Chapter 17

The Root Shadow Council, the deepest council of the Dark Root forces, convenes underground.

This is the most secret gathering place of the Dark Roots, surrounded by pulsating black roots that contract and expand like a beating heart.

The three "main line guardians" appeared at the same time. Their figures were blurry, and only the tall outlines of their shadowy bones could be seen.

News of the cuts' failure reached Parliament.

The secret envoys were in an uproar:

"To be suppressed by an undeveloped potential seed?"

"The power of the Mother Tree... has begun to awaken."

"If it is allowed to continue growing, the very foundation of the continent will be rewritten!"

Finally, a cold, sharp announcement came from the shadows:

"Since cutting is ineffective, then activate the harvest order."

The Harvest Order is not a single action, but a "Hunting the Mother Tree" system that the Dark Root forces have maintained for thousands of years:

The monitoring pod network—seed pods buried at key water and light vein nodes on the mainland—will sense potential fluctuations in real time, and will be locked in if the potential of the mother tree grows too fast.

The cutting sequence—different levels of cutters will appear one after another: primary cutter → advanced cutter → master tailor.

Each layer has a stronger blade and a wider range, until it can "dissect the entire forest".

Harvesting Tide – When the monitoring pod determines that the potential has reached the “harvesting threshold,” the dark roots will initiate a regional dark tide, cutting off all ecological supplies in the area and leaving the mother tree isolated and helpless.

Sacrifice Furnace – The potential of the harvested mother tree will be extracted by the Root Shadow Society and forged into the Dark Root Mother Core, allowing the Dark Domain to expand further.

With the issuance of the harvest order, hidden nodes across the mainland began to stir.

Northern tundra: Black root pods are covered in ice overnight, like frozen surveillance eyes.

Western Plateau: Many seedlings suspected of being potential mother trees were cut off, and the plant population withered and turned to ash within half a day.

Southern Rainforest: Undercurrents surge in the water veins, and the once abundant streams suddenly dried up, leaving behind a suffocating ecosystem.

The harvest order did not cover a local area, but rather the entire continent.

Any place that might nurture the potential of a mother tree will be targeted.

When the news reached the Light Domain faction at the Plains Conference, the entire land fell into a deathly silence.

Bud Spirit murmured softly:

"They're going to hunt...all possible mother trees?"

Sprout 12's expression was icy; he had already anticipated this moment:

"This means that we are no longer simply hiding and guarding, but have to fight against a whole set of hunting mechanisms."

The harvest order won't stop; it will only get tighter.

Seed 237 remained silent, the pain of the root backlash still churning within him.

But amidst that pain, he felt another, deeper pulse—

It was as if the earth was whispering to him:

"Only the true mother tree can withstand the harvest."

The film society's final verdict echoed underground:

"Let the mainland sift through fear, and only the one that remains will be worthy of sacrifice."

The harvest order is now in full effect.

As the command was given, countless hidden roots twisted deep in the soil, like gaping maws waiting for their prey.

Meanwhile, in the Light Domain, the various factions at the Plains Conference realized for the first time:

They were not facing a localized conflict, but a war sweeping across the entire continent—

Mother Tree Hunting Battle.

When the news of the harvest order reached the Plains Conference, every plant on the land felt the pressure.

Within the circular root array of the meeting, the air solidified.

Speaker Thorn's voice trembled:

"Once the harvest order is rolled out, no potential seedling on the continent will be spared. The Light Domain has only just begun to sprout; how can it withstand this hunt?"

Sprout 12 slowly opened its mouth, breaking the silence:

“We cannot confront the reaper’s blade head-on. The only way is to confuse the hunters. Since they use monitoring pods to sense potential, let them sense… false fluctuations.”

Seed 237 was shaken; he felt that Sprout 12's suggestion resonated with some kind of instinct within him.

Therefore, the Light Domain began to formulate a "triple countermeasure":

Wave camouflage

Sprout 12 brings an ancient free-living grass seed that can release "pseudo-light pulses" that are very similar to the potential of the mother tree.

These false fluctuations will be activated throughout the mainland, creating countless signals of "suspected mother trees".

Anti-monitoring root group

The potential of the mother tree is initially awakened in 237. It can guide some of the light roots to penetrate into the soil, entwine the dark root monitoring pods, and change their back-transmitted signals.

It's like a fog covering the hunter's eyes.

Decoy Node

The Plains Conference decided to deliberately expose several areas to lure out the Dark Roots' cutters.

A full defense will be set up there, serving both as an opportunity to probe the enemy's actions and as a preliminary battle to weaken their strength.

At night, Sprout 12 transforms into a hidden shadow pod, freely moving between various factions, and secretly planting the False Wave Grass.

He can enter and exit the outer reaches of the Dark Domain, as well as infiltrate the uninhabited areas of rainforests and plateaus.

Where he passed, many "suspected mother trees" appeared on the earth overnight.

At the same time, seed 237 endured severe backlash from its roots, forcibly stretching out its light roots and dark roots to intertwine with the monitoring pods.

When the light pulse touches the pod, a brief crackling sound explodes underground, and the signal transmitted back from the pod is instantly distorted into a "false potential".

The Root Shadow Society, located far in the Dark Domain, began receiving a series of contradictory messages.

"Potential fluctuations detected in the Southern Territory!"

"No, the plateau erupted at the same time!"

"Wait, the northern tundra is reacting too—no ​​way, this isn't the mother tree!"

Chaos first appeared within the Dark Root's command network.

On the edge of the plain, a barren plateau was deliberately set up as a "decoy point".

The Light Domain military forces here have already been deployed:

The Thorn Tribe wove an intricate network of barriers.

The moss-covered network of underground passages awaits, ready to sever the invasion of hidden roots.

Seed 237 personally took charge, and the potential of the mother tree within him trembled continuously.

Sprout 12 landed at the front of the formation and patted him with a smile:

"This time, we are both the prey and the hunter."

As the wind howled, the soil on the terrace suddenly swelled up, and one after another, jet-black roots emerged from the ground.

The first batch of cutters have arrived.

The moment the battle broke out, the potential of the mother tree within Seed 237 awakened once more.

He felt the earth's water veins and light veins converge within his body, transforming into a shockwave.

The light domain battle formation lit up, and a net of light, like starlight, enveloped the entire plateau.

At that moment, the Mother Tree's potential was unleashed for the first time on the real battlefield—

It can instantly connect the roots and waterways of all allies, forming a shared network of power.

The barrier of thorns becomes stronger with the nourishment of the mossy netting;

The ambush by the mossy web is made more rapid by the transmission of thorns;

Even the weakest blade of grass can gain the power of a giant tree through the internet.

The blade of the hidden root cutter halted for the first time.

Deep within the Dark Domain, Root Shadow sensed the anomaly.

They realized:

"The potential of the mother tree...is being utilized in reverse across the entire ecological network!"

The harvest order was not invalid, but in the Light Domain, this hunt was thwarted for the first time.