The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 908: Truce

"The forest will have its revenge on any who harm it."

The giant tree was unwilling to give up on vengeance.

Yet the giant tree's logic was clear enough: as the leader, it saw itself as the forest, its collective consciousness. Its mind was as immature as a newborn's, and its actions were more aligned with the nature of trees.

"He did not harm the forest intentionally. Your war began because the forest invaded," Lu Li stated the facts.

"Then, as the friend said, a truce. But the forest has one condition..."

Perhaps it had read some books.

...

In the quiet forest, where fireflies cast a faint glow, the light of an oil lamp—one that did not belong here—appeared deep within the thicket.

Lu Li was returned to the battlefield, where complete silence now reigned.

"They stopped their attacks shortly after you left."The Mother of the Swamp greeted the returning Lu Li.

"You succeeded..."

"Not entirely."

Lu Li stood on the frozen ground, walked around the low-hanging banyan roots, rejoined the others, and addressed the Mother of the Swamp.

"It wants you to appear before it in person and end the war with the forest."

"Did you see... My mangled body?" the Deep God asked.

"You are... imitating... me... again."

"I... deeply apologize," the Deep God whispered.

"But I think... this is how a deity should speak."

Lu Li replied:

"The forest has the mangled body. And it wasn't a complete success; the forest demands we fulfill four conditions before it will return it. One of them is ending the war with the Mother of the Swamp."

"And the other three...?"

"Water that pollutes and corrodes all, wind that extinguishes all, shadows that shroud all," Lu Li repeated the forest's description, translating it into understandable terms.

"In other words, solve the problem of the seawater flooding the northern swamp and turning it into a salt marsh that kills plants; the damage the harsh winter is causing the forest; and the lack of light."

The encroaching seawater and salt marsh on the northern coast were the easiest to address. They would just need to build a breakwater and then use the power of the mangled body to purify the land, allowing the forest to survive in the saltwater.

However, "easy" was only relative to the last two conditions. It was unknown how long it would take to build a twenty-five-kilometer breakwater.

"If we destroy the forest and take back the mangled body..." the Deep God whispered.

"We can't defeat it," Lu Li answered.

And he had no intention of doing so.

Moreover, there was another problem: the forest demanded that the Mother of the Swamp enter its domain, which was a risk. If the forest broke their agreement, the Mother of the Swamp, with her depleted power, wouldn't be able to resist.

"I trust you..."

the Mother of the Swamp said quietly. She would follow him into the forest to end the war.

But Ophelia, Prusius, and the Deep God wanted to go too.

"Then let's go together," Lu Li said.

Except for the Deep God.

This wasn't sarcasm. The current Deep God was genuinely not intelligent enough—or, more accurately, he was unable to reason, much like the forest itself.

Letting two such direct beings, neither of whom could hide their intentions, meet would be a very bad idea.

Since the tree roots were no longer carrying them, their progress was slow.

This was fine for the Mother of the Swamp; she could use the opportunity to study the layout of the distorted forest. If the war were to continue, this knowledge might help Her.

After they had trudged through the root-strewn, muddy swamp for some time, the forest seemed to lose patience and impatiently whisked Lu Li away, leaving the others to continue on their own.

And the forest, having brought Lu Li back to the giant tree, was like a child showing off its toys to a playmate, hoping Lu Li would visit its treasury—

The treasury was in the tree's crown, very close to the phalanx bone, which was supported by layers of branches. The forest, having brought Lu Li to its crown, clearly felt no wariness toward Lu Li, its "friend," and Lu Li did not betray that trust.

An old cart, a few filthy, discolored garments, a book whose cover was barely legible, and, best preserved of all, a few coins.

It was a meager collection for a being that the Mother of the Swamp, an evil god, could not stand against.

"History of the Romalian Wars"

Lu Li's gaze lingered on the book's cover for a moment, and he found the source of the forest's behavioral style. If the owner of this cart had been carrying a collection of fairy tales, perhaps none of this would have happened today.

A thin, finger-like tree root sifted through the "treasures" with difficulty and reluctance, curled around the most valuable coin, and offered it to Lu Li.

"This is a gift for you, friend."

Lu Li then presented the forest with a gift in return. He opened his wooden box and called for the Trader.

"Is this for me, friend?" the giant tree asked.

"Not yet."

When the Trader appeared amid the giant tree's exclamations, Lu Li asked him to take out several tree seeds and place them on the curved roots.

"Young... nascent life... I like your gift, friend." The giant tree's joy seemed to be palpable in its trembling.

"Then be friendly to my companions."

However, the meeting between the Mother of the Swamp and the giant tree was not a pleasant one.

When they arrived at the giant tree, roots emerged from the depths of the forest and began to spread.

"Are you planning to continue the war?" Lu Li asked.

"The forest does not deceive friends."

The giant tree trembled, forcing the forest to withdraw its hostility.

Then came the details of the truce. The Mother of the Swamp could cede the lands seized by the distorted forest, but the giant tree demanded the swamp belong to it.

This was the essence of the tree, and also the purpose its leader had given it: survival and expansion.

"Why not grow toward the ruins of Tenebrae?" Lu Li asked the giant tree.

"Where is that...?"

Lu Li unfolded a map of the Allen Peninsula, pointed out the location of the Shadow Swamp, and then circled the Fallen Leaves Mountains and the ruins of Tenebrae.

"There are no nutrients outside, no water, and only stones underground."

"Indeed... there is such a... theory." Whenever the topic turned to knowledge, Ophelia became as stern as a bespectacled scholar.

"The Allen... Peninsula... is a solid... piece... of rock... that forms... the landmass, with the exception... of the swamp."

The Shadow Swamp was not part of the Allen Peninsula's main rock foundation, but merely a shallow basin formed over time by erosion and seawater.

This theory, like many other unconfirmed claims, was only a hypothesis.

And perhaps the key factor limiting the forest's expansion was not the underground stone, but the water sources—at least, the vast abandoned farmlands outside Tenebrae suggested that trees and plants could certainly grow there.

"I will find a way to solve the water problem in exchange for the forest ceasing its expansion into the southern swamp," Lu Li said.

"Alright, friend."

The northern and southern Shadow Swamps had officially reached a truce.

Although the conditions were complex and exhausting, it was still better than fire, death, and destruction.

Though Ophelia quite liked the former.

Prusius leaped and bounced, cheerfully chasing the hovering fireflies.

"You're my hero."

The Mother of the Swamp leaned down, her beautiful body, shrouded in a veil and radiating a soft light, pressing against Lu Li.

"I probably wouldn't survive your embrace," Lu Li cut off the Mother of the Swamp's show of affection.

"Next time, then..." the Mother of the Swamp then asked, her voice soft and hopeful.

"The bracelet I gave you... do you still have it?"

"It's back at Sea Gaze Cliff."

Lu Li lowered his dark eyes.

Anna wouldn't let Lu Li wear it, using excuses like "a dead person's relic brings bad luck" and "it's a woman's bracelet."