A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 256: The End of Everlasting Winter [I]

Chapter 256: The End of Everlasting Winter [I]

"The vine...it seems it was situated in the evacuation area of the capital city," Duke Darcy said as the trio was nearing the location of the Binding Vine Chain.

"The capital..." Elaina frowned. She is unsure what their main reason is for causing the winter to last for as long as possible. She thought there was no way someone was thinking of that aside from the original mastermind, the Ice Lord... And yet that person does exist as the Binding Vine Chain proves it.

Since the final tree’s location is much closer to the main capital, they only needed to make a few detours to reach it without going to the main road. As a result, they are able to get to the place where the Binding Vine Chain landed so quickly.

"So, if the effect of the vines is indeed what you said Sis, then the one who is currently ensnared caused all of this?" Julia asked.

"Yes. And we will know who this person is once we reach the location."

Elaina is a bit nervous, but she is also a bit angry from within. If not for this person’s transgressions and them carrying out the wish of the Ice Lord, she would not have wasted her entire winter doing things that were not related to farming and bonding with her twins. She will not easily forgive this person as she felt being robbed by them as a result of their actions.

They passed through the city entrance where they all gained access thanks to Duke Darcy’s reputation and the presence of Zaza which the guards know as the Princess’s pet which means, they are sent by Princess Margaux as proxies. Of course, Elaina has no reason to correct their misconception as this should also increase her reputation without her knowing.

Entering the city, many of the populace and adventurers who are not wounded from the attacks have started their clean-up operations. There are various damages here and there, but nothing major. Only a few craters on the road must have been the result of adventurers using their skills to eliminate the enemies.

The ice spikes that must have been caused by the explosion of the Snow Men’s cores are also present in the area and the workers are already doing their job at removing most of the dangerous spikes that are protruding all over the place. Overall, it is not as bad as she thought.

"Looks like the capital does not have a bad situation for once," Elaina commented.

"Yes. Since the monster attacks are focused on our town, the attacks here are lighter than expected. Of course, there are also capable adventurers here that managed to repel the trouble so far so it is more likely that they can eliminate most of the enemies before they are killed by the sanctuaries created by the trees."

Continuing through the wreckage, they soon arrived at the City Square where the evacuation and healing area is currently deployed. It is the place where the main defense is being focused as it is near the castle, making the defensive process much easier for everyone to do and also defending the castle from any monster attacks, tackling two birds with one stone.

But that was not what they were after. As soon as they arrived at the city square, the three gazed over at the sky. The vine is much bigger than they have thought and it extends over at the City Square. Many people are even looking at it like them and some are rushing over to the location where the vine landed.

"Sis...I heard some cussing over there. It seems that the vine did catch someone!"

Elaina can hear it as well and with how crackling the cussing over, the one causing it is likely the one who caused everything and is now very angry as no one is capable of removing those vines other than Elaina herself.

"Wait...I recognize this voice..." Duke Darcy frowned.

"You recognized it?" Elaina was surprised.

"Although we are not close, I have seen this person multiple times. After hearing the cussing words a lot, I am now certain that this person is indeed her. Let’s get going. We will need to confront her on what she has done."

Because there were a lot of people gathering over at the person captured by the vine, they had to use the authority of Duke Darcy to move the crowd away and reveal the person before them.

"Ha...I knew it."

Before them, the person currently bound by the vine is struggling so much to the point that she is using all of her body movements just to get away from the binding. But like what the gods have said, the vine is indestructible and the people trying to cut it are not doing a good job at doing so.

"GET THIS OFF OF ME!"

Duke Darcy shook his head. "I see now. No wonder the hero said that they were responsible for the disappearance of the sealed Ice Lord, someone else took the power of the Ice Lord and took advantage of it."

"Who are these people, Duke Darcy?" Elaina asked.

"The one bound by the vines is the saintess of the new hero’s party. People dubbed them as the new generation of heroes that will take over the helm of heroes which was the task that your grandparents undertook when they were still younger. After they retired, this new group became the one next in line. The people who are around her who are trying to remove the vine are the hero’s party’s remaining members.

"I see now. And I also think I get the gist of it as to why the weather changed...these bastards are the main cause huh?

Elaina clenched her fists. As much as she wanted to beat the saintess’s face to a pulp, she needed to hear her explanation first and get their side of the story. She is a rational woman after all.

Approaching the group who are arguing with each other, Elaina noticed Dr. Fey among the group who is looking at the saintess and is the one being chewed at and is being cursed by her. Even the hero is currently attacking her with brutal words.

Dr. Fey is someone that Elaina trusted too much and if not for her, she would have been injured many times in the past and her delivery of the twins would not be as smooth as butter if not for her.

But then, the Hero pulls out his sword and aims it at Dr. Fey who didn’t flinch but just angrily glared at them.

"You are the one who caused this vine to tangle at her right? Your silence must mean yes. Since the saintess pointed out your laziness, then this is indeed your doing! You little sh*t! You better receive punishment!"

Before he can attack Dr. Fey who quickly closes her eyes, Elaina quickly pulls her sword and disarms the hero with a quick slice up in the air.

"PENG!"

His sword flew into the sky and Elaina quickly caught the falling sword in her other hand. It was heavy considering that it was a long sword.

"What are you doing, b*tch?! Give back my sword!"

Before he can approach, Elaina points her sword at the hero, promptly stopping him.

"Stop harassing the good doctor. If you are looking for the person who caused the saintess to be tied up by the vine, then look further as she is currently standing in front of you and is currently holding you at swordpoint."

Hearing this, the saintess immediately burst into anger.

"B*tch!? Free me from these vines right now! You better make sure you have a good reason as to why you have done this to me!"

Elaina has been an empress for quite a while, so she has encountered plenty of people during her time as an empress who had a much worse personality than the saintess before. Compared to them, the saintess is very tame, and although her words are quite sharp, Elaina is quite adept at handling people like this. This is not her first rodeo at dealing with people who think they are some big shots.

Closing her eyes, Elaina shook her head. "Good reason? Yeah, I have plenty of good reasons alright. And I am not doing this just because of spite, I am doing this as an obligation."

"I don’t care about your reasoning! Remove these bindings right now!"

Elaina quickly asked the gods one question.

"Gods, can I freely control the vines to my liking? If so, to what extent?"

"[Of course. You can tighten or loosen the vines as much as you like. Of course, you can’t use it to kill someone. So if you think about trying to kill someone by making the binding tight enough, it shouldn’t be capable of doing so, as it will stop tightening when it notices the person it was currently binding is about to die.]" The God of Farming explained. It seems he already anticipated Elaina’s question as he quickly made a reply as soon as Elaina asked the question.

"Good to know. I didn’t want to kill anyway, just teach someone a good lesson."

She slowly opened her eyes and soon gave out a presence that she used every time she was dealing with someone like her before. An absolute presence to dominate the doubters and haters to submission.

"SHUT UP, WOMAN. A SINNER LIKE YOU HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK."

As soon as Elaina started speaking, an unimaginable threatening aura fell all over the area, enough to even cause the hero to unconsciously kneel.

An authority that is worthy for a former empress who once made everyone in the Luminous Kingdom go into submission unconsciously.