---1 Week later, Y-City---

A room paneled with exotic hardwoods, carved by famous artists. A conference table made of ebony with inlays of lighter wood and silver, at least 300 years old. Opulent decorations plated in and a massive chandelier.

Everything in this room fit the man charming man sitting at the head of the table, wearing luxurious garments of the same style. It all reminded of a more regal and archaic time, except for the executive members sitting around the table, wearing many different styles of clothing, not fitting the rest of the ambiance.

"It has been confirmed that Minas Mar is raiding our facilities. Our moles have successfully infiltrated Tree Station 10," he was finally able to report something positive to their leader.

Over the past weeks, the rebel forces had suddenly increased their activities. Not only did their catchers find less and less people on their tours, the number of attacks on their facilities had exponentially increased.

This happened soon after Tree Station 10 was hast firmly planted its roots just outside the ruined cityscape of the slums. Adding one and one together, it was clear that Minas Mar had started moving. They boldly waltzed into enemy territory and started stealing their human resources.

Instead of immediately stopping this or increasing the guards at the facilities, they planted spies among the captives in the facilities. It was finally their chance to infiltrate Minas Mar and their local bases properly. Of course, they also tried to stop them, usually ending with their men being overpowered. Even when their men managed to hold their ground, they used potent gadgets like flash grenades to flee or get the upper hand.

"Go on. Tell us, what did they report?" the pompous dressed leader asked reserved.

Apart from the method of how the refugees and slum rats were smuggled out of the city, he also had a comprehensive report about their defenses and troop numbers. According to their spies, there were roughly 8 000 adventurers stationed in Tree Station 10. They were not Oathguards, based on the mixed sets of armors and equipment they held.

"Our spies suggest, that they are probably recruits and volunteers from the subordinate guilds and other Tree Stations."

Recently Minas Mar had published their information on the Scene and the forces behind the changes in Y-City and Delta. They had suppressed this information in Delta and Ypselon, but it had caused a big uproar in the territories of Minas Mar.

They used this to explain their actions and gain support in the evacuation of these people. Since nobody officially asked for war or a confrontation, only the evacuation of people willing to flee, it was even hard for their informants to incite any kind of divide in the populace.

Another reason they voided most criticism was that they had a legitimate excuse to connect the Tree Route with Y-City. Nobody had ever canceled the deal on the originally planned trade route. Y-City had one-sidedly changed the condition to be unfavorable and offend Minas Mar, but the agreement was never officially canceled. The ground was too barren for their propaganda to bear fruit in Minas Mar, but it did not change anything, since everything was going according to plan.

Chrona would not come, since they had their ambassador in Delta already in their pocket, guaranteeing for them. Even if the princess found evidence of their connection to Spatia, the information would be blocked and discredited.

"How many slum rats do they have now?" a wide, tall man, wearing a tight-fitting black pinstripe suit asked the man.

"They have started transferring them through the root tunnels to the other new Tree Station, but the current estimates are roughly 230 000. Most of the civilians that were left in the outskirts have been evacuated."

"So the fruit is ripe for the picking," a woman in a red evening dress and a feather boa commented in a smokey voice.

"Then we just have to deal with the tree now," a man with the features of a mole rat, wearing the outfit of a butler added.

"Did they report anything about the tree? Can our spied maybe deal with the tree from within?" the Leader asked the soldier reporting.

"No, they clearly state that they cannot do anything about the tree, it has no obvious flaws or weaknesses. However, what they could do is deal with the barrier devices within the city. Then it would really, only be the tree in our way," he said after flipping through the report in his hands.

"Maybe the fair skins could summon another of those idols, like the one that felled the tree in Agra?" black pinstripe suit suggested.

"Unless Minas Mar is stupid enough to make another blood bath, that won't happen. They need "blood of allies spilled by the hand of an enemy" or whatever to do that ritual," the lady in the red dress said annoyed.

"That only leaves us with good old firepower. Deactivate the barrier and cut down the tree with force, I like that," Pinstripes said flexing his muscles.

"In the end, it will be the mage division having to bombard it," Feather boa shot him down.

"Wouldn't that also harm a lot of prizes?" mole rat threw in. They stopped their bickering when they heard someone clear his throat.

"Glasses, do you have a solution?" the leader asked, still with his calm relaxed voice.

"Yes, your highness. I and my people have been working on a way to get rid of the trees for the past three weeks.

"Is it ready for a field test?"

"Yes."

"Then we should invite our "friends"."

…

---Minas Mar---

Seth had used his time wisely since his return from the college. He did not only explore the new skill the demons had given him but also finally found the time to visit Cormac Payle, the chosen of Hephaestus.

With the system church in Mount Agra set up and Minas Palan as a connector, it had become a lot easier to travel across long distances in Urth. It had enabled Seth to visit Payle more often over the past weeks.

The two blacksmiths had long talks, especially about their skills and his future plans. The chosen of Hephaestus had decided that he wanted to work with Minas Mar but stay in Agra. This was fine with Seth since this also meant that Payle was in a good position to protect Agra and send reinforcements to other parts of the Tree Route.

His class as Hephaestus' chosen heavily focused on the god's aspect as an engineer and maker of automatons, as such Payle had gotten a lot more skills that improved the power and function of golems as well as blueprints and enchantments Seth had no access to even at the master level.

The best the Infernal Scald had from Hephaestus, through the mercy of the trait Olympian Myths, was the basic Olympian enchantments that needed to function. Cormac on the other hand already had an advanced version of those when he was still a craftsman.

While Seth was interested in learning these, Cormac was fascinated by the capabilities he had developed by combining musical skills and souls, as well as the function of the Golem Forge. Both blacksmiths knew stuff the other was interested in so they were quickly caught up in conversations no outsiders were able to interrupt.

Yet, both faced a hurdle when trying to learn from each other. Seth found that learning divine enchantments without the help of a little bit of divine providence was almost impossible in the short run. Cormac found that he had as much talent for singing as Seth, but even demons didn't like his voice. Payle barely avoided being cursed by several otherworldly entities, including demons, gods, and elementals.

In the end, Seth barely managed to learn the Common Automaton Core Circuit, which was a step higher than the basic one. Cormac had to give up on singing or souls, but he assured that he was fine with the things he learned from the Golem Forge and the golems he had repaired for Seth. It was obvious, that the man truly had a passion for making golems.

Something Seth could understand for the most part. He was looking forward to the army Payle would create in the future, using the advanced blueprints he had inherited from the god of craftsmen.

Now Seth wiped away his sweat after finally finishing the first product, born from a combination of both worlds. The best part of the Common Automaton Core Circuit he learned from Cormac Payle was that it did not need the or a soul as the base, which allowed him to combine it with a new discovery he had made upon his return.

.