# Chapter 69: This Is My Promise
Because he didn't care much about etiquette and lived according to his own whims, Joshua rarely bowed. In his previous life, he was one of the world's top martial arts hall masters, and most of the time, others bowed to him, hoping to become his disciples. In this world, he was also a powerful Gold-rank warrior, a Count-level noble, and unless it was someone who could earn his genuine admiration, he had no need to bow.
But when facing a deity, especially one like the Father of Nature, who had a reputation for wisdom, the warrior was still willing to show respect.
In the later stages of the Abyss War in his previous life, large swaths of lost territory on the Mycroft Continent had been reclaimed. However, the land polluted by demons was completely uninhabitable. Any human or livestock that drank contaminated water or ate food that had been placed in polluted areas would contract a magical plague called the Corruption Disease. This illness was exceptionally terrifying, capable of slowly transforming a living creature into an Abyss Slime—a monster similar to a slime. The infected would watch helplessly as their internal organs and muscles, aside from their bones, gradually turned into rotting, self-moving sludge. Finally, the writhing sludge would replace the brain, causing the dying patient to completely perish.
The divine power required to purify land was far too immense. Even deities found it difficult to purify land on the scale of a nation. Thus, although the war against the Abyss was progressing victoriously under the leadership of various heroes, the reconstruction work and the situation of ordinary people remained difficult. It was at this time that the World Restorers appeared.
They were a group of Druids clad in green robes, dedicated to restoring all the beautiful landscapes that had ever existed on the Mycroft Continent. In truth, there were quite a few such organizations, but the World Restorers had one difference: they possessed highly efficient purification spells—or rather, divine spells.
The spells they used consumed only one-tenth of the power of normal purification divine spells, yet their effect was seven or eight times greater. This efficiency immediately drew the attention of all forces on the continent, even the deities themselves. Since it was still a time of war, various factions couldn't provide spellcasters to help them purify the world, but they all offered substantial material support. Many players also joined them, accompanying these Druids in purifying the land.
According to a player who had reached the upper echelons of the World Restorers, the power they used came from a deity of another world—that is, His Majesty the Father of Nature before Joshua now.
In the storyline of the previous life, the Ilgena World had certainly been invaded by the Calamity Evil God. But in that life, according to the World Restorers' records, the Father of Nature had fallen into an eternal slumber. Before His slumber, He had distributed His power to all those dedicated to protecting nature. This was why those Druids possessed such powerful purification abilities—because they were using pure Nature's Force.
Now, the Father of Nature, also known as the Soul of the Boundless Forest, seemed to have only just been awakened. This meant that the battle that would cause Him to fall into complete slumber had not yet arrived.
In other words, there was still a chance to change things.
"Now, the souls of the elves have not yet all been reclaimed."
The Soul of the Boundless Forest and Joshua gazed at each other. Its speech was somewhat slow, with overlapping echoes: "I originally had a plan regarding the Calamity Evil God, but since you are here, the situation has changed."
"I see."
The warrior stared directly at the flickering orb of light without blinking. He reached out and pressed his hand to his chest, nodding thoughtfully as he said, "I understand. Then, Your Majesty the Father of Nature, what else do you need us to do?"
"As expected of the Sage's successor, you understand remarkably quickly."
The green orb of light slowly rose and merged into the massive stone tree. The colossal tree body, grander than any mountain peak, trembled slightly, as if expressing satisfaction: "Until I am truly and completely awakened, I entrust this to you."
Wait, friend, please stop, stop! What did you two just say?
Beside them, Loranda was initially shocked by the information in Joshua's words. The sudden revelation of the Elven deity—His Majesty the Father of Nature—threw this Paladin of the Church of the Seven Gods into immense astonishment. The shock was no less than if he had witnessed all Seven Gods descending before him at once. After all, according to the Church of the Seven Gods' records, the Father of Nature was one of the deities who had fallen during the Era of Radiance, three hundred years before the Lost Era. Yet now, it seemed He not only still lived but also remained powerful enough to move mountains with ease.
What an earth-shattering piece of news! If this were on the Mycroft Continent, it would cause worldwide tremors, and the Far South Elves would be driven to madness. Although one of the Seven Gods was also an elf who protected their domain, how could that deity compare to the Father of Nature? But before Loranda could fully digest this information, he realized that his friend and this being had inexplicably reached a consensus.
Blinking hard and shaking his head, Loranda looked back and forth between the enormous stone tree and Joshua, his face full of bewilderment and confusion. The blonde Paladin silently repeated the exchange between the two in his mind and immediately felt a pang of frustration.
What in the world were they talking about?! How did they suddenly understand each other like that?!
Unlike the troubled Paladin, the trio of Ying, Lin, and Hei, though equally clueless about what had just happened, were completely unconcerned. As long as they followed their master, there would always be a way forward—they weren't worried in the slightest. As for Joshua being able to recognize the true form of a deity at a glance, their reactions were remarkably consistent.
"Ah, Master is so amazing!" "Truly profound knowledge..." "Roar! (6666)"
Noticing the confusion of the Paladin and the others, the stone tree—the petrified bark of the Heaven Source God Tree—began to slowly deform. Countless gray rocks cracked and fell away, revealing the vibrant brown bark beneath. This patch of brown bark transformed into an aged human face.
It gazed at everyone, and immediately, a gentle voice echoed in all their minds.
"We are It, yet we are not It. We are the Soul of the Boundless Forest, the will of the Heaven Source God Tree, and also the collective soul of all the Elven Kings throughout the ages. When these two become one, we are the deity, the guardian of elves and the forest, the Father of Nature. This process takes time."
"A thousand years ago, to escape the Mycroft World, which was sealed off by the Chaos Evil God and the Abyss, I exhausted all my strength, constructed a Space-Time Bridge, and led a group of elves to this world. The price was my slumber. To recover, we, in our sleep, absorbed the magical power of the entire world, reshaping it. While making this world suitable for elven habitation, we also caused the elements of the Ilgena Continent to gradually decline. This worldwide 'Calamity Shift' attracted the Evil God [Calamity], who roamed the Multiverse. That is the origin of everything now."
Speaking thus, this great will, calling itself the Soul of the Boundless Forest, seemed to be mocking itself. The enormous tree face turned slightly, looking at Joshua, Loranda, and the others, and said, "Seeing you, I know that the civilization of our homeland has recovered after the war. And I, who fled the battlefield, ultimately cannot escape this battle."
This war, no one can avoid. Righteousness cannot save those who do good, and evil cannot save those who do evil.
The coward has nowhere to hide; only the brave can survive.
After a moment of reflection, the Father of Nature spoke calmly: "As you can see, our body has not yet fully recovered. A thousand years of slumber underground have turned our crown into the Origin Mountain Range, and our trunk has completely petrified. To reclaim our power, we need a great deal of time. The Calamity Evil God's minions have taken notice of this, and they will not stand idly by."
Hearing this, Loranda suddenly understood. He exclaimed in realization, "Your Majesty still needs some time to fully awaken, so you need us to help you fend off the attacks of the Stone Demons?"
But the Paladin still felt puzzled: "But our power, as you can see, might be enough for self-preservation, but it's completely insufficient to face the army of Stone Demons head-on!"
The Father of Nature turned His gaze to Loranda, and immediately the Paladin felt an immense pressure. Under the gaze of a deity—even one not yet fully awakened—Loranda felt as if he were at the bottom of the deep sea, his entire body pinned down, unable to move.
This was only because the other party had restrained the vast majority of its pressure. Thinking of this, Loranda couldn't help but look at the composed Joshua, his blue eyes filled with astonishment. Only through personal experience did he understand just how strong Joshua's will must be to communicate normally with the Father of Nature.
"User of Holy Light, do not be tense."
Only after Loranda had somewhat adapted to the pressure did the Father of Nature speak slowly. His tone was serious, but it stunned the Paladin once again: "You have no other choice. The Calamity Evil God watches this world. The moment you step outside, you will be attacked by the [Heavenly Fire]. But here, within my domain, you will not."
"Either way leads to death. It is better to help us."
Heavenly Fire? That pillar of light that blasted them the moment they entered this world? As Loranda listened to the Father of Nature's words, the image of that pillar of light—which had completely obliterated an entire volcano, tearing even space itself apart—flashed through his mind. His emotions became incredibly complicated, and he wasn't sure whether to curse or not.
"Don't worry, Loranda."
Joshua, who had been silent for a while, spoke up to explain. He shook his head, looked at the enormous face on the God Tree, and said with a smile, "His Majesty the Father of Nature won't be so stingy. He will surely help us."
After all, He was the one who, even when falling into an eternal slumber, unhesitatingly gave His power to all Druids dedicated to protecting the environment. Such a deity would naturally not be stingy.
"Indeed. I will grant you power... power sufficient to face those Chaos armies."
The enormous tree face's lips curled slightly, as if smiling. The echoes in the Father of Nature's voice gradually faded, leaving only a deep, gentle voice resonating throughout the entire underground cavern: "I will grant you my protection and my blessing."
As He finished speaking, a cyan-green light emerged from the surface of the Heaven Source God Tree. Green lightning, formed from pure Life Energy, crackled through the air. Pale cyan motes of light drifted in the atmosphere. All this power coalesced into one brilliant halo after another, hovering above the heads of the four people and one dragon present, making them look like angels from myth.
The halos slowly disappeared, transforming into water-like ribbons of light that shimmered with rippling brilliance as they entered everyone's bodies. Vast power was directly infused into their beings, straightforwardly and directly elevating their strength.
Except for Joshua, everyone was momentarily overwhelmed by the deity's blessing, busy trying to control this sudden, mountain-shattering power. But the warrior, with a nostalgic expression, reached out, clenched his fist, and moved his arms and joints, showing no signs of discomfort.
Even this power could not make him lose himself.
He looked up at the enormous tree face and laughed, "Your Majesty, you are truly generous. And judging by how skilled you are, it seems you've done this often."
He spoke without restraint, directly voicing his thoughts.
"Successor of the Sage's power, trees are not skilled in combat. You understand. So since ancient times, we have always used this method, letting the most powerful among the elves fight as our blades."
The Soul of the Boundless Forest, the Father of Nature, gazed down at the black-haired, red-eyed warrior beneath Him. He spoke softly: "As long as you remain within my protection, you will possess power sufficient to resist Chaos. I hope you can bear this heavy responsibility."
"Of course."
A crisp, decisive answer rang out: "I will never flee from any battle, and I will never bring about any defeat. As long as the flame of my life still burns, no Chaos will ever approach your body."
"This is..."
The warrior's lips curled into a confident smile: "My promise."
"..."
The enormous tree face stared at Joshua.
It couldn't help but recall a thousand years ago, when the Elven Continent was sinking, and it led a group of desperate elves fleeing that homeland battlefield. It heard a sigh.
That sigh held no blame. As a deity coexisting with the elves, the Heaven Source God Tree—the Father of Nature—had the purpose of protecting the elves, not the Mycroft Continent. Its departure was not strange. That sigh was merely one of regret, regret for the departure of a friend.
"Successor of the Sage..."
The Father of Nature, gazing at the warrior, recalled in His mind that pure white figure. His voice was solemn, tinged with nostalgia for a distant, long-past era: "I believe in you."
"Fulfill your promise."