The sunlight at noon is particularly dazzling due to the high altitude, illuminating the entire surface of the mountain top with crystal clarity. The ground on the mountain top has been deliberately leveled and smoothed out, with considerable effort seemingly put into it, erasing its natural contours and transforming it into a massive artificial platform. The platform itself has also been meticulously polished to a high sheen, ensuring that the magic arrays on it can function at their optimal level. For this surface is not home to just one or two magic arrays, but rather dozens, even hundreds of various arrays of all shapes and sizes.

  On the platform where the magic array converged, an old man with white hair and beard held a green leaf in his hand, looking at it again and again. He then sighed helplessly, and with a mixture of disappointment and regret, he casually threw it away. The divine object that shone with green light fluttered pitifully in the air for a few times before falling to the ground.

  The old man plopped down on the ground with a thud. For days, he had been sleeping only two or three hours each day, spending all his time on this small leaf, but to no avail.

  He was the most intelligent, knowledgeable and capable person on the mainland, who could rescue several endangered sub-human species from the iron hoof of humanity, and call upon them to establish a city out of thin air in the wilderness. But now, facing this small leaf, he only felt his own powerlessness.

  Cedros let out a long sigh, gazing at the magic arrays scattered all over the ground. His eyes, once full of vitality and vigor, were now bloodshot, tired and dull. He had tried every method, yet still couldn't decipher the magic contained within this leaf that was purely condensed from life force.

  Is it because it's a divine object?

  God. Sedros never believed in this sort of thing. Because he was not only intelligent and knowledgeable, but also a strong man with real confidence and self-awareness. Every achievement, every progress was obtained through his own sweat and effort, not something bestowed upon him by chance. He always believed that the world could be grasped with one's own hands. But now this small leaf made him see a truly unattainable mystery. A feeling of emptiness and uncertainty made his heart panic, restless beyond measure.

  After a few soft sounds, General Gru jumped up from the edge of the platform behind Sedros. The hill was very high and steep, but he climbed it as easily as stepping onto a stage. General Gru's hand still held someone, and as soon as he reached the platform, he threw this person down. This was a very short man, only half the height of General Gru.

  General Gru looked at the magic circle on the ground and the leaf of the World Tree, asking Sedelos: "How is it?"

  "Not yet." Sedros sat cross-legged, propping his head up with one hand and closing his eyes as if resting, but also seeming to be thinking. "Think of a few more reasons for me to stall for a few days."

  "General Gru doesn't like to lie, so when questioned, he can only say that he doesn't know. And I couldn't find a better reason to delay any further." The dwarf brought up by General Gru walked behind Sedros and made a rather strange, bitter smile. "In my mouth, you've been carrying the World Tree's leaf over to return it to her, but there was a small unexpected event - we met two old friends and also took care of some personal matters for our illegitimate child. So, these past two days, that beautiful elf lady's temper has gotten worse and worse, saying this place is dirty, smelly, and full of monsters, and she must leave with the divine object as soon as possible. I have no other choice. That's why we've come to ask about your progress."

  "But I'm also helpless here." Cedros sighed. He paused and asked, "Is this month's grain still enough?"

  This dwarf was originally just a low-ranking officer recently recruited by Sedros, but soon discovered that this unassuming guy actually had a brain and talent completely opposite to his appearance. So Sedros immediately made him his assistant.

  As a good leader, the most important thing besides one's own ability is to know how to use people. Sedros had a unique insight that this was an extremely rare talent and also a very trustworthy person. So he let him enter the highest management level of Oufu in a short period of time. Thanks to this capable assistant, Sedros could also extract himself to conduct magical research here.

  "This month's grain purchase expenses have exceeded the budget again, and with the continuous increase in migrant population, the food problem is becoming more and more prominent. Although short-term trade can be relied upon for support, the soil quality of the barren highlands is indeed too poor, and transporting humus from the lizard swamp has always been limited, and the effect is slow."

  Cedros nodded slowly and said, "The food problem has always been the most important factor constraining our long-term development. That's why I've pinned my hopes on the magical power of the World Tree's leaves. I hope to try using magic to change the growth ability of plants, which can fundamentally solve this problem. Otherwise, our development will always be greatly restricted." He let out a long sigh. "But the divine object is beyond my imagination... Now, not to mention the simulation and transformation in the plan, even analyzing the magical power properties and effects is impossible. Perhaps only the elves are most familiar with and able to use this divine object that they have guarded for tens of thousands of years."

  Then just ask them to come and help you with it.

  "Could you ask a devout priest to give his cross as an ornament to a zombie skull?" Sedros smiled wryly. "The leaves of the World Tree are sacred objects worshipped by the elves, and the beastmen have always been their most despised race. I even have to hide this research from them."

  The assistant nodded and shook his head, saying: "But the food problem is something we must solve. That's not just a matter of continued development, but even a key to whether Ou Fu City can survive. Now Ou Fu's development has become disconnected from its own productive forces, almost all relying on trade for support. Although it is indeed very prosperous now, the foundation is unstable. If one day the surrounding countries that supply us with food stop trading... then we'll be in trouble."

  Cedros shook his head: "That's not going to happen. Unless a famine occurs across the entire continent, how could it be possible for all trade to stop? They also need our trade."

  "No, it's possible. If they all formed an alliance or were controlled by a powerful and influential organization, such as the church... Of course, this situation seems unlikely to happen, I'm just talking nonsense."

  But Sedros's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he nodded slowly: "No, you're right. That is to say, we must obtain the power of this world tree leaf. If it can't be analyzed, then there's no choice but to leave this thing behind. I can directly use this thing to create a magic array, simulating the environment of the Whispering Woods, and making the growth speed of crops within tens of miles increase by tenfold."

  "You mean this thing won't be returned to the spirits? But doing so will definitely make you enemies with them."

  "They? They'll just know that this thing has fallen into the hands of the Death's Guild. I will make sure things are done very discreetly."

  The assistant was silent for a moment after hearing this, then shook his head like a rattle drum and said: "But I think it's not good. It's just quenching one's thirst with a sip of water, but it brings a hundred harms without any benefit."

  "Why?" Cedros asked in surprise.

  "There is no wall that doesn't leak wind in the world. No matter how good your secrecy work is, there will always be a risk of leakage. And if this thing leaks out, think about what the consequences would be? Not only will the entire Spirit clan turn against you, but also other forces? This thing may be good, but it's a double-edged sword. Whoever holds it in their hands will become the target of everyone's arrows."

  "......Right." Sedros smiled wryly. "Looks like I've been confused by this thing for the past two days. So, what's your good idea?"

  The assistant scratched his messy hair and said, "My idea is still to let the spirits help you."

  Cedric's face fell silent: "I said it was impossible."

  "There's nothing that can't be done." The assistant didn't think so. "I read a book with the following words: 'No one is priceless. Some are money, some are power, some are faith, and some are emotions. As long as you pay enough and meet the conditions, you can buy them out.' Although I dislike this sentence emotionally, it seems to be true in reality."

  Cedros tilted his head in thought and then shook it. "But if I were to ask them to do something like that, I think there's a condition under which they would refuse."

  "Then give them an offer they can't refuse." The assistant revealed a sly smile, but the laughter that came out was quite unpleasant to hear, like someone who was half-drunk and guffawing. "Heh heh. This is still something I learned from books."

  "I think I understand what you're saying, but the details still need to be carefully considered...". Sedros' eyes gleamed as he looked at his assistant and said: "Good. I've decided that from now on, you'll be my senior advisor."

  "Haha. You really have an eye for it, Lord City Master. Haha." The new advisor didn't hold back and laughed loudly. "As for this matter, it should be..."

  General Gru stood silently at the edge of the mountain platform, overlooking the distant city of Oufu, without even looking over here. He has never been concerned about these aspects. After the two finished speaking, he walked over and asked Sedros: "Are you going to stay with the world tree leaf or go back?"

  Cedros nodded and smiled: "We've already decided, let's return it to that elf girl first. And we'll trouble you to escort her to Turalyon."

  "It's not a bother." General Gru nodded, revealing a hint of a smile that was hard to detect. "At least one person's foolish trust in me hasn't been disappointed."

  A two-legged flying dragon suddenly flew rapidly from the direction of Oufu towards here, its target was this mountain top platform.

  Cedros furrowed his brow slightly, he had already instructed that no one else disturb him during these days except for General Gru and this aide. Now it seemed there was some extremely urgent and important message.

  The flying dragon landed on the platform. The half-beast above presented Sedros with two sheepskin papers. Sedros unfolded them and his face turned pale, his body swayed several times, as if he couldn't even stand steadily.

  "What's wrong?" General Gru frowned. "It seems like I haven't seen you with such a look on your face in years."

  "Just received news from the Empire of Ainefast, Bishop Ronis was assassinated by a spy of the Death Spirit Society." Sedros' voice trembled, his face pale. His shaking hands unfolded one of them, which was a portrait. "This is the wanted portrait of the spy who assassinated Bishop Ronis. A reward of 5,000 gold coins and the title of Imperial Viscount."

  "Is it him?" General Gru and his aide exclaimed in unison.

  The assistant shook his big head. "But... how could he possibly go and assassinate Bishop Ronis?"

  General Gru sneered and said: "Although this guy is a bit foolish, I think he absolutely won't be foolish enough to go assassinate Archbishop Ronis."

  "He can't be killed, no matter how hard you try. There's absolutely no one who can easily kill him. Ronis... " Sedros' expression was twisted with sorrow, his voice suddenly aged, and even his straight back, which had always been like that of the youngest person, was slightly hunched over due to grief. But even in this state, he didn't lose his extremely calm head and rationality. "But he was indeed assassinated. I'm certain. Only an assassination when he's completely off guard could have killed him... but it can't be this kid... Even if this kid became a member of the Death Spirit Association, they wouldn't dare risk letting him take action."

  "Who else do you think there is?" General Gru asked

  "Who else could it be? Who would dare, who would be able, who would have the motive to kill him? Such people are not many in that country..."

  "Is it Duke Muraq?" The assistant blurted out first.

  "Right." Sedros nodded. "He doesn't know how he managed to pass the buck to that kid and kill two birds with one stone at the same time. And here's another piece of news: Duke Mlak arrested his own daughter, who was the Minister of Finance. He also announced nationwide that she colluded with the murderer who killed the Archbishop, a crime punishable by death. She will be burned alive in the capital city a month from now as an example of righteous punishment. It's probably not meant to show off his impartiality."

  "A month is enough time for him to rush from any corner of the empire and jump into the net." General Gru said coldly. "The only question is whether that kid will be so stupid."

  Cedros slowly shook his head: "Unfortunately, Duke Mlak should know more about him than we do. And the duke has never done anything useless or uncertain."

  "What should we do? Help this kid?"

  "How can I help?" Sedros asked with a bitter smile. "The Duke is now hunting down the man who killed Bishop Ronis, and we have no idea where that little...

  "But why is the Duke in such a hurry to force him to his death? This seems a bit strange." The assistant next to him suddenly said, his broom-like eyebrows furrowed. "With the Duke's methods, if he can pin the blame on someone else, he will absolutely not give them a chance to turn things around. So why is he still in such a hurry to kill that kid? Although cutting off the weeds at the roots is good, but sacrificing his own daughter, the Minister of Finance, is too great a price to pay."

  Cedros nodded thoughtfully, a hint of a smile on his face as he gazed at his trusted aide. "Barugan-sama... it seems that the greatest gain I've had during this streak of bad luck is having you by my side as my advisor." He turned to face east, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "Now, all I can hope for is that that young fool doesn't rush off to his own demise."