skin tensing up with each passing second.

She gulped, looked around the room with beads of sweat slowly forming on her neck, and she quickly fixed her hair, making sure the twin tails weren’t stuck behind her back. This would be the first time she is meeting Arad directly. She had seen him before from afar, but never got close.

The maid beside her, her personal servant Noel, tapped her leg. "My Lady, you can relax. I’m here with you." The maid then threw a glance at the two Queens, "I’ll get us through this."

Jasmine looked at the maid with a smile, and then pointed at her with one finger. "Noel, the butcher of Lost Leaf Temple. How many monks were there?"

Noel glared back at her with burning golden eyes, "Three hundred and sixty-one, now, there is no one."

Cerilla smiled, "I was surprised when I looked at the record, Princess Li has a supreme martial talent as a monk, so they wanted to recruit her. They put political Pressure on the royal family, and since princess Li is the youngest, she didn’t have a good chance to inherit the throne."

Princess Li looked down, "They didn’t leave me a chance to refuse, I would’ve had to join them."

Jasmine finally pulled her foot off the table and looked forward at Noel, "So you just strolled into their temple through the front door, and massacred them all. When the armed guards tried to arrest you, you punched your way through all of them until you returned to the royal castle and knocked one of the king’s teeth out."

"I was hired as Li’s personal guard, and I swore an oath to her, and her alone. If anyone wanted to hurt her in any way, shape, or form, they would have to deal with me. The royal family knew they wouldn’t put me in the ground before losing thousands of soldiers, so they gave up." Noel glared at the two Queens, "The same applies here."

Cerilla stared at her for a second. "Princess Li and Noel the butcher." She smiled, "One is a skilled and powerful monk, and the other is a greatsword master that’s powerful enough to rival S-rankers."

Jasmine sighed, "Well, Arad would love a woman with your aggression." She then pointed at the battalion of wood elves behind them, "You also brought a bunch with you." Just like Cerilla and Jasmine, Li had brought more than thirty trained women with her to act as her servants and guards.

Noel looked back, "Just like you two. I can’t have you underestimate Lady Li just because she is a princess and you two are queens." Her eyes flashed with light, and everyone could hear something rumbling inside her chest. "I’ve heard Emperor Arad values power over everything else, so I’ll easily prove that."

Li pulled her a bit. "Noel! Cerilla is a demigoddess, don’t start a fight." But Noel just returned a smile, "Being a demigoddess only makes her a bit stronger and harder to kill, it doesn’t mean I can’t drag her face across the entire castle."

At that moment, the door opened, and a woman walked in. When she did, all of the wood elves there gasped, looking directly at her with pale faces. That woman was Mathilde, a full-fledged archon.

"Arad would be here in a few minutes; you all can relax. I’ve returned with a few words from Yggdrasil." As she sat down beside Cerilla, she threw a glance at Li and Noel. "Hoo, as expected from Princess Li, you’ve got a decent build." But her eyes quickly shifted toward Noel, "But you’re something else,"

The two stared at her with sweaty faces, and then Noel spoke in a calm voice. "We’re honored, Archon Mathilde." They were informed about her before, but seeing the real thing in front of them was a whole other experience.

"You don’t have to be formal with me; in fact, you don’t have to be formal with anyone here." She stretched her arms, rested her feet on the table, and gave the two a smug smile. "Since you set foot in this quarter, your fate has been sealed. Let’s get along."

Mathilde then switched her glance to the women guarding the two, and there were a lot of them. "You’ve been staring at my feet for a while. I don’t mind if you get closer, or even if you lick them. Go ahead." She wiggled her toes for them a bit and then laughed.

All the guards looked away the moment Li gave them a sharp glare, but Noel cleared her throat. "Sorry about that, they just need more discipline." And almost immediately, pointed at Mathilde’s feet. "Would you mind taking them off the table?"

Mathilde shrugged. "No, get used to it." Mathilde lifted her foot and rubbed it on Noel’s face, laughing as she saw the maid burst into a bright blush. "Come on, open your lips. You don’t need to hold back; no one can go against my charm."

But then, Li pushed Mathilde’s foot away from Noel’s face with an angry face. "Get them off her! She only like mine." Noel immediately growled, "Yeah, Li’s are better than..." And then quickly closed her mouth, "Lady Li, what did you say!?"

As Mathilde pulled her foot, Li looked at Noel with a smile. "Each day you wash, massage, and lick my feet, saying that they are the most beautiful in all of the kingdom."

"Stop it! Don’t just..." but at that moment, someone knocked on the door, and a maid spoke. "Lord Arad had arrived." And immediately opened the door.

Arad took a single step inside, and both Li and Noel understood that this man was leagues above everyone else in the room, and only Mathilde had a chance against him in a fight. Noel had planned to show her strength, but the moment her eyes saw Arad up close, she could feel her chest growing tighter.

Her blood was acting up, and she wanted him inside her badly. Unlike most, she was far at ease with her own nature and understood her blood far better than others knew themselves. Arad didn’t take more than three steps inside the room, and Noel was already kneeling in front of him.

"Lord Arad, I want your child. Please, I know that I do not have the strength to challenge you, so I only ask for one chance." Arad stared at her for a second, knelt down, and sniffed her hair. "I see, an earth dragon? No, half wood elf half earth dragon."