Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1559 - 1120: Red Star Flash—

Chapter 1559: Chapter 1120: Red Star Flash—

After a round of bargaining, Anthony obtained a Crystal Stele, which contained imprints even Negris couldn’t recognize, while Orgal received an insect egg and a seed.

Anthony explained, "What are plants afraid of? Insects. This insect is specifically designed to counter the World Tree. Once it hatches, it will devour the World Tree, gnawing all the way to its roots to completely annihilate it. Even a World Tree that coexists symbiotically with an entire Plane wouldn’t escape its identification."

"But there is one drawback: once it finishes devouring the World Tree, the insect will starve to death because other plants cannot provide enough energy. It will die of hunger if it only eats ordinary plants, so you must hatch it close to the World Tree," Anthony said solemnly.

Orgal furrowed his brow, wondering whether this was really a drawback or actually a benefit. Isn’t this clearly an advantage? If it didn’t die after eating the World Tree, wouldn’t it become an unstoppable pest?

Anthony then picked up the seed. "The second thing plants fear is parasitism. This is a dodder vine. It parasitizes the World Tree, absorbing all of its nutrients until the World Tree starves to death. Just scatter it quietly over the World Tree, and when white flowers bloom all over its branches, the World Tree will die."

"This dodder vine doesn’t work as quickly as the insect and won’t destroy the World Tree entirely. Even if the World Tree perishes, its trunk and branches will remain standing tall in the forest for thousands of years."

"Breeding insects and parasitism each have their own pros and cons. It all depends on which method you prefer," Anthony said.

Orgal, staring at the insect egg and the seed with concern, said, "Give me more of each. Let me try both. Just giving me one of each—how am I supposed to compare their pros and cons?"

Anthony, feigning reluctance, said, "These things are quite expensive. Fine, I’ll give you one more of each."

Orgal resignedly accepted, taking the insect eggs and seeds and leaving with his Heroic Spirit Legion, leaving behind a one-meter-tall Crystal Stele.

Once they had left, Negris leaned closer and remarked, "Good grief, both the insect and the dodder vine are ours. When he uses them, he’ll only end up replacing one threat with another. And if he picks the dodder vine, that’s not parasitism—it’s symbiosis. The healthier the dodder grows, the healthier the World Tree will be. You, sir, are a swindler, darker-hearted than a silver coin."

"Heh, that guy’s heart is darker than mine. Do you really think he actually wants to destroy the World Tree?" Anthony asked.

Negris was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Anthony glanced at the Crystal Stele and said, "His true motive was just to deliver this thing to us—the Spirit Holy Stele, a stele capable of defining Heroic Spirits."

Negris was puzzled. "He went to all that trouble just to bring this thing to us? Why? Would we have refused if he gave us such an item for free? Why the elaborate charade?"

"Do you remember why the Great Speaker wanted us to spread faith everywhere? To seize ecological niches. Now, if we had a Divine Artifact capable of defining Heroic Spirits in bulk, even though it’s slightly inferior to God Status and lacks growth potential, it could be used for ’mass production’—a quick way to expand power. Would you use it?" Anthony asked.

Negris blinked in confusion, not grasping Anthony’s point.

"Here’s an example: during exams, a crowd of students prays to you, but you can’t respond to them all. Suddenly, there’s a swarm of Heroic Spirits available to assist, helping them pass their exams—yet their Faith Elemental Force still goes to you. Would you use this method?" Anthony elaborated.

Negris slapped a hand on his hip and righteously declared, "No way!"

However, he quickly followed with a worried tone, "I might not, but you definitely would! With a bunch of Heroic Spirit Popes stirring things up for you, is his goal to make us rely on this Spirit Holy Stele? Do Heroic Spirits then reverse the situation and seize the Gods’ ecological niches? And you still agreed to this trade?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? His intentions might be crooked, but so are mine. Besides, we’re not Gods. The Spirit Holy Stele might spell doom for the Gods, but it’s not necessarily a problem for the master," Anthony said, glancing at Ange, who was already engrossed in studying the Spirit Holy Stele.

Heroic Spirits were unfathomable beings for most people, but Ange was not among them—after all, he already had three Heroic Spirits at home: Red Star, Truth Cannon, and Wise Man. They all shared one critical trait—they lacked intelligence.

In other words, Heroic Spirits lacked the ability to think independently. Only within the Bronze Book could they utilize cognitive processes.

Besides the Bronze Book, the White Crystal could grant them the ability to think, as could Saye’s Sacred Armor.

However, the ’intelligence’ provided by Saye’s Sacred Armor was minimal, leaving them indistinguishable from their condition within the Bronze Book. As a result, this feature was often overlooked. Based on Ursman’s case, Heroic Spirits should freeze up entirely when removed from the Bronze Book.

There was another way to utilize Heroic Spirits, as demonstrated by Orgal’s Heroic Spirit Legion. An entire group of people needed to offer unified reverence to a single Heroic Spirit, allowing its power to descend upon all of them.

However, this method required strict training and was not something ordinary people could easily achieve.

So now... is it time to define a Heroic Spirit?

Ange’s thoughts immediately turned to Red Star.

Red Star was actually defined by Dead Star Auburnli, as no one had ever truly seen Red Star. While many of the first generation had studied under Red Star, they had all died of old age. Auburnli had taught the new Stellaris everything, including the tales of Red Star, which she passed down by word of mouth.

It wasn’t until centuries later, when Stellaris had gained some influence and established academies, nations, statues, and wonders, that Red Star’s image was finally solidified.

However, a Heroic Spirit without believers was little more than a statue. It was only because Auburnli constantly kept Red Star alive in memory that it had persisted.

Thus, Red Star was effectively defined by Auburnli. If she had claimed that Red Star was bald, then Red Star could only be bald. History is written by the living.

Reflecting on Red Star, Ange focused his thoughts on the Spirit Holy Stele. A light point quickly began to glow and twist within the stele, gradually forming into a shimmering figure.

Negris gasped, shocked. "This fast? Did that guy say how long it usually takes to define a Heroic Spirit?"

Anthony, equally astonished, replied, "Five years. He said it would take at least five years. He mentioned needing at least two hundred 12- or 13-year-olds—not too gifted, but not talentless—to train together, live together, and pray together to build harmony."

"During this process, the best and worst among them are weeded out. After about five years, a Heroic Spirit can be defined. By then, those youths will also have come of age and can form a Holy Spirit Legion. If no Heroic Spirit is defined within five years, the group is deemed a failure, disbanded, and replaced with new recruits. The success rate isn’t very high."

As they spoke, a Holy Spirit had already taken shape, glancing around within the stele, looking puzzled.

Those outside simply felt a mental scan brushing over them until the presence settled on Negris. The Holy Spirit’s eyes lit up with joy, its face breaking into a delighted expression. It suddenly took a bold step forward, extending both hands: "Red Star Flash—"

A red beam of light shot toward Negris.