The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 164

20. Lineage: The Scoundrel Returns

A lot has happened since entering 『Sion Lake』.

Becoming the young lord, saving the city, defeating demons, and shattering the Twilight Church’s conspiracy. Listing them all would be endless.

The reason I surged forward, achieving accomplishments that others would envy, was all because of the Golden Branch.

The Golden Branch, the fragment of the World Tree.

The key to unlocking the seal of the Demonic Heavenly Sword and a stepping stone to becoming a Druid. And, though not certain, a key to escaping the game world.

I now had the World Tree, with all the Golden Branches combined, right before my eyes.

How did it feel?

To put it simply… it was sacred, divine, and mysterious. Above all, I could feel the powerful force inherent within it.

If you were to lose while wielding the World Tree? It’s safe to assume the person controlling it is a complete novice, or the World Tree is fake. That’s how overwhelming the presence of the World Tree was.

[The World Tree Yggdrasil is with you.]

[An aura of nature permeates the area.]

[All stats of allies are increased by 300%.]

[Recovery, lifesteal, and regeneration are maximized.]

First of all, base stats are quadrupled. That alone is an insane buff, but it also maximizes all kinds of utility stats.

I read it over and over, unable to believe the content.

And this wasn’t even the end. System windows popped up in succession.

[A domain is declared in the area.]

[Summons a familiar.]

What familiar are we talking about?

The question was quickly answered.

A legion came running, heralded by thick clouds of dust in the distance.

Each creature was formidable. Giant scorpions and sand sharks, desert wolves, and toothed eagles, all known for their ferocity. A variety of predators were swarming in.

“This is a lie…”

One soldier’s murmur was cut short as a scene of hell unfolded before their eyes in an instant.

The World Tree’s aura also applied to the beasts. With their stats quadrupled, they became as strong as most high-level monsters.

Moreover, unless you kill them for good with a decisive blow, they quickly recover and regenerate, making it a frustrating situation for those facing them.

To make matters worse, the golems that had been destroyed earlier slowly rose. They had completed their restoration by receiving the World Tree’s aura.

With this, the unfavorable war situation was completely reversed. All of this happened with just one World Tree.

“It’s a powerful and beautiful force, no matter when I see it.”

The giant carrying me on his shoulder looked down and admired. To him, humans were just another race, so he didn’t feel much, but it was quite a shocking scene for me.

It was truly a requiem. An apocalypse.

While collecting the Golden Branches, I had vaguely guessed at Merlin’s power. But experiencing it properly was on a different level. It was a power that could end the world alone.

[Test – Cleared the Druid’s Memory.]

[Acquire the Golden Branch.]

[Promotion complete!]

[You have been promoted to a High-Grade Druid.]

The notification that the test was over popped up at the same time as the desert army was annihilated. It was the easiest test ever, but also the most unsettling.

‘First, let’s check the newly acquired skills.’

———————-

[Congratulations.]

[You have become a High-Grade Druid.]

[Buff existing skills.]

[Acquire new skills.]

———————-

——————–

1. Wood Control

-Enhanced Bind (MAX)

-Wood Golem (MAX)

-Wood Rain (★★★)

-Giant Wood (★★★)

2. Crystal Control

-Crystal Lance (★★★★)

-Crystal Shield (★★★★)

-Crystal Golem (★★★★)

-Crystal Rain (★★★)

-Giant Crystal (★★★)

3. Wind Control

-Shunpo [Instantaneous movement] (★★★)

-Haste (★★★)

4. Life Control

– Shared Vision (★★★)

– Taming (★★★)

– Memory Recall (★★★)

– World Tree Sapling Summon (★)

——————–

Unlike other times, this promotion proceeded by buffing existing skills.

In the case of wood skills, Bind and Wood Golem, which were my regular skills, reached the maximum of 5 stars, and the following skills also gained one or two more stars.

In the case of crystal skills, the existing skills remained the same, but Rain and Giant skills acquired stars. It can be seen that the destructive power has increased accordingly.

Wind skills also gained stars respectively.

The biggest change was in Life skills. Shared Vision, Taming, and Memory Recall gained stars, and a new skill called World Tree Sapling Summon was created.

I decided to test it right away.

‘World Tree Summon.’

Strength drained from my body. It’s a skill that consumes a lot of mental power.

A small World Tree sapling took root in the ground and showed off its noble appearance. Unlike the giant tree I saw in Merlin’s memory, it had a small and cute charm.

Even as a sapling, the World Tree was still the World Tree, and the system window immediately popped up, posting the corresponding effects.

[The World Tree Sapling is with you.]

[An aura of nature permeates the area.]

[All ally stats increase by 100%.]

[Recovery, lifesteal, and regeneration are slightly increased.]

As expected, it’s an amazing effect. It doubles all ally stats and has healing, lifesteal, and regeneration increase options. There were no useless effects.

Perhaps I need to keep acquiring Golden Branches to grow the sapling. By then, it will become Yggdrasil itself, not just a sapling. I will be able to handle the tree that appeared in Merlin’s memory.

Let’s stop checking skills here.

As soon as I sent the World Tree back, the door burst open and my companions came in. Orneo scanned me up and down and said.

“The aura you give off has changed. I don’t know what it is, but you’ve grown. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“Vice-Captain! Are we going to the surface now? The food here is delicious, but I want to eat some home-style food.”

“That’s right. We’re going up now.”

Fortunately, Illyna, the mermaid royalty, knows the way to the surface. She decided to guide us herself.

“You are saviors. Our merfolk will remember Henon and the great human race for generations to come.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“Also, if there is anything our merfolk can do to help, please tell us. Even if it’s the far end of the surface, we will run with sweat dripping from our gills.”

I moved towards the exit, listening to Illyna’s ambitious aspirations. Sion, who had been quiet until now, came to me and asked.

“Young Master, what are your plans moving forward?”

Future plans… I don’t know about anything else, but one thing is certain.

There is no need to disguise my identity anymore.

I have become a Sword Master and the eighth star of the continent. It’s time to reveal my identity and confront the Twilight Church head-on.

The first step to implementing this is to return from the Orihalcon adventurer Khan to Count Henon Lloyd.

Of course, the world will be in an uproar. But even that is what I’m aiming for. I’ve become a weight class where I can openly throw down the gauntlet [challenge].

“I’m going back. I have a lot to do there.”

* * *

South-central Arnia Continent.

An abandoned ruin.

Half-collapsed ramparts, corpses with only white bones remaining, weapons rusted brown, and overgrown moss. Even ominous crows crying.

In the basement of this place, which could be called a ghost castle, the Twilight Church’s top executives were gathered.

Including the Pope, Pride, Wrath, Sloth.

A modest number compared to the beginning when there were seven apostles and the Pope.

Wrath, boasting a huge bulk, said in a booming voice.

“Where is Gluttony?”

“I don’t know. He’s probably late again because he’s eating humans somewhere.”

“To be late on a day like today. Is Gluttony getting old and senile?”

Sloth, who was next to him, added a word.

“The new Greed isn’t here either.”

“I didn’t call him on purpose.”

Pride’s answer.

“I recommended him, but he’s not qualified. There’s no need to reveal the contents of today’s meeting to someone who will be used appropriately and then discarded.”

In the end, only four people were present, including the Pope.

“First of all, we need to talk about this. Have you heard the news about Henon Lloyd?”

The atmosphere in the conference room sank at the Pope’s voice.

There was news that had recently turned the Arnia continent upside down: the survival of Henon Lloyd, who was known to be missing.

He survived by the skin of his teeth, announced that he had gained new enlightenment and risen to Sword Master, and called himself the eighth star of the continent.

Of course, most people didn’t recognize it and dismissed it as a bluff.

First of all, Henon’s age was too young to rise to Master, and the period of his disappearance was quite long, so it was unclear what he had been doing during that time.

However, if you lie about this kind of topic and get caught, you will lose a lot, starting with your honor, so there were quite a few people who believed it.

In any case, Henon revealed that the reason for his disappearance was due to the Twilight Church’s assassination attempt, which led to widespread vigilance against the Twilight Church throughout the continent.

“Sloth, what happened? Didn’t you finish it yourself?”

“Yes. I clearly stabbed his heart and dropped him off a cliff. It was an injury that could never have been survived.”

“You even assassinated the Crown Prince. Are you telling me that you failed to catch just one bug from the Elden Kingdom? Do you want me to believe that?”

“I’m sorry.”

The Twilight Pope’s inorganic eyes and Sloth’s emotionless eyes collided in the air.

It was Wrath who mediated the two.

“Pope, the work has already begun. Let’s use all of the church’s power to get rid of Henon now.”

Pride challenged Wrath’s words.

“That’s difficult.”

“Why?”

“If Henon really became a Sword Master, there are two Masters in the Lloyd family alone. Moreover, Karina of the Crimson Flame is nearby.”

Pride’s words were like this.

Practically three Sword Masters waiting in the Lloyd territory. Moreover, if time starts to drag on, reinforcements will pour in from all over the continent.

Even so, it’s not that we can’t catch him, but there’s no need to use all of the church’s power to catch a mouse when the Demon King hasn’t even been resurrected.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“You have to look at the forest, not the trees. If you shake the whole thing, the tail will eventually follow.”

Pride was holding a letter in his hand.

“This letter contains a very small truth. It’s very trivial, but this letter will be the catalyst to break the alliance between the Desert Kingdom and the Calon Empire.”

Sloth’s indifferent voice.

“Are you going to make the two countries fight?”

“Of course. Currently, the only country with the power to rebel against the Calon Empire is the Desert Kingdom. And there are many people who are dissatisfied with the Empire due to its long rule. If a full-scale war breaks out between the two, what kind of picture will emerge?”

Chaos, fear, disaster, destruction.

All kinds of negative words came to Sloth’s mind.

“This is just a prelude. It’s a way to set the stage in advance before Baal descends. If humans, who should be working together to fight, distrust each other, it will be a sight to see.”

Pride’s words sounded plausible. Wrath nodded and agreed. On the other hand, Sloth saw through the truth hidden in the plausible packaging at a glance.

“You’re just talking big. Aren’t you just saying that you’re going to start a war to satisfy your desire to collect corpses?”

“Well, it would be good if the number of familiars I can use increases.”

“The Demon King may be resurrected at any time. It may be a problem to cause chaos too early.”

A sluggish debate. The Twilight Pope’s faceless face, hidden in the hood, undulated ominously. Eventually, the Pope raised his hand, and a cold silence fell in the hall.

“Does any apostle know why I’ve been staying in this abandoned ruin?”

No one answered the Pope’s question.

“Does no one know?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was to build up the power to awaken the Demon King. Your mission was to find the Druid, find the Golden Branch, or bring a storm to the continent while I gathered strength. But you couldn’t do anything.”

Everyone couldn’t raise their heads at the one-sided rebuke.

“But it’s okay. I’ve never sincerely believed in you in the first place.”

Kukwakwakwak!!!

The entire castle vibrated like crazy. At the same time, the black light emanating from the Pope’s staff crossed the sky and shot east like an arrow. It was a speed reminiscent of a missile.

“One year from now. That’s the time it takes for Baal to break the seal and wake up. Until then, run wild as you please. After all, the end is predetermined.”

Only one year until the Demon King awakens.

All the executives stood like stone statues at the shocking news. They belatedly came to their senses and hurriedly knelt on one knee and answered loudly.

“As the great Baal wills.”