Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

After an unknown amount of time, the light from the crystals on the walls suddenly vanished.

They were deep underground, and the winding tunnel blocked any chance of refracted light from entering, plunging them into a darkness so profound you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

"It’s so dark," the Lord finally said, unable to bear the oppressive silence. His voice was piercingly loud in the otherwise silent space.

A hand suddenly took the Lord’s. It was warm and soft to the touch. A whisper sounded by Levi’s ear, carrying with it a faint, sweet fragrance that diluted the tunnel’s indescribable odor.

"We’re almost there. Don’t wander off."

The Lord recognized her by the feel of her hand; he knew it was Ash. He stopped fumbling about like a headless fly and followed closely behind her.

After walking for a while longer, Levi saw a speck of sapphire-blue light suddenly appear up ahead.

They began to quicken their pace, like moths drawn irresistibly to a flame.

As they drew closer, the point of light grew, expanding from the size of a grain of rice to that of a basketball...

Levi took one final step forward.

CLICK.

The cavern before him instantly became as bright as day, illuminating everything in perfect clarity. And the result was...

"Holy shit," Levi blurted out, unable to control his reaction. It was like a country boy on his first trip to a brothel, laying eyes on a stunningly seductive prostitute.

You couldn’t blame him for making a fuss. Unlike the narrow, oppressive tunnel from before, he was now looking into a massive mine shaft that plunged ever downward. The dome of the cavern was a good dozen fathoms high.

He was standing on a tiled platform. Well-crafted metal scaffolding was set up over the top of the mine shaft, and countless thick ropes hung down along the pit’s walls.

Looking down, he saw another platform jutting out from the scarred and grooved walls of the shaft, like a hand reaching out from the rock. He roughly estimated it was at least several hundred feet below their position.

But the real reason Levi lost his composure was...

On that stone platform jutting out from the wall, an incredibly domineering creature was sprawled out, taking a nap.

Its bared fangs alone were as large as his head, and more importantly, it had three heads that were canine-like, but not quite dogs.

One look was enough to tell that this was a Magical Beast of extraordinary power.

The Lord was genuinely startled and habitually reached for his sword, only to realize he was still clutching Ash’s hand. She was looking at him with an amused, knowing smile.

"Ahem." He let go of her hand and asked in a low voice.

"Is this a Magical Beast you’ve raised?"

In terms of size alone, this Magical Beast was only a bit smaller than Sophia. Furthermore, it appeared in a mine full of Magic Crystal Ore without any discomfort, meaning it was far from being all show and no substance.

It was hard to tell if this was a Magical Beast that Ash and her people were raising here to guard a secret.

"Quite the opposite, actually. This is a Magical Beast that appeared here out of thin air." Ash gently rubbed her slightly sore hand, a wry smile on her face.

"Back when we first discovered that fissure and opened it up completely, this Magical Beast crawled out. In just a matter of days, it grew from a pup to its current size."

"Thankfully, it isn’t very aggressive. As long as we don’t step into its territory, it won’t attack. But because of it, we had to halt our work mining the Magic Crystal Ore and send all my people away from here."

"That can’t be right. This Magical Beast is just a threat, not the secret you mentioned."

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Levi," Ash’s voice rang out again, filled with pride and brimming with excitement. "It’s the Laurel Tree! We found the Laurel Tree!"

"In the stone cave behind that Magical Beast, we discovered a Laurel Tree sapling!"

"Ever since the Twin Holy Trees began to wither away uncontrollably, the Elves have also been in gradual decline. We went from a Kingdom that once ruled a vast territory to scattered Tribes facing all kinds of hardships across the land."

"I’m not trying to boast about our former glory. I just want you to understand that the discovery of a Holy Tree holds an indescribable significance for us Elves."

"I understand," Levi said, rubbing his temples as if a headache was coming on.

Ash and her people’s secret was even more shocking than the first time Levi had seen Sophia.

Anyone with even a bit of scholarly knowledge would have heard of the legendary Sun Tree and Laurel Tree, the Twin Holy Trees.

As the greatest treasures of the Elf Race, their value and significance could not be measured in mere gold.

During the Magic Era, when the Elf Race flourished, it was rumored that a single twig from the Laurel Tree could bring a dying person back from the brink of death. The Sun Tree, in turn, could grant a person new life, giving humans a lifespan as long as that of the Elves.

Of course, these practical uses were far outweighed by their symbolic importance. In myths and epics, these two Holy Trees were the very avatars of the sun and the moon, with entire biographies two fingers thick dedicated to their legends.

This just went to show how incredibly valuable they were.

If any ambitious ruler were to discover that a Holy Tree of the Elf Race from the Magic Era had appeared here, the skies above would be swarming with their Elite Corps by the very next day.

"We are the children of the Mother Tree. We always believed the Mother Tree had abandoned Her children, but we never imagined the heavens would take pity on us and allow Her to appear before our eyes once more." An Elf Elder’s eyes glistened with tears, his voice choked with emotion.

For an Elf who had lived for ages and endured countless hardships to shed tears like this, the Laurel Tree must hold an unimaginably sacred place in their hearts.

The other Elf Elders moved to comfort him.

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