Remembering he had poked the old mulberry tree with a finger during the day and had been sitting under it just now, focusing on the Spring Bud, Ivan suddenly broke out into a cold sweat. He had been too careless recently and had been feeling a bit overconfident these past few days.
Who would have thought the oldest mulberry tree in Mulberry Valley would be strange!
Luckily, the old mulberry tree hadn’t done anything bad, and he decided to return during the day, not even bothering about the tiger skin laid out on the ground.
Alternate day.
Ivan, along with Leider, Paul, and Old Hank, inspected four villages to get a general idea about the situation of the people of Mulberry Valley and took the opportunity to ask about the century-old mulberry tree.
As the lord was interested in the old mulberry tree, the villagers freely shared everything they knew.
It wasn’t hard to draw a conclusion from the villagers’ words that it was just an ordinary century-old mulberry tree. Half of the trees on Mulberry Ridge were its offspring, and the old mulberry tree had only started showing signs of drying out and yellowing in recent years.
This left Ivan a bit disappointed.
After returning to the castle last night, he actually noticed something was off. If the old mulberry tree were the main culprit, why would it look half-dead, and why was its trunk so frail?
Furthermore, if there really was something strange about the old mulberry tree, given its massive size, it was impossible for the villagers not to notice any disturbances.
After inspecting the territory, he didn’t share his findings with anyone and returned to the century-old mulberry tree.
“Pfft.”
Ivan hesitated before stretching out his finger and poking the tree’s body, his finger wrapped in Combat Energy easily penetrated into the tree, just like yesterday.
He tried several different spots, poking a hole each time, but the old mulberry tree stood completely still.
Sean ran over just in time to witness the scene, “Lord Ivan, what are you doing? Won’t it die if you keep poking it like that?”
Ivan didn’t even turn his head, “Sean, do you have too much free time?”
Sean quickly stated his purpose, “They are planning to excavate those two ponds and asked whether a house needs to be built over them. Originally, there was a wooden house and a water mill on each side, and people specifically guarded the ponds to supply water to the castle.”
He felt his brother’s presence becoming increasingly imposing, almost like facing their father, Leider.
Ivan casually said, “Let father or Paul handle it as they see fit.”
With the response received, Sean ran off in a puff of smoke.
In front of the old mulberry tree, Ivan walked around it a few times, but however he looked at it, it seemed like just an ordinary mulberry tree.
“Could it really be those moths causing trouble?”
Having ruled out the old mulberry tree, he could only shift his focus to the moth that had absorbed [something], which also seemed like an ordinary moth, the same color as the tree bark and indistinguishable from other moths.
Having some leads was better than none. It was hard to see moths during the day, so he decided to observe them again tonight and was determined to find the source of the trouble.
Inside the second-floor study of the Lord’s Hall.
He first checked the condition of the freezing water midges and found that half of the larvae planted with Spring Bud had died, enduring less time than the bubble leeches and likely too weak to serve as a vessel for the Spring Bud.
“Perhaps I can find some larger insects,” he thought to himself.
The freezing water midges also had other values; they could be controlled with the Insect Control Skill for use as an offensive method, a viable alternative indeed.
Whether dealing with Eckerz or the Silver Bone Ray, he realized he was lacking in attack-type magic. The spoils he had scrounged off Eckerz that day were not attack-type magic but a book on the Tracking Technique.
Tracking Technique, a spell for tracking biological traces through blood or scent, including people, with a certain range.
Like Insect Control, the prerequisite for learning this spell was still: Basic Study of Common Energy Particles, Basic Energy Shaping Course.
He spent time daily learning the ‘Basic Study of Common Energy Particles’ knowledge and analyzing the magic models of both spells.
Lately, his Experience Points in Energy Particle Skill had surged rapidly, and it wouldn’t be long till he advanced to level 2.
By evening, the team that had gone to Flying Fish Port returned, bringing with them plenty of life necessities and tools. With tools, they could craft furniture, and among the villagers, there were carpenters; mercenaries could also handle some carpentry.
Beaman’s tasks were not yet complete, so he remained at Flying Fish Port.
As time passed, night fell once again.
At the front of Mulberry Ridge, Ivan was not reckless, and instead, he gathered a group of able men and came to the ancient mulberry tree.
The four village chiefs still brought their village hunters to offer support, observing the Lord’s demeanor, which seemed as though he had found some clue. They all appeared particularly excited, and Old Hank was no exception—the problem at Mulberry Ridge deeply troubled everyone from Mulberry Valley.
“First, surround this old mulberry tree and do not act recklessly,” he ordered.
Although the people did not understand the Lord’s command, they still kept a vigilant watch on the ancient mulberry tree and enclosed it in the middle.
This surrounds lasted two to three hours. The Lord had not issued a second command nor made any discoveries, which inevitably led to speculation.
Ivan did not care about their thoughts, as he first caught some moths to investigate, only to crush them all to death—these were undoubtedly ordinary moths.
Could it be that the presence of so many people had frightened the opponent?
“Leider, Dayne, Paul, Glowe, stay behind. The rest of you, go back,” he commanded.
With his order, only five people remained at Mulberry Ridge. The lights were extinguished, and the five stood in the darkness to observe.
An hour later, as the saying goes, heaven rewards the diligent, Ivan spotted the same situation on another mulberry tree. ‘Ordinary’ moths strangely merged into the body of the mulberry tree, leaving no trace behind.
Wood evasion?
Ivan widened his eyes, not expecting it to be such a master of disguise. Considering the state of infestation in the thousand-acre mulberry forest, the number definitely exceeded one.
Thinking that the culprit only harmed mulberry trees, he couldn’t help but think they might be a type of silkworm, or perhaps moths transformed from silkworms.
To further confirm his suspicions, he and his men stayed up until after midnight, until he saw a third moth merge into a third mulberry tree.
“What a pity,” he lamented.
He regretfully landed on the ground as the opponent merged too quickly; he approached and leaped but didn’t touch a single hair.
Seeing his disappointed face, Leider couldn’t help but ask, “Did you find something?”
Ivan seriously replied, “Yes, I think I’ve found the culprit plaguing Mulberry Valley.”
Leider’s eyes lit up, “Then what are we waiting for?”
Ivan glanced at the nearly twenty-meter high mulberry tree, “The trouble with Mulberry Valley isn’t so easily caught. Let me think of a proper way to deal with them one by one and fully resolve this longstanding issue for Mulberry Valley.”
“Okay.”
His confident demeanor naturally inspired confidence, leaving Leider energized as it solidified the stability of Mulberry Valley.
The five of them descended from Mulberry Ridge feeling relaxed.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Beaman led a group from Flying Fish Port back to Mulberry Valley and brought an unexpected person with him.
“She came to the mercenary headquarters several times looking for you. I casually invited her, and she followed along. You see what to do,” Beaman said with a wink, leaving space for the two.
Justine looked at him with a beaming smile, “Brother Ivan, are you not welcoming me?”
Ivan said, “Of course, I welcome you to Mulberry Valley. The castle is quite simple with many areas under repair, I hope you don’t mind.”
“I’ll know whether I mind or not after I take a tour.”
Justine was still dressed in her favorite light green dress.
Hearing her say this, Ivan was about to give her a tour of the castle when a carriage suddenly sped towards their location.
A noble girl leaned out of the carriage, waving unreservedly at him, “Mr. Ivan, Mr. Ivan.”
How did she get here?
Ivan slightly raised an eyebrow and reluctantly stood there, waiting for the Church family’s carriage to approach.