Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

Where didn’t things grow? The surrounding plants were flourishing and full of life, indeed much better than before the sapling was planted.

Ange searched around and finally found that the only thing not growing was himself. The disappointment of the little sapling seemed to be directed at him.

Scratching his head, Ange thought of an idea. He turned around and unfastened his right hand, holding it out slowly with his left hand.

Grow — grow — grow —! The little sapling indeed sent out very enthusiastic signals.

You fool! Ange mentally scolded it.

Finding a flowerpot, he dug up the little sapling and transplanted it into the pot. Slnce it didn’t need water or soil, he had to use another method.

Ange carried of little sapling to the center of the field, put it on the ground, and then stepped beside it, leaving a footprint.

A myriad of crops began to sprout vigorously. The plants that initially only produced two leaves rapidly grew true leaves, stems, and even blossomed….

Thrive — thrive — grow — grow — oh —

The little sapling sent out joyful and enthusiastic signals, its two tiny leaves fluttered in the wind, and finally, with something like a ‘pop’, it grew taller and sprouted its first pair of real leaves.

Grow — grow — grow —, it became even more cheerful.

Ange erased the footprint and ran back to gather the mature crops. He calculated his gains and was surprised that this operation only cost him one thousand five hundred Soul Flames.

Was it because of the little sapling that he saved on Soul Flames? Curious, Ange picked up the flowerpot from the ground. Was it that handy?

The little sapling that now had true leaves, tried to turn its leaves towards Ange: strive — grow — strive — grow — not growing… ?

It was indeed handy, but too stupid, even more so than the Little Zombie.

The little sapling needed to trigger the growth of other plants in order to grow itself, so its best place was with Ange.

Ange took it out of the Resting Camp, holding it in his left hand before switching to his right hand. Still feeling it was inconvenient, he decided to place the pot on his head instead.

The bottom of the flowerpot was slightly concave, fitting perfectly with his helmet, even shaking it wouldn’t dislodge it.

With a thought, Armor Ghoul on his body extended a strap from his back and fastened the flowerpot. Now it really wouldn’t fall off, no matter how much he shook.

“A sapling for half a million Demon Crystals? Are you joking? This is a World

Tree sapling, not just some common vegetable. Your offer lacks sincerity,”

In the Teleportation Array, the bargaining between Negris and Gailard heated up.

“But we already have one sapling. The second one can’t be more expensive, right? We don’t care for all these business licenses, permissions, and tax exemptions. The first friend who sold us a sapling really liked all these documents. We offered money but he didn’t want it, ” lamented Gailard.

“I’m not doing business in your Elf Kingdom, so why would I need those things? You elves have so many good things. Why not trade with those, like Elf Bean Seeds, Moon Well, Life Essence, Spirit of Forest, Heart of Druid, or even those pollinating elves?” suggested Negris.

Gailard was silent for a long time before asking seriously, “Who are you exactly? How do you know about these things?”

Negris was taken aback. Didn’t people know about these things? He had asked the World Tree about them. Could these be secrets of the Elf Clan?

Rushing to explain, he said, “I asked the God of Knowledge.”

“God of Knowledge?” Gailard wasn’t expecting this answer. She didn’t know who the God of Knowledge was.

After asking around, she finally asked: “Is it that silly Bronze Dragon? Is it still alive?”

“You…” Negris exploded on the spot. What did she mean by ‘silly’? She was the silly one; her whole family was silly. Were those even words people say?

He wished he could teleport over and beat the snot out of his opponent right then and there, but remembering his adversary was a Giant Dragon Hunter, Negris thought better of it and muttered under his breath, “I’ll let you off the hook this time on account of your youth.”

“Of course, the God of Knowledge is alive. The omniscient deity let me in on a little secret. The Elf Clan has a wealth of valuable commodities, certainly enough to offset cultivation costs for a World Tree sapling. It’s because I believe in the strength of the elves that I’ve invested significant human and material resources to nurture the sapling. Had I doubted your abilities, I’d have uprooted the sapling ages ago. State your best price or I’ll get rid of it.”

Negris gritted his teeth, thinking: Dare to call me a lamebrain? We’ll just see who’s the real dolt here.

Upon hearing threats of the sapling’s impending removal, Gailard became flustered, hastily interjecting, “Let’s be civil here, we have countless treasures on offer.’

Ultimately, the Elf Clan agreed to exchange half a million Demon Crystals, an Elf Bean Seed, and two Moon Wells for one World Tree sapling.

Once the exchange rate was finalized, Gailard felt somewhat shafted. The cost of this transaction was significantly steeper than that of the initial sapling.

Given his preference for qualification documents—which were essentially just pieces of paper—converting his hand into profits wasn’t straightforward.

However, this time around was different.

The genuine payment of half a million Demon Crystals was one thing, but the truly valuable item was the Elf Bean Seed.

The seed yielded a high-energy food. The elf beans it produced were just the size of a thumb, yet they supplied a whole day’s worth of nutrition and satiety. A single seed could sustain someone for an entire day, making it a coveted item for strategic logistical supply.

Thanks to these Elf beans, the Elf Clan never fretted over logistical issues. Even in long-distance expeditions spanning thousands of kilometers, each elf could carry several hundred days’ worth of rations. They easily maintained their strength to engage in combat and could resupply once they returned home.

Dealing with the Moon Wells was another matter entirely. While only fifty liters were subtracted from the Moon Spring, Negris forced two entire wells to be included in the deal.

“Damned God of Knowledge, spilling so many secrets about our clan. He’s had it coming, time to eliminate it once and for all. Might as well upgrade my title. Godslayer Hunter sounds way cooler than Dragon Hunter,” an infuriated Gailard muttered through gritted teeth.

Both parties swore an oath and began the trade. The sapling was no trouble—it didn’t take up much space. The Moon Wells, on the other hand, were rather sizable and each had to be teleported in one at a time, which bore considerable risk.

What if, instead of a Moon Well, they ended up with a fearsome Giant Dragon

Hunter? What then?

To err on the side of caution, Negris called back Luther and Angel.

No sooner had Angel and Little Zombie returned than they sauntered over to Ange, scrambling to get a look at the pot atop his head.

Ange shook them off.

Angel and Little Zombie appeared to register that the pot was off-limits, duly withdrawing their hands. Regardless, their curiosity remained, and Angel took flight to take a close look at the Little Sapling nestled in the pot.

Frightened by the sudden appearance of a gargantuan face, the Little Sapling manipulated its true leaves to indicate a warm message: Grow strong—grow strong—.

After studying the sapling for a bit, Angel turned a disinterested eye on Little Zombie who hopped around curiously, quickly determining they were of the same ilk. Losing interest, Angel flew away.

Left behind, Little Zombie continued hopping around. As such, the Little Sapling found itself twisting its true leaves to signal its own baffling message to the skeletal specter: Things here don’t grow—.

The exchange process went off without a hitch. Far from taking advantage of the situation, the Elf Clan had dispatched everything to them up front. After confirming the details, Negris sent over the sapling—both sides concluded their business

Rounding a sigh of relief, Negris turned his attention to Ange, taken aback by his striking new look.

“Who gave you this makeover? Why on earth have you got a pot on your head?” Upon a closer look, he noticed a sapling in the pot.

“What is this, some kind of sapling? Wait, it’s alive? It’s like it’s trying to say something. Is this a… a World Tree sapling? It’s gained consciousness?” Escalating shock bled into Negris’s voice until he finally cried out.

Ange nodded, the pot and the sapling shifting along with his movement.

Negris gasped, “God, I remember mentioning that a tree devoid of consciousness has no right to be called a World Tree. This one certainly qualifies.”

As soon as he’d finished, a lightbulb went off in his head. Glancing at the teleportation array, he remarked excitedly, “With a bona fide World Tree at our disposal, we can make a fortune off the giant trees by selling them to the elves.

We’ll have doubled our returns in no time.”

PS: I wanted to churn out ten chapters in one go, but I overestimated myself. Guess I’ll just roll over and loaf around..